Help! I Became A Guy In A BL Novel!-Chapter 326: A Shift

She simply stared at him with those dull, lifeless eyes. Did she feel regret? Maybe she realised that she was too harsh. Maybe she realised that she took her anger out on the wrong person. Maybe she realised that she treated her own flesh and blood like trash, that she personally pushed him into hell.

And maybe she realised that... She had nothing in her life except for him.

Either way, too little too late.

Soren remained quiet after saying his piece.

He didn’t move.

Not when her breathing hitched.

Not when tears started to stream down her face.

Not even when her body fell still, eyes open and staring blankly toward the ceiling.

Only then, long after silence swallowed the room, did Soren finally speak.

"I don’t forgive you."

His voice was soft. Not angry. Not even bitter. Just... Tired.

He stood, adjusting the collar of his coat, and walked toward the door without looking back.

Outside, the hallway was empty.

He thought he was over it. She did not affect him anymore.

But that night, he dreamed of a little boy, crying alone in a broken-down house. And this time, he didn’t turn away.

He knelt beside that boy and stayed there, quietly holding his hand until the tears stopped.

---

The sun had already begun to set by the time Soren reached the front steps of his home, casting long shadows that stretched toward the snow-laced trees. The cold mountain air didn’t bite the way it usually did. It felt still, almost quiet, as if the world itself was offering him a moment of peace after everything.

The moment he stepped through the gate and saw the flicker of warm light glowing through the windows, a weight lifted from his chest. The mansion was peaceful. No guards on alert. No sounds of scuffling. No scent of blood. Just... Calm.

He was safe.

More importantly, Riven was safe.

His heart, still clenched from hours of turmoil, loosened slightly.

He opened the door and stepped inside. The warmth of the fireplace hit him immediately, wrapping around his tense muscles like a gentle embrace. For a moment, he just stood there in the doorway, eyes taking in the sight of his home. The walls, the scent of pine and spice, the fur rug that Riven always insisted was too itchy for his feet—

"Soren!"

That voice.

Riven sat on the living room couch, his tail swishing excitedly, ears perked up the moment he caught the scent of him. He had a half-eaten snack in his hand and a book on his lap, both forgotten as he jumped to his feet.

"You’re home!"

He ran across the room and launched into his arms without hesitation. Soren barely had time to react before the warmth of Riven’s body pressed against his. His arms went instinctively around him, holding him close. Riven’s scent filled his nose—wildflowers, winter air, and a little like his musk. Familiar.

And for the first time that day, Soren smiled.

Not a guarded, polite smile.

Not a forced one for the sake of appearance.

But a genuine, bright smile that reached his tired eyes.

Riven looked up at him, ears twitching as if trying to catch every detail of his face. "You look exhausted," he said softly, one hand reaching up to brush Soren’s hair back from his forehead. "Was it... Bad?"

Soren didn’t answer right away. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Riven’s, eyes closing. "It’s over," he whispered.

Riven didn’t press further. He didn’t need to. He could feel it in the way Soren clung to him, not out of desperation, but relief. His presence, his warmth, was anchoring Soren back from the bleak place his mind had wandered to.

"Want me to run you a bath?" Riven asked, swaying them gently from side to side.

Soren huffed a tired laugh. "Will you join me?"

"Then maybe I don’t need you, you sound strong enough." Riven joked.

Soren chuckled quietly and looked down at him, one hand cupping Riven’s cheek. "I am glad you are here."

Riven’s cheeks flushed slightly, and his tail wagged. "I missed you, too, though it has been only a few hours. I was... Kinda worried. You disappeared without saying much."

"I had to go," Soren replied, voice tight for a moment, but he didn’t elaborate. Riven didn’t push. Instead, he leaned up and kissed Soren’s cheek.

"Welcome home."

There was a pause. A softness settled between them.

But then—Riven remembered.

Oh no.

Leon.

