Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, in an era beyond all imagining, in a place quite different from our own, there existed a land named Twisted Wonderland. It was a world where magical abilities were granted to the few and lucky chosen ones, and the land was broken up into different areas ruled by different noble families.

Despite each ruling family having various styles of rule, the families maintained a fragile peace with one another, and had even created their own alliances between them. It was commonplace for the children of these families to marry as a way to cement an alliance between them. Some were even betrothed to one another as children, meant to grow close as they grew up together until their inevitable union.

Such a thing was common in this land.

Despite the families differences, there was one thing they all strove for and believed in.

Once every century, a saint with powerful healing powers was born in the land, and whoever ended up aligned with them was prophesied to become more powerful than they could ever imagine. Each family made sure to look out for signs of a saint, in some cases to charm them into their side, and in other cases…

To get rid of them as a potential threat.

But news of a saint hadn’t been heard in many years, so everyone in the land had been holding their breaths, anxiously awaiting for the news that could change all of Twisted Wonderland. For better, or worse.

“DADS!!!!”

Well. Most everyone.

“FATHER!!! PAPA!!!!!”

For Vil Schoenheit, however, he could care less about some boring saint.

Why should he, when the second prince himself was on his way to visit, and Vil couldn’t find anything to wear! He let out a huff as he tossed a white shirt over his shoulder, into a growing pile resting in a maid’s arms.

The boy stomped his foot in indignation. He glared at the maid, who let out a small yelp upon feeling his icy gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me his highness was coming?”

“I-I did, my young lor-”

“Did I give you permission to speak?” The boy grabbed a pair of trousers and threw it at her, purposefully using more force than he needed. He raised his voice. “PAPA?!!!?? FATHER!!!???”

Just then, a man entered his room. The man had a mix of black and white hair styled atop his head, and on his shoulders rested he wore a black and white fur coat, trailing behind him like a cape. He wore a purple necktie tucked into a black vest, which was tucked into his white pants. His purple heels clicked against the hardwood floors as he made his way over to the boy.

“Aw, Pup…” He shook his head and put his hands on Vil’s shoulders. “What have I told you about throwing your clothes around? You’re fifteen now, and you should know better.” He wagged his finger in his son’s face. “Throwing them just makes wrinkles.”

He gestured to the maid, voice stern. “Clean this mess up.”

Vil rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “But Father! I have nothing to wear, and the prince is going to be here soon!”

“My son, not having anything to wear?” A smooth voice chuckled as another man entered the room. He had long silver hair that fell over his shoulder, and on top of his nose rested a pair of rounded glasses with a silver chain dangling pleasantly from them. He wore a purple embroidered vest on top of a loose white shirt. The vest was embroidered with the Schoenheit family emblem, an apple with a knife stabbed through it.

He shook his head at the fur-wearing man as he made his way over. “You hear that, Divus? Our son doesn’t have anything to wear.”

His husband- Divus Crewel- let out a laugh. “Imagine that, Eric.”

The silver-haired man made his way over to the maid. He took the clothes from her hands and dismissed her before bringing them back to Vil. “Now, son. You cannot throw your clothes like that.”

Divus nodded. “Like I said, it wrinkles them.”

“No.” Eric frowned. He placed the pile of clothes on top of Vil’s bed. “It’s rude to the maids. Think about how much more work you give them if you do something like that.”

The boy furrowed his eyebrows as he walked over to the bed. “But we pay them to work. So isn’t it a good thing to give them more?”

“No!” Eric pointed at his son. “A good noble empathizes with the people working for him.” His chest puffed out proudly. “Do you think the citizens of Pyroxene would be as happy as they are now if I never tried to consider their wants?”

The Schoenheit duchy ruled over the land of Pyroxene. It contained many different biomes, and was thus home to all kinds of people and was considered one of the largest and most prosperous lands in all of Twisted Wonderland.

It was a difficult task to oversee, and any other person could have easily crumbled under the pressure, but Eric Schoenheit was a man smart enough to know the importance of his people’s views, and was able to communicate with them greatly to keep their land peaceful, safe and prosperous.

It helped that his husband was from the Queendom of Roses, having been raised there as a minor noble. He had been brought up with values pertaining to business and order, and helped his husband maintain their land when he was available.

Even if he was a tad more strict when it came to certain things. Clothing being one of them. But, he seemed to have a soft spot for their son, which made both Eric and Vil happy.

The man let out a sigh and sat down on the bed, grabbing a shirt and holding it up. “Pup, what are you talking about? You can wear this easily.”

Vil took the shirt from his father’s hands. “No, I can’t!” He gestured to the fuzzy lining on the inside. “It has fur lining, Father! You know the royal family doesn’t like it when people wear fur.”

Divus reached up to stroke his own fur coat. “But fur is wonderful…” He let out a sigh and patted his son’s head. “But fine. You’re such a good diplomat. Who raised you to be like that?”

“Papa did.”

The man flicked his son’s forehead. “Wrong answer.”

“Are you sure about that?” Eric chuckled and grabbed a purple vest that looked similar to the one he was wearing. “Here. Pair this with…” He hummed to himself as he grabbed a long-sleeve shirt, colored a different shade of purple. “This.”

“Isn’t it too much purple, Papa?”

Eric pushed the shirt and vest into Vil’s hands. “Nonsense. Purple is the color of the Schoenheits, and we’re meeting with the royal family. Representing our family is a must.”

“Alright, Papa.” The boy let out a sigh.

Divus reached into the pile and pulled out a pair of white trousers. “This too, Pup.” He put his hand on his chin as he looked at the boy. “Get dressed, and I’ll style your hair myself.”

Eric grabbed his husband’s arm. “No. I’ll do that.” He gestured to the fur coat on Divus’ shoulders. “You take that off.”

The multi-colored-haired man frowned. “Tsk, you never let me wear what I want.” But still, he did as he was told. He wrapped his arms around himself. “This is awful. I feel so exposed.”

Eric shook his head. “Deal with it, love.” He looked up and nodded to Vil. “Hurry up and get dressed!”

The boy nodded. “I will, thank you Dads!” And he hurried off to get dressed for what could be the most important meeting of his life.

After all, it wasn’t every day you met with a prince! Although, Vil wasn't exactly sure why they were meeting up, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to make the most of it!

The blond twisted his hands together awkwardly as he sat outside alone with the prince.

The meeting between their families had gone… not horribly but not wonderfully. Both families were respectful, exchanging careful ‘How do you do’s and the like. Nobody broke out into tears or screams, nobody threatened war, nobody tried to kill anybody or anything like that.

Which, in terms of two ruling families meeting up, was basically considered perfect.

No, the only thing that was bad per se, was the prince himself.

Leona Kingscholar, the second prince of the Kingscholar royal family, the ruling pride of the Sunset Savanna. It was one of the few lands in all of Twisted Wonderland that was an actual kingdom rather than a duchy or county, and was considered one of the most successful lands, surpassing Pyroxene in terms of strength and population.

Vil was expecting to meet some kind of Prince Charming when he’d heard about Leona coming to visit, but the boy had been absolutely frigid the entire time! Every time Vil tried to speak to the prince, he simply responded in one-note answers, with a ‘Sure’, ‘No’ or, ‘I don’t care’.

It was infuriating!!!

But Vil could deal with it as long as he was with his fathers. Except, they had left him to have some kind of “Adult Conversation” with Leona’s parents.

So the two of them had been sitting in silence for a good twenty minutes before Vil decided he’d had enough.

He stood up and walked through the doors. As he did so, he turned around to call the prince. “Let’s go to the gardens. You simply must see them while you’re here.”

Leona let out a sigh and crossed his arms, but he followed after Vil.

The blond smiled as he felt the warm spring sun on his face outside. He looked over at Leona. “Doesn’t the sun feel wonderful outside?”

The prince shrugged.

Vil’s eye twitched. He turned around and walked to the flower garden. “This is my favorite place in the entire manor, I think.” He knelt down and gently caressed the soft petals of a lily before him.

“Sure.”

The blond laughed, trying to brush off Leona’s lack of effort in their conversation. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to take care of plants. They’re just so beautiful, you know?”

Leona glanced at the lily in Vil’s hands. He shrugged once more.

Vil stood up, brushing imaginary pieces of dirt off himself. “I’ve always admired anything beautiful. That’s what Pyroxene is best known for, you know. Its natural beauty that is exemplified in the art within our varied cultures.” He walked forward as he spoke, failing to notice how he had wandered off the path and was traveling on a rocky road. He was too busy trying to get rid of the awkward silence to put any care into where he was stepping.

Leona then spoke, his voice somehow being both condescending and uncaring at the same time. “You do realize we’re going to be engaged, right?”

Vil froze. “What?”

The prince rolled his eyes. “You’re not an idiot. Why else would I be here, for fun?” He pointed to the manor. “That’s what they’re talking about inside.”

Leona lowered his hand and shrugged unhappily. “Everything's about to get fucked, princess.”

His voice was cold. “For both of us, and for worse.”

The blond attempted to turn to face the prince, to call him ridiculous or call him out on his rash language. But as he turned, he tripped over one of the many rocks on the rugged path he had stood on.

As he fell, he saw Leona’s eyes widen as he ran over to catch him.

But the prince was too late, as Vil fell to the ground, hitting his head on top of a rock. As the world around him turned dark, he could finally make out Leona yelling for help.

And then… nothing.

.

.

.

And then… everything.

He watched a faceless woman hold a baby in her arms as the child cried out. The woman patted what appeared to be her son’s head and hushed him gently.

Vil didn't know why, but his heart felt like it was being squeezed as he watched the woman and the baby.

Then, he watched the baby grow up into a child with a relatively happy life. No manors, servants or royals, but instead a simple apartment where he lived with his mother alone.

The child went to school, making a close friend in the process. They grew up together into teenagers, going through high school and eventually graduating together.

He watched as they met up at a cafe one day, and the friend handed the boy what appeared to be…. A video game…

’Video game?’ Vil thought to himself. ’Wait… How do I know what that is?’

The boy let out a laugh as his friend gestured to the game, then to him. The friend wanted him to play it, and the boy seemed more than happy to oblige. Vil couldn’t help but notice the slight pink dusted over the boy’s cheeks as his hand brushed against his friend’s.

Before he could think more about that, however, he then saw the boy going home and sitting down in front of a console and booting up the game.

Vil let out a shocked gasp as he saw the game’s setting. ’But that… that looks exactly like Twisted Wonderland! Why would it be…’ He trailed off as he looked at the subtitle for the game.

Vil blinked. “W-What?” He spoke aloud, though it wasn’t like the boy could hear him. He shook his head, continuing to speak. “What does this mean?”

The boy started the game, immediately having his character run into… the second prince from the Kingscholar family, Leona Kingscholar.

’Leona? But… He and I were just talking to each other?!’ Vil’s mind was running what felt to be a million miles a minute. He brought his hand up to his mouth, biting the fingers before speaking. “But if he’s really in this game, then I… Twisted Wonderland… it’s all…”

Just then, he noticed a worn character sheet lying next to the open game disc. Carefully, he looked over it, feeling his stomach drop as he read the character names.

What…

Who…

’If this is real…’

“I remember this.” Vil whispered, feeling his heart sink. “I remember playing this.”

“I played his route!” He’d played almost every route in a desperate attempt to talk to his friend about the game as much as he could.

He actually didn’t know anything about that one, he’d never played it. But still, every other name was one he recognized!

He turned to look at the faceless boy playing the game. “But how could I remember that, unless…” The boy let out a laugh as he played, having chosen a funny dialogue option. Vil let out a laugh as well, remembering the exact thing he had his character say.

He had… his character say…

Vil’s eyes widened and he looked at the boy once more. “Oh.” He moved closer to him, hovering his fingers over his face, unable to touch him yet craving to do so. “You’re me.” He looked down at himself. “Or am I you?”

He looked back at the boy, realizing why he was able to watch his entire life like this. Because the life that he had watched was his. This boy was him in a past life.

He shook his head. “I’m you, but I’m also Vil Schoenheit.” He felt his stomach churn as he said his name.

'If my world really is just this game, then what about me?’ His hands shook as he remembered something. ’There was a Vil Schoenheit in the game, wasn’t there?’ He frowned before looking back at the character sheet. He’d already gone through the love interests, but on the other side of the paper, he could see a bit of writing.

As he read his name, Vil let out a loud gasp.

He watched the boy spend the entire night playing his game, before suddenly noticing the sun shining through his room’s windows. The boy let out a gasp and hurriedly gathered his school supplies.

He couldn’t be late for his first day of college, after all!

The boy quickly kissed his mother’s cheek before sprinting out of the house.

He was in such a hurry to leave, that he didn’t even notice the truck passing by until it was too late.

Vil let out a scream as he watched the boy- him-fly across the street as he got hit. As people surrounded him to see if he was alright, and then he felt nothing but sheer cold as the world around him turned black.

He opened his eyes as he woke up, back in his usual bed, in his usual room in his usual manor, in his usual Pyroxene, in his usual Twisted Wonderland.

Except there was nothing ‘usual’ about this!

Because he just remembered his past life! And in it, his entire ‘usual’ world was a fucking BL!!!

WITH VIL AS THE MAIN VILLAIN!

Chapter Text

Vil wrapped his arms around himself as he sat up in his bed. ’I… I’m the villain in this?’ He clutched his hands against his hair before letting out a wince of pain as his hand brushed past his forehead.

“Ow!” He grimaced. When he’d fallen down in the garden, he must have hit his head. He could feel some bandages wrapped around him, so he was sure he wasn’t going to die or anything, but it still hurt.

He looked down at his hand. ’Isn’t it funny…’ He chuckled dryly as he wiggled his fingers slightly. ’This world isn’t even real, and yet I can still feel pain from it. So that means it mustn’t be completely fake, right?’

Vil then let out a shocked gasp, putting his hands over his mouth. ’Doesn’t Vil die in every route?!’ His hands lowered until they were wrapped loosely around his throat. ’So that means… when I die here… I’ll really…’

He shook his head quickly. “I can’t let that happen!”

Looking around his room, he spotted a blank notebook and pen beside it on a desk. He left the bed and sat down beside it. “Relax, Schoenheit. You’ve played Twisted Loverland enough times to know what not to do. You’ll be fine.”

What age was he right now? Fifteen, right. Around this time, Vil was meant to become the second prince’s fiance, but that hadn’t happened yet, so-

Shit. Vil bit his lip and put his hand to his temple in thought. ’We’re already engaged. Or at least, we’re close to that.’

If he remembered correctly, the original Vil Schoenheit had fallen head over heels for Leona after the prince had caught him when he’d fallen in the garden.

’Which he noticeably did NOT do this time.’ Vil growled, brushing his hands past the bump on his forehead. He shook his head and continued to concentrate.

Leona, of course, didn’t feel the same way towards Vil, but kept the engagement up because he wanted to use his allegiance with the Pyroxene family to give him a leg up in his race for his kingdom's succession. As the second-born prince, he wasn’t likely to become the king of the Sunset Savanna on his own, so he’d needed a powerful family backing him up.

Which ended up becoming pointless anyway, since once Leona met the saint- Twisted Loverland’s player character- and married him, he became the king anyway. A really good one, too, but that's beside the point.

But, Vil supposed it was for the best. The original Vil Schoenheit was kind of an awful fiance to have. He had been spoiled by his parents, and getting engaged to a prince that he’d fallen for (both literally and figuratively) had only fueled his ego to the point of becoming unbearable. Vil became a possessive tyrant, attacking any person who looked at his fiance, especially the protagonist.

Blackmail, pushing, bullying, poisoning, kidnapping, harassing, you name it, and Vil did it.

Which ended up, of course, with his death.

Vil found himself feeling glad that Leona hadn’t caught him in the garden. Since he’d hit his head and recovered memories of his previous life, now he knew to absolutely avoid any of the things his character had done.

Quickly, he wrote down what to do in the journal.

He would have written more, but then he heard a knock on his door, followed by a voice.

“Vil, are you up?”

The boy hurriedly shut the journal and rushed back to his bed. “Yes, Papa. I’m awake.”

The door opened, and his dads walked into the room. Eric quickly sat on the bed, holding his son’s head in his hands. “Oh, my poor boy. How are you feeling?”

’Well, Papa. I just learned that the entire world we’re in is a BL, where I’m the main villain and am doomed to die, but other than that, great. Thanks for asking.’ Vil thought, but he instead smiled. “I’m fine, Papa.” He gestured to his forehead. “It was just a fall.”

“Just a fall?” Divus sat on the bed as well. “Pup, you were bleeding. And worse, your clothes got dir-”

Eric glared at him and the man cleared his throat. “You were bleeding, Pup!” Divus reached behind him and pulled out a bottle of medicine. “But don’t worry, your wonderful father made you an elixir that should take all the pain away.”

’Oh yeah… Father is a skilled potion-maker…’ Vil thought to himself as he took the bottle and looked at it carefully. ’He’s the one who taught the original Vil how to make all of the poisons he ended up using on the player.’ He took a sip of the medicine, still deep in thought. ’Papa helped too, using all his resources to try and protect Vil from facing any consequences for his actions.’

He swallowed, feeling a bitter taste on his tongue. ’Which, of course, assisting someone who tried to harm the saint was seen as treason, and Father and Papa both were executed because of it.’

EXECUTED???

Vil’s eyes widened and he choked on the medicine. As he coughed and his fathers patted his back comfortingly, he felt a wave of dread wash over him.

’That’s right. My dads end up dying with me in this.’ He shook his head. ’I can’t let that happen! Recalled memories or not, my dads are my family and I’m their son! I have to save them!’

“Vil, I know the medicine is quite bitter, but it’ll help you.” Eric spoke gently. Divus nodded behind him. “It’s the best quality there is. Very rare ingredients. Just for you!”

The boy grabbed both of his dads and pulled them into a hug. He wanted to cry, but he refused to do so. ’Papa and Father will be fine. I’ll make sure of it’

“Vil?”

“Pup?”

Vil spoke, though his voice was slightly muffled as his face was buried in the fur of Divus’ coat. “I just want you to know I love you so much.”

“Awww!” Eric wrapped his arms around them both. “Your Father and I love you too.” He leaned over to kiss his son’s forehead gently, right over the bandages covering his bump.

“I think…” Vil cleared his throat, pulling away. “I’m a bit tired, so I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

Divus nodded, standing up. “Get some rest, Pup. We’ll get you later for dinner.” He grabbed Eric’s arm and pulled him away from their son. The silver-haired man reluctantly let himself be led out of the room.

Before they left, Vil suddenly remembered something. “Wait.”

His dads stopped, looking at him curiously.

The boy twisted his hands together slightly as he spoke. “The prince, he mentioned that he and I were meant to be…” He trailed off as he saw the dark look on their faces.

The silver-haired man put a hand over his face and let out a sigh. “We did discuss an engagement between the two of you earlier today, but-”

“You should reject him.” Divus spoke, crossing his arms. “Prince or no prince, he isn’t good enough for you if he couldn’t even keep you safe for two seconds outside.”

Eric pulled on his husband’s sleeve. “That’s Vil’s decision to make.”

Divus scoffed but didn’t say anything.

Eric smiled at Vil, though it seemed strained. “The prince's aides were very insistent on the engagement, but since you aren’t feeling well, they backed off. They will probably be back soon, though.” He shook his head. “But don’t worry about that right now, just focus on getting some rest, alright?”

“I will, thank you.” Vil smiled at them and waited for the door to shut before he bolted from the bed to reach his journal once more.

Inside, he was singing.

’We aren’t engaged yet!’ He laid down on the bed with the journal in hand, kicking his feet into the air gleefully. ’I still have time to get out of this safely!’

But… he knew that realistically, it was only a matter of time before he and Leona were engaged. Even if it was something that Leona wanted more than…

’He wants this engagement more than I do…’ He hummed to himself. ’I have something they want, which means I can negotiate for something beneficial! He’d taken a business course as an elective back in his old life, and the power of negotiation had been drilled into his brain the entire semester. 'I can have him make a clause that states he’ll never kill me!'

He frowned. ’Okay, that might make him suspicious, but still.’ Vil wasn’t helpless. In the original, Vil Schoenheit had just been happy to be engaged to the prince and hadn’t bothered looking at the engagement as a business deal- which is what it was.

But this time, Vil would be prepared.

He was no longer a lovestruck child with an ego the size of the moon. This time, he had the knowledge of this game, and he knew exactly what to do to save his skin.

Kicking his feet into the air once more, he began to jot down his plan.

Vil took a sip of tea from the teacup in front of him. He and the prince were outside in the garden (which Father had strictly redesigned since Vil’s fall to make sure there was nothing for anyone to trip over) and were sharing a pot of tea. They were alone, Vil’s dads and Leona’s people talking inside. Vil had to convince his fathers to leave them, but after a bit of pleading, they had.

In front of him, Leona slouched in his chair.

“You should try some, your highness.” The blond gestured to the tea in front of the prince. “Jasmine tea isn’t my personal favorite, I prefer apple tea, but it’s still wonderfully fragrant.”

Leona rolled his eyes but drank from the tea.

He wrinkled his nose and put the cup down after one sip. Vil let out a laugh. “I suppose you don’t like it. Tell me, what kind of tea do you like?”

“Water. Tea smells weird.”

“Oh, I see.” Vil nodded. “Next time I’ll bring you water, then.”

The prince raised an eyebrow. “Next time?”

Vil tilted his head innocently as he placed the cup down on the table before him. “Yes? I assume we’ll be meeting up again, since we’re engaged.”

“You’re agreeing?”

“Well.” Vil shrugged. “Somewhat. I have a few conditions, if you don’t mind.”

Leona gestured to the manor behind them. “Bring that up with them. I don’t care.”

“Last I checked, you’re the one I’ll be engaged to, not your aides.” Vil cleared his throat. “So please listen to what I have to say.”

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” Vil held up a finger. “To start, I want to see you often. I won’t make you visit me every day, naturally, but once a week would do.” ’So that I can make sure you don’t hate me and are trying to have me killed.’ “So we can get to know one another and plan our future together.” ’And by our future, I mean my future.’

The prince clicked his tongue. “Don’t know why you’d wanna see me so much.” He let out a laugh, leaning closer. “What, you in love with me, princess?”

’Do I look like I have a death wish to you?’ Vil thought, and put his hand over his mouth to let out a charming chuckle. “How could I be? I hardly know you, your highness!”

“I don’t know.” Leona winked, starting to have fun. “I bet you’d fall for me in a second if I tried.”

’Technically speaking, I did. And it killed me, so that’s not happening’ Instead of saying that, however, Vil instead decided to return the playful gesture. He leaned closer, resting his head on his hands and flashing a smirk at the prince. “Then try, your highness~”

Leona blinked at Vil in slight surprise as the blond then held up two fingers on his hand.

“The second term. I do not want to get married until after both of us have completed our terms at Night Raven College.” It was the four year college every single noble and a few selected commoners were required to go to in their eighteenth year. It excelled in every single field imaginable, from potions (which, coincidentally, was taught by Vil’s father) to political theory, to magic (only if you were one of the lucky people who were able to do so, of course).

Vil wanted to hold off their wedding date for two reasons. First, he just wanted to go to college. He’d never imagined himself getting married at eighteen, after all. And second, holding off the date gave Leona more time to realize Vil wasn’t someone he wanted to have executed, and gave him more time to back out if need be.

The prince nodded thoroughly. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“I’m glad we’ve reached an agreement.” Vil sat back up straight in his seat. He cleared his throat. “The third and only other term for our engagement.”

“Wow, only three terms. I’d expected more from you.”

Vil shrugged. “I thought you’d like it if I kept things simple for you.”

Leona nodded. “Much appreciated.”

“Moving on. Of course, neither of us are of age to be wed, and I know that a lot of things can change over time, so.” He sat up straighter. “I am giving you an easy out. Just tell me if you ever wish to cancel the engagement, and it will be done without question.”

Leona’s rounded ear flicked, and he had a surprised look on his face. “What?”

“Should you desire to be with anyone else, you can be. I don’t want to tie you to me, so I won’t.” He clasped his hands together. “Although I would appreciate it if you told me before pursuing anyone with the intent of marriage, as doing so while we’re still engaged could affect my family greatly. Regardless, you do not owe me your heart.”

“And what about you?” Leona spoke, gesturing to Vil. “Does that mean you can just walk out of this whenever you want?”

“Well, I suppose… but I doubt-”

“You think I want to be engaged to you?” Leona’s voice turned sharp. He glared at Vil. “I need your family’s support if I ever want to have a chance of being king. If you walk away from this, I’m fucked.”

“Language!” Vil cried before remembering his situation. He cleared his throat. “My family’s support will not be an issue. I intend to support you ruling the Sunset Savanna whether we are engaged or not.”

“What?” Leona whispered.

“Is that so surprising?” Vil tilted his head. “You’re the obvious pick for the job.” ’In every single route, Leona becomes the king, so it’s practically guaranteed. No, not practically, it is guaranteed!’ “Sure, your brother might be older, but as long as your parents are around, you have a chance. And I know beyond a doubt that you will be king.”

“And what’s in it for you?” The prince spat. “Power? I’m never going to be king, not with my brother still around, so why even bother trying with me?”

Vil frowned. “Saying you’ll never be king just makes it true. So don’t say that.” He shook his head, putting his hand to his chest. “And I want for nothing, your highness. I simply believe in you.”

The prince’s eyes widened. All his life, he had been told that he’d be nothing but a second prince, the spare compared to his brother Falena, the heir. Sure, there were people who supported him in his race to become king, but that was only because they didn’t like his brother. Not because they simply believed in him.

Nobody had ever simply believed in him.

Why would they, when his brother was right there?

Leona wanted to call Vil out for lying, but as he raised his head to meet his eyes, the prince found himself frozen.

The look on Vil’s face was serious, amethyst eyes seeming to stare into his soul. When he’d first met Vil, he had felt something churning in his stomach. Admiration? No, nothing like that. Unease was a better term. Yesterday, it had felt like the boy before him wore a smiling mask, concealing someone rotten to the core underneath a pretty face.

But now, he didn’t feel anything like that. Instead he felt something like a calm, confident soul. The man before him was smart, diplomatic, and…

And believed in him.

Leona felt his face growing warm as he continued to stare at the person in front of him.

Vil continued speaking as Leona found himself trapped in his thoughts. “You have more potential to be great than anyone I’ve ever met, so don’t just throw my compliments away like they’re worthless. It’s quite rude, you know.”

’Your character was rude to the protagonist in the beginning, wasn’t he?’ Vil shook his head. ’Sure, it was part of the whole “taming the bad boy” charm of his route, but it was still annoying.’

“Speaking of which, you could stand to be more polite to people. No more one-word answers, that’s about the least diplomatic thing you could do when talking to another person. And being a king is all about being diplomatic, so you could stand to learn.”

The blond took in a deep breath and continued.

“I don’t know that much about your brother, but that doesn’t mean you should just say ‘screw it’ and give up because you don’t think you could be king. I can’t stand someone who quits before they’ve even begun!” Leona continued watching Vil, listening to what he was saying but also stuck in somewhat of a trance. “The only thing that stops someone from being spectacular in every way is a person’s lack of trying, and I believe that if you try, you will succeed. Hence, I believe in you.”

’After all…’ The blond let out a sigh. He looked at the prince, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Vil let out a small laugh. ’You’ve already become a great king once. I can’t wait to see you do it again.’

Vil lowered his fist so it was resting on the table. “And I know that my family will support you as well, your highness.” He then froze, growing a thoughtful look on his face as he rested his head on his hands.

“Now that I think about it…” Vil hummed, tapping a finger against his chin. “If all you want is the support of my family, I can give it to you. No need to get engaged.”

“No.” Leona spoke quickly. He didn’t know what he was saying, but he didn’t like the idea of not being engaged to Vil. Or worse, someone else being engaged to him. It rubbed Leona the wrong way, and he knew he couldn’t let it happen. “We’ll stay engaged.”

’But if we’re engaged, that doubles my chances of dying…’ Vil sighed. He raised an eyebrow at the prince. “Are you certain?”

“What, do you think being engaged to me is such a bad thing?” Leona laughed. “Princess, you’re going to hurt my feelings~.”

’Yes, being engaged to you is a very bad thing!’ The blond grit his teeth together and spoke. “I just want to make sure you don’t regret this.”

’Oh…’ Leona watched Vil pick up the teacup before him and take a sip from it nervously. ’I don’t think I could ever regret this.’ He mirrored the blond, taking a sip from his own tea before wrinkling his nose at the taste.

Vil let out a laugh at the prince’s expression. He put his hand in front of his mouth, eyes shining as he looked at Leona before he spoke. “I just don’t want to make things difficult for you when you fall in love with someone else.”

Leona stared at Vil, noticing his eyes seemed to shine like the jewels in his family’s treasury. No, brighter than that. ’Fall in love with someone else…? Yeah, that’s not going to happen.’ “You won’t.”

“Fine. But remember, you can walk out at any time.” Vil lowered his hand to reach across the table so he could shake the prince’s hand.

“Deal. And same to you.” Leona grinned as he took Vil’s hand in his, shaking it. Then, after a moment of thought, he pulled on the blond’s hand, bringing the man close enough that their faces were only inches away. He whispered into Vil’s ear. “But I can’t promise that I won’t chase after you~.”

With that, he let go of Vil’s hand and started to walk back to the manor. Vil stood frozen in place, hand still outstretched.

’Chase me…?’ The boy blinked. ’Does this mean, he…’

Vil’s skin turned pale. ’He’ll chase me across the lands to kill me if I run away after fucking his life up?’ His hand trembled and his knees wobbled.

’That prince… he really must hate me!’

Meanwhile, Leona made his way back to the carriage he had taken to get there. As he got in, he glanced at the hand that had held Vil’s for only a second. The man's skin had felt soft and cool against Leona’s, and teasing him had been more fun than anything he’d ever done back home.

And on top of that…

Leona put his hand to his chest, feeling his heart thumping within his chest. ’I can’t wait to see him again…’

And thus, a misunderstanding was born!

Chapter Text

Late summer had turned to fall, and fall turned to a late winter. Almost a year came and went without any trouble. Leona and Vil would meet up once a week at least (although, for some reason, Leona usually ended up visiting more often) and Vil felt as though they had really gotten close as confidants.

With any luck, Leona would rethink the whole ‘kill this bitch’ plan.

But, now close to his sixteenth year, Vil felt as though things were going incredibly fast. He’d just gone through months of time, and yet it felt like it hadn’t even been a week.

True, the ’game’ didn’t technically start until they reached Night Raven College, but that didn’t mean that his work was anywhere near over. He decided to look through his journal in case he needed to add anything or be reminded of any upcoming ’backstory’ events.

Ah, that one was there in case the protagonist ever got mysteriously poisoned and Vil was the only one there who could help him. Sure, the chances of the protagonist getting poisoned had gone down to zero since Vil wasn’t planning on doing anything like that, but still. He figured it was better to take advantage of his father’s passion for potion making.

Plus! In quite a few of the routes, the original Vil ended up drinking a toxic poison and suffering an excruciatingly slow and painful death. It was meant to be some kind of justice, as poison was his main method of attack in the game. If Vil could avoid that by learning about poisons, he would.

On top of that, it was a fun bonding activity for him and his Father to do together.

Vil didn’t actually need to know that, but he was curious. He wasn’t sure if he was adopted, and while it didn’t matter to him, he still wanted to know. His dads were both biologically male, he knew that, so he had to have been adopted. Right?

Except -aside from the blond hair that he’d apparently gotten from his grandmother- he looked exactly like what a combination of what Eric Schoenheit and Divus Crewel would be, so was he adopted or not?

With BLs, you could never be sure about how children were born.

At least, that’s what Vil’s friend had told him back in his old life. He’d been very interested in BL, which Vil hadn’t really understood the appeal of. He’d always been of the mindset of ‘Why play a BL when I’m gay and can go outside and have my own Boy’s Love in real life?’ Even if he’d technically never had a boyfriend.

Either way. Vil let out a sigh and scratched out that part on his list. Yes, he still was curious, but he realized that it wasn’t his priority. He continued reading over the list.

Ah yes. Rook Hunt. He and Leona were the first two routes you could go on in Twisted Loverland, and they couldn’t have been more different.

Rook was originally Vil Schoenheit’s lackey, as he apparently owed Vil’s family a lifetime debt. Vil had done nothing but treat him with cruelty, but since Rook couldn’t do anything about it, the boy had grown up expecting that he'd be treated that way his whole life.

And when the protagonist showed him the smallest inch of kindness, Rook instantly fell in love. He’d have a complete shift from Vil’s side to the protagonist's, becoming almost obsessively infatuated with him, even going so far as to personally kill Vil himself and locking the protagonist away (in the neutral ending) so they could ‘keep their happily ever after to themselves’.

As Vil’s friend had put it, ‘Rook is a total yandere.’

To which Vil had been inclined to agree. He really, really, really didn't like that part of Rook’s character, but it checked out.

However, Rook’s good route was the easiest out of all of them to play. All you had to do was be nice to him, and he’d fall for you. Easy.

Vil wasn’t too worried about befriending the boy, except for the fact that Rook was the only character in the game who ever personally dealt the killing blow to Vil (even giving the protagonist his purple eyes as a trophy in an overly-detailed CG), so he was incredibly dangerous.

Vil quickly decided to make befriending Rook his priority as soon as they met. He would have loved to just avoid the man entirely, but with their connected backstory, he knew just how impossible a feat that would be.

Just then, he heard a knock at his door. He hid the journal underneath his pillow as he raised his voice. “Come in.”

A calm-looking lady with glasses entered the room. She bowed slightly as she spoke. “Your fathers wish to see you, young lord.”

“Oh, really?” Vil furrowed his eyebrows together, thinking. ’Could this be what I think it is? Am I finally going to get news about Rook?’ He shook his head and straightened his back. “I’ll join them, where are they?”

“They’re in the west office.”

Vil nodded. “Thank you, Adela.”

The woman blinked. She had been the head of the Schoenheit manor’s staff long before Vil had been there, and yet this was the first time the boy had ever acknowledged her by name.

“By the way.” Vil spoke as he left the room. “Your nails.” He gestured to her hands, where her nails had been painted a lovely shade of purple.

Adela let out a resigned sigh, hiding her hands behind her back. “I’ll remove the color, I-”

“Why would you do that?” Vil frowned. “I was just going to say that it looks wonderful.”

The woman blinked once more. There had been a change in the young lord over the past months. He no longer berated the servants for every little thing they did, nor did he act as childish as he used to. He now had an air of calmness to him, a resigned grace that was far beyond his years.

It was odd, but Adela found she preferred it. ’Maybe the young master has taken a look inside himself and decided to become a better person?’ She thought before calling after Vil. “Thank you, my young lord!”

“You’re welcome.” Vil called back before making his way down the halls. As part of his plan to avoid death at all costs, he had made it his mission to treat the people working at the manor with as much kindness and grace as he could, like his fathers did.

Both because it was never a bad idea to get more allies, and also because he simply felt bad for the way he had treated them before. Sure, he had never done anything as harsh as raising a hand to one of them, but it wasn’t like he had made their lives any easier with his tantrums.

’Learning names is a good start, then I’ll begin talking to them more about their interests and such’. He put a hand to his chin. ’That is what you’re meant to do to make friends, right?’

In his former life, he’d only had one really close friend. It wasn’t that he was unfriendly or anything like that, it was just that he never learned how to create a deep connection with others to form friendships.

Vil shook his head. ’But you have to learn now, Schoenheit. Your life depends on it.’ He made his way to the west office, his father’s office and knocked on the door.

“Father, Papa, may I come in?”

Eric’s voice sounded from inside. “Yes! Come in, Vil.”

The boy entered the room, seeing his father sitting at his desk while Divus was leaning against it, looking over some papers with a monocle over one of his eyes as he read.

Eric got up from his seat to greet his son. “Hello, Vil. Sorry for calling you here on such short notice. Your father and I just got some news that we wanted to share with you.”

Vil tilted his head, feeling like he knew where this was going but still unsure. “And what news would that be?”

“Some random child is going to be living with us.” Divus’ voice was cold, and he didn’t look up from the papers in his hands.

“Now, now, Divus.” Eric put his hands on his husband’s shoulders. “He’s not a ‘random child’.” He looked at his son imploringly. “Vil, you remember the Hunts, don’t you?”

’I should hope so, seeing as a certain Hunt has a history of snapping my neck.’ The boy tilted his head. “I’m familiar.” ’Well, I know Rook, I don’t know a lot about his family…’ “Actually, could you remind me?”

“The Hunts are a family from the Sunset Savanna, where the second prince is from.” Eric pointed to a map on top of his desk. “They’re jacks of all trades, so to speak, and very good at what they do. We’ve worked with them in the past, and they are very strong allies to us.”

Vil frowned. “Then why don’t I see them very often?”

“Because they’re all disgusting dogs who you shouldn’t waste any of your time with.” Divus set his papers down on the desk and pulled his monocle away from his face.

Eric lightly flicked his husband’s forehead. “Quiet, you.” He turned back to Vil. “Times have been hard for them, and the family heads have to complete some work on their own for an unknown amount of time. They have contacts that can take care of most of their children, but their middle child has school in this area, so I offered to let him stay in our manor until they can get back on their feet.”

Vil furrowed his eyebrows together in thought. Rook’s family had never really been mentioned in the original game, but he’d been seen as a very low-ranking noble by his peers at the school. Times must have stayed hard for them, and Rook must have stayed living with Vil and had to endure his cruelty for far too long. ’Poor Rook.’ Vil let out a quiet sigh.

“And I know it might be a little bit off-putting to have a new person living in our house at once, but they really need some help.”

Divus let out a sigh. He looked at his husband. “Sweetheart, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I don’t feel good about letting a child we don’t know run around the house.”

The silver-haired man waved a hand. “The manor is big enough that things won’t be bad. And the Hunts are good people, I’m sure they’ve brought their children up correctly.”

“I know, but still.” Divus put a hand to his forehead. “It’ll be-”

“Think about it like this, Vil can make a new friend!”

Instantly Divus changed his tune. He smiled at Eric. “Oh, I do like that!” He then turned to look at his son. “The poor Pup’s probably so lonely since he doesn’t have any siblings…”

“Yes, I know.” Eric sighed before shrugging. “But what can we do, we can’t have any more children.”

’Fathers, explain. What does that mean? Was I born? Was I adopted?’ Vil bit the inside of his lip to keep from asking the questions he yearned to know. Now wasn’t the time.

“So, Pup.” Divus put his hand on his son’s head, ruffling his blond locks. “How do you feel about the boy coming to live with us?”

The boy nodded, and moved his father’s hand away from his hair. As he fixed his hairstyle, he spoke. “I have nothing against it.”

“Wonderful. Oh.” His father gestured to the papers he had been holding. “By the way, the second prince is in the rose sitting room and wants to see you.”

“What?” Vil stood up quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Divus shrugged. “I forgot.”

His son let out a huff and exited the room. Divus waited a few seconds to make sure his son was gone before he spoke to his husband. “I didn’t forget, I never forget anything.”

“I know, love.”

The multi-colored-haired man crossed his arms. “I just don’t think he’s good enough for our boy.”

“I know, love.”

“Nobody is.”

“I know, love.”

Vil took a panting breath as he reached the doors to the sitting room. Then, after standing up straight and calming his breathing, he opened them. Inside, he saw the prince laying on a couch lazily.

He raised a hand and waved at Vil as the blond made his way over. “You're late, princess.”

“And you’re boorish.” The boy huffed and lightly pushed Leona so that he could sit on the couch as well. “Don’t just laze around here like you own the manor.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” But, the prince- after rolling his eyes- moved to actually sit on the couch.

Vil was relieved that he’d managed to form a connection with the prince, which would make things all the more difficult for him emotionally if Leona ever tried to have Vil killed. They got along well for the most part. Although he did notice that the prince had a bad habit of staring at him for long periods of time, probably imagining all the ways he could force poison down his throat or something.

But aside from that worrying piece of information, Vil was happy to say that he doubted Leona would try to have Vil killed. The blond had even reminded the prince multiple times that he could call off their engagement whenever he wanted to. But, alas, Leona always stayed firm in his refusal (“And let someone else snatch you up? No way in hell, princess”), so that was that. He must have really wanted to secure that allegiance with Pyroxene.

That, or it was a pride thing.

Vil poured Leona a cup of tea from a pot he’d asked one of the maids (Attina, the oldest of seven younger sisters) to bring. He handed it to the prince. “This one is a White Peony tea, it’s been steeped for 25 seconds so the flavor should be mild enough for you.”

Leona took a sip of the tea.

“Well?”

The prince wrinkled his nose and let out a cough. “Way too much flavor. Ugh.” He covered his nose with his hand. “I can smell it everywhere.”

“Seriously?!” Vil let out a groan. “I thought for sure that a white tea steeped at a lesser time wouldn’t do anything.” He reached up to grab the cup, but Leona held it away from him.

The blond glared at his friend. “Your highness, give that back.”

“No.” Leona took another sip of it, and Vil could see his distaste for the flavor from the way his tail lashed side-to-side.

“Why do you always drink them if you don’t like how they taste?” Vil crossed his arms. “You can just drink some water instead.”

“Because you made it for me, I’m not about to let it go to waste.” Just then, the prince downed the entire cup in one gulp. He then grinned at Vil. “Delicious.”

The blond raised an eyebrow at Leona. “Delicious?”

“Yep.” Leona then laid back down on the couch, putting his head on Vil’s lap.

Vil let out a sigh, but didn’t try to get him off. Instead, he ran his fingers through the beastman’s hair, trying not to marvel at how soft it was. He looked down at Leona. “Comfortable?”

“No.” Leona shifted a bit, leaning more into Vil. “You’re too boney.”

The blond flicked Leona’s forehead. “Then get off.”

“No.” The prince then spoke before Vil could say anything. “So, how're your classes going? Anything new with you?”

“Classes are going well.” Vil nodded. As luck would have it, playing Twisted Loverland as a game in his past life was incredibly beneficial to him in his current life, as he was already very well-versed in the history of the land they resided in.

Sure, he was a bit foggy on some parts that went unmentioned in the game, but he’d always been happy to learn as much as he could. “Father and I are having a wonderful time with potionology, and that report you helped me with got high marks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Hm. Yes, I suppose you deserve a thank you.” Vil rubbed behind Leona’s ears gently, causing a low rumble to sound from the beastman’s throat. “So, thank you. Other than that, I don’t have any news class-wise, but actually there is something.”

“And what’s that?” Leona’s eyes closed contentedly.

“A boy is moving into the manor for a while.”

The prince’s eyes shot open. “A what?”

Vil narrowed his eyes at the beastman. “What’s your issue? Papa just offered to let a family friend’s son stay with us.”

“Do you know him?”

’Well, would you say “He literally tore my eyes out in a BL version of this world that I played in my past life” counts as knowing someone? Personally, I’d say yes, but…’ “Technically speaking I haven’t ever met him in person, so-”

“Then how do you know he isn’t a serial killer?”

’He could be a serial killer, depending on the choices you made in the game, so technically I know that he’s a serial killer, but that’s neither here nor there.’ “Calm down, your highness. His family and mine have worked together before, I doubt the Hunts would send their son over to kill us.” He crossed his arms. “You’re starting to sound like Father.”

“Ugh, don’t say that.” Leona rolled his eyes. He and Vil’s father didn’t get along, and the man made it clear to show his distaste for the prince at every opportunity he could.

“Don’t act like him and I won’t say it.” Vil shot back.

“Whatever.” Once again, Leona rolled his eyes. “Just make sure he doesn’t try anything with you.” ’Like flirting with you, because I won’t let some guy take your heart from me before I’ve stolen it for myself.’

’Like ripping out my eyeballs’ Vil nodded before chuckling. “Trust me, your highness.” He ran his fingers through the beastman’s hair once more. “I’m going to make sure he won’t be able to hurt me.” He waved a hand through the air. “But enough about me, how have you been?”

“Shitty.” Leona let out a groan. “The lords from the north district came in last week, and they practically worshiped the ground Falena walked on.” He stretched before looking at Vil with a frown. “Seriously. I know they’re backing him to become king, but did they have to be so obvious about it?”

“Backing him to become king…” Vil trailed off. His hands brushed against the prince’s left eye carefully. In the game, Leona had been attacked by people who wanted him out of the race to become king and been given a scar over his left eye around the time he turned eighteen.

He wasn’t that age yet, but still. Vil’s stomach churned in worry as he thought about his friend getting hurt. If only there was something he could do to prevent it-

“Your highness.” Vil sat up straighter. ’I don’t know the specifics, but if I can stop him from getting hurt, I have to try.’

Leona had closed his eyes once more as Vil continued to run his fingers through his hair, but he opened them up to look at the blond. “Yeah?”

