RHFTY chapter 58

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As the dawn broke, the only sound in the air was the distant cry of an unknown bird.

Deep in a restful sleep, Chaeyi was suddenly stirred awake by a gentle shake.

Blinking his eyes open, he saw Aelan standing beside him, silhouetted against the early morning light.

“Wake up. It’s time to get moving.”

“But the sun hasn’t even risen yet…” Chaeyi yawned and stretched as he slowly sat up.

Aelan looked at him with mild exasperation before adding something that immediately cleared Chaeyi’s drowsiness.

“Leonard is already nearby.”

“…What? Already?”

Chaeyi’s eyes widened in surprise.

Of course, he was glad that Leonard had found him so quickly, but he was more shocked at how fast he had managed to track him down.

It didn’t take long for Chaeyi to understand why Leonard had been able to act so swiftly.

“I told him where you were.”

Aelan had given the information himself.

It was as if he was inviting Leonard to come after him, practically begging for it.

Chaeyi stared at Aelan, his mind churning with complex emotions.

Aelan, avoiding Chaeyi’s gaze, suddenly pulled out a rope—a tool that should have made an appearance much earlier.

“Let me tie you up for a bit.”

“And what if I refuse?”

“…Want to pass out again?”

Faced with that, Chaeyi wisely shut his mouth.

Being awake was better than being unconscious, since it would be hard to gauge the situation while knocked out.

Besides, a loose binding like this wouldn’t be much trouble to free himself from later.

“Oh, by the way,” Chaeyi suddenly remembered, “I’ve been wondering.

The last time, when you told me to pass out, I just… did. Was that one of your special powers?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, I thought so. I heard only those with dominant traits can manifest such abilities. So that means you’re a dominant type too, huh?”

And since Aelan wasn’t an alpha, he must be a dominant omega.

“Being able to make people follow your commands… That’s quite a skill. It’d be a shame to just throw that power away.”

“…Enough. Let’s go,” Aelan cut him off, clearly uninterested in further conversation.

Chaeyi chuckled and, with his hands bound behind him, followed Aelan out of the dormitory.

Thanks to Aelan’s prior use of his powers to relocate the nearby workers, the surroundings were eerily quiet—no unintended victims were around.

Chaeyi, having recognized Aelan’s capabilities, easily inferred this.

Crunch.

The only sound was their footsteps on the dirt.

Soon, the two reached the village entrance, where they were greeted by the sight of Lancaster’s knights blocking Aelan’s escape.

“Lord Chaeyi!”

Enoch’s voice rang out from within the group.

Worried that Enoch might have been seriously injured, Chaeyi was relieved to see him unharmed.

Then, Leonard emerged from the ranks of the knights.

Aelan hadn’t taken his eyes off his younger brother, whom he was seeing again for the first time in nearly five years.

Leonard had grown significantly since then—he was no longer the small, fragile boy Aelan once knew.

“It’s been a while, Leonard.”

It was a cold greeting, and Leonard only glared in return, further chilling the already tense atmosphere.

Aelan chuckled softly.

“If I’d known it would come to this, maybe I wouldn’t have spared you back then. Keeping you alive was a mistake, huh?”

Chaeyi realized that Aelan was deliberately provoking Leonard, trying to push him into ending their unresolved relationship.

Just as Chaeyi was about to step in to stop things from escalating further, he noticed Leonard glance his way.

Suddenly, Leonard’s expression changed—his brows furrowed, and his eyes flickered with worry.

Leonard opened his tightly sealed lips and spoke.

“I’ll do anything.”

Aelan was taken aback.

“So, please let Chaeyi go.”

Contrary to Aelan’s expectations of the usual ruthless, unfeeling Leonard, here he was, not angry at the violation of his own person, but rather fearful of losing something precious.

Aelan, who had always known Leonard to be cold and indifferent, found it strange to see him so rattled over a mere beta.

“…Is this beta that important to you?”

Aelan hadn’t planned to engage in such personal conversations with Leonard, but genuine curiosity had suddenly surfaced, leading him to ask the question.

“Yes, he’s precious to me,” Leonard replied without hesitation.

Chaeyi, who had been listening quietly, lowered his head, biting his lip.

His heart was pounding, and his face was so hot that he couldn’t bring himself to look at Leonard.

