The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 278: Arren And Spade (10)

Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was only the two of them that Arren had gained the courage to talk back. If his father were here, Arren would definitely think of his presence and keep silent while cursing Spade’s shamelessness in his mind.

At first, Spade seemed to also be taken aback by Arren’s reactions and demeanor, but his eyes still inexplicably flickered. It was unknown whether it was amusement or another kind of emotion.

"Mm." Spade nodded, a soft smile gracing his lips. "I invited myself," he continued, garnering Arren’s dumbfounded expression yet again.

Looking at the emperor, who said that he invited himself without batting an eyelid, Arren never thought to see this shameless side of him. Seriously, this wasn’t the emperor he knew!

Arren cleared his throat and composed himself; he didn’t want to get swayed by mere words from him.

"Am I still rude if I don’t want to attend a guest that invited himself?"

Spade shrugged, rather casually. "Technically, yes. You are."

Just as he thought that Spade’s shamelessness had a limit, here he was about to confuse Arren. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Your Majesty... I’ll call my father so he can attend to you." He thought that this conversation would be going nowhere as they were only going in circles.

He intended for his father to take over since the emperor must have visited the mansion for him. However, to his surprise, his conjecture was not the reality at all.

"I’m not here for the Duke," Spade revealed, his face now slightly serious as he stared at Arren.

Arren’s heart quickened, a realization dawning on him, but his mouth still opened to ask the question.

"You came here for... what?" He meant to say who, but Arren didn’t really want to hope for too much. His teenage years were already spent with that hope, and he was quite tired of being proven wrong each time.

The emperor paused for a few seconds, but as he was about to answer, Arren stopped him.

"No, you don’t have to answer. Uh..." The echoes of Arren’s heart were incredibly loud; he was beginning to get anxious that Spade might hear it. That he would be exposing himself, that even until now, he was still... so into him.

Arren trailed off; he was suddenly a coward. It was as if all the courage he had had been already spent from that minute of conversation they had.

"It doesn’t matter to me. Your Majesty... I hope for a pleasant afternoon." He bowed, and without looking at his expression, Arren, as though defeated, climbed upstairs and never looked back.

He hoped it would be the last time. Of course, a part of him also wanted to know the reason Spade was doing this all of a sudden. He was out of Arren’s life for about a year, and then he was suddenly playing with his heart again.

Arren couldn’t understand. The emperor’s actions were too difficult for him to comprehend.

And it seemed that part of him who still wanted to see the emperor won. Only a week later, as if with a definite schedule, Spade had returned to the Katz Mansion.

Arren was quite dumbfounded the first few times, but as every other week Spade would visit the mansion, he had already gone numb to be shocked about it.

It was to the point that even the servants and his father had become accustomed to Spade’s presence in the mansion. Arren was the only one who kept his distance; he often saw him in the living room or stumble in the hallways. Even when he was going out, Spade was there.

He never stopped Arren or talked to him again; he was only there, looking at him.

If Arren was to tell anyone about it, they would surely laugh at him. Just how was the emperor visiting his mansion to savor some fucking tea? And that was it. He would be leaving again and then returning with the same routine all over again for weeks.

And then, a week before Arren’s 20th birthday, Arren couldn’t hold himself back and raised the question that had bugged him for a while.

Arren knew it was also in his father’s mind, but unlike his father, who was devoted to his loyalty and position, Arren was more vocal. Aside from that, he was aware that Spade kept visiting their mansion for him. He wasn’t naive; he just didn’t want to admit it to himself.

As usual, his father wasn’t home and had business outside. For sure, he was in the palace doing some work. Ironically, someone who should have been in the palace was in their mansion instead.

"Don’t you have any work, Your Majesty?" Arren sat in the living room, on the same couch Spade was sitting on, but he was on the other end.

His implication was this: Are you jobless? If not, how could you afford to be here all the time?

Arren was beginning to get confused about whether this place was already an extension of the palace, as the emperor was always here.

Spade, who was leaning his back on the couch casually, turned his face to Arren. Their eyes met for a moment before Arren averted his eyes.

Damn, he was so close. Arren was beginning to regret starting the conversation himself.

"I have," Spade replied, his tone giving a sense of relief. It was short, but his glance was warm and even hot.

Arren held his urge to fan himself and shot a brow.

"Then why are you always here?" Arren was a bit tired of giving attitude, and for once his tone was calm, opening himself for a genuine conversation. He was also curious about this; Spade was so persistent, and he always visited the mansion.

At first, it was once a week, then it progressed to every other day; sometimes he was also there both days on weekends.

Spade’s warm gaze lingered on Arren; his eyes seemed to speak endless words, but he was unable to let them out.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Instead of answering Arren, the alpha asked something else.

Arren was already being affected by Spade’s expressive eyes, and this question only overwhelmed him with emotions. He knew that this conversation was going into something that was not simple.

He didn’t answer for a moment, swallowing his anxiety. Arren pondered what he should say. Saying he was uncomfortable, Arren knew he wasn’t. But he was not entirely comfortable with his presence either.

Arren was truly conflicted inside, but one emotion held an advantage over the other. It seemed the atmosphere also affected him; he chose to be honest.

Shaking his head, Arren made eye contact with Spade.

"I’m not. I’m not uncomfortable."

As soon as he finished, Spade’s eyes visibly widened at this answer, but then Arren added.

"But I still want to know..." Arren didn’t leave his eyes off Spade. He wanted to know.

Actually, he never wanted to assume and then hope again. This time, even if his heart was beating so hard, Arren wanted to hear directly from him the reason.

"Why are you doing this?" Arren dropped the respectful act; they both knew that the relationship between a monarch and his subject couldn’t apply to them at this moment.

Spade’s eyes drooped slightly, and his lips pursed into a thin line. And then gradually he exhaled and looked directly into Arren’s eyes intently.

"I can’t hold on. I messed up, and now I’m here..."