“Be careful about people who support your brother.” Vil’s face was serious as he spoke. “They might try getting you out of the way so he can secure becoming the crown prince.”

“My brother would never have his people attack me.” Leona shook his head. “He isn’t the kind of guy to do something so backhanded like that.”

“They might do it without his knowledge. Either way, stay on your guard while you’re at the castle. Never be alone with someone you don’t trust. Promise me.”

The prince blinked. ’Vil must be really worried about me…’ He fought back a grin as he felt his heart grow warm. Nobody had ever done something like that. It was nice. “Okay, I promise.”

“Good.” Vil smiled down at him before pinching one of his furry ears playfully. “If I see you hurt, I’ll be upset, so you better take care of yourself.”

“Anything you say, princess.”

Vil laughed. Inside, he felt as though he was soaring. ’This is amazing! If I really can change the prince’s fate, then that means this story can still be changed.’ He continued running his fingers through the prince’s hair as he thought to himself.

’And if it can be… Then that means I really might have a chance.’

Vil brushed off some nonexistent dust from his vest as he stood in the manor's foyer. His father was braiding the sides of his hair into braids behind him absentmindedly while Divus paced across the room.

“Ow!” The blond winced as his father jabbed a bobby pin into his scalp.

“Oh, sorry, Vil.” Eric gave an apologetic smile. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Beauty is pain, Pup.” Divus called out, glancing through the windows at a carriage slowly making its way to them through a downpour of snow. “Eric, hurry up. The boy’s almost here.”

“You can’t rush perfection, love.” The silver-haired man spoke, his voice soft.

Vil wasn’t paying attention as his fathers broke into a squabble about hair care, he was more focused on not throwing up or passing out. Each passing day since he’d heard about Rook coming to live with them he’d grown more and more nervous.

At first, he believed that he’d be fine as long as he just treated the boy kindly, but his mind just kept repeating the game’s CG of his various deaths, over, and over, and over again.

’I can’t let that happen! I won’t!’ Vil shook his head, causing his father to pull on his hair.

“Ow!”

“Sorry!”

Just then they heard a knock on the door. Divus let out a sigh and stood with his husband and son, putting a hand atop both their shoulders. He then gestured to a maid (named Alana, after her mother) to open the door.

This was it.

Vil grit his teeth together, bracing himself for what was the most terrifying person he’d end up facing in this new life had had been thrust into.

The door opened, and a loud voice cried out.

“Bonsoir!”

Chapter Text

The boy in front of him had a messy mop of blond hair that fell past his shoulders and bangs that partially covered his face. Which might have been a good thing, as from what Vil could see, streaks of dust and dirt were painted across his face like an artist’s most embarrassing painting.

He wore an old cape around his shoulders, and underneath he had on a dusty orange vest without an undershirt, paired with black trousers and high riding boots. The boots were wet and muddy, as he had been walking through a pile of snow just before coming inside. His arms were as muscular as a boy of his age’s arms could be, and he swung two large suitcases in his hands.

As soon as he stepped inside the house, Divus grimaced. “Send him back.”

“Divus!” Eric chastised. “That’s no way to treat a guest.” He stepped forward to greet the boy. “Hello, I am Eric Schoenheit, Duke of Pyroxene.” He held out his hand for the boy to shake. “Rook, was it?”

“Oui!” The blond put one of his suitcases down and shook the man’s hand. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!” He bowed slightly and continued. “Both my family and I are forever grateful for your aid.”

Eric blinked, surprised by the boy’s grip strength. He politely pulled his hand away and gestured to the man beside him. “This is my husband, Divus Crewel.”

“Charmed.” The multi-colored-haired man reached out his hand, staring frostily at the boy.

Rook blinked at the man. After a moment, he let out a powerful sneeze, causing the older man to grimace as he wiped at his face. Divus pulled his hand back, not wanting to shake the boy’s hand after what he had just seen. Rook didn’t seem to take any insult of this, and instead bowed to the man. “Thank you for allowing me into your home, Duke Crewel.”

Eric then gestured to Vil. “And this is our son, Vil. I hope that you two can become good friends with one another.”

As soon as Rook looked at Vil, he froze. ’Mon dieu…’ He thought, feeling his cheeks growing red. ’Is this what an angel is meant to look like?’ His mouth grew dry, and quietly he stammered out a greeting. “G-Good day, m-mon ami. I return your father’s wishes and hope that we… that we can become good friends.”

Vil looked at him, and suddenly remembered a scene from the original game.

It was Rook’s bad route- which of course Vil had gone on, sue him- and in it, the man had locked the protagonist in a cage.

Because, you know, yandere.

But Vil didn’t care about that, what was more important was that in this route, he had decapitated Vil for various inconceivable reasons, and often would monologue to the poor villain’s head as the protagonist listened in horror.

Because, once again, yandere.

“Ah… Truly, this is what I always believed in. You. Me. Us.” Rook laughed, twirling a lock of Vil’s lifeless hair between his fingers in the CG as the protagonist watched in the background. “I would have stayed by your side happily, had you only shown me the kindness your beauty deserved to show.”

He let out another laugh, this one loud and almost screaming. “But you! You despised me from day one! Oh, I can still remember.” His hand gripped Vil’s hair tightly. “When we first met, I thought I had seen an angel, only to discover nothing but a demon!” His voice turned cold. “Why, all I did was say I wished to be friends, and you… you laughed at me! You hit me! You hurt me!”

He screamed. “All I ever wanted was your friendship! Mon Roi des Poison! But now…” The screen turned dark, and only his voice could be heard.

“Now you're gone!”

Vil held back a grimace at the memory. ’The game never specified what exactly Vil did to Rook, but I imagine it must have been horrible to make him turn out like that.’ The blond put his hand to his chest. ’Why did I hurt him? Surely I couldn't have been that evil… It doesn’t make sense.’ He shook his head, looking at the smiling boy in front of him. ’Poor Rook… I’ll make sure your beautiful smile never darkens this time.’

He lifted his head up and smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. “It’s nice to meet you, Rook.” He held his hand out for the man to shake.

The boy before him took it, hands trembling slightly as Vil continued. “I hope we can become friends, too. I look forward to getting to know you while you’re here.”

Rook smiled brightly, shaking his hand with vigor. “Oui! I’d love that more than anything in the world!”

Divus shook his head at the two boys, clearly not liking their sudden friendship. Eric patted his shoulder and spoke. “Vil, why don’t you take Rook to his room so he can put his things up?”

The blond nodded, picking up one of Rook’s suitcases, to which Rook let out a cry of alarm. “Vil! You do not need to lift that!”

“Nonsense!” Vil spoke as he started walking down the hall. In his head, he was chanting something along the lines of ’Wow, Rook. Aren’t I super nice? You should totally never kill me! Please. My head is too pretty to be removed from my shoulders!’ But out loud he said something else. “You’re our guest, it’s my job to help you with whatever you need.”

“Vil!” Rook seemed to have tears in his eyes as he chased after the boy.

Divus and Eric watched them leave, the silver-haired man letting out a light chuckle at their antics while the multi-colored-haired man glared after their new housemate.

He let out a sigh and clapped his hands, catching the attention of two maids who had been standing nearby. “Attina, Alana.” He gestured to the muddy trail that had followed after the boy. “If you would.”

As the maids nodded and went to clean, Eric spoke up, calling after them. “Thank you, Attina and Alana.”

Divus rolled his eyes. “You don’t get to thank them.” He gestured to the mess. “This is your fault.”

His husband let out another laugh. “It’s healthy for Vil to have friends his age. Would you rather the only people he ever spent time with be us?”

Divus raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

Eric crossed his arms. “There’s something wrong with you.” He grabbed onto his husband’s hand. “Come on. You’re reading that ‘Learning to Let Your Kids Fly’ book I bought.”

In the past month, Vil had made it a goal of his to seek out Rook as often as he could since he’d been there. After all, the more they became friends, the less likely he was to kill Vil!

And it seemed like Rook enjoyed this, as he followed suit.

One day, while Vil was looking over a potionology book, his new friend popped up behind him without warning, causing the blond to drop his book to the ground. The green-eyed boy let out a laugh as he went to pick it up. “Forgive me, mon ami! You looked so beautiful in thought while reading that I couldn’t help but want to see your face in shock!”

Vil shook his head. 'Save those words for the protagonist, Rook!' He then took the book from Rook’s hands. “I’m happy to see you as always, but don’t sneak up on me like that. I lost my page.”

Rook clasped his hands together in apology. “Mon erreur, mon erreur! I will not sneak up on you again.”

“Good.” Vil continued walking, this time with his friend following him. Looking at the book in the noble’s hands, Rook spoke. “What is this book about?”

“It’s Father’s personal book on poison.” The blond held his book up so Rook could see its title. “He let me borrow it to prepare for my lesson with him tomorrow.”

Rook tilted his head. “You are interested in the art of poison?”

Vil laughed at Rook’s tone. “Calling it 'The Art of Poison' makes it sound bad! I’m more interested in antidotes." 'So I can make sure you don't fucking kill me.' "But Father says the best way to learn how to make those is to first learn to make different kinds of poison, so here I am.”

“Here you are…” The shorter boy let out a hum as he looked at the book. “You must be passionate about this subject, then.”

Vil brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “I am. Learning about this kind of thing is a great bonding activity for my father and I, and it really is an interesting subject, you know.” ’Plus, learning about them means learning how to avoid them!’ He nodded. “I even got the gardeners to allow me to take care of a garden that I use for ingredients sometimes.”

“Wow!” Rook clapped. “Such passion! Beaute, 100 points!”

’I remember you saying that.’ Vil laughed once more, putting his hand over his mouth. Aside from Rook saying it in this world, he would do the same in the game as well. It was a cute quirk of his that Vil had come to enjoy in his repeated playthroughs.

Actually, if he was being honest, Rook had been his favorite character since he’d first heard about the game.

During the good, non-yandere routes, of course. There was just something about him that made Vil feel like smiling. Like he was a bright and shining sun, livening up the world around him. Sure, he was a bit eccentric, but that’s just because he was passionate about his interests! That’s what made him so special.

Even characters who initially started off disliking him, like Leona, eventually came to consider him a good friend in their other routes.

“Thank you, Rook.” Vil put a hand on his hip, taking the book back. “If you’d like, I could show it to you.”

His friend nodded easily. “I would love that, mon Roi des Poison~!” As soon as he said the nickname, he put a hand to his mouth in surprise.

“Roi des Poison?” Vil’s eyes widened. ’That was Rook’s name for Vil in the original… Given to him in a twisted sense of humor after Vil had tried to poison the protagonist.’ And to hear it from him now….

“Forgive me. That name just came out. I…” Rook’s voice was soft, and as Vil looked up, he noticed how the boy’s hand covered most of his face, but from a few small cracks, Vil could see a faint blush dashed across his cheeks.

’He’s nervous? Oh.’ Vil looked away as well. He remembered that before Vil, Rook hadn’t had very many friends, save for his family. Vil let out a small laugh, catching Rook’s attention.

“Roi des Poison?” He smiled. “I like it.”

He started walking to the garden, calling to his friend over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”

Rook blinked. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he stared after the blond. ’Mon chéri…’ He wiped at his eyes, feeling them growing slightly misty before running after the angel he’d somehow been lucky enough to find.

“Oui!”

“Over there, that’s dawn weed.” The blond pointed to a leafy plant with rounded tips. “And right next to it is dusk weed.” He then pointed to a similar-looking plant, only this one had pointed tips. Pyroxene typically had very cold winters, but with Vil’s care, they had been able to survive and grow to greet a new spring season soon.

“They look similar, but couldn’t be more different when it comes to how they affect potions.” Vil took off the gardening gloves that he had put on to show his plants to Rook. “They’re literally opposites. Dawn weed increases the potency of whatever is being made, and dusk weed decreases it.”

“I see!” Rook nodded, watching Vil’s hands carefully. A slight breeze blew through the garden as the clouds seemed to be growing darker. He looked up at the sky carefully. ’I suppose I won’t need to water these today.’

“But that’s about it for the garden.” The blond tucked the gloves into a basket and placed it on top of a table. “I wish I could add more, but for now that’s it.”

“Why don’t you add more?”

“The seeds I ordered haven’t arrived yet.” The blond looked over at his garden, smiling as he looked at the bright leaves. “When they get here, oh, this place will look perfect.” His eyes narrowed as he continued to gaze at the garden. “Well, almost, anyway.”

Rook tilted his head. “Almost? Roi des Poison, is there something you do not like?”

Vil let out a sigh, turning around to lean against the table. “There's a certain flower that only blooms in the Hidden Woods that I’d like to add here, but it’s proving to be very difficult to get my hands on.”

“What is it?”

“Lambent flowers. They’d be able to grow perfectly fine in this garden, the conditions are perfect.” He smiled. “And you know, they’re said to gather magic in the air before bursting into light. They have powerful healing powers too, they don’t even need to be made into a potion to work.”

“They must be very rare.”

“They are.” Vil nodded. “Not only are they only found in the Hidden Woods, but they also use magic to transport to other places so that they’re never in the same place more than once." He shook his head. "Which is incredible , but it also makes them all the more difficult to find.”

Rook’s eyes shone. “It sounds wonderful!” He let out a gasp, having decided on an idea. “Why don’t we go into the Hidden Woods to look for it ourselves?”

“What?!” Vil had a shocked look on his face. “I’d love to gather some myself, but the Hidden Woods are too difficult to traverse by carriage. You would need either a horse or to go by foot- which it’s too far to do.” He shrugged, sitting down on the bench beside Rook. “I never learned how to ride, so that’s out of the question.

“I have learned.” Rook grinned, holding his hand out to the blond. “I’ll take you there myself.” He tilted his head.

“Come on, Roi des Poison. Trust me!”

Vil Schoenheit was probably the most idiotic man alive. Here he was, standing inside the stables as the sky grew darker, waiting for the man who had a history of killing him to take him into the Hidden Woods, alone, where nobody could hear him scream.

He and Rook had told his fathers, but still. Stupid move. His fathers had agreed with him on that, but Rook had gained enough trust from them to take care of their son. That being said, his father had drilled it into their heads that if Vil returned a second past curfew, Rook would be kicked out of the house in an instant.

Which was a bit of a harsh punishment, but Rook seemed to take it very seriously.

Speaking of the fellow blond, Vil just about left the stables when Rook finally appeared. He wore a hooded cloak, just as Vil was, and had a bow and wooden arrows strapped to his back.

“Rook, why do you have weapons with you?”

“Mon Roi!” The boy cheered before tossing him an object. He walked inside and gently rubbed a brown horse’s muzzle as he spoke. “While the creatures inside the Hidden Woods are typically peaceful, I decided to be cautious and bring my bow.” He gestured to the object in Vil’s hands. “And my hunting knife, which is for your own use.”

Vil blinked, holding the knife up in his hands. It was nice, very high quality and dearly loved. It even had Rook’s initials engraved into it. The blond looked at Rook as the boy saddled the horse in front of him. “You know how to shoot?”

“I am called Rook Hunt, am I not?” He let out a laugh before putting reins and a saddle on the horse.

“Oh.” The blond blinked, his face growing red with embarrassment. He should have known. If not for the fact that it was in Rook’s name, he’d also been an avid hunter in the original game as well.

Rook let out another laugh before climbing on top of the horse’s back. He had the animal step forward a few steps before reaching out his hand to Vil. “Come, I’ll help you up.”

“Thanks.” After taking a breath, Vil took hold of the hunter's hand, and let himself be hoisted onto the horse.

From there, they began their journey to the Hidden Woods.

Now, despite being named the Hidden Woods, these woods were not actually hidden at all. They were in plain sight, not far at all from the Schoenheit manor. However, the reasoning behind its name was that the vines and thicket surrounding it, making it impossible to pass through in something as large as a carriage.

Even if you had a horse, you needed to be a very skilled rider to make it inside.

Which meant the forest was barely traversed by men, and was ruled by monsters, flora, and animals. But relatively speaking, so long as you did not attack any beast from there, you were safe as they typically never attacked first.

As Rook and Vil had made their way there, it had started to rain, but once they had reached the woods, the leaves overhead were so thick that they barely got wet.

They decided to give their horse- which Rook had lovingly nicknamed Le Cheval -a break and walk for a bit on foot.

Which had been a mistake, as Le Cheval immediately ran off as soon as he could. Rook ran after it, calling for Vil to stay put. The blond was content to do so- he had no business running around an unfamiliar forest by himself, after all. But as he looked around, he saw something shining in the corner of his eye.

Taking a step forward, he recognized it as a patch of Lambent flowers, glowing softly in the darkness of the forest.

’They’re right in front of me, I can’t miss this opportunity!’ Vil silently apologized to Rook in his head before approaching the flowers. He carefully put on his gardening gloves and buried his fingers into the dirt, pulling one of the glowing flowers up by the roots.

Then, he put it in a large bag he had brought, careful to not damage the roots. He looked up at the other flowers, tempted to take another, but he shook his head. ’They’re already rare enough, they don’t need me destroying an entire patch like this’.

But still, he found himself smiling as he gazed at their glowing petals. It was peaceful, with the quiet humming of the trees and faint groans in the background, Vil could almost-

Faint groans?

Instantly, Vil stood up, looking around him. ’I’m not imagining things, right?’ As he turned, he saw a slight rustle in the bushes behind him. He grabbed the hunting knife from his back pocket and held it in his hands.

He glanced at the bushes, which had stopped rustling. ’The creatures here are peaceful, but still…’ Vil let out a silent sigh of relief. ’I can just get out of here, and-’

And then he heard what sounded like a pained whimper and Vil froze.

’Walk away, Schoenheit. You don’t know if it’ll lash out at you or not.’ He bit his lip and turned around, away from the bushes.

But when he heard a second whimper, he caved in and stepped closer to the bushes. ’If someone’s hurt, I can’t just leave them!’

A villain would, sure, but Vil was determined to avoid being one no matter what!

So, he carefully made his way to the bushes until he saw a puddle of red blood. A really large puddle of red blood. Vil felt a wave of cold dread wash over him as he cleared his throat. “Hello? Are you alright? I’m here to help.”

He heard more rustling in the bushes in front of him, and he pushed his way through them before letting out a gasp at the sight before him.

A black creature towered in front of him, sharp, pointed teeth curled into a snarl. Its claws dug deep into the earth, and its tail lashed angrily side-to-side, slamming against a thick tree trunk. The creature’s ears were pulled back to where its scale-covered black horns rested on top of its head, and one of its wings lay on the ground. That was where all the blood was coming from, as Vil could see what appeared to be smoke and blood pouring from it.

The creature let out a loud roar as soon as it saw Vil.

Fighting against every urge in his body to leave, the blond stayed put. “Wait!” Vil held out a hand to the creature. “It’s alright! I’m here to help.”

The creature didn’t lower its guard. Vil quickly put the knife away and pulled out the flower from his bag. The creature stared at him intently with its ivy-colored eyes. Its claws were close, ready to attack if Vil did anything to harm it.

Vil held the flower up, showing it to the creature. “This is a Lambent flower. They grow in this place and have powerful healing properties.” He pointed to the creature’s bloody wing. “If you’ll let me see your wound, I’ll do my best to help you.”

The creature stared at him for a moment.

Its eyes seemed to glow as they watched him.

And after what seemed like an eternity, it moved its claws and allowed Vil to get closer.

“Thank you.” The blond slightly bowed his head to the creature before crouching in front of its wing.

Like he had seen before, blood was oozing out of it, but smoke was as well. Vil frowned when he saw the wing. “What kind of weapon would cause something like this?” He shook his head and then moved closer to the wound.

He finally saw the source of it. It was an arrow. Vil felt his heart lurch at the implication that it was Rook who had shot the poor creature before him, but that didn’t make sense.

Rook’s arrows were made of wood, he had told Vil all about how he had carved them himself. But this one…

It was made of dull, cold iron.

Vil turned around to speak to the creature, which had been watching him the whole time. “There’s an arrow lodged into your wing. I’m sure you’re aware of that.”

The creature let out a grunt, a loud noise coming from its nostrils.

Vil let out a small laugh. For a second, the creature before him seemed to be rolling its eyes at his remark. But then he went back to being serious. “I’ll need to pull it out, alright?”

The creature blinked.

“It’ll hurt.”

The creature blinked.

“Alright, then.” Vil reached up, pulling his hair up so that it was out of the way. Once he was done, he reached for the arrow. He looked back up at the creature. “I’ll pull it out now, are you ready?”

The creature blinked.

“Alright. NOW!” Vil warned before grabbing onto the arrow with both hands and pulling it out before tossing it to the side in one quick motion. The creature let out a loud roar of pain, but the second it did so, the pain vanished.

Vil had been quick, he’d grabbed the petals of the Lambent flower and had pressed them against the wound. Already, it had begun to close itself up. The creature stared at Vil as the blond let out a sigh of relief before looking up at the creature.

Purple eyes met green, and then they closed and looked away.

Vil stood up, brushing dirt off his pants as he spoke. “There. You should be better. I’d recommend seeing a doctor.” He looked the creature up and down for a moment. “Or whatever your version of a doctor is. Someone who is skilled at healing.”

The creature bumped its head against Vil gently and its tail moved side-to-side, this time not seeming angry. The blond let out a chuckle and pet its dark scales. “You’re welcome. But I really should get going now. Rook’s probably looking for me.”

A low grunt could be heard from the creature, and its tail moved to bring Vil closer to it as its head nuzzled his cheek. “Now, now.” Vil shook his finger at the creature. “I know I’m wonderful, but I have places to be and I’m sure you do as well.”

The blond tried to move away from the creature, but its tail wouldn't let him move. "Come on, you-AGH!" Vil let out a cry of pain as he felt something sharp dig into his neck. The creature seemed surprised to hear him yell, as it's tail moved away from him quickly.

"That hurt!" He pushed himself away from the creature, who lowered its head onto the ground guiltily.

Feeling as though he'd just yelled at a puppy, Vil let out a sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck, but couldn't feel any blood. The pain had vanished as well. “Don’t just bite people. It's rude.”

The creature put a claw over its eyes, seemingly sorry.

"There, there." Vil patted its claw. “I forgive you. Now, you’re feeling better, right?”

The creature flapped its formerly injured wing gently, causing a gust to flow throughout the forest. Vil nodded. “Good. I’ll leave you, th-”

Just then, it felt like a wave pulsed through the entire forest. The creature’s head bolted up quickly, watching the leaves shake above it. It stood up, and looked at Vil.

The blond blinked as it seemingly bowed its head to him.

Before he could say or do anything, the creature’s eyes glowed and it spread its wings as the leaves that had been covering the sky above them parted into a large space. The rain poured over both of them, watery trails running down the creature’s dark scales. It gave Vil one last look, then the creature flapped its wings once, and it was gone.

Vil felt his knees grow weak as the leaves went back to what they were before, covering the storming sky above.

’I feel like I just saw some sort of deity.’ He thought as he then heard his name being shouted through the woods as Rook made his way to his side.

And little did Vil know, that as his hunter friend worried over his soaked appearance, draping his own cloak over Vil’s shaking shoulders, it wasn’t a deity that he had just met.

But rather, someone much more important than Vil would have ever known. The most mysterious and powerful love interest in the entire game.

The only one who’s route he never played.

Chapter Text

The ride home on Le Cheval was silent, save for the rain pattering past them as they traveled. The sky above was dark with stormy clouds, and the sun was starting to set.

Rook’s coat was still wrapped around Vil, as the hunter had refused to take it back from the blond. "Better I feel the rain than you", he had said. Vil would have fought him more on that, but he found himself too lost in his thoughts to say anything.

But he knew Rook probably felt worse. After a moment, he began to speak as he eased the cape off his shoulders. “Rook, I-”

Rook opened his mouth at the same time. “Roi des Poison, I…” He covered his mouth before putting his hand on Vil’s shoulder, stopping him from removing the item. “Pardon me, you go ahead.”

“No, it’s alright.” Vil leaned his head back so that it rested on the man’s chest as they continued to ride onwards.

He felt Rook’s heart beating quickly in his chest. The man shook his head, refusing to meet Vil’s gaze. “I shouldn’t have brought you here so late.” He gripped the reins tightly. “I am so, so sorry.”

“What?” Vil looked at his friend, confused. “What are you sorry for? If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry for not staying put like you asked me to." He wanted to tell his friend about what he had seen, but decided against it. Not when his hunter seemed so upset. He shook his head. "Rook, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t do anything right, either.” Rook muttered to himself.

The noble frowned and put his hand on the hunter’s cheek. “Why are you acting like something bad happened? We went to the Hidden Woods, we didn’t find what we were looking for, and we’re now going home.” He shrugged. “We can always come back another time. I’m not mad at you.”

“But Roi des Poison…” Rook’s voice went soft as he whispered something under his breath.

“What was that?”

”Iwannedshofferyou...”

Vil leaned closer. “Rook, speak up. I can’t understand if you talk like that.”

”Iwantedtoshowoffforyou…”

“One more time?”

“I WANTED TO SHOW OFF FOR YOU!!!” Rook cried out, eyes wet with tears. “I wanted to show off my hunting prowess, my skills in the woods, impress you with my bow, anything!” His face was bright red.

“You- You wanted to show off for me?” Vil’s eyes widened and he then let out a loud laugh.

Rook buried his face in his hands. “Please do not laugh, mon ami! You wound this hunter’s heart!”

“No, it’s just…” Vil continued to laugh, smiling at Rook. “My dear huntsman, you've already impressed me since the beginning.”

“But I-”

“And if you really want to go back there, we can.” Vil nodded. “Just not when it’s raining, and earlier in the day so we don’t nearly break my curfew.” He held out his hand to the hunter. “Deal?”

Rook’s eyes shone. He grabbed Vil’s hand and shook it.

“Oui!”

Unfortunately, Rook’s plans for showing off would have to wait a while, as after their little trip, he had gotten sick. As it turned out, riding a horse uncovered in the rain really wasn’t good for your health. Who would’ve thought?

Vil had wanted to check up on Rook, but one of the maids (Aquata, named near the lake she had lived by in her childhood) had told him that the man ‘Refused to let his beloved Vil see him in such a state’, so he decided to respect Rook’s wishes and let him be.

Luckily, he wasn’t going to be lonely, because Leona had decided to visit him that day. However, when Vil entered the garden, the prince sniffed the air before walking towards him angrily.

Leona’s gaze was dark as he grabbed onto Vil’s shoulders. The blond blinked at him in surprise. “Your highness, what are you do- GHH!” He let out a yell as the prince buried his nose against his neck, breathing in deeply.

The beastman’s voice sounded like a low growl. “You smell weird.”

“Fuck you too?” Vil tried to push Leona off him, but to no avail as the prince had him in an iron-solid grip.

“Like roses, like smoke, like a bunch of gross plants.” The prince breathed deeply once more, wrapping his arms around Vil. “You’re not supposed to smell like that.” He’d gotten used to the blond’s sweet scent of apples and violets, and to have some other smell on his fiance rubbed him the wrong way. “I don’t like it.”

Vil stared at Leona’s tail as it puffed up, lashing side-to-side angrily. “I can tell.”

“I don’t like you smelling different.”

The blond rolled his eyes. “Next time I change soaps, I'll be sure to tell you then.” Even though he hadn't, as he was still using the kind he normally used. Still, He patted Leona’s head. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. Rook and I were going to see a play, but he’s sick, so luckily for you, you get to come with me.”

Leona raised an eyebrow before continuing to rub his cheek against Vil’s neck. “Who the fuck's Rook? Also, don’t wanna.”

"I'll introduce you two next time. And seriously?” Vil huffed. “It’s a very good play. It’s based on characters from ’Hamlet’.”

“Claudius?” Leona raised an eyebrow hopefully. Vil shook his head. “No, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.”

The prince took another deep inhale, already feeling the scent of roses fading away the more he nuzzled against Vil. “Who?”

“You see? You don’t know who they are because they’re nothing but villainous side-characters who were written only to further the arc of the protagonist and then die.” Vil clasped his hands together as he spoke. “It’s a story about the inescapability of being written into the villain's role, the impact of stage, and how death is inescapable despite everything we do to avoid it.”

Vil had been really interested in stories about characters trying to escape their predestined fates and written narratives as of late.

For some reason.

The blond let out a sigh. “But if you don’t want to come with me, I won’t make you.” He pulled himself away from the prince’s grip. “I’ll just go alone.”

“Wait.” Leona grabbed his wrist, and Vil grinned. The prince shook his head. “What kind of fiance would I be if I made you watch a play all by yourself?”

“A horrible one.”

“Yeah.” Leona pointed to Vil. “And I’m not. Come on, let’s go.”

And onto the outing they went~!

Two men stood on stage, each staring out into the audience as the rest of the actors onstage laid on the ground in various states of death. The man on the left spoke in a solemn voice. “That's it, then, is it?”

Beside him, Vil grabbed onto the sleeve of Leona’s shirt. The prince had been so focused on the play, he hadn’t noticed that his companion had tears rolling down his face.

The man continued to speak. “When did it begin?”

Leona watched Vil, who’s lips trembled at the silence in the theater. The man onstage looked out into the audience. “Couldn't we just… Stay put? I mean no one is going to come and drag us away.... They may just have to wait. We're still young ... fit... we've got years…”

The theater stayed silent. So silent, that when the man let out a yell, half of the audience jumped, Vil included. “We've done nothing wrong!” The man onstage looked at the one beside him. “We didn't harm anyone. Did we?”

Vil’s hand shook as it clutched Leona’s sleeve. The prince put his arm over his companion’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort, though he didn’t understand why he was so upset.

Finally, the other man spoke in a dazed voice. “I can't remember.”

That seemed to snap the man out of it. “All right, then. I don't care.” He waved his hands across his face. “I've had enough.” He turned away from the audience. “To tell you the truth, I'm relieved.” He took one last look at the man beside him, and disappeared.

Now alone on stage, the other man spoke, not having noticed that his friend had disappeared. “There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said no.” Where they could have changed their fates, to be the heroes instead of the villains. The man’s gaze was downcast. “But somehow we missed it.”

He then looked up, finally realizing that he was the only one left standing. He stood up, raising his voice to call out for his friend. “Rosen--?” His eyebrows furrowed together. He didn’t know who he was calling for. He called out once more. “Guil--?” Was that his name, or was it the other one? He didn’t know.

He looked around the stage one last time, realizing that was the last person there. The man then gathered himself, brushing nonexistent dirt off his vest. He cleared his throat, then spoke, only to himself. “Well, we'll know better next time.” He raised his hands, about to bow. “Now you see me, now you-”

And then the stage went black. He didn’t even get to finish his line.

Another actor came on stage to deliver a line, but Leona couldn’t pay attention to what they were saying as Vil put his head on his shoulder, and the prince could feel the fabric of his shirt growing wet. He patted the blond’s shoulder once more, looking up at the stage.

The actor was in the middle of a monologue. “The prince’s commandment is fulfilled, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.”

Vil let out a muffled sob, and Leona pulled him into a one-armed hug, stroking his arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, they’re not real.”

The blond only sobbed harder. Leona rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. ’Oops’.

Onstage, as the actor continued to speak, the lights dimmed and the stage grew dark. After a moment, then the rest of the actors came out to bow. When they did so, Vil stood up and clapped his hands, pulling Leona up to do the same.

Leona didn’t know how Vil could cheer after having been crying for the past two hours, but the actors deserved his respect, so he cheered as well.

Once everything was over, Vil wiped at his eyes with a handkerchief. “Oh, that was such a wonderful play.” He sniffed once, continuing to dab at his eyes. ’Catharsis, I needed that.’

“Wonderful?” The beastman raised an eyebrow. “Vil, you were crying the entire time. I don’t know how you’d consider that to be ‘wonderful’.”

“The enemy of theater is apathy.” Vil held up his finger as the two got up from their seats. “The entire point of a stage performance is that you are meant to feel something. And I respect any play that makes me like this.” He gestured to himself.

“Uh-huh.” Leona crossed his arms as they walked out of the theater. “I don’t really like seeing you crying like that, though.”

“What, am I an ugly crier?” Vil’s eyes widened. The tears that had fallen down his face left wet, simmering trails down his cheeks. His eyelashes had grown darker as they held back the moisture of his tears, causing them to frame the purple gems within his irises even more than they usually did. His cheeks had frown flushed, a speck of color over his fair skin. His lips were red, having been bitten while he’d been crying.

’How the fuck did this guy make crying look pretty?’ The prince shook his head. “No, it just doesn’t feel good.”

“Aww, your highness. Do you care about my feelings~?” The blond teased.

‘Yes. Way more than I thought I ever would’ Leona rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He noticed a cafe nearby and grabbed onto his companion’s arm. “Come on, I want a drink.”

The cafe had outdoor seating, so Vil went to grab them a table while Leona ordered for them. The blond was slightly apprehensive, doubting that the prince knew what kind of drink he wanted, but let it slide.

As he sat down, he watched groups of people pass by.

One was a gaggle of women surrounding a lady with pink hair, eyes shining as she gushed about some new novel she had just read. “And then, he died! And I’m like, finally, right? He tormented everyone for the entire story, he totally had it coming!”

A woman next to her, this one with green hair, put a hand to her chin. “I mean… sure he was horrible, but I don’t know…” She frowned. “Was he really the villain? It’s all a matter of perspective.”

“Jenna, he killed an actual child.”

The girl pointed at her friends. “We don’t know that! We never actually saw him doing anything!”

"You just like him because he's hot!"

The woman-Jenna's- face grew red as she stammered out her response. Vil would have loved to listen to her defending herself, but they had gone out of earshot.

He looked down at his hands, feeling something stirring in his chest. ’This world… It’s so real, isn’t it?’ Vil’s gaze darkened. ’The people here have created plays, cafes, found friends, everything. But none of it was mentioned in the game unless it was plot-relevant.’

Vil looked up as he heard the sound of a child crying. Looking around, he saw a young boy clutching his knee on the ground. Beside him, a girl that appeared to be his sister helped him up. She wiped away his tears and led him away, telling him something that Vil couldn’t make out.

He let out a sigh. ’This is my world. My home. I was born here, my family is here, my friends are here, it’s just…’ He lowered his head onto his hands. ’It’s hard. Knowing what this world was in my other life. Nothing but a cheap dating simulator.’

Vil would have been content to spend more time inside his head with his thoughts, but they were interrupted by a loud voice.

“Heyyyyy, pretty lady~!” A preppy-looking boy with a light shade of orange hair waved in the blond’s direction. He stopped in front of the table and sat down in front of Vil. He grinned, putting his chin on top of his hands as he batted his green eyes flirtily. “How you doin’~?”

Vil blinked at the boy in surprise, lifting his head up. ’A ginger with a cheery attitude and green eyes. It couldn’t be, could it…?’ “Who are you? Also I’m not a lady.”

“Zoinks!” The boy’s eyes widened and he let out a gasp. He clasped his hands together. “I’m supes sorry! You’re just so hot I thought you were a girly-goo!” He let out another gasp. “Wait, not that I’m saying guys can’t be hot! They totes can!” He nodded, putting his hand on top of his fist. “Like, there’s this guy I know and ZOMG. He is the hottest person I’ve ever met! Like, ‘Made me realize I like dudes’- hot.”

Vil blinked at the boy once more as he continued talking. “And also if you’re nonbinary or like genderfluid or something like that, you’re still zoinkers doinkers outta this world pretty!” The ginger nodded. “Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I’m nonbinary." He gasped. "Wouldn’t that be sooooooo cray? I’d be like-’ He crossed his arms and lowered his voice. “-‘I don’t identify with any gender’-” He uncrossed his arms and seemed to bounce in his seat. “And everyone would clap and tell me how pretty and smart I am and kiss me on the lips!”

Finally, Vil spoke. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced and yet you’re talking to me as if we’ve known each other for years.”

“Agh! Uuugh!” The boy knocked on his forehead. “Right, right! Sorry, wherever I see a hot guy, gal or nonbinary pal my brain just goes like BLEH- dead- you know?” He held his hand out. “Anywayzies, my name's Cater Diamond, first son of the Diamond family county here in Pyroxene.”

“Cater… Diamond?” Vil blinked.

’Mother of all fucks, it really is him!’ This was another love interest from the game!

He was meant to be the preppy type character, who had more and more layers to discover the more you got to know him. The original Vil had severely bullied him (for a reason that was never explained because FUCK Vil, right?). Arguably worse than he’d bullied the protagonist.

Cater had tried to brush it off as nothing, but failed to do so. Cater’s good route ended with him and the protagonist getting together after sending Vil to prison for his crimes (to be executed, of course). And in his bad route…

He lost everything. His friends, his family, his social status, and eventually, he lost his life by Vil’s own poisonous hand.

Vil ended up surviving in that route, but at way too high of a cost.

Cater was probably one of, if not the best written character in the entire game. He was the writer’s favorite, so they had taken extra care to give him as much time and character development as they could. Because of that, apparently he had become a fan favorite (Vil didn't know for certain, as he’d never joined the fandom, but when his friend had told him, he wasn’t surprised).

Vil had sympathized with the boy’s struggles. He wouldn’t let Cater get hurt again like he had been in the game.

So, the blond smiled and took Cater’s hand, shaking it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Vil Schoenheit, the only child of the Schoenheit family here in Pyroxene.”

Cater grinned. He looked at the vest Vil wore, having spotted the Schoenheit family emblem from a mile away. ’Of course I knew who you were, I wouldn’t have approached you otherwise.’ He opened his eyes wide in surprise. “Wow! Vil Schoenheit!? What a surprise! I never thought I’d run into you like this!” ’Seriously, what a stroke of luck! If I can get this guy to come to one of my galas, I’m set for life!’

The blond put a hand over his mouth, hiding a smirk as he looked at Cater. ’He’s probably thinking about how to invite me to one of his family galas.’ Cater was the kind of guy who’d always strive for more as a way to make him feel better about his self-worth issues. As his family was technically beneath Vil’s in the social hierarchy, getting into the good graces of the son of a duke would be nothing but beneficial for him.

Vil was sure Cater would have tried to do the same thing with him in the original game, if not for Vil's bullying.

The blond supposed he would have been offended at the boy’s blatant thigh-hugging, but he didn’t mind it. After all, he was doing the same thing to Rook, so it would have been hypocritical to judge. Plus, he wanted to get to know Cater in this world regardless, so it worked out in his favor.

So, he decided to push things in the right direction. “And I never thought I’d run into a Diamond here. Your family is well-known for their galas, it feels as though I’m meeting royalty.”

“You are meeting royalty.” Just then, Leona showed up with two cups in his hands. He stared at Cater- who was sitting across from Vil- and decided to sit next to the blond. He passed a cup over to Vil before placing one in front of himself. “Me, remember?”

“How could I forget you?” Vil teased. He gestured to Leona. “Lord Diamond, this is the prince from the Kingscholar royal family over in the Sunset Savanna, Leona Kingscholar.” He gestured to Cater. “Your highness, this is-”

Leona rolled his eyes. “I don’t care.”

Vil let out a huff and pulled on the beastman’s ear. “You should care. This is Cater Diamond from the Diamond family county.” He smiled at the boy across from them, who was looking at Leona with wide eyes. “I’m sorry for the prince’s tone.”

“N-No problem!” Cater chirped. He continued talking. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

Leona looked him up and down with an unimpressed look. After glancing over to Vil, he spoke. “Likewise.” He wrapped an arm over Vil’s shoulders. “Now, I hate to be rude when you two are having a pleasant conversation, but my fiance and I are on a date right now.” He grinned. “So, if you wouldn’t mind…”

“Not at all!” The ginger stood up. He grit his teeth together, looking away. ’Shit, shit, shit! I completely forgot that the prince and Vil are engaged! Ugh, that Leona’s like an impenetrable wall blocking me from my sweet, sweet Pyroxene popularity!

Vil stood up as well. ’Your highness, you’re ruining everything! I need to give Cater an opportunity for us to get close!’. He held his hand out once more. “Well, even if our conversation was brief, I had a lovely time.” He grinned. “If you ever come to this part of Pyroxene again, send me a letter and we can meet up.” ’There. Now take the reins, Cater.’

The ginger’s eyes widened. ’Aha! An opening!’ He let out a laugh and shook Vil’s hand. “Same to you! Oh!” He put a hand to his mouth as though he’d just come up with an idea. “This is crazy, but I'm actually throwing a gala in a couple weeks! I don’t suppose you’d like to come?”

Vil laughed as well. “Send me an invitation, and I’ll be there.”

Both boys laughed together, celebrating their respective victories as Leona looked at them.

He stared at Vil. ’This guy’s so weird… I’m in love with him.’ He then looked at Cater, who seemed to be holding onto Vil’s hand for far too long if you asked Leona. The prince narrowed his eyes at the ginger.

The two then parted, and Vil sat back down. Once Cater was completely out of earshot, he then let out a huff and pointed at Leona. “Your highness, you can’t just say ‘I don’t care’ when I’m introducing you to someone. It’s rude.”

“It’s the truth, though.”

“Still.” Vil put the teacup to his lips and drank from it. As he did so, he let out a small gasp at the taste on his tongue. Swallowing, he looked over at Leona in surprise. “You got me apple tea?”

“You said it was your favorite.”

Vil raised an eyebrow. “Yes, almost a year ago. I can’t believe you remembered.” He gestured to Leona’s cup as he took another sip. “I take it you have water?”

Leona followed suit and put the drink to his lips. After drinking, he spoke. “Nah, I got the same as you.”

“Really? You won’t like it. Apple tea is very fragrant, and-” He blinked in surprise as the beastman put down his empty cup.

Leona grinned at him. “I dunno, princess. I think I like the taste of apples enough to deal with it.”

“Oh.” Vil looked away. He didn’t know why, but the way the prince was looking at him now caused his heart to pound rapidly in his chest. He drank from his tea once more, avoiding Leona’s gaze.

“That’s nice.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you’re feeling better?” Vil raised an eyebrow as he looked at his blond friend.

“Oui!” Rook moved closer to Vil’s side, taking his friend’s hand and placing it on top of his own forehead. “See, mon ami? My temperature is back to normal.”

“Hmm…” The noble hummed as he moved his hand and stared at Rook’s face. He seemed a small bit flushed, but he looked fine in every other way.

Vil moved to a piece of paper and held onto a pen. “The medicine I made for you was created with a blend of dusk weed, lavender for pain relief, and ground up poppy seeds to induce drowsiness as the main ingredients.” He nodded as he wrote. “I tore the leaves off some mintstick to increase the cooling-down ability, then combined and stirred for fifteen minutes before sending them to the heating pot.”

He looked up at Rook. “How did you react to the medicine?”

The hunter sat up straight, making sure to speak slowly so Vil could write everything down. “Thirty minutes after taking it, I broke out into a cold sweat and then fell asleep. By the time I awoke, I felt incredibly thirsty, but other than that felt much better.”

“I see.” Vil quickly wrote down ‘Add more dusk weed next time to lessen the effects of dehydration’ on his piece of paper. He looked over everything he had written before nodding. “Alright, that’s all Father wanted me to write.”

After learning that Rook was sick, Divus had decided to have Vil to create a potion to help his friend feel better as a way to see his son’s progress in his studies. And Vil was pleased to say that his report over the medicine was perfect!

Vil smiled at Rook, moving to sit next to him. “Thanks for being such a good lab rat, Rook.”

“Of course, Roi des Poison~!” The hunter smiled. “If you ever need someone to ingest any one of your poisons, I will always be a happy volunteer!”

“That’s really sweet, but you shouldn’t volunteer to drink poison.” Vil crossed his arms. “And besides, like I’ve told you already, I’m not making poisons just for the fun of it, I’m doing it to make medicines. Like the one I gave you.”

“I know!” Rook nodded seriously. “I am simply letting you know that I am willing to throw away my life for yours in a heartbeat.”

“Don’t say that.” Vil’s voice turned sharp. He narrowed his eyes at Rook. “You don’t have to do that. Your life is your own, Rook. I care about you dearly, which means that if you were to…”

As Vil spoke to Rook about the importance of self-preservation, the boy’s eyes shone. ’He cares about me?’ Rook’s heart was pounding in his chest. He wanted to jump up into the air for joy. ’Mon Roi, you truly care for me dearly~?! Oh, my heart has never felt this full!’ Rook closed his eyes happily.

’He says he cares, which is close to love, is it not? Does Roi des Poison feel the same way about me as I do about him?’ The blond’s face turned pink and he opened his eyes, seeing Vil berating him yet not hearing a single word he said. ’Oh, joy! Rapture! We can get married! Ah, but…’ Rook frowned.

