The Crown Prince's Courtesan - Chapter 5
If only Marie Alphrose’s life had truly turned around from there. But even at the Academy, she was the ugly duckling.
‘That’s the Alphrose girl, isn’t it?’
‘The beggarly Alphrose!’
‘They say she’s humiliated every noble tradition there is. Heard she’s a submissive Omega who will do anything.’
‘She should’ve just become a courtesan or something. She’s tainting the Academy!’
The highborn students had no interest in associating with the daughter of some impoverished baron’s family they’d never heard of. In truth, Marie had lost everything, and her title was noble in name only.
But she didn’t care.
‘Let them talk if they want to insult me!’
She only held her head higher.
She wanted to repay her aunt Helen, who took in her and her sister despite not sharing a drop of blood. She wanted to become independent, to stand on her own two feet as a proper adult. That’s why Marie never wasted a single day of her life.
Up until the year she turned twenty, Marie Alphrose had never relied on anyone. She didn’t even know how to collapse in weakness, or how to cry for help.
But sometimes, very rarely, such thoughts would creep in. When the pheromones, trapped inside her body thanks to a broken heat cycle, made her physically ill…
‘If only I’d been a Beta.’
When the stares of the highborn students at the Academy pierced her as she took on the lowliest tasks without complaint…
‘If only I’d been a commoner.’
When lonely nights fell upon her with only her aunt Helen and the little sister who leaned on her for everything…
‘If only I had someone to love.’
If she had been a commoner, she could’ve worked freely.
If she had been a Beta, she could’ve lived like an ordinary person regardless of gender dynamics.
The only upside of being a damaged Omega was that, without the onset of heat, she didn’t need to buy expensive suppressants. And because of that, she could pretend to be a submissive Omega.
“Right. All just daydreams. In this world, the only person I can count on is me.”
Shaking off those stray thoughts, Marie looked ahead.
She now stood in front of a professor’s office at the end of the corridor. When she knocked cautiously, a voice from inside called for her to enter.
Why had the professor summoned her? Swallowing her tension, she opened the door and was met by the eyes of an elderly man, sharply focused on something until he glanced up and studied her.
“Ah, Marie. Graduating safely this year, aren’t you? Let me congratulate you first.”
That keen, appraising gaze soon melted into a gentle smile. Marie closed the door behind her, keeping her composure.
“Yes, Professor. Thank you.”
“I see you’ve been working hard. That’s great.”
The average graduation age from the Academy was eighteen.
There was no mockery in the professor’s words, yet Marie’s cheeks flushed at the reminder. She had taken two gap years, repeating leaves and returns. The professor chuckled kindly.
“No need to make that face. It’s not as if I don’t know how outstanding you are or how brilliant. But… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned.”
“…”
The professor sighed and removed his glasses. Marie straightened her posture, feigning indifference, but her heart ached beneath her composure.
In truth, most students at the Academy were well aware that Marie Alphrose had lived a rather turbulent life.
Even if she was known as a submissive Omega, she was still an Omega. Most noble Omegas were locked into engagement agreements early between noble houses. And even for non-presenting nobility, it was rare to see one working for money. That was beneath them.
If Marie’s circumstances had been even slightly better, perhaps a house somewhere would have been willing to take her in.
But the problem was her reputation.
The other nobles at the Academy disliked how she relied on a commoner, her aunt Helen. They whispered that she was a disgrace to noble blood.
Some had tried to flirt with her, drawn by her delicate looks. But Marie never lowered her gaze, never flirted back and just turned them down flat with stiff, clumsy refusal. The nobles who approached with ulterior motives found her coldness offensive, and her reputation spiraled further downward.
Still, she endured. She believed that once she graduated, a path would open up. That if she allowed herself to collapse, it would all be over, so she had stubbornly kept moving forward, eyes fixed ahead.
But reality was not so kind.
The professor, who had quietly observed Marie all this time, rested his chin on his fingers and asked in a grave voice:
“So. What are your plans now?”
Marie could not answer right away.
I planned to find a job… but who would hire a penniless noble with a bad reputation and a submissive Omega status, Professor?
…She couldn’t say it that bluntly.
The professor raised his brows slightly, perhaps sensing something in her silence. It seemed he had something on his mind — something difficult to say — and was taking his time, as though gathering the nerve. Eventually, he forced it out:
“There’s a position I could refer you to.”
The answer caught Marie off guard. Her eyes widened.
“Are you serious, Professor?”
“I am. But… there’s something I need to confirm first.”
The flicker of joy was short-lived. The professor, who had met her gaze just moments ago, now avoided her eyes. As if to clear his conscience. She had a sudden sense of foreboding and suspicion.
“Miss Marie, you’re a submissive Omega, correct?”
She had hidden the fact that she was a dominant Omega with obsessive care. So yes, she was known to be submissive. That part was technically true. But—
“…Why do you ask?”
There was only one reason to ask for an Omega. Anxiety came over her. A job that required confirmation of Omega status, and a place that wants an academy student with the excuse that they won’t use a lowly person carelessly…
Her blood ran cold.
