FMY 28

“Duke Arthur.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

A subtle current sparked between the two dominant alphas. No, to be precise, it was from the Duke to the prince.

Raphael kept his smile as he turned his body toward the Duke. Of course, his hand remained wrapped around Serge’s waist from the cheek kiss, not letting go.

Anyone could see it was the gesture of an alpha claiming his omega. The sensation was a little new to Serge, as he had never had a body small enough to fit snugly in an alpha’s embrace, except during his early childhood, and there had been no one in this life who wanted to hold him like that.

“I sincerely apologize for not being able to escort my fiancé and the precious Mr. Arthur myself.”

“Ahem.”

Despite the apology offered with ‘sincerity’—the truth of which no one could know—Duke Arthur’s discomfort, as if he had a nasty phlegm in his throat, seemed to persist. As expected, a hedgehog does not lower its spines so easily.

“As there are many outside guests at this event, I could not help but attend to security and had to organize the guards.”

At those words, Serge was reminded that he was the commander of the Royal Guards.

“No, why are the Royal Guard not mobilizing? Is His Highness the Crown Prince not presiding as the host of the ball today?”

His face was full of the question, “You’re not the one in charge, are you?”

Duke Arthur pointed out that the security inside and outside the ballroom was the role of the Crown Prince, the head of the Royal Guard, but Raphael did not answer and only smiled mysteriously.

Reading the answer in that silent expression and gesture, the Duke secretly clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk tsk’.

He was well aware that unlike the second prince, who had completed his time at the official military academy and diligently performed his duties as the head of the guards, the Crown Prince, who had no military experience, was merely a figurehead while commanding the prestigious Royal Guard, the elite troops of Blanche.

The seasoned Duke Arthur quickly noticed that while Crown Prince François had not neglected his duties to the point of not deploying the Royal Guard at all, something was lacking in the execution of their actual duties. And that the second prince seemed to have personally strived to fill that gap.

The Duke’s gaze, watching the Crown Prince dancing the first dance of the ball with Gabriel in the center of the hall far away, was changing to one that looked at a figurehead boss slacking off.

Of course, this too was a situation that Raphael had subtly orchestrated.

The Duke’s lips twitched as he barely managed to praise him.

“…Your Noble Highness must go through much trouble, always personally looking after the entire situation of the capital and the royal palace.”

Raphael just smiled benignly at the somewhat pointed remark.

Duke Arthur’s unspoken displeasure was palpable, as if to say, “How can the Crown Prince’s subordinates not know how to cover for their master’s shortcomings? Has the incompetence of those who are to support the next king reached such an extreme?”

Of course, Raphael had no complaints about the Duke’s reaction.

The more Duke Arthur regarded the Crown Prince as an unsatisfactory future monarch and felt pity for the second prince’s diligence, the more it benefited him. The Treasurer General, who directly managed the nation’s finances, was indeed as diligent and meticulous as his reputation suggested. In this situation, it was clear whom he would view more favorably and deem worthy as a future master. In any case, he absolutely needed the Duke’s favor for his future, so the current situation was a boon.

Raphael saved his words, neither speaking ill of anyone nor praising his own achievements.

“I shall ensure this never happens again.”

“It is alright, Your Highness. My father has a tendency to be a bit overprotective of me, his son.”

At Raphael’s apology, Serge quickly opened his mouth to answer in his father’s stead. It was because he wanted to end this uncomfortable conversation quickly.

“Overprotective…?”

For a moment, Duke Arthur’s lips seemed to twist strangely in displeasure again, but his son desperately ignored it. It was because it was awkward to try and smooth over this prickly attitude any further.

Serge, looking around for something to divert their attention, found a good excuse. The moment he saw the Crown Prince and Gabriel, who were just finishing the Polonaise dance that marked the beginning of the ball in the center of the hall, he thought, ‘This is it!’

“Ahem! Now, now, calm down! Let’s all stop now.”

It was a rather rustic way of speaking to have in front of a lover of noble birth and his father. Wasn’t he like a merchant or a drover gathering people’s attention by clapping his hands? But in his haste, Serge did not even think about how he might appear.

“Let’s go out and dance now, too!”

Serge headed for the center, pulling his partner along with a face that seemed to command, “Why don’t you hurry up and have a spin with me…!” as if possessed by the souls of the Emperor of the Night and a dancing machine. The way he grabbed the second prince’s arm and walked with it tucked by his side resembled the firmness and fierceness of a detective arresting a criminal, leaving both the Duke and Raphael speechless.

As the dance of the host couple, the Crown Prince and his partner, ended, the center of the ballroom was being filled not only by them but also by people coming out to dance the waltz, the next in order.

As soon as he was away from Duke Arthur, Raphael let out a small laugh and showed his true colors.

“I didn’t know my chouchou liked to dance so much.”

“You think I came out because I like it…?”

A vein was throbbing on Serge’s smiling face. Is this for real…?

“If I had left you two alone, you looked like you would talk all night! And my father was openly showing his annoyance!”

The atmosphere was already bad, and you wanted to continue the conversation? Serge was dumbfounded.

“Duke Arthur is a target I must win over. You know that, don’t you?”

Is my father some kind of quest? To be won over?

“I’d appreciate it if you’d do that ‘winning over’ somewhere I’m not!”

Caught in the middle, he felt like a shrimp whose back was breaking in a whale fight. The fact that he had to explain this meant this guy was a lost cause. Serge ground his teeth as he looked at his fake fiancé, who didn’t possess an ounce of delicacy. Did I tell you to handle the thousand-year love between you and my father on your own, or did I not!

