FRGL chapter 74

After dinner, the sky outside had turned completely dark.

Unlike in Nantes, where city lights would chase away the darkness even before night fully arrived, lighting up the streets as bright as day, Lansai’s night was true night. Once the last traces of sunlight vanished beyond the western horizon, everything was swallowed by pitch black.

There were no streetlights outside, only small oil lamps in front of store entrances. The streets that had been bustling and crowded just hours ago were now eerily silent. Those who hadn’t made it home yet hurried along, as if afraid of being devoured by some unseen monster. For a time, the only sounds in the city were the wind and the distant barking of stray dogs.

But the moon had risen, and the stars were bright. The sky here was clearer than in Nantes, with the Milky Way stretching grandly across the night. The moon’s glow was the brightest thing in sight.

The restaurant’s dining hall had been cleaned up, and people had gradually dispersed. The sudden quietness made Luo Hai feel a little uneasy.

It was an odd and unfamiliar feeling. He had always been used to silence, yet now, this abrupt stillness made him anxious.

Maybe it was because everything today had happened so fast. He had been swept up in events before he even had time to process them, but now, as he finally stopped and let his mind catch up, he realized just how much had transpired in such a short time.

“Wanna go for a walk?” A voice sounded above him. Luo Hai looked up and met Eugene’s gaze.

“What, you want me to hop along on one leg to keep you company?” Luo Hai scoffed.

Eugene’s eyes flickered with mischief. “If you don’t mind, I could carry you.”

Luo Hai stood up to leave.

“Wait, wait, I was joking. There’s a wheelchair.” Eugene quickly grabbed him. “Give me a minute.”

Luo Hai was actually quite tired. Rationally, he knew he should decline Eugene’s offer, find a soft bed, and get some much-needed sleep. But that nagging sense of unease still churned in his chest, making him—though he wouldn’t admit it—want to spend more time with Eugene.

So he nodded.

Eugene shot off like an arrow. Less than a minute later, he returned, pushing a slightly worn, chipped wheelchair.

“Your carriage awaits, my lord.” Eugene steadied the wheelchair and made an exaggeratedly formal gesture.

Luo Hai: “…”

He’s insane.

With Eugene’s assistance, the injured Luo Hai sat down in the wheelchair. As he did, he noticed a faint, dark red stain on the edges of the chair. He reached out and touched it—crumbs of dried residue stuck to his fingertips.

Blood.

He quickly understood what this wheelchair had been used for, and his heart sank slightly.

Besides him, how many other injured Omegas had sat in this chair before? Of those who had, how many had gotten up again, alive?

Had Eugene himself… ever sat in this chair?

Before his thoughts could spiral further, a gentle push from behind pulled him back to reality.

Eugene didn’t take the main road forward but instead turned onto a small side path. Before long, the view ahead opened up.

Moonlight spilled over Luo Hai’s shoulders, the night breeze brushing against his temples with a cool touch. Surprisingly, it wasn’t cold at all—just crisp and refreshing.

“There are rooms on the second and third floors of the inn. I’ve prepared one for you on the second floor, facing the sun, near the elevator,” Eugene said. “I’ll show you when we get back. If you don’t like it, we can switch.”

“No need,” Luo Hai said. “I’m not as picky as you.”

Eugene smiled. “If I had known you’d hurt your leg, I would’ve found you a room on the first floor. At the time, I was only thinking that the second-floor rooms were bigger and would be more convenient for your luggage—but now, looking at it, you don’t have much luggage anyway.”

That joke was a little dark, making Luo Hai inexplicably chuckle.

He truly didn’t have much luggage. Apart from the gun on him, all he had was a bloodstained suit and himself.

His books, his piano, everything he owned was left behind in that small apartment in Nantes, but at this moment, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret. Even if he never saw them again, it wouldn’t matter.

The only real burden he carried in this life was himself, and that burden had already been placed exactly where it needed to be.

Eugene slowly pushed Luo Hai’s wheelchair along the empty path, moving forward at an unhurried pace. The silence around them was so complete that not a single sound could be heard, only the noise of footsteps and the rolling of the wheelchair’s wheels.

“Eugene,” Luo Hai spoke after a while.

“Hmm?”

“I have a question.”

“Go ahead.” Eugene’s lips curled slightly, as if he had already anticipated it.

Luo Hai didn’t turn his head, still facing away from him. “You’ve always wanted me to join the Lightwing Society, haven’t you? Why not take this opportunity to announce to the world that the host of the Trial Execution and the adopted son of the Nantes chief prosecutor has defected?”

