The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 212: Loyalty Vs. Filial Piety (3)

T/W: Blood.

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That wasn’t a promise and wasn’t entirely enough to reassure Arren, but at this time, it would do. He knew that no one could predict what would happen, and if his father promised it to him, it was only a false truth that made to calmed him down.

Arren honestly didn’t know what situation was better for him. Arren stared at his father’s back as he got in the car and left the palace. He watched the car leave and sent his father off with his eyes until he couldn’t see the car anymore.

He remained standing there in his position before a familiar embrace engulfed him from behind. He was immediately soaked with warmth as he was buried in the other’s arms. Spade’s chin rested on his right shoulder.

"I’ll make sure Duke Evan will not be in the front lines; don’t worry." Spade’s deep voice sounded beside his ears, calming his uneasy heart somewhat.

He turned his head to the side and glanced at Spade, he lifted his right hand and touched the alpha’s face, caressing his jaw.

"You too, I want you to be safe."

He didn’t know why he was getting worried all of a sudden. Perhaps, after knowing that Duke Merphen who was also always on Spade’s and his father’s side was a member of the organization.

It struck him with the realization that among the people they were interacting with in the capital, there was now a higher chance they were part of their enemies, and it wasn’t safe anymore.

Spade could sense his uneasiness and had a guess of where his worries were coming from. He tightened his hold on Arren. And just like the Duke, he couldn’t promise anything.

All he could do was try his best.

Arren leaned his back on his chest and nestled on them for a while.

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Levin stood at the gate of the palace and looked at it as though he were in a daze. As expected, His Majesty didn’t summon him again. In the past month, he could already feel it, but it became more obvious in the past week.

He was called almost everywhere, but not in the palace. It made him confused for a while, was he still Spade’s Chief Royal Guard or an errand agent for the Black Intel?

His fist clenched and unclenched, his gaze landing on it, and he stopped as he stared at his hand. Levin wasn’t sure of anything, and he didn’t want to make a wild guess.

However, he at least knew something. Spade had finally discovered a truth that he was involved, or at least someone related to him. A bitter smile suddenly appeared on his lips. He just said he didn’t want to make a wild guess, but here he was guessing Spade’s intentions.

A minute later, he lifted his head and looked at the central palace as though his eyes could pierce through it and see Spade. He blinked and took a deep, exhausted sigh.

He turned his head and saw Ace standing before him, waiting for him to say something. Levin gave the other alpha a smile, even if it didn’t reach his eyes. At least he could pretend for a while.

"Ace," he called to his comrade, who was now doing his duties and stood beside Spade.

"Yes, Chief," Ace respectfully responded, his voice firm but holding something within, an emotion no one particularly wanted to address.

Levin went closer, patted Ace’s shoulder, and gave him a firm squeeze. "Make sure to always keep His Majesty safe."

It was because he didn’t know if he could come back to his side again. A situation he never thought about before. While Ace seemed to want to say something, he could only nod.

He left the palace afterward, Levin still had some missions left for him by tomorrow and would only come back again to the palace again after he was done. He was still waiting for that summon from Spade even if it could be the last time.

While he was on the car ride home, Levin thought of so many things. It wasn’t entirely about him being sentimental or nostalgic about things, but his mind couldn’t help but wander around, and eventually, he was caught up in it until he didn’t realize the car had already stopped in front of his childhood home.

Only after he snapped out of it and looked outside did he know they had already arrived. His driver didn’t bother him since he probably thought he was already asleep.

Levin looked outside, where he could see the main entrance of the mansion. His gaze was fixed on it, and he didn’t leave his eyes off the entrance for a while.

It was the same entrance ever since he was young; it wasn’t renovated even once. The ancestral feeling of the Ford Mansion was something to behold in awe, but he didn’t know when exactly he felt suffocated in this house.

Growing up and after Levin chose to be part of the royal guards and not inherit the noble title, he rarely came home anymore. He was always in the palace, or he was staying in the penthouse he bought before.

Of course, Levin admitted that his relationship with his parents slightly deteriorated because of this, and even if they didn’t totally become distant from each other, it had a crack in it that couldn’t be mended by mere words alone.

At first, Levin only wanted to get away from the pressure that his status held. It was cowardly of him, but he didn’t want to be against Spade either. As cousins and childhood friends with only a year of an age difference, Levin had always idolized Spade and wanted to be by his side.

Although he only made a decision on a whim and with the intention of getting out of a mess, Levin truly realized that it was what he wanted to do and where he was supposed to be. It grew on him and became a part of him.

While he stared at their entrance, he was thinking, Why has the house that gave him warmth when he was a child become such an uncomfortable place for him today?

As he said before, Levin wasn’t sure of a lot of things, and he was rarely home, so how could he know what was happening on his parent’s side? However, he knew one thing. Something was wrong with his mother.

He only recently sensed it when he kept coming home more than usual. Levin didn’t know if it only recently occurred, or perhaps way back then when he was busy being a coward and running away with the pressure, or probably way back when he was not perceptive enough to sense these things.

His pace slowed when he now trailed the familiar quiet hallways; it was similar in vibe to the palace, but the silence was way colder. Levin frowned; he didn’t see or come across any of the servants.

Normally, he wouldn’t care about these little details, but he suddenly had an eerie feeling for some inexplicable reason. It was weird that his danger sense was alerted in his own home, where he should be safer than anywhere else.

Levin had already increased his pace and headed to the usual place where his mother stayed in the mansion. Princess Coreen was the epitome of beauty and grace in the empire, back in the day. Even to this day, she was still rather influential in the media.

These days, she rarely goes out and is always cooped up in their home. Levin still knew his mother’s hobby of resting in their garden and painting the flowers. When he visited before, he always went straight ahead into the garden, and his mother would welcome him there with a smile.

But now that he had entered the garden and seen the familiar view of the flowers with a lone table where his mother often sat, Levin wasn’t welcomed by her usual smile.

Levin was frozen in the spot; his eyes constricted, and he focused on his mother, who always comforted him, even if it was getting tough for him. He always admitted that Levin was closer to his mother than his father. Perhaps because he rarely sees him since he is always in their domain and governing it, leaving him and his mother in the capital.

Or was it because of the uncomfortable pressure his father gave him each time they were in the same place? Levin wasn’t sure of it anymore, and his mind had become empty, but the sight before him was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

No, he was already trembling. How did everything get into this situation? Was it also partly his fault because he never tried to come home often and be with his mother? Perhaps, it was.

However, there was no use in blaming himself or the past.

"M-Mom..." Levin couldn’t utter a word but managed to call her with his quivering lips and the fact that he didn’t want to accept what he was seeing.

At his call, Princess Coreen, who was busy admiring her masterpiece, slowly turned her head and finally saw Levin, his son. Suddenly, her smile widened; it seemed too sweet and warm for such a sight.

"Levin, my son, you came home." Princess Coreen spoke and laughed, "Good timing, isn’t my recent masterpiece so wonderful?" She motioned in front of her; the art extremely fascinated her.

Yet in Levin’s eyes, this made him horrified even more. The stench of blood assaulted his nose, just as crimson overshadowed his vision. There, sat in front of Princess Coreen, was... a pile of servant’s corpses, blood pooling on them, soaking the garden in red.

Levin’s eyes heated up, the same way his heart was pierced by countless thorns. He was wrong. There wasn’t only something wrong with his mother. It was even worse... she had become a psychopath.