* * *

With the table between them, the distance was just enough that Henry nearly toppled backward, landing halfway into Edwin’s arms.

Though he hadn’t fallen awkwardly, being half-held by Edwin suddenly shifted Henry’s mood.

All of this was making him irritated.

Why did he have to worry about Edwin’s and Kayla’s reactions?

The thought finally pushed Henry to shove Edwin away.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

With no further excuses, Henry announced his departure, leaving without sparing either of them a glance.

He should’ve done this from the start—there was no reason to stay stuck in the middle of this tug-of-war.

As soon as Henry left the room, the silence between the two remaining men thickened.

Kayla, who had been smiling warmly at Henry, now dropped the smile entirely, while Edwin maintained his cold, steely silence.

Neither seemed willing to speak first in the tense quiet, but eventually, Kayla stood.

As he strode toward the door, Edwin stepped forward, blocking his path.

“Where are you going?”

“To look for my friend,” Kayla replied, his smile anything but warm.

It was a derisive smirk that fully revealed his distaste.

The tension between Edwin and Kayla was palpable, heating the air in the room.

Edwin stood, watching Kayla but with no intention of following him.

He simply didn’t want Kayla to reach Henry before he did.

“I told you to stay away from Henry. Have you forgotten how close he came to death because of you?”

The distance between them shrank as Edwin stepped closer, increasing the pressure in the room.

Kayla didn’t back down, only squinting at Edwin with a mocking gaze.

“When did I say that? Oh, that day…”

As if only now remembering, Kayla raised a finger.

When Kayla had nearly fallen from a mountain ledge, Henry and Edwin had gone after him.

Although it was a cliff, and everyone feared the worst, they’d all been miraculously rescued.

Kayla had been deeply relieved to see that no one was seriously hurt.

Henry’s brave leap off the ledge and Edwin’s risky move to save him had left an indelible mark on Kayla’s mind.

Since then, he’d looked for a chance to properly thank them both.

Kayla had even gone to the mansion with the crown prince to express his gratitude to Edwin.

Up to that point, his feelings for Edwin were pure appreciation.

He hadn’t even remembered what the crown prince had said about meeting Edwin when they were young.

To Kayla, Edwin was simply the son of the esteemed Lorenz family and the one who had saved Henry from the cliff that day—a lifelong benefactor.

But that all changed the day they met.

“You told me to stay away from Henry because he nearly died because of me, right?”

Not only did Edwin brush off Kayla’s thanks, but he also warned him away from Henry entirely, drawing a firm line.

It wasn’t just a personal line for Edwin; he didn’t want Kayla near Henry at all.

Although Kayla had been surprised by this, he accepted Edwin’s caution, understanding that his presence had indeed put Henry in danger.

“But what can I say? I don’t feel like staying away.”

Even an item Kayla had sent for Henry, entrusted to Edwin, had been blatantly discarded.

He’d only asked Edwin to deliver it because he didn’t want his gift to seem like some reward for saving him.

That day, Kayla had built an emotional wall between himself and Edwin.

“So, the item I asked you to give him ended up in the trash. How do you think that makes me feel? I’ll have to give it to Henry myself, won’t I?”

So, Kayla made it a point to ask Henry to be his friend.

The thrill of Henry not rejecting his offer still lingered.

“Don’t interfere with me meeting Henry. If it’s a matter of friendship, I now have as much of a right to be here as you do.”

Kayla shrugged and turned away from Edwin, eager to express his gratitude to Henry in person and strengthen their bond.

This was why he came to the Empire immediately upon arriving—to see Henry.

Someday, he would repay Edwin’s debt, but he had no desire to engage with someone who kept trying to push him away from Henry.

“Things have changed.”

With a disapproving look, Kayla paused as he gripped the door handle and glanced back at Edwin, clearly reluctant to hear whatever he had to say.

Seeing Edwin’s expression, Kayla instinctively took a step back, feeling unsettled by the relaxed demeanor with which Edwin reacted to his words about getting closer to Henry.

“We’re not just friends.”

As if drawing closer wasn’t enough, Edwin slid his hand between the barely open door, his eyes brimming with ease as he gazed down at Kayla.

“Friends don’t kiss each other.”

Edwin spoke clearly, his calm voice meant to be heard.

Then he opened the door and walked out before Kayla could react, leaving him behind, stunned and bewildered.

Outside, Edwin asked a nearby attendant where Henry was and set off to find him.

Meanwhile, Kayla could only stare at him in disbelief, a mix of shock and irritation in his gaze.

---

In the garden, Edwin found Henry sitting alone.

He’d stormed out angrily earlier, probably upset after being forcefully dragged along, but now he simply gazed blankly at the flowers, as if his previous anger had merely been an excuse to leave.

Watching Henry’s unfocused eyes, Edwin suddenly leaned forward, intruding on his view.

“…You startled me.”

Henry’s shoulders flinched as his focus returned.

He muttered tersely, not even glancing up at Edwin, his usual unfiltered tone as present as ever.

Edwin didn’t mind—it often came with some irritation when directed at him, but he found it endearing.

Edwin took a seat next to him, his gaze landing on a flower that hadn’t yet bloomed, unlike the others around it.

Tightly shut, almost as if it would burst open the moment you looked away—it reminded him of Henry.

“I thought you were avoiding me, skipping lessons.”

“Even if I avoided you, I wouldn’t skip class. I’d just slip out afterward.”

Henry replied softly without looking at Edwin.

He knew he’d left Edwin to misunderstand, and it was partly his fault.

“Then, may I ask for an answer to my confession?”

“…I think… the imprint needs to be broken.”

Henry’s response was vague, reflecting his true feelings.

He was lingering in a gray area, somewhere between friendship and something more with Edwin.

“I don’t dislike you, but it’s not like I have feelings for you as I did before. Don’t get the wrong idea. I just think we need to break the imprint. For you to shake off that stigma, I mean.”

Henry tried to steer the conversation away from Edwin’s confession and focus on the imprint.

Edwin had once expressed his feelings to preserve it, and Henry had thought long and hard about the imprint, arriving at this conclusion.

“Show the world that you’re a normal Alpha. I think that’s more important.”

Once the imprint was severed, he would walk away from Edwin without looking back.

But he kept that part hidden deep within him.

“Does the fact that I’m incomplete bother you that much?”

“It’s not that simple. I know how much you’ve suffered because of it… and it’s all my fault.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t his doing, given his current soul’s possession of Henry’s body, but he still felt a sense of responsibility.

“So, you’re saying that if I fix it, nothing else matters?”

“What else is there to worry about? You’ll be a full-fledged Alpha, and, incidentally, we’ll reveal I manifested as an Omega.”

Henry replied lightly, unaware of the consequences that might follow.

* * *