The Identity of the Protagonist Omega

[Oh my god, was that close distance just now real? So handsome, so handsome, so handsome, so handsome...]

[He went to shower. Afterward, he won't be dressed so tightly, right? And his pheromones won't be hidden so well, right? Hehe.]

[I actually get to sit on the bed and wait for Elaine to finish showering. What kind of blessing is this? His Majesty really is such a good person.]

Perhaps the bathroom temperature was too high, but Elaine felt an unsettling abnormality.

With no other choice, he had the AI lower the bathwater temperature a little.

Shi Sheng forced himself to keep his eyes open and waited for quite a while before Elaine emerged from the bathroom.

He struggled to open his eyes and look over, then instantly woke up.

Under the moonlight, the Alpha's tall, lean body was concealed beneath a black silk robe. Perhaps because the belt had been tied carelessly, the collar hung rather open, revealing at a glance the firm, beautifully sculpted muscles of his chest.

Shi Sheng blinked slowly, already screaming internally.

"..." Elaine, whose hearing had always been far sharper than normal, felt like he was about to go deaf.

Yet the Omega who had nearly screamed him deaf showed no expression whatsoever. Sitting there hugging a pillow, he even looked a little dazed.

Elaine pulled the towel from his head and handed it to Shi Sheng. "Perhaps I can enjoy a little of my legal rights?"

His half-damp long hair rested over his shoulders, while the wet strands on his forehead obscured part of his eyes. He looked far more gentle than usual.

At the same time, though, he carried a dangerously sensual air.

Shi Sheng's heart pounded wildly, and it took several turns of thought before he understood what Elaine meant.

How strange. Technology had advanced to this point, and there were already hundreds of ways to dry washed hair quickly, yet Elaine did not use any of them.

Shi Sheng took the towel. When he saw Elaine sit down by the bed, he knelt behind him and carefully dried his hair.

[His hair is so pretty... and so smooth.]

[Does he normally wear this kind of sleepwear? Damn it, how many Omegas is he trying to charm to death? But I should be the only one who gets to see this. Hehe.]

[His shoulders are really broad. Under such a beautiful face is such a perfect body too. The goddess really is biased.]

[I really want to touch it. I wonder if pretending to fall over would work?]

Elaine lowered his head to make it easier for Shi Sheng, a smile tugging at his lips as he listened to the Omega's thoughts.

Shi Sheng's thoughts wandered all over the place for a long while. Only when Elaine's hair was nearly dry did he reluctantly hand the towel back.

"Thank you." Elaine put the towel on the robot's tray. "Go to sleep."

Shi Sheng hurriedly hugged his pillow and rolled into the inner corner of the bed. Once Elaine lay down beside him, he carefully shifted a little, picked up the voice device, and solemnly typed out each word one at a time.

"Good night. May the dream goddess watch over you."

He received the exact same words in reply.

Shi Sheng's heart beat fiercely, and all drowsiness vanished.

He lay with his back to Elaine for quite some time, until even his right shoulder began to ache, before carefully turning over.

Elaine's breathing was steady. He should have fallen asleep.

So Shi Sheng cautiously edged a little closer.

Elaine had attended military academy in his teens and gone to war not long after. It could be said that he had grown up in military camps; even asleep, he was almost never fully relaxed.

At this moment, he lay flat on his back, his body rising and falling faintly with every breath.

[He should be asleep, right?]

[It should be fine if I secretly touch his muscles a little, right? We're legally married and all.]

Shi Sheng cautiously raised his hand, then quickly lowered it again.

[Forget it. This angle is too difficult. I could easily get caught.]

Just as he was thinking that, the sleeping Elaine rolled over. His handsome face turned toward Shi Sheng, and with the movement, the loose collar of his robe slipped down, exposing his firm pecs.

Shi Sheng's breath caught. He stared wide-eyed at the Alpha, now even closer to him, while a wicked little person began dancing in his heart.

In the end, tempted by that wicked little person, Shi Sheng boldly reached out.

Feeling a soft hand press against his chest, Elaine had to use nearly all the skill he possessed as the Empire's marshal to keep pretending to sleep.

Fortunately, that hand quickly withdrew.

[Enough, enough. Pecs are great, but I can't be greedy and keep touching them.]

Shi Sheng covered his face and rolled into the corner by the wall. After facing the wall and calming down for a while, he quietly rolled back over.

His eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, and he slowly traced the outline of Elaine's face with his gaze.

[Elaine is even gentler than I imagined.]

[Today felt like we were really partners. He even noticed that I don't like drinking milk.]

[But wasn't he dissatisfied with His Majesty's arranged marriage? Does he think I'm acceptable?]

[He hasn't noticed that I'm not my brother either, so I must be doing a convincing job, right?]

[That's right... I'm my brother now. Even if he is satisfied, he's satisfied with my brother.]

[My brother was so famous at military academy. Compared to him, Elaine probably doesn't even remember me.]

[Elaine, I...]

Shi Sheng's thoughts suddenly vanished.