’My family’s business has gotten slower and slower by each passing year. How will I be able to provide for Mon Amour if I have nothing? And on top of that, is he not already betrothed?’’ Rook felt tears welling up in his eyes. ’No! There must be something I can do so that we can be together! I will think of something, I swear it!’

The hunter nodded. He cried out loud, interrupting Vil as he spoke. “Mon Roi, may I embrace you?”

Vil froze. He had just been telling Rook about how important it was to be your own person, and the hunter seemed to be paying great attention the entire time. ’Ah, my words must have really gotten through to him!’ Vil laughed and held his arms out. “Hug me, you mean? Of course, my precious hunter.”

“Roi des Poison!!!” Rook flung his arms around Vil. ’I swear! I will do whatever I can for you! I love you!’ He thought.

Vil patted his back. ’Ah, Rook. You really are such a good friend to me.’ He returned the embrace. ’I promise I’ll do whatever I can to keep you happy in this world.’

Just then, a person suddenly sat between them, causing the two to move apart. A tail very un-subtly wacked against Rook’s face as Leona grinned at Vil. “Hey. Am I interrupting something?”

Rook’s gaze turned dark, and he wanted to grab the tail in front of his face and pull it off of the lion beastman’s body, but then he realized that doing so would cause a mess and inconvenience Vil, so he fought against the urge. “Non!” He instead laughed. “Roi des Poison and I were simply having a nice bit of time together!”

Vil frowned at Leona. “Your highness, you should know better than to just enter a room unannounced like that.”

The prince gestured to the door behind him. “The door was open, though. And what, did I interrupt a private moment?”

’Yes!’ Rook wanted to scream, but he instead laughed once more. “Non! Like I said, just a friendly bonding moment between two best friends.”

“Oh, wait, you two haven’t been introduced yet, have you?” Vil clasped his hands together. “Rook, this is Leona Kingscholar, the second prince of the Sunset Savanna.”

Rook held his hand out. “I am charmed to meet the prince of my hometown.”

Vil gestured to his friend. “Your highness, this is Rook Hunt, of the Hunt family.”

“I know the Hunts.” Leona’s face was apathetic, but he raised his hand to shake Rook’s. “I heard the family business wasn’t going so well.” He fought back a grin. “You have my condolences.”

“Hahaha!” Rook let out a laugh. “I know things will get better. I must say, it is quite a delight to meet you, your highness.” He tilted his head. “I’d always wished to get to know the future advisor to Prince Falena.”

As they shook each other’s hands, their grips tightened.

Vil let out a sigh as he watched the boys. ’ I know Leona and Rook’s friendship got off to a rough start in the original game. But they did end up being good friends in quite a few routes.’ He shook his head, touching both of their arms to get them to let go of each other. ’I figured that since the source of all their squabbles wasn’t here, they’d be able to get along, but I guess things don’t always go as I plan.’

The source, of course, being the protagonist. Leona and Rook would always squabble with each other in front of him, out of some sort of animalistic jealousy plot that Vil had never been too big on personally.

Since Leona and Rook were no longer both in love with the same man that should have meant their friendship could bloom, but well.

It didn’t.

’I suppose they don’t need to become friends. There were plenty of routes where they never got along, but still.’ He put his hand on his chin. ’Right now they’re my closest allies, and things would be much easier for me if they got along.’

Just then, a maid (Arista, meaning ‘The best’, although she had made the joke to Vil that she’d only ever been ‘the best’ when it came to things she thought of as insignificant) entered the room. She smiled at Vil. “Pardon me, young lord. Your father is asking for you.”

Vil tilted his head. “Really? Do you know what this is about?”

Arista shook her head. “No, he just told me to tell you to see him.”

“You’re in trouble~.” Leona sing-songed, letting out a laugh.

“Nonsense!” Vil stood up. “I haven’t done anything that would get me in trouble.” ’I think’?

“If it helps, Duke Crewel didn’t seem like he was upset.”

“That’s a relief.” Vil sat up with a sigh. He looked at the papers in front of him and grabbed them. “I’ll give him my report when I see him.” He looked back at the boys. “I’ll be back in a minute, why don’t you two wait here?”

“Oui, Mon Roi!” Rook grinned, watching Vil leave.

“Sure. Be quick, though.” Leona waved a hand.

With that, Vil left the room with the maid following him. The second he did, the two boys turned their gazes towards each other.

“So.” Leona drawled, ears twitching as he moved away from Rook. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here.”

“Oh?” The prince raised an eyebrow before nodding. “Right, I remember Vil telling me about some stranger moving in with him.” He looked Rook up and down. “I figured you’d be more…” He laughed. “Well, just more.”

Rook laughed as well. “Appearances can be deceiving, Mon Petit Ennemi. I know that all too well by looking at your handsome face.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leona let out a low growl, clenching his fist.

The hunter leaned in closer, keeping his wide smile bright though his gaze was dark. “It means whatever you wish for it to mean.” He glared at Leona. “So, why exactly are you here?”

“I’m visiting my fiance.” Leona grinned. “You know, your best friend?”

“Last I checked, the deal that you had with my Vil was that you only needed to see him once a week. Didn’t you and Roi des Poison visit only a couple days ago?” Rook chuckled, though he wasn’t saying anything humorous. “Mon Dieu, he might just get sick of you at this rate!”

’His Vil? I see how it is…’ The prince’s tail flicked angrily. “There’s nothing wrong with spending time with the guy who’s going to be my husband.”

“Ohhoho! I wouldn’t be too sure about that part~” Rook leaned even closer to the beastman. “After all, engagements get disbanded all the time.”

“Well this one won’t.”

Rook patted Leona’s shoulder. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

With another growl, the beastman grabbed onto Rook’s collar, bringing his fist up to the hunter’s face. “Now listen here, creep, you-”

Before anything else could happen Vil reentered the room. Rook and Leona pulled apart from each other right before the blond looked up from the letter he had been reading as he walked. “Your highness, do you remember that boy we met when we went out? Cater Diamond?”

“No.”

“Yes you do, don’t lie to me.” Vil held up the letter in his hand, showing the diamond-shaped wax seal in the corner of the paper. “He invited me to his family’s gala in two weeks time.”

Leona crossed his arms behind his neck as he leaned back in his seat. “Okay? And?”

“There is no ’and’. I’m just telling you because I’m going.” Vil sat down in the space between the hunter and the beast, not noticing the look they gave each other.

“Good for you. Have fun, but I don’t know how you would.” Leona shook his head. “Parties thrown by nobles like the Diamonds are full of nothing but leeches and sycophants who only care about themselves." He glanced at Rook before putting his arm over Vil's shoulders. "It’s annoying.”

“I’m sure it is. But, Lord Diamond seems nice and I want to get to know him more so I’ll go.” He looked up from the letter. “It says I can bring a plus-one, Rook would you like to come with me?”

The hunter nodded enthusiastically and grabbed onto Vil's arm (which ended up pulling him away from the prince by complete coincidence, of course). “Oui!” Leona’s eyes widened. “What? You’re bringing him?”

Vil frowned. “I’m not going to force you to come since you don’t like them. I’m not evil, your highness.”

A low growl left the lion’s throat.

“Hush.” Instantly, Vil brought his hands up to rub Leona’s ears. He looked over at Rook, who was watching them intently. “See what I have to deal with, Rook?” Leona felt his chest pull at the way Vil called another man’s name so comfortably. ’Why doesn’t he call me by my name?’ Leona thought bitterly as Vil continued to speak. “When you get engaged, make sure not to pick someone like him.”

“Oh, trust me, I won’t!”

Leona’s tail swatted Rook once more. “Shut the fuck up.” Before Vil could admonish his harsh language, he continued speaking. “Fine, you two are going to the gala. Yippie. Fun stuff, right?” The younger boys looked at him in confusion.

The prince leaned against Vil as the blond continued to run his fingers through his brown locks. “Well it’s not fun. Those galas are like a psychological warzone, and if you mess up, you’ll lose your social life forever.”

“What do you mean?” Rook asked, green eyes blinking as he looked at the prince.

“Just be careful with what you say and do.” Leona nodded. “Never reveal too much about yourself. A good rule of thumb is not to say anything that isn’t common knowledge. And follow the rest of the people around you if you don’t know what to do.”

He glanced at Vil. “I’m not worried about you, you’ve lectured me enough on my etiquette enough so that I know you know what you’re talking about.”

Vil smiled. “Thank you.”

“But you.” Leona pointed at Rook. He gestured to the hunter’s unkempt hair and unkempt clothing. “You’ll be Vil’s plus-one, so if you fuck anything up, it reflects badly on him. So clean yourself up, and don’t ruin anything.”

Rook glared at Leona. He glared at the way Vil’s fingers were gently combing through his hair, at the way he so comfortably leaned against Vil, at the way that he was completely right.

The hunter looked down at himself. ’I hate to admit it, but I cannot stand by Roi des Poison’s side the way I am now.’ His eyes lit up with a fire he’d never known he had. ’I will become the best version of myself, then!’

With a confident voice, he spoke. “I will not do anything to embarrass Mon Roi.”

Vil frowned. “You’ve never done anything to embarrass me, Rook. You’re my friend.” He let out a laugh. “But it will be fun to go to the gala with you. I’m looking forward to it.”

Rook nodded. “Me too!”

Leona had spent most of his time lecturing both Rook and Vil on the rights and wrongs of gala culture and the sun had started to set before he realized he needed to leave.

Rook had left, needing to speak with one of the maids about something, and now Vil was walking Leona to where his carriage sat outside.

“Thank you for telling me and Rook all about gala culture. I’m sure my dads would have given me a few lessons before we went, but hearing you talk about it was really helpful.”

“No problem.” Leona stopped walking, remembering the way Vil had called Rook’s name so fondly, and how envious he had felt. “And hey, Vil.”

“Hm?” The blond stopped as well, turning around to face Leona. “What is it, your highness?”

“Stop saying that.”

Vil raised an eyebrow. “Stop saying what?”

Leona took a step closer to Vil. “Stop being so formal. Call me by my name, Vil.”

The younger boy took a step back in surprise. “W-What?” Leona was a prince, as such, Vil felt obligated to refer to him as ‘your highness’, anything else was considered incredibly rude or…

A way to say that they were very close.

“But, your high- ngh…” Vil bit his lip and shook his head. “That’s so incredibly informal! You’re a prince, after all.”

“Yeah, and you’re my fiance.” Leona took a step closer, putting his arms on Vil’s shoulders to stop him from moving away. “We’re going to get married, in case you forgot. I’m pretty sure we can get rid of the formalities. Come on, say it!”

’Nonsense! You and the original were engaged for years, and you never asked him to call you by your name!’ Vil’s face was turning red. ’And besides, it’s not like you and I are ever going to actually be married, remember? You’ll toss me aside the minute you meet…’

He blinked, looking up into the prince’s shining emerald eyes.

’The protagonist. Your true love.’

He looked down. ’And I’m not the protagonist. So why…’ He screwed his eyes shut. ’Why are you looking at me that way? You hate me, remember?! That’s the entire-’

He made the mistake of looking back at Leona. The prince was staring at him expectantly, and his ears were perked up eagerly. At this moment, he looked nothing like the fiance who had sentenced the original to death, but eager and happy. He looked like the boy he had become friends with. He just looked like…

“Leona.”

The prince’s ears twitched. His eyes glowed. “Say it again.”

Vil rolled his eyes. “Leona.”

“Again.”

“Leo-AH!” Vil let out a yelp as the older boy picked him up by the waist, swinging him around in a circle happily. The prince let out a loud laugh, holding Vil close as the sun set behind them. Leona looked so happy that Vil couldn’t help but join in his laughter as they spun around haphazardly.

Through a dark window, Rook touched the cold glass, watching the two as his eyes sparkled with interest. He saw the smile on Vil’s face, and he let out a sigh.

’I can see he cares for you, Roi des Lions. So be it. That doesn’t mean I will stop my pursuit.’ His eyes glinted as he leaned his head against the glass.

’You may have his hand, but his heart is still fair game.’

Chapter Text

“Pup, are you sure about this?” Divus looked at his son, who was pouring something on the ends of his hair.

Vil nodded, careful not to move his head too much as he did so. “Absolutely.”

The multi-colored-haired man let out a sigh. “I just can’t believe you’d want to change it.” He rested his chin on his hand. “Your Father and I were so excited when we discovered you were a blond like your grandmother.” He narrowed his eyes. “Even though she's a bitch.” He grinned at his son. “I’m glad you inherited her hair and not her personality, Pup!”

’Technically speaking I did inherit her bitchiness, but I also recalled memories from my past life where being bitchy meant death. So, sorry Grandmother, I’m not doing that.’ Vil thought before narrowing his eyes. ’Wait, he’s talking about genetics, so that confirms that I’m biologically related to Father and Papa. Like, not adopted. I’m even more confused now.’

“I really thought you’d have my hair, honestly. Ohhh~, you would’ve looked so cute with black hair!” Divus wrapped his arms around each other before shaking his head. “But instead of inheriting my hair, you got my love for color~! So-”

“Color? What color?” Vil laughed, carefully painting the ends of his hair. “You only ever wear black and white. And maybe some purple and red, but that’s it.”

Divus held up a finger. “I look best in minimal colors, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the entire rainbow, which I do every day. Anyway.” He gestured to his son. “Are you sure you want to dye it? Taking care of colored hair is a lot of trouble.” He flipped some of his white locks. “I would know.”

“I’m sure.” Vil nodded. He looked at himself in the mirror. Earlier that day, he had decided to dye the ends of his hair purple. Nothing too spectacular, really, but he felt really good about doing it.

For one, it felt kind of nice, not looking exactly like the Vil Schoenheit from the game. He didn’t want to make too big of a change, like dying all of his hair or cutting it a different way, because at the end of the day, he was still Vil Schoenheit. But it felt nice to do something small.

And he remembered once, in his past life, he and his friend had dyed their hair together.

He didn’t remember much about why they had done it (teenage angst, most likely), but he remembered how it had felt. Like a moment of freedom as they dyed their hair matching blues.

It felt nice to do it now. Like he was paying a small bit of respect to the life he had once lived.

Vil shook his head, nodding at himself in the mirror. “I already spend twenty minutes a day on my skincare routine, I’m sure I’ll be able to take care of a little bit of dye.”

“Well said, Vil!” Just then, Eric entered the room. He had been with Rook, as the boy had apparently needed his help with something. “I’ve never personally dyed my hair before, but I’m proud of you for trying something new!”

’Never dyed your hair before, huh?’ Vil thought skeptically as he stared at his father’s silver-blue locks, the light seeming to bounce off it gracefully. The boy rolled his eyes. ’Fucking video game logic.’

“Alright Pup. The dye is set, so go wash and dry your hair then show us how it looks.” Divus moved from where he was standing to sit with his husband.

Vil nodded as he walked away.

His father called after him. “And remember to use sulfate-”

“Sulfate-free products, I know, Father.”

Divus wiped at his eyes as Eric patted his back. “They grow up so fast!”

“I know, love.” Eric nodded. “You must have really liked that parenting book I gave you, didn’t you?”

His husband nodded. “It was so moving, and really taught me how to be a better father.” He cleared his throat. “But anyway, where were you? You missed out on our puppy’s first dye job!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Eric laughed. “Rook was asking me about skincare and makeup, and you know how I get when I start talking about that.”

“Oh I know.” Divus’ eyes had a glint to them as he grinned. “It’s the sexiest thing in the world, if you ask me~!”

The silver-haired man laughed. “Sexy, huh?” He wrapped his arms around his husband. “Well then… Did you know that foundation only worsens your skin, which leads to you using more of it, giving the companies who make it more money?”

Divus bit his lip. “Tell me more!” He brought his lips to his husband’s face, but before they could go any further, he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat.

“Excuse moi.” Rook stood in front of the door, holding a pair of scissors in his hands.

Divus instantly pushed Eric away, causing the man to fall onto the ground. As he glared at the boy, Divus spoke. “What do you want, we’re busy.”

Rook held the scissors up. “Are either of you two good at styling hair?”

Divus instantly ran over to the boy. “Finally.” His eyes shone. “I’ve been waiting to fix your disgusting hair since the moment I saw you.”

“Divus…” Eric got up from the ground slowly. “You can’t call a child’s hair disgusting.”

But it seemed his husband didn’t hear him, as he was already going at Rook’s hair in a frenzy. Rook seemed to be happy with it, though, so Eric supposed that at the end of the day, it was alright.

Vil stared at himself in the mirror. His purple eyes looked like jewels, blinking in the hazy light of the bathroom as he gazed into his fogged reflection. ’Schoenheit, you really are beautiful, aren’t you?’ He grinned, admiring how his lips perfectly curled up into a smile.

He brought the towel down to drape over his neck. As he did so, he turned around in the mirror to look at the mark on the back of his neck. Ever since that creature in the forest had bitten him, it hadn’t gone away. It wasn’t anything too out there, though. Just a little black dot, anyone could have mistaken it for a beauty mark.

Vil had gone to the doctor, and they said it was nothing to worry about, so that was that. It didn’t diminish his looks in the slightest, so he didn’t mind.

He nodded to himself before shaking his head. His hair flipped side-to-side as he shook it, wet droplets flinging across the room like sparking raindrops from when he had washed his hair.

Vil picked the towel up once more and carefully dried the ends of his hair, making sure not to damage any part of it. As he did so, he started thinking. ’Hair color is always such an odd thing in worlds like this one.’ He’d seen many people walking around this world with colorful hair, to the point where he felt as if natural colors were a rarity.

’Is this simply a game thing, or is everyone just dying their hair?’ He hummed to himself. ’Most of the love interests had natural colors, didn’t they? Leona, Rook, Cater… Well, I actually don’t know if his is or dyed or not.’ He hummed to himself. ’Same with Rook and Leona, I suppose. But they’re still natural colors. Somewhat.’

He continued drying his hair. ’Malleus never appeared in any of their routes, so I have no idea what his hair looked like. Oh, but Idia and Trey definitely had odd hair colors.’ His eyes widened and he stood up, dropping the towel down.

“Idia and Trey! How could I have forgotten about them?!”

He ran out of the bathroom and quickly grabbed his journal from underneath his pillow. Over the past year, he had made it a point to write down everything he remembered about each love interest, and had given them each their own page.

Vil quickly turned to the ‘Trey’ page and read it.

Trey was the only love interest who wasn’t a noble. Well, the jury was still out on Malleus, but regardless.

Going to Night Raven College was a requirement for all of the nobles in Twisted Wonderland, and as such, most of the student body were different kinds of elites. But in the few cases that they accepted someone not on the social hierarchy, it was because they had magical abilities.

Trey was one such person. A mage who specifically had the ability to change the sensory characteristics of any kind of item, and in some cases, could even alter the mental state of a person. This magic could be used to possibly quell the pain of any kind of injury, and change someone’s personality to behave unlike themselves.

In one iconic, terrifying, and -if Vil was being honest with himself- really fucking cool scene, Trey even used his magic on Vil, overloading his senses and causing him indescribable mental agony until he ended up slipping off a building where he met his end.

Of course, who gave a fuck about how cool Trey’s magic was, right? The game certainly didn’t, as -aside from the VilDeath scene- it was only ever used for cute and wholesome food dates to make apples taste like oranges and whatnot.

A waste of potential, if you asked Vil.

Trey went to Night Raven College to study to become mage so that he could help his family out financially, as mages made a lot of money and his family’s bakery was in complete and total financial ruin.

To make things worse, the original Vil had some kind of blackmail on him that led to the poor boy being unable to live his school life to the fullest. It was never stated exactly what the blackmail was, however.

But Vil figured that as long as he just didn’t act like a dick, he would be alright.

They had been friends as children before growing apart a few years before entering Night Raven College. Each time they interacted with one another, there was a sort of sadness between them that seemed to hide something deep beneath the surface.

Their friendship was something that was clearly important to them, as the only way to get both of their good endings was to have them reunite as friends. And no, why they stopped getting along was never addressed. A popular fan theory was that Vil had something to do with it, which, you know, he probably did.

It was always Vil.

’Honestly…’ Vil shook his head. ’The way they behaved towards one another, it was as though they were ex-boyfriends more than anything else.’ He let out a hum. ’But, it was really sweet seeing them become friends again.’ Hopefully he could stop them from ever “breaking up” in this world.

He moved onto the next part.

Vil let out a sigh. He really, really wanted to know if that boy’s hair was natural or not. But he supposed that, at the end of the day, it wasn’t important.

Just like the details of his fucking birth.

Trey had given up on his dream of becoming a dentist to become a mage at Night Raven College. It was sweet, showing just how much he valued his family and earning him the token of “Best Boi”, as he had been dubbed by Vil’s friend and the player fanbase.

Honestly, when compared to the other routes, Trey’s was the most heartwarming. He was just a relaxed, unproblematic guy who loved his family, his friends, and yes, while he did seem to have a weird obsession with dental care, comparatively speaking, he was the most normal out of all the love interests.

Vil had played his route immediately after finishing Rook’s bad ending, and the tonal whiplash had actually given him a migraine.

Of course, Vil was the reason behind his family’s business failing as well, somehow. Because ruining Trey’s school life just wasn’t enough for him.

How the original villain had so much free time to fuck people’s lives over was anyone’s guess. Or why he did it in the first place.

There was never a why.

’Not in this game, anyway.’ Vil frowned. ’Rook, Trey and Cater were all characters that Vil just lashed out at for no reason. At least with Leona, I had a somewhat solid reason to be a clingy bitch, but them? It doesn’t make any sense.’

’Was I really such a bad person that I hurt people just for the hell of it? Why? Why did I… Why did he… Vil… Ugh…’ Vil screwed his eyes shut as he felt a headache coming on. ’Whatever. Trey isn’t a hard character to deal with. Just don’t blackmail him and you’ll be fine.’

But if Trey could be considered an easy character, then Idia was the most difficult of them all!

He and Malleus were actually characters that you had to pay for to unlock their routes. Luckily, Vil was using his friend’s copy, who had already purchased Idia’s route so he was able to experience that in full without paying for it.

Malleus on the other hand… Vil had absolutely refused to spend money on romancing some 2D guy. He had standards!

’Which, I’m starting to regret, actually.’ He tapped a finger against his chin. ’If I knew about Malleus’ route, then that would help me a lot…’ He shook his head. ’Oh well. There’s nothing I can do about it now.’

He picked up the journal to turn to his ‘Idia’ page, but as he did so, he heard a knock at his door.

“Young lord, you should see this!” A maid let out a laugh as she knocked on his door.

Vil hid the journal underneath his pillow and opened the door. “What is it, Adella?” The maid was one of seven sisters, and she had a cheerful personality that could rival Rook’s any day.

She smiled at him. “The dukes are giving Mister Hunt a haircut.”

Vil blinked. “They’re what?”

“A haircut, my young lord.”

“Without me?!” The second Vil had laid eyes on his friend, he had wanted to fix Rook’s hair, but he had held himself back. After all, in the original game, the protagonist was meant to tenderly cut Rook’s hair himself, as a symbolic way to show that he was casting away his torment from working under Vil.

Granted, this time there was no torment, and thus the moment wouldn’t have been as impactful this time around. Still, Vil had assumed Rook had his hair the way he liked it, so he had restrained himself.

But he hadn’t expected Rook to want to cut his hair himself!

“Where are they? I need to see this!”

“I swear, Rook.” Vil sighed as he brushed his friend’s hair. “I can’t believe you! Getting your hair done without me.” He sighed. “And I thought we were friends…”

He had just managed to make it to where Rook was before his father had chopped off his hair. Rook had seemed pretty happy to have his friend there, and had let out a loud cheer at his arrival, which nearly caused Divus to stab him with the scissors accidentally.

Since then, he had been banned from touching Rook’s hair, and the man was now grumbling as Eric comforted him to the side.

“Forgive me, my etoile!” The hunter clasped his hands together. “I thought I would surprise you.”

“Hm. Fine, you’re forgiven. But only because I like you.” Vil pinched his cheek before examining his friend’s hair. In his examination, he failed to notice how Rook’s face had grown red.

His fathers didn’t fail to notice, and they shared a look before continuing to observe them.

’In the game, after the protagonist had cut Rook's hair it looked like a simple wavy bob. The “bisexual cut”, as my friend had called it.’ He tilted his head. “Rook, what kind of hairstyle do you want to have?”

The blond put a hand to his chin. “I am happy with anything you do, but I was hoping to keep it long.” He looked up and smiled at Eric. “Similar to your own, Duke Schoenheit.”

Eric let out a laugh, putting his hand over his mouth. “Well, I’m glad you like my style enough to want to replicate it.” He then frowned, holding a piece of his own hair up. “However, long hair is quite difficult to take care of, and…” He looked at his son to finish his sentence.

Vil nodded. “And your hair is pretty damaged as it is right now.” He shifted his fingers through the longer parts. “It might be a better idea to cut a good portion off, start taking care of it, and then go for it after a few years.”

Divus crossed his arms. “I would have told him that, too.”

“Father, please.” Vil frowned at his dad. “Rook and I are having a discussion.” He turned back to his friend. “What do you think?”

The boy nodded. “I will follow your professional opinion!”

“Good!” Vil smiled and took Rook’s hair into his hands. The portion just above his chin was still salvageable, so he would cut up to there. After taking in a deep breath, he got to work.

As Vil cut his hair, Rook’s gaze never left him. The quiet snipping of the scissors filled the room as a few raindrops bounced against the windows outside. The world may have been wild out there, but inside, in this room, as Vil cut his hair, Rook had never felt more warm.

After a while, Vil eventually moved to the front of Rook. He let out a light hum as he looked at his work. “You would look good with bangs, too… But of course, that’s your decision.”

Rook swallowed. ’He thinks I would look good? Then, of course!’ “I’ll have bangs, then.”

“Wonderful.” With that, the blond moved closer to Rook so that he could cut the hair that had been covering the hunter’s eyes.

Once it was removed, Vil let out a small gasp as he finally got to see the shining jade gems that belonged to his friend. ’Of course, I know what his eyes look like from the game, but…’ He continued to look at them. ’I had no idea they would be this bright!’

“Rook!” Vil’s voice was a quiet hushed whisper as he gazed into the hunter’s sharp eyes. He noticed the scatterings of freckles spread out across his friend’s face, and briefly wondered if he would ever be able to count them one day. “Your eyes, they’re beautiful!”

Those shining jades blinked quickly. Rook’s face turned another shade of red. “You really think so, Mon Roi?”

The blond nodded. “Absolutely!” He didn’t pull his gaze away as he continued to stare at Rook. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”

He didn’t realize it, but Rook’s face had been moving closer and closer until…

“AHEM!” Divus cleared his throat loudly. Vil had forgotten he was there, but his father narrowed his eyes at the hunter. “Rook, why don’t you step away from my son and show me your new hairdo, hm?”

Quickly, Rook stood up. He stiffly walked over to the dukes and let out a laugh. “Pardone! Pardone! Here, let me show you!” He waved his head back and forth, showing off how his hair now moved freely and healthily.

Vil smiled as he watched his friend. He hadn’t been incredibly experienced with cutting hair, and honestly it would have been a better idea to let his father cut Rook’s hair himself, but Vil just really wanted to do it.

He had given Rook a simple bob, short enough to not be too worrisome, yet long enough that he could style it somewhat.

’Sure, it’s not exactly what he looked like in the game…’ Vil thought as Divus evened out Rook’s hairstyle. Vil sat down next to them both, watching his father carefully work.

’But right now, I think that’s okay.’

Later that night, Divus and Eric sat in bed together. The silver-haired man was looking through a budgeting report as his husband beside him seemed to be in deep thought.

Raising an eyebrow, Eric spoke. “Divus? Is something the matter?”

The multi-colored-haired man let out a sigh. He put his chin on top of his hands and looked at his husband. “You saw it too, right?”

Eric flipped to the next page of his report. “Saw what?”

“The way that boy looked at our puppy!” Divus cried out, raising his hands into the air.

Eric put the report down to look at Divus. “What way are you talking about, exactly?”

“With love, darling!” Divus pointed at his husband. “The same way that prince looks at him.”

The silver-haired man blinked. “What way does the prince look at our-”

“Can it, I know you see it too.”

Eric put a hand to his lips, fighting back a laugh. “Maybe? I don’t know, really.”

Divus glared at his husband, and after a moment, Eric let out a sigh. “Of course I saw it, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.” He nodded. “If anything, I think it’s sweet that our son has a friend who cares so much about him.”

“As long as he doesn’t care too much about him, that is.” Divus adjusted his fur-covered sleeping mask. “And that prince, too. I don’t like the way he looks at him.”

“Would you rather Vil’s fiance hated him?” Eric raised an eyebrow.

“No, but he’s too young to think about romance.”

“We’re the ones who let them get engaged, remember?” The silver-haired man shook his head before shrugging. “But, I suppose how you feel about it is your issue. In my opinion, I’m happy to know that our boy is loved.”

“Of course he is.” Divus crossed his arms proudly. “He’s our son, he deserves nothing less.”

Eric smiled. He leaned over to kiss his husband’s forehead. “You’re right, love.”

“I know I am.”

“Of course, love.”

Chapter Text

Vil took a deep breath from where he was sitting inside his carriage with Rook. As he fanned himself lazily with a purple hand fan, he looked out the window. Being early spring, it was the rainy season and as such, they had been having bad weather quite frequently as of late. Looking at the gray clouds outside, Vil supposed that it would probably rain on their way back, or even during Cater’s gala.

Beside him, Rook adjusted his tie. Ever since he had gotten his hair cut weeks ago, he had been taking better care of his outward appearance. Gone were the days of mud-covered boots and unkempt hair, now he worked hard to maintain the image of an upstanding young man.

Although, this didn’t mean that his adventurous spirit had gone away. He would often ride Le Cheval (who had essentially become his steed at that point) into the Hidden Woods or around town to see the beauty of Pyroxene.

Vil had gone with him to town on multiple occasions, and it was such a sight to see the land he had grown up in through Rook’s excited eyes.

“How are you feeling, Rook?” Vil asked his friend. He moved closer to the hunter and adjusted his tie for him as he spoke. “Je vais bien, my etoile.” He seemed to straighten his back as Vil looked at him.

“That’s good.” The blond put his hands on his friend’s shoulders and dusted them off slightly. “Just relax and have fun. You’ll do fine, I’m sure.”

“Of course.” Rook tilted his head. “You sound very calm. Have you been to many galas before?”

Vil shook his head. “This is my first, actually.” As per the typical Pyroxene tradition, your societal debut was meant to happen once you turned sixteen. Then you would throw a gala to celebrate, and that would mark the start of your journey to adulthood.

Vil’s life kind of depended on getting on Cater’s good side, so he’d managed to pull some strings with his fathers to allow him to attend despite both him and Rook technically being too young.

But he wasn’t worried despite it being his first time. He’d been brought up from a young age to know how to behave himself in public, and on top of that, he’d taken enough theater classes in his past life to know how to bullshit his way through anything. Not that he’d need to, as he was perfectly adept at conversing with his peers, but still. That, and again, he was a part of Pyroxene’s ruling family. He didn’t need to strive to impress anyone.

’Well, I do want to impress Cater enough that we can become friends, but I don’t think that will be too difficult.’ Vil looked down at the fan in his hands before continuing to fan himself. ’I played his route enough times to know how to get on his good side.’

Just then the carriage stopped.

Vil closed the fan in his hand and stood up. “Are you ready, Rook?” He held his arm out to the boy, who took it eagerly. “Oui!”

“Good.” The coachman opened the carriage door and Vil took one last deep breath. He nodded to Rook. “Let’s go.”

“Duke Schoenheit~!” Cater called out to him the second Vil entered the ballroom. He looked very dashing, wearing a closed white suit jacket with its sleeves rolled up slightly to reveal a red undershirt. He had on matching white trousers, and held an empty glass in his hand that he passed to a man that had black hair with pink highlights before making his way over.

He reached out to shake the blond’s hand. “I’m so happy you made it~!”

“Of course.” Vil flashed the older boy a charming smile. “I told you I’d come if you invited me, didn’t I?”

“You did!” Cater returned the smile as he thought to himself. ’It’s a good thing he actually did… I told everyone he was coming, and I would’ve been royally fucked if he hadn’t!’ He then looked over at the man beside Vil. “Oh, and I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your companion.”

“You haven’t.” Vil gestured to Rook. “This is my friend, Rook Hunt of the Sunset Savanna family.”

The hunter smiled at Cater and shook his hand. “Enchanté, Lord Diamond. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Ooh~! Fancy~!” Cater gasped. Inside, he was reeling. ’Hunt? Who the fuck is this guy? Not a count, not an earl… I don’t think I remember a… Oh! Yes I do!’ His eyes widened.

’That’s the family that’s practically bleeding money right now!’ His smile grew forced, though nobody other than him would be able to tell. ’What does Vil have to gain by bringing him here? No, wait… I’ve heard stories about some higher-ups befriending lesser nobles as a way to get a 100% dependent lackey, is that what this is?’

He looked at the two. “Wow! Your outfits are coordinated, that’s so amazing!” Both Rook and Vil wore purple as a highlight of their outfits. Vil wore a butterfly-sleeved and lacey purple shirt paired with high-waisted trousers and matching heels. Rook on the other hand wore a vest in the exact same shade of purple, with a white undershirt. His trousers and boots were a different color, but the two undoubtedly had a theme going on.

Vil nodded. “Yes. We knew we were going to come in together, so we decided to coordinate.” He wrapped an arm around Rook’s bicep and gestured to him. “It was Rook’s idea, actually.” As the hunter nodded, Vil looked at Cater, noticing his wide eyes and strained smile.

He subtly glanced around himself, noticing how a good amount of guests were listening to his conversion. ’Letting everyone know that Rook is with me will ensure that he’s able to mingle on his own without worrying that someone will come after him.’ Coordinating their outfits was an impressively tactical move on Rook’s part. Vil would have to praise him later.

“You came here together?” The ginger blinked in surprise, moving to hold onto Vil’s hand. “Wow! You two must be very good friends!” ’AKA, Rookie-Rook is totes Vil’s lackey! Ugh! I wanted to be that!’

“Very.” Rook smiled and squeezed Vil’s other hand. He tilted his head at Cater. ’This man… Just what are his intentions with mon amour?’

“Lucky.” Cater sighed, pulling on Vil’s hand slightly. “I’ve always wanted the kind of friend I could coordinate clothes with and stuff like that. My sisters and I have tried to do it, but our tastes are always too different.” He shrugged. “Which super sucks, because I would, like, supes be like amazeballs at it!” He squeezed Vil’s hand as he smiled. ’Hint, hint, prettyboy! You already have one lackey, but getting one more will only benefit you!’

Vil wanted to take his fan out to hide his face mysteriously, but as both his hands were occupied, he settled for nodding. “I’m sure you’d be a wonderful companion to have, Lord Diamond.” ’You 5D chess-playing bitch, ask to be my friend!!! I’ll say yes!!!’ The blond let out a sigh.

He glanced at Rook, moving his hand to pat his fellow blond’s hand gently. As he did so, Rook nodded slightly to him. He pulled his hand away and let out a laugh. “Well, it has been a pleasure to meet you, Lord Diamond! I would like to mingle a bit, if you do not mind, so I will trust Mon Cheri to you.”

'Alas… I had hoped to spend this entire gala with Roi des Poison, but I suppose he had other plans.’ Rook thought as he approached a group of nobles talking together. ’No matter. So long as that man does not try to bother him, I will allow him to stay with Mon Amour.’

He chuckled to himself. ’Besides, I can use this as an opportunity to achieve my own goals!’ Rook then smiled and waved to the group he had just joined.

“Bonjour!”

“Wowwie, wow!” Cater’s eyes shone as he watched Rook flawlessly join the group of nobles. He turned to Vil. “Where did you get a guy like that anyhow?” ’Seriously. Please. Tell me.’

“Oh, you know how it is.” The blond shrugged, leaving it at that as he didn’t feel like getting into how Rook ended up living with him. He stepped forward, and Cater followed him. The ginger continued to speak. “Oh, yeah! Totes~!”

’Okaaaay, that backfired. Fuuuucccckkkkkk. Okay! Move on, move on!’ Cater nodded. “Anyway, I was going to ask you, but how was your date with the second prince? That’s what you were doing when I first met you, right?” ’Come on, everyone likes to talk about their love lives! Open up to me! If you need love advice, I’m super experienced! Please, please, please ask me to be your hot and evil lackey? Pretty please????’

“O-Oh…” Vil’s cheeks grew pink and he pulled out his fan to hide his face. “Lord Diamond, you’re so forward.” He glanced up, not failing to notice the many pairs of eyes that were following them and listening to their conversation as they walked. He kept the act up as he sat down at a nearby couch. “Leona and I had a wonderful time.”

’He’s on a first name basis!?! With the prince?! Hotdamn. He really is something else! So cool!’ Cater quickly sat by his side. “Yeah? What did you do?”

“We went to see a play, and after that we went to a cafe. That’s where I met you.” Vil fanned himself slightly. ’If everyone else is going to listen, might as well give them something worth listening to, right?’ “After that, we just talked and enjoyed our time together. That’s what we normally do whenever we are with each other.”

“Oooooh~!” Cater rested his chin on his hands. ’Aren’t I such a good listener? You should totes put me in your friend group!. His eyes then widened. “Wait, wait, wait, whaaaatttt??! Do you and the prince, like, get together a lot?”

The blond smiled. “He’s my fiance, naturally I see him often.” He nodded. “I know that he will do a wonderful job of taking care of the Sunset Savanna when the time comes.”

Cater nodded as well. “So the Schoenheits are gonna back him becoming king?”

“Yes.” Vil purposefully raised his voice so the people eavesdropping could hear him clearly. “The Schoenheit family will support the second prince in his race for succession.”

After he spoke, a couple murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd, but Vil paid them no mind. The message was as clear as it could get. The most powerful people in Pyroxene supported Leona, so everyone else should follow suit. ’You’re welcome for my services Leona. Make sure to remember them before you send me to the chopping block’. Vil closed the fan shut and stood up.

Having done his good deed for the day, he decided to finally complete the mission he had gone there for in the first place. And to do that, it would be best to get Cater alone. “Lord Diamond, I’ve heard that your manor’s rose gardens are lovely this time of year.”

’An opening!’ Cater perked up. “Yes, they are! Why don’t I show you?” He held his arm out for the blond to take, which he did.

As they exited the ballroom and walked through the halls, Vil spoke up. “So, you seemed very interested in my love life.” He let out a laugh. “What about yours? Are there any engagements I should know about?”

“Whaaaaattt??” Cater laughed. Unbeknownst to Vil, a boy was trailing behind them and the ginger felt a drop of sweat forming on his forehead as he waved his hands. “No way! My parents are way too busy worrying about my sisters to think about me yet!”

His gaze darkened slightly for a second before it brightened up. “So I’ve got nobody in my love life right now! No sir!” ’Why is he asking me this? OMG wait. Does he like me?’ He glanced in Vil’s direction and felt his cheeks growing warm. He shook his head. ’No, no way! He’s so outta my league!’

Cater’s reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Vil, but for the time being he chose not to pry. He stayed silent until they reached the garden.

Once they were outside, his eyes widened in delight. Everywhere he looked, he saw a blooming rose. Over the archways, on the walls, behind him, they were everywhere. Each in a different color, and each petal was full and soft.

As Vil looked around, Cater let out a laugh. “Most people are like that when they first see this place.” He walked over to a bench and sat down, picking up an orange rose to fiddle with in his hands. “My mom is from the Queendom of Roses, so this is like her way of memorializing that~!” He nodded. “It’s her favorite place here.”

“I can see why.” The blond nodded as he sat down beside Cater. “It’s beautiful.”

Cater smiled. “I’ll be sure to tell her you said that!” ’She’d be glad to know I’m talking with someone like you instead of…’ He blinked as he saw the boy from before quietly slide into the garden. As their eyes met, the boy held a finger to his lips as his eyes sparkled playfully.

The ginger fought back a smile as he turned to face Vil. “Anyway. Yeah, it’s a great place. My sisters like to throw tea parties here sometimes, so I’ll make sure they give you an invite next time they throw one.”

“I’d like that.” Vil smiled at him. “And same to you. I’m throwing my first gala not too far from now, and I’ll make sure you’ll be the first person I invite.”

“R-Really?!” The boy squeaked before clearing his throat. “I mean, that’s so sweet of you, thanks a bunch!”

“No need to thank me.” Vil set his fan down on the bench. “I want to get to know you better, so of course I’ll invite you.”

’More opportunities to seduce you into becoming my friend! Fuck yeah!!’ Cater internally cheered. Outloud, he also cheered, though this time it was much calmer. “I also want to get to know you better, Duke Schoenheit!”

Vil nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” ’Hopefully one day we’ll become close enough for you to lower down your walls in front of me. But for now, I am content with a surface-level friendship.’ He sat up from the bench, brushing imaginary dirt off his pants as he spoke.

“Let’s be friends, then.” He turned around and held out his hand for the boy to take. “What do you say?”

Cater’s eyes widened. He quickly took Vil’s hand and sat up as well, keeping the rose in his other hand. “I’d like that a lot, Duke Schoenheit.”

With a small laugh, Vil took a step closer to him as Cater’s face grew red at his closeness. “D-Duke Schoenheit?”

Vil slowly took the rose from Cater’s hand and held it in his own. “I like you, you know.”

’L-L-Like? Like… Like like? That kind of like???’ Cater’s eyes widened. ’Holy fucking shit, I was actually right? I wasn’t expecting that, but okay!’ He bit his lip, looking at the man before him.

’You know what? Vil’s a grade-A hottie! I’m down! Super down! I mean, I’ll have to tell him about it first, but I know he’d be cool with it!’ He opened his mouth to accept Vil’s confession, but before he could, the blond spoke.

“And I really want to be your friend.”

’Oh…’ Cater practically deflated. ’He didn’t mean that kind of like… dammit.’

Unknowing of the ginger’s disappointment, Vil continued. “And so, I think something we could do to really create a good bond between us would be dropping the formalities. Call me Vil, alright?” As he spoke, he took the orange rose and carefully tucked it behind Cater’s ear, letting out a slight laugh at how their colors seemed to match.

Cater’s heart felt like it was racing a million miles a minute. ’Vil Schoenheit…!’ He thought as his face grew red. ’He really is so…’ He then nodded. “Alright.” He touched the rose in his hair gently. “I’d like that a lot, Vil.” The ginger winked. “Just as long as you call me Cater, too.”

Vil smiled back. “I will, Cater.” He nodded. ’Well, I got what I wanted. Best not to overstay my welcome. Maybe I should see how Rook’s doing…’

“I’ll head back inside, then.” He looked over to the ginger. “Are you coming?”

“Oh, I will in just a second. You go on ahead.” The boy nodded. Vil waved to him once before heading back inside. As he shut the doors, he quickly glanced around him to make sure he was alone.

After learning that he was, he let out a loud sigh of relief. ’Finally!’ He thought as he leaned against the wall. ’Now I just need to make sure Cater and I stay close enough that he thinks at least somewhat fondly of me. Which, hopefully he does.’ He straightened up, brushing off some imaginary dirt from his shirt.

’Now I can relax and-’ He paused. He patted his sleeves, not feeling his fan anywhere on himself. Vil clicked his tongue. ’I can’t believe I left it outside.’

He turned back around to go back to the garden. ’I was so happy to have become friends with Cater that I must have forgotten to grab it.’

Vil let out a sigh as he opened the doors. ’Regardless, I’m glad that Cater and I were-’ Just then his trail of thought ended, as when he went outside, he saw none other than the very person he was just thinking about.

Except he wasn’t alone. He stood in the arms of a green-haired man with glasses whose face Vil couldn’t see because the ginger’s face was pressed against it in a passionate kiss.

A. Passionate. Kiss.

The stranger’s hazel eyes widened and he and Vil made eye contact. Vil squinted at him. ’Wait a minute… a green-haired man with glasses and hazel eyes…’ He let out a gasp. “Trey Clover?”

Cater quickly turned around and pushed Trey away from himself. His face was red as he looked at his friend. “U-Uh… This isn’t what it looks like! We were just…! He and I… Uh…” He looked around the garden, a drop of sweat falling down his forehead. ’Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. SHIT. FUCK.’

He pushed himself away from Trey and pointed to his lips, visibly panicking. “A… snake came by and bit my tongue and he was sucking the venom out of it? Yeah! That’s all that was happening!” He laughed.

Beside him, Trey narrowed his eyes at Cater but nodded in agreement after a moment. “Yes, the snake was… venomous.” He looked away, wrapping his arms around himself.

Vil didn’t even notice their lie, as he was still reeling from what he had just seen. ’Trey Clover and Cater Diamond… together?’.

The 237 works on various fanfiction sites (not that Vil had ever actually read any of them. Credit for that went to his friend) that detailed the two of them being secret lovers actually ended up being right?

