The news reached Rin not through messengers or proclamations, but over tea.
Lucien and his wife ,Duchess Camilla had returned from the capital only hours earlier, their cloaks still heavy with the scent of incense and iron—court air that never truly washed off. The duchess spoke first, her voice gentle as she relayed what the entire kingdom already whispered.
"The queen consort is dead," she said. "And Alaric has been crowned."
Rin's hand paused mid-motion as he tied the twine around a bundle of dried herbs.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"So it's finally over."
Lucien the said , watching him carefully. "You sound relieved."
"I am," Rin replied honestly. "Threats like that don't simply fade. They rot until someone cuts them out."
The duchess studied him. "You're not surprised."
"No," Rin said. "If anything, I'm surprised it ended this cleanly."
The twins were playing quietly near the window, stacking wooden blocks. Their laughter—soft, unguarded—filled the room in a way that made Rin's chest loosen at last.
Lucien leaned back, studying him with knowing eyes. "You're not planning to stay, are you?"
Rin looked up.
"No," he answered without hesitation. "I'll return to Vareth."
The duchess hesitated. "You're not going to wait?"
Rin turned to her. "For His Majesty?"
"Yes. To hear his decision. About you. About the children."
Rin smiled faintly, polite but distant. "There's no need."
Lucien frowned. "Rin—"
"With respect, Your Grace," Rin said evenly, "Alaric is now king. That alone answers everything."
The duchess opened her mouth to object, but Rin continued, his voice calm, firm, unmistakably resolved.
"We were already standing on different ground before this. Now, we are in entirely different worlds."
Lucien sighed. "You think he'll just… move on?"
"He will have to," Rin said. "Kings do not live for fleeting pasts. He will marry. He will build alliances. He will have a queen raised for court politics, not forest paths and herb stains."
"And you?" the duchess asked softly.
Rin glanced down at his hands. "I cannot imagine myself as a queen. Bowing to rules that would cage my work, my children, my breath. I did not spend years learning to heal only to be silenced behind silk curtains."
There was no bitterness in his voice. Only certainty.
The duchess searched his face, then nodded slowly. "You are determined."
"Yes."
She smiled sadly. "Then I won't stop you."
But in the quiet corner of her mind, she knew—Alaric would not accept this ending so easily.
---
The following morning, the estate felt heavier with goodbyes.
The twins clung to Lucien's son, a boy five years older than the twins,with Lucien's pale hair and the duchess's amythest eyes.
"Felian," Rhen said solemnly, gripping his sleeve. "Don't forget us."
Felian just smiled and said . "I won't. Ever."
Riven sniffed. "Promise?"
"I promise," Felian said seriously. "When I grow up, I'll visit you. Even if it's far."
Riven smiled, tears drying instantly. "Then we'll show you the forest."
The adults watched quietly.
Lucien turned away first.
---
Back in the capital, the council chamber burned with argument.
"The children should be acknowledged," one noble insisted. "They are of royal blood."
"But the omega?" another scoffed. "A common herbalist?"
"Our children deserve the chance to become queen," someone snapped. "Why should a nobody take that place?"
"He's no ordinary commoner," another countered. "He cured the Alaric when no physician could."
"And produced a suppressant superior to court physician," someone added reluctantly.
"That doesn't make him fit for court."
Voices rose. Tempers flared.
Finally, Duke Valerius spoke.
"Before this devolves further," he said calmly, "there is something you should all know."
The chamber quieted.
"Rin," the noble continued, "is a dominant omega."
Silence fell like a blade.
"A… dominant?" someone whispered.
"That's impossible."
"They're the rarest."
"The only dominant omega we know is the late queen and the queen consort."
"That changes things…"
Hesitation crept into once-certain faces.
"A dominant omega," one murmured, conflicted. "Too bad he's a commoner."
Before anyone could speak again, the duke of frerand rose from his seat.
"If status is your concern," he said smoothly, "then I will adopt him."
The chamber erupted.
"Adopt him?!"
"Absolutely not!"
"We could—"
"I could do the same—"
The duke smiled faintly.
Exactly as planned.
The neutral noble watched the chaos with quiet approval.
"So," he said when the noise finally ebbed, "it is decided."
Rin would not be left unclaimed.
---