There was a brief rustling from beside him, then complete silence.

Elaine opened his eyes and saw that Shi Sheng had rolled back to the wall.

His pillow was under his head, and the Omega was clutching a corner of the blanket with his face buried in the pillow.

Judging from the rise and fall of his body, he had not fallen asleep right away. It was unclear what he was thinking about.

Elaine only felt that his back looked terribly slender.

The next morning at breakfast, Lindsay was nowhere to be seen, while Yumian arrived yawning.

The butler, Merico, stood beside Elaine and reported on various matters, first reminding everyone that the royal ball was approaching again.

"Young masters should find partners for the opening dance as soon as possible."

"Enough, Merico." Yumian frowned as he drank oat milk. "Other than my eldest brother, who's already married, I'm the only one here. What are you in such a hurry for? I already invited Lanreese."

Merico said, "The royal ball is held once each quarter. Young Master need not invite Young Master Lanreese every time. You could also try other noble Alphas."

Yumian curled his lip. "I don't want to be like my second brother."

"Speaking of Second Young Master." Merico smiled. "We received a letter yesterday. He will be returning soon as well."

Yumian said, "He's rushing back for the ball, I bet."

The moment he finished speaking, another voice sounded.

[Right, if it's that ball, Izel should be coming back too.]

[Ah, that poor sucker. I really am looking forward to the moment he meets Noah.]

[After all, Noah will become the target of his forced love.]

Yumian's hand froze around his knife and fork, while Elaine glanced at Shi Sheng too.

[But I haven't seen Yumian promote Noah lately. Will Noah still have a chance to attend the ball?]

[That's an important beginning to his grand revenge plan.]

Yumian frowned. He had not expected this Noah to be connected to his second brother.

He wanted to listen more closely, but Shi Sheng's thoughts took another turn.

[I should worry about myself instead. There will be so many people at the ball who knew my brother. If I'm not careful, I'll be exposed.]

[But Elaine rarely attends balls. Does that mean I won't need to go either? Still, I kind of want to go watch the drama unfold.]

[And I hope I don't run into that annoying bastard Ji Sui. Oh, and his adulterous lover Lowell.]

Yumian looked at Shi Sheng again.

How could that dead-fish face contain so many words?

Merico could not hear Shi Sheng's thoughts. After urging Yumian to find a dance partner, he reminded Elaine of a second matter.

"Master, you and Madam need to go to the Marriage Center today to register."

Shi Sheng froze when he heard that.

[Register? Didn't the royal registrar already come to the house to record everything before?]

Under the Empire's marriage laws, a pair of partners had to go to the Marriage Center to update their identities and register, entering both parties' pheromone grades and compatibility into the system before they could be considered legally married.

Since theirs was a marriage decreed by His Majesty, the royal family had previously sent someone to the Shi family to register Shi Yi's information. Shi Sheng had assumed that meant the information had already been successfully entered.

[Even though I'm wearing my brother's identity chip, there must be iris scans or something during the process, right? Wouldn't that expose me...]

[What do I do...]

The Omega stared blankly at his spoon, his face a little pale.

Elaine watched Shi Sheng, his eyes darkening slightly, then said to the butler, "Have Alrid come over."

Shi Sheng was just considering secretly messaging home to ask them to think of a solution when a shadow suddenly fell across him. A plate of fully peeled boiled shrimp appeared before him.

"Eat. Stop spacing out." Elaine's voice was always cold and crisp, but the end of his sentence was somewhat gentle.

Such a simple sentence made Shi Sheng's heart race. He hurriedly lowered his head and obediently started eating.

Yumian stared wide-eyed at Elaine's actions, suspecting that Shi Sheng might really possess some kind of black technology.

Adjutant Alrid arrived soon afterward and entered the study with Elaine to talk.

With nothing to do, Shi Sheng sat on the steps and watched the gardener robots trim the lawn.

Yumian was wandering around the garden as well. Shi Sheng saw him standing with his arms folded and directing the robots, looking noble and refined.

[Yumian really is very beautiful.]

Yumian, in the distance, paused mid-motion.

[If I remember correctly, in the original plot, after Yumian takes Noah to the ball, Noah will find a way to approach the Crown Prince.]

[After that, he'll use the Crown Prince's power to get revenge and leave the Carlos family severely weakened.]

[How strange. Why isn't Elaine in this story? With Elaine around, the Carlos family couldn't possibly be brought down so easily.]

[But as the villain in Noah's story, Yumian's family really does pay a terrible price.]

[Come to think of it, why does Noah believe the Carlos family caused his family's ruin?]

[There hasn't been any news these past few years.]

Yumian frowned as he listened to Shi Sheng's thoughts.

As for enemies, their family had far too many to count.

Not to mention the entire Empire, there were countless families in the capital alone who wanted the Carlos family dead because of differing political positions.

Over the years, quite a few families had disappeared due to shifts in the Empire's political landscape.

With only these clues, it was difficult to determine Noah's identity.