Warning: Contains Mature Content [18+].

"What is it?" Ren asked once more, hearing no response from Zayden.

The alpha nearly choked.

"That—" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat before managing to continue. "That’s... uh... not something you wear in public."

Ren frowned, even more lost.

"It looks like a bracelet. I was wondering if it’s an anklet because they look similar..."

"It is a bracelet," Zayden muttered, ears turning an even deeper shade of red. "But it has a purpose of its own." He averted his gaze, his ears practically glowing.

"Tell me."

"Not in front of Eiran," Zayden leaned closer, whispering.

The child looked up and smiled brightly, knowingly.

"There are things adults should discuss in private. After giving this to your fathers, you give them some space," Leon’s words echoed in his mind.

"I will go get some snacks!" With that, the boy dashed out of the room.

"He is quick to catch on," Zayden murmured. He clearly didn’t want to discuss this now.

"So?" Ren pressed, staring at the bracelet. "Are you finally going to end the suspense?"

"It’s... a contraceptive..." Zayden lowered his gaze to the floor, wishing it would open and swallow him whole.

Slowly, realization dawned on Ren, his eyes widening.

"This is... contraception?" he whispered.

Zayden covered his face with one hand.

"I’m surprised you don’t know. It’s not... uncommon," he managed. "But... it seems he told the Queen."

By he, Zayden meant the Imperial Crown Prince—Soren.

However, Ren didn’t pay attention to that. His eyes drifted back to the note, mortified.

[I didn’t want to embarrass you by giving it in person.]

Now it made sense.

Heat crawled up Ren’s neck, reaching the tips of his ears.

Why would the Queen think he needed this?

Did he believe he was reckless? Irresponsible? Or worse, pregnant again because he believes Eiran was Zayden’s—?

But the General’s family knows Eiran was adopted. Right?

Zayden, noticing the panic rising in his lover’s eyes, quickly grabbed his hand.

"It’s not what you think," he blurted. "The Queen probably just—didn’t want you to get pregnant when you didn’t intend to. He prioritizes omegas a lot."

Ren froze.

In Hianshu, contraception existed in theory, but acting upon it was illegal; those who did were punished by the Temple if discovered.

He and Ilyan had never even thought of this whenever they made love, so he had no idea what kind of objects, medicines, or magic were used to prevent an omega from conceiving.

"Oh. But we didn’t have sex yet," Ren said simply as he paced toward the table where a jar and a glass had been placed.

He poured water into the glass and drank it in one go, as if the topic were nothing more than casual conversation. When he turned back, he almost laughed.

Zayden was covering the lower part of his face with his hand, ears burning red. It did little to hide the obvious blush blooming across his cheeks—and the way he avoided Ren’s eyes entirely.

The omega stepped closer, appearing in front of him every time the alpha’s gaze shifted away.

"W-Why are you doing this?" Zayden murmured, his voice barely steady, his trembling hand still covering half of his face.

"Why are you acting so shy? It’s unlike you."

"You speak as if I have—" He paused. He did have experience. But... with Ren, it felt entirely different.

Ren inhaled sharply, fingers tightening as he grabbed Zayden by the arm.

"Let’s do it."

Zayden blinked, stunned. Before he could think or even process the words, Ren had already dragged him out of Eiran’s room, the bracelet and note still clutched in his other hand.

Before he realized, they stood in Ren’s room, the doors closed.

"R-Ren?"

"Yes?" The omega asked, slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

Zayden quickly stopped him, his eyes wide in shock.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Are you not interested in me?"

The question came out suddenly, but the alpha responded without hesitation.

"Of course that isn’t the case!"

"Then why haven’t you tried anything like the other alphas? You make it seem like... I am made of glass. Fragile."

Zayden inhaled before stepping closer, gently brushing his fingertips against Ren’s cheek.

"Are you not?"

Ren frowned, clearly offended.

"Do I look less manly to you?"

"T-That’s not it. I just want us to take some time..." he said, although the bulge in his pants said otherwise.

"And for how long?"

Zayden clenched his jaw, trying his best not to devour the man before him. All these years, the repressed urges began to rise, and despite himself, his pheromones seeped into the room.

Ren closed his eyes, letting the sweet fragrance drift into his nostrils.

"Sweet," he whispered, his cheeks slightly flushed, his own pheromones also spreading.