Vil shook his head. ’I need to figure this out.’ Vil quickly picked his fan. Cater and Trey looked at him with wide eyes. The blond cleared his throat. “I just needed to grab this. Please carry on with your, ah… emergency care.”

Before anyone could say anything, he sped up and left. After closing the door to the gardens, he leaned against it and put his hand to his head.

’That definitely wasn’t in the game!’

Chapter Text

After that, Vil mingled a bit with some other nobles alongside Rook, but his mind had been elsewhere.

All he wanted to do was take a moment to plan out his next step. But he couldn't do that with all the people swarming around him like flies to a piece of rotting meat. Rook seemed to notice this and helped him out as best he could, but Vil still found himself feeling relieved as the gala finally ended.

As they left, Cater approached him to say goodbye. He held his hand out to the blond with a grin. As they shook hands, he spoke through gritted teeth. ”Please don’t tell anyone.”

He was about to pull away, but Vil then pulled him into a sudden hug. As they embraced, he whispered into the ginger’s ear. ”You have my word.”

They shared a look before Vil turned away. He stayed silent as he moved to the carriage and sat by the window. Rook seemed to notice something was off, but didn’t say anything.

The carriage passed by rolling fields of green as they drove. It had rained while they were inside the gala, but by that point the rain had passed and left a dewy stamp on the rest of the world. One of the windows in the carriage was open, and a refreshing breeze blew past them.

They were halfway back to the Schoenheit manor when Rook finally spoke. “You know, my etoile.” He smiled at Vil. “Oftentimes, whenever I find myself needing to think, I like to go to the Hidden Woods.”

“Really?” Vil raised an eyebrow. “Why there?”

Rook held up a finger, nodding. “It is the perfect quiet place! The creatures there are not vicious- although that wouldn’t matter to me as I could easily rip them apart with my bare hands- and the forestry is truly breathtaking.” He hummed to himself. “I was planning on going there later today if you’d like to join me?”

’A quiet place, huh?’ Vil thought to himself. ’That might be nice.’ He spoke. “I’ll take you up on that, Rook. Thank you for thinking of me.”

“Haha! My etoile...” The hunter flashed him a charming grin. “I’m always thinking of you~!”

Vil closed his eyes as he leaned against a tree. Rook, bless his soul, had left him alone, having noticed that something was off. ’That hunter of mine….’ Vil smiled and shook his head. ’He really is too good to me…’

He then let out a sigh. ’But now that I’m alone I can actually think about Cater and Trey.’

Considering how important their “friendship” had been in the original game, it wasn’t too surprising to learn that they were together. However, romantic relationships between nobles and commoners were frowned upon in this world and would undoubtedly give them a lot of flak if word ever got out about them.

Vil supposed that maybe in the game he had caught them together like he had today, and used that knowledge to blackmail Trey and harass Cater. The blond crossed his arms together and glared at nothing. ’Well, good for me, I now know not to do that.’ Granted he hadn’t been planning on doing anything to cause them harm from the get-go, but it was good to know what specifically not to do.

He wanted to make sure they knew that though.

’If somehow it gets into their head that I’d hold this against them…’ Vil brought his hands up to wrap around his neck. “Then I’m completely fucked.” He’d need to see them again to make sure they knew he was a person worthy of keeping their secret.

As the bushes behind him began to rustle, he continued to think. ’I’ll do what I can to prevent that from happening, now…’ He’d invite Cater over, go to Trey’s bakery. Anything to let them know he was on their side. He pulled his hands down. ’But even with that, how exactly can Cater and Trey even be together?’

They were both love interests for a BL for fucks sake! They weren’t supposed to fall for each other! Sure, they could be friends, but actually being with someone that wasn’t the protagonist? That didn’t make sense.

Love interests love only one, and a villain gets no sympathy. A protagonist is loved, a love interest falls in love, and a villain is killed. It is completely black and white. Good is good and evil is evil. That is how this world was written, and so, by all logic, that was how it should have been.

’But, then again…’ Vil let out another sigh and looked down at himself. ’I suppose the villain trying to avoid his fate wasn’t exactly something written in the game’s code either.’

Plus, he didn’t know exactly how bound they were by the game's story. Events that took place within it such as Leona and Vil’s engagement happened as planned, but their outcomes weren’t quite what they were before.

The blond felt his stomach churning painfully. ’Hopefully, at least.’

Vil let out a groan, clutching his head and screwing his eyes shut. ’This is so confusing…’ He shook his head. ’I’m fifteen, I should be thinking about novels or homework, not about how to stop the deaths of myself and my dads.’ It was stressful. He loved his family, he loved the friendships he’d made, but sometimes he longed for the days of his past life where all he worried about was what college he was getting into.

“I’m so tired.” He whispered to himself, pulling his legs up as he wrapped his arms around himself. His heart felt like it was pounding against his chest as he tightened his grip. His breathing was starting to grow ragged, and he felt like the word was starting to spin as he screwed his eyes shut.

Before he could feel worse, however, he felt something quickly press itself against his chest.

He quickly opened his eyes with a jolt and looked down to see the same creature from before. Its snout was pressed against his chest, and it took in a deep breath. As Vil watched its chest rise and fall slowly, he found himself mimicking it. The creature continued to breathe deeply and Vil continued to follow its lead until he no longer felt like he was going to throw up.

The creature blinked up at him before nodding to itself. It nuzzled his cheek happily, tail wagging side-to-side.

It looked so cute that Vil couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he wiped his eyes. He wrapped his arms around the creature’s neck before running his fingers across its scales. “Thank you for helping me out there.”

The creature let out a grunt, to which Vil laughed at once more. He petted the creature’s snout. “You seem to be doing a lot better than you were last time.”

He looked at its wing, folded up against its torso. Carefully, Vil trailed his fingers down its neck, and after seeing that the creature’s eyes closed happily at him doing so, he continued. “How’s your wing, by the way?”

The creature unfurled its wing and raised it into the air. It was similarly colored to the rest of its body, and had a small, jagged scar from where the arrow had been lodged inside it. But aside from that, it looked perfectly healthy. Vil nodded. “I’m glad you’re doing better. Those Lambent flowers weren’t wasted on you.”

The creature let out another grunt before sitting down and resting its entire head on the blond’s lap.

“Just make yourself comfortable, why don’t you?” Vil sighed but continued petting it. He reached up and trailed his fingers along the black horns that jutted out of the creature's head. It was warm, like he was sitting in front of a small fire, which was nice as despite it being spring, Pyroxene was still quite cold this time of year.

He spoke to himself. “Still, I wish I had taken two of them. Now I don’t know when I’ll see another Lambent flower, and they would have been nice in my garden.” He shook his head, petting the creature’s smooth scales. “I don’t regret it, but still…”

The creature looked at him for a moment before turning its gaze at a patch of grass to its side. “Hm? What is it?” Vil turned his gaze as well, and his eyes widened in surprise as he watched a patch of Lambent flowers grow there right before him.

He looked back at the creature. “You…?” ’Okay, I’m sure of it. This is totally a deity.’ He blinked before putting on a charming smile. ’Just stay on its good side, Schoenheit’.

Vil petted its head happily. “I don’t know what you did, but thank you.” Since the creature was still on him, he couldn’t exactly get up to grab the flowers, but he appreciated it nonetheless. “Oh, this is our second meeting and I haven’t even introduced myself to you.”

The creature looked at him, blinking eagerly.

“My name is Vil Schoenheit.” Vil pointed to himself, straightening up his back. “I’m the only son of the dukes of Pyroxene.” He put his hand to his chest and bowed as much as he could without getting up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The creature lowered its head to bow as well, though still it didn’t move away from him. Vil looked at it. “And what is your name?”

The creature opened its mouth and let out a series of grunts and roars that Vil couldn’t understand. He nodded. ’I have no idea what the fuck that meant.’ “Why don’t I give you a nickname?”

The creature’s tail wagged even harder and Vil let out another laugh. He brought both of his hands up to pet its snout. “You’re adorable, you know that? Like a little puppy.” The creature’s emerald eyes shone brightly and it nuzzled against him happily.

“I think I’ll call you…” Before Vil could finish what he was going to say, Rook’s voice called out from the trees. “Roi des Poison! It’s starting to get dark!”

“Oh.” Vil looked up. The dense leaves still covered the sky, but from what he could see, the sun had already set. “Shit.”

He pushed the creature off him slowly, and it let out a low growl. “I’m sorry, but I really have to get going.”

The creature grunted and sank its fangs into the fabric of Vil’s sleeve. Vil shook his head and pulled his arm away. “My fathers won’t like it if I’m out late.” But as the creature looked at him with those big green eyes, he let out a resigned sigh.

“I’ll come back to visit you, alright?” The creature’s ears perked up.

Taking that as its blessing to leave, Vil petted its head once more in thanks. And with that, he pulled away.

The creature’s green eyes followed him as he left, and it stayed in place long after the moon eventually rose high in the sky.

Not even the rustling of bushes behind it caused the creature’s gaze to stray. A short man with dark hair that had pink streaks popped out of the bushes “Your highness!” He called out. He grinned as he approached the creature. “Your highness, human parties really are insane! You won’t believe what happened to Kal-”

He then noticed that the royal’s gaze never shifted towards him. “Your highness? Is something the matter?”

The creature grunted, not taking its eyes away from where Vil had gone, despite him having left hours ago.

The man put his hand over his mouth to let out a noise of surprise. “He did? How exciting~!” He clapped his hands together. “How’d it go?”

The creature’s wings flapped slightly and its tail twirled in the air.

“He thinks you're adorable?” The small man tilted his head to the side before letting out a laugh. “Well, he’s right, your highness!” He then petted the creature’s head. “Of all the young dragon fae I’ve seen, you’re definitely the most adorable of them all!”

The dragon’s chest puffed out proudly.

However, as it raised its head, it noticed the patch of Lambent flowers left untouched. It tilted its head and let out a sigh.

The man beside him blinked. “Oh? He must have forgotten.” He put a hand to his chin before letting out a small cheer. “Oh! I know! You should bring him one!”

The dragon turned back to look at him, seemingly raising its eyebrows at him.

“What?” The man shrugged. “I’ll have you know, it works!” He let out a sigh. “I remember my days of romance~ Of course, that was way back then, but still! Good times, good times! Hehe!”

The dragon still looked unconvinced, so the man frowned at it. “Well, if you don’t want to visit him, then just leave it at his doorstep!” The man curled his hands to resemble paws. “Like a lil kitty cat with a rodent!”

He then quickly opened his hands. “However, I will say, do not leave a rodent at his doorstep.” He nodded knowingly. “Most humans don’t like that. And if they do, then that’s an even bigger problem you have on your hands.”

As the man continued to moan and groan about his past love life, the dragon carefully picked up one of the flowers into its mouth. It glowed brightly, reminding it of the way it had been healed by them before.

“Wonderful, your highness!” The man held up a finger. “Now, use that trick I taught you and you should be able to sense where he is, so go on and find him!” He clapped his hands together once more as the dragon’s wings unfurled and the dense foliage above them began to separate.

“And if you’re ever scared, don’t be, because your Old Man Lilia is rooting for you!” The man -Lilia- cheered.

The dragon nodded its head to him, and before Lilia could blink, it was already gone. Lilia smiled and shook his head as he watched the dragon fly off into the sky.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and called after it. “I’ll make some tea and cookies! Make sure to tell me ~all~ about it while we eat!”

If the dragon ended up flinching as it flew at those words, Lilia didn’t notice.

“I want to tell you, Rook. Really, I do.” Vil sighed as he rolled a strand of his hair up into a curler. Beside him, Rook was filing his nails as they sat on his bed together.

The hunter looked up from his nails. “Then tell me!”

“It’s not my secret to tell, but Rook, I promise you.” The blond’s eyes widened. “It’s big.”

“Oh?” Rook raised his eyebrows. The mud mask on his face started to droop a little bit, so he hurriedly put the file down and adjusted it. As he did so, he spoke. “I think I know what this is!” He pointed excitedly at Vil. “You saw Sire Pinker try to steal that vase by sneaking it underneath his shirt and claiming that he ‘just had really big boobs’ when asked about it, didn’t you?”

Vil let out a gasp. “What?” He was so surprised that he let go of his hair and it fell from the curler. He ignored it in favor of speaking. “He did?” He tilted his head. “You know what? I’m not surprised, he was eyeballing it while we were talking about his parents' divorce.”

“He was!” Rook nodded. He then looked at Vil. “However, from your beautifully surprised expression, I take it this wasn’t what you saw?”

Vil shook his head. “Ah, I see, I see!” Rook nodded. He lifted up a hand and raised a finger. “Then how about Lord Asim breaking a piece of furniture and then buying a more expensive replica and replacing it in an attempt to hide his crime?”

Vil shook his head once more.

Rook tried again. “Lord Asim narrowly escaping an assassination attempt via poison?”

“No, but tell me about that later.”

“Aha!” The hunter’s eyes shone. “What about Lord Asim breaking into tears to tell every single guest about how much he loved his friend Jamil?”

“How would that be a secret if everyone saw it?” Vil shook his head.

“Lord Asim choking on a miniature cake?” Not waiting for a response, Rook kept going. “Lord Asim bumping into Sire Pinker, thereby breaking the vase inside Sire Pinker’s shirt, causing him to be rushed out of the gala for immediate medical assistance?”

Vil crossed his arms. “Remind me never to invite Lord Asim to a gala, he seems like a walking hazard.”

“Yes, but he is very rich!” Rook nodded. “And very influential! We spoke a bit, and he has a very good personality.”

“Look at you, Rook.” Vil patted his friend’s head. “You took to gala life like a fish to water.”

The hunter grinned. ’Mon Roi…! Everything I do is for you, I would never give you anything less than the best!’ “Thank you, Roi des Poison.” His eyes lit up. “Oh! I know!”

He pointed at Vil. “You saw Lord Diamond and Trey Clover take part in a passionately forbidden kiss, didn’t you?”

The blond’s eyes widened. “You saw it too?”

“Right before we left, just outside in the hallway.” Rook nodded.

’Seriously? They already got caught, and they decided to try again?’ Vil quickly put his hands on Rook’s shoulders. “Nobody else saw them other than you, right?”

Rook shook his head. He let out a laugh. “They didn’t even know I saw them~!” He held up his finger matter-of-factly. “Not much escapes my hunter’s gaze. You know this, my etoile.”

Vil let out a sigh, letting go of his friend. “Yes, I know.” He got up from the bed. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you not to let it slip that you know about their relationship. That’s their secret to tell and not ours.”

He moved over to the vanity, looking at himself in the mirror as he continued to speak. “Seriously, outing someone is an awful thing to do. You can’t tell anyone.” He glanced at Rook’s reflection. The hunter was lying on Vil’s bed, feet kicking in the air as he held a pillow to his chest. His gaze never left Vil, and when he saw the blond was looking at him, he nodded seriously.

“I won’t, Mon Roi! I promise this to you!” ’And if I ever were to break a promise to you, I pray that lightning shall strike me down where I stand!’

Vil smiled at him. “Good.” As he continued looking in the mirror, a glowing light outside on his balcony caught his eye. Confused, he turned around in his seat. Rook followed his gaze. “Do you see something, Roi des Poison?”

“Yes.” Vil stood up and walked to the balcony. As he got closer, he noticed a dark shadow quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night. He squinted, touching the glass doors. Before he could try to make out what he had just seen, that glowing light caught his attention once more.

He let out a gasp and quickly opened the balcony doors. Rook sat up on the bed with a concerned look on his face. “Vil? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, it’s more than alright!” With a laugh, Vil picked up the item from the ground. He turned around to face his friend and held it up. It was a Lambent flower, glowing brightly in the scarce light of the night. In Rook’s opinion, the only thing that shone more brightly than it was Vil’s eyes as he smiled at him.

Vil had no idea how the flower had gotten there, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. One of the rarest and most potent healing items in the entire land had literally just shown up at his doorstep (or, well, balcony-step, more like). He held it carefully. “Rook, are you up for a little bit of night gardening?”

The hunter blinked at Vil. “Uh, oui?”

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the Clover Family Bakery!” A young girl chimed as Vil entered the store. His eyes widened as he was surprised to see such a nice place. Contrary to what it was described as in the game, the bakery was decidedly not in shambles but was instead a small, cute, and cozy place.

It actually looked exactly like a certain chain coffee shop that unnecessarily put olive oil into their coffee. Vil could very clearly see the game designer’s inspiration as he looked around.

A front counter stood next to a display area, and a few customers sat at tables as they enjoyed their baked goods. A small fireplace sat behind the counter, keeping the place warm despite the cool temperature outside.

All that was missing was some background coffee shop music!

Vil hid his face behind a hand fan and frowned. ’This place is supposed to be impoverished?’ There was no way. Sure, it was no Schoenheit manor, but hell, that place was so big Vil hadn’t even seen all of it in his entire life.

’Maybe their business hasn’t declined yet?’ Vil closed his fan and tapped it against his chin as he glanced at the bakery’s patrons. ’Well, that makes some sense, I suppose. I mean, the game hasn’t even started yet.’

And if Vil had any say in it, the bakery’s business wouldn’t ever go down the drain!

But, while that was still a priority, that wasn’t what he was here for today. No, he came to the bakery because he’d wanted to talk to Trey one-on-one. Which is why he had declined Rook’s offer to join him, and then spent half an hour consoling him with promises that they’d spend more time together later.

Vil nodded to himself and folded his fan back up, making his way to the display. ’It’s better to start things off slowly with Trey, if I am remembering right from his route. So, I’ll buy something and then ask to see him at the counter.’

He stared at the baked goods in front of him. There was an array of breads, ranging from savory cheese breads to custard loafs filled to the brim with a sweet paste. It looked good, but it wasn’t something he wanted. He moved on to the rest of the display. He saw cookies, cream puffs, sponge rolls, snow cubes and cakes.

Loads and loads of cakes. They looked mouth-watering, however, none of them really ticked Vil’s fancy. ’I’ve never personally been that big on sweets…’ He thought with a frown.

His fathers on the other hand were. They frequently paused every day for tea breaks, just as an excuse to try whatever the manor’s resident baker had made that day. And also as a way to spend time with each other as a family, which Vil did like.

He usually joined them, though he tried not to have anything other than tea. Which was a bit difficult as his fathers tried to convince him otherwise, but it was a fun activity for their family regardless.

His eyes paused on a piece of strawberry cream cake. Vil put his hand to his chest, feeling a wave of familiarity wash over him as he stared at its frosting.

’Mom and I made cakes like this together.’ Back in his old life, on special occasions like birthdays, graduations and such. They’d go to the store, find some good strawberries, and grab a box-mix of cake. They’d mix it all together and watch their shows while it sat in the oven.

It wasn’t anything big, nor was it anything small. Just cake. And yet, as Vil stared at the item in the display case, his hand wandered up to touch his lips. ’It’s been so long, I can’t remember what it tasted like.’

He lowered his hand. ’Are you well, Mom? We only had each other, after all. I hope you’re taking care of yourself. It’s no good if both of us end up dead.’ Vil closed his eyes. ’I miss you.’

The blond then clenched his fist and bit his lip. ’Snap out of it, Schoenheit.’ He opened his eyes. ’You’re in this world, so stay in it.’

He moved to the counter and ordered a cheesecake and a few macaroons to-go for Leona and Rook. And after a moment of hesitation, he also ordered a slice of the strawberry cake as well.

The young girl at the counter smiled at him as she rang him up. “Alrighty! Now, will that be for here or to go?”

Vil glanced at one of the open tables within the bakery. “The strawberry cake will be for here. Oh, and I was wondering if Trey Clover was here today?”

The girl nodded as she took the cake out of the display and put it on a plate. “He’s in the back right now, but I can uh, call him for you?” She tilted her head at him. “But can I ask why you want to see my brother?”

’Oh, she’s one of his siblings.’ Vil looked at the girl. She had green hair similar to Trey’s, pulled up by a ribbon. She looked young, and couldn’t have been more than eight. Vil had been wondering why such a young child was working at the bakery, but it made sense now that he knew.

He flashed her a kind smile. “Your brother and I met at one of Cater’s galas, and I wanted to visit with him.”

“Oh! You know Mister Cater!” The girl smiled. “I like him, he makes up funny words sometimes.” She slid the plate over to him.

Vil laughed. “He does, doesn’t he?” He picked up the plate.

As he went to the table, she called after him. “I’ll go tell my brother you want to see him!”

“Thank you.” He smiled at her once more before sitting at the table. He stared at the cake on his plate, admiring the smooth frosting and the bright red strawberries on top of it.

’Did ours ever look like this?’ He sliced his fork through and brought a small piece to his mouth. He closed his eyes as he chewed, feeling the flavors of sweet cream and fruit wash over his tongue.

“Mmm.” He hummed, taking another bite. ’Ours definitely never tasted like this, at least.’ He didn’t know how to feel about that so he took a deep breath and distracted himself by relishing the flavors on his tongue. It wasn’t exceedingly sweet, and the frosting paired with the fresh berries gave it an incredibly refreshing taste.

Vil nodded and put a hand to his cheek. “Delicious.” He’d have to bring some back for his fathers, they would be raving about a cake like this for days.

“Haha, I’m glad you like it.” A voice sounded from behind him. Turning around, Vil saw Trey smiling at him.

He pointed to the cake. “That’s one of mine, so I’m glad you like it.” He nodded and draped the towel in his hands over his shoulder. “After all, if my cakes don’t make you feel anything, then I’ve failed at my job, huh?”

Vil let out a chuckle, putting the fork down. “You definitely haven’t failed. It’s wonderful.” He gestured to the seat across from him. “Please, sit down.”

As the boy did as he asked, Vil looked at him. With his slightly shaggy green hair and matching glasses, he seemed to fit right in at such a cozy bakery. His hazel eyes were warm, although they looked at Vil with a slight bit of caution.

The blond held his hand up. “Don’t look at me like that. I have no intention of telling anyone about what I saw.”

Trey tilted his head. “I know, Cater told me. I’m just wondering why you’re here.”

“I’d like to get to know the man who swept my friend off his feet.” ’And also make sure I do everything I can to get myself on your side. Seriously, everything.’

“Really?” Trey raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” The blond crossed his legs over each other and leaned closer to Trey. “I promise, that’s it.”

“Uh-huh…” Trey scooted a bit further away from Vil, still feeling uneasy. “I guess I’ll have to trust you on that.”

“Please do.” Vil rested his chin on his hands. “How did you two, ah… become acquainted, anyway?”

‘Acquainted, ha…’ Trey let out a small chuckle at Vil’s choice of words. “Well, I don’t really know where to begin on that one.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Cater and I were friends, and we kind of just…” He put his hands together. “Clicked?”

Vil nodded. “I see.” ’Clicked? Clicked? No, you two “clicked” in the game! What you were doing was a LOT more than clicking!’ Instead of saying that, he tilted his head to the side innocently. “What drew you to each other?”

“We’re a Queendom-operated business, but we can travel for catering. My family sometimes works at Pyroxene events, and Lady Diamond really wanted some ‘authentic Queendom cuisine’ as she put it, and she heard about us and suddenly she and her family became regulars.” Trey shrugged. “Cater and I met during one of their family galas at their house when we were younger.” He let out a laugh. “My parents brought me to help out, and I found him trying to sneak into the party.”

Vil joined in on the laughter. “That sounds like him.”

“Doesn’t it? He was so excited when he finally turned sixteen and could throw parties.” Trey shrugged. “Which means we get a lot of catering jobs, so it’s good for me.”

Vil looked at the man across from him. He seemed tense, like he was wanting the conversation to be over with. The blond let out a sigh. “You know, you can relax. I will keep on reassuring you that I won’t tell anyone about you two.”

Trey looked him in the eyes. “I know, but Cater could get into a lot of trouble for being with…” He gritted his teeth and looked away. “Someone ‘beneath’ him. I hate saying it, but it’s true.” He looked back at Vil. “It’s great that you say you won’t tell anyone, but I can’t trust someone I hardly know.”

“Hm, that’s fair.” Vil took off a small piece of cake with his fork. “You’re right that you barely know me.”

He then held the piece of cake out to Trey. “Then get to know me and see if I’m someone you can trust.”

As Trey blinked at him in surprise, Vil smiled and leaned his chin onto his hand as he continued to hold the fork out.

“Sound fair?”

Trey looked at him. ’This guy…’ He let out a laugh and leaned over, taking a bite of the cake. As he chewed, he spoke. “You got me there, Duke Schoenheit.”

“Please, that’s my father.” Vil took another piece and offered it to Trey. The green-haired man shook his head and the blond shrugged and ate it. After swallowing, he spoke. “Call me Vil.”

Trey let out a sigh as he looked at Vil. The man before him was easily one of the most beautiful people he had ever met, tied with Cater, honestly. But there was something about him that he couldn't place, a kind of nervous tension. A thin mask he wore to hide his true face, so to say.

And while he hid it well, Trey could still see it.

It was something he’d seen in Cater, too. Hell, it was something he still saw in him! The ginger had a habit of hiding his true feelings, even from Trey sometimes.

But Trey didn’t think Vil was lying about not telling anyone, or that he was lying about wanting to get to know him. There was something mysterious and intriguing about Vil Schoenheit, something that made Trey want to know more and more about him.

Trey nodded. “Alright, Vil. Tell me about yourself.”

“I’m happy to.” The blond cleared his throat. “Well, you already know my name and where I’m from. Maybe my hobbies? I enjoy gardening.” ’And I know you do as well, because you had an entire CG where you were watering plants in the game!’

“Oh!” Trey’s eyes lit up. He smiled at Vil. “Same here.”

Vil smiled. ’Yes, I know.’ “It’s invigorating, isn't it? Planting the very ingredients you’ll later use.”

“It is.” Trey nodded. “I try to work on a garden when I can, but I’ve been really busy as of late.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. The bakery has been getting a lot of orders thanks to the Diamond family’s free promotion, which is great and all, but sometimes I feel like I never get a break.” The boy shrugged.

“Poor thing.” Vil leaned over and patted Trey’s arm. “You work too hard.”

“I…” Trey looked over at Vil’s hand resting on his bicep. He felt his face growing a flushed red as the blond didn’t move. ’Trey! You have a boyfriend, remember? What would he think if he saw you making eyes at his friend?’ Trey hummed slightly, thinking to himself. ’Okay, he’d probably be cool with it, but still! You need to talk with him about this!’

He hid his inner thoughts well as he spoke. “Thanks, but I’m good. Whenever I go over to the Diamond manor, Cater and I meet up and he’s been a really good stress reliever.”

Vil moved his hand and ate another piece of the cake. “It must be wonderful to have a boyfriend like that.”

“Oh, yeah. Cater’s amazing.” Trey rubbed his arm, feeling slightly cold now that Vil had moved away. “But I’ll be honest. It’s not easy being in a ’forbidden’ romance.” Trey let out a sigh. “We only ever see each other at parties, and even then, we still have to pretty much hide from everyone.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Nobody else knows, not even my parents.”

“Oh.” Vil frowned, though a plan was forming in his head already. “That sounds hard.”

Trey shrugged. “It is what it is.” He nodded. “For now, anyway.”

“For now?”

The green-haired man waved his fingers before Vil. “I’m a mage.” He stared at his hands. “My magic isn’t the strongest by any means, but it still qualifies me to enroll at NRC.” He let out a sigh and balled his hands into fists. “I can get a decent social standing by becoming a studied mage, and we won’t have to hide anymore.”

’They were together before Trey became a studied mage, which meant his status was still low. Vil found out, and threatened to ruin Cater’s reputation with that information…’ The blond furrowed his eyebrows together. ’But once Trey enrolled in NRC, wouldn’t his social class not be an issue anymore? Why stay broken up?’

Vil shook his head. ’There must be a bigger reason than just Vil forcing them to break up, but what?’ He kept his feelings inside and instead asked Trey a question. “But do you want that?” Vil held out the fork for Trey to take, which he did. The blond tilted his head. “To become a studied mage, I mean.”

Trey shrugged. “It’s not my passion, but it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.” He gestured around him. “Socially and monetarily. The money most mages make could fund this place for years, and while business is fine right now, you can never be too careful.” He used the fork to take a piece of the cake and chewed it. “It’s a slippery slope, you know?”

“I can imagine.” Vil looked around the bakery. ’The food, the atmosphere, and the company here are all wonderful. I’d hate for it to go out of business.’ He shrugged slightly. ’Well. In this life, I mean’.

He looked at Trey. “What is your passion, then?”

Trey swallowed, pushing the almost-empty plate to Vil. “You really want to know?”

’I technically already know, but sure.’ Vil smirked. “Absolutely.”

“I want to be…” The boy held his hands out. “A dentist.”

’Should I act surprised?’ Vil blinked before opening his eyes wide in surprise. “Really?”

Trey hurriedly spoke. “I know! I know! But hey, teeth are really interesting! Everyone thinks they’re made of the same material as bones because they share the same color, but they’re actually made out of a variety of minerals that are decidedly not bone-like! Enamel as a hard outer cover, and then dentin inside of that, which is bone-like but decidedly isn’t! All of that surrounds the pulp cavity, which…” He let out a sigh and lowered his hands to his lap.

“But I guess I’ll never be able to become one, what with the whole ‘mage’ plan.”

“You do realize that there are healer mages, right?” Vil spoke.

For all the game’s moaning and whining about how Trey couldn’t follow his dreams of becoming a dentist in favor of becoming a mage to support his family, they never addressed the obvious elephant in the room. Mages with healing abilities existed in this universe, so why couldn’t Trey become a healer mage that focused on oral health?

A dentist wizard.

Vil had yelled at his screen multiple times about this, and apparently there were even fanfics that addressed it. And also had Trey and Cater kiss. A lot.

Not that Vil had read any of them, but still. In this world, the fanfictions he hadn’t read could become reality!

Vil put his hands out. “So go study healing magic and make your specialty oral health. I’m sure you’d be able to be one of the greatest dentists out there with the help of your magic.”

Trey blinked.

The blond blinked. He looked at Trey. “You’ve thought about that before, right?”

Trey’s silence spoke volumes.

Vil grit his teeth together. ’Fucking plot holes.’ He shook his head. “Well, just know that you do have options. You aren’t tied down by anything.” He reached over and cupped Trey’s chin. “Understand?”

The green-haired man’s face grew flushed as he nodded slightly.

Vil smiled. “As my father would say. ‘Good boy’.” He patted Trey’s head. “Now, if you excuse me, I really must be going.”

As he stood up to leave, he then let out a small gasp. “Oh! I was so engrossed in our conversation that I completely forgot what I was going to do here!” ’As if.’

Trey tilted his head, still feeling a bit warm from before. “I thought you came here to see me?”

“My, my, Mister Trey Clover.” Vil smirked at him. “You flatter yourself.” He then shrugged. “But no, I came here because I wanted to invite Cater over, and I know how much he enjoys your family’s goods, so I was going to order something for when I invited him.”

“Oh?” Trey stood up as well. “Cater isn’t really big on sweets, but we have some savory breads that he likes. I’ll grab some for you right now.” He was about to go behind the counter, but Vil stopped him.

“That sounds good, however I’d like to give Cater something fresh, you know?” He put a hand to his chin. “Do you do deliveries?”

Trey nodded, though he still didn’t understand where Vil was going with all of this. “Yes? I can deliver to any address you need.”

“Wonderful.” Vil smiled but then frowned after a moment. “Oh, but the trip to Pyroxene must be so hard on you…”

“Not real-”

“I suppose you’ll have to take a break and enjoy the bread with us at my place, then.” The blond clasped his hands together. “With Cater and I.” He nodded to himself. “And Rook. He was at the gala with me. I think you two would be good friends. Although, I did promise him we’d spend some one-on-one time together so we might have to leave you two alone for a bit.”

Vil sighed. “It pains me to be such a horrible host to do that, but I promised Rook, so…” He looked at Trey. ’There. You and Cater have an opportunity to go on a date together. Aren’t I such a wonderful friend? You should definitely vouch for my character when I’m on death row.’

Trey looked at Vil. He let out a laugh and shook his head. “Vil, you really are something else, aren’t you?”

The blond put his hands on his hips and nodded. "Aren’t I?” He then turned around and began to walk to the exit. “I’ll send you a letter with the details by tomorrow.” He waved behind him. “I’ll look forward to seeing your handsome face.”

And with that, Vil was gone.

Hastily, Trey called after him. “Thank you for shopping at the… Clover… Family…” He trailed off and raised his hand to his cheek. ’What just happened?’

Chapter Text

“Villll~!” Cater called out as he moved to hug his friend. “Thanksies for inviting lil ole me over to your big ole manor~!”

The blond returned the hug, patting Cater’s back. “Of course. I’m glad you were able to make it.” He pulled away from the older boy. “We can go to the sitting room if you’d like.”

“I would like~!” Cater grabbed onto Vil’s arm, and the two walked around the halls. He glanced around them for a moment before lowering his voice. “And uh… I appreciate you not telling anyone.”

“Of course I won’t.” Vil reached for Cater’s hand and squeezed it. “I promise you, your relationship is your secret to share, not mine.”

Cater’s eyes widened. ’Wow! What a guy~! So hot, and sooooo dependable! Ahhhh! I’m fanboying here~!!!!’ He let out a cheer. He wrapped both arms around Vil’s arm, hugging it. “I’m so glad we're friends, Vil!”

’You and me both, Cater.’ Both because, you know, Vil didn’t want to die, and also because Cater was another character that he had grown to love as he played the game. There was a reason he was the fan-favorite, alright?

“I feel the same way.” Vil patted Cater’s shoulder. “I would love to continue to grow closer to you. There’s just something about you that draws me, you know?” He smiled. “Something special.” ’Laying it on a bit thick, there, Schoenheit.’

Cater put a hand to his chest. “Well golly, Vil!” He grinned. “You sure know how to make a guy feel special!” Inside he was reeling. ’Holy fucking shit, the girl -slash gender neutral, obvi- is totes flirting with me! Gah!!!!!’

Vil could feel Cater’s hands squeezing his arm as they walked, so he could tell his compliment had made the ginger happy (it seemed that Cater liked an overabundance of compliments… good to know for the future). “Oh, by the way, Trey is already here.”

“Zoinks, he is?” Of course, Vil had already told Cater about his plan to give the two boyfriends a safe space where they could meet up. The boy beside him twirled at a strand of his hair and looked away. “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for doing this.” His gaze darkened, and for a moment, Vil could see a small crack within his carefully built facade. “I… I really hate having to hide when we’re at my place.”

He let out a laugh, the crack disappearing as soon as it appeared. “In a way, I’m kinda grateful that someone else knows!”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because Rook saw you two together as well.”

“WHAT?” Cater froze, his eyes growing wide. “H-He saw us?! And I thought we were being so secretive, too…”

“You weren’t. At all. I’m actually genuinely surprised nobody else saw, either.” Vil waved his hand to the side. “But don’t worry, nobody else did, and Rook won’t tell anyone.” He pointed at Cater. “I’ve sworn him to secrecy myself, but if you’re worried, please feel free to interrogate him today.”

After a moment, Cater shook his head and the two continued walking. “No, I trust you. If you say he won’t tell anyone, then he won’t tell anyone.”

“He won’t, I promise.” They approached the doors of the sitting room and Vil pulled them open, showing both Rook and Trey sitting together on a couch. Upon their arrival, Rook shot up and moved over to greet them.

“Mon Roi, welcome back!” He bowed slightly to Cater. “And Lord Diamond, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Rookie~Rook, please~!” Cater shook his hand. “You already know me and Trey’s secret, so just call me The Catester, got it?”

Rook nodded. He then paused. “You mean Cater, right? You don’t want me to just call you ’The Catester’, yes?”

As Cater nodded, they made their way over to the couch where Trey had stayed seated. He stood up as they approached. “Hey, Vil, hey Cater.” He smiled at his boyfriend. “Wow, you look so-”

“Awww! Stop it!” Cater moved over to hug his boyfriend. He pinched Trey’s cheek. “You’re too sweet to me!” He looked over at Vil. “Isn’t he too sweet?”

“Adorable, even.” Vil sat down on the couch, Rook joining him. The hunter looked at the pair as Trey swatted Cater’s hand away from his face. He moved closer to Vil, pressing up against him comfortably as Trey spoke with a red tint covering his cheeks.

“Cater, you’re embarrassing me in front of our friends.”

The ginger pulled Trey to sit with him across from the blonds. “Sorry, sorry!” He gestured to Rook and Vil. “I’m just excited to finally show off my cute boyfriend!”

“Still.” Trey rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a bit jarring.”

Cater frowned. “But we're here right now, together.” He crossed his arms. “Shouldn’t we make the most of it while it lasts?”

Vil felt like they were about to witness an argument. Not wanting to have to do so, he cleared his throat. “Actually, since you’re here.” He gestured to Rook. “We’ve been working on planning my debut gala and wanted to get your opinion on our plans, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Oohh~!” The ginger clapped. “I’d love to!”

Beside him, Trey nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Excellent.” Vil pulled out some papers from a stand to the side of the couch. He handed them over to the pair.

Rook smiled. “Roi des Poison and I have had a lot of fun planning together.” He put a hand over his mouth and laughed. “We went to stores all around Pyroxene to pick out decorations, went to concerts to find perfect musicians and even practiced dancing together!”

Vil laughed. “It’s been a lot of fun.” Even if Rook happened to be a very clumsy dancer. He had crashed into Vil’s chest multiple times as they had practiced, to the point where Vil’s father had stepped in and taken Rook’s place.

That had been a fun day.

He put a hand to his forehead. “Invitations go out in a couple days, then we need to set a menu once we receive the RSVPs so that we can make sure nobody has to deal with any dietary restrictions.” The blond tapped his fingers against the table as he looked up at Trey and Cater. “You two aren’t allergic to anything, right?”

Cater shook his head. “Nopeity!”

Trey tilted his head. “I’m not, but I’m not going so-”

“Of course you are.” Vil frowned. His eyes then widened. “Unless you couldn’t make it.”

“In case you forgot, I’m not a noble, Vil.” Trey shrugged. “I don’t think it’s uh… proper to invite me to something like this.”

“Do you really think anyone in Pyroxene can tell me what to do?” The blond smirked. He then shook his head. “Still, I understand your worries. I’ve already placed an order for your family’s services, so I’d like you to be there for that.” He nodded. “And what kind of host would I be if I didn’t make sure you have a good time at my own event?” He winked. “No matter what happens, I’ll take care of you, Trey.”

As the green-haired man’s face grew red, a maid (Adrina, known for teasing her fellow maids with sarcastic jokes and small pranks) entered the room. She smiled at the boys as she bowed slightly. “Excuse my interruption, sirs.” She raised herself up and looked at Vil. “The second prince is here to see you, my young lord.”

“What? Leona’s here?” Vil stood up. He looked over at Cater and Trey. “I’m sorry, he likes to drop by unannounced.” He shook his head. “I can shoo him out if you two want more time with each other. You know, without hiding.”

Cater and Trey shared a look before the green-haired man rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t feel right having you kick out a prince.”

“It’s fine, it’ll be good for him.”

“Either way.” Trey shrugged. “I don’t mind him being here.”

Beside him, Cater nodded. “Yeah, I don’t mind.” The Sunset Savanna was a bit of a ways away from Pyroxene, and as such, his interactions with nobles from there were a bit more limited than he would have liked. Getting to know their prince would probably be a good thing for him. He smiled. “He’s more than welcome to join us!”

“If you say so.” Vil stood up. “I’ll bring him here, then.”

“And I’ll join you!” Rook got up eagerly. Trey noticed how his fist seemed to clench as soon as the second prince was mentioned. Rook smiled at Vil innocently. ’Roi des Lions must not be alone with Mon Roi des Poison for too long! ’

Vil looked at him with a confused expression. “Really? I thought you two didn’t get along very well.”

The hunter let out a gasp. “Mon Roi! How would I not like the prince of my own home!?” ’Well, it is true that I do not like him.’ He brought a hand up to his eyes, widening them innocently. “You wound me!”

“Oh, hush.” Vil flicked Rook’s forehead. “Don’t lie to me.”

Rook’s eyes turned watery with tears. Both Trey and Cater could hear him calling after Vil as they left the room. The green-haired boy shook his head at their antics before picking up a piece of paper and reading it. “Flower arrangements?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s important?”

Cater’s eyes widened. “Duh!” He snatched the paper away from Trey. “Keeping vases stuffed full of blooming flowers despite their need for constant care shows off how good your housekeepers are, completely brightens up a room, and brings a nice smell to make your guests feel welcome!”

At Trey’s blank stare, Cater rolled his eyes and continued. “Smell? You know, studies have shown it’s the sense most closely linked to your memories! Which means, when people remember the gala, they’ll remember the nice smell and remember fond memories.” He tapped the paper. “Come on Treyrannosaurus Rex, it’s practically common sense!”

Trey blinked. He tilted his head, not understanding at all, but choosing to secede. “I… see?”

“Glad you do.” Cater scooted closer to Trey as he looked at the paper. “What kind of flowers did he pick?” He let out a sigh. “Mmm, apple blossoms. Nice choice.”

He looked over at Trey, who shrugged. Cater rolled his eyes. “They’re pretty, smell good, and represent the coming of spring, plus the passage of time.” He held out his hands. “This is a debut gala taking place in the spring, Vil’s pretty, the flowers are pretty, it makes sense.”

Cater let out a sigh, leaning in closer to his boyfriend. “Honestly, Trey. It’s not that hard to put the dots together like this.”

“Whatever you say.” Trey wrapped his arm around the ginger. He shook his head. “Man, Vil’s really good at this, then.”

Cater’s eyes shone. “I know, right?! He’s like, so amazing and beautiful and smart and sophisticated and graceful and elegant, and-”

“I know.” Trey’s face was growing red. ’On that note, I should probably tell Cater about how I’ve been starting to feel about Vil…’ He took a deep breath. “I… I need to tell you something.”

Cater blinked, turning to face Trey. “What’s up?”

“Now, before I say anything. I love you. And that won’t ever change even if my feelings might…” He clasped his hands together. “...Be growing for someone else.”

The ginger tilted his head. “Okaaaay?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

Trey took a deep breath and held Cater’s hands. “I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe...” He closed his eyes. “I might have feelings for Vil.”

Cater blinked. ’That’s it?’. He shrugged. “Who doesn’t, honestly?”

“What.”

The older boy shook his head. “You almost scared me, Trey-bie! I thought you were going to say you were, like, cheating on me or something, haha!”

Trey put a hand to his chest. “I would never!”

“I know~!” Cater then held up a hand. “But you falling for Vil is like… not a problem at all for me.” He laughed. “It would be kind of hypocritical for me to be mad at you for that!”

“You mean…?”

Cater covered his face with his hands. “Ahhhhhhh!!” He nodded. “Yes! Yes! Zomg yes! I’m super down for Vil!”

“Seriously?!” Trey let out a laugh. “I can’t believe it! That guy… he’s insane. How does he do that?!”

“I know!” Cater nodded. “He’s got us down for him, he’s got the second prince down for him-”

Trey rolled his eyes. “Obviously he does, they’re engaged, remember?”

“Nuh-uh uh! They’re an arranged engagement! Those kinds of things are super common for nobles, and it’s like…” Cater held up a finger knowingly. “More of a marriage between families, and not lovers, you know?” That’s what his parents had done, after all.

“Really?” The green-haired man frowned. “That… sounds awful.”

“Eh.” Cater shrugged. “That’s how it is.” He wrapped his arms around Trey happily. “Which is why you’re my breath of fresh air~!”

Trey let out a laugh as Cater pressed a kiss against his cheek. “Thanks, Cater. You’re a breath of fresh air to me too.”

“Good!” The ginger then nodded before his gaze turned more serious. “But yeah, it’s kinda rare for people who are set up together to actually like… love each other. I mean, they have to get along, obvi, but a lot of times arranged marriages work like business partners rather than, you know, partner partners!”

“Are you sure the prince likes Vil that way?”

“Absolutely!” Cater’s eyes widened. “I super interrupted them on a date once, and if looks could kill, you’d be cradling my adorable corpse, sweetheart!” He put a hand to his cheek. “Plus, the prince, like, goes out of his way to see Vil.” He tapped Trey’s nose playfully. “That’s love, Babygirl.”

Trey put a hand to his head. “Wow. You, me, and the prince, all of us are in-”

“And Rook.”

“ROOK TOO???” Trey gasped. He then blinked and after a moment of recalling the hunter’s prior actions at their little get-together, he nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Mmhmm.” Cater nodded. “He’s got four whole suitors! How will we ever win his heart?”

They both put their hands on their chins, humming quietly as they thought. After a moment, they looked at each other.

“Tag-team?” Trey held out a hand.

