The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 269: Arren And Spade (1)

The source of the rumor was not known, but as it happened in a lot of people’s eyes, the source was not important. There was a hot topic now on the nobles’ tables: a rumor about the only son of Duke Katz and the Royal Chief Guard, Levin Ford.

It started when they were seen leaving the banquet venue for the last annual banquet, and soon some evidence also surfaced, as they were also seen in the palace together a lot of times.

This rumor had been circulating since the day of the annual banquet, and Arren had not heard it because he spent his vacation out of the capital. Not only that, he wasn’t in the mood to ask for the latest gossip among the nobles.

Only after someone had asked him about it did Arren’s mind seem to explode with how shocked he was. Who would have thought that he would be rumored to be together with Levin?

In noble circles, arranged marriages were never a rare thing. In fact, for some nobles, marriages were a way to strengthen connections, and it wasn’t uncommon to see someone not their age already have a fiancee. Age didn’t matter that much, even in modern noble society.

So, almost no one cares about the age gap between Arren and Levin and only focuses on the implications if ever they do become together, in other words, the connections between their noble houses.

Arren was still shivering whenever he recalled the rumor about himself and Levin that, when he got home, he texted the alpha, which was truly rare. Since he got his number for appearance’s sake, Arren had never thought about it again. If not for the situation, he might have already forgotten he had Levin’s number.

Do you know about the rumor?

Arren typed this, but he thought maybe it was a little rude, so he changed it. After all, the other was still someone with a higher status than him and was older as well.

Hello, Chief Levin. Can I ask you?

After sending that, he sent his main question.

Do you know about the rumor?

Arren nodded his head, satisfied with his approach, and leaned in his seat, waiting for others to reply to his message. In front of his study table were his laptop and a few notes, but he couldn’t concentrate as his attention was focused on his phone.

A few minutes had passed, and Levin had yet to respond. Arren assumed the other was busy, and he tried to focus on his homework while waiting. Not long after, Arren’s phone rang.

Picking up his phone, Arren stared at his screen. He never thought Levin would call him. Without making the other wait, he answered the call and put the phone beside his ear.

Arren was about to open his mouth to greet when the one on the other side of the line beat him to it.

[Hello? Is this really Young Master Arren? Please, give a signal if you are held at gunpoint.]

Arren’s expression immediately soured, and his eyes couldn’t help but roll to his back. Levin indeed had a knack for annoying the hell out of him.

"Stop with this nonsense," Arren snarled. All of the intentions to be polite were thrown out of the window. Nevermind, he should only respect those who deserve it.

There was a chuckle at the other end of the line; it seemed he was having fun.

"Answer me, Chief Levin." Arren continued, almost gritting his teeth, but he never dropped the other’s title.

[Rumor? What rumor?]

Even if he was asking and seemed confused, his tone definitely betrayed him, or he didn’t hide it at all.

Arren bit his lips; this man was pretending to be oblivious. Surely, he only wanted Arren to say the rumor out loud. This guy! Of course, he didn’t want to waste his time, so even if he was almost vomiting his words, he had to answer.

"You know... the rumor about... uh, you and... me." Seriously, he was still having goosebumps until this moment. His uncomfortable state was also clear in his tone; a dying laughter was heard beside his ears.

A few seconds passed, and Levin was still laughing. Arren clenched his fist and gnashed his teeth.

"So, you really know."

This man was crazy; who would want to get associated with him? Arren swallowed and composed himself.

Arren hesitated but continued. "Did... His Majesty heard about it?"

Fortunately, Levin seemed to have calmed down.

[Maybe? I don’t know. His Majesty isn’t someone really interested in hearing gossip.]

Arren sighed in relief. Of course, even if the emperor heard it, he was sure that he would also find the rumor extremely ridiculous.

"What should we do?"

[About what?]

"About the rumor, duh?"

Levin snickered. [It will pass; rumors without enough basis are like that.]

Arren agreed with that, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t bothered by it. The longer this rumor was a hot topic, the more awkward he felt in school.

[I know you hate it. But think about it, this rumor has some use, doesn’t it?]

"What do you mean?" Arren frowned; he didn’t know the use of this rumor.

[This rumor can be an excuse when you visit the palace. No one will suspect that the one you always want is the emperor. At least, for now, it’s a good cover-up.]

Arren listened to Levin’s words, but as the alpha went on, his face began to heat up, and he couldn’t help but cough. He knew that Levin was aware of his feelings toward the emperor, but hearing them directly from his mouth was another matter.

"Ahem. Saying it like that is a bit..."

Levin’s laughter rang again.

[Are you shy? Haha. Please, you’re painfully obvious.]

"Geez, fine. But don’t ever interact with me outside, lest the rumors aggravate."

[Sure, sure. Just to let you know, you’re not my type either.]

For the first time, Arren huffed with laughter. He actually had a hunch about this one; he often saw Levin looking at someone, a male royal attendant with white hair. Well, it wasn’t his business.

"Likewise."

This plan worked pretty well—more than Arren had anticipated. After all, one thing that was inconvenient when Arren visited the palace was being involved with the emperor, which could make him vulnerable to more significant rumors.

Still, to prevent any unexpected scenarios, Arren also refrained from visiting the palace. As the emperor said, the mother empress had never invited him again to the palace, to his and his father’s relief.

It was not to say that the mother empress had wicked intentions, and Arren could sense that he wasn’t entirely bad, but after gathering his thoughts, he realized that involving himself in royal affairs was indeed too early.

And even if he involved himself, the emperor wouldn’t necessarily allow him. At the end of the day, their relationship was nonexistent. Arren had not thought about what to call their relationship.

They seemed to be more than acquaintances, but calling them friends was also a bit far-fetched. It was this ambiguous boundary that made their relationship hazy. Still, Arren couldn’t care less about it.

Days passed; Arren still visited the palace, but not as frequently as he had before. One thing was that his school held him down, and another was that he also began to become conscious of his status.

He wasn’t a kid anymore. Arren was finally struck by the weight of his name and status. Slowly, he began to understand whatever the emperor had said before when he warned Arren against being too involved with him.

The rumors about him and Levin slowly died down; without confirmation from both parties, this result was inevitable.

And so, in the blink of an eye, Arren had turned 18. The time to present has come. It was also the time for yet another, heartbreak.