The Omega Knight's Secret Baby Daddy is A PRINCE?!

Chapter 216: What Ifs

"Kakay!"

Kaelis smiles almost immediately as he hears that familiar little voice calling out to him from across the room.

How long has this started now?

Smiling whenever he heard Lior’s voice.

Because honestly, Kaelis couldn’t even remember anymore.

All he knew was that somewhere along the way, hearing those tiny footsteps running toward him had started feeling oddly comforting.

And right on cue, little footsteps came stomping toward him at full speed.

Kaelis’ arms instinctively open just as Lior throws himself forward, and Kaelis catches him easily before lifting him up into his arms.

"Lior," Kaelis says softly as he looks at the young boy properly. "So energetic in the morning."

"I was trying to do a puzzle!" Lior exclaims dramatically with a pout. "It’s my first time trying to solve a puzzle, but I’m having a very toh time."

Kaelis blinks once.

"Toh?"

Lior nods seriously.

"You mean tough?" Kaelis asks carefully.

"That’s what I said!" Lior huffs immediately, clearly offended that Kaelis dared question his pronunciation.

That immediately makes Kaelis laugh.

An actual laugh.

"Of course it was," Kaelis says easily, still amused as he adjusts Lior more comfortably in his arms.

Then his gaze shifts toward Love, who was quietly watching them with an amused smile on her face.

"Everything’s going well, I assume?" Kaelis asks.

"Yes, Your Highness," Love answers warmly. "Lior has been a delight. He is the smartest child I have taught."

Then she pauses dramatically.

"In contrast to someone I knew who would cry at the sight of books."

Lior immediately gasps.

"Like Kakay!"

Kaelis looks horrified.

"What? Who told you that?"

"Gramma Love!"

Kaelis slowly turns toward Love, who was very clearly trying not to laugh now.

"How could you?" Kaelis says jokingly. "I trusted you."

That only makes Lior laugh even harder.

"Kakay is a crybaby."

"I am not." Kaelis argues immediately.

"You are too!"

Kaelis rolls his eyes playfully.

Honestly, he should feel embarrassed.

But hearing Lior laugh like this somehow made it difficult to care.

"Has your Maman left for long?" Kaelis asks after a moment, noticing Ezra was already gone from the room.

"Yeah!" Lior nods. "He has work! Do you have work too?"

Kaelis stares at him for a second.

Big eyes.

A completely innocent expression.

Still holding part of the puzzle piece in his tiny hand.

’How adorable.’ Kaelis thought affectionately.

"I do, actually." Kaelis smiles faintly. "I just came to check up on you since I was around."

It was a lie.

Kaelis came directly from his own palace.

He absolutely went out of his way to stop by first before dealing with the rest of his responsibilities today.

He had work to do.

Meeting with Aurien.

Mostly for the investigation.

Trying to get information about him and Aamon.

But somehow, after everything lately, Kaelis found himself wanting to see Ezra and Lior first before anything else.

And oddly enough, seeing Lior genuinely helped calm him.

Kaelis didn’t fully understand why.

Maybe because Lior was untouched by all the palace politics despite being caught in the middle of it.

Or maybe because Lior somehow managed to brighten every room he entered without trying.

The child was smart.

Funny.

Sharp in ways that constantly surprised Kaelis.

And dangerously easy to get attached to.

Sometimes Kaelis almost envied Ezra for it.

For being able to spend time with a child as clever and lovable as Lior every single day.

And maybe...

Maybe there was another reason too.

Because every time Kaelis looked at Lior now, he kept catching glimpses of things that felt painfully familiar.

Expressions.

Habits.

The way Lior smiled whenever he successfully teased someone.

Things that made Kaelis’ chest ache strangely sometimes without fully understanding why.

"Kakay?" Lior suddenly says, blinking at him curiously. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Kaelis immediately blinks out of his thoughts.

"...You remind me of someone annoying."

Lior gasps dramatically.

"Me?!"

"Yes. Unfortunately." Kaelis sighs theatrically. "You’re becoming too powerful."

Lior bursts into giggles again while Love quietly shakes her head fondly nearby.

And despite everything waiting for him outside this room, Kaelis realizes something uncomfortable.

This place was starting to feel dangerous too.

Not because of the investigation.