Cater took his hand and shook it. “Tag-team.”

He then pulled on his boyfriend’s hand, causing the taller boy to lean in closer to him. “Glad we got that sorted out.” Cater quickly kissed Trey’s nose before grabbing another piece of paper to keep looking at it. “Back to what we were talking about, they really planned this shindig out, huh?”

Trey’s face was a bit red from Cater’s kiss, but he picked up a piece of paper as well. As he did so, he teased. “You say that like you haven’t done the exact same thing.”

“Haha! True!” Cater laughed. He pointed at the paper in front of him. “But he has, like, everything planned out. The venue, the attendants' attire, the color of the curtains, and OH!” His eyes widened as he picked up the paper. “First dance as a debut? OMG!”

“First dance?”

“It shows off the debut’s dancing moves, makes them the center of attention, and is just really cool-looking.” Cater waved his hands. “But more importantly, the person you dance with during that is a huge deal! It’s basically a massive sign that says, ‘This is the person I’m going to stand by for the rest of my life’ in a debut gala.”

“Really?” Trey tilted his head and tapped his chin. “Didn’t you dance with your family during yours?”

“Hehe! Yep! I danced with my fam, it was super sweet.” Cater nodded. “But a lot of the time, it’s used as, like, a romantical thing.” His eyes shone. “Dancing with your lover during your debut is such an important aspect of Pyroxene culture, like, zomg.”

Many of the classic tales that had roots in Pyroxene all involved true love overcoming what was first seen upon face value. In its most well-known legend, two lovers would share a dance, which lead to a debut dance becoming such a popular thing in Pyroxene.

Trey smirked. “Wait a second. Didn’t you and I end up dancing outside during your debut?”

Cater’s grin turned catlike. “What? We did? Hmmm!” He batted his eyes innocently. “I guess that means you’re the guy I’m going to stand by for the rest of my life?”

Trey shook his head, but his face was growing pink with a blush. “You’re sneaky.”

“Just a lil bit.” The boy winked before he looked back at the paper. “But I wonder who Vil will choose?” He let out a laugh. “Maybe I can put in a good word for Team TreyTer-tot, you k-”

“I’m pretty sure it’s obvious who he’ll choose.” Just then, a voice called out from the sitting room entrance as the doors swung open. As Cater and Trey quickly pushed themselves away from each other, Leona strode into the room.

He grinned as he sat down across from them. He held out his thumb and pointed it at himself. “His fiance, duh.”

The prince looked over at Vil, who had entered the room after him with Rook. “Ain’t that right, Villey-pie?”

Vil gestured to Cater and Trey. “First, Leona. This is Cater Diamond, who you’ve met before, and this is Trey Clover from the Clover family bakery. You liked the cheesecake I brought you from there, remember?”

The prince nodded. “I remember.” He pointed at Trey. “That cake was fucking delicious. Totally worth the lactose-intolerant moment I had after I ate it.”

Trey tilted his head. “Thank… you?”

Leona gave him a thumbs-up.

The blond sighed. “Second, never call me ‘Villey-pie’ again.”

Leona grinned. “Villey-pie.” He then let out a light grunt of pain as a purple fan hit him in the face. Vil sat down on a cushioned seat at the head of the table where the papers sat on. “And third, I’ll decide that at the gala. I have too much on my mind right now to worry about anything else.”

Rook sat down next to Leona on the couch. “Mon Roi, you work too hard!” He nodded. “I’ll do everything I can to help you in your planning!”

Cater raised his hand. “Ditto!” He held onto Vil’s hand and squeezed it, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Rook. “Even though I doubt there’s much left that I can help you with. I’ll still bring my ~sparkling personality~ to the party!”

Trey also raised his hand. “And I can help you plan out a menu once you get everyone’s dietary restrictions.” Leona noticed how the green-haired man smiled at his fiance, and the prince’s eyes widened as he realized that Vil’s charms hadn’t gone unnoticed by his new friends.

Everyone looked over at him expectantly. The prince sighed and spoke. “Yeah sure, I’ll help with whatever you need.”

The blond clapped his hands together. “Wonderful.” He picked up an unsent invitation from the table and stared at it.

“I am sure this party…”

It was addressed to the Shroud family.

“Will be one we won’t ever be able to forget.”

Later that day, well after Cater and Trey had already left, Rook was escorting Leona out of the Schoenheit manor. Leona would have preferred it if Vil had been the one doing that, but he had been called away by the duke to look over something.

So, Leona had to settle with what he had. Rook seemed to be slightly less annoying than usual, however. Instead of his usual endless chattering, he was silent as they walked through the halls.

Right as they reached the doors, however, Rook suddenly slammed his hand against the wood of the door’s frame, effectively caging the prince in. Leona turned around and glared at him. “What the fuck?”

Rook leaned in close to the beastman’s face. “Do you want to form…” His green eyes stared into Leona’s. “An allegiance?”

Leona blinked. “What the fuck.”

“With me.”

Leona blinked once more. “What the fuck.”

Chapter Text

“Four, please.” Vil gestured to the hostess before moving back to the others as she spoke to one of the waiters.

The gala was about a week away, and Vil had invited Trey along with him to buy ingredients at the Coral Port, where a booming produce and farmers market took place every week.

Their shopping trip had gone splendidly, and Vil had found himself admiring Trey as the green-haired man told him about the various kinds of tips and tricks he used when it came to baking. Vil wasn’t interested in the culinary arts, but he had found it quite cute to see his friend so passionate about something.

(He’d also had a lot of fun teasing Trey about how cute he was. There was just something so fun about seeing the boy’s face turn so many different shades of pink.)

Of course, Cater had invited himself along because why the fuck not. And right before they left, they’d run into Leona, who, not only came over uninvited yet again, but also had complained that they “never spent any time together anymore”- which was a complete lie, but Vil didn’t feel like arguing - and tagged along as well.

The gang was all together. Well, minus Rook, as he’d had to meet with his family that day. Something about their business. He hadn’t seemed very happy about it, and Vil had promised to see him once everything was over and done with.

Speaking of… “It’s a shame Rook isn’t here, he would have loved this place.” Vil spoke aloud as he looked around the restaurant. Right as they’d been in the middle of their shopping, it had started to rain. They’d taken refuge inside the restaurant, and while he’d never been there before, something about it felt familiar to him.

It had an oceanic vibe, with muted purples and blues scattered throughout the dining area. Thick couches served as places to sit, while multiple aquariums full of sea life sat nearby. Large windows showing off the storming sea and the currently unavailable outdoor seating were to the left, and to the right, a quiet bar with relaxed patrons stood.

As he looked around, he caught Cater’s attention, who had been squeezing some water out of his hair as they waited to be seated.

He tossed his hair over his shoulder and latched onto the blond’s arm (a habit he’d seemed to have picked up from Rook) and put a finger to his chin. “I bet he would’ve! But you have Trey and I-” He gestured to Leona carelessly. “-And him here, so don’t feel bad!

Vil laughed before wrapping his arms around himself to warm up from the cold rain. “I don’t feel bad at all, it’s just a bit unusual to not be with him after so long.”

Leona rolled his eyes as he shrugged his coat off. “Maybe it’s a good thing he’s not here. You guys are practically glued at the hip.” He put his coat over Vil’s shoulders and narrowed his eyes at Cater, who grinned at him and tightened his grip on the blond’s arm.

Vil didn’t seem to notice this psychological warfare, however, and nodded at the prince. “Thanks, Leona.” He adjusted the coat on his shoulders before what Leona had said completely registered in his head. Vil’s face turned red with agitation and he scoffed. “And we’re not glued at the hip. He’s my friend, and I’m proud of that.” He sighed. “The poor thing was absolutely heartbroken that he wasn’t able to join us today.”

Trey looked up from the menu that he’d picked up as they entered. “If you want to do something to make him feel better, you could bring him some snacks from here.” He raised his finger knowingly. “The way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach, you know.”

Leona rolled his eyes. “Like Vil needs to do anything to get Rook’s heart.”

The blond raised an eyebrow and looked at his fiance. “Leona, what do you mean?”

“There’s no way you haven’t realized he’s in love with you.”

Vil rolled his eyes. “Leona. Rook doesn’t see me that way.” ’He might admire me, sure, but that will all fade away once he meets the protagonist!’ He looked at Leona, Trey and Cater. ’Same to the rest of you!’ “He just sees me as his friend. That’s it.”

Leona blinked, remembering what had happened the last time he had seen the hunter.

”What the fuck.”

Rook frowned at him. “Roi des Rivals, you have said that already.” He shook his head before looking back at the prince. “I am asking you to join me in an alliance.”

Leona raised an eyebrow. “An alliance for what, exactly?”

“Mon Roi’s affections, what else?”

“Ha!” Leona laughed. “And here I thought you were being serious!” He pushed Rook’s hand away from his face. “In case you can’t remember, I’m his fiance, dipshit. We’re already-”

“Just because you’re engaged does not mean he will ever love you.” The hunter had a glint in his eyes. “Already, I’d say he and I are closer than the two of you ever will be.”

Leona let out a low growl, but he couldn’t argue against the truth. Vil and Rook were best friends, and there wasn’t anything he could do about that. “So what? That doesn’t change the fact that I’m the one he'll be walking down the aisle to.”

Rook stepped away from the prince. “Engagements fall apart all the time, but sure. Believe what you want to believe.” He waved his hand. “But that is not what I am here to talk to you about. Mon Roi des Poison is the most perfect man alive, and you and I are not the only people to have noticed this.”

The prince’s ears flicked. Of course he’d seen the way Trey and Cater had both looked at his fiance. “Of course we aren’t.”

“Glad to see you can tell.” The blond clasped his hands together. “Now, our alliance will be simple. We just prevent those two from interacting with him romantically, and that’s it.” He laughed. “We could promise to not fight against each other for his affections, but I am smart enough to know that won’t happen.”

Rook held out his hand. “So, do we have a deal?”

At the moment, Leona had smacked Rook’s hand away because obviously, but looking at the way Cater seemed to have an iron-solid grip on Vil might’ve made Leona want to change his mind.

’No.’ He shook his head as the hostess led the group to their booth. ’I don’t need the help of some creep.’ He grinned as Vil sat down next to him and the others sat across from them. ’So what if there are other guys who like him? I’m his fiance, something none of these guys will ever be.’

As Leona put his arm over Vil’s shoulders, Cater narrowed his eyes at them. ’Arm over the shoulders PLUS giving him your coat? Seriously? That’s basically marking your territory. What’s next? Biting him?!’ He looked over at Trey, who raised his eyebrows at him.

They shared a look.

“So, Cater.” After a moment, Trey smiled and put the menu down. “Do you see anything you like here?”

The ginger grinned. “Yeah! I’ve been here a few times with Kalim and Lilia, and their seafood’s like… unreal in how good it is!”

“I know Lord Asim, but Lilia?” Vil looked up from his menu and raised an eyebrow. “What’s his family name?”

“Vanrouge. He was at my gala, but he’s not a noble.” Cater waved a hand. “He’s this adorbs traveling mage, and he, like, sells magical items on the side! He has the most far-out wares ever. Lilia’s me and Kalim’s bestie!” Cater laughed and put a finger on his chin. “I’ll totes get you something pretty next time I see him!” He turned back to Trey. “Anyway, yeah, their specials are always pretty good too.”

“That’s good to know.” Trey looked out the window, glancing at the sea fighting against the raging storm outside. “Their seafood should be super fresh since they’re so close to the water. I’ll try some.” He looked at Vil. “What about you?”

“Hm.” The blond hummed. “I haven’t decided yet.” He tapped his chin. “I wonder if they’d do substitutions?”

Trey grimaced. “If you can avoid it, don’t ask for a substitution. That’s a chef’s worst nightmare.” As Vil continued to look at the menu, Trey nodded to Leona. “What about you, your highness?”

The prince’s gaze didn’t leave Vil. “What I want isn’t on the menu.”

As both Trey and Cater’s eyes widened, Vil looked up from his menu and glared at Leona. “Well tough shit, because Trey says substitutions aren’t-”

“Good afternoon!” A waiter came over to their table and placed waters in front of everyone. He had silver hair and a small beauty mark on the left side of his face underneath his lips. He adjusted his glasses on his face as he smiled at their group. “Welcome to the Mostro Lounge, may I take your-”

The waiter let out a loud gasp. “Oh goodness me!” He looked at Leona, Vil, and Cater. He pointedly ignored Trey. “It looks like we have some nobles dining with us today~! Prince Kingscholar, Duke Schoenheit, it is a pleasure to have you here with us!”

Leona rolled his eyes at the waiter’s blatant thigh-hugging. The waiter ignored this then smiled at Cater. “And Lord Diamond, it’s always a pleasure to have you here!” He then looked around the restaurant. “Will, ah… your usual companions be joining you today? Lord Asim, Mister Vanrouge, and…” He cleared his throat, and looked around expectantly. “Mister Viper?”

“Nah!” Cater waved his hand. “Just us, so you’ll have to settle.”

“Haha, I see.” The waiter looked very disappointed, but then put on a polite customer-service smile. “I’m happy to have such esteemed guests here today. You know, I actually run this place with my family, and…”

As the waiter said that, Vil suddenly remembered where he recognized the Mostro Lounge from. In the game, it had been a restaurant run by what was basically a PG version of the mafia, and the head honcho… He wasn’t a love interest by any means, but was still a very important character. The kind that you could buy information from on how to boost your affection levels with your chosen love interests. And his name was…

“That’s very interesting.” Vil cut the waiter off. He made a small show of looking puzzled. “It must take a lot of work for your family to maintain such a lovely place. What’s your name?”

The waiter grinned and held out his hand for Vil to shake. “Azul Ashengrotto.” As Vil shook his hand, the younger boy leaned down and kissed the blond’s knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet the future duke of Pyroxene!”

Failing to notice how everyone else at the table had visibly grimaced at Azul’s kiss, Vil nodded. “The pleasure is all mine.”

There had actually been a large number of people who had wanted Azul to be a love interest in the game, as his bitchy personality and slimy nature had made people squeal with joy. Even if he’d never been given an in-game sprite, there was just something about that octopus that people had fallen in love with.

Oh, yes. The octopus thing.

He was an octopus merman. He had a few lines that mentioned that whenever you bought something from him. It wasn’t important to the game at all, but the fans seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

Isn’t that so cool? Mermen exist in this world! An entirely unique species that alluded to an underwater world full of things to discover! Too bad the game never fucking went into detail about it and instead focused on all of the different ways they could kill Vil off!

Contrary to everyone else, Vil had genuinely hated Azul when he had played ’Twisted Loverland’. His prices were horrible (though the information was always worth it), he had a smug face (although, looking at himself now, Vil couldn’t really complain) and had made Rook feel sad once in the game (granted, Vil had also made Rook feel sad in the game, more than once)!

He was basically everything Vil hated about himself. How nice.

’But, I suppose it would be rather hypocritical of me to dislike someone for what they did in the game.’’ Vil sighed as he pulled his hand away.

Azul smiled brightly at the rest of the people at the table. He finally seemed to notice Trey and nodded to him. “Oh, forgive me. I didn’t even notice you. Welcome.”

The green-haired man smiled politely, though underneath the table his hand clenched the cloth of his pants tightly at the waiter’s attitude. Noticing this, Cater subtly reached his hand out to squeeze his boyfriend’s hand. This time, Trey smiled genuinely and he spoke. “Thanks.”

“So!” Azul clapped his hands together. “Our specials today are the hand-breaded crab cakes, blue trout liver with our secret sauce, and the…” His gaze seemed to darken a bit. “Citrus grilled octopus.”

Noticing the look on Azul’s face, Leona grinned. “Octopus sounds delicious. I’ll take it.”

Cater nodded. “Me too! I love me some grilled octopussy~!”

Trey put a finger to his chin, fighting back a grin. “I’ve never had grilled octopus before, I always love trying something new.”

Azul’s eye twitched. Vil stifled a laugh at the man’s reaction before putting his menu down. “Well, far be it from me to stray from the crowd. I’ll have the octopus as well.”

The bespectacled man visibly grimaced before quickly smiling at the group. “I hope you like it. Our chef today is a big fan of… those kinds of… dishes…” He shook his head. “That dish comes with our house salad, does that sound alright with you?”

“No.” Leona shook his head. “No salad. Give me-”

Vil quickly covered the prince’s mouth with his hand. “Give the man a salad, Azul.” He handed his menu to Azul. “And same for me as well.”

As Leona tried to pry Vil’s hand off him, Cater and Trey nodded their heads in agreement. Azul looked at the prince and the duke, wondering if he should try to change Leona’s order, but deciding against it. If he didn’t like the salad, it would be payback for ordering the octopus.

Azul clapped his hands together. “Alright. I’ll bring out your salads in a moment. Please let me know if you need anything else!” And with that, he was gone.

Leona gave a muffled yell after their waiter, but Vil rolled his eyes at him. “Leona, eating a salad for once in your life won’t kill you.” He shook his head and looked at Trey. “Variety is key to health, isn’t that right?”

The green-haired man tilted his head as the beastman attempted to complain. “Sure, but I suppose everyone has their different tastes. What works for someone might not work for everyone, you know?”

Cater raised his hand. “I like salads~!”

Vil nodded at him. “I know, Cater.”

“They’re crunchy in my mouth~.”

Vil nodded. “I know Ca- AYYYEEE!” He yelled as he felt something wet streak across the palm of his hand. Instantly, he pulled his hand away from Leona and glared at him. “Did you just-”

Leona stuck his tongue out at him.

“Y-Y… You…” The blond felt himself trembling in anger. He slammed his -wet- hand against the table and stood up from his seat. He spoke very sharply. “Excuse me. I need to wash my hand.” He pointed at Leona. “I will never forget this.”

As he prowled away from the table, he heard his friends laughing behind him. He shook his head. ’Traitors, the lot of them.’

He entered the bathroom and washed his hands before staring at himself in the mirror. Upon seeing his reddened face, Vil couldn’t help but let out a laugh at how angry he looked. ’This is fun, isn’t it?’ He thought. Sure, getting his hand licked wasn’t any fun, but everything else was. Spending the day with his friends, shopping, talking, living. It was amazing.

It reminded him of his old life, in a way. How he would spend the day with his friend, laughing and talking about who-knew-what. Vil let out a slight sigh as he exited the bathroom. ’I know I’ll never get that again, but this is good too.’

He loved his life as it was, really he did, but… ’There’s a part of me that wishes that I could at least see him again. Just to see how he’s doing…’ But that would never happen. Not in this life, anyway. As he lamented this, he stopped paying attention to what was in front of him, and ran into another person.

“Ah!” Vil winced slightly as he felt himself fall down. When he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his breath get taken away as soon as he saw the person he had bumped into.

Bright, blue hair, wet with trailing raindrops from outside, where he had no doubt come from. Glistening rays of moisture trailed down his face, making his fair skin seem to glow in the bright light of the restaurant. Clothes that seemed to be a size-too big draped over a far-too-tall body.

And his eyes. Sharp, yellow irises narrowing in annoyance before widening in surprise as the boy before him seemed to recognize him. His pale face grew red as his blue-tinted lips stammered out an apology.

“D-Duke Schoenheit! I-I’m sorry for-”

Vil stood up, brushing some dust off himself. “No need to apologize. It was my fault, I should have been paying attention.”

The boy’s face grew pale, more so than it was before. “But, I-”

“Take my hand, I’ll help you up.” Vil held his hand out for the boy to take.

The boy looked down before staring at the blond’s hand. “I…” He closed his eyes and swallowed, before bringing a trembling hand to take Vil’s.

He blinked as Vil helped him up. ’Soft…’ He thought as he felt the duke’s hand on his own. He then shook his head and pulled his hand away quickly. ’D-Don’t think that! He’s so out of your league!’

Meanwhile, Vil continued staring at him. He felt something in his chest pulling him towards the boy in front of him. A dull, quiet ache. But he didn’t know why he felt that way, he didn’t know why at all. He blinked and shook his head. ’It doesn’t matter. That hair… This has to be Idia, right?’ He narrowed his eyes as he watched a bead of water fall down the man’s face.

Without even thinking about what he was doing, Vil pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. “You’re practically soaked to the bone.” He shook his head as he carefully dabbed at Maybe-Idia’s face before he could tell himself not to. The blue-haired man let out a high-pitched noise as Vil touched him.

“HhhhHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh!!!!”

The blond blinked. ’What am I doing?’ He cleared his throat and pressed the handkerchief into the boy’s hands. “Forgive me. Please take this and ah… fix yourself up.” He looked away as the man continued to stare at him.

Vil’s face was completely red. ’Schoenheit, what were you thinking?’ He shook his head and quickly glanced back at the boy in front of him. ’Idia or not, you can’t just…’ The boy continued to stare at him and Vil looked back at him. ’He really does look like Idia, doesn’t he? All that’s missing is the little brot-’

“Big brother! Azul Ashengrotto said that he-” Suddenly, a voice called out to Maybe-Idia. The two turned their heads to see a Mini-Maybe-Idia running up to them. He frowned at his older brother. “Did you fall down? You should’ve been paying more attention to where you were walking!”

“Haha. Sorry.” Maybe-Idia patted his brother’s blue head of hair. “You’re right, I’ll do better next time.” He looked over at Vil, his nervousness seeming to diminish as his brother appeared. He nodded at the blond slightly. “Thanks for helping me up.” He blushed and gestured to the handkerchief in his hand. “A-And this, too…”

Vil flashed him a quick smile. “You’re welcome. Like I said, it was my fault to begin with.” He held out his hand. “My name is Vil Schoenheit, but I believe you already know that.”

“Y-Yeah.” The boy’s face grew flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck before shaking Vil’s hand. “You- You’re kinda important.”

“I’m sure you are as well.” Vil nodded. “But I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you before.” He looked at the younger brother. “And same to you.”

The younger boy piped up. “Hello, Duke Vil Schoenheit!” He pointed to himself. “My name is Ortho Shroud, and this is my big brother Idia Shroud.”

“N-Nice to meet you.” Definitely-Idia mumbled.

Vil’s heart churned. ’Holy shit. Shit. Okay. OKAY.’ He felt his face growing red as Idia continued to shake his hand.

It was embarrassing to say, but out of all the routes. Out of all the pretty boys. Out of all the dashing men and romantic storylines. Out of all the Leonas, all the Rooks, all the Treys and all the Caters…

There was only one man that Vil had played the game purely because he was attracted to them. The person who had reminded Vil of his friend the most. Someone who made his heart pull in an almost bittersweet way that he’d never experienced with the one he really wanted to be with in his old life.

He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he returned the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Idia Shroud. The man in ’Twisted Loverland’ that Vil had once-upon-a-time fallen in love with.

Chapter Text

As Ortho pulled his older brother away to sit at their table, Vil waved at them until he was out of sight. As soon as he was, he scrambled back to the bathroom, and bit his knuckles as he stared at himself in the mirror.

That was it! He’d met the final LI. Well, aside from Malleus, but Vil wasn’t going to even think about him.

He was, however, going to think about Idia.

'Oh, Idia, Idia, Idia!' Vil bit harder and closed his eyes. In his head he played back the scene of the blue-haired boy standing in front of him, looking like a drowned animal.

There was just something so… failwife-y about him that caused Vil’s heart to pound. There had been one event where he and the protagonist made spaghetti together, and it ended up in a CG of them both covered in sauce, which had made Vil feel so attracted to Idia that he’d had to turn the game off.

“He’s so…!” He bit down so hard that he felt the salty taste of blood. He let out an alarmed gasp and quickly shoved his hand into the sink, washing the blood off.

Idia was hot, okay? Really, really hot! And on top of that, he was practically a blue-haired copy of Vil’s friend back in his previous life. Who, by the way, he had totally been in love with! Such a goofy little nerd, so passionate about his interests, a blooming rose once you coaxed his petals open, so warm, so…

’I miss him, I miss him, I miss him, I-’

Vil lifted up a hand and smacked the right side of his face, scattering water droplets across the room. He glared at himself in the mirror as water trailed down his cheek. ’Don’t think about him any more Schoenheit. You live in this world, so stay in it!’ He took in a shaky breath and patted his hands and face dry. ’What you need to focus on is something much more important. You met a love interest, so now you have to make sure he doesn’t kill you!’

Which might prove to be a bit difficult, as out of all the characters, what Vil had done to him in the game was by far the worst thing of all!

Vil was the person responsible for killing Ortho!

No, Vil didn’t know how, but that didn’t matter!

…Well, it actually did matter, it mattered a lot. The best way to figure out how not to kill a child is to figure out how you killed a child in the first place, after all.

’Think, Schoenheit, think!’ Vil screwed his eyes shut as he thought back to Idia’s route.

He was a part of the Shroud noble lineage, a family who was largely responsible for the research of magical artifacts and the creation of magestones, which were used as essentially a substitute for modern technology in this world, alongside various other things.

Idia had been an excellent researcher, despite not having a lick of magic in him. But, he had grown up to be a bit of an outcast, with his family’s business keeping him quite a bit isolated during his youth. He’d become the classic nerdy type, a huge fan of any kind of book or entertainment medium he could get his hands on.

But once you pried deeper into his storyline, he really was just… a guy grieving over the loss of his best friend and little brother.

Years before the game had begun, he and Ortho had gone to a gala at some lake, and they had gotten separated. Next thing he knew, Idia had heard people yelling for help outside. He stumbled his way through the crowds, but by the time he reached the docks, it was too late.

He picked up his brother’s cold, broken body, and that was it.

His storyline centered around dealing with his self-blame, in a tragic and emotional story about how grief could change a person, and about the power of pure and true love helping one get through the pain of losing a loved one.

The scene where Idia had visited his brother’s grave to finally say goodbye was touching, bringing Vil to tears with its raw and unfiltered emotion.

Of course, all of that deep and mature junk got wiped away as soon as it was revealed that Vil had actually pushed the child into the lake, thereby absolving Idia of his self-guilt and giving him someone else to blame.

’Seriously…’ Vil sighed as he opened his eyes. ’The game’s writing pisses me off. What reason could I have possibly had to hurt that kid to begin with?’ It had never been explained, hell, they never ever actually saw Vil push Ortho into the lake. They just, you know, showed off some circumstantial evidence and that was that.

No explanations, no excuses, no reasons. Because FUCK Vil, right?

The blond scowled. ’Bullshit, it really is. This shitty game just wrote Ortho in to die as a tragic figure, and me in to die as a villain.’ It wasn’t right. Vil turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. “But that won’t happen.” He pointed at his reflection. “I’ll protect us both this time.”

Before he could continue his monologue, the bathroom door opened and Trey stepped inside, having heard what he just said. “Uh… Sure you will. You’ll definitely protect them.” He furrowed his eyebrows at the blond, seeing him pointing at his reflection. “Are… you okay?”

Vil pulled away from the mirror. “Perfectly fine. I was giving myself a pep-talk in regards to protecting the items in my garden, Trey. Don’t tell me you’ve never done that?” The semi-lie slid off his tongue easily.

The boy laughed. “Can’t say I’ve ever done it in a public restroom at a restaurant.” He moved over to the sink to wash his hands. “By the way, our food’s ready.”

“Oh.” Vil washed his hands as well. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“No problem.” Trey looked up at the blond before frowning. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? Your face is kind of red.”

Vil’s eyes widened and he placed his hand against his cheek. “It is?” He laughed. “I was probably blushing from looking at my pretty face for so long.” He sighed and shook his head. “It’s so hard being as beautiful as myself.”

Trey squinted at him. ’I mean, he’s totally lying, but he’s not wrong about being pretty.’ “Sure, Vil.”

“I mean it!” The blond exited the bathroom with Trey following after him.

“I never said you didn’t.” The boy raised his hands defensively. “It’s just that your tone was a bit funny.”

“Funny how?”

Trey sighed. “Funny as in it felt like you were hiding something.” Before Vil could open his mouth to defend himself, the baker held his hands up. “And that’s okay! You don’t have to tell me everything. Everyone has their secrets, you know?”

Vil paused as Trey continued going. “I just want you to know that if you need someone to vent to, I’m your guy.” He laughed. “Cater’s given me pretty good practice at that.”

The blond didn’t say anything, so Trey continued. “So yeah. Sorry if that came off as overreach-” He was interrupted by Vil, as the blond quickly wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

“Vil?” The green-haired man blinked, not knowing where to put his hands. Vil spoke quickly, his voice slightly muffled as his face was buried in Trey’s coat. “Thank you, Trey.” He squeezed the boy slightly. “You’re a really good guy.”

Trey laughed awkwardly and slightly patted Vi’s shoulder as a blush stretched over his face. “I-I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would.” Vil pulled away from Trey and smiled at him. “It’s a compliment, accept it.” He continued walking towards their table and spoke. “I have a lot of… things I can’t talk about, not to anyone, but…” He turned back to look at Trey. “Just you saying that you’d listen to what I’d have to say makes me feel happy.”

The baker’s son blinked at him before letting out another awkward laugh. His face was completely red at this point, he knew it. But when Vil was looking at him like that, he couldn’t help it! “Of course, Vil. I’m here for you.”

Vil nodded, and they walked in a calm silence before sitting back at the table.

“Zomg~!” Cater waved at them as they sat down. “Wow, you two were gone forever~! Any longer and I would've left and joined you myself, hehe~!”

Leona was glaring at Trey as the boy sat down, to which Trey then looked at Cater quizzically. The ginger rolled his eyes before unfurling an orange fan to hide the front of his face. He whispered to his boyfriend as Vil started complaining to Leona about something.

“Trey-bae, literally everyone in the restaurant just watched you and Villey-poo hug.” He smacked Trey’s arm playfully. ”I don’t know how you did it, but you just scored major romance points with him!”

The green-haired boy shook his head and lowered his voice to a whisper. ”We didn’t do anything, though. We just talked like normal people.”

Cater let out a very quiet squeal. ”Of course just talking to you would make Vil wanna hug you! Look at you, you’re so loveable~!” He pinched Trey’s cheek slightly. ”I swear, if we weren’t in public right now, I’d give you the hottest kiss ever!” He gave a thumbs-up and let out a cheer. ”100 points to Team TreyTer-tot!”

Vil looked over at him. “Points? What are you talking about?”

“Uh.” The ginger’s eyes widened. He gestured to Trey. “Why don’t you explain it to him, Trey?”

Trey glared at his boyfriend before letting out a sigh. “We all have our secrets.”

“I… Suppose?” Vil shook his head. “Keep your secrets, then.”

“Yeah.” Leona looked at the pair. “Keep them nice and hidden. Don’t ever show them to anyone.” His tail flicked. “Got it?”

“Not at all! Haha!” Cater laughed. Before Leona could jump across the table and strangle him, the ginger looked at the plate in front of him. “Anyway, this looks delish!” He cut off a bite of the octopus and chewed on it. “Mmm, so citrus-y~!”

Azul, who had been walking by their table to see if they needed any refills on their waters, let out a grimace and turned away from them. He shook his head as he felt rage welling up in his chest. ’Hereby out, Floyd is banned from the kitchen!’

As their group ate in quiet calmness, Cater eventually spoke up. “So, Vil. We got the ingredients, which means you’re like… good on everything, right?”

“For the gala, yes.” Vil spoke after swallowing. “All that’s left is the actual event.” He nodded and smiled. “It will be a good time, I’m looking forward to you all attending.”

“It’s gonna be a blast. I mean.” Cater laughed. “A party on a lake? That’s sooooo hype!”

“Yes, on a-” Vil suddenly choked on his food. As he coughed, his eyes widened in shock. ’No. No, no, no, no way. Did I really…? And I invited the brothers too… Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!’

“Vil?” Leona patted his back and handed him a glass of water, which he took. “Are you okay? Don’t die on me.”

Vil continued to cough as he downed the glass of water. He glared at Leona. “I’m not dying.” ’Not by your hand, or by any of your hands!’ He coughed. “It just went down the wrong pipe, I’m fine.”

As the rest of the group began to speak, Vil didn’t pay attention. He chewed his food slowly. ’Alright… If what I think is going to happen happens, I need to plan this out. I’ll need to get some people standing guard near the lake, get someone to teach me how to save someone from drowning, and absolutely never let that boy leave my sight.’

He nodded slowly to himself. ’It’ll be fine. I will change our fates, I swear it!’

By the time they had said their goodbyes, it was already dark outside. The storm had finally cleared up, after having persisted all day, and Vil let out a quiet breath as he sat outside on his balcony.

Surprisingly enough, Rook wasn’t back yet. Vil had decided to stay up a bit longer to wait for him. ’Hah, what am I? His housewife?’ He shook his head as he sat down. It just felt odd, not seeing his precious hunter all day.

As he stared out into the dark road ahead, Vil saw something glowing in the corner of his eye, and he quickly turned around with a smirk.

Right in front of his door, he saw the dark creature from the forest staring at him with wide eyes, holding a Lambent flower in its mouth. It was noticeably smaller than when he’d first seen it. Back then, it had been towered over him, but now it was the size of a young horse, almost.

Vil laughed at the look on the creature’s face. “I had a feeling it was you leaving these.”

For the past couple weeks, he’d been seeing Lambent flowers laying in front of his balcony door each morning when he’d woken up. At this point, he’d had enough that he could plant an entire garden of them and still have plenty to spare. He had been thinking about brewing some into potions, actually. Just to see what would happen.

Vil took a step closer to the creature, who slowly dropped the flower in its mouth. The creature flapped its wings slightly, staring up at him with its huge eyes.

’How adorable!’ Vil wanted to squeal. He instead opted to sit on the balcony railing and patted at his side. The creature scurried over to him, placing its head on his lap. Vil stroked its black scales as he spoke. “I never got to thank you for the flowers.” He scratched right underneath the creature’s chin. “So, thank you. They’re beautiful.”

The creature let out a long exhale that sounded like a purr as its eyes closed happily. Vil stifled a laugh at the catlike behavior. “You should meet Leona, you two would get along splendidly.”

A sharp snort could be heard from the creature.

Vil frowned. “Don’t be like that. I’m sure you’d like him.” He flicked the creature’s ear slightly. “Unless you’re just shy.” The creature’s wings shifted slightly, and the blond couldn’t help but let out a small coo. “Aww, poor thing, you are!”

He held the creature’s head in his hands. “Don’t worry. Leona’s an asshole, but I wouldn’t let him do anything to scare you off.”

The creature nuzzled against his cheek.

“Adorable.” Vil pulled away from the creature and looked at it. “You know, I never ended up picking a nickname for you.”

The creature let out a quick series of grunts and flapped its wings eagerly.

Vil nodded, not understanding what it was saying. “Uh-huh. I agree. Something nice, something befitting of your character.”

The creature nodded, puffing up its chest proudly.

“Hmmm…” The blond tapped his chin. ’I’ve never been good at coming up with names. I always just used my own whenever I named my character.’ His eyes lit up and he looked at the creature. “How do you feel about being called Vil? Vil Schoenheit?”

The creature tilted its head. It stared off into space, in deep thought before looking back at the blond and shaking its head. Vil shrugged. “Your loss.” He looked at the creature’s black horns. “Horns… Horn… Horn…ton?”

The creature shook its head adamantly, seeming to be very against the name. Vil sighed. “Dragon? You’re a dragon, right? Should I just call you Dragon?”

The creature nodded but then shook its head.

“Yes, you’re a dragon, no to the nickname?”

The dragon nodded.

“Fine.” Vil hummed and looked over at the flower sitting on the ground. “Oh, what about Flower?”

The dragon blinked.

“Not Flower. Petal. Lambent. Glow. Pretty. Violet. Daisy?” The dragon let out a low growl at that name. Vil pinched its ear with a frown. “There’s nothing wrong with that name. Keep being difficult and I’m going to start calling you Daisy.”

The dragon let out a low whine, and Vil let out a groan and continued spouting whatever came into his head. “Dandelion. Rose. Thorn. Healing Properties. Outside. Me. You. Balcony.” The dragon continued to shake its head at each nickname.

Vil let out a sigh. “Work with me, okay? Maybe you can spell out your name? Can you write?”

The dragon blinked.

“You don’t have opposable thumbs, of course you can’t.” The blond frowned and put his hand over his eyes as he laid down on the railing. “Leona Kingscholar. Rook Hunt. Cater Diamond. Trey Clover. Idia Shroud.” He then let out a laugh. “Malleus Draconia.”

The dragon’s eyes grew wide and its head nodded up and down quickly at that final name, but Vil didn’t notice. After taking a moment to laugh, he suddenly sat up straight. “Actually, that’s incredibly funny.” ’Naming a dragon after the final enemy of this world. Schoenheit, you should do standup, you comedic genius!’

He pointed at the dragon. “Are you okay with that being your nickname? Malleus?”

The dragon’s eyes were as wide as saucers as it stared at him. It slowly nodded its head up and down, not taking its ivy gaze off of him.

“Good boy.” Vil rubbed behind its ears, causing the dragon to let out another low ‘purr’. The blond smiled. “So cute.”

Malleus nipped at him happily, though carefully enough to not actually hurt him, which Vil appreciated. He would have been content to keep on petting the dragon, but just then he heard a knock coming from inside his room on the other side of the balcony door.

And with it, a voice. “Mon Roi des Poison. I saw that your light was on, are you still up?”

“Oh.” Vil had been so distracted by his little friend that he hadn’t even noticed a carriage pulling up outside and Rook returning home. The blond raised his voice and called out. “Yes, I am. Hold on a minute and I’ll get the door.”

He looked down at Malleus. “That’s Rook.” He tried to get up, but the dragon stubbornly refused to move its head. “Come on, get off. I haven’t seen him all day.”

The dragon didn’t move.

“Malleus.” Vil attempted to get up once more before frowning at him. “Come on.” He pushed the dragon off him. “He’s really nice, I can introduce you to him if you want.”

The dragon shook its head quickly, bounding up to stand in front of the door. It spread its wings out, blocking Vil from leaving.

Having had enough, Vil frowned at him. “Malleus Draconia. You’re acting like a spoiled brat and if you continue doing this I won’t want to spend any more time with you.”

Malleus’ eyes widened and it lowered its head both sadly and pathetically to the floor. Vil put his hand to his head, feeling bad for hurting the creature’s feelings. “Look.” He stepped closer to it, crouching down so that he could hold its head in his hands.

“I’m happy to spend time with you, but I’m not some kind of treasure you can hoard and keep for yourself, okay?”

Malleus let out a sad sounding sigh and slowly shuffled away from the door.

Vil smiled at it. “Good boy.” Not even thinking about what he was doing, he pressed his lips right between the dragon’s eyes in a quick peck.

As the dragon froze, he stepped to the door and opened it. “Rook! I’ve missed you today.”

The hunter smiled and hugged his friend. “Mon Roi!” He breathed in the blond’s familiar scent of apple blossoms, frowning slightly as he noticed a strange scent of roses. He shook his head. “Each second I was not with you was like a dagger to my heart!” He narrowed his eyes at the balcony, noticing the familiar glow of a Lambent flower sitting outside.

“Oh? What’s this?”

Vil pulled out of the hug and gestured outside. “I know it’s a bit surprising to see, but this is Ma-” He blinked in surprise.

In the few seconds since he had turned around, Malleus had disappeared.

Vil frowned. ’Wow… The poor thing must really be shy.’ He shook his head. “Nevermind, I’ll tell you later. How was your family?”

“Aha…” Rook trailed off, sitting on the edge of Vil’s bed. ’How do I tell my beloved Vil that I’ll be leaving him soon?’ The Hunt family business was failing, and his parents had called their children to meet so that they could discuss how to save themselves from ruin.

By next year, the Hunt noble family would have completely fallen, which meant that Rook would be unable to join Vil at Night Raven College if things didn’t change soon! And, there was a way to save their family, but it required all of the Hunt children to work together back home.

Rook needed to be the kind of person who could pursue Vil on his own two feet, and he would do whatever it took to become the kind of man that would be worthy of his beloved’s love.

’But the only way to do that is to be parted from you…’ Rook frowned before shaking his head. ’I can tell him after the party, he has too much on his plate to think about right now!’ He then smiled. “Good! Mère and Père were very excited to have everyone together.”

Vil could tell his friend was lying, but didn’t push anything out of him. Rook was like a brick wall when it came to secrets.

“Alright.” He wrapped his hand around the hunter’s. “Just let me know if there’s anything you need from me.” His face was only inches away from Rook’s.

’Mon Roi, you are doing VERY dangerous things to me right now!’ With a blushing face, Rook suddenly stood up. “Y-Yes! Thank you, Roi des Poison! I am very tired and will go sleep now. Bonne nuit!”

Vil frowned as he watched him leave.

“Goodnight, then?”

The blond put a hand to his chin. ’It’s been a wild day, huh?’

Idia traced his fingers against the handkerchief he was given at the restaurant. It had a small design woven into it, one showing a small dagger being driven through an apple. “Vil Schoenheit…” He felt as though it was his heart that was being stabbed rather than the apple as he pulled the item close to his heart.

The way he had smiled at him. The touch of his soft fingers against his cheek as he tried to get the water off of him. The way his eyes seemed to light up when he had seen him. That didn’t happen. People weren't supposed to be happy to see Idia.

Why? They had never met before, so why?

Why did Idia feel like he had just been reunited with someone he’d never known he’d lost?

Cater hummed to himself as he wrapped his hair around a curler before going to sleep. His eyes widened and he gasped. “Wait a second!” He slammed his fist against the vanity. “That damn waiter never brought us our salads!!”

He shook his head and crossed his arms. “On top of being rude to Trey. What. An. Asshole.” He held up his middle finger. “Fuck you Azul Assengrotto.” Cater then continued to hum to himself. “But Trey was so pretty today… And Vil too, hehe~!” He then closed his eyes and nodded. “And the prince, I guess.”

He winked at himself in the mirror and did finger guns. “And me!”

Cater then let out a sigh. “Okay, pep talk over. My social battery’s dead and I’m starting to feel sad. Sleepy beepy time~!”

“I thought I told you this a million times, Floyd!” Azul yanked his tie off and used it to wack at his friend. “Stop. Cooking. Octopus!”

The teal-haired man was unfazed by the shorter man’s attack. “But ZuZuuuu…” He frowned. “I like octopus!”

“And it appears our customers do as well.” Jade popped up behind his brother, smiling. “So I don’t see why you’re so against us cooking it.”

Azul glared at them both. “It throws me off! Today I was waiting on a group of nobles. High-ranking ones too, might I add.” He placed his hands on his hips. “And I nearly lost my composure in front of them because of your ‘special menu’!”

“Man, whatever!” Floyd slammed his hand against the table. “You can kill Leona and force Vil to marry you to get his noble rank and make yourself king of Twisted Wonderland some other time.”

Azul blinked at him. “Floyd, what the actual fuck are you talking about?”

Jade placed his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “Brother, have you been mistaking your dreams for reality again?”

Floyd covered his head with his hands and let out a groan. “Yeah, it's a problem.”

As Jade patted his brother's shoulder comfortingly, Azul put a hand to his chin. "Hm, but marrying a noble to gain their rank… Not a bad idea, oh!” His eyes then widened and he reached into his shirt, pulling out a locket. He pressed it against his cheek. “I didn’t mean it, my love!”

Azul opened up the locket, and inside was a really shitty stick-figure drawing of Jamil. A tear fell from Azul’s face as he clutched the locket to his chest. “I’d never marry anyone except you, Babygirl!”

As Azul continued to swear his undying love to a literal stick-figure, the twins looked at each other.

“Well. Night, I guess.”

“Yes, goodnight, Azul. And Jamil, I suppose.”

“Hmmmfh…” Trey mumbled in his sleep.

In his dreams, he saw Cater and Vil kissing each other. And then they kissed him and they all went to a classroom to learn about tooth anatomy together.

He smiled in his sleep. “Mmmmff… Nice…”

Leona scribbled in the book in front of him.

As he was debating which initials should go first, he was interrupted by a very loud, very adorable, and very annoying voice.

“Unca! Who’s V.S?!”

Leona slammed the book shut. “My fiance, mind your business.” He ruffled his nephew’s hair. “You’re three, you should be asleep.”

“I’m not sleepy!” Cheka chirped. “Sing me a song, Unca!”

“If I do, will you go to sleep?” Leona raised his eyebrow as the kid crawled into his bed. Cheka put a blanket over his head and nodded at him with ultra-wide and ultra-innocent eyes.

The older man rolled his eyes, but sat down next to the kid. “Okay. Songs. Uh…” He started humming as Cheka’s eyes started to drift shut.

“I know that your powers of pretension…” He sang, running his fingers through the kid’s red hair. ”Are as wet as a warthog’s backside...”

Cheka opened one eye. “Unca, this lullaby sucks.”

“It’s the only song I know. It’s this or nothing.”

