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***fixing the files, do not open the priv****

Silas knew that being born as an omega meant his life wouldn't have many choices—unless you came from a privileged family, where your trait didn't matter and you could live comfortably. When a baron adopted him, Silas saw a glimmer of hope and vowed to repay the man he called father.

However, though it was better than life in the orphanage, Silas knew he would never truly belong to the family. He was groomed to obey, and his adoptive father planned to use him to expand connections with noble families. As he grew older, his father repeatedly offered him in marriage to the son of a grand duke, an alpha, only to be rejected every single time.

Eventually, just before the grand duke's son left for military service, his father received an answer: the grand duke's son agreed to the connection—but only on the condition that Silas would be a consort.

It wasn't uncommon for alphas to have multiple consorts, though it wasn't what Silas desired. Still, as an omega, this was the only way he could repay the baron's kindness.

*

Silas remembered what Alric was like back when they were at the academy. Cold, quiet, and someone who despised omegas. He knew what kind of fate awaited him and gave up on the kind of love he often read about in books. After all, real life wasn't the same as the fantasies penned by writers. Instead, Silas decided to prepare himself for decorating the "cage" he would live in—a life filled with the constant refrain of "at least, at least, at least."

He would get used to it. He had to.

But something felt different. Why was Alric treating him so differently now compared to the way he had back in school? Alric's eyes were filled with a tenderness and sorrow that Silas couldn't understand. It was the kind of look that made Silas want to hold him close.

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It had been a few days since he'd started staying here, and perhaps because Alric was so busy—given that after a war there were always so many things that needed to be settled—it was understandable that he hadn't come back to the house. In fact, if he never returned here at all, it wouldn't have surprised Silas. But every day, exactly at midnight, Silas could hear footsteps approaching, stopping abruptly in front of his room, and the door would creak open just enough for light from the hallway to spill into the room. Silas had a habit of turning off the lights when he slept, and though he wasn't someone who fell asleep quickly, he found Alric's behavior a little odd. He waited for Alric to call his name or say something, wondering if there was something he wanted to say, but nothing ever came.


Chapter 25 - 24