The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 280: Arren and Spade (12)

The weight of Spade’s words and tone fell heavily on Arren. His gaze, which carried a thousand words, was shortened to those few words, but it still couldn’t convey what he truly wanted to say.

At that moment, Arren thought that he could finally understand him slightly. The emperor was someone above all others in the empire, but ultimately, he was a human, after all.

He could make mistakes. He would get confused too. Spade was not perfect. That Arren realized at that point.

Of course, he already knew that, but it was inevitable that if you liked someone, you couldn’t help but put that person on a pedestal. Arren had been admiring and loving Spade for so long. Spade was his first love.

"I don’t want to say any reasons that will come out as excuses," Spade continued. A stiff smile then appeared on his lips. "I also won’t ask for anything else at the moment. Arren, I just hope to see you."

Arren swallowed and averted his eyes. Truthfully, these words made his ears hot, and his heart was being tickled, especially as he heard the last sentence.

He didn’t know; it just felt surreal overall. Actually, Arren had been dreaming this, for something like this to happen, for Spade to pursue him over the past year. And now that it was finally happening, he suddenly became overwhelmed.

"Do you even need my permission?"

Even if he was already getting affected inside, Arren still didn’t want to give in that easily. His tone sounded annoyed, but he only appeared to be wanting to get coaxed.

"Aren’t you always visiting me already?" Arren lifted his gaze and made eye contact with Spade again. His brow quirked up in a taunting manner.

Spade blinked for a moment, observing Arren with his deep gaze. The omega appeared to be taunting him, but there was something different.

In fact, this situation they were in was actually different from their past conversations. It wasn’t only the tone of voice, but their demeanor and atmosphere.

He licked his lips and held back the smile that was about to appear on his lips. Spade didn’t want to push this earlier on; what he did, even if he had his own reason, still made the omega get hurt.

As Spade said, he wouldn’t make any excuses, and he was never that expressive with his words.

"I know..." He spoke gently, softer than he had ever been, as he stared intently at Arren, who was also doing the same thing. "This time, I want to ask for permission. Arren... Can you let me visit you again next time?"

Hearing this, Arren fell into a moment of daze. He processed Spade’s words and felt the way his heart was beating so hard in his chest. Spade’s words weren’t explicit, but they still conveyed a meaning that both of them could understand.

Arren took a deep breath and leaned on the couch. He looked lazy but extremely alluring in the eyes of others. He didn’t know why, but he had these thoughts that were somehow unnecessary, yet he couldn’t help but do it anyway.

He knew his charms; how could he not? It wasn’t like Arren didn’t have suitors. It was only that he was busy trying to get over someone; in reality, he was waiting for the other.

Sure enough, Spade’s gaze grew deeper, but he maintained his expression, waiting for an answer. That second of change didn’t escape Arren’s notice, though.

Deep inside, he was already laughing as he confirmed something.

"If you want to," Arren answered as though replicating just how the alpha answered him in the past.

At this answer, the two fell silent and only stared at each other. Almost a minute later, the two averted their eyes simultaneously; they didn’t know, but a stifling sensation grew in their hearts.

It was a kind of feeling that, sooner or later, wouldn’t be suppressed any longer.

That night, Arren felt as though he had finally gone crazy for real. He felt too conflicted inside, but his overwhelming feelings for the emperor persisted.

Arren knew he could never escape from this. And he didn’t have the intention to do so. Was he dumb enough to go back to what he used to be? Perhaps. However, he has always been carefree in the way he does things.

The process didn’t matter; Arren didn’t care for anything else, the result was what was important to him. If this could make him happy, why would he make it harder for himself?

There weren’t any confessions. Their conversation appeared normal, and Spade didn’t express anything beyond what could be deemed normal. They also didn’t talk about the past year.

And yet, the silent gazes and ambiguous atmosphere lingered until the end.

Then, of course, as Spade continued to visit the mansion, Arren began to get annoyed. He was still the same! Okay, there was nothing wrong with it, but when he thought that they suddenly returned to how they treated each other in the past, Arren was dissatisfied.

He wanted... a more intimate feeling? Well, not that he wanted skinship or anything else, but Arren felt as though he was back from that youth who was talking to someone he admired and not a potential partner.

"What is it?" Spade asked, his gaze shifting to Arren from the papers he was holding.

It wasn’t that nothing really changed; Spade suddenly began to read and sign documents in the mansion. It was weird that he really made the living room his temporary office when he was visiting.

Arren was still frowning, and even more so when he was asked. He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue before standing up.

"Nothing! I’m going to write my papers too." Arren, without looking back, went upstairs to his room.

Gah, so annoying.

He was suddenly irritated for some reason, and Spade was not helping it by being clueless. He even refused Ramon earlier to hang out so he could get home early, but Spade was only working!

This went on until the day before his 20th birthday. Arren had already stopped holding a big party for his birthday last year, but he did celebrate it with his father.

This year, Arren also didn’t have the intention to hold a party. His friends were asking him to hang out, but he refused them all. He thought there was something, as he was waiting for someone.

And he was excited too! However, Spade was still doing the same thing when he went home that afternoon. His father was also in the mansion, so he didn’t immediately go to Spade.

He threw subtle glares at Spade, though. The alpha noticed it, but he only looked at him with confusion again.

If not for his father’s presence, Arren would immediately declare with his gritted teeth, "This is not your office, Your Majesty."

Still, Arren sat in the living room and greeted Spade ’naturally’ before shifting to his father.

"Dad, tomorrow is my birthday." Arren purposely made his voice louder, letting Spade hear him loud and clear.

The Duke, who was becoming more silent than usual, was woken up by this, and he looked at Arren while nodding his head.

"It is indeed so, son."

"Will we celebrate it again like last year? What about my gift?" Arren glanced at Spade, wanting to see his expression, but the alpha was still focused on what he was doing.

He slightly furrowed his brows, but thinking his father was there, Arren composed his expression.

The Duke also appeared distracted but still answered Arren. "Of course, we can celebrate it the way you want, son. For the gift, I’ll give it to you tomorrow."

Of course, Arren was really saying these words not because he wanted them but because he wanted to remind Spade.

Arren was about to say something else when his father nudged him and shook his head.

"What?" he whispered, puzzled.

"His Majesty is busy, can you see?" His father widened his eyes slightly, as though giving Arren a warning.

Arren looked at Spade. Obviously, he was busy!

Hell, you’re busy, then why are you here? You can do that in the palace!

Since he was annoyed, Arren criticized Spade inwardly.

But he also fell silent, as when he looked at Spade’s face, Arren noticed his tired eyes. Looking even more closely, the alpha did appear; he wasn’t getting decent sleep.

Slowly, his annoyance faded, but he was still confused. Arren wasn’t demanding, and technically, Spade didn’t have any obligations to him yet, so not visiting him for a day was no big deal.

Why did Spade keep coming here and even doing his paperwork in the mansion? Arren couldn’t come up with a more reasonable answer to this question.

That was until Spade told him directly the day after Arren’s 20th birthday.