Cheka frowned. “Nothing then!” He hugged his uncle’s arm. “I just wanna spend time with you, Unca!”

Leona rolled his eyes. “Brat.”

He still continued to hum, though.

“He kissed you?!” Lilia’s eyes widened and the small crocodile in his arms wiggled happily. The man placed the crocodile down and patted Malleus’ winged back. “Congratulations, your highness! This is big news! Huge news!”

Malleus flapped his wings happily before letting out a grunt and swinging his tail around in amazement.

“Wait, seriously? He just… knew?”

The dragon nodded, tail slamming against the ground.

“It must be because you're soulmates!” Lilia nodded. “Why else would he know it?”

Malleus’ eyes shone as he dragged his claws against the ground, leaving deep claw marks into it before letting out a series of hisses and growls. The crocodile let out a loud noise and nodded its head in agreement.

“NO. Your highness, that is a BAD idea! Do NOT do that!” Lilia picked the crocodile back up and wagged his finger at it. “And don’t agree with him on things you don’t know anything about, Sebek.” The crocodile let out a grunt as Lilia patted its head. As he did so, he spoke. “Your highness. I’ll stop you before you get started. Courting humans is a lot different than with fae!”

Malleus and Sebek both tilted their heads at him, and he nodded. “Yeah. They don’t like the whole ‘capturing your mate and locking them up in your keep to prove to them how strong you are and how you are the best choice to mate with’ thing.” He laughed. “They’re weird like that!”

The dragon let out a sad sounding growl and Lili patted his scales comfortingly. “I know, I know. Maybe when you’re older and he gives you permission you can?”

The dragon lifted his head up hopefully. After a moment of consideration, he let out a grunt. Sebek also let out a grunt, attempting to sound like the older fae

“Very mature of you two!” Lilia clapped his hands before pointing to Malleus. “Just focus on getting to know him better! Visit him, take him out, bring him gifts- Oooh!” His eyes shone. “I can make some snacks for you to bring to him! I’m sure he-”

Suddenly, Malleus opened his wings and flew away.

“Is that a no, or…?”

A fireball was thrown his way.

“Your highness!”

He let out a sigh and looked down at Sebek, who had been in his arms previously. “Well. You like my cooking, don’t you?”

The crocodile had vanished.

Lilia wiped a tear away from his face. “My lil kiddos… all grown up and not wanting to eat Old Man Lilia’s lovingly made food…” He raised his voice. “Silver! You’ll still eat Papa’s food, right?”

Chapter Text

’Alright, Schoenheit.’ Vil nodded to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror. ’Let’s go over the plan one more time.’

First, the guests would arrive. He would greet them, like the wonderful host he was, and they'd enjoy the treats provided by the Clover Family Bakery. And if some nobles happened to become infatuated with the food from there, Vil would be more than happy to provide them with a business card.

After greeting every guest, Vil would give a little speech (one that he’d already practiced with Rook and timed out to be four minutes and twenty seconds), complete his debut dance, and the party would officially begin.

His biggest priority was, of course, to make sure the baby Shroud didn’t die. That was kind of a big thing he needed to do.

There were lights surrounding the entire outside area of the lake, railing, and multiple people stationed on standby. Vil had jogged every day to increase his stamina on the chance he needed to swim, and had even gotten BLS certified in case he needed to pull the kid out of the water.

Speaking of which, even if he was going to do all he could to prevent Ortho’s death, he still wanted to be on good terms with his brother. Well, technically saving Ortho’s life would put him on good terms with Idia automatically, but, well…

Listen, after everything he’d been through, Vil believed that it was within his right to want to get close to the hottest man he'd ever met. And besides, getting on Idia’s side hadn’t been easy in the game, so it wouldn’t hurt to go the extra mile for him! And Vil had a plan to get max out Idia’s affection points!

’A pretty good one, if I do say so myself.’ Vil smirked at his reflection, not finding anything out of place.

’Because, as soon as I find him, I will-’

“Young lord!” A maid (Andrina, who had dyed her hair a soft shade of lavender after having been inspired by Vil) knocked on the door as she called out for him.

The blond looked up. “Yes, you can come in, Andrina.”

The woman poked her head inside his room before smiling at him and stepping in. Her lavender locks seemed to bounce as she bowed to him. “Forgive my intrusion, my young lord. It’s just I wanted to let you know that we have spotted the first carriage on its way here.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a laugh. “It’s the second prince’s carriage, by the way. With how many times he’s come over, I’d recognize it anywhere.”

“Leona, really?” Vil raised an eyebrow. ’I can’t believe he’d show up early. He’s not big on parties like this… He probably really wanted to get away from his family.’ He shook his head. “Well, everything is set up, so I suppose it isn’t a bad thing if he’s here early.”

“Mmhmm!” Andrina nodded. “I can greet him when he arrives, if you’d like.”

“That’s alright.” Vil stood up from where he had been admiring himself in the mirror. “I’ll greet him myself.”

Leona loosened his necktie as he looked around the venue, feeling a bit out-of-place. Usually, he and Vil would spend time together at the latter’s home (if they ever had dates at casa Kingscholar, Cheka wouldn’t give them any peace), so Leona had been surprised that Vil wasn’t having his debut gala at the Schoenheit manor, but hey, whatever floated Vil’s boat, right?

The party itself was on a large lake house that stood in the center of the lake that was partially surrounded by the Hidden Forest. Arching bridges and long docks swarmed it on each side, making the place look like a jewel trapped inside a necklace.

It was beautiful, and also completely over-the-top. So, in Leona’s eyes, it matched the energy of its host perfectly.

“Leona, I shouldn’t have to tell you that you’re early.”

'Think of the devil and he arrives…’ Leona let out a chuckle as he turned around to see his fiance. “Am I? Huh. Must’ve been so excited to see you that I-” He froze as soon as he saw him.

Vil wore a black corset on the outside of his shirt, tied together with purple laces and gold bands. Underneath it, he wore a long and loose lavender shirt. It fell past his waist before opening up on the front of his body while the back stayed together, making it look as though he were wearing a dress from behind. He wore matching fitted dress pants, complete with purple heels.

Leona blinked at him, feeling his face growing red. ’Oh shit he’s hot.’ He covered his face and let out a cough. “You look-”

“Beautiful Vil~!” Just then an annoying voice called out to the blond, grabbing his attention away. Rook had entered the room, running down a set of stairs with a grin on his face.

He wore a violet cocktail dress that hung snugly around his waist. With it, he wore laced-up boots and had some kind of white furry shawl draped over his shoulders.

Vil let out a gasp as he saw his friend and quickly grabbed his hands as soon as Rook was close enough. “Rook! Your dress!”

The hunter let out a laugh, spinning around in a circle. As he spun, part of the shawl slapped Leona in the face. Rook didn’t seem to notice this (he absolutely noticed it) and let out a laugh. “They finished tailoring it in time, I had to show you!”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Vil put his hand to his chest and let out a relieved sigh. Rook had decided upon his outfit weeks ago, but when the time had come for him to put it on, it hadn’t fit. Vil’s precious huntsman had gained a bit too much muscle mass in the recent days, so they’d had to scramble to get a maid to fix it as soon as possible. "Rook, it looks wonderful on you."

Leona raised an eyebrow, looking at Rook's outfit. 'So Vil likes his men in dresses? Good to know, good to know…'

As the prince planned out his next outfit, Vil trailed his fingers over the fur shawl appreciatively. “This part’s new.”

“Ah, Roi des Fourrure caught me as I was looking for you.” Rook held the shawl against his face. “He shoved it onto me, saying ‘No man is complete without some ethically-sourced fur’, haha!”

“Father… I’m sure this is from his own line, too.” Vil shook his head. It was a tradition for the parents of the debut to not be at the party, as a way to showcase their child’s independence. Even if his fathers couldn’t take part in the actual event, Vil was glad to know that they were still there behind-the-scenes.

Rook opened his eyes widely as he looked between Leona and Vil innocently. “Oh? Pardonne moi! In my excitement to show my beloved Vil this ensemble, it appears I interrupted you two!”

Leona growled at Rook, but this went unnoticed by Vil as the blond waved a hand. “Nonsense. Leona just got here.” Vil then narrowed his eyes at his fiance. “And I’m glad I’m seeing you before it starts. Were you really going to show up to my party practically naked like this?” He shook his head and put his hands on Leona’s chest, smoothing out any wrinkles he could find. “Shame on you.”

The prince gave Rook a smug look as Vil fixed him up. “Yep. Shame on me.”

Rook’s eye twitched as Vil stepped away from Leona to admire his outfit. He wore a white shirt underneath a gold vest. A tie was loose and untucked from where it should have been resting underneath his vest, and his coat was draped over his shoulders comfortably. He wore a similarly-colored pair of dress pants complete with gold trim.

He looked like a true, golden, royal.

Vil smirked at the prince before putting his hands on the tie. “What a handsome man you are, Leona.” He straightened the prince’s tie, smiling at him. “Your future husband is a lucky man.” ’I’m talking about the protagonist, of course. What a lucky man he’ll be, to have such wonderful men vying for his affections.’ He felt his stomach churn uncomfortably at the thought of that, though he didn’t know why.

As Vil tightened the tie around Leona’s neck, the prince subtly gulped. He looked away from Vil and rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. “Yeah…” He smiled. “I’ll make sure he’ll be treated well.”

Vil returned his smile, but then stumbled as a ginger head of hair crashed into him.

Cater wrapped his arms around Vil and let out a laugh. As he did so, he subtly moved him away from both Leona and Rook. “Vil! Happy debut gala day!” He looked at the blond’s outfit and let out a whistle. “Howza, wowza!” He fanned himself with an orange hand fan. “Mister Schoenheit, I think I’m in love~!”

Vil laughed and shook his head. “Funny joke, Cater.”

’Haha, I wasn’t joking, but thanks~’. The ginger put his hand over his mouth and let out a laugh. “I’m just such a funny guy, aren’t I?”

The boy was wearing a lacey red top complete with butterfly sleeves. He had a hairpin shaped like a rose sitting proudly in his hair, complete with a set of matching earrings. He wore a long sash around his waist where a pencil skirt rested on his hips comfortably.

Vil smirked at his friend as he admired his outfit. “Ah, Cater Diamond, the man with a sense of humor sharper than his surname, and the looks to get away with it.” He shook his head. “How lucky am I to be your friend?” ’Okay, Schoenheit. Overkill.’

But, Cater seemed to be happy with the compliment, so it didn’t matter. The ginger glanced around the area carefully. “Sooo, Vil. I’m a lil bit hungry, do you know where I can find some, like, snacks?”

“Of course.” Vil gestured to his side, where a door stood. “We’re waiting for more people to arrive before we send out food, but I’m sure you could go to the kitchen and ask for anything.” He whispered into Cater’s ear. “Trey’s in there, and he looks really good.”

Trey was working that night, so he was wearing a simple waiter's uniform. Nothing fancy, but he was a love interest in a BL game, ergo, he could wear a literal trash bag and still come off as looking great. On top of that, Vil had given him a custom-made glasses chain that matched the color of his eyes, and he looked wonderful.

Cater grinned at him. “I’m sure he does!” ’Trey keeps on racking up those sweet, sweet, Vil-mance points! Ah, I’m not surprised~! You go Trey!’ He clasped his hands together. “I think I’ll go say hi to him, then. Want to come with?”

Vil was about to agree, but then spied another guest entering the venue. He shook his head. “I’d love to, but I should probably do my job as the host.” He waved at Cater as he pulled away from him. “Tell him I say hello, though. And to have fun.”

The ginger nodded. “Will do~!”

Vil watched him leave before turning back to look at Leona and Rook. The two were having a heated discussion, but as he looked at them, they both noticed and gave him wide smiles. Vil nodded to them before going to the doors.

The party had officially begun.

“Thank you so much for your well-wishes, Lord Asim.” Vil nodded to the white-haired boy. He then nodded to the dark-haired boy with slight eyebags beside him. “And you as well, Jamil.”

As Jamil nodded, Kalim let out a laugh. “Of course! I’m really happy I got to see you again!” He took Vil’s hands and shook them happily. ”Any friend of Cater’s is a friend of mine, you know?” He then looked around. “Oh, speaking of which, is Cater here?”

“Oh yes, he was one of the first people to arrive.” Vil gestured behind him, where the ginger was sitting on a couch surrounded by a group of people.

“Sweet!” Kalim cheered. “I’ll go say hi to him.”

As the younger boy left, Jamil let out a sigh. He reached out to shake Vil’s hand. “Congratulations on your debut. Sorry for Lord Asim’s rushed greeting, I’ll talk to him about it later.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Vil shook Jamil’s hand as well. “Please enjoy the gala as well.” With that, Jamil had left, and Vil was finally done greeting everyone. He glanced around the room, spotting Trey and Leona talking by a table. The prince laughed at something the green-haired man had said, and Vil found himself smiling at seeing them together.

On the other side of the venue, Rook was chatting with a black-haired man with pink highlights that Vil had learned to be Cater’s friend, Lilia Vanrouge. Rook seemed to be very excited with what he was talking about, but as he noticed Vil looking at him, he held his arm out in a wave. Lilia turned around and waved at Vil as well.

Vil returned the gesture cordially.

He then looked over at the couch where Cater had been sitting, who now had Kalim sitting at his side. The two friends hugged each other before talking animatedly with their hands about something. Jamil stood behind the couch, covering his mouth with a yawn when he thought nobody was looking.

A small band was playing merry tunes on a stage looking over the rest of the venue. Various other guests were filtering about the room, some sitting at tables and others enjoying the refreshments. Vil continued looking around until he spotted the person he was looking for eating some candy. He then took a deep breath and grabbed a glass and a fork from a waiter.

He tapped the fork against the glass, grabbing everyone’s attention. Once every eye was on him, he smiled. “Hello, everyone. In case I somehow didn’t already greet you, I wanted to welcome you all and thank you for coming to my debut gala.”

Vil walked towards the center of the room. “One’s debut in Pyroxene is a sacred moment that they will always remember, and it is an honor to me that all of you have joined me in celebrating this occasion.”

Leona crossed his arms and smiled at him. Vil nodded to him and continued speaking. “But, as the son of the dukes of Pyroxene, I think it would be practically sacrilegious for me not to take part in our most important debut tradition, now, wouldn’t it?”

Cater’s eyes widened. “Oh!” He grabbed Kalim’s arms and whispered to him. “He’s talking about his debut dance! Ooooh, I wonder who he’s gonna pick to be his partner!”

“Ooohh!” Kalim’s eyes shone. “That sounds like fun! Want to make a bet?”

“Don’t waste your money like that.” Jamil rolled his eyes. “Obviously Duke Schoenheit is going to dance with his fiance. Who else?”

Cater practically deflated. “I mean… yeah he probably is, but a guy can hope, can’t he?”

“Awww.” Kalim frowned and reached over to pat Cater’s head. “Of course you can! You know what? I’ll bet three hundred thaumarks on you!”

“Lord Asim, no.”

On the other side of the room, Rook smiled. Noticing this, Lilia looked at him. “My friend, why are you grinning so much?”

The hunter let out a laugh. “I am smiling because I believe that my beloved Vil will choose me to dance with.”

“Oh?” Lilia tilted his head. “Why’s that? Didn’t you say he had a fiance?”

Rook shrugged. “Yes. But an engagement is not always everything. I’ll have you know that Roi des Poison and I are very close friends.” He swished around the drink in his hands. “I was the one he would often practice dancing with for this very occasion, you know!”

“I see.” Lilia took a sip from his glass. His gaze wandered over to Vil and he squinted as he noticed a mark on the boy’s neck.

’That mark… Hang on, didn’t his highness say his lover’s name was…’ He coughed, spitting out his drink. ’YES. IT IS. THIS IS VIL. THE PRINCE’S VIL. IT’S HIM!!!’

Rook patted his back as Lilia took a few deep breaths. ’Vil Schoenheit, the son of the Pyroxene dukes… and the man his highness is in love with.’ He shook his head as he took note of the way some of the guests were looking at Vil. ’And it looks like his highness isn’t the only one!’

On the other side of the room, Leona grinned smugly. Trey shook his head at him. “Your highness, you don’t have to make it so obvious.”

“What do you mean?” Leona’s grin didn’t fade away. “I’m just looking forward to the fact that Vil’s going to choose me to dance with him, showing everyone else that we’re going to be together for the rest of our lives.”

Trey frowned at him. “I get it. You’re his fiance.”

“I am.” Leona’s tail flicked side-to-side happily. “Don’t forget it.”

“Uh-huh.” The green-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck. ’I mean… I know he isn’t going to choose me. But hey, that’s okay.’ He smiled and met Cater’s eyes. The ginger smiled at him and Trey found himself smiling back. ’What’s one dance?’

Vil cleared his throat before handing his drink and fork off to a waiter. He nodded to the musicians, who straightened up and got ready to play.

The blond looked around the room before making eye contact with the person he had been looking for. He smiled at him and made his way over.

“And so, it is something I take very seriously when I ask...” He held out his hand.

“Idia Shroud, would you give me the honor of my first dance?”

As a loud “WHAT?” could be heard in the direction of Leona, the shattering of a glass could be heard in the direction of Rook, and the pained wails of “Cater! You’re squeezing me too hard! I! Can’t! Breathe!” echoed throughout the room, Idia froze. The blue-haired man’s eyes then opened wide as he dropped the candy he had been eating. “W-W-W…What…?”

Beside him, Ortho let out an excited squeal and grabbed his brother’s shoulders. “Wow! Wow! Wow! Big brother! This is so exciting!” He pushed Idia towards Vil, who was still waiting with his hand outstretched. “You have to say yes!”

“I. I. I. I. I…”

Vil smiled at Idia. “I know we haven’t spoken much, but I’d like to get to know you better. So please dance with me.”

The taller boy’s cheeks grew red and the ends of his hair began to turn a light shade of pink. ’What the actual fuck. I just came here to give him back his handkerchief, not to fucking dance with him!’ He gulped. ’Shit shit shit. Wow. This is just like the romance novel I just read! The sparkly, gorgeous son of a duke asks to dance with the loser protagonist, and they have a whirlwind romance, with dragons, and evil plots, and ahuuwwwwuhh!’

Idia blinked quickly. ’But this isn’t a book! It’s real and it’s happening to me, and I’m just-’ He then made the mistake of looking at Vil.

The blond was smiling at him with a faint blush dusted over his cheeks. His eyes seemed to shine with anticipation. It felt familiar, though Idia didn’t know why. Something in his chest stirred and he took a deep breath.

After what felt like a lifetime, he took Vil’s hand.

And as he did so, he could feel the gazes of many people suddenly glaring daggers at him.

The two walked to the center of the ballroom in silence. Taking in a deep breath, Vil turned to face Idia. “I know you must have felt surprised that I called you out. But thank you for doing this with me.”

“O-Of course!” Idia stammered as Vil wrapped a hand around his waist. He avoided eye contact with the blond as he continued to speak. “I’m not an asshole who would say no to your first dance since you asked me! Ha…” He trailed off and put his hand around Vil’s back.

“No.” Vil smiled at him. “You aren’t.” He nodded to the musicians, who began to play their song.

He looked over to Idia. “Are you ready?”

The blue-haired boy bit his lip nervously. He glanced in his brother’s direction and saw that the boy was gazing at him with a starstruck expression. ’Ortho probably thinks I’m so cool right now…’

Noticing his glance, Vil turned to look at Ortho. He shook his head with a laugh before looking back at Idia. He gestured in the kid’s direction. “Why don’t we give your little brother a show, huh?”

“Heh.” Idia laughed, cheeks still red. He then smirked at Vil. “One he can’t look away from.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

And with that, the dance started.

Vil squeezed Idia’s hand, and they stepped to the side to perform a simple box step. As they did so, Vil took the time to admire his partner’s appearance.

Last time he had seen Idia, the boy had looked half-drowned, but this time around he’d dressed up, and the difference was remarkable. He wore a gray jumpsuit with a dark shade of blue tie neatly tucked into his vest. His hair had been pulled back into a long braid, where small beads had been tucked into it carefully, making it look like a blue ocean full of stars.

“Lord Shroud…” ’Hot, he looks so fucking hot!’ Vil cleared his throat. “You look wonderful.” He nodded in appreciation as they turned.

Idia blinked. “Thanks. Ortho dragged me here, so I made him uh. Match with me.” As he spoke, he didn’t fail to notice that everyone in the room was staring at him. His palms started to grow sweaty and he felt his breathing quicken.

Suddenly, Vil placed his hand on his chin, making the boy look straight at him. Vil smiled at him. “Come now, Lord Shroud.” He pulled his hand away, lacing his fingers against Idia’s. “You’re dancing with me, not everyone else.” The blond spun Idia before continuing to move throughout the room as they danced. He squeezed Idia’s hand comfortingly. “It’s alright. Relax.”

Idia’s eye twitched in annoyance. “Oh, I’m just supposed to relax? Why didn’t I think of that?” He let out a huff as they moved about the room.

“Of course you can relax. You’re the gorgeous son of a duke. Obviously you don’t care what people think about you.” He scoffed before muttering something under his breath. “Extroverts, am I right?”

“Don’t I?” Vil blinked. He shook his head. “You’d be surprised how wrong you are.” His gaze grew dark. “I care about nothing but how people think of me. It’s the only way to stay alive, after all.” He looked at Idia. “Which is why it’s all I can do to make sure they see the side I want them to see. And if they don’t, then it’s over.”

“Wh…?” Idia frowned in confusion. “What does that mean?”

“It means…” Vil pulled him closer before swaying with him to the beat of the music. He smiled, the previous look on his face fading away in an instant. “I work on myself so that I will be confident in who I present myself as.” He spun Idia once more and raised his eyebrows. “You should give it a try, it’s better than sitting around doing nothing, you know?”

“I didn’t come here expecting a lecture, but thanks.” Idia rolled his eyes. ’Just be confident? Like it’s that easy. Normies, ISTG…’ He furrowed his eyebrows. “By the way, why did you ask me to dance with you? We don’t really know each other.”

“That’s precisely why!” Vil spun Idia around once more. As he pulled him back, his eyes seemed to glow. “I want to get to know you better, Lord Shroud.”

“You could've just talked to me.” Idia glanced in the direction of Rook, Leona, Trey, and Cater, all of whom had gathered around each other and were staring at him. “I feel like dancing with you just gave me a death sentence.”

“How so?” Vil followed his gaze and smiled as he looked at his friends. They all waved back at him, but as soon as he looked away, they continued glaring at Idia (well, minus Trey, he wasn’t exactly glaring per se). “There’s plenty of time for me to dance with my friends later. Plus, isn’t it much more interesting to dance with you like this?”

Idia smirked. “Sure it is. Like a scene out of a book.” He laughed. “The beautiful duke swoops in to dance with the loser noble.”

“Loser? I wouldn’t say that. But the beautiful duke, huh? Vil raised his eyebrows. “I like that.” They turned as they continued to dance around the room. “As they dance, the duke is able to charm the noble, despite his fears.” Vil nodded. “A friendship blooms between them, one lasting a lifetime.” ’Such a good friendship, that when the duke is accused of committing crimes he didn’t do, the non-loser noble had his back, right?’

The blue-haired man let out a laugh, feeling a bubbling feeling in his heart. “But then, a tragedy strikes!”

“Oh no!” Vil’s eyes widened. “What tragedy?”

Idia blinked at him. “Uh…” He paused. “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Murder? Arson? Dragons? I can’t think of anything.”

Vil let out a laugh as Idia paused. Feeling light, Vil grabbed his waist and hoisted him up into the air, spinning him around a third time. As Vil put Idia down, he laughed at him. “If you can’t think of one, then perhaps there isn’t a tragedy?” He nodded. “The duke and the noble remain friends, nothing goes wrong, and everyone lives happily ever after.”

“Sounds like a boring story.”

Vil shrugged. “But a happy one.” The music started to grow quieter and he pulled away from Idia. “One I wouldn’t mind living.” He held his hand out to the boy. “What about you?”

Idia blinked. After barely a moment of hesitation, he nodded and took Vil’s hand once again. “I… I think so too.”

“I’m glad.” Vil bowed to Idia, and as the boy hurried to follow suit, the blond spoke. “I cannot wait to live this story with you.”

He rose up and straightened up his posture. The music ended, and the other ballroom guests applauded. At that noise, Idia jumped. ’I… I completely forgot about everyone else here!’ He looked at Vil. ’Why? Why is it that when I’m with you I feel so… right?’

“Dancing with you was fun, but I need a drink after all of that.” Vil nodded to him. “Do you want to come with me?”

Idia nodded. “Yes, I-”

But he froze as a hand grabbed his shoulder. A rough voice spoke from behind him. “Sorry, Villey-pie. I want to get to know the guy my fiance chose over me.”

Idia felt a pair of arms wrap around his bicep as another voice spoke up. “Oui! I would like to speak to Roi des Intello as well!”

Idia felt a hand grab his fingers. “Wow~! Lord Shroud, I can’t believe we’ve never spoken before~! What are the odds! Why don’t we have a cute lil chat, kay?”

Vil looked at the people surrounding Idia with a sigh. “Don’t mess with him too much.” He smiled at Idia. “I think I’ll go talk to your little brother after I get something to drink if that’s alright with you?”

“Uh.” Idia nodded. “Sure?” He looked at the people around him. ’I… have never talked to these guys before? Who are they?’ He watched Vil walk away. The men surrounding him also watched Vil walk away before turning to look at him.

At the looks on their faces, Idia felt his stomach drop in his chest.

’H-Help?’

Chapter Text

“And then he chased me all around our house, saying he was the Pumpkin King, hehe!” Ortho put his hand over his mouth and laughed. “I’d never been more scared in my entire life!”

“Shame on him!” Vil cried, but he laughed as well. Beside him, Trey was also laughing. He had joined Vil as he got a drink before the two of them went to talk with Ortho while Idia was hanging out with the others.

Ortho nodded, putting his hand on his chin. “Yeah, my brother’s always been really passionate about his interests, but like… only his interests, you know?” He shrugged. “If something doesn't tickle his fancy, he never touches it.”

Trey nodded. “I get that. My youngest brother’s like that too. Stubborn as a mule.”

“Mmm!” The young boy nodded. “You get it! My brother really really hates anything that is for ‘normies’, but when we got the invite to this party, I didn’t even have to drag him here at all! It was all him!”

Vil blinked. ’I thought Idia said Ortho was the one who dragged him here?’ “You didn’t?”

“Nope!” Ortho fiddled with the glass of juice in his hands. “He said he wanted to- oh!” He covered his mouth. “Whoops! I almost told you!” He wagged his finger. “Sorry, Duke Vil Schoenheit, but my brother swore me to secrecy!”

Vil shared a look with Trey before smirking at Ortho. “He did? I suppose I’ll just have to make him tell me later, then.”

“I guess you will.” Trey then tilted his head. “Oh, by the way, Vil. Not that Lord Shroud isn’t great, I’m sure he is, but why did you decide to dance with him in the first place?” He glanced over at the others. “I thought you’d choose the prince or Rook.”

“Oh…” Vil trailed off before following Trey’s gaze. Idia was having a heated discussion with the three stooges. Vil caught his eye and found himself smiling at the blue-haired boy. “I suppose I wanted to get to know him better, that’s all.”

He wasn’t lying, that was one of his reasons. If he made a big enough gesture, Idia was sure to remember him, and what was more memorable than a Pyroxean debut dance?

That, and Vil knew he had to perform the dance with someone, and he figured that if he danced with Idia, Ortho would be sure to stick around to watch. Which meant, of course, that Vil was able to keep an eye on him while he danced.

’A true killing of two birds with one stone, if I do say so myself.’ Vil nodded. He then looked at Trey. “How are you doing, by the way? We didn’t get to talk much while you were setting up.”

“Ha, you probably wouldn’t want to talk to me while I’m baking.” The green-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck. “I kinda get tunnel-visioned when I’m in the kitchen.”

Vil smirked at him. “Well, now I have to see that!”

Beside him, Ortho gestured to the small cake in his hands. “You’re the one who made this, right?” As Trey nodded, the boy smiled at him. “I am sure it would be interesting to see a master at work!”

Trey shook his head. “No way! I’d probably run over you or something.” He let out a laugh. “I’ve done that to my poor siblings more times than I can count.”

“Hehe, he’s right you know!” Just then, Cater made his way over to them. He wrapped an arm over Trey’s shoulders. “I’ve got some Trey-shaped bruises on me just because of him!”

As Trey flicked his boyfriend’s forehead, Vil laughed at them. He then looked behind Cater to see Rook and Leona still talking with Idia, who was looking more and more like a dried-out radish every second.

“Cater, are you done getting to know Lord Shroud?”

“Mmmhmph.” Cater huffed and wrapped his arms around Vil, nuzzling against his cheek as he complained. “The prince and Rook are way too scawwy~! Cute lil ole me was way too nice by comparison, so they booted me out!”

Vil raised an eyebrow at this friend. “Booted you out? What are they, interrogating him?”

Cater nodded, cheek bumping against Vil’s. “Bingo!”

“What?!”

Ortho crossed his arms angrily. “They better not be bullying my brother! It took a lot for him to come here in the first place, so they better be nice.”

“I’m sure they aren’t.” Vil pulled out of Cater’s grip and patted the boy’s shoulder. “Rook and Leona are very good friends of mine, and I can promise you they aren’t bullies.” ’That’s my job, ha ha… ha…’

“Are you sure about that?” Idia stumbled over to their group, eyes seemingly haunted and face matted with sweat.

“Oh, Lord Shroud, you poor thing.” Vil gestured to a chair beside him and handed him his glass of water. “Here, sit down.”

“Just call me Idia.” The boy took the glass and drank it in one gulp. He nodded to Vil. “And thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Sorry my friends were bothering you.” Vil tilted his head. “What exactly were they saying to you, anyway?”

“They were telling me that I needed to get in line and the prince said that if I fucked up he’d tear my liver out and give it to Rook to eat...” Idia shuddered.

“What?!” Vil’s eyes widened. ’And what does he mean by “get in line”?’

“It was joke, nothing more!” Rook laughed before reaching out to put his hand on Vil’s shoulder. He smiled at Idia. “I would never do that, I promise!”

As Vil looked away, Rook looked at Idia. ”I’m not joking I will actually do it.”

“What was that?”

“Hahaha! Joking, jokes!” Rook let out a loud chuckle. As Vil stepped away, he moved closer to Idia. ”I am dead serious. You can try for his heart all you want, but you hurt him, I hurt you in ways you never thought imaginable.”

Before Idia could react, Rook nodded and stepped back to join Vil’s side. “So, my etoile! You’ve warmed up with Lord Shroud.” He held his hand out to Vil. “Would you give Le Chasseur D’Amour the esteemed honor of gracing me with your second dance?”

With a laugh, Vil took his hand. “Rook, you ask me so formally.” He glanced at Idia. “You’re alright?”

“I’m fine, just get that guy away from me.”

Vil frowned at him. “Rook isn’t ‘that guy’.” He shook his head and placed his hand on Rook’s shoulder. “He’s my guy.” Rook smugly grinned at Idia, to which the blue-haired boy felt an odd feeling rising in his gut.

As Rook led him to the dance floor, Leona approached their group. His hair was matted and his suit was slightly damp. He looked around the room with an intense gaze.

Cater raised his eyebrows at him. “Your highness? You alright?”

“I was…” Leona panted. He took a deep breath and spoke again. “I was going to ask Vil to dance with me but that asshole told me he saw someone drowning outside.” He glared at Rook. “I went to go save them, but now he’s dancing with my fiance.”

Trey laughed at him. “You fell for something like that?” He gestured outside to where guards were stationed carefully all around the lake alongside bright lights illuminating the entire area. “That’s on you, your highness.”

Leona whacked his face with his wet tail. “Shut it.” He crossed his arms and looked at where Rook and Vil were dancing together. He watched as Vil laughed at something Rook said, his smile seeming brighter than the sun. Leona sighed. “Whatever. I’m not going to interrupt now. I call the next dance, though.”

“Um, I called the next dance, actually.” Cater raised his hand. He immediately put it down as soon as Leona glared at him. “Fine, you can have the next dance your highness. But you owe me!”

“I owe you nothing.” Leona took a seat next to Idia, who flinched as he approached. The prince grinned at the blue-haired boy. “Relax, Radish. We already had our cute talk. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“B-But you could if you wanted to, right?” Idia stammered, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Oh. Absolutely.” Leona winked. “So don’t make me want to, and we’re good.”

“Ha ha…” Idia looked away from them, watching the rain fall outside until Vil made his way back over.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” The blond asked as he sat next to Idia.

The blue-haired man looked at him. “Seriously. Why did you ask me to dance with you?” He held his hand out before Vil could say anything. “And don’t give me that ‘getting to know you’ excuse from before. I know it’s bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit.” Vil sighed. “It’s the truth, Idia.”

“Why would someone like you want to know someone like me?” Idia shook his head and looked at him. “What, do you get some kind of sick kick out of watching me sweat?”

“No!” Vil shook his head vigorously. He grabbed onto Idia’s hands. “That’s not it at all! I want to be your friend, I mean it.”

Idia felt the ends of his hair turning pink as he stared at Vil’s hands. “Why? We've got nothing in common.”

“You’re right. We don’t have a lot in common.” Vil brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. ’Honestly, I don’t have to get close to him to save myself. Just keeping Ortho out of harm's way is enough, but…’ “We don’t have any real connection to each other, so there’s no reason for me to want to be your friend, except…”

’I fell in love with a person who was exactly like you, and when I played your route I then fell in love with you which is why I want nothing more than to be around you because I miss him, I miss him so much it hurts but you’re not him so why am I feeling this way when I’ve already died and he’s gone, and-’

“You remind me of someone.” Vil put his hand to his chest. He looked into Idia’s eyes. “Someone that I-” He was interrupted as Leona put his hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“Come on, fiance, let’s dance.”

Vil narrowed his eyes at Leona. “I’m in the middle of a conversation, you know. It’s rude to interrupt.”

“It’s fine.” Idia held up a hand. He smiled at Vil. “You said all you needed to say.” He gestured to Leona. “Go ahead and dance with him.”

The blond looked at him. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and took Leona’s hand.

Idia watched the two of them dancing. He tilted his head as he looked at Vil. ’I remind him of someone…?’ He frowned. ’That’s weird, because he reminds me of someone too. Someone I can’t remember, but… When I’m around him…’

As Idia was deep in thought, Ortho watched Leona and Vil dancing together. He smiled and sat next to his brother. “Don’t they look so amazing, brother?”

“Uh-huh.”

Ortho bopped his head side-to-side at the music. “I want to learn how to dance like them one day!”

“Uh-huh.”

The boy narrowed his eyes at his brother and crossed his arms. “I killed thirteen people and hid their bodies underneath your bed.”

“Uh-huh.”

Ortho stomped his foot before standing up. This got Idia’s attention, and he quickly raised his hands in an apology. “Sorry, sorry! I was thinking about...” He glanced back at Vil before shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at his brother. “You have my full attention, I promise.”

“Hmmmmph…” Ortho narrowed his eyes at his brother. He then looked at Vil, who Idia had been staring at. ’Was he thinking about Duke Vil Schoenheit? Oh… OH!’ Ortho then grinned. “Why don’t you ask him for the next dance?”

“A-Another one?” Idia shook his head. “No way! Just that first dance knocked everything out of me!”

“Well then, you should talk to him more!” Ortho stood up. He looked around the room, noticing that Rook had been talking with someone else and that Trey and Cater were nowhere to be found. “I’ll go look for our new friends and give you time alone with him, hehe~!”

Idia frowned. “Okay, but don’t go too far away.”

“I won’t~!”

And with that, the boy was gone.

Vil put his hand to his chest after bowing to Leona once the music had stopped. He let out a sigh and linked arms with the prince as they went back to Idia. “I think I need to take a break from dancing, at this rate my shoes are going to break completely.”

Leona gave him a smirk. “If that happens, I’ll carry you, how about that?”

“Imagine that!” Vil poked his fiance’s cheek. “The future king of the Sunset Savanna being used as my own private steed.”

“Just for you~!” Leona joined in the laughter, tail flicking back-and-forth happily as Vil called him a future king. Leona’s heart felt full and his chest felt light. ’He really does believe in me, doesn’t he?’ He wrapped his hand around Vil’s waist as they walked. ’Which is why even if there are other people who want you, I won’t ever give up on you, Vil.’

Once they got to Idia, Vil looked around him with a growing look of concern on his face. “Where’s Ortho? I thought he’d be staying with you.”

“Oh, he went to look for Cater and Trey.”

Vil felt his heart drop in his chest. “And you let him?!”

Idia raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? They’re probably somewhere in this room and he promised not to go far.”

Just then a voice called out to them. “Heyyyy~!”

Cater waved at them before latching onto Vil’s arm. Trey walked behind him with a slight flush on his face. Both of their outfits were a bit damp, and water was dripping from the ends of Cater’s hair. The ginger smiled at Vil. “What’re you talking about~?”

Vil and Idia’s eyes widened. The blond felt his body go tense. “O-Ortho was looking for you two.” He looked at Trey. “Did either of you see him?”

The green-haired man shook his head. “We went outside for uh…” He cleared his throat. “Some fresh air. We never saw him.”

“He’s not inside.” Rook approached their group, having been listening in on their conversation. He frowned at Vil. “The little one asked me if I had seen Monsieur Mystery or Chevalier des Roses, and I suggested they were outside.”

“You what?!” Both Vil and Idia shouted.

Rook blinked at them in surprise. “What is wrong? There are plenty of people outside, and there are lights. I didn’t think there was anything that could harm him out there.”

“No, I know you didn’t.” Vil shook his head and patted Rook’s back. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I just…”

Idia stood up. “I should find him, he’s been gone for a while.”

“Take the left side of the docks.” Vil nodded to him. “I’ll take the right.”

“Thanks.”

Leona’s ear flicked as he crossed his arms. “I’ll look around the rest of the place.” He gestured to Rook. “Come on, I’ll need your eyes.”

“Oui.” The hunter followed him.

Vil looked at Cater. “Can you stay inside and make sure everyone is alright here?”

“Sure.” The ginger wrung his fingers around each other. “I’ll look around for him here just in case he comes back in.”

As the four of them left, he felt Trey pressing his hand against his own. He looked at his boyfriend and smiled. “I’m sure he’ll be alright.”

“Yeah.” Trey returned the smile before glancing out the window. The sun had already set and a storm had started to brew outside. He squeezed Cater’s hand. “I’m sure.”

“Ortho!” Vil called out. His voice could barely be heard over the crashing of waves against the dock. The sky had been perfectly clear only hours ago, but now heavy rain was pouring down from the dark sky above. There was a glass roof covering the part of the docks Vil was on, but it only protected him from the rain, and did nothing to prevent the waves from soaking him as he continued his search.

Vil wiped his bangs away from his face, looking for Ortho, but he didn’t spot any trace of the boy’s blue hair. He felt his chest heaving as he clenched his hands into fists. ’Come on, Schoenheit! You had one job and you couldn’t even do it right!’

He bit his lip as he leaned against the railing, squinting his eyes to better look into the water around him. He thought back to the sweet boy he had talked to earlier. Vil shook his head. ’I can’t let him die!’

A large gust of wind blew across the docks, causing the blond to tighten his grip on the railing to keep himself from stumbling. Vil looked around him, continuing to search for Ortho. ’I should never have left his side. I should have never invited him and his brother, I should have just changed the venue.’ His breathing started to quicken. ’Why? Why didn’t I think of doing that before?!’

He put his hand to his mouth as he felt his stomach beginning to churn and his head beginning to feel dizzy. Vil screwed his eyes shut as he leaned over the railing. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, like if he opened his eyes, drowning in the water he would see-

“Duke Vil Schoenheit?”

Vil froze. He turned around, coming face-to-face with the very person he had been looking for. “Ortho! Where were you?!”

“I…” The boy blinked at him. He gazed at Vil curiously. “I was looking for Trey Clover and Lord Cater Diamond, but...” He looked out at the waves. “I don’t know why, but I just… felt something weird.” He stepped closer to the edge of the docks, holding onto the railing. “Like… just this feeling, you know? Telling me to come here. I… I don’t know how to describe it.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, did I worry you?” The boy brought a hand up and touched Vil’s cheek. He wiped away a tear that the blond didn’t know he had cried.

Vil let out a relieved sigh before pulling the boy into a one-armed hug. “You did, but you’re alright, so that’s all that matters.” He then pulled away from him. “Why don’t we go back inside? Your brother’s looking for you.”

“He is?” Ortho tilted his head. “I wasn’t gone that long, though.” He let out a laugh. “Duke Vil Schoenheit, I think you and my big brother are worrywarts!”

“Yes, we are.” Vil nodded. He took the boy’s hand and pulled him away from the railing and started to move to the doors leading inside, to safety.

But as he did so, three things happened.

One, the lights surrounding the docks suddenly fizzled off with a loud popping noise, surrounding the pair in darkness. Put-off by the sudden lack of light, Vil stumbled slightly and fell, which led to Ortho falling to the ground by proxy.

Two, a powerful wave crashed against the dock, tearing part of the area they were standing on, causing the wood to crumble and fall into the lake below.

Three, a flash of lightning struck the roof on top of them, causing the glass ceiling to shatter before them. Sharp shards of broken glass shot at the pair like bullets, striking the hand that Vil had tightly wrapped around Ortho’s, causing him to let go of the boy.

As another roar of thunder screamed through the sky, Ortho fell off the dock.

“NO!” In an instant, Vil’s injured hand shot out for the boy, grabbing his arm and stopping him from falling into the roaring waters beneath them.

Frantically, Vil tightened his grip on the boy as he dangled over the dock. The blond grit his teeth together before shooting his other hand out to reach out for the boy.

The boy let out a terrified yell as he looked down at the water. “Vil! Help me, please!”

“Don’t worry!” Vil looked around him. The dock was wet, and he was starting to slip, so he wrapped his leg around a piece of the rotting railing. It wouldn’t hold, but it was the only thing he could do. Vil tried to grab onto Ortho with his non-injured hand. “Take my hand, Ortho! I’ve got you!”

Vil felt the boy’s hand wrap around his own. The blond smiled at the boy. “You’re alright!” He looked around him once more. ’Where is everyone? There were supposed to be guards here! Where are they?! And why…’ He began to heave as he tried to pull the child up.

’Why haven’t I pulled him up yet?!’ Vil was by no means weak. Pulling up a boy as small as Ortho should have been simple, but it felt like gravity was fighting against him. Even if his hand was bleeding, that shouldn’t have stopped him. Vil grit his teeth together and tried to pull Ortho up, but it felt like his grip was growing weaker.

“V-Vil…” Ortho had tears in his eyes. He looked at the raging lake beneath him. “I don’t know how to swim. I- AH!” He let out a yelp as a bolt of lightning shot down, just barely brushing past him.

It felt as though they were in a hurricane by now, rain pelting down them like bullets as the wind grew so harsh that it was starting to become difficult to breathe. A drop of blood from Vil’s hand trailed its way down to Ortho, joining the rain as it fell into the lake. Vil’s hands trembled, and Ortho felt himself begin to slip.

Before he could fall, though, Vil tightened his grip. “Ortho, try to…” He panted. “Try to climb up my arm.” He looked around and let out a yell. “WE NEED HELP OVER-” He then winced as another bolt of lightning just barely missed him. “Ortho, c-come on!”

The boy’s eyes were wide with terror, but he nodded, and after making sure Vil was still grabbing onto him, he raised his hand up before clawing into the fabric of the older boy’s shirt. But, as he did so, the sleeve began to rip and he felt himself falling.

“No, no, no, no! I’m not letting you die this time!” Vil screamed, kicking himself away from the railing to give himself the speed to grab onto Ortho. He held the boy against himself as they fell off the dock together.

’This can’t be it!’ Vil thought as he held Ortho against himself. However, before their bodies could reach the water, he felt hands grabbing onto his waist and pulling him back to the dock.

Vil laid on the dock, panting as he felt tears streaking down his face. As he had been moved back, he hadn’t let go of Ortho. He looked at the boy, who he guessed had a similar expression on his face. Vil smiled at the boy and ran his fingers through his hair. “We… we’re okay.”

’You’re okay. You survived.’

“What happened?!” Idia -the one who had grabbed them earlier- wrapped his arms around Ortho, taking the boy from Vil as he looked at them. He had been outside looking for his brother until it had started to storm. He had gotten a bad feeling in his gut and he had begun to look for Vil. But when he had seen him Vil was frantically trying to keep his little brother from falling into the lake.

