FMY 45

It seemed like a defense, but its substance was closer to mockery. But was it because the speaker was Gabriel, the angel so highly praised in high society? People wore pitying faces and did not lose focus on the deceptive defense. Instead, they let out exclamations of admiration, wondering how someone could be so kind.

<He has always been prone to making mistakes since he was young. He is so afraid of people that he cannot even cross a threshold to go out without taking a tranquilizer.>

Serge had only started taking tranquilizers after his name was put on the list of candidates for Crown Princess. To think that he had to be miserably displayed, flailing like a fish skewered on a harpoon, in the middle of high society, which loved to gossip, forced into a position that didn’t suit him at all…. It was because he couldn’t bear it that he had taken it a few times recently, but Gabriel was painting Serge as an incorrigible drug addict.

This isn’t right… This isn’t right, he thought, but Serge was such a socially inept and weak-minded moron that he couldn’t say a single word of defense or excuse for himself.

Leaving Serge, who was just opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, behind, Gabriel continued to speak.

<From the moment he went to bed early last night without preparing properly… I should have paid more attention from then on. As a member of the same household, I can only lament that I could not stop Serge….>

At the tears he shed, as if this tragedy were so very pitiful, gasps of sympathy erupted from the people who regarded him with tenderness.

<My lover is too kind, shielding a sinner so favorably.>

Crown Prince François walked over and wrapped his arm around the crying Gabriel’s shoulders.

To openly call Gabriel, who was rumored to be his lover before any marriage talks began, his lover in such an official setting. It was absurd how he had immediately changed his tune now that Serge was in this predicament, despite being on the verge of engagement with Serge, and on top of that, having a real, secretly hidden lover.

<I am also aware that you are not on good terms with your father, Duke Arthur. Lord Lutel defends you, saying you did not do it on purpose, but I still cannot erase my suspicion.>

<Your Highness…!”

<Your respected Majesty. As the Crown Prince who will become the next sun of this nation, I cannot be engaged to someone with so many suspicious aspects. I implore you to reconsider this marriage.>

At the Crown Prince’s words, the King nodded with a face that was suppressing its anger.

<Of course, the engagement with Lord Serge d’Arthur will be completely annulled. There is no proper evidence, and out of respect for the bedridden Duke Arthur, I will not imprison his son, but! Remember that you are a sinner! Return to your home and be strictly confined. You must not be seen anywhere for the time being.>

With those final words, the King was the first to leave the hall. As the ruler of the nation vacated the premises, the people who had been filling the space also began to leave the palace, fluttering their fans. The sounds of giggling and whispering as they looked at the foolish young lord branded a sinner grew more distant.

Finally, Gabriel, who was leaving the place with an arm wrapped around his shoulders by the Crown Prince, turned his head and secretly mouthed words to Serge.

<Wimpy crybaby.>

Crybaby, wimpy crybaby Serge. Idiot…. The words Gabriel always used to tease Serge swirled in his head. Damn it. Damn it…! Dammit! Serge felt a fierce headache from the words clouding his mind and scowled. A pained groan escaped him involuntarily.

Just then, a deep and warm voice called out to him, accompanied by a pleasantly comforting scent.

“Chouchou?”

It was a voice that fished him out from the accusing darkness that tormented him with a single call.

“……Gasp!”

As his eyes flew open, reality began to come into focus.

The sound of the rolling carriage wheels and the clip-clop of horse hooves, the cool air flowing in from the just-opened window, the darkness outside…. What?

“I wanted to let you sleep comfortably until we reached the mansion, but it looked like you were having a nightmare. I had no choice but to wake you.”

A large hand gently rubbed and smoothed Serge’s brow.

“You must have been very tired at the Marquis of Orléans’s banquet today, weren’t you? This is the first time I’ve seen you fall asleep in the carriage.”

The soft words, meant to soothe someone who had just awoken from a nightmare, scattered into the air, not reaching the person who was confusing dream and reality.

“No! I, I…! I didn’t do anything…!”

“……?”

“This is all a frame-up…!”

He panted, taking a sharp breath, and pleaded desperately. They were the words he had truly, truly wanted to say.

Instead of just crying without being able to say anything like a stupid idiot.

He should have said it then. He should have refuted it point by point, saying that wasn’t it. But who would have believed him? Would they have even listened to him, who was already treated as an eccentric recluse? While ignoring the testimony of Gabriel, who was praised as the angel of Anser’s high society?

“I’ve been wronged…!”

Seeing the omega’s eyes waver with passion, the bewildered alpha pulled him into an embrace.

“Shhh……”

“It’s true, I’ve been wronged. I really didn’t do it…!”

“Shhh, Serge. It’s okay. I know.”

The thick, large arms were so firm that they might have felt constricting to some, but for him, this was just right. To support the body of a sturdier-than-most omega….

“It’s okay. It was all a dream.”

The hand stroking his back, damp with cold sweat, was gentle. So was the pheromone that softly enveloped his body, just as it always had when they practiced. As the gentle alpha pheromone reached him, his pounding heart began to find its rhythm again.

“……Raphael?”

“Yes.”

Raphael smiled at Serge, who was looking at him with bewildered eyes. His hair, illuminated by the moonlight, shone beautifully as if sprinkled with gold dust. And of course, it went without saying that his smile shone as well….

“A dream… It was a dream.”

It was a dream of the most terrible time in his previous life. Still unable to completely distinguish it from his current reality, a confused Serge shook his head like a wet puppy.

“It was a dream, Raphael. It was so terrible….”

“Shhh…. It’s all okay now.”

Not even knowing what was okay or not okay, as if they were truly lovers. At the sight of the alpha desperately comforting his startled omega, a chuckle escaped Serge’s lips.

“…You really have to keep your promise.”

Serge said, looking straight into Raphael’s eyes.

“The promise we made at the beginning, the purpose of this alliance. We have to see it through for each other.”

Only then can that terrible future be prevented from coming again. He would do his best, of course, but it would be more perfect if they guarded against Gabriel with double and triple layers of protection. His fake fiancé had promised to do that for him.

“…I remember it clearly.”

“Good….”

Finally reassured, Serge buried himself deeply in the embrace that held him. It was an embrace that was somehow becoming as cozy as his own place.

May this ominousness and anxiety end as just a dream. Serge wished for it desperately.