"Oh, by the way," Zayden said, taking one step closer. "Do you remember?"

Ren frowned and tilted his head, disoriented.

"Remember what?" He asked, his gaze filled with curiosity. What exactly was he supposed to remember?

Zayden tilted his head backward slightly before straightening himself.

"Well... yesterday. During your heat, something happened."

Ren’s eyes widened.

Was Zayden talking about how his heat stopped?

"...You mean when we had sex?"

Zayden shook his head, clicking his tongue.

"Nope. Not that. Something else."

Ren blinked.

"Then what—?"

Zayden’s voice dropped, steady but low.

"Why were you talking earlier as if revealing your omega identity was dangerous?"

Ren’s muscles stiffened.

"I already know," Zayden continued. "I have known for a while now. So why?"

Ren’s breath caught. His fingers curled around his sleeves.

"Oh—" He searched for his words, panic fluttering all over his body.

The memories of that moment felt hazy. Disconnected. Like pages torn out of a book. He looked up at Zayden, eyes wide, then shook his head slowly.

"I don’t remember."

Zayden’s expression shifted—not triumph, not anger.

Concern.

"That explains a lot. It means you were not totally conscious when you said all that..." he murmured.

Ren took an unsteady step back.

"My Lord... what aren’t you telling me?"

Zayden met his gaze, unwavering.

"Nothing you can handle right now," he said quietly. "And definitely nothing while your heat is starting again."

Ren’s breath trembled.

"...Then stay with me. Just like yesterday," he whispered before he could stop himself.

Zayden didn’t hesitate this time. He stepped closer.

"No need to tell me twice. I was planning to," he grinned, pressing a soft kiss on the omega’s forehead.

Swiftly wrapping an arm around Ren’s back, Zayden lifted him before throwing him over his shoulder.

"What am I? A large bag of rice flour?" Ren grumbled, puffing his cheeks into a pout.

Zayden chuckled, pressing his lips against his lover’s arm.

"Of course not. You are my most beloved person, Ren. But right now, your pheromones are spreading fast."

The alpha paced rapidly to his bedchambers. Once he entered the room, he dismissed the servants present, including Maria and Paul.

The couple froze for a moment, shocked. Ren hadn’t told anyone about the change in his relationship with Zayden.

Although the alpha kept trying to stop him from working, Ren always found ways to behave just like a normal servant, causing no one to suspect anything—unless they saw Zayden and Ren together, because the love in their eyes simply couldn’t be hidden.

"What are you waiting for?" Zayden demanded, his voice sharp.

"N-Nothing!" Maria said, rushing outside, dragging Paul with her by the hand.

The door shut behind them, leaving the two men together.

"What was that?!" They glanced at each other, eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost.

"I-I didn’t know Ren and the General were..." Paul murmured to himself.

"Shh! We will talk to Ren about it later. For now, we should get going," Maria explained to her husband before they both rushed to exit the hallways.

*** 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Soren stood by the window of his study, looking at the small snowflakes drifting in the air.

Sometimes, he wished he were one. A kind little thing that would melt away simply by brushing against anything warm. At least then, he wouldn’t need to think about every single step he took.

The door swung open, but the man hadn’t realized—too lost in thought.

Suddenly, he noticed a figure on the window pane. The silhouette stood behind him, hiding his face. However, Soren was the first to draw his sword. Immediately, the Imperial Crown Prince turned, halting the blade with a magic barrier.

His eyes widened once he found Captain Oliver standing behind him.

"What is the meaning of this, Oliver?!" Soren demanded, glaring at the man.

The man dropped his sword on the floor before dropping to his knees, his head lowered as he bowed to the Crown Prince just like a knight would to his master.

"My apologies, Your Imperial Highness. I did not mean you any harm. However, you were in such a daze, I was concerned about whether you were alright. The only way to verify it was to pretend to attack you. After all, I have defeated you in a spar for the first time in my life."

Soren sighed, lowering himself into his chair. He leaned his head back, exhaling sharply.

"You should believe in yourself more. After training all those years, you ought to be able to suppress me."

Oliver’s head shot upward along with his gaze.

"Yes, but today... you seemed distracted. Is someone bothering you? I will bring you their head—"

Soren burst into laughter as if he had heard a joke.

Oliver blinked, looking at him, perplexed.

"Your Imperial Highness...?"

"Ah—I didn’t mean to laugh like that," Soren coughed, clearing his throat while straightening his posture.

The captain lowered his head.

"You deserve to smile as much as you want... You don’t need to be so cautious around me. I am merely a servant of yours."

"You truly degrade yourself a lot, Oliver."

"You know who I truly am, yet..." Oliver bit his lips, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Shh. Even the palace walls have ears. Father will never tolerate this."

The man looked up at Soren before nodding.

"I apologize. I will make sure to never mention it again," he smiled faintly.

"Why are you still on the ground? Get up, take a seat, and tell me what brings you here."

Oliver did as the Crown Prince instructed.

Once he was seated across from the young man, he couldn’t help but stare at the desk, filled with paperwork Soren had yet to finish.

"I wanted to ask you if you were mad at me."

Soren narrowed his gaze, trying to understand.

"Pardon?"

"I mean... I defeated you in front of everyone—even the prince from Danshin was present."

"And why do you think that?" Soren raised an eyebrow, his fingers intertwined.

"I mean... I humiliated you. I shouldn’t have won and made the knights distrust your strength..."

Soren sighed, shaking his head.

"Seriously?"