“The…” Vil pressed his hand against his chest as he tried to calm himself down, but it didn’t work. “The railing, it just… snapped…” He looked over his shoulder at the broken part of the dock. “I guess the wood was rotten… but they should have checked that out before we used this place… I don’t know why they didn’t…” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, you two. I should have-”

“You saved him.” A hand reached out for his. Idia stared at Vil’s injury for a moment before pulling his tie off and wrapping it around his hand. He then looked at his brother, tears welling up in his eyes.

Vil’s voice was soft as he spoke. “I-I had to...”

The storm had cleared up completely as they looked at each other. The clouds had vanished, revealing the starry night sky reflected within the suddenly calm lake surrounding them. No trace of the rain, the blood, the pain. Just a quiet, calm, lake.

Idia wrapped his arms around both of them in a hug. His tears leaked onto Vil’s shoulder. Ortho wrapped his arms around him as well, sniffling against the blond’s chest.

“Thank you, Vil.”

“I…” Vil screwed his eyes shut. His entire body was trembling before he shot his arms around the both of them.

’I did it… I saved him.’ He squeezed them both as he let out a sob. ’Despite his writing. He’s alive.’

Chapter Text

“G-Greetings to y-you…” Idia stammered as he bowed to Divus. “D-Duke Crewel of… Pyroxene…”

The man looked at him, not showing a hint of emotion on his face. “Yes. To you as well, young Lord Shroud.” He crossed his arms where he stood outside on the staircase leading up to the Schoenheit manor. “Why are you here?”

“Uh…” The blue-haired boy’s eyes widened and he looked at the ground. It had been a couple days since the gala, and since then, Ortho had been sick. In his pitifully bleary state, he had tried to go see Vil again to thank him for… everything. Idia had caught him quite literally crawling across their house and had only gotten him back to bed once he’d sworn on his favorite book that he’d visit Vil in his brother’s stead.

And while Idia did lowkey also want to see Vil again, it was also super nerve-wracking to just come over to his house uninvited! But… Idia was a weak man, especially when it came to his little brother, who -by the way- would have fucking died if it weren’t for Vil.

So, he’d worked up his courage and gotten into a carriage.

And then immediately regretted it once he saw Duke Crewel standing in front of the entrance.

The man now narrowed his eyes at him. “Speak up. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see Vil…”

Divus stomped his foot on the ground. “I said speak up! I can’t hear your incorrigible muttering.”

Idia let out a whimper and pressed his pointed fingers together. “I wanted to see Vil…”

The older man raised an eyebrow. “You wanted to see Vil? I didn’t realize you two were on a first-name basis.” He put a hand to his cheek. “My puppy usually tells me all about his friends…”

“Uh… We only got close uh… recently. At his gala.”

“Oh. That explains why he didn’t tell me, then.” Divus shook his head. “The poor pup was so worn out once it was over that he passed out. He’s been sick in bed ever since.”

Idia blinked in alarm. “Is he alright?”

“Of course he is. The physician said there was nothing to worry about. It’s a fever, nothing more.” Divus waved his hand. He then gestured to Idia to leave. “However, he’s in no state to entertain any guests, so…”

Divus trailed off as another carriage rolled up to the entrance. He let out an annoyed groan as Cater exited the vehicle and bowed to him. “Heyyyy~! Duke Crewel~!”

“You.”

The boy did a peace sign and stuck out his tongue playfully. “Yep~! It’s me~! Ya boi Cater!”

“Leave.”

Behind Cater, Trey exited the carriage and bowed. “Hello, Duke Crewel.”

Instantly, the annoyed man changed his tune. “Ah, Clover. What are you doing here?” He checked to see if Trey had brought anything with him. “Did Vil order something from your family?”

The green-haired man shook his head. “No, but I wanted to get him something anyway.” He pulled a box out of the carriage and held it carefully. “His debut gala was basically like a birthday party, right? I figured he needed a cake, but didn’t have any time to make one earlier.”

He smiled at Divus. “Do you mind if I bring this to him?”

Divus stared at the box. “Is there any chocolate in it?” He was allergic to chocolates, not that his allergy had anything to do with… well, anything.

Trey shook his head, and Divus gestured to Adela, the head of the household and Adella, the maid, both of whom had been standing nearby, to take the box from him. “Please put that in the kitchen.” As they left, he nodded to Trey. “Unfortunately, Vil’s not feeling well, but I’m sure he’d be delighted by your gift.”

Divus clasped his hands together. “Such a well-mannered puppy you are, Clover.” He narrowed his eyes at Idia and Cater. “Your peers could learn a thing or two from you.”

As Idia flinched, Cater let out a laugh. “We really could learn a lot from him~! Trey’s the best!” ’And Team TreyTer-Tot is a package deal, fatherfucker! I don’t need your approval as long as Trey’s got it~!’ He then frowned. “Oh, but Vil’s not feeling well? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” Divus made a shoo’ing motion with his hands. “But he just needs peace and quiet, so if you wouldn’t mind-”

“I think we should visit him!” Idia spoke up. The others stared at him and his face grew red and he seemed to shrink in on himself, but he kept talking. “I-It’s been a couple days since the gala… He’s probably bored… It might make him uh… feel better to be around other people…”

Cater grabbed onto Idia’s shoulders and nodded. “He’s super right! Vil loves Trey and I! You should let us see him~!” He let out a light sigh and squeezed Idia. “And this guy too, I guess!”

Divus frowned and let out a sigh. “Well, I suppose he has been a bit down… Rook was summoned to see his family for an emergency and hasn’t been there to cheer him up like he usually does.” He thought to himself for a moment before relenting. “Alright, fine. But not for long.”

“Yay!” Cater clapped his hands together. “Thank you so much, Duke Crewel~!”

The black-and-white haired man stepped to the side, allowing the boy to pass him. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“We won’t!” Idia bowed to him once again and followed Cater inside. “Thank you!”

Trey smiled at Divus as he walked. “By the way, I think Vil would prefer if the cake was eaten while it was still fresh.” He shrugged. “Even if he can’t enjoy it, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you and Duke Schoenheit took a bite for yourselves.” He then entered the manor, hands behind his back happily.

Divus grinned. He waited until the three boys were gone before turning around and going back inside. He raised his voice and called out. “Oh Adela~ and Adella~! Why don’t you bring some of that cake to me and my husband’s office?”

Vil let out a hacking cough into a handkerchief before leaning against his bedrest. He stared at the walls of his room before falling to his side. His head felt like it was made out of complete slush, his throat was burning, and the cut on his hand was itching like crazy, but he couldn’t do anything about it because of the bandages.

After the Ortho incident, he’d been fine for the rest of the gala, but as soon as he’d gotten home and his fathers had asked how it went, he had collapsed.

Turns out, going outside during what was practically a hurricane wasn’t a good idea!

He didn’t regret it, though. How could he? Ortho was still alive, after all. Sure, Vil was sick, but hey. If it meant the kid got to live, then he’d take a million fevers.

The blond grabbed a pillow and clutched it against his chest. ’Still though… Ugh, my head…’ Modern medicine didn’t exist in a world like this, but magic and potions did, so logically he should have been able to bounce back from this easily, but no.

Healing potions existed, sure. But those only helped him with his symptoms, they didn’t do anything to help with the root of the problem.

Which meant that no matter how much of that magical Lambent flower tea (his own invention, it tasted similarly to a rose-based tea, only with a less bitter taste and still-a-work-in-progress healing abilities) he drank, he was still suffering.

Apparently its magical healing properties didn't apply to the sniffles.

“But hey…” He croaked, pressing his head against the pillow. “It could be worse.” He let out another cough. “At least nobody else is here to see me like this!”

Just then his door slammed open, and Cater let out a yell. “Omg~ Vil~ Bestie~ Heyyyy~!”

The ginger then let out a yelp as a pillow was thrown at him. “C-Cat- hgh!” Vil hacked out a cough, covering his mouth with his handkerchief. “W-What are you doing here?”

Cater held the previously-throw pillow against his chest and picked up a chair near Vil’s desk. “Visiting you, obvs.” He placed the chair next to the bed and sat on it happily. “So hey, how you doin?”

“Not good.” The blond wiped at his forehead. “Father let you in? That’s… surprising.”

“Trey bribed him with cake.”

Vil raised an eyebrow. “It didn’t have chocolate in it, right?”

“No, it was a strawberry cake.” Trey knocked on the already-open door before stepping inside Vil’s room. “It was meant to be a gift for you, not a bribe, Cater.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It just ended up becoming a bribe.”

“That makes it a bribe, Trey.” The ginger nodded as Trey sat on the edge of the bed. He smiled at Vil. “Sorry for the intrusion. We can leave if you’re not feeling up to visitors.”

“No, I’m fine.” The blond shook his head, but as he did so he froze. Trey had placed his hand against his forehead carefully.

“Are you sure you’re fine? You’re kind of warm.” He said with a concerned look on his face.

Vil let out a raspy laugh. “Are you calling me hot, Trey?” He winked. “How forward. Your boyfriend’s here and everything.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me~!” Cater was staring at the two of them with an intense gaze. “I don’t mind!” He leaned his chin against his hands with an excited look in his eyes. “Please, go on.”

The green-haired man chuckled and moved his hand away from Vil. “Sorry about that. I usually take care of my siblings whenever they get sick, I’m used to checking temperatures like that.”

“What a dependable guy you are, Trey. Your siblings are lucky to have you.” Vil nodded to Cater. “And of course, you’re lucky as well.”

“Don’t I know it~!”

Trey leaned back from where he had been sitting on the bed. “Thanks for saying that. Hopefully I can be someone you depend on, in the exact same way Cater can.” He looked at Vil pointedly.

“I’m sure you will.” Vil nodded before reaching over to grab a cooled-off cup of tea he’d left on top of his bedside drawer. “But why are you two visiting me? Not that I don’t enjoy the company, but…” He cleared his throat. “It’s a bit of a surprise.”

“We just wanted to visit you.” Cater grinned. He then crossed his arms with a huff. “Trey and I never got the chance to dance with you at your gala, you know!”

Vil was about to take a drink, but stopped to cough. “You’re right, we didn’t.” He gestured to himself. “Forgive me for not being in the right state, otherwise I’d dance with you right now.”

“I forgive you, girl. Slash gender neutral, obvi.” Cater leaned back in his seat. “But yeah. That’s why we’re here.” He pointed to a figure that had been standing by the door, debating whether or not to enter the room. “I dunno why Shroud’s here though.”

“S-Shroud?!” Vil’s face turned red and he began to sputter out a series of haggard coughs. He dropped the cup, which would have split all over the bed if not for Cater catching it with surprisingly quick reflexes. Trey patted Vil’s back as he moved to cover his face with his hands. “Idia… Y-You’re… here…”

The rest of what he said was completely incorrigible, but Idia straightened up at his name, as though he had been shot by a bolt of lightning. “Y-Yeah! I-I’m here! In your house! Because I wanted to see you! Haha……..!”

As he walked inside the room, Trey and Cater shared a look.

Idia’s hands shook and he stood at the foot of Vil’s bed. “Uh… Well, it was more Ortho who wanted me to see you. But I still wanted to see you because yeah and uh uh-huh, yep.” He looked down at the ground, refusing to meet Vil’s eyes.

“I see.” Vil moved his hands away from his face, a blush present on his cheeks. “Is your brother doing well?”

“He’s got a fever, but nbd.”

“I hope he gets better soon, then.” Vil’s hands clenched together and he let out an awkward laugh. “I… apologize for having you see me in such a sorry state.” He shook his head. “How embarrassing.”

Idia blinked. He looked up at Vil. The blond’s face was flushed with pink dusted over his cheeks, with his lips looking slightly shiny with moisture. His hair had been pulled back into a small braid over his shoulder, tied by a black ribbon. He was wearing a light purple robe, revealing his collarbone. The exposed skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, seeming to glisten in the low lighting of the room.

’How the FUCK does he look like a GOD when he’s fucking sick?’ Idia bit his lip and clenched his fist. His heart beat loudly in his chest. ’And can’t I look away from him? Shit, shit, shit!’

Vil wrapped his arms around himself, snapping Idia back into reality. Once more, Trey and Cater shared a look.

“D-Don’t worry about it! You look great!”

“Do I?” Vil let out a laugh before it turned into a cough. He took the cup from Cater and drank from it before clearing his throat. “Thank you, then. I appreciate the compliment.”

He took a deep breath and leaned back. He gestured to the foot of the bed. “You can sit down, Idia. Relax.”

The blue-haired boy gave him a shaky grin and instantly sat down. “R-Relaxing… ha…” He covered his face with his hands. ’Yeah, just tell him he looks good when he’s sick! That’s what normal people do! Dumbass!’

As he was mentally beating himself up, Vil spoke to Cater. “I’ve been bored out of my mind here. I need you to fill me in on every single piece of gossip I missed out on.” He gestured to his friend. “Go.”

“Okay!” Cater straightened up. “So~! You remember that place we- minus the prince- went on a date together, right?”

“Date?”

“The Mostro Lounge.” The ginger waved his hand. “Anyway, the family that owns that place is like... Lowkey trying to work their way up into nobility. Which MEANS that they’re sending their oldest son out and about.” He gestured to Trey. “You remember him? That asshole waiter who forgot our salads and was also kinda rude to you? Him?”

Vil nodded. “Azul Ashengrotto.” Idia perked up at the boy’s name.

“Yes, him!” Cater nodded. “That bitch. Fuck him, I hope he dies.”

Both Idia and Cater spoke at the same time.

“I hope all of his friends die, too.”

“Oh, I know Azul, we’re friends.”

They both then froze. They looked at each other. Idia’s eyes widened and Cater blinked. He put his hand over his mouth. “OMG I so didn't mean that!” He felt a drop of sweat forming on his forehead. ’I actually did, but whatever.’

He grabbed Idia’s hands and began to apologize.

As he did so, Trey leaned over to whisper into Vil’s ear. “He’s still a bit mad about the salads.”

“Are you sure it's about the salad?” Vil laughed. “I think he's just being protective of you. It's sweet.”

“Sweet, huh…” Trey shook his head as he watched Cater apologize to Idia. He found himself unable to stop a smile from forming on his face. “I guess it is.”

Idia held his hands up in surrender. “Look, I get it. Azul’s not like… a good person, but he plays a mean game of cards, okay? And my friendship options are kind of limited, so-”

“They are?” Vil tilted his head. He leaned forward to grab onto the blue-haired boy’s hand. “I mean, I can’t control who you befriend, but I want you to know that your options aren’t as limited as you think they are.”

“ShhhhhhHSHHSHHHHHHHGGGHH…Haaaaa…” Idia sputtered. He froze upon Vil’s touch, which caused Cater and Trey to share yet another look. Idia’s face turned red, and Vil squeezed his hand. “Remember what we talked about when we danced, Idia? I still want to-”

“Okay! I get it!” Idia yelled. He then flinched and apologized. “Uh. I mean, sorry for interrupting you, uh…” His voice grew quieter. “I remember what you told me, though…”

Vil smiled at him. He reached his hand out and patted his arm. “That’s good. I’m glad.”

The ends of Idia's hair turned pink and Vil's eyes widened in surprise. "My, my, Idia. Your hair…"

Idia yelped and grabbed his hair, pulling it out of sight. "I-I know it's weird-"

"It's not weird at all!" Vil shook his head. He smiled. "If anything, I think it's cute."

"C-C-uuuggghhhh??????" Idia stammered. By now, his hair was entirely pink. He turned away from Vil, pulling a hood over his head. "Y-Yeah uh. B-Benefits of working with magestones all day, you get some magic on you. Ha..."

"Magic?" Cater piped up. He grabbed Trey's shoulder. "Are you a mage too?"

Before Idia could say anything, he laughed. "Hehe, you're like another Trey~!"

The green-haired boy chuckled. "I wouldn't say that. Lord Shroud and I are quite different."

"Yeah! And also, I'm not a mage." Idia crossed his arms. "There's actually a big difference between the magic of magestones and plain old mages. You see…"

As Idia went on a rant about magic Cater leaned over to whisper into Trey’s ear. “We got more competition, hun.”

The green-haired boy’s gaze didn’t stray away from Vil, watching his eyes glow as he listened to Idia. He bumped his shoulder against Cater’s. “Looks like we do. Hopefully we can all-”

He was interrupted as Vil let out a loud cough, clutching his chest as he leaned against himself.

Idia placed his hand on Vil’s back before pulling it away quickly.

After coughing for what felt like hours, the blond eventually sat back up. His voice was practically gone as he spoke. “I think…” He pressed his hand against his forehead. “I’d love for you guys to stay and chat some more, but…” He looked wearily at Cater. “I’m seeing four Caters in front of me, and-”

“Are they hot?”

Vil shrugged. “As much as you’d expect four Caters to be. Anyway, I think I should…”

Cater handed him the cup of tea and he drank it. As he did so, Trey grabbed onto his boyfriend’s arm and pulled him up. “We should get going.” He tapped Idia’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Vil cleared his throat and smiled at the green-haired boy. “I appreciate you guys coming to see me. I’ll invite you all over once I’m not…” He gestured to himself. “Like this.” He nodded to Idia. “And I mean all of you.”

Idia’s face stayed red and he nodded quickly. “Y-Yeah! Sounds good!” ’Sounds good? SOUNDS GOOD? Idia you dumb fuck!!! Do something cool!’

He took a deep breath and straightened himself up. He deepened his voice and pulled his hair back.

“I’ll deliver you some books to keep your mind sharp while you’re stuck like this. Goodbye, Vil. I hope to see you again.” As he walked out, he tripped over nothing and fell to the floor. He got up quickly, bowed to Vil, and then glided out of the room, appearing to be as confident as ever.

Cater watched him leave before letting out a laugh. “Wow, that was so crin-” He turned to look at Vil. The blond had a starstruck expression on his face, and he was staring after Idia longingly. Cater blinked. ’Seriously? THAT’S what he’s into?’

He pouted as Trey pulled him out of the room. “Treeeeyyyyyy you saw the look on Vil’s face too, didn’t you?!”

His boyfriend nodded. “Yes.” He sighed. “It looks like Vil’s really into Lord Shroud.”

“I know!” Cater cried. They turned a corner, and he latched onto Trey’s arm. “I can’t believe it! That means that Idia has a super leg up in the compet-”

They froze. Right in front of them, Idia was lying face-first on the ground. He was sobbing, talking about how ‘cringe’ and ‘weird’ he had been.

“Huh.” The ginger tilted his head. “I guess… he doesn’t know that?” Beside him, Trey nodded. “I guess he doesn’t.”

“Well!” Cater clapped his hands. “No skin off my nose!” He cheerily stepped over Idia and continued walking. Trey shook his head and leaned down to the boy. “Lord Shroud, come on, we should get going.”

“HmMmggggghhhhhhhhhaaaaaauuggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh….”

“I see.” Trey grabbed onto to Idia’s hands. “Sorry about this, Lord Shroud.”

“Just call me Idia who fucking cares eeeuuuuuugggghhhhhhh……………”

“Sorry about this, Idia.” Trey then began to drag Idia across the manor. As he did so, the boy continued to moan about how cringe he had been, and how embarrassed he was of how he had acted towards Vil.

Not even realizing that as the blond shut his eyes in his bed, his heart had been fluttering in a way it had only ever had once before.

Once, in his old life.

Chapter Text

“Vil, come say hello to everyone!” Divus called out to his son as he walked past the sitting room.

“Of course.” The blond looked up from the book in his hand and closed it. He stepped inside the room and bowed at the guests sitting inside.

Mozus Trein smiled at him and his wife to his side waved. “Vil, good to see you again.” She put her hand to her cheek and let out a laugh. “It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve seen you! You’ve gotten so tall!”

“Hopefully I’ll get taller.” Vil smiled at the woman. “How are your daughters doing?”

Mozus let out a laugh. “They're as spoiled as ever.” He nodded. “I’m sorry they couldn’t make it to your gala. They’ve been so busy working on their concert preparations that I just had to make them take a break from galas and such.” He picked up a teacup and handed it to his wife.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure their performance will be spectacular. The event of the year, no doubt.”

Lady Trein let out a laugh. “We’ll have big shoes to fill, I heard your gala was a delight!”

’A child almost died, but sure. Other than that, it was a complete delight.’ It had been almost three months since the gala, and since then he’d grown closer to both of the Shroud brothers. Enough so that they were actually at the manor currently, but it would have been rude to not speak to his father’s coworkers.

Lady Trein put her teacup down and picked up a small cake. She handed it to her husband as she looked at Vil. “I trust you received our gift, though?”

“I did, thank you.”

Just then, Ashton Vargas choked on his tea across from them. His eyes were wide as the color drained from his face. “We were supposed to get him a gift?!”

Divus crossed his arms and glared at his coworker. “You mean to tell me that you didn’t get my only son a gift for his debut? The biggest celebration he’ll ever have in his entire childhood?”

Ashton shuddered and let out a loud laugh. “Of course not! I, uh…” He gave Vil a thumbs-up. “I’ll give you free self-defense lessons, how about that?”

’Holy shit that’s actually something I really need.’ Vil’s eyes lit up. “Really?” He smiled at Ashton. “I’d appreciate that.”

As the muscled teacher let out a booming laugh, Divus continued to glare at him. “Seriously? Fine. Whatever. I’m mad at you for forgetting, but if Vil likes the gift, then I’ll forgive you this once.”

“Great!” Aston gave Divus a thumbs up. Beside him, Sam (he never used his family name, strangely enough. He only ever told people to call him Sam and that was it) frowned at him. “Self defense? The kid doesn’t need that, since I got him his very own shockstone.”

A shockstone was a magestone that had the ability to shock anyone other than the person it was bound to. AKA, this world’s version of a taser.

“But, muscles!” Ashton flexed his arms as he looked at Sam. “Any kid needs those!”

Sam smirked at the older man and shook his head. “No way. Brains over brawns any day.”

Ashton moved closer to him. He held Sam’s chin in his hands. “Are we going to argue about this, or are you going to kiss me?”

Sam blinked. “What the fuck?”

Divus stood up from his seat angrily. “Ashton!” He glared at the younger man. “Do not engage in foreplay in front of my puppy!”

“It’s… fine.” Vil shook his head. “I should probably get going. Idia, Ortho and Rook are waiting for me.”

“Oh, sorry for keeping you.” Lady Trein waved at him as he left.

Divus continued to glare at Ashton as Sam pushed the taller man away from him. Mozus cleared his throat and spoke up. “Well, we should get back to the topic at hand.”

He gestured to the papers on the table. “Night Raven College is short-staffed as all hell.” He sighed and gestured to Sam. “We've been able to get the Headmaster to hire more people, but he only lets us hire one per year, for some reason.” Sam was their latest hire, joining them the year before and Ashton joining three years prior. “I don't know why he does this, but I've given up trying to convince him otherwise.”

Sam shook his head. “Seriously? It’s not like we’re lacking in funds.” He let out a groan. “That Crowley… You never notice how messed-up your school is until you work for it, isn’t that right, Mister Crewel?”

“Mmm.” The man hummed. He picked up the resume in front of him. “You really don’t.” He smirked at Mozus and his wife. “I can’t believe you’ve worked here for so long, Mister and Missus Trein.”

The older couple looked at each other and smiled. Mozus put his arm over his wife’s shoulder. “I like working together. Plus, once you’re tenured, it’s quite fun.”

His wife nodded. “I know Headmaster Crowley can be a bit… much, but I just love teaching those kids.” She patted her husband’s hand. “It reminds me of our girls when they were younger!”

As Mozus nodded in agreement, Ashton spoke up. “Let’s hope the new guy sticks around as long as you two, yeah?” He picked up the resume and looked at it. He then frowned and tossed the paper away. “Him? He looks so puny! Not an ounce of muscle on him at all!”

“Yes, but with the new wave of mages coming into our school, we need a teacher gifted in magic.” Sam shrugged. “You know, someone who isn’t Crowley because that guy can’t teach shit.” He picked up the paper from where Ashton had thrown it.

“So, let’s see how Mister Vanrouge does here at our school, yeah?”

“Hmmm…” Rook trailed off, tapping his finger against his chin. He smiled at Idia and placed the book in his hands on the table in front of him. “I believe the detective herself is the culprit.”

Idia’s eyes widened. “What?! You only read the first chapter, how do you know that already?”

“Well, taking into account the first description of Madame Detective, she seemed to be very suspicious from the beginning.” Rook gestured to his hands. “For example, why would one be wearing gloves on a warm day? Sure, it could be a fashion statement, but there is nothing without reasoning in these kinds of tales. And on top of that, the fact that she ‘just so happened’ to be in any vicinity near the murder in the first place is already very suspicious, as during the era this story takes place, the socioeconomic differences between varying citizens was-”

“Okay, damn!” Idia tossed Rook a cookie, which he took a bite out of happily. The blue-haired boy stared at him with wide eyes. “Honestly, I’m impressed. It took me at least half the book to figure that out.”

Idia nodded at him. “For someone who threatened to eat my liver, you’re not half bad.”

Ortho looked up from his book. “He threatened to do what?”

“It was a joke, haha!” Rook looked Idia in the eyes as he took a huge bite out of the cookie in his hands. The treat had a bit of jelly in it, causing a red stain to stick to the boy’s lips. He continued staring at Idia as he wiped the stain with his thumb, dragging it across his lips slowly before licking it with his tongue.

Idia scooted away from him. “Yeah… a joke…”

“Pardon me for taking so long.” Vil then entered the room. Ortho smiled at him and he patted the boy’s head as he sat down next to Rook. Vil handed the book in his hands back to Idia. “I bumped into Father during one of his work meetings.”

“No biggie.” The blue-haired boy took the book back from Vil.

“So what did you think of it?” Ortho piped up, moving to sit by Vil’s side.

“The story was fantastic.” The blond nodded. “Thank you for lending it to me.”

Idia had visited him once more while he had still been bed bound with a pile of books. His hair had been adorably pink as he talked about his favorites to him, and how since he had nothing better to do, he hoped Vil would pick one of them up.

It was sweet, seeing how passionate Idia was about his interests. Enough so that Vil had picked up the first book he had seen and torn through it.

However, after Idia had left, Rook had returned home. He had tearfully told Vil that he’d be leaving the manor soon to go back home and that he didn't know when he’d return. It was sad, and Vil would miss his friend, but the hunter had promised to send him letters, plus it wasn’t like they’d never see each other again. Just not daily. They’d been making the most out of their time together, well past April and into July.

Rook would be leaving later that day, actually. Much to both of their displeasures.

Beside him, Rook let out a sigh. “Alas, I would love to enjoy novels such as these, but I am afraid I am too observant on my own. I cannot enjoy a detective solving a crime I have already solved in my head!”

Idia frowned at the boy. “Even if you guessed who did it, it’s about the journey, not the destination.”

“What a beautiful way of putting it, Roi des te Chambre~!” The hunter smiled and pointed at him. “Beaute, one-hundred points!”

“Thanks man.” Idia then looked at Vil. “On that note, were you able to guess who did it before the detective did?”

“Not at all.” Vil shook his head. He gestured to the book. “I was more intrigued by the general worldbuilding and character arcs than I was in the actual mystery, so the murder case flew over my head a bit.” He put his hand over his mouth and laughed.

“Once you read more novels like this, you’ll do a better job of figuring it out!” Ortho piped up. He took a bite of a small cake and spoke as he chewed. “For this series, the author does a lot of recurring tropes! It’s really fun!”

“Yeah.” Idia rubbed the back of his neck. His face had a slightly red tint as he looked away from Vil. “Crim's a really good author."

Vil raised an eyebrow. "Crim?"

"O-oh!" Idia blinked. "That's their nickname, here." He picked up a book and pointed to the author's name.

Vil narrowed his eyes as he read it out loud. "Crimson… Muscle…?"

"It apparently means something in an ancient language." Idia shrugged. "I don't know what, but they're one of my favorite authors." He put the book down and looked away once more. "If you want, we can loan you some more books or whatever…”

“I’d love that. Thank you for offering, Idia.” Vil smiled. As he did so, he brought his hand to his chest, feeling his heart beating quickly in his chest. ’This is just like what we used to do… Every day at school, we’d hang out and talk about his games or my shows, he was so shy about it at first, but…’

Vil blinked and shook his head. ’Stop that, Schoenheit. Remember what world you’re in.’ He took in a breath and nodded. “I’d like to talk about these books with you as I’m reading them, though.” He gestured to Ortho. “You too.”

By his side, Rook pouted. “What about me, my etoile?”

“Of course my offer extends to you as well. I just figured we wouldn’t be seeing each other as often so we’d have less time to talk about books when we’re together.”

“Mon Roi!” Rook sniffled and wrapped his arms around Vil. “Don’t remind me!”

As Vil comforted his friend, Idia smiled at them. The only person he’d ever really felt a connection with was his brother, and that was partially because they were just that, brothers. He’d never thought he’d be able to just sit and talk with people about his interests.

The handkerchief that he’d had yet to give back to Vil felt warm in his front pocket. His heart, too, felt warm.

Ortho stared at his brother before his eyes widened. He stood up and sat next to Idia. Raising his voice, he spoke. “SO! Brother! Wasn’t there a ~romance~ novel you read recently that you really liked?!”

“W-What?!” Idia’s face grew even more red. He turned to look at his brother. “How do you know about that?”

“Oh?” Vil laughed. He smirked at Idia. “What kind of book are you reading, Idia Shroud?”

“It’s nothing bad!” Idia defended himself. “It’s just… about this guy, and this other guy. And it’s not like it’s…” He covered his brother’s ears and mouthed the word ‘explicit’ before uncovering his ears. “That or anything, but uh…”

Idia rubbed the back of his neck. “One guy is this… duke… with a… icy gaze… and has this servant… and a fiance… a mage and … this socialite… and this other guy with hidden potential… and a dragon for some reason… and they’re all.. p-pretty…” His face was completely red by now. He crossed his arms. “You know what?! I don’t have to explain this to you!”

Rook smiled at Idia. “Tell me, do you have an extra copy of this book? I would love to read a romance between a duke and his faithful servant~!”

“It’s not about the duke and his servant, it’s about the duke and a quiet noble who catches his attention at a gala.” Idia nodded seriously.

“Oh.” Rook frowned. “I probably would not enjoy it, then.”

“Trust me man. You would, it’s really good!” Idia’s eyes shone. “It offers a deep social commentary on what it means to be ‘good’ while also touching on the invasive nature of self-guilt and how you deserve happiness, while also remaining a touching romance lasting a lifetime!”

Vil blinked at his friend. “I see.” He tapped a finger against his chin. “I’m not really into romances, but if you think so fondly of it, I’ll have to give it a read.”

Idia’s eyes shone. “It’s really good! I honestly think you’d like it! It’s actually about to get a stage adaptation in the next year or so, and I need to see it.”

“A stage adaptation?” Vil stood up straighter. “I like that. I’ll see it with you whenever that happens.”

“You will?”

“Of course.” The blond reached for Idia’s hand. “You’re my friend, aren’t you? I want to do more things together, so obviously I-”

“Okay, okay! I get it!” Idia pulled his hand away and covered his face.

Rook looked at this exchange and let out a sigh. ’My leaving of this manor could not have happened at a worse time… alas…’ He really didn’t want to leave, but returning home was the only thing he could do that would ensure his family didn’t lose their status. And more importantly, the only thing he could do to make sure he remained eligible to attend Night Raven College alongside his beloved.

The hunter narrowed his eyes and stared at Vil in deep thought. ’I must ask the prince to reconsider our allegiance. I cannot let all of these men steal Vil away before I’ve done so myself!’

It wasn’t that he was against others falling for Vil, far from it. If anything, it made him happy to know the love he sought was something coveted by others. After all, what kind of fun would that be if he was the only hunter after Vil’s heart?

But still. A hunt for a heart was still that, a hunt.

As Rook stared at Vil, Ortho stared at Rook. ’Hmmm…’ The boy hummed, leaning against his brother. As Idia ran his fingers through his hair absentmindedly, Ortho continued to think. ’Rook Hunt likes Vil. As does the fiance, the baker, the socialite, and my big brother. Wow.’

He grinned and nodded happily. ’So what? My big brother is the greatest person ever! I know Vil will see that someday! I just have to help them make opportunities to get closer!’

Ortho then let out a sigh and pouted. ’But seriously! That’s a lot of people who like Vil!’

He took another bite of a cookie. ’Luckily for me and my brother, there isn’t anyone else!’

Their group failed to notice a shadow flying past the window, having just delivered flowers to Vil’s balcony. The shadow stopped for a moment to watch Vil let out a laugh at something Idia said before letting out a grunt of consideration and continuing its flight.

Later that day as the sun began to set, Vil hugged Rook tightly. His hunter returned the embrace, letting out a laugh.

“Mon Roi, please don’t be upset! I’ll keep in touch.”

“You better!” Vil pulled away from Rook and turned to look at the horse behind him. “Are you sure you don’t want a carriage?”

“Non, non!” The hunter shook his head, smiling at the horse. “I am more comfortable riding a horse than I am in a carriage. My things have already been sent back home, so please do not worry about me, my etoile!”

“How can I not worry about you?” Vil sighed and pinched his friend’s cheek. He looked at the horse seriously. “I expect you to take care of him, do you understand, Le Cheval?”

The horse blinked, and Vil shook his head. Of course, Le Cheval had been given to Rook as a parting gift. The creature had been so spoiled by his precious hunter that it refused to obey the commands of any rider other than him.

Vil turned back to Rook and shook a finger at him. “I expect you to write to me as soon as you’re settled back home.”

“Why wait? I’ve already penned and sent you poems dedicated to your beauty.” Rook nodded. “They will be delivered later today, no doubt.”

Vil laughed and shook his head. “Rook Hunt, you really are something else, aren’t you?”

“That is a compliment, non?”

The blond cupped Rook’s cheek in his hand. “Of course it is.” He let out a sigh as he stared into those familiar jades. ’I have never met someone so terrifying, yet… so bright.’

Who was he kidding? Sure, their friendship had stemmed from Vil’s fear of him, but that didn’t make his feelings now any less valid. He loved his friend, plain and simple. And to not be able to see him every day would hurt.

Vil shook his head. “I’m going to miss you.”

“And I, you.” Rook brought Vil’s hands up to his lips and pressed a tender kiss against his knuckles.

“Flatterer.” Vil shook his head once more. He pulled his hands away and returned Rook’s gesture, kissing his cheek in goodbye. As he stepped away from his friend, he waved to him. “Work hard and get back on your feet. I expect you to visit before I see you again at school.”

The hunter’s face was completely red. He had frozen stiff as soon as Vil had kissed him, and quickly shook himself. He took the hat that was on top of his head and used it to cover his face. “O-Oui, my etoile…”

Vil smiled at him, and Rook quickly mounted his steed.

As Rook rode off and Vil waved after him, Eric and Divus- who had been there the entire time- stared at each other.

Eric waved at the boy as he left. He spoke through closed teeth to his husband. “I think Rook forgot to say goodbye to us.”

Divus glared at the already-distant-horse and its rider. “It seems we’ve been forgotten.”

“How sad.” The silver-haired man laughed.

Divus crossed his arms. “Ashton offered our puppy self-defense lessons. We’re taking him up on that.”

“Oh? That’s fine with me.” Eric turned to look at his husband. “Why are you bringing that up now?

“I want our pup to kick that mutt’s ass if he ever tries something.”

Eric blinked. He put his hands over his mouth and let out a sigh. He resigned himself to using his go-to response when his husband was being like this.

“Of course, love.”

Vil walked over to his room, feeling like the manor was far-too quiet already. He’d gotten so used to always having Rook around. He shook his head as he pulled his bedroom door open.

“This is a good thing, isn’t it, Schoenheit?” He spoke aloud as he sat on the edge of his bed. “If he’s not living with you, he can’t smother you in your sleep.”

That didn’t make him feel any better.

Vil let out a sigh and fell down onto the bed. As he turned to lay on his side, his eyes opened wide as he noticed a letter sitting on his pillow with his name on it. In Rook’s handwriting.

Curiously, he read it.

Vil let out a laugh as he read the letter. ’I’m really going to miss you, Rook...’ He shot up from the bed and bolted out to the balcony, failing to notice the flowers sitting by his door.

“Rook Hunt!” Vil called out from the balcony. The horse his friend was riding was already a good distance away, and yet, when he yelled, he could faintly see a hand waving out at him.

Vil held the letter to his chest and let out a laugh.

“Rook…” He trailed his fingers across his friend’s name. He shook his head, though he couldn’t fight the grin that was stretching across his face. He cupped his hand around his mouth and called out. “I’ll see you again! At Night Raven College!”

The hand waving from the horse made no indication that it heard him, but Vil knew that he had.

He turned around and leaned against the balcony railing as he looked at the letter once more before pressing it against his chest, over his heart.

“That darling hunter of mine…”

Chapter Text

A loud clap of thunder outside woke Vil up from a dreamless sleep. He let out a groan and turned to his side, glaring at the rainswept window. But then, his eyes widened as he noticed something outside.

It was a green glow. Hypnotic and enchanting, appearing at his balcony. Vil watched as it slowly crept closer and closer to his door before stopping.

The blond’s heart began to race until he realized that he recognized that green glow.

Letting out yet another groan, Vil got out of bed and opened the door, coming face-to-snout with Malleus. The dragon looked practically drowned, and had a soaked piece of paper in its mouth.

The creature blinked at him in surprise. Vil put his hand to his forehead and held the door open wider. “Get your dragon ass inside here right now.” He gestured to the dark night sky. “I can’t believe you thought it was a good idea to visit me in this weather!”

Malleus lowered its head shamefully and scurried inside. Droplets of rainwater dripped from its scales, getting the floor completely wet. Vil lamented the amount of cleaning he’d have to do later before shutting the door and grabbing a towel from the bathroom.

As he did so, he made sure to let his little friend know of his distaste. “Seriously, Malleus! It’s one thing to visit me at this hour when you know you should be getting at least eight hours of sleep.” He exited the bathroom with a towel. “Or do dragons need more?”

Malleus shook its head.

“Less?”

Malleus nodded.

“Interesting.” Vil kneeled down to the dragon before slowly beginning to dry it off. “Well, I need eight hours, so you shouldn’t visit me while I’m sleeping. I won’t be able to visit with you, so you’d get bored.” He picked up one of Malleus’ claws, noticing faint traces of ink on them.

Vil held up the dragon’s claw and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this about?”

Malleus let go of the piece of paper in its mouth, dropping it into Vil’s hands.

The blond tilted his head at it. Slowly, he unfurled the paper, revealing a bunch of indecipherable smudges of ink. Vil looked at them and then looked at Malleus, before wiping at its claws, getting the ink off.

’Did…’ Vil looked from the paper to his friend. ’Did Malleus try to write something? How darling!’ He laughed and patted the dragon’s head. “Well, thank you very much.

He had no idea what Malleus was trying to do with those ink stains, but Vil appreciated the amount of effort that went into it.

The dragon let out a grunt and nuzzled Vil’s cheek, tail wagging-back-and-forth proudly. It then looked him directly in the eyes and let out a series of grunts and growls as it looked from him to the letter. Its wings flapped up and down and it let out a low roar at him before nodding.

Vil blinked at the creature. “I’m going to be completely honest with you. I didn’t understand a single word you just said.”

Malleus screwed its eyes shut and let out a growl of frustration.

“I know, I know.” Vil took the towel away from Malleus, having dried the dragon enough. He tilted Malleus’ head upwards so that he could look into the creature’s eyes. “But it’s very kind of you to leave me gifts like this. I wish I had something I could do for you in return…”

Malleus let out a growl, flicking its ears and shaking its head adamantly.

“Yes I do. It's being polite.” Vil tapped Malleus’ nose.

As he did so, his eyes widened. “Oh, I have an idea.” He stood up and moved over to his nearby vanity. As he looked through his drawers, Malleus walked around his room.

The dragon glanced over the bed, tail flicking happily as it took in the plush covers and soft pillows. It then looked at the bedside cabinet. The dragon let out a snort upon seeing the letter from Rook sitting on it. It glanced over at the letter it had… ’written’ and nodded to itself proudly.

Malleus’ gaze then wandered over to an open notebook before reading the words written on it.

The dragon tilted its head in confusion before narrowing its eyes. It let out a low growl before moving back to Vil. It pressed its snout against his side and flapped its wings.

“What’s got you so upset?” Vil asked as he turned to look at the creature. He stroked Malleus’ scales. “Are you that impatient for your thank-you gift? Luckily for you, I just found it, so here.”

Vil reached into the drawer and pulled an item out, holding it up to the dragon. It was a simple, golden bracelet with black gems woven into it like vines. “What do you think?”

Malleus blinked at him before tilting its head in confusion.

Vil laughed. “Your gift. What do you think?”

Malleus’ eyes widened and it let out a grunt. From the way its claws seemed to twitch, it seemed like it really liked the gift. Vil smirked. ’So, I guess the stories about dragons liking shiny objects weren’t wrong.’

He kneeled down and reached for Malleus’ claw. “May I?”

Malleus placed its claw in his hands eagerly. Vil unbuckled the bracelet and attempted to close it around its claw, but it was too small. “Hm… It doesn’t fit.” Vil frowned.

Malleus let out a whine and its tail waved in agitation. Vil held his hand up. “Calm down.” He patted the dragon’s head before looking at its horns. He tapped the dragon’s horns, causing Malleus to look at him.

“Do you mind if I put it around this?”

After only the slightest bit of hesitation, the dragon lowered its head and held out its horns for him to do whatever he pleased with. Vil smiled and patted its head once more. “Thank you, Malleus.”

With a ’click’, the bracelet was settled upon Malleus’ left horn. Malleus lifted its head up and closed its eyes happily. Vil put a hand over his mouth in surprise. “Oh, you can’t see how it looks. One second.”

He stood up and grabbed a small hand mirror from the vanity and Vil watched as Malleus tilted its head to look at itself within the mirror. The bracelet around its horn shone, making it look as though it were wearing a wired crown.

Malleus puffed out its chest and flapped its wings happily.

Vil put the mirror down. “I'll take it you like it, th-EN!” He was cut off as Malleus sprung on top of him, nuzzling his face and cheeks with a series of happy grunts.

The man let out a laugh, feeling ticklish as Malleus nuzzled his neck. “I’m glad you like it, Malleus.”

The dragon let out another grunt before opening its mouth. It was about to sink its fangs into the back of his neck before it suddenly froze.

“Malleus?”

The dragon slowly got off Vil. It blinked at him slowly before nuzzling his cheek and letting out a low noise sounding similar to a purr.

Vil smiled and hugged the creature. “You’re sweet.”

Malleus nodded. It then moved away from him and back to the closed door. It glanced from Vil to the door, asking him to open it with its eyes.

Vil looked out the window, seeing the rain still pouring from the sky. He looked back at Malleus and crossed his arms. “No.”

Malleus blinked at him in surprise.

“It’s still raining! I can’t in good conscience let you go flying out there like that!” Vil pointed at Malleus. “What if you catch a cold?”

The dragon let out a grunt, as though it found the idea funny.

“Getting sick isn’t fun, Malleus.” Vil stood up and moved to sit in his bed. “You’re staying here until it dies down.”

The dragon seemed to be hesitant for all of two seconds before nodding to itself. It trotted happily to the side of his bed before placing its chin on top of it, staring at Vil with wide eyes.

The blond laughed and laid down before patting beside him. A clear invitation.

In an instant, Malleus jumped onto the bed, placing its head on top of his chest. Vil put his hand in between the dragon’s horns, flicking the bracelet playfully. “Are you comfortable?”

Malleus let out a contented sigh and closed its eyes.

Vil pet its scales. “That’s nice.” He closed his eyes as well. “Goodnight, Malleus.”

Eventually the rain began to die down. And yet, neither one of them seemed to notice.

Hands that slowly began to grow cold cupped your cheek. Blood dripped from his stained lips as they eventually curled into a weak smile.

“Thank you for being my friend.” He let out a cough and his voice seemed to be fainter than a whisper. “Despite everything.”

You try to speak, but you can’t hear yourself. Your voice doesn’t sound like it usually does. It sounds… weak. Broken. Lost.

He speaks. “I wish… I had known you were coming. Then I wouldn't have..." He shook his head. "No... It- It’s nice to know that someone…cared.” He tries to laugh, but it comes out as a cough instead. “I… can't do anything now but…”

The light faded from his eyes. Still, he smiled. “I hope that... in my next life... we could be... friends again.”

You grab onto him and hold him close. You scream out his name, but he doesn’t answer. You place your head against his chest, but it doesn’t rise.

After that, everything was over.

Malleus blinked his eyes open slowly as he woke up. The dream he had slowly began to fade away from his memory, but as he looked at Vil still sleeping next to him, he felt a tug on his draconic heart.

