The Omega Knight's Secret Baby Daddy is A PRINCE?! Chapter 180: The K in Kaelis means Koward. Pt. 2

’Was he always this cold?’

Maybe.

Maybe it ca from the streets.

From having to live like that, to survive like that, where softness didn’t get you anywhere, and hesitation only made things worse.

But the gaze—

It was different.

There was sothing sharp in it, sothing steady and unflinching that didn’t match how young he was, and it was enough to make Kaelis feel it, a faint shiver that ran down his spine before he could even stop it.

’Why does he look at like that?’

And yet, when Ezra spoke again, his words didn’t match it at all.

"I-I’m sorry," Ezra said quickly, the tension in his voice obvious now that Kaelis was actually listening for it. "I didn’t know, Your Highness. Please don’t get punished."

Kaelis blinked.

Then again.

It was funny.

It really was.

Because from the start, from the mont he pulled him away, the last thing on Kaelis’ mind was punishnt, and yet Ezra kept circling back to it like it was inevitable.

’Does he think I’d do that?’

Kaelis glanced back at him, his expression shifting slightly, sothing quieter settling in.

"Punished? No. I’m not going to get you punished." His grip tightened just a little, not harsh, but firm enough to keep him from stepping away too quickly.

Now, it was ti to be honest.

At least a little.

"I’ve been curious about you," Kaelis admitted, the words coming out slower this ti, more deliberate. "And to think you’d fall so close to of all people."

He paused for half a second.

’That sounded better in my head.’

Ezra visibly looked confused, his brows pulling together as he stared at Kaelis, the confusion quickly shifting into sothing sharper, sothing closer to a glare.

And that—

That made Kaelis tense.

’He really shouldn’t act like this in the palace,’ Kaelis thought, concern slipping in where the amusent used to be. ’Not everyone takes kindly to people like him.’

He knew that better than most.

Kaelis had multiple siblings, far more than what the public knew, and despite only a few being acknowledged openly by their father, the rest carried themselves like they owned everything.

And they weren’t kind.

’I should warn him before he bumps into the wrong people.’

Kaelis slowed.

Then stopped.

"But," Kaelis went on calmly, his tone shifting again, more composed now, more instructive, "for the record, and so you don’t embarrass yourself again, when you et soone with eyes like mine, you do not look at them like that."

His hand moved without much thought, pulling Ezra’s arm down slightly—

Too suddenly.

Ezra lost his balance, his body tipping forward, and Kaelis reacted on instinct, his hand pressing against the back of Ezra’s head to steady him—

Only to realize too late what position that forced him into.

A bow.

A perfect one.

Kaelis froze for a second.

’Oh.’

Before he could process apologizing, before he could pull him back up, his thoughts snapped back to what he was trying to say.

And Ezra—

Ezra was already there.

Head lowered.

Posture correct.

"There," Kaelis said softly, almost without thinking, his voice lowering as he looked at the position. "You bow. You don’t et our eyes."

He kept his hand there for a second longer than necessary before finally easing the pressure, though he didn’t pull away completely just yet.

Now, it was ti to boast a little.

"This," Kaelis continued, his tone turning lighter again, almost lazy, "is how you properly address us. Just in case Helios forgot to teach you."

’See that? I’m better than Helios because I’m teaching you to be safe in the palace.’

The thought ca with a small, quiet satisfaction, sothing almost childish that he didn’t bother hiding from himself.

He expected sothing in return.

Surprise.

Maybe curiosity.

Or even just silence, the kind that ca from not knowing what to do next.

Any of those would’ve been fine.

Because more than anything—

He was just glad he was finally talking to him.

That this wasn’t just a passing glimpse.

That this wasn’t another failed attempt.

But—

Ezra didn’t react the way he expected.

Sothing in his expression shifted, sothing tight, sothing that didn’t quite look like confusion anymore.

It looked...off.

’Should I ask him if he’s okay?’ Kaelis thought, his brows pulling together slightly, uncertainty settling in for the first ti since they left the bushes.

Before he could decide—

"Understood."

The words ca out stiff.

Flat in a way that made Kaelis notice imdiately.

And without thinking, he let go.

His hand dropped back to his side as he took a small step back, giving Ezra space he didn’t realize he needed to give.

’Did I do sothing wrong?’ Kaelis thought, the question lingering longer than he expected.

Kaelis watched him for a mont longer.

It didn’t take much to see it.

The boy wasn’t happy.

If anything, he looked like he wanted to leave, like he was already looking for the quickest way out, his body angled just enough to suggest he’d take it the mont he could.

That...wasn’t what Kaelis wanted.

Not after finally getting the chance to speak to him.

’No, don’t leave yet.’

He didn’t say that out loud.

Instead, he reached for sothing else, anything that would keep him there a little longer, sothing that wouldn’t sound desperate.

"Co," Kaelis said lightly, his tone easing back into sothing casual, sothing easier to accept. "I’ll get you out of here."

He turned slightly as he said it, as if it was already decided, as if Ezra would follow without question.

He wanted to walk with him.

