Secretary Gorf took a deep breath, his usually calm expression cracking with rare alarm.

"Your Highness, are you out of your mind?" he whispered, stepping closer so the nobles wouldn’t hear. "Emperor Lirien, your father, will kill me. She’ll go mad if even a single scratch shows on your body."

I scoffed, still vibrating from the adrenaline of the challenge. "She’s not that serious."

Gorf gave me a look so weary it aged him ten years. "You really don’t know your own father, do you?" His voice dropped to a murmur, heavy with certainty. "She forced you to marry Elaine, yes, but not because she hates you for turning into an omega. She’s terrified for you. Do you think your parents couldn’t have another child if they wanted heirs? They chose you. They love you."

"She... she..." I stammered, the words catching in my throat.

"She loves you too much," he said, steady and firm. "All she ever thinks about is your safety. That’s why she’s overprotective, why she smothered you with guards, with etiquette, with this whole... cage of ’princess’ rules."

"She doesn’t show it."

"Yes, she doesn’t show it like your mother, but you are her daughter. And she will do anything to protect you—even if it looks like suffocation." He sighed, as if admitting the emperor’s flaws out loud was a crime he’d spent years avoiding. "You’ve never seen her when she’s alone with your mother, have you?"

"She yells at me for most of the time."

"Maybe. You’ve never seen her pacing at night, checking on you twice, three times, just to make sure you’re safe. She’s not gentle, Your Highness. She’s not soft. But she’s not heartless either."

"But she..." I pressed, anger flaring again despite the warmth of his words. "She made me marry Elaine. Maybe she hates me for turning into an omega. Maybe she thinks I’m useless now. Maybe she thinks I’m weak, that I can’t be trusted with the throne if I’m not an Alpha."

Gorf’s eyes softened at the edge of his weariness, the way a parent’s eyes soften when they hear a child’s deepest fear. "Your Highness, she did it to protect you," he said gently. "And you should tell her that Elaine hurt you. It’s only a matter of time before the emperor notices something is wrong."

"How?" I asked, voice cracking. "Did you—?"

"I am very observant," he said simply. "Look." His gaze flickered to the way I held myself, the tiny wince every time I shifted, the stiffness in my shoulders. "Your father isn’t perfect, but she’s too overprotective of you. I’m only your father’s secretary, but I was also her caretaker when she was young."

"Caretaker?"

"I watched her grow up, watched her become the emperor. She’s not gentle, but she’s not heartless either. She’s not the kind of woman who would stand idly by if her child was being hurt. She’s just... not the kind of woman who shows it."

He paused, letting the air between us settle. "Elaine is my father’s choice," I muttered, still clinging to the last bit of bitterness, the last piece of armor I could hold on to. "So, she’s on her side. She’s protecting her choice."

"She had no choice, Your Majesty" Gorf said, sharper now, his voice hardening. "Elaine’s house pressured her, Your Highness. Your father saw an alliance, a way to secure the border, to keep the peace. She thought she was doing the right thing. But she didn’t know what Elaine would do."

"Is that my fault then?"

"No, it’s not."

"Then?!"

"She didn’t know what kind of person Elaine was. She thought she was protecting you from the war, from the chaos, from the border skirmishes. She didn’t know she was putting you in a cage."

He looked at me, his gaze surprisingly kind beneath the lines of duty. "As an omega, you will be discriminated by everyone. You’ll be told you’re only for heirs, for protection, for birth. That’s the system. Do you understand?" His voice softened.

"But I am feeling trapped..."

"You’re not the first one to feel this. You’re not the only one who’s been trapped in this world, in this role, in this cage. But you’re the one sitting on the throne. You’re the one who can break the rules instead of following them."

My jaw tightened. "I don’t like how they treat me."

"No," he said, his voice firm. "And you shouldn’t. But you will have to endure. At least for now. The world doesn’t change in a day, Your Highness. It doesn’t change in a year. It changes slowly, piece by piece. You can’t force it. You can’t break it all at once."

"So, what’s the thing? What should I do?"

"But you can chip away at it. You can show them that an Omega can be more than just a vessel, more than just a princess to be protected. You can show them that an omega can be a leader, a ruler, a warrior."

"You think?" I asked, the anger softening into something quieter, more dangerous—determination. The words tasted like iron on my tongue, sharp and unyielding.

"I believe," he said firmly, his gaze unwavering. "But first, Your Highness, if you’re going to fight that Count, make sure you win. And please—don’t let the emperor find out I didn’t stop you. I like breathing." He sighed, the sound almost comical against the weight of the moment. "Omega or alpha, hard‑headedness is the same. I’ll arrange the duel."

A small, wry smile tugged at my lips despite everything. "Then help me win," I said, the words firm and steady. "Or at least make sure I’m not bleeding when Papa comes back."

He sighed again, but the ghost of a smile flickered on his lips. "Then we’ll see to it that you’re not. I’ll make sure the duel is fair, that the terms are clear, and that the Count doesn’t underestimate you. Because if she does, she’ll lose. And you’ll break the rules before you even sit on the throne."

"It sounds... reassuring...?"

He paused, his gaze softening. "But remember, Your Highness. Even if you win, the world won’t change overnight. Even if you break the rules, the system will still be there. You’ll have to fight every day, every year, every decade. "

"Sound tiring."

"Yes, it is. But as I told you before... you’ll have to chip away at it, one piece at a time. But I believe you can do it. I believe you will change the world."

I nodded, the weight of his words settling on my shoulders like a crown. "Then I’ll start with the duel," I said, the determination in my voice like a blade. "And then I’ll start changing the world."