I Wanted to Marry You from the Very Beginning

Elaine took Shi Sheng to the West District.

The Shi family was in the South District, while Carlos and the Imperial Palace were both in the center of the capital. The West District was unfamiliar territory to Shi Sheng.

The aircraft stopped before a stretch of lush green lawn.

Elaine led Shi Sheng down by the hand, and Shi Sheng looked around curiously.

From the entrance near the lawn, it was hard to tell whether this was a park or some other kind of venue.

Elaine explained gently, "The scenery by the lake is nice. I wanted to bring you for a walk."

He was right. This entire area had been built around a vast lake, with an expansive view.

They walked along the bluestone path by the lake for a while before Shi Sheng spotted several three-story buildings spaced far apart.

Each building had a large lawn in front, with security sensors installed outside.

Apparently, this was not a park but a very large residential area.

Shi Sheng smiled and gestured to Elaine, "Houses like this are so rare in the Empire."

With technology developing so rapidly these days, aside from noble estates like Carlos, there were few residential areas left in the capital that occupied such a vast amount of land while containing only a handful of buildings.

Shi Sheng tilted his head. "Does Elaine have a house here?"

Elaine did not answer immediately. He held Shi Sheng's hand and walked with him for a while, as though taking a leisurely stroll, until they reached the innermost building.

He led Shi Sheng inside. Shi Sheng discovered that although the house was enormous, it had everything one could need. Even the cups had already been arranged in the bar on the first floor.

The decor was soft and gentle as well, nothing like an Alpha's usual cold, hard style.

The little robot that had been dormant by the door sensed the entrance opening. It powered on automatically and rolled over to Shi Sheng.

"Hello. Welcome home."

It was speaking to Shi Sheng.

Shi Sheng interacted with it in surprise, then turned to look at Elaine.

Elaine leaned against the entryway, watching him play with the robot. Only when Shi Sheng turned around did he say, "This is your house."

Shi Sheng froze, not quite understanding what he meant.

Elaine was silent for a moment before saying, "Before the marriage, I was worried you might not want to live at Carlos."

Shi Sheng blanked out.

"So I prepared this place. If you wanted, I would have brought Merico over too, at least so you could live here comfortably," Elaine said. "But later..."

Later, Shi Sheng had not seemed unwilling at all. And then, after that, what happened at the Crown Prince's birthday banquet occurred.

Shi Sheng still remembered Elaine saying that he had known about the substitute marriage before they were married.

Shi Sheng had only boarded the wedding transport in place of his brother on the day of the wedding, so he had assumed Elaine had prepared this house because he disliked the arranged marriage.

So he gestured jokingly, "But then you saw how cute I was, so you wouldn't let me leave. Right?"

Elaine chuckled and took Shi Sheng's hand, pulling him closer.

"What I wanted to say was..." Elaine did not continue right away.

Shi Sheng suddenly had a vague premonition, yet he felt the thought was truly absurd.

But Elaine's next words confirmed his guess.

"This residence was not prepared for the Shi family's Omega."

"It was prepared for you."

Shi Sheng was stunned.

There was a trace of a sigh in Elaine's voice, as though he had compromised with some decision.

"At first, I only hoped you could live in a better environment. I mean, one that could make you happier."

Shi Sheng tried to understand Elaine's words, but the moment he moved his hand, Elaine grasped it.

Elaine lowered his eyes to look at him. "You always say you lived well in the Shi family. It is not that I do not believe you, but some things cannot be easily hidden."

Shi Sheng suddenly yanked his hand free from Elaine's grip.

Elaine paused slightly but said nothing.

Shi Sheng tilted his head at him as though thinking something over. After a long while, he gestured, "I have a few questions. Elaine has to answer all of them."

Elaine said, "Ask."

Shi Sheng thought for a moment, then switched to his voice device.

"First. The house. It was always for me?"

Elaine nodded.

"Before the wedding?"

Elaine fell silent again before saying, "Before the arranged marriage."

Shi Sheng's heart skipped.

He sat there blankly for a while, and even when he pressed his voice device, it all still felt a little unreal.

"But the arranged marriage was His Majesty's decision."

Elaine said, "It was a coincidence."

He bent down and held out his hand to Shi Sheng. Shi Sheng instinctively put his hand in it and was led to sit on the sofa in the living room.

Elaine crouched before Shi Sheng so that Shi Sheng could easily see his eyes and the expression on his face.

Most people had to look up at the Empire's marshal. That upward gaze made him seem unattainable and intimidating.

But when he spoke to Shi Sheng, he was the one looking up at him.

"At first, I merely paid you a little more attention."

"After graduating from military academy, I spent several consecutive years on the battlefield. I could only learn scattered bits of news about you from elsewhere."

"You should originally have been living well."

"But after a while, even those scattered bits of news became scarce."

At this, Shi Sheng's eyelashes fluttered violently as though from nerves, and his heartbeat quickened.

He bit his lip uneasily, so hard that he seemed to taste blood.

Elaine pressed a finger to his lips, gently yet firmly stopping him.

