* * *
They exited into the long corridor, the heavy doors closing behind them.
“Fuck!”
The moment they were out, Hayward snapped.
He lunged at Ashton, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall.
A loud thud echoed through the hallway as Ashton’s large frame collided with the stone surface.
Without hesitation, Hayward threw a punch at Ashton’s jaw.
A harsh impact followed, jerking Ashton’s head to the side.
“What the hell have you been doing?! Why the fuck is Remy like this?!”
Blood smeared across Ashton’s face as he wiped it with the back of his hand.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet Hayward’ furious eyes. Then, he spoke.
“There was… a conflict with Allen. In the struggle, the gun was fired, and Remy was hit by accident.”
“What? A conflict with Allen?”
Both Hayward and Rex were visibly shocked.
“Damn it,” Rex cursed under his breath, clenching his fists.
If only he had acted faster.
If only he had realized what was happening sooner.
Then he could have stopped this.
He could have prevented Remy from ending up like this.
The regret burned through him like fire.
“Why were you two even fighting? Don’t tell me… Is this because of that flyer?”
Hayward had seen the dangerous leaflet that had been distributed at the ball.
If Ashton had fought Allen, it had to be related.
“Is that it, Ashton? Was Remy somehow involved with those leaflets?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Ashton admitted quietly.
He had no intention of hiding the truth.
Now that Remy was in this state, there was no point in keeping secrets.
“No way… What the hell is going on?”
Just as Ashton opened his mouth to answer, Rex interrupted for the first time.
“Remy was the one who created those leaflets.”
Hayward’ eyes widened in utter disbelief.
He turned to Rex, then to Ashton, as if searching for some kind of denial.
“What…? Are you saying Remy made them? That’s impossible.”
“It’s the truth. Allen came to me and told me himself.”
“But why…?”
That was as far as they got. Rex had no answer.
Because even he didn’t know why.
The Remy he knew was kind and gentle—an Omega who secretly helped young Oliver and his two siblings behind the scenes.
“There must have been a reason. Maybe he believed it was something that needed to be exposed, so he stepped forward himself.”
“But Allen and Remy were friends. Even if it was the right thing to do, would he really betray his friend like that?”
“There must have been something else. Something he couldn’t say.”
Ashton thought it best to keep the explanation brief.
After all, he couldn’t reveal the truth about Remy’s situation.
“Fine. Let’s say he had his reasons. But… are you saying that Allen actually tried to shoot Remy? Because he was angry about the flyers?”
“No, that wasn’t it. Allen turned the gun on himself. Remy tried to stop him, and in the struggle… the gun went off. That’s how it happened.”
A suffocating silence fell over the three of them.
Regardless of the reasons, the fact remained that Remy was now in critical condition.
And that truth alone left them unable to speak.
“Remy…”
Hayward muttered in despair.
His voice carried a deep, lingering sorrow, and his beautiful face was clouded with anguish.
Now that Remy was in this state, he was furious with himself for not realizing what was happening sooner.
He had been too blinded by Ashton and Remy’s relationship to truly see Remy.
To see what he was thinking. What he was struggling with.
What he truly needed… He hadn’t even tried to look.
“Remy, please…”
There was no way he could let Remy die like this.
Not when he had never truly loved him.
Not when he had never even had the chance to show his sincerity.
“Stay with us, Remy…”
Overwhelmed by guilt, Hayward lowered his head.
The other two Alphas felt just as heavy-hearted.
But the one who was suffering the most at this moment—the one who was on the verge of losing his mind—was Ashton, the only one who knew the full truth.
He had been more sincere toward Remy than anyone.
He had been willing to do anything to prevent him from getting shot.
Yet he had failed.
And now, Ashton wanted to die.
If Remy ceased to exist in this world, then he, too, would have no reason to live.
Days passed with Remy still unconscious.
Though the bullet lodged in his abdomen had been safely removed, his condition showed no signs of improvement.
He remained trapped in the twilight between life and death, and the entire castle was cloaked in mourning.
Ashton and Rex had remained in the castle since the ball, refusing to leave Remy’s side.
Hayward, too, had given up his own chambers for Remy and hadn’t left his bedside for even a moment.
They didn’t eat. They didn’t sleep.
They simply watched over Remy, waiting for him to wake.
Everything else was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
All they could do was pray for Remy’s survival.
“Your Highness, I fear you’ll collapse at this rate. His Majesty is deeply concerned as well—perhaps you could rest, even just for a short while?”
The head chamberlain, seeing Hayward endure without food or sleep for days, pleaded with him.
But Hayward was resolute.
“No. I’m fine. There’s no need for you to come all this way over something like this. If I need rest, I’ll take it on my own.”
“Your Highness…”
In the end, the chamberlain had no choice but to withdraw.
Watching the man leave, Ashton slowly rose to his feet.
He studied Hayward’s face—hollow, gaunt from exhaustion—before speaking politely.
“Your Highness.”
Hayward turned to look at him.
“Would you care for a walk? Just for a bit of fresh air.”
The two had never been on good terms—not even in the slightest.
Even now, Ashton was well aware of that.
So if he was willingly suggesting a walk together, then he must have something important to say.
“Fine. Just for a little while.”
Hayward didn’t refuse. Rising from his seat, he stepped outside first, with Ashton following closely behind.
They walked toward the rear garden—the very place where Remy had struggled with Allen.
Unlike the night of the ball, when darkness had obscured everything, the garden in daylight was a breathtaking sight.
The flowerbeds, decorated with rare plants collected from across the continent, were a riot of color.
The air was thick with the fragrance of blossoms as they passed the vibrant flower beds and reached the pond, its surface blanketed with lotus leaves.
They stopped at the gazebo—where the memories of that fateful night still lingered.
“Here…”
“Yes. This is where Remy was shot.”
“…”
The stench of blood, long washed away by the wind, still seemed to cling to the air around them.
Hayward’s gaze fell upon the faint traces of blood splattered across the gazebo floor.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Remy crumpling to the ground, writhing in pain.
That delicate, fragile boy… How much had he suffered, bleeding out here like that?
How much agony had he endured as he fought for breath?
“Ah…”
Hayward clenched his face in distress.
There had been a time when he had looked at Remy’s suffering and felt nothing but lust.
A time when he had pinned Remy beneath him, trembling in fear, and had been consumed by the desire to break him.
Though he had stopped before crossing the line, had Ashton and Rex not intervened that night, he might have gone through with it.
Back then, he had been out of his mind.
So far gone that the sight of Remy in pain had aroused him.
‘I was a fool…’
But now, it was different.
Now, all he could think about was how much Remy must have suffered.
How unbearably painful it must have been to take a bullet to the stomach.
How his breath must have faltered as the color drained from his pale face.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart shattered.
“Remy…”
Only now did he realize how terribly, unforgivably wrong he had been.
If he had truly loved Remy, he never should have treated him that way.
He shouldn’t have been obsessed with possessing his body—he should have tried to understand him.
But he never had.
And now, he was ashamed.
He had left Remy with scars that could never be erased.
As he watched Remy fight for his life, regret consumed him whole.
He was furious with himself.
And in this moment, more than anything, he resented the fact that he couldn’t even apologize.
“I was wrong… Remy…”
In the end, Hayward fell to his knees.
Though his words would never reach Remy, he still poured out his heart in an apology.
“Please… survive. Please, Remy…”
Ashton watched in silence before turning away.
A cold autumn breeze swept past them, rustling the leaves.
Like the wind-tossed leaves, their hearts were battered and broken.
It was a cruel, merciless autumn afternoon.
* * *