But because he was beginning to feel attached.

The realization settled heavily in his chest before he could stop it.

So before he could think too hard about it, Kaelis bends down and carefully places Lior back onto the ground.

"Try and finish the puzzle now, I need to go," he says lightly.

Lior immediately pouts.

A dramatic pout too.

But after a second, the child simply nods and smiles again like he always did.

"Okay, have fun!" he says brightly, and somehow that only makes the uncomfortable feeling inside Kaelis worse.

Because Lior said things so sincerely.

So easily.

Like the world was still kind enough for people to simply have fun.

"You have fun too," Kaelis says softly before glancing toward Love. "I leave everything to you."

"Of course. Let me see you out," Love says as she starts walking toward him.

Kaelis immediately narrows his eyes slightly.

’Uh oh, she wants to talk to me privately.’

He knew that tone.

He waves once more toward Lior, who was already sitting back down at the small table with his puzzle pieces scattered everywhere.

"Bye bye!" Lior exclaims loudly.

Kaelis only smiles back before finally turning around.

Love follows after him quietly as they leave the room together.

The moment the door closes behind them, Love hums softly.

"You still surprise me every day, Prince Kaelis."

Kaelis glances back at her.

"How so?"

Love smiles knowingly.

"I thought you said you didn’t like children."

"I said I don’t want to have one," Kaelis corrects immediately. "But I tolerate them."

Love raises an eyebrow at him.

"How you act around Lior doesn’t seem like just tolerating."

There was a teasing lilt in her voice now.

"Daresay, I think you’re slowly changing your mind on having a child."

Kaelis hesitates.

Actually hesitates.

And the fact that he even needed to think about the answer irritated him slightly.

Because for years, he had always been firm about it.

He never wanted children.

Never.

Why would he?

He wouldn’t want to bring someone into this kind of life.

Not when everything still revolved around politics, heirs, bloodlines, and survival.

Even if Kaelis abdicated someday, the law was still cruelly simple.

If Kaelis ever had a son first, that child would automatically become the next heir to the throne.

Which meant Kaelis himself would become king until the child was old enough to inherit the position.

Even if Helios had children.

Even if Aurien had children.

If Kaelis produced the first heir, then by law, he would win succession automatically.

Samson was the only exception in history because he had multiple sons from different partners.

Even then, the law still recognized all of them equally.

That was why producing an heir mattered so much within the royal family.

Once a prince produced one, they essentially secured their place.

It was complicated.

Cruel too.

And Kaelis wanted absolutely no part in it.

He wasn’t going to subject a child to that kind of life.

Not willingly.

"You didn’t answer right away," Love points out smugly. "So I assume you have changed your mind—"

"No," Kaelis says immediately.

Then quieter, he adds,

"I might love the idea of maybe having a child, but that just gives me more motivation not to have one."

Love’s teasing expression softens slightly.

"In this day, in this dangerous age where I can’t trust anyone else..." Kaelis exhales quietly. "I wouldn’t do that to a child."

And he meant it.

Because children in this palace were never just children.

They became weapons.

Tools.

Future heirs.

Kaelis had lived through that himself.

"And what if by some miracle you do have a child? What then?" Love asks curiously. "Let me be frank, you weren’t exactly the conservative prince. You’ve had your fair share of encounters."

"Safe encounters," Kaelis corrects immediately. "There wouldn’t be anyone who ends up pregnant—"

Well.

There was Ezra.

During Ezra’s heat in the forest.

Kaelis suddenly stops walking.

Completely.

"...Oh."

Love slowly looks at him.

Kaelis’ eyes widen slightly.

Because now that he thought about it properly...

He actually hadn’t thought about that encounter much afterward.

Mostly because everything else happening lately has been far more important.

But now—

’Shit. Am I supposed to worry now?’ Kaelis thought suddenly.

Because Lior himself was proof that Ezra was very fertile.

Which meant there was technically a chance that—

Kaelis immediately feels his chest tighten strangely.

Not panic exactly.

Something else.

Something much more dangerous.

"But what if there is?" Love asks innocently, though she looks far too entertained now. "Humor me. Just a what if?"

Kaelis slowly looks at her.

And for the first time in years, Prince Kaelis genuinely looked unsettled.

"I would do whatever it takes to make sure no one found out about him."