But he did not ask what Shi Sheng was nervous about. He merely continued patiently.

"Later, the Shi family announced to the public that you were ill. It became even harder to learn anything about you."

"I was tied up on the battlefield year-round, and sometimes the information I received was inaccurate. People would mistake news about Shi Yi for news about you and send it to me."

"So I guessed that perhaps you were not living very well."

There was no reason why one of two brothers with nearly identical, stunningly beautiful faces should shine brilliantly while the other vanished from everyone's mind.

He could not find even the slightest trace of news about him.

"So I began to think that once this war ended, I would find an opportunity to meet you."

At that time, during a brief lull in the fighting, Elaine returned to the capital.

While considering what excuse he could use to meet Shi Sheng, he uncovered even more unpleasant news.

Shi Sheng had no records of attending school. Not in the capital, nor anywhere in the Empire.

There were no records of him going out, taking long trips, or even seeking medical treatment.

It was as if Shi Sheng did not exist in this world at all.

The most recent record was from eight years ago: a transportation record, together with Shi Yi.

After that, there was nothing.

But Shi Sheng was still alive and well. No matter how reclusive someone was, even if they had not stepped outside for eight years, it was impossible for them to leave behind no record whatsoever.

Elaine knew the private matters of many families in the capital.

He knew there was only one possibility—Shi Sheng had not been permitted to leave the house. More accurately, he had not been permitted to exist.

"So my original plan to meet you changed into finding a way to marry you."

Elaine wiped away the tears that had somehow spilled from the corners of Shi Sheng's eyes with his fingertips. "With the name of Carlos behind you, at least you could live a little better."

"As long as our marriage remains, when I die someday, Carlos will continue protecting you."

Shi Sheng hurriedly grabbed his hand and shook his head hard.

"Elaine won't die."

Elaine smiled and cooperatively said, "Mm. I will not die for now."

Shi Sheng was still processing his words when he raised a hand uncertainly and gestured, "Elaine found out that I was sick?"

"Mm." Elaine had no intention of telling Shi Sheng at this moment—

He did not believe the excuse of illness.

What had made Shi Sheng disappear from the outside world for eight years? What had made him stop speaking from then on?

It did not matter if Shi Sheng did not want to bring it up.

But as long as it was something that had hurt Shi Sheng, he would uncover the truth one day.

"So it is not that I do not want to mark you."

The topic suddenly returned to the conversation they had had before coming here, and Shi Sheng almost failed to react.

Elaine's eyes darkened slightly as he said in a low voice, "My original intention was for you to live freely at Carlos, to be healthier and happier."

The usually cold, stern Alpha gave a self-mocking smile. "For that, even knowing that most Omegas feared Carlos, I rashly made such a plan."

He simply had not expected that after returning to the battlefield only once, the Emperor would happen to decree the arranged marriage.

"As long as there is no mark." Elaine looked at Shi Sheng. "None of Carlos's sins will have anything to do with you."

Shi Sheng suddenly threw himself into Elaine's arms.

The Omega used nearly all the strength he had in his life, wrapping his arms tightly around the Alpha's muscular waist.

He shook his head hard, then grabbed Elaine's arm and looked straight at him.

"I don't believe..." Shi Sheng gestured slowly.

Elaine said, "It's all right."

Shi Sheng shook his head and gestured again. "I mean, I don't believe in curses or sins."

"Elaine, and Yumi, and Izel. None of you are guilty of anything."

"Elaine can become a beautiful divine bird because Elaine is amazing."

"I don't understand curses, but I'm not afraid of them, and I don't believe in them."

Watching his gestures, Elaine's expression changed briefly, but he quickly concealed it before Shi Sheng could notice.

He thought Shi Sheng was a clever Omega.

But there were indeed some things Shi Sheng could not be allowed to know.

Shi Sheng did not know what Elaine was thinking and continued gesturing. "But it's okay. I know not marking me is also because Elaine wants what is best for me."

"Elaine liking me is already an especially, especially wonderful thing."

"Even without a mark, I can still spend my whole life with Elaine."

Elaine was quiet for a moment before asking, "You want... to spend your whole life with an Alpha like me?"

Shi Sheng nodded hard, smiling as he pointed at Elaine.

"Handsome. Very handsome. Especially good. Mine."

Elaine's throat bobbed. "Perhaps it will be very hard for you."

Shi Sheng shook his head again. "Elaine has it harder."

Elaine said nothing more. He put some strength into his arms and lifted Shi Sheng to his feet.

Sunlight fell at his feet.

Shi Sheng reached out and touched Elaine's eyes. His golden irises looked even lighter in the sunlight.

Like a god.

Shi Sheng thought about it absently, then used the position to lower his head and kiss Elaine's eyes.

Solemnly, filled with adoration.

Then he wrapped his arms around the Alpha's neck and buried himself in his embrace.

After a while, Shi Sheng was nearly about to fall asleep in that beautiful atmosphere.

But then a question suddenly surfaced in his mind—

But how did Elaine know his brother would run away from the wedding?