Riven swallowed thickly. He had planned it all—make Soren happy, remind him how much he loved him, soften him up with affection, and then drop the bomb that Leon was going to stay here for a while.

And right now? Soren was so soft.

So very soft.

Riven took a deep breath, still clinging to him. "Sooo... I have something to tell you."

"Hm?" Soren raised an eyebrow, his hand stroking the back of Riven’s head absentmindedly.

"Promise you won’t be mad?"

"...That depends."

Riven gave an exaggerated groan and pulled back just slightly. "Okay, listen—Leon is staying here. Just for a little while! I couldn’t let him sleep in a cave. He was already in a sorry state, his mother kicked him out! And he has enemies everywhere! So-"

Soren blinked. "Leon?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Yes..."

"In this house?"

"Yes!" Riven winced. "But just for a few days, really. And I put him in the guest room all the way at the other end of the hall so you don’t have to see his smug face or hear his... Leon-ness."

Soren stared.

Riven held his breath.

And then—

Riven smiled sheepishly, tail curling slightly behind him as he stood in front of Soren. He rubbed the back of his neck, nervous but hopeful. "I invited Leon over. He’s going to stay with us in our house for a bit," he said, testing the waters.

Soren’s ears caught his words. Not your house, but our house. A single word, but it lingered. It wrapped around his heart like a warm thread, pulling at something he hadn’t dared acknowledge. Our house. Not just a place Riven stayed in. Not temporary. Riven considered it his home.

This was... Not the first time he used that word, still, it felt good every time.

Soren didn’t reply immediately. That one word had momentarily disarmed him, though his face remained unreadable. The dark thoughts from earlier still clung to the edges of his mind, but Riven, with his untamed smile, eager energy, and soft warmth, always managed to cut through them. His tail wagged a little slower now, unsure if the silence meant disapproval.

But Soren had changed. He’d decided he would not be like her. He would not treat people like tools to vent pain or power over. Not Riven.

Still, the mention of Leon settled uncomfortably in his chest.

His face remained calm, lips curling faintly. "So... He is our guest, then?"

Riven nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just for a few days. He’s not in good shape."

Soren stepped forward, his tone smooth, light almost. "Well, we can’t let the former King of the Lions rot, can we?" He tilted his head, the corners of his lips rising. "Let me show him to a special room."

Riven blinked in surprise. This was... Easier than he expected. He had rehearsed arguments, prepared defences, why Leon needed a place to stay, and how it wouldn’t interfere with their life. But Soren wasn’t fighting him on it. He wasn’t being cold or territorial. There was even something polite, eerily polite, about his tone.

"That’s... Really okay?" Riven asked, cautious now.

Soren shrugged off his coat and handed it to one of the staff. "Of course."

And strangely, that was true. Soren would let the man stay if it kept Riven at ease.

But that didn’t mean he liked it.

Because he remembered Leon’s eyes, remembered the way the man looked at Riven, like he knew him. Like there was something shared between them. That silent tension during the last meeting, a flicker of familiarity that had unsettled Soren far more than he admitted. And Riven... Denied it. He gave the backstory, the reasons, the excuses, but he... He did not believe it. Soren didn’t want to dig then, but now?

He would watch.

Riven exhaled in relief, stepping close again and looping his arms around Soren’s. "Thank you," he said, leaning his head against his shoulder. "I was worried you’d be upset."

"I am upset," Soren said softly, though he let Riven stay close. "But not at you."

"At Leon?"

"At everything he stands for," Soren admitted. "His arrogance... With nothing to back it up... No, I am mad at him."

Riven tilted his head up to meet Soren’s eyes. "You two never got along, huh?" Both were possessive, a little egoistic, and territorial. Of course, they did not get along.

He simply smiled and leaned up, brushing his nose against Soren’s cheek, a gentle affection that soothed the storm brewing behind those cold, calculating eyes. "Let’s take him to the new room," Soren said.

One look at the room, and Riven said, "Wait- Are you serious?"