Eugene chuckled.

“First, for the Lightwing Society, you’re worth more as a hostage than as a teammate. Holding a prosecutor captive—especially the host of the Trial Execution and the chief prosecutor’s adopted son—will make those reckless, arrogant Alphas wary and also allow us to make some demands of the prosecution office.”

As Eugene spoke, he rested his elbow on the back of the wheelchair, leaning in closer to Luo Hai.

“Second, you haven’t actually defected. The reason you’re here now is that I held a gun to your head and kidnapped you. The reason you can’t escape is that I shot your leg, rendering you unable to resist.” Eugene’s voice lowered. “None of this is an act—anyone with eyes can see that.”

His warm breath brushed against the sensitive back of Luo Hai’s neck, making him instinctively shrink forward, his body stiffening slightly.

…What complete nonsense.

What kind of reasoning was this?

“Of course, there’s also a third reason.” Eugene lowered his head slightly, his wavy bangs lightly grazing Luo Hai’s ear. His gaze softened a little. “I don’t want to be the one who destroys what you’ve worked so hard for over the past ten years.”

Luo Hai froze for a moment.

“I’ve thought about it. Asking you to give up the Alpha life you fought so hard for, to join the Lightwing Society and become my subordinate—that’s a very selfish request. Your life should be yours to decide. No matter what stance I take, I have no right to interfere with your choices.”

Eugene straightened up, his tone relaxed. “So, no matter what, I can’t let you be suspected. You are Prosecutor Luo Hai of the Nantes Prosecution Office, and you can only be Prosecutor Luo Hai. If one day, the Lightwing Society loses this fight—if I fail to win Omegas the right to live as actual people—you can still be an Alpha, a prosecutor. You can still live with dignity and status.”

Luo Hai’s throat felt blocked, unable to form words.

He wanted to say that he didn’t need such cheap charity, that Doyle would never let him go no matter what. That even without all this, he had already been forced into a dead end—there was no other choice left for him.

He wanted to say that he could have endured the darkness, if only the light had never returned.

But he couldn’t say anything—because no one understood the weight of Eugene’s words better than he did.

Eugene Oddis had a ruthless scale in his heart, capable of weighing anything and making the coldest yet most beneficial decisions. It was how he had toyed with the prosecution office, leading them in circles, and how he had pushed forward every step of his plan.

And now, Eugene had placed him on one side of the scale, with the Lightwing Society on the other.

He was willing to go this far just to leave him a way out if everything failed.

It was so unlike him—yet also, exactly like him.

“Of course, personally, I don’t believe I’ll fail.” Eugene’s lips curled into a sly smile. “One day, the Lightwing Society will storm Nantes’ government building, overthrow the Alpha regime, and then march into the Nantes Prosecutor’s Office to carry you home in a grand procession.”

Luo Hai’s face turned red in an instant. “What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Eugene leaned in closer, whispering against his ear. “So, for now, just be a good little hostage. Stay put, don’t run off. I’m the villain who shot you in front of thousands of people—if you disobey, who knows what I might do to you?”

Luo Hai sighed.

“Are you planning to put an ankle monitor on me next? Limit my movements to within a hundred meters of the Lightwing Hotel?”

“Oh? So you’re into that kind of play?” Eugene raised an eyebrow. “If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have given that ankle monitor back to you. I would’ve kept it and strapped it on you right now.”

Luo Hai: “…”

So this was karma?

Retribution came way too fast.

Eugene seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before he clicked his tongue and added, “Actually, that wouldn’t be enough for me. If it were up to me, I’d use a little device—one that starts vibrating the moment you step more than two meters away from me, so you’d have no choice but to stay right by my side.”

Luo Hai, utterly blindsided, stared at Eugene in disbelief. “Eugene Oddis!”

Eugene burst into triumphant laughter, then leaned down, wrapped his arms around Luo Hai, and kissed him.

Luo Hai’s frustration and embarrassment were completely smothered. In retaliation, he bit Eugene’s lip. But Eugene nimbly dodged his attack and, even more skillfully, used his thumb to press down on Luo Hai’s lower lip, prying his mouth open and deepening the kiss, leaving him no room to resist.

Luo Hai kept his eyes closed, yet he could feel the moonlight spilling down on them, the stars stretching across the night sky. The cool evening breeze brushed against his skin, taking some warmth away—only for Eugene’s kiss to bring the heat back, so warm it could melt the moon.

When the kiss ended, Eugene lowered his gaze, pressing a light yet deliberate kiss to the top of Luo Hai’s head before looking up again. “Come on. Let’s go home.”