Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 205: Control

"Rinne..."

Cecilia didn’t move closer. She didn’t try to touch him.

"Rinne, do you want me to leave?"

The bundle didn’t respond for a long moment. The trembling continued. Then, a voice. Littered with subtle sobs, muffled by fabric and shame. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Yes, Mother. You’re... you’re needed at the banquet..."

Cecilia closed her eyes.

The breath she took was strained, a sharp inhale that caught in her throat. She was already worn thin by the evening’s revelations, by Arkai’s frozen face, by the poison words still echoing in her memory. And now—

This boy, who had just heard his world shattered, was thinking of her. Of the banquet. Of duty.

"Alright." Her voice was soft, steady. "Mother will leave you in a moment."

She paused, gathering herself.

"You are such a brave and considerate child. Very smart. Very responsible."

"But I need to make things clear first."

Cecilia reached out slowly, giving him time to pull away, to refuse. Her fingers found the corner of the blanket. She pinched the fabric and lifted it, just a little.

Just enough.

Underneath, in the dim light filtering through the curtains, she found his eyes.

Wet. Red. Wide with a fear that went deeper than childhood nightmares.

"Your father is a good person."

She held his gaze, letting him see her. The woman who had chosen Arkai. The woman who believed in him.

Cecilia knew Rinne knew.

He was such a good child. Always following behind his father’s steps, watching, learning, loving with the fierce devotion of a cub who had found his moon. He didn’t need to be told that Arkai was a great king, he saw it every day.

But he needed to be reminded that Arkai was a great father. That the man who had raised him, protected him, chosen him, was worthy of that devotion.

"I am sure it’s all just a misunderstanding." Cecilia’s voice was gentle, firm. She reached up, pulling her veil back, letting it fall away from her face. She wanted him to see her eyes, the same eyes that had looked at Arkai with love, that now looked at Rinne with the same tenderness.

"We will ask him together later. No one will hide anything from you anymore. You’re big enough to know the truth." She held his gaze. "Agree?"

Rinne stared at her.

For a long, suspended moment, he just looked.

Then, silently, he burst into tears.

The tears of a child who had been holding a weight too heavy for his small shoulders.

"Promise?" The word was barely a whisper from under the blanket.

Cecilia nodded. "Promise."

The sobs grew louder, just a bit. Little by little. The dam was breaking.

"But what if..." His voice hitched, cracked. "What if it’s..."

Cecilia didn’t let him finish.

She slipped into the bed, quick, decisive, her chains whispering against the sheets, and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. Held him tight against her chest, against everything she was.

"It’s not true." Her voice was fierce now, absolute. "I know it’s not. Will you believe me?"

"No." The word was muffled against her dress, but she heard it. Felt it. "If it’s true... then you’ll leave Daddy—you’ll leave... leave me..."

His hands clutched at her, desperate, clinging.

"Mommy, I promise Daddy is a good person! He won’t do that. I promise I’m not Daddy’s real son! I’m just... just adopted!"

The words tumbled out, confused, contradictory, desperate. He didn’t know what he was saying. He only knew that he was afraid, afraid of losing the only family he had ever known.

"Please don’t leave Daddy, please?" The plea rose into a loud cry, raw and unfiltered. "Please?"

"Ssssshhh... baby, no..."

Cecilia couldn’t hold herself anymore. Her own eyes burned, but she forced the tears back. She would cry later. Now, she needed to be here. She carefully wiped Rinne’s tears away, her thumb gentle against his wet cheeks.

Rinne grasped her tighter, his small body shaking against hers. Then, abruptly, he stilled.

"You need to return to the banquet."

Cecilia’s eyes faltered.

"This is an important day for you and Daddy." His voice was steadier now, controlled. "You can’t be with me now. You need to be with him."

He pulled back just enough to look at her. His tears had stopped. His eyes—

His eyes were dark.

Something in Cecilia’s chest clenched.

"You won’t leave him, right?"

The question was not a plea anymore. It was a demand.

Cecilia was speechless.

This boy was looking at her with the same intensity that she had seen in Arkai’s eyes a hundred times. He was exactly, exactly like his father.

"Lord Mother."

Rinne held her gaze. His hand found hers, gripping it with surprising strength.

"Promise me you won’t leave."

A pause. A breath.

"Even if I’m born from Daddy and his sister."

***

Arkai re-entered the banquet hall alone.

The music still played. Still light, celebratory, the same melody that had been floating through the air when he left. The guests still mingled, clusters of conversation dotting the great hall like islands in a sea of silk and fur and polished armor.

Laughter rose and fell in waves. Servants wove through the crowd with trays of food and wine, their movements as practiced and unobtrusive as ever.

Nothing had changed.

And yet everything had.

Arkai paused at the edge of the hall, letting the scene wash over him. The warmth, the light, the easy conviviality of a celebration that had no idea what had just happened in the shadows beyond its walls.

He drew a slow breath, feeling the weight of his own composure settle back into place like a mask he had worn so long it had become a second skin.

Then he moved forward.

"Your Majesty!" A cluster of southern nobles spotted him immediately, their faces brightening. "We were wondering where you had disappeared to!"

Arkai smiled like a host who had briefly stepped away and was delighted to return. "Apologies, everyone. Something came up that required my attention. But it has been resolved. Please, continue enjoying yourselves. The night is still young."

The nobles laughed, accepting the explanation without question. A few made jokes about overeager stewards and the burdens of leadership. Others immediately began angling for introductions, for conversations, for the precious currency of the Wolf King’s attention.

Arkai fielded them all, his responses smooth.

But beneath the surface, beneath the mask, something in him was waiting.

No. Impossible. She wouldn’t. Of course she wouldn’t. It was over. He was over.

But he kept watching the entrance, hoping—

Cecilia reentered the hall.

She moved through the doorway with the same fluid grace she had worn all day, her chains whispering against her skin, her veil catching the light like spun shadow.

Not a hair out of place. Not a single jewel displaced. Her deep red lips curved upward in that same warm, sensual smile, the expression that had captivated the room earlier, that had drawn noblewomen and beast ladies alike into her orbit like moths to flame.

She looked perfect.

She looked untouched.

She looked exactly as she had when she left.

And once again, Arkai froze.

He didn’t know the sky could crumble twice in a day.