‘Ah.’

Chaeyi, who had been denying it for so long, finally accepted his feelings.

‘I…’

It turned out that Chaeyi’s feelings were much deeper, much more intense, than he had initially realized.

Matching Leonard’s in intensity and depth.

As that realization hit, Chaeyi was overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, wanting to hide in shame.

He was glad to have acknowledged his true feelings, though whether he should truly be glad about it was another matter entirely.

Even so, with the situation still unresolved, Chaeyi took a deep breath to compose himself before opening his eyes.

“Aelan.”

Aelan was lost in a moment of thought when he suddenly turned to face Chaeyi.

The rope, which had somehow come undone, fell to the ground, and Aelan, startled, widened his eyes in shock.

Chaeyi opened his palm, smirking as if to show off.

“I told you, I’m not too late, didn’t I?”

“…!”

In the next instant, Chaeyi grabbed Aelan’s wrist, twisted it, and, catching him off guard, climbed onto him as his defenses crumbled.

Pinning Aelan’s joints with his knee, he rendered him completely immobile in an instant.

Even if Aelan were an alpha, human weak points were all the same, and without being a dominant alpha, there was no way he could break free.

“Ugh…! What the…”

Aelan, flustered and in pain, turned his face to look at Chaeyi.

Leonard, too, was just as surprised.

He knew Chaeyi wasn’t the type of person who needed protection, but every time he saw it, it caught him off guard.

Looking down at Aelan, Chaeyi continued in a voice only he could hear.

“If you really regret it, don’t throw away the opportunity you have by dying. That would be a waste. I’m offering to help you reconcile, you know? And honestly, I don’t like Leo getting his hands dirty over something like this.”

Of course, even if Chaeyi offered help, there would be limits to how much he could get involved.

Ultimately, it all came down to the choices Leo and Aelan would make.

Still, Chaeyi didn’t want Aelan to end his life without even trying. He hoped Leonard wouldn’t continue to be consumed by a past that only hurt him.

Aelan, who had been silent with his lips pressed together, finally lowered his head in resignation.

“What do I have to do?”

“Good. First, start by talking.”

“Chae.”

At that moment, Leonard interrupted, reaching out toward them with a stern expression.

Now that Chaeyi had been freed from being a hostage, Leonard’s eyes showed a chilling resolve, as if he was ready to kill Aelan at any moment.

“Come here. I’ll handle this guy…”

“Leo.”

But Chaeyi softly called his name, stopping him.

It was strange how just saying his name made his heart tremble.

Regardless, now wasn’t the time for that, so he put on a brave front.

“Your brother. How about giving him one more chance to live? I think it’s worth giving him the opportunity. And I have another suggestion, too.”

“…”

“How about accepting him back into the family?”

“What?”

Leonard raised an eyebrow at the unexpected suggestion.

Aelan, too, looked at Chaeyi in disbelief, as if he couldn’t have imagined such a thing.

He had only thought about resolving their personal rift, not rejoining the family.

Could something like that really be possible?

In the Lancaster family, nearly no one who survived a fight for succession ever returned after being banished.

While Aelan was concluding that it was impossible, Chaeyi continued.

“I’m not saying this out of some misguided sympathy. Dominant traits are valuable. On top of that, a dominant individual with special abilities is practically a national asset. I think keeping someone like you around could prove beneficial one day.”

In fact, Aelan’s abilities were so powerful that it was hard to believe he was a regular type.

His mental strength was overwhelming, and very few could resist his influence, not to mention the long duration of his mind control.

Used properly, he would be a very dangerous person.

Anyone who knew Aelan well couldn’t help but consider that.

Although Chaeyi hadn’t calculated that far when he spoke.

“…”

Leonard frowned, deep in thought.

He wondered for a moment if Chaeyi had been brainwashed to say such things, but the way Chaeyi spoke so freely convinced him otherwise.

As Leonard watched, Chaeyi glanced at him and spoke again.

“The decision is yours to make.”

There was no intent to force his hand.

It had to be Leonard, not Chaeyi or Aelan, who decided whether to resolve the emotional rift between them or ignore it.

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, Leonard sighed softly.

“I don’t hate the idea. It doesn’t really matter to me if he’s brought back into the family.”

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