"Your Highness?"
Arav’s voice came from behind him.
Rihaan turned, his mouth parting slightly. He hadn’t expected the young omega to enter his chambers uninvited.
Not that Arav needed permission—but it was late.
Danshin was a rather conservative kingdom. Alphas and omegas being alone together at night was frowned upon, the sort of thing that could stir countless rumours. And now, Rihaan couldn’t afford a scandal—not when his position was already on the verge of being stripped away.
"Why do you look so tense?"
"I am not," he answered firmly. There wasn’t a single crack in his voice—not the slightest hint of his turmoil.
"Hm... and what is this?"
Arav took the letter from Rihaan’s hand and read it carefully. When he finished, a frown slowly formed on his face.
"Crown Prince Soren?"
Rihaan nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. Arav was bound to explode. He was going to be scolded for keeping contact with Soren—surely.
"I see." The omega placed the letter back on the desk. "How was your family dinner?"
Rihaan’s eyes widened, stunned.
Arav would usually become livid whenever Rihaan was involved with another omega. Yet now, he merely asked that—as though the letter meant nothing at all.
It was unsettling.
Rihaan stared at him for a moment too long.
"So?" Arav tilted his head to the side, waiting for an answer.
"...It didn’t go too well," Rihaan finally admitted.
Arav’s fingers paused where they rested on the edge of the desk. He didn’t look surprised—only quietly attentive, as if he had already expected that answer.
"They took your title, didn’t they?" The omega said quietly.
Rihaan’s breath hitched, his eyes narrowing.
"You... Did you already know?"
Arav lifted his gaze then, meeting Rihaan’s eyes. "Yes... I have heard. And I could feel it the moment I walked in. You weren’t just tense... You were clearly upset. The only reason I could think of is this."
Silence stretched between them for another few seconds, heavy and suffocating.
"I am no longer the crown prince," Rihaan said at last, his voice flat, as if he were stating a fact that didn’t belong to him.
He lowered his head, like a criminal guilty of a crime he hadn’t committed—yet was forced to confess.
"Prince Vihaan will be crowned next week."
Arav exhaled slowly. He didn’t curse. He didn’t raise his voice. He simply stepped closer.
"So that’s why," he murmured, his voice devoid of emotion, as if it had nothing to do with him at all.
Rihaan let out a bitter laugh.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say?" Arav asked. His tone sounded cold—for some reason.
"That they were wrong? That you deserved it more?" He shook his head. "You already know all that. It was bound to happen."
Rihaan clenched his fists. The words stung worse than the bite of a poisonous snake, its venom spreading through his body.
"They... they stripped everything from me. Years of work—gone. And for what? Just because I chose love—you—over my duties!..."
Arav reached out, hesitating for a brief second before resting his hand over Rihaan’s clenched one.
"You weren’t wrong to choose love—us," he said, a faint, comforting smile curving his lips.
Rihaan’s shoulders trembled.
"Then why does it feel like I lost everything?"
Arav wrapped his arms around him, holding him close.
"Because you were taught that your worth was your title," he replied softly. "And it isn’t completely wrong."
He paused.
"You need to keep fighting for what is yours, Your Highness. You can’t let someone else take what belongs to you."
Rihaan swallowed, his gaze drifting back to the letter on the desk—the dark red rose seal staring back at him.
"Look at me."
Arav cupped the alpha’s face with both hands, forcing Rihaan to meet his eyes.
"You can’t lose your title."
Rihaan let out a shaky breath.
"I can’t change anything. It’s already decided. Father doesn’t even want to see my face. And Mother... she just keeps quiet. Like always..."
"No," Arav replied at once. His voice didn’t rise, nor did it waver—yet there was a lingering force behind it.
"Decisions can be undone. You can convince the ministers that you, alone, are worthy of the throne."
Rihaan laughed weakly.
"You didn’t hear me, did you? The king already chose Vihaan. It doesn’t matter who thinks otherwise."
"And yet," Arav said, his eyes narrowing slightly, "you’re still here. Still in this place. And you still hold your title. Even for a week."
His grip tightened slightly.
"That’s enough to change a lot."
The light-brown haired young man’s eyebrows furrowed.
"If you were truly irrelevant," Arav continued, releasing his face but stepping closer, "they wouldn’t be this careful. They wouldn’t hesitate."
Silence stretched between them. Neither spoke, their gazes locked.
"You worked your entire life for that seat," Arav said quietly. "You obeyed. You endured. You gave up so much."
His gaze flicked briefly to the letter on the desk before returning to Rihaan.
"They can’t expect you to accept losing it quietly."
"What do you want me to do?" Rihaan asked hoarsely.
The omega’s lips curved—soft, reassuring.
"I want you to stand your ground," he said. "Do nothing foolish. Let them doubt themselves."
Then, more softly, he continued, "If you step back now... you’ll be proving them right. That you don’t deserve the title of Crown Prince—because you couldn’t even fight for your own rights, Your Highness."
The alpha’s fingers curled slowly at his side.
It made sense.
Although Arav wasn’t part of the royal family, he knew far too much about how royal politics worked.
Arav noticed the hesitation and softened his grip, his thumb brushing lightly against Rihaan’s jaw.
"You don’t have to do anything drastic," he said quietly. "I would never ask that of you."
A pause.
Then, he continued, "Just don’t surrender so easily."
Rihaan’s jaw tightened.
"I am tired," he admitted. "I spent my whole life doing what they wanted. Studying, training, bowing my head. And the moment I choose something for myself... they cast me aside."
Arav’s eyes darkened—not with sympathy alone, but with something sharper beneath it.
"That’s because they were never prepared for you to want something," he replied. "They were comfortable when you were obedient. Just like a doll."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping.
"But now, you are no longer easy. You have become dangerous."
Rihaan frowned. "Dangerous?"
"Yes," Arav said softly. "Because a man who breaks rules is the most dangerous one."