The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 232: Changes

Lying in their bed, their bodies entangled, Arren and Spade silently pressed against each other. In times like this, when words were not necessarily needed, by being there and his presence were enough.

They had not yet even changed their clothes and went quietly into the bedroom, as if both had a sluggish feeling and did not have the strength to do anything. The whole room was shrouded in darkness, with only a dim light coming from outside illuminating the room, but it was still too dim, only enough to see each other’s faces vaguely.

A few minutes had passed, or perhaps it was almost an hour; they didn’t really keep track of the time; no one had the mood for that. Spade shifted and moved slightly closer. Arren, who was pillowing in the alpha’s arms, also repositioned himself and scooted closer.

Arren stared at the alpha’s face amidst the darkness, his eyes drooping, and subconsciously, his hand tightened his grip through their interlocked fingers. If he could share the burdens and pains of the alpha, he could.

He had never seen the alpha so distressed like this; it was beyond the fear that he saw whenever something was happening to him, but the kind of distress connected to him bearing all the responsibilities from what happened and was about to happen. It was far heavier, which only Spade, who was in his position, could feel.

As he wasn’t there, Arren didn’t know the full extent of what happened or the damage and casualties that the chaos caused, but it could be easily discerned even if he wasn’t informed by the numbers. Seeing Spade in this state was enough for Arren to be aware of how things escalated far more than they anticipated.

It didn’t take long, and their eyes met; as though they communicated in silence, the two leaned and pressed their heads against each other. They didn’t kiss; it was like they were only breathing each other’s presence, making one another’s presence visible.

"I’m a terrible person," Spade whispered, his eyelids drooping lazily but somehow weak.

He thought he was rational enough to know that war always had casualties and sacrifices, no, he was always aware of it. Didn’t this also explain why he was hesitant at first to go this route, but the leader never gave him any other choice than war?

Spade was a monarch; he was in a position where he needed to weigh choices that might not be the best for everyone but were better. He always had to consider the well-being of most of his people; casualties were unfortunate but inevitable for the sake of the majority.

He really thought he could be sane like that. However, he was indeed a monarch, but he was still a human and not a god that could look through the lives and deaths of people emotionlessly.

Arren’s eyes slightly widened for a moment before his expression changed and he shook his head. He immediately touched and cupped half of Spade’s face, making him open his eyes and look at him.

"You’re not," Arren firmly stated, shaking his head with the corners of his eyes heating up. He hastily added but in a pained but reprimanding tone. "Spade, don’t ever say that again."

Spade didn’t say anything or respond to Arren; he only buried his face again into Arren’s neck. Arren pursed his lips, and swallowed the heavy feeling inside. He didn’t want to cry because if he did. The alpha might comfort him instead when he was the one who needed to be comforted.

"Spade, you only did what you needed to do for the future of the empire." Arren never hated that he was not as good with words as now. He had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t formulate it out loud.

"Arren." After a few moments, the alpha’s voice sounded again, tinged with sleepiness. "I don’t think I already told you this before. I haven’t forgotten about it, and there’s no way that I could."

A part of Arren was confused by Spade’s words and worried about what he was about to say next, but he wanted to listen just like Spade always listened to him.

"Hmm, what is it?" Arren actively responded; he always wanted the alpha to feel his presence and that he was listening.

Spade didn’t say anything immediately; his hand stroked Arren’s waist lazily and brushed his hair gently. Arren could only sigh that in this action, it seemed like the alpha was the one consoling him.

"I dreamed of something," he continued; the word dreamed instantly made Arren’s ears perk up, almost frowning. Just as he thought Spade would elaborate on his dream, he only vaguely added. "I started to understand, and that realization makes me truly guilty."

Spade lifted his head, looked Arren in the eye, and touched his cheek affectionately. Even the darkness couldn’t overshadow the love that those eyes had for the one reflected in his amber pupils.

He traced Arren’s jaw slowly and spoke deeply, "I really can destroy and ruin anything for you." Even my empire, and that Spade knew, he was a terrible person.

The empire’s ruins in his dreams as he was shrouded in flames. They were not symbolic dreams, but something like a premonition or a distant memory.

He destroyed his empire with his own hands and... died with it.

Arren was engulfed in an embrace; his brain had yet to comprehend the meaning behind Spade’s words fully, and he heard him speak softly beside his ears.

"That won’t happen," Spade whispered because if it did, it would only mean he failed to protect Arren again.

The next day, news of what happened last night was all over the news. It immediately sent terror to everyone, not only in the empire but in the whole world. The death count of civilians was as high as fifty, not even mentioning those in critical condition or wounded.

There were also a lot of royal guards and authorities who sacrificed their lives for the safety of the empire. The Ford Domain, being the next battleground, also garnered attention, just like the nobles that were all captured as spies.

Without a doubt, the members of the nobility were having a hard time with the people’s scrutiny and accusations. For some reason, they didn’t disclose yet who was the leader of the organization, or perhaps it was because knowing or not knowing couldn’t really change the situation that much and only higher-level officials knew of it.

They also released a wanted notice for Duke Merphen and all the spies on the list who were with him. For sure, the heat about this incident wouldn’t die down anytime soon and would be ignited even more for the next battle that would come.

And now, only a few months later, after the special memorial of the sacrificed hero from the Moonlight Festival attack, Spade had made an appearance once again to speak about the chaos and give an explanation for his people.

And directly informing them that... The Empire was fully on red alert and in a state of war. This caused an uproar, but no one could deny that chaos had indeed descended upon the world.

That day, Spade was constantly busy. Talking to the victim’s family, attending meetings of the military and officials, giving memorial rites for the fallen royal guards, and scheduling the meeting with the world’s leaders.

Just like that, a week had gone by. The news about what happened a week prior was still on the news and being talked about on the internet. And that week also started the fight against Ford Domain, as Spade mobilized the military to retrieve this land from the hands of the terrorist organization.

"You’ll leave tomorrow?" Arren asked as he pouted. He was talking with Rave, who informed him that he would be leaving and starting his mission under the Black Intel. It could be said that he was already an unofficial member of this department at this point.

Rave put the food on the table and nodded. "I need to move now and do my part to find my father."

Arren couldn’t even refute that. Ever since last week, Rave seemed to come back to his former self, who only looked at the goals and plans he made. Although, he wasn’t that cold to him, and he still played with Arren when the latter got bored, Arren could still feel that something had changed in him again.

He didn’t need to ask, and he had a guess on his own. But he wasn’t insensitive enough to say it out loud. Speaking of that man, Arren sighed. That fellow was also not having a great time on his own. After the Ford Domain became a rebel city, Levin, who was a traitor’s son, was isolated again.

And this was the fact that most of the people only thought his father was a spy; what more if they found out the Marquis was actually the leader? At least no one dared bully him outright because of his position and status as a chief. Not to mention, who would bully a dominant alpha?

Arren could only lower his head and eat silently. He didn’t have any right to become an obstacle to Rave’s goals, and in fact, he supported him so much. But at this point, a realization had dawned on him.

It seemed everyone was moving forward and changing... but him. Arren honestly didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.