Even if it was just for a little while.

"You don’t have to," Ezra replied almost imdiately, his voice colder now, sharper in a way that hadn’t been there before. "I know my way, Your Highness."

Kaelis froze.

Just slightly.

The refusal settled heavier than he expected, his thoughts stalling for a second as he tried to figure out what to do next.

’No...that’s not...’

He wanted to say no.

Wanted to insist.

Wanted to keep him there.

But he couldn’t just say that.

So instead, he stood there for a brief mont, staring at Ezra, his mind moving quickly again, searching for sothing else to hold onto, sothing else to say.

Then—

Sothing clicked.

A different approach.

"You know," Kaelis said, stepping closer again, closing that bit of distance Ezra had tried to create, his tone shifting into sothing more familiar, sothing he was used to. "Since you’re younger than , you probably haven’t presented yet."

His gaze dropped briefly, taking in Ezra’s fra, the way he carried himself, the subtle details he had learned to notice without effort.

He wanted to talk more.

And this—

This was sothing he understood.

Sothing he was good at.

"With your height," Kaelis continued casually, as if he was stating sothing obvious, "and the way you look in general, it’s obvious."

He folded his arms, settling into it more comfortably now that he had sothing to say.

"You’re going to be an oga."

Ezra went still; it was obvious to Kaelis that he did.

"And as an alpha," Kaelis went on, his tone taking on that familiar edge again, sothing just a little smug, a little self-assured, though beneath it there was sothing else, sothing quieter, "even if I am a prince, it’s my duty to protect little ogas like you in a place like this."

His lips curved slightly.

"Especially since you’re a boy. Male ogas are rare, you know."

’There. That should—’

He stopped.

Mid-thought.

Sothing else ca to him.

Sudden.

His eyes widened just slightly, the realization hitting faster than he could filter it, his chest tightening in a way that didn’t feel good this ti.

’I wonder...’

"I wonder if that’s why Helios brought you here."

Present...

Kaelis had always wondered if that had been the reason.

That single thought had lingered in the back of his mind for years, resurfacing whenever he looked at Ezra, whenever sothing didn’t quite make sense.

Until Ezra supposedly presented as an Alpha.

But...

That wasn’t the point of reminiscing.

The point was sothing much simpler.

And sohow...much harder to admit.

Kaelis had never known what to say to Ezra.

Not back then.

Not now.

Whenever Ezra’s eyes were on him, whenever that gaze settled on him fully, his mind would go blank, his thoughts tangling over themselves until nothing ca out right.

’Why does it always end up like this?’

And maybe—

Maybe it was because he was scared.

He used to be scared.

No—

He still was.

That hadn’t changed.

In all the tis Kaelis had tried, whether it was clumsy attempts as a child or sharper, more guarded interactions now, Ezra would always push back.

And fairly so.

Because from Ezra’s perspective, from the way things had been shaped around him—

He belonged to Helios.

Not in the way Kaelis wanted to think about it.

But in the way everyone else saw it.

And maybe...over the years, Kaelis had grown to dislike Ezra because of that.

Not openly.

Not in a way he could admit without feeling sothing twist in his chest.

But it was there.

That irritation.

That quiet resentnt.

Even when he knew Ezra wasn’t at fault.

’It’s not his fault.’

Maybe that was why it frustrated him even more.

Because deep down, Kaelis knew the truth.

That it wasn’t Ezra he disliked.

It was himself.

The part of him that hesitated.

The part that stayed quiet.

The part that never said anything when it mattered.

And maybe—

Maybe he had convinced himself that he didn’t deserve to pursue Ezra anymore.

That whatever chance he had once, however small it was, had already passed.

Either way—

Kaelis couldn’t tell him.

Not now.

Not after all this ti.

Maybe it was the situation.

Maybe it was the timing.

Maybe it was that sa fear, still sitting where it always had been.

’It wouldn’t change anything.’

Or maybe...

He just didn’t want to see Ezra look at him differently.

So instead—

Kaelis settled for sothing smaller.

Sothing safer.

"All I know about the bread is that it wasn’t Helios," Kaelis says softly, his voice quieter than before, his eyes fixed on Ezra as he watched it happen.

Watched the realization settle.

Watched sothing break.

Ezra’s face changed.

Right in front of him.

And Kaelis felt it.

"I want you to tell what more? What else?" Ezra asks, his voice tighter now, his gaze locked onto Kaelis.

But it wasn’t the sa gaze.

Not the cold one Kaelis had gotten used to over the years.

That distant, sharp look that pushed everyone away.

This—

This looked familiar.

Too familiar.

’...that’s him.’

The sa broken boy from the streets.

The one Kaelis had watched from afar.

The one he had tried so hard to reach.

And despite everything—

Despite the hesitation.

Despite the fear.

There was one mistake Kaelis refused to make again.

Not this ti.

Not when Ezra was looking at him like that.

"I’ll help you," Kaelis says, his voice steadying as he lets a small, reassuring smile settle on his lips, softer than usual, less guarded. "I’ll tell you everything you want to know, Ezra."