Fallen General's Omega (BL)
Chapter 98: Strength

Chapter 98: Strength

I walk through the royal garden, trying to calm down. Ever since being with Noelle, I’ve found that plants have a way of easing my mind. The peaceful sway of leaves in the breeze and the scent of flowers help drown out the chaos in my thoughts. I settle on a nearby bench, closing my eyes, hoping to steal a moment of quiet.

Lately, I’ve been entertaining the idea of running away with Noelle. Those memories of us on the hill, just the two of us, feel like an oasis in the middle of this storm. No politics, no power struggles—just peace. We were happiest there. I imagine expanding our little house, making it truly ours. The thought fills me with a bittersweet longing.

I never desired power for its own sake. It was always a means to an end—to ensure no one could ever step on me again. I wonder, though, what if I were just a normal man? Would things be simpler? Probably not. My beloved star, Noelle, is so breathtakingly beautiful that, if he had been a commoner, I would have likely ended up in jail for killing some noble who tried to lay a hand on him. Then we’d be fugitives, forever on the run. I can’t put him through that life.

Maybe we could flee to a foreign country, find a small, isolated town far from all this madness. A place where we could finally be free, where I could hold Noelle close without any worries-

"This is where you were," a familiar voice pulls me from my thoughts. I glance up to find Count Raymond standing there.

I sigh, my patience thin.

"It might not have been obvious, but I really need some time to myself," I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

He chuckles as if my words were some old inside joke. Without asking, he sits on the bench next to me.

"That tone of yours," he says, amusement coloring his voice, "it takes me right back to that scrawny little kid I knew all those years ago."

I close my eyes again, hoping he’ll get the message and leave, but memories start to surface, unwanted. I met Count Raymond a few months after Grace had abandoned me at the Robbens’. Those bastards had a twisted sense of fun, starving me whenever it pleased them. So, I’d sneak out, jump the fence, and head into the city. Sometimes I scavenged for food, other times I tried hunting birds—anything to keep from starving.

It was one of those days when hunger gnawed at me so deeply, I could feel it in my bones. I had to do something. I jumped the fence and headed into the woods, desperate to find something—anything—to eat. It was either that or starve to death.

-16 years ago-

My body feels heavy, weak. I stumble over tree roots as I trudge through the forest. I’m so hungry it’s making me dizzy, but I push through the haze. My mind keeps replaying Sevian’s smirk as he spat into my food and threw it to the ground. I can’t live like this. I won’t.

I see a rabbit hopping by, its fur a blur of brown against the green underbrush. Heart pounding, I lunge at it, gripping the dull knife I’d swiped from the kitchen earlier. But the rabbit’s too fast, and I’m too weak. I miss by a mile.

Tears sting my eyes, and I want to scream in frustration, but I don’t. I can’t afford to be weak. Not here. Not now. I blink away the tears and keep moving, desperate for any kind of prey.

Hours pass, and I’m barely hanging on. I finally manage to catch a squirrel—pathetic, really. It’s small, bony. But it’s food, and right now, that’s all that matters. I grip it tightly in my trembling hands, my stomach growling. I don’t even know if it’s edible, but I don’t care.

Just as I’m about to leave, a voice cuts through the air.

"Who are you?"

I jump, startled, and instinctively hide the squirrel behind my back, raising the blunt knife toward the intruder. It’s an older man with piercing green eyes, watching me curiously. A boy about my age peeks out from behind his leg, his eyes wide and curious. He has the same green eyes and blond hair.

I don’t say anything, just glare at them, my heart racing.

"What are you doing here?" the man asks again.

"What’s it to you?" I snap back, my voice harsher than I intended.

The man raises an eyebrow. "You’re quite the rude little thing, aren’t you?"

I remain silent, still holding the knife up. My chest is tight with fear and defiance, but I won’t let him see that. I won’t let anyone see that.

We stand in a tense silence, locked in a standoff.

Finally, the man sighs. "Fine. Leave."

I don’t wait for him to change his mind. Grabbing the squirrel, I dash into the forest as fast as my legs will carry me.

-present day-

I didn’t know it at the time, but that forest was part of Count Raymond’s estate. I would sneak back there occasionally, hunting for food when things got unbearable with the Robbens. Eventually, Count Raymond must have noticed, because one day, instead of chasing me away, he offered to teach me how to wield a sword.

Those lessons were the only thing keeping me going back then. When the Robbens made my life unbearable, those moments of training with the count were a small light in the dark. As I got stronger, as I learned to wield the sword with more precision, it felt like I was slowly gaining control of my life again. Like I wasn’t completely powerless.

I didn’t care about the Robbens, didn’t care about their cruelty or their neglect. But I couldn’t deny the impact Count Raymond had on me. He didn’t just teach me how to fight—he gave me something to live for, something to hold onto. In those four long, torturous years, it was his guidance that kept me from falling apart completely.

I’m impassive to almost everyone now. Cold, detached. But the Raymonds? I can’t be like that with them. They helped shape me into who I am. They gave me the tools to survive, to fight. I might have endured the Robbens’ torment, but it was because of Count Raymond that I had the strength to do it.

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