Whether he heard the protest being shouted by that face or not, Raphael still wore his handsome, public-facing smile and whispered with his lips to Serge’s ear.

“A vein is going to pop on your forehead.”

His voice is soft and sweet, which makes it even more infuriating.

“…Your side will pop first.”

Serge put all his strength into his elbow and jabbed Raphael’s side with a thud. It was a secret discharge of anger towards the detestable man. In fact, he had barely restrained himself from smacking him on the back with his other hand.

“Ugh…!”

He was so annoying that he moved his arm to hit him again, but he deftly dodged and turned to face Serge, assuming the position to start the waltz.

“You unnecessarily nimble bastard…”

“A longe is basic for a fencing champion, you know.”

If only the gazes of all the great nobles of Anser filling the ballroom weren’t directed this way, he would have gladly put him in a loving headlock… Serge continued to grind his teeth behind his smiling face. It was a source of eternal regret that he couldn’t, as he was all too aware that he had to act like a lover amidst the focused gazes.

“Smile, my chouchou. People are watching.”

Raphael, facing Serge as his dance partner, bowed first like a gentleman. At that moment, Serge also collected himself. He had started to notice quite a few people who had begun to whisper, covering their mouths with their fans while looking at them.

“Don’t worry about me, you just do you.”

Serge said, placing his right foot back and bending his knee with his hands behind his back. It was an elegant movement, like a swan gracefully extending its wings upward. He had practiced dancing ad nauseam, and had performed it tirelessly whenever the opportunity arose while living fiercely in the entertainment industry. A simple move like this was nothing to him.

The string instruments, including the violin and viola, began to sing the melody first, playing a lively, bouncing waltz.

Raphael’s right arm touched Serge’s back, and their other hands were lightly clasped together. Soon, they began to slowly twirl in time with the music.

“You seem to like the waltz.”

“I neither like nor dislike it. It’s just something you learn because you have to.”

There were a few set dances that had to be learned as a basic refinement and accomplishment of a noble, and everyone learned them the same way. Of course, it was a little unfamiliar for Serge, as he had always taken the alpha or beta male’s position as a partner for Gabriel or Leana at home. But he had not forgotten the movements of the omega or beta female’s part that he had learned by the book. It was a dance he had learned through endless repetition under the tutelage of a home tutor since childhood, after all. There was no way he could forget it.

As the two moved, they became the most brilliant jewels of the sparkling Camellia Hall.

They both had tall, well-proportioned figures, and although their features were different, both were exceptionally handsome. The sight of the two young, beautiful men gracefully holding each other and moving slowly was as beautiful as ballerinos on a stage.

Moreover, their eyes, looking at each other, were filled with so much affection it was as if honey would drip from them.

Of course, only to the eyes of others from a perfectly reasonable distance.

“Hey, hey, can’t you smile properly? I can see your eye twitching.”

The words actually coming from that smiling mouth were far from affectionate, closer to a childish taunt located somewhere on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

“Look who’s talking. Who’s the one with the trembling lips?”

Raphael retorted without missing a beat to Serge’s sarcastic remark.

“And what’s with ‘Hey, hey?’ So irreverent to a prince, ‘Hey, hey?'”

“You told me to speak comfortably.”

“Isn’t this a little too comfortable?”

Raphael let out a disbelieving scoff, saying he had never once in his entire life been called ‘hey, hey.’

“This is what’s comfortable for me, Your Highness. Or would your petty heart be satisfied only if this lowly subject addresses you with the utmost honorifics again?”

Are you, the one who is speaking out of both sides of your mouth in a manner unbecoming of a noble royal, truly a prince of this nation? Serge’s mouth, chattering away annoyingly with a smiling face, showed no sign of stopping. No one would hear over the dancing anyway. He planned to tease Raphael to his heart’s content while he couldn’t retaliate or curse because of the prying eyes.

Now, a faint vein was throbbing on Raphael’s smiling face.

“…It seems I will have to deal with you with something other than words.”

“Something other?”

A sense of ominous foreboding washed over him. Raphael’s smile was unusual.

“Because I think I’ve found a way to shut that cheeky mouth of yours.”

Ominously, the music of the small orchestra was also reaching its climax.

Watching the others who were performing the same movements in a circle in the middle of the dance floor with them, Serge’s pupils began to tremble. It was because he had just remembered the next move. Don’t tell me…!

As the high melody of the strings gracefully drew a phrase, Raphael grabbed Serge’s waist and lifted him up high.

“…?!”

Not just lifted, but spun around once in the air while being held. It was a move for women in splendid dresses to elegantly show off the beauty of their hemlines.

No, this crazy bastard…!

It was a move that male omegas never did, even in the same group dance…!

Serge barely managed to hold back a look of horror.

He wanted to throw a fit, but since he was equipped with his lover persona, he couldn’t scream to be put down and grab him by the collar. He could only match Raphael’s spin, holding his body, and turn gracefully like a dancer with his toes pointed, as if it were a planned move. Even with a bright smile.

Damn… damn this quick thinking. The damn stage manners of an entertainer flowing in his blood.

Moreover, Serge was tall for an omega at 182cm, with very sturdy shoulders and a firm body.

Which meant that, since his early childhood, no one had ever, not even once! Not even once, picked him up and spun him around like this. Being lifted in front of everyone with this large body was, needless to say, so embarrassing his face felt like it would explode.

Whether he knew that Serge was burning up to his ears with such thoughts during the few seconds he was airborne or not, Raphael brought him back into his arms with a fluid, natural motion.

And then, he planted a kiss on Serge’s pink forehead for all to see.