And that was the limit—the longest he could control himself. The alpha wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist, eyes studying the omega’s face as if he were a piece of art.

If he were ordered to kill for him, he would do it. If he were ordered to stop breathing for him, he would.

Without warning, he pressed his lips against Ren’s, kissing him passionately. The omega returned the kiss, closing his eyes slowly, as if savoring every moment.

Slowly, Ren resumed his earlier motion—unbuttoning his shirt. This time, Zayden didn’t stop him. Instead, he pulled back just enough to place gentle pecks along the omega’s neck, like a beast that had been starved for far too long.

When the white shirt fell to the floor, the alpha looked at Ren’s body—his pale skin, the curve of his neck.

Oh, he has a mole on his shoulder.

Then his gaze drifted lower, tracing the lean muscles, and—

He frowned.

Piercings. On his nipples.

Zayden almost choked on air, loosening his grip around Ren’s waist.

"Y-You have a piercing?.." he asked.

Ren looked at him, then at his nipple, before nodding.

"Is something wrong?"

Zayden swallowed hard. What was he supposed to do?—

He quickly shook his head. There was no way he was going to ruin the moment he had been waiting for all this time by discussing the strange metallic rings on Ren’s nipples.

Right?

And... Where did he even get it?

He could only wonder, slowly lowering his hand on Ren’s already bulging pants.

"Finally," he whispered.

"If you wanted to do it so badly, why did you keep refusing?" Ren asked, gently pulling Zayden closer, wrapping his arms around the alpha’s neck.

***

Eiran returned to his room only to be greeted by a heavy, unsettling silence. He looked around, searching for his fathers, until a figure standing by the window caught his eye.

The man had long hair falling loosely to his waist, his gaze fixed on the windowpane—though it seemed he was looking at something far beyond what lay outside, his forehead resting against the cold glass.

"Yusha?" he called.

The young man jolted, quickly turning.

"Young Lord," Yusha whispered. "Where have you been?" he asked, forcing a smile onto his face. It was almost time for Eiran to have lunch.

"I went to eat."

"Oh... already?" The corner of the servant’s lips dropped.

"Are you sad?" the boy asked, looking up as he tugged on Yusha’s sleeve.

"N-No," the servant stammered, the lie far too obvious.

"You are sad," the boy said, as if confirming a truth even Yusha didn’t dare acknowledge—he wasn’t allowed to be sad.

However, sad about what? That his master had ordered him to do something? And that that something happened to be an abortion?

Yusha lowered his gaze, hiding the tremble in his fingers.

"You shouldn’t worry about me, Young Lord. I am only—"

"A servant," Eiran finished softly. "That’s what you want to say, right?"

Yusha froze.

The child tugged his sleeve again, firmer this time. "But you are also Yusha."

The servant’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Before he could gather a reply, Eiran suddenly brightened, as if remembering something important.

"Come. I will show you something."

He took Yusha’s hand and guided him toward the low table in the corner of the room. A polished wooden chessboard sat there, pieces already arranged.

"I play chess sometimes," Eiran said, sitting down. "I read that it’s good for strategies."

Yusha blinked in surprise.

"Do you play alone? Or with your parents?"

Eiran shook his head, motioning for Yusha to kneel beside him. Then, leaning closer as if sharing a forbidden spell, he whispered,

"I will tell you a secret."

"Oh?" Yusha forced a small smile. "And what might that be?"

Eiran could be unexpectedly cute sometimes. The boy often acted like he was an adult yet, his childish side hadn’t disappeared yet.

"I play chess with the Queen."

Yusha stared, stunned.

"The Queen... plays with you?"

"Mhm." Eiran tapped the rook with a small, confident finger. "Chess is mostly for nobles. But he said I should learn anything I want. So I did."

Yusha’s chest tightened—guilt, sorrow, and affection all twisting together.

"You truly are cherished," he murmured under his breath, though Eiran didn’t seem to hear it.

The boy pushed a pawn forward, then looked up.

"Play with me?"

"Me?" Yusha blinked rapidly. "But I... I don’t know how to—"

"Yusha," Eiran said with the kind of sincerity that made lying impossible, "you don’t have to be a noble to play with me. I will teach you!" He grinned, his smile so bright Yusha lowered his head, surrendering.