"No choice?"

"Yeah, you know what she would have done to me if... she didn’t let me get that chance."

Realization dawned slow across her sharp, angular features then, those piercing ice-blue eyes narrowing thoughtful as she pieced it together, her blonde braid slipping forward over one shoulder.

"That’s why you came to me the night before the duel—begging for my knot. You wanted me to flood your system deep, steady your pheromones against her alpha pull so she couldn’t break you that way."

I turned my head away quick on the pillow, cheeks heating under the tight white bandages despite the chill of pain sweat on my skin, staring at the carved wooden bedpost to avoid her gaze. "Yes... I did. Needed every possible edge I could get, even from you."

"You are shameless."

"What? You are shameless too! I am pretty sure that other day with me... was all you."

"I had my own motives."

"Oh, I know that."

"Your Highness... tell me straight—what do you really want from all this fighting, all these risks?" she asked direct, leaning forward now with her elbows on her knees, voice dropping softer than its usual steel edge, searching my bruised face like she might find answers there.

"I don’t even know anymore," I admitted raw, staring down at my bandaged hands splayed helpless on the silk sheets, fingers twitching weak against the linen. "But this world has always been too cruel to people like me—omegas ground down under boots and traditions from the day we’re born."

"Cruel how, exactly? Give me specifics," she prompted gentle but firm, tilting her head slight, silver strands catching the low light from the window.

"Aren’t you cruel to me every single day? Mocking my dreams for omega rights, calling me weak or spoiled behind closed doors, making me feel small when I need support most?" I shot back, voice cracking a little through the pain.

"I... yes, I am," Elaine confessed quiet, her strong shoulders slumping just a fraction under the weight of it, gaze dropping to her clasped hands as a rare flicker of guilt shadowed her face.

"See? That’s the truth of it. If I’d fought Jennife fair and square out there—no tricks, no shadows, no gambits—she would have beaten me easy, left me broken in the sand."

"I am glad that you aren’t overestimating yourself."

"Alphas hold all the raw power biologically, stronger jaws, sharper instincts, unbreakable frames. But fundamentally, deep down, we are equals—omegas deserve real rights, true respect, not invisible chains holding us as breeders and ornaments," I said firm despite the exhaustion, forcing my good eye to meet hers steady through the swelling haze.

"And? You truly believe we are all the same in the end, no matter our designations?" she challenged, curiosity flickering alive in those ice-blue depths now, leaning in a touch closer.

"If your ex-lover—that omega you truly loved with everything—had never cheated on you, betrayed your trust... would you have stood by his side? Would you have supported him?"

"I..."

"Fought for his dreams, defended him in front of the nobles, if he’d been standing in my exact place right now, bleeding and begging for your belief?" I asked point-blank, voice steady as I held her stare.

Elaine said nothing at first, her silence hanging heavy as forged iron between us, gaze dropping slow to the marble floor where shadows pooled dark from the dying candle.

Her jaw worked once, twice, but no words came—just the faint tick of her pulse at her throat.

I managed a sad, small smile through busted lips that split fresh sting. "No one supports me, Elaine—not really. I never expected it from you anyway; our marriage was politics, not passion."

"It was politics. But for you."

"Maybe. I only won that duel because of the conditions I set, the enveloping night shadows hiding my moves, that desperate kiss gambit to trigger her rut—every factor had to stack just right, or I’d be the one unconscious."

"I am..." she started halting, voice trailing off into nothing, hand half-reaching toward mine before pulling back.

"Don’t say sorry—please," I cut in gentle but firm, shaking my head weak on the pillow. "You’re not the one who loves me or truly cares; we both know that. Better if we divorce clean and quick. Find someone you actually want, someone who fits your heart instead of this empty title."

"You want me gone from your life that badly? No lingering ties?" she asked, surprise edging sharp into her tone now, brows knitting as she studied me closer.

"Yes, I want to end it all—for both our sakes," I said steady, holding her stare with what strength I had left. "Can I ask you one last thing? Only if you want to answer, no pressure."

"What do you need to ask me? Speak it plain," she replied, brow furrowing deeper, body tensing like she braced for a blow.

"Why did they force that gag on me before the duel? Was it really just tradition, or did they want me silenced so they could watch me take hit after hit without my voice breaking their cruel fun—begging or commanding to interrupt the show?"

Elaine nodded slow and deliberate, a flicker of real shame crossing her strong features for the first time, lips pressing thin.

"Yes, both. Tradition claims omega voices distract alphas too much—sweet scents and tones disrupting focus mid-fight. But the truth runs darker as they wanted you voiceless, taking every blow uninterrupted, just entertainment for the bloodthirsty crowd."

"I won because of that."

"That’s true."

"Well, they got half-satisfied with their spectacle then," I said wry, a weak chuckle bubbling up hoarse despite my busted lips cracking open anew.

"Half? Why only half?" she echoed, confusion creasing her brow as she leaned in puzzled.

"Because I still won in the end. That’s why," I replied simple and final, letting my good eye drift shut slow as bone-deep exhaustion pulled me under again, the room fading quiet around Elaine’s steady breathing.