The second group entered which consisted of two large alphas, one older and the other younger, but almost identical otherwise. Alea guessed this should be her father and eldest brother. She was quickly proven correct when she heard the main wife speak.
"Welcome home husband. You've worked hard. Azer come in and say hello to your sister".
"Yes mother" Azer replied. When he saw Alea he was astounded. He never expected that the little beta girl would one day tower over him. Azer may not have been the biggest alpha, but he still stood at an enviable 190cm, slightly taller than his father. However, unlike his younger brother he never bullied this seemingly non existent third sister, so seeing her like this there wasn't any jealousy nor malice. He just politely greeted Alea.
"Hello third sister. How are you feeling?"
Alea felt that this eldest brother was quite sincere with his greeting so she didn't mind talking to him cordially.
"I'm well, thank you eldest brother, just a little tired".
The two continued the polite and distant chatter until Ridel entered the room. It seems the main wife told him what the doctor had said, so when coming in he knew that Alea would probably be guarded and polite. He didn't mind. When he heard that he had another alpha child he was very happy. So he took his eldest son and rushed back to the house. When seeing Alea for the first time, he thought his jaw would hit the floor. Is this monster really his daughter. However the face that was just a sharper and stronger version of her mother's proved her identity. He had mixed feelings about this daughter. He knew that she was being bullied by a few of the servants and some of her siblings, but aside from the fact that she was just a beta, he had always blamed her for the death of her mother. Although he knew deep in his heart that her mother's body had always been sickly, he just blamed her existence for taking her sooner than she should've gone.
So when looking at her now, he didn't know how to interact with her. Alea seemed to see his hesitation.
"Hello father. I hope you're well"
Aleas probably guessed how they'd treated the previous Alea but it didn't matter to her. She only thought that in this world she doesn't belong. It would be better to have a place she could rely on, until she became strong enough that she didn't need to play happy family here with them. However she has always been someone who repays kindness with kindness, and hatred with suffering. If they treat her well she wouldn't mind giving them some benefits, but if they conspired against her she'd make their lives worse than death. With a gruff hum Ridel spoke
"Hm. I heard what the doctor said. You can rest for a few days, and it won't be too late to talk after you're better".
Genas's voice came from the side, "That's true, but we should let the tailor get her measurements first. It seems she has outgrown all of her clothing".
Only then did Ridel see how ill fitting her clothing had become. Blame him, his eyes had been stuck on Alea's face from beginning to end and he hadn't noticed such an obvious problem.
"Madam is right. Call over the tailor and send the measurements to the fabric workshop to have a new wardrobe fitted".
After that he headed off with the large group, and before leaving Genas left a few servants to take care of the chores around her yard. Alea knew that these people were here to monitor her, she knew that the main wife hadn't put down her doubts about her, but unless she could read minds there wasn't much chance for her to learn the truth.
After Alea had seen off the tailor who took her measurements, she picked up another pair of ill fitting clothing and decided to take a bath. Only after she had removed all her clothing could she see the majesty of an alpha body, and truly understood why they believed themselves superior. The muscles on her body would put crossfitters to shame. These weren't big and bulky show muscles. These looked like they were forged by years of high endurance, high volume strength training. She didn't know if other alphas were like her, blessed with this just because of differentiation but looking at her father and brother she could assume that they werent much different.
This provided a reasonable explanation about the gender divide. If becoming an alpha gave you strength, then becoming omega would rob you of your strength and becoming beta would allow you to maintain your original strength. When the water had lost its temperature she left the bath and got dressed. Laying in the bed she had many thoughts that were flowing through her mind, but she decided to wait until tomorrow to sort through them. She blew out the candle and closed her eyes. Hoping nobody would be moronic enough to interrupt her sleep. She hated being woken up.
Far away from the city Alea is in, outside the border city at that very moment countless teams of cavalry are being sent towards the capital, letters urging reinforcements stuffed into their pockets. The general watched from the walls as their shadows disappeared into the night, hoping that the emperor could fulfill her request, otherwise she's afraid this city might not be able to hold on much longer.