The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 271: Arren and Spade (3)

Arren didn’t speak for a long time. He seemed to have been lost in his thoughts, or the idea of another rejection from the emperor affected him too much.

The emperor also didn’t say anything, and yet he wasn’t looking at Arren but at the table.

He wanted to ask, then, were you guilty? Why? There were a lot of whys, but it was better to keep silent. Otherwise, his feelings and grievances would pour out, and he might regret it someday.

Arren bit his lips and bowed. He swallowed with difficulty and barely said another word. Arren didn’t quite remember what he said; perhaps he said goodbye. Or there was also something else.

He was too out of it, and he found himself in the car on the way to the mansion. Looking at the outside, his vision blurred, and Arren silently sobbed.

This heartbreak... was much more painful than before.

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Spade, the emperor, remained in his seat. He seemed to be lost in thoughts as he looked at the seat opposite him, where Arren was sitting only a few minutes earlier.

His expression was calm, as though nothing could make waves at him. The heavy silence was then shattered by the sound of footsteps.

"Your Majesty... Arren already left the palace." The voice of someone so close to him sounded. It was Levin, his cousin, and the Chief Guard.

Spade merely nodded and didn’t say a word.

Levin looked at Spade, the emperor he served, and a faint hesitation appeared in his eyes. In the end, he couldn’t control his curiosity, so he asked.

"Uh, is Arren not feeling well, Your Majesty? " Levin stared at the emperor to gauge his reaction; the heavy atmosphere descended, confirming his guess that something had happened.

When Levin met Arren earlier to see him off, Arren greeted and talked to him respectfully, which was unusual in itself. There was no sarcasm or anything, but he appeared to be walking absentmindedly. Levin doubted Arren’s ability to see who he was talking to.

Spade stared at the seat for a moment and closed his eyes.

"He will be fine," he answered. His tone was still cold and indifferent, yet his demeanor seemed to hold far more.

Levin, once they were alone, spoke with familiarity behind the respectful words.

"Your Majesty...can I ask you something?"

What happened between them was already obvious. As someone who was also there with them for years and had seen how Arren and the Emperor became closer, Levin was certain it was yet another confession and rejection.

Spade had already opened his eyes; his deep gaze then landed on Levin. The pressure in the air that he exuded then concentrated on Levin, making the latter sweat.

However, he remained determined and didn’t waver. This further strengthened his resolve to know, and the emperor’s emotions were clearly also disturbed.

Arren wasn’t the only one who had seen it. Levin saw far more than him; the changes to the emperor were real and not an illusion.

"What is it?" Spade calmly replied, and the pressure from his pheromones slightly eased. His gaze was deep and heavy, making him far more intimidating than he usually was.

But for some reason, it gave the impression that it was merely a front he erected upon himself.

Levin gulped and gritted his teeth to blurt out the question.

"Why... Your Majesty doesn’t want to accept Arren’s feelings?"He paused, and confusion was written on his face. "Is it really because of the age gap?"

To a certain extent, the age gap between Arren and Spade was indeed significant. However, for nobles, where age was just a number, especially for a future empress, it was an issue but not considered a hopeless problem.

Although Spade had anticipated it, his eyes still flickered with emotion and he shifted his gaze from Levin to his front, the place where Arren was always sitting.

His heavy gaze softened slightly. It was as if he could still see Arren there, smiling sheepishly at him and talking about anything that happened in his life.

However, his eyelids drooped as he averted his gaze again, as if guilty. He recalled just how the younger had left; his expression carried his obvious pain. Spade had to admit that he was affected.

It had been a while since he discovered the changes within himself. Falling in love was a far-off concept for him. Spade had no intention to plunge someone into his world and suffer just by being involved with him.

Spade then nodded. He spoke in a calm and lowered voice as if only whispering to himself.

"Arren is young." It was not a finished answer, and so Levin quietly listened.

Both of them seemed to forget or ignore one important reason why a person wouldn’t accept someone’s feelings, which was that they simply didn’t like the other person. They acknowledge that, at some point, Spade also liked Arren. Not because he was a kid, a younger brother, or a future cornerstone of the empire. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Spade... likes Arren. He did. However, it was simply not the right time. Spade took a step back; he wasn’t so cruel as to taint a young man for his own desire.

And he wasn’t so cruel to burden Arren with the weight of the title this early.

"I want him to experience more things outside of being with me. Arren... deserves to explore the world and discover more things. Levin, I don’t want him to be caged by anything, including my status," Spade revealed in utmost sincerity.

Arren was truly young, and at his age, he should be going out with his friend and exploring himself. There were things that were bound to change if they became together and Spade chose to be selfish.

What he said was the truth. The Royal Family game wasn’t a joke, and being his lover was even more so. There was considerable pressure from everyone, not only from the public but also from the ambitious nobles who wanted that title associated with themselves.

Spade was a new emperor, but he still had to stabilize his position and make his hold on it firmer than the previous emperor. There were things he should do but couldn’t.

Spade loved to see Arren’s carefree smile and hear him genuinely laugh or talk about normal things, but he made them extremely interesting. In the years that they have known each other, not even Spade anticipated this outcome.

He was not ready for his smile to slowly fade from the growing pressure of others. Spade had seen this case too many times in history. At some point, even his Royal Mother had experienced it.

"Your Majesty, are you not afraid that Arren... might like someone else?" Once he said that, Levin bit his tongue and scolded himself. He was so into it that he couldn’t think anymore when he asked.

Spade seemed to not mind. He held his hand on his lap and fiddled with it as he smiled, yet it didn’t reach his eyes.

"It only meant... he grew up."

Growing up could also mean moving on from him. Spade’s chest tightened at the thought, but he accepted that sometimes things wouldn’t go his way.

"Then... if Arren doesn’t have anyone yet when he grows up?"

This question rang a few times in Spade’s ears. His eyes looked up and smiled, and at the same time, his eyes flickered with light.

"When that time came... I’ll be the one to pursue him."