Though he didn’t know why, he placed his head back on top of Vil’s chest, letting out a contented sigh as he felt it rise and fall peacefully with his sleeping breath. Malleus wasn’t sure why he felt so relieved, but he didn’t question it.

His ears perked up as he soon heard footsteps walking up to Vil’s door. A loud knock sounded from the door, and Vil instantly woke up.

The blond looked at Malleus in slight surprise before sitting up and raising his voice to address the person at the door. “Yes?”

“My young lord, I’m sorry if I woke you, but we just got a letter from Prince Kingscholar.” Arista’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door. She didn’t seem to be in her usual proud mood and instead sounded worried. “Your fiance says he needs you to come to the palace right away.”

“What? Is he alright?” Malleus watched as fear flashed over Vil’s face. He tilted his head at him curiously before pressing his snout against his cheek in comfort.

“I think so, but he sent a letter asking for help.”

“Get a carriage ready, I’ll go now.” Vil turned to Malleus and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, Malleus. I need to go to Leona.”

The dragon let out a sigh but nodded. Vil quickly opened the balcony door for him and he opened his wings, flying off in silence.

As he soared through the skies, his claws twitched with annoyance. He approached a dark palace, and upon spotting a pair of familiar faces inside the garden, he landed.

“Your highness!” Lilia waved at him. His son, Silver, bowed at the prince, holding some books and papers in his hands. Lilia patted the dragon’s head, noticing the bracelet on his horn. “Wow! He must have really liked your letters! Good for you!” His voice then turned more serious. “But you can’t just be out all night like that! Sebek’s been worried sick!”

Malleus let out a roar and his claws dug into the earth below.

Silver blinked at him. “That’s a lot to unpack… But you mentioned a Kingscholar?” He looked at his father. “Who is that?”

“He’s the fiance, remember?” Lilia nodded. “Kingscholar, Hunt, Cater, Clover, Shroud, and our prince of course!” Lilia pointed at his son. He then looked at Malleus. “Your highness, I told you he had other suitors. Courting him won’t be an easy task.”

The dragon let out a grunt, and both Lilia and Silver shook their heads. “Your highness! I already told you humans don’t like that!” Lilia patted his son’s shoulder. “Tell him, Silver.”

“Yes. They call it abduction and it is generally frowned upon.” Silver nodded. He then gestured to the papers in his hands. “But Father came up with a good idea to help you get closer to him.”

Malleus tilted his head. Lilia moved over to him and examined his scales. “Your highness, you’re this close to coming of age. Which means you’ll soon be able to do things us normal fae can do!”

Once more, Malleus tilted his head. Silver leaned over and whispered into his ear. “Father means that once you’re an adult, you’ll be able to present yourself like a fae.”

“Exactly!” Lilia grabbed a scroll from his son and held it up to Malleus. “And, then you’ll be able to go to school with the humans!”

Silver whispered into Malleus’ ear. “Night Raven College. Your love will be there, and you can get to know him as a friend and schoolmate.”

Malleus’ ear flicked, whacking Silver in the face. “Your highness, it was Father’s idea.” The dragon looked at him before widening his eyes. Silver let out a ‘hmm’ and put a chin to his hand. “In all honesty, I don’t think it’s a bad one.”

“Awww! Silver!” Lilia hugged his son. “What a good son I have!”

The boy patted his father’s arm. “Thank you, Father.” He then turned to look at Malleus. “Humans tend to not fall for creatures that look like yourself. If you took on a more human-like form and got to know him as an equal, then you’d have a better chance of earning his heart at school.”

“And I’ll be there too.” Lilia took another paper from his son and grinned at it. “I applied for a teaching position, and they accepted!” He pulled away from Silver and nodded. “So don’t worry, I’ll make sure you both are safe.”

Silver looked at the dragon. “What do you think, your highness?”

Malleus let out a sigh. He felt the weight of the bracelet against his horn, feeling both warm and cool at the same time. He remembered the slow rise and fall of Vil’s chest as he slept. How warmly he had dried him off when he had been wet. After a moment, he nodded his head.

For Vil, he would go to Night Raven College.

As soon as Vil reached Leona, the prince instantly pulled him into an embrace. Vil let him, holding him tightly. “What is it, what’s the matter?”

“I-” Leona furrowed his eyebrows together. He leaned his head against Vil’s neck before breathing in deeply. “Why do you smell so weird?”

Vil pushed the prince away from him, face turning red. “Excuse you? I smell perfectly fine?”

“No.” Leona grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. “It’s that same smell from before, I don’t like it.”

As the prince rubbed his cheek against the back of Vil’s neck, the blond let out an annoyed groan. “Well I don’t know what to tell you, Leona. I haven’t changed my soaps, I haven’t tried any new perfume, I shouldn’t smell any different. And anyway.” He pushed the prince away from him, and this time Leona stayed put. “You said you needed my help.”

He looked over Leona’s body, not noticing any injuries. “I take it there’s not an emergency like I was expecting.”

“What? No.” The beastman crossed his arms. “I just needed your help with something.”

“Something?”

“Yeah.” Leona nodded. He’d gotten a letter from Rook the other day, begging him to reconsider their alliance as Idia had been visiting Vil almost as often as Leona did. Since Rook wouldn’t be living with Vil any more, he wanted Leona to push away the competition in his stead.

Which… Okay, Leona hadn’t been blind. He’d seen the starstruck look Vil gave Idia when he thought nobody was looking. It had nothing to do with his non-existent allegiance with Rook! Leona just wanted to make himself stick out as the best person for Vil to be with!

And, Leona, being himself, had a perfect plan to cement himself as Vil’s number one.

The last time he’d gone to Vil’s home, Idia had been there with his little brother. Watching Vil dote on the younger boy had been a very adorable sight, but also had made his skin crawl. ’It’s a genius move on that guy’s part to get his kid brother to do all the heavy lifting! The more time Vil spends with the kid, the more he spends with Idia. Suddenly, they’re spending time together one-on-one, and then…’

He let out a low growl. Vil tilted his head at him. “Leona?”

’There are too many guys swarming around my fiance. I don’t like it.’ But what could he do? It wasn’t like he was going to force Vil to stop spending time with his friends! He wasn’t that evil!

No, what he needed was an ally.

Someone that wasn’t Rook. Someone not in the race at all.

And seeing Vil dote on the little Shroud had given him an idea. Sure, it would probably drive him crazy, but he had to do what he had to do.

Leona put an arm over Vil’s shoulders. “My brother and I have been trying to get closer. Just because we’re competing for the crown doesn’t mean we can’t still do family dinners, right?”

Vil let himself be led inside the castle. “How mature of you.”

“I know. I’m amazing. Anyway.” They walked down the halls. “Falena and his wife are out of the country right now, and they asked me to take care of something while they were gone. Because, you know, it’s not like we have any maids or butlers around here.”

Vil watched a maid carry a large vase across the hallway, accompanied by three butlers. “I… see?”

“Yeah. But, this thing requires a lot of care, and I figured since you’re such a kind, wonderful, hot, amazing guy, you’d be able to help me with it.” Leona pushed a door open.

“Well, I am all of those things, thank you for the compliments. Even though I know you’re just trying to butter me up.”

Leona shrugged. “Guilty. Are you going to help, though?” He held the door open for Vil to go inside.

Vil stepped inside the room. “I guess that depends on what this ’thing you’re referring to is?” He sat down on a couch. “A plant, a piece of jewelry, a pet, a-”

“Me!” Just then, a child leapt onto Leona’s back, causing him to fall to the ground. Vil stared at the child as they grabbed onto the prince’s ears and grinned at him. “Hiya!”

Vil blinked. Leona and his brother had both been in a race for the succession of the Kingscholar Kingdom, and for most of the game, Falena had been the brother most likely to take the crown.

Why? He wasn’t just the firstborn, but also had the most support within their kingdom, whereas Leona was more supported by nobles such as the Schoenheits outside of the Sunset Savanna. But what really cemented Falena’s position as the unofficial crown prince was that Falena had something Leona didn’t.

An heir, by the name of…

“Cheka!” Leona growled at his nephew, pulling him off his back. “Don’t just jump on me like that. And say hi to Vil.”

The boy then laughed as he jumped into Vil’s arms. “Hi Mister Vil! Unca says you’re really pretty!”

“Oh?” ’Holy fucking shit this is the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen!’ The blond’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Leona. “What else has Unca told you about me?”

“He says that you make him feel emotionally vulnerable, like a-”

Instantly, Leona slapped his hand over the three-year-old’s mouth. “Cheka, you’re three, don’t repeat words you don’t understand.” He moved his hand. “Why don’t you tell Vil all about why I’m your favorite uncle instead?”

“Oh! Okay!” The boy scrambled to stand on top of the couch. He puffed his chest out proudly. He nodded seriously to Vil. “Unca is my favorite unca because he’s my only unca!”

“First place by a lack of competition!” Vil clapped his hands together before laughing at Leona. “The best way to win, really.”

“Yeah!” Cheka jumped up and down on the couch. “First place! First place!”

“Cheka stop jumping like that, you’re gonna fa-”

Just then, the boy fell off the couch and let out a cry of pain as his knee hit the ground. “Unca!” Fat tears rolled down the kid’s face as he held his leg in pain. “Unca it hurts!”

“Come on, man.” In an instant, Leona was at his side. “What did I tell you? You need to be more careful.” Even if his words seemed harsh, he patted the kid’s head with a gentle hand.

“But Unca…” Cheka sniffled. “It hurts…”

“Aww, I’m sure it does, button.” Vil moved over to where some ice was sitting nearby. “Your uncle is just worried about you because he loves you.”

Leona bit the inside of his lip and smiled at Cheka as the kid’s eyes shone. “Yep.” He turned to look at Vil, who wrapped a handkerchief around some ice before going back over to them.

The prince took the ice and pressed it against Cheka’s bruised knee. Vil smiled at him. “Thank you, Leona.”

The boy’s tears were drying up as he looked at Vil. He then looked up at Leona. “Unca, am I going to survive?”

“I think…” Leona patted his shoulder. “You’re going to make it.”

The boy no longer was crying, but he still let out a sniffle. “Unca… whenever I feel bad Papa kisses my head to make it all better.”

Leona’s eye twitched. Vil bumped his shoulder and gestured to the kid. He let out a groan and quickly pressed his lips against Cheka’s forehead. Just as fast, he pulled away. “Good job, champ. Please never ask me to do that a-”

“You’re so brave, your highness!” Vil gave the kid a kiss on his forehead as well. The boy beamed at him and threw his arms around Vil happily as the blond continued to speak. “You’re the bravest prince I’ve ever met!”

Cheka’s eyes glowed. “Even more than Unca?”

“So much more than Unca!”

“Hey!” Leona narrowed his eyes at Vil, but couldn’t help but smile as he watched the pair. Seeing Vil acting all parental like this to Cheka definitely did something to him. And on top of that… he’d kissed Cheka’s forehead, and then Vil had kissed Cheka’s forehead…

The prince’s face grew flushed. ’An indirect kiss!’

Cheka didn’t seem to notice his uncle’s reddening face and let out a cheer. “I’m brave! I’m brave!” The boy stood up with another cheer. He grabbed Leona’s hand.

“Mister Vil says I’m brave, so can I go outside now?!”

Chapter Text

Cheka bopped his head side-to-side happily as he held onto both his uncle and Vil’s hands. He had been very clever, and very ‘annoying’ and had been able to convince his uncle to take him outside to wander around some of the stores in their kingdom’s capital city.

“Unca, Unca!” Cheka bounced up and down. He squeezed Leona’s hand. “Swing me!”

“Uh-huh.” Originally, his nephew was just supposed to sit still and tell Vil all about how amazing Leona was. That was the plan. Specifically, the plan that he and Leona had discussed.

However, Leona had severely underestimated just how much of a… three-year-old his nephew was. So, instead of spending the day watching his fiance spend time with his family and also letting Vil know how good of a dad he’d be to their future children, there he was. Outside. In the Sunset Savanna. During summer.

’Note to self…’ Leona narrowed his eyes at his nephew. ’Forming an allegiance with a three-year-old is a dumb move.’

To be fair, Vil was still there, and Leona was sure he was looking very impressive in the blond’s book, but taking care of a kid kind of required a lot of his focus. Which meant that Leona couldn’t give Vil all of the attention he deserved.

“Come on, Leona.” Vil swung his arm, causing Cheka to rise up in the air. “Swing him like you mean it.”

As the three-year-old let out a gleeful giggle, Vil found himself laughing as well. Cheka was literally designed by the game to be an adorable little kid, and he was! Sweet, energetic, playful, everything a kid his age should have been. If Vil ever survived long enough to have kids of his own, he would have been happy to have one like the boy beside him.

Leona cleared his throat and squeezed Cheka’s hand. The boy looked at him before letting out a gasp. He turned to look at Vil with wide eyes. “Mister Vil, what do you think about Unca?”

The blond tilted his head. “What do I think about him? Oh, there’s so much, I couldn’t even begin to describe him!”

Leona smirked at him. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s whatever you want it to be~.” Vil teased before smiling at Cheka. “Your uncle is a wonderful man, your highness. Though he could stand to work on his manners.”

“Hey!”

“But I find that I quite enjoy his company.” Leona’s ears flicked up happily as Vil spoke. The blond then tapped Cheka’s nose. “What about you? What do you think of your Uncle?”

Leona squeezed his nephew’s hand once more. ’Come on, Cheka! Tell him about how amazing I am!’

The boy closed his eyes and smiled widely. “He’s cool!” He opened his eyes and nodded. “That’s it!”

’Cheka you traitor.’ Leona grit his teeth together. He stopped walking and crouched down to look his nephew in the eyes. “Come on, Cheka. Why don’t you tell Vil all about what you and I did earlier today, yeah?” Leona had spent the entire day with the kid, playing, reading, teaching socioeconomic theory, all things that Cheka could brag about to Vil.

“Oh yeah!” Cheka reached out and grabbed Vil’s hands, pulling him down to his level. He nodded seriously at the blond. “We ate food!”

Vil let out a gasp as Leona put his face into his hands in exasperation. “You ate food?”

“Mmhmm!” Cheka nodded. He then looked around himself before pulling Vil over to whisper into his ear (though, it wasn’t like the boy actually did anything to lower his volume) as though he were telling a secret. “I ate all my veggies, but Unca didn’t because he said they were icky!”

Vil narrowed his eyes at the prince, who grimaced. He leaned down to Cheka. “Hey, why don’t you get on my shoulders so that you can’t talk to Vil anymore?”

“Yay!” The boy quickly jumped onto his uncle’s shoulders, grabbing onto his ears tightly. Leona shook his head and grabbed onto the boy’s legs, stopping them from swinging against him.

He held an elbow out to Vil. “Anyway, ignore him and let’s keep walking.”

“Ignore him?” The blond smirked at his fiance as he linked arms with him. “I don’t think I can. Really Leona, I understand that you have a distaste for greens but you can’t show that in front of a child!” Vil shook his head. “But, I’ll hold off on scolding you today for your nephew’s sake.”

Leona rolled his eyes. “My fiance’s so kind.”

“Aren’t I? Anyway.” They wandered through a large park as Vil spoke. “Your eighteenth birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it? What are you planning on doing to celebrate?”

“Eh, same old stuff.” Leona shrugged, causing Cheka to move up and down with a giggle. “Some big party full of people I can’t stand that I need to impress to get on my side to become king. You know, my favorite thing to do.”

“Oh, poor kitten.” Vil bumped against his arm. “I’ll be there, though. At least, I assume you’ll be inviting me.”

“Maybe~.”

“So you are. Good.” Vil squeezed his arm. “I’ll help you out when talking to them. Consider that my birthday gift to you.”

“I’d prefer a different gift…” Leona muttered to himself, and Vil frowned at him as he overheard. “Okay, I’ll get you flowers too, your spoiledness.” He tapped his chin. “Or maybe a cactus, since I can’t imagine you being attentive enough to water a plant every day.”

“Really?” Leona’s tail wrapped around Vil’s waist as he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t go selling me short, I’m plenty attentive.” He winked. “When I want to be.”

Vil shook his head, swatting the prince’s tail away with his hand. “And would you be attentive towards a plant if I got you one?”

“If it was a gift from you, sure.” Leona brought his tail back around Vil’s waist. This time, Vil didn’t try to move it.

“You’re sweet.” The blond reached up and tweaked his fiance’s nose. “But I wouldn’t want to gift you something too high maintenance. An old friend of mine got me a cactus years ago and it’s been a delight watching it bloom.”

Leona tilted his head. “An old friend?”

“Yes.” Vil nodded and put his hand to his chest. “He and I would play together when we were children. He was my only friend for a long time.” He shook his head. “His family travels around a lot, so I haven’t seen him in a while, though.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Leona bumped his shoulder against Vil’s. “I’m sure you two will meet again.”

“Oh, we will!” Vil laughed. “I can’t wait to introduce him to you, he’d like you a lot, I’m sure.”

“Really?” Leona raised an eyebrow. “What’s his name? Maybe I’ve met him.”

As Vil opened his mouth to answer, Cheka suddenly let out a yell. “Unca look!” He pointed ahead of them. “Weird people!”

“Cheka, you can’t just call people weird. That’s rude.” Leona narrowed his eyes at his nephew before drawing his gaze forward to a group of people in front of a fountain.

Vil also looked at them. Each person appeared to be wearing black and purple garments as they spoke loudly. Noticing his stare, Leona pulled him closer to himself. “Ignore them, Vil. This fountain is in the center of the city, so a lot of times a bunch of organizations will go here to try and talk to people. No big deal.”

“I see.” The blond nodded, and was about to go with Leona to another part of the area when someone in the middle of the crowd caught his eye.

He had a similar black and purple robe to the other people he was with, but on top of his head stood a large hat, differentiating himself from them as their leader.

There was something about him, an air of power, yet also something deeper. Something akin to cracked glass, one touch away from shattering completely and hurting everyone around him.

But that wasn’t what caught his eye. No, what Vil had been so stunned by was his fucking ugly haircut.

It looked like Rook’s almost, but saying that was an insult both to Vil (the person who had cut Rook’s hair) and Rook (the person who had to live with it). Instead of a bob befitting that of a polite and cheery young man, this gray hair looked as though it had been cut by a literal child who had just been given scissors for the first time. Uneven, jagged, and hadn’t looked like it had been given proper care for years.

Vil felt tears welling up in his eyes as he gazed at the man in front of him.

And as he did so, the man looked at him. His forest-green gaze widened in shock before he blinked and shook his head. Slowly, he began to grin, and he held his chin up once more, raising his voice to the people around him. “I see that we have caught the attention of more citizens. Allow me to repeat myself so that everyone can understand what I am saying…”

He held his hands out, and a small fire emerged from them. “Magic itself is a gift given to us from a higher being, a sacred, precious gift that we, the people of Noble Bell Sanctuary, have the privilege of controlling.” The fire moved and danced throughout the crowd, bouncing up to Vil, who took an alarmed step back from it.

The man controlling the fire shook his head. “Do not be afraid. My flames would never hurt anyone.” The fire bounced up to Cheka and glowed in front of him. The boy let out a giggle and reached out for the fire, only to be stopped by Leona taking him off from his shoulders and holding him away from it.

The man let out a sigh and brought his fire back to himself. He nodded to Leona. “I understand your worries, truly I do.” He raised his voice once more, speaking to everyone. “Magic is a gift, one that can be used to delight…” He raised his hands, causing the fire to burst, creating an array of beautiful fireworks above them. He then clenched his fist, turning the display into a field of dangerous fires. “...Or destroy.”

Leona grabbed onto Vil’s shoulder. “I don’t like this guy. Let’s go.”

Vil was about to follow him, but suddenly the man waved his hand and the fires completely vanished. “Something so powerful should only ever be in the hands of people who can control it. People like myself, who have dedicated our lives to serve our higher power.”

The man stomped his foot. “Not only that, but as long as magical creatures exist, we will never be able to properly control all of the magic we have been blessed with.” He clenched his fist before turning to look at Vil with a glint in his eyes. “As such, I implore you. We must fight against all magical creatures! They must be destroyed, and all mages must join us at the Noble Bell Sanctuary.” The man’s smile turned into a sinister sneer. “Otherwise, they must be eradicated.”

The man moved over to Vil, whose gaze hadn’t left him the entire time. He bowed to the blond and the princes before clasping his hands solemnly. “Our world as we know it has become plagued with wicked magical beings. It is only through following our Saint that this land shall be cleansed.”

Leona glared at him. He tried to move away, but Vil was frozen.

“Vil? Don’t give this guy the time of day, he just wants to talk, let’s go.”

’The Saint… That’s the protagonist!’ Vil’s hands started to shake. ’How could I have forgotten?’ He looked up at the mage, who was looking at him with a smirk.

“I see my words have gotten to you. It seems that not everyone is as corrupt as I had first believed.” He looked up and down at the blond. “From the looks of it you most definitely will be going to the place where all sinners go, but with effort and faith, I believe you may be able to lessen your sentence.” The boy reached for Vil’s hand and after a moment of hesitation, kissed the blond’s knuckles in a polite greeting. “My name is Rollo Flamme, a servant to the Saint, wherever he may be.”

’Rollo Flamme?’ Vil’s eyes widened. ’You're in the game!’ Not as anyone who had a character sprite, of course, but he was still relatively important. Rollo had been on the same level as Azul, a fan-favorite side character (that many people -including Vil’s friend- had wanted to be a love interest). He served as the protagonist’s mentor character, helping to train them in the ways of becoming the saint.

Rollo was actually the reason that the protagonist ended up in the world in the first place. He and his sanctuary used their magic to summon him at the start of the game.

Apparently the game developers had created a deeper storyline for him than as just a mentor character, but that ended up getting cut for the sake of instead writing more interactions with the love interests.

It was a shame. Vil had thought the small bits of Rollo’s character that he had seen were compelling.

“I don’t care who you are.” Leona grabbed Vil’s arm. “We’re leaving.”

Vil glared at his fiance. “Leona-”

“Vil.” The prince spoke. Something in his eyes made Vil pause, and he let himself be led away by him.

Rollo watched the three leave with a curious expression on his face. Beside him, one of his fellow followers spoke. “Sir Flamme. That man, the blond one, did you detect any…”

“Yes.” Rollo gazed at the small, almost unnoticeable mark on the blond’s neck. “I don’t believe it comes from him, but the disgusting aura of magic plagues him.” He narrowed his eyes, covering his mouth with a patterned handkerchief. “It is magic similar to that creature our Sanctuary nearly destroyed not too long ago.”

He snapped his fingers. “Tell everyone to get ready to leave. I must speak to the higher-ups about this.”

“Leona, what was that about?” Vil asked once they had gotten a good enough distance away from the fountain. The prince pressed Cheka into his arms and shook his head.

“I don’t know, but I got a really bad feeling about that guy.” Leona shrugged. “I know you were trying to listen to what he had to say, but look, there was just something off about him.”

Vil adjusted Cheka in his arms. “I know. I felt that too.”

“I didn’t!” The boy chirped, wrapping his arms around Vil in a hug. “I liked his magic!”

Vil laughed at the boy. “I’m sure you did." He bopped Cheka's nose with his finger. "But fire can be dangerous, so don’t go playing with it, alright?”

“Okay!” Cheka then squirmed in Vil’s arms. He turned around to look at Leona. “Unca I’m hungry!”

“Seriously? It’s been like… an hour since you’ve eaten.” The prince crossed his arms. He glanced at a food stand nearby and tapped his foot against the ground.

“Oh, the poor thing must be starving.” Vil ruffled Cheka’s hair comfortingly. He smiled at Leona. “Let’s get him some food before he dies, alright?”

“He’s not going to die, he’s fine.”

“Unca I’m gonna die!” Cheka let out a giggle as Vil continued ruffling his hair.

“Fine, but I’m not waiting in line with that guy.” Leona gestured to a couple of tables sitting nearby. “Vil, can you wait there with him?”

“Sure.” Vil adjusted the boy so that he was against his hip as he walked over to the table. “So, Cheka, why don’t you tell me all of the embarrassing stories you have about Unca, huh?”

“Hey!”

Vil turned around and stuck out his tongue at Leona with a laugh. But as he turned back around, he bumped into a person.

Stepping back, he first checked on Cheka, who seemed to be fine. He then nodded to the person he had bumped into. “Excuse me, I should have been looking where I was going, I-”

“Are you Schoenheit?” Vil blinked and looked up into the person’s eyes. They towered over him, a beastman of a species he couldn’t recognize, with muscles the size of his head and an uncomfortably dark look on his face.

The blond held Cheka closer to him, feeling uneasy. “I don’t know who you are talking about.”

The man in front of him snarled. “I know it’s you.”

“Why ask if you already knew?” Vil narrowed his eyes and took a step back from the beastman. With one hand, he tightened his grip on Cheka, and with the other, he reached into his pocket to pull out his shockstone.

But as he did so, the beastman’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Instantly, Vil let out a scream, only stopped as the man pressed a sharp knife against the blond’s neck with his other hand.

The people around them instantly began to yell and run away from them.

Vil glared at his attacker. “What do you think attacking me in a public space will do dumba-” He glanced at Cheka, who was staring at him with wide and fearful eyes. He grit his teeth and pressed the boy’s head against himself, trying not to let him see what was happening. “Not-smart person?”

“I don’t care.” The beastman growled at him, his knife digging into the flesh of Vil’s neck. “I was hired to kill you, and I don’t care what happens to myself after that.”

“K-Kill me?” Vil’s chest rose up and down rapidly. “W-Why would you want to do that?” ’I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT??? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KILL ME??? FUCK!’

“You’re in the way of the prince’s succession.” The beastman glared at him. “With you gone, that second-born will lose all of his backing, and the true king can take his rightful place on the throne!” He moved the knife until it was right over his jugular vein, inches away from ending the blond’s life.

“With this…” He pulled the knife away for a second before shooting it towards Vil. “Long live the king!”

But before the cold metal could end Vil’s life, Leona barreled into him, pushing him onto the ground. “You motherfucker!”

Vil watched as the two beastmen grappled on the ground before his adrenaline kicked in and he wrapped both of his arms around Cheka. “Don’t look, alright?” He covered the boy’s ears with his hands as another person ran up to him, checking his neck for any serious injuries.

At the sound of his voice, Leona looked his way. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw his fiance and nephew were alright, but as he did so, the other beastman saw an opening and took it. He slashed his knife across Leona’s face, cutting against the prince’s left eye.

Leona bit back a roar of pain and screwed his eye shut before slamming the man’s head against the ground. He would have loved to end it right there, but he had someone more important to worry about. He gestured for some strong-looking bystanders to grab the beastman before he ran over to Vil.

“Are you alright?” He grabbed onto the blond’s shoulders, checking him for injuries.

Vil nodded. “I…” His hands pulled away from Cheka’s ears and he pressed his hand against his neck, where someone had wrapped a bandage around it. “I’m a bit shaken up, but…” He patted Cheka’s head. “We’re alright, thanks to you.”

He then reached a hand out to cup Leona’s cheek. “But what about you?” Vil felt his chest sink as he saw blood dripping down on his fiance’s eye. It looked like… like it would scar. Vil bit his lip, his breathing growing shallow. ’I wasn’t able to stop it from happening… Even worse, it’s my fault that it’s there in the first place…’

“This?” Leona shrugged. “I can’t even feel it.”

“Still, we should go back and get you to a doctor.” His voice seemed to be shaking slightly as the adrenaline wore off, but he smiled at Leona. “Here, it's not like this will help much on a gash versus a bruise but…”

Vil placed his hands on Leona’s shoulders and pressed his lips against the prince’s eyebrow, growing slightly red from the blood.

He moved away from Leona and let out a sigh. “Thank you for saving us, Leona.” Vil then looked at Cheka. “Come on, thank your Uncle.”

“U-Unca!” The boy let out a loud wail. He buried his face in the prince’s neck and sobbed as Leona petted his head. “Unca, fank yewww!!!!”

Leona’s face seemed to have grown several shades of red, but he returned the hug. “Any time, kid.” He stood up, offering a hand to Vil. “We… we should get out of here.”

“Yes. I think that’s a good idea.” The blond took his hand, hiding his trembling hands behind his back.

Vil leaned over the bush and threw up everything he had eaten within the past twenty-four hours. When there was nothing left, he dry heaved, clutching his fingers against his stomach, feeling tears and sweat mixing together as they fell down his face.

After all three of them got checked out by the royal physician, Vil had decided to head back home for the day. Leona had waved him off, and as soon as the castle was out of sight, Vil had instructed his driver to pull over to the side of the road.

The blond clutched at his neck, accidentally tearing off the bandages wrapped around it. As he did so, he remembered the feeling of the cold metal being driven across his neck and he found himself heaving once more.

’I almost died. I almost died. I almost died.’ He repeated to himself over and over again. Vil shook his head, tears still falling down his cheeks. ’I did everything right, didn’t I? I was good! I wasn’t evil! So why, why, why?’

Ortho was still alive, Trey and Cater were still together, Rook was his friend, and he and Leona got along splendidly. By all accounts, he should have been safe.

But instead…

Vil looked up from the ground. ’Even if I made a change to the original script of the game, I still…’ He clenched his fists. ’Am I destined to die no matter what I do?’

But then his gaze sharpened. ’But I didn’t die!’ He stared at the cloudless sky, feeling something stirring in his chest. ’I could have died today, but I didn’t.’

He took a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned himself up. ’I changed the writing. I’m alive.’

Vil crumbled up the handkerchief in his hands and straightened his posture. ’Let the world try to kill me. It won’t succeed. Whatever it throws at me, I will survive.’

The game hadn’t started yet, but already he’d made his changes. The people who had once damned him were now his friends, and the death that once had sealed his fate was kept alive. He was not the Vil Schoenheit from the game, but someone else.

Someone who would stay alive.

Chapter Text

“You do realize we’re going to be engaged, right?”

Vil froze. “What?”

The prince rolled his eyes. “You’re not an idiot. Why else would I be here? For fun?” He pointed to the manor. “That’s what they’re talking about inside.”

Leona lowered his hand and shrugged unhappily. “Everything’s about to get fucked, princess.”

His voice was cold. “For both of us, and for worse.”

The blond attempted to turn to face the prince, to call him ridiculous or call him out on his rash language. But as he turned, he tripped over one of the many rocks on the rugged path he had stood on.

As he fell, he saw Leona’s eyes widen as he ran over to catch him.

And…

He…

Did.

Vil let out a gasp as he felt Leona’s arms wrap around his waist, stopping him from hitting the ground. As he stared at the prince, a gust of wind blew past them, causing an array of petals from the garden to flow through the wind.

The clouds seemed to part in that moment, causing a sunbeam to shine down on Leona, surrounding him like a crown or a halo. Vil’s eyes shone as he stared at the prince, feeling his heart beginning to beat in his chest rapidly.

Leona huffed and placed Vil back down. “Damn. Look where you’re going next time.”

“I…” Vil felt his face growing red. He put his hand to his chest. ’W-What’s happening to me?’ He looked at the prince, feeling his heart beating faster before turning quickly away from Leona. “I will, your highness.”

“Good.” Leona shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets before walking away. “Because I’m not gonna be here to catch you next time.”

“You won’t?” Vil blinked in surprise. He jogged forward to catch up with the prince. “But I thought we were going to be engaged?” He let out a laugh, touching his hand to a blushing cheek. “Surely that means we’ll see each other often.”

“Why?” Leona looked at him. “It’s just an engagement.”

“W-We’re going to be spending the rest of our lives with one another.” Vil frowned and wringed his fingers around one another. “I… figured we’d spend more time together at least.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m not exactly happy about this.” Leona gestured to Vil. “Like, I’m sure you’re…” ’kind of annoying, honestly…’ “A lovely person, but I’m just doing what I need to do so I can be king. That’s it.” From the prince’s eyes, a flash of sadness could be seen before his gaze hardened. “If you’re looking for love, you’re not going to get it from me.”

“But, Leon- ah…” The blond tailed off as the prince glared at him. “Your highness, I mean.” He looked at the ground as his cheeks continued to grow red with a dusty blush. “I… I know we just met, but… I’m really looking forward to our engagement. Even if you aren’t, I still-”

“Why in the fuck would anyone ever want to be with someone like me?” Leona spat bitterly. His nails dug into the palms of his hands as he clenched his fists. “I’m the second born, remember? I’m just using you to get what I need and that’s it. Don’t try for anything more.”

“I know that…” Vil clasped his hands together, scrambling to think of what to say. “B-But you’re a prince! Anyone would want to be with someone like you!”

’I’m a prince? That’s it? That’s all I’ll ever be… to anyone.’ Leona grit his teeth together. He sharply turned around and left the garden. “They’re probably done negotiating in there. Bye, Duke Schoenheit.”

He didn’t look at Vil as he walked away.

As soon as the prince was gone, Vil felt his knees wobble until he fell to the ground. He clutched his chest and put a hand on his cheek. ’He… he was so…’

“He’s so cool!” The boy wrapped his arms around himself as he let out a squeal. “And I’m engaged to him! Yes!”

It really was a day that would change his life forever.

Vil kicked his feet in the air as he wrote on a piece of paper.

The blond let out a groan and crumpled up the letter, tossing it into an already-full wastebasket. “’I never receive letters from you’? Way to be passive-aggressive, Schoenheit.”

He bit his lip and grabbed a new sheet of paper.

Once again, Vil crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it. “Quit bringing up the fact that you’re engaged!” The blond laughed, clutching his hair in his fist. “He already knows! He’s the one who fucking proposed to you in the first place!”

He grabbed another piece of paper. His hand trembled as he wrote on it.

He crumbled up the paper again. He grabbed a pillow and clutched it to his stomach. “Why?” He bit his teeth into his lip so hard that he tested iron, but he didn’t care. “What did I do?”

Was he overbearing? Was he not pretty enough? Did he talk too much? What did he need to do to get Leona to love him?

Why… Why did he like Leona so much again? They'd only ever spoken once, and Leona clearly didn't like him. Why did Vil love him again?

He didn't know. Vil’s hand gripped his pen tightly as he tried to think of any reason why he felt so strongly about Leona. As he tried and tried and tried, his grip only grew tighter, and tighter and tighter, until the pen suddenly burst, spraying black ink all over his entire body. He didn’t notice. ’I don’t know. Why do I love him? He hates me. Why…’

But that confusion soon boiled into anger as Vil suddenly let out a loud yell. “I HATE HIM!!!!” He then just as quickly let out a sob, tears mixing with the ink on his face. “No! No I don’t! I don’t hate him!” He buried his head in the pillow. “I didn’t mean it, Leona, I didn’t…”

Over and over and over again, he kept on thinking back to the day he had first gotten engaged to the prince. What he could have said to get Leona to turn around and to look at him. But nothing he did, no letter he sent, no visits he gave, Leona never looked at him.

Not once.

He snarled as he gripped the pillow on his lap. “It’s not fair.” He felt hot, angry tears pour from his eyes. "It’s not fair!" He felt the fabric start to rip as he pulled at it.

"IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!”

He roared, completely tearing the pillow apart. A cloud of feathers burst through the room as he panted from where he sat on the bed.

Just then he heard a knock on his door. “Go away.” He mumbled, pressing his face against his mattress.

“I’m sorry, my young lord, but your fathers are asking for you.”

“My… fathers…” ’They’re the reason I got engaged to Leona in the first place.’ Vil slowly stumbled up from the bed. ’I wonder… if we hadn’t gotten engaged, would things be better? Would he love me like I love him?’ He let out a laugh as he imagined the tables being turned, a world where Leona chased after him instead.

“I wish…” He staggered to the door and opened it.

The maid let out a gasp as she saw his hair covered in feathers and his body covered in ink. She carefully reached out to him. “Young lord, are you-”

Vil slapped her hand away from him. He glared at her. “Don’t fucking touch me.” He looked away from her. “Go away before I have you fired.”

“Y-Yes.” She clutched her hand, feeling frightened. She bowed. “T-Thank you my young lord, and I apologize!”

“Mmm.” Vil didn’t care. He stumbled through the manor’s halls until he was in front of his father’s office. He was about to go in until he overheard what they were speaking about.

“Eric, I don’t want a complete stranger living in our house!” Divus cried out. “Our puppy’s already feeling bad enough, I don’t want to make him feel worse!”

“I know, love.” Eric let out a sigh. “But I really think this could help Vil. Having a boy his age around might help him make a friend and forget about you-know-who.”

“Hmmph.” His father let out what sounded like an annoyed growl. “We never should’ve agreed to that engagement in the first place! Vil’s been doing awful.”

’I’ve been doing awful? I hadn’t realized my fathers thought so little of me…’ Vil clenched his fingers against the wood of the door, but continued listening.

“I know, and I’d love to cancel it ourselves, but at this point I think Vil’s too far gone.”

’I’m too far gone?’

Divus sighed. “I know. But still… Do you really think this will help him?”

“I do.” Eric held onto his husband’s hands. He then let out a laugh. “And besides, think about how nice it would be to hear some laughter in this place, huh?”

’Laughter as opposed to my pathetic moping, you mean? My fathers wish to add someone new to our house? What, are they replacing me already?’

He pushed himself away from the door and stormed through the halls. ’Leona doesn’t love me, my fathers aren’t satisfied with me… I have nothing.’ He trembled to himself as he reached his room.

“No.” He glared at the ground. “I won’t give up.”

He straightened up, ignoring the churning in his stomach that made him feel like he was going to throw up.

“If they think hearing laughter would be nice, then I’ll do everything to make nobody ever hears so much as a chuckle from my replacement.”

Rook blinked as tea was thrown in his face.

As droplets trailed down his face, Vil let out a gasp. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Rook!” He gestured to the empty teacup in his hand. “My hand must have slipped. Forgive me.”

The hunter smiled at him as the tea dropped down his face. “Do not worry, accidents happen!”

“Yes, they do. I’m glad you understand.” Vil tossed a handkerchief to Rook. “Clean yourself off.”

“Of course.”

Vil smirked to himself as he watched his lackey run away. After only a month of training, he already had a perfectly obedient servant. All it took was a couple of sharp words, and Rook would do anything for him.

But as soon as the boy was gone, Vil’s face morphed into a deadpan stare.

He leaned over and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Slowly, with great care, he began to write.

A shadow covered the paper and Vil looked up with a jolt. Rook looked at the letter with wide eyes. He then looked at Vil and held his hands up apologetically. “Forgive me for peeking! It was not on purpose, I-”

A hand grabbed his face harshly and Vil snarled at him. “Don't look at me like that.” He let go of Rook, standing up with a fire in his eyes.

“You think it's pathetic, don't you?”

“I-”

Vil picked up a teapot and forced it into Rook’s hands. “Vil Schoenheit, the most powerful person in all of Pyroxene, begging his fiance to look at him. How desperate can he be?” He gripped Rook’s wrist and caused him to pour the liquid out into his incomplete letter.

Then, Vil let out a panicked shriek and instantly let go of the blond. With careful fingers, he picked the wet paper up, but the damage was already done. His hands trembled as he stared at indecipherable smudges of ink, seeming to forget about Rook’s presence.

But that didn't change the fact that Rook watched Vil’s eyes well up with tears as he clutched the letter to his chest. He watched as the very same man who had seemingly made it his goal to ruin Rook now cried at the destruction he had caused.

Rook blinked, and a thought that he couldn't help thinking appeared in his head. ’How beautiful.’ But then he blinked and shook his head.

His movement caused Vil to look up, finally remembering that Rook had been there. The blond snarled at him. “Get. Out.”

Quickly, Rook nodded and placed the teapot back on the table before exiting the room. As he shut the door, he saw Vil standing up, moving to grab a new piece of paper. The hunter looked at the handkerchief in his hand, freshly cleaned by himself.

’I suppose I shall hold onto this.’ He pressed the item to his chin, still feeling slightly damp from the hurried way he had washed it. His fingers traced the woven design on the handkerchief, showing a small dagger being driven through an apple.

The hunter let out a slight chuckle. ’An apple… What a beautiful poison.’ He crumbled the handkerchief in his hand and looked back at the door. ’I believe that this… Roi des Poison, so to speak, is someone I would best keep my eye on for as long as I can.’

Vil grinned to himself as he stared at the room full of his guests. It was his debut gala, which meant that Leona had to show up! He had to!

“Duke Schoenheit, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” A man with orange-red hair and an almost too happy smile bowed to him.

Vil returned the gesture. “Of course. Thank you for attending my debut gala, Lord Diamond.”

“I’m happy to be here.” The older boy rose up. “You really did such a wonderful job of planning everything, you know? The flowers, the setting, I mean!” He gestured to a window, where a starlit night accompanied a still lake. “Who thinks of a debut gala on a lake? Genius!”

Vil smiled. He had spent hours researching everything he could about galas and debuts in order to make sure his was perfect. It was nice to know his efforts were appreciated. “You flatter me.” Vil was going to say more to the boy, but he then finally saw Leona enter the venue. “Excuse me. Please enjoy the festivities.”

Cater watched Vil leave, staring at the way his face seemed to light up when he saw Leona. ’Wow, the rumors really were true! Vil really likes that prince!’ He then tilted his head as the prince narrowed his eyes at Vil, but greeted him politely.

’He doesn’t like him back though? Shame, Vil seems like a nice enough guy!’ He held his hand over his mouth and snickered. ’Hehe, maybe I can worm my lil way into his heart. That’ll get me set for life!’

He watched Vil speak to Leona, with an odd expression on both of their faces before the duke raised his glass to grab everyone’s attention. He spoke for barely a minute before holding his hand out to Leona.

“Will you dance with me, Prince Kingscholar?” Vil smiled at his fiance, feeling his heart stirring with nervous tension in his chest.

Leona looked at him with a completely apathetic face before glancing at the other nobles, each of them looking at him expectantly. The prince grit his teeth together. ’I don’t want to, but… I have to show people that we at least get along a little bit.’

So, very reluctantly, he took Vil’s hand.

As they danced, Cater was about to go mingle with some of the other nobles, but was stopped as a certain green-haired man caught his eye. ’Trey mentioned he was going to be catering here tonight, but I never expected I’d run into him so fast!’

He let out a sigh as he watched his boyfriend set up some pastries on a table. ’Ooooh, what a hunk! So cute, so dependable, ahhhh~!’

Trey felt eyes staring into the back of his neck, and he looked up to meet eyes with his boyfriend. He gave Cater a warm smile.

On the other side of the room, the ginger clutched his heart to his chest. ’Ahhh! He’s looking at me! So! Damn! Cute!’

Trey glanced outside before tilting his head to a door.

’Oooh? Trey, you silly little man! You want a secret rendezvous with me?’ Cater’s face grew red, but he made his way outside. ’Oh well, I guess I’ll indulge him!’

As he walked outside, however, he bumped into a blond man that he didn’t recognize. “Oh, sorry about that.” He smiled at the man.

The blond looked at Cater with sharp green eyes before smiling at him. “Don’t worry about it.”

And as Cater went outside, those sharp green eyes never left him. Rook put a hand to his cheek curiously. ’A noble sneaking out of my Roi des Poison’s party…’ He glanced at the green-haired server, who was talking to a blue-haired guest.

He watched as the server then slowly made his way outside, with a red tint hovering on his cheeks.

Rook tilted his head. ’And a server joining him…’ The hunter made his way over to the doors. ’Well, this must be very interesting to see.’

He then turned around, watching the way Vil’s eyes were glowing as he danced with Leona. He also saw the way the prince seemed to be avoiding meeting those beautiful eyes that only ever looked his way. Rook shook his head and let out a sigh. ’Beautiful Vil… it is your fault for choosing to covet that which cares not for you.’

The hunter then let out a laugh. ’Well, that is quite hypocritical of me to say.’ He slowly walked outside. ’As much as I would love to continue to watch you, it may be a good idea for me to watch something… else.’

And with that, he left.

As Vil bowed to Leona, he smiled. They hadn’t talked at all during their dance, but they had plenty of time to catch up now that the music was…

Leona walked away from him as soon as the music stopped.

Vil’s eyes widened and he ran up to his fiance. “Your highness, how have you been? I haven’t seen you since we got engaged!”

Leona continued walking. “Fine.”

The blond attempted to hold onto the prince’s arm, but Leona moved it away from him as he did so. “T-That’s good to hear. I… I sent you letters.”

“I know.” Leona crossed his arms, still not meeting Vil’s eyes.

“Y-You got them?” Vil blinked. “I… I never got a response, so I figured you weren’t getting them, or-”

“I read them.” The prince scoffed. “They didn’t have anything important, so I never responded.”

’Nothing important?’ Vil flinched, thinking back to all the time he’d spent languishing over the right words to write. “T-They didn’t? I… I spent so long writing them, I’m sorry you thought they weren’t important.” Those letters, they were everything he had felt for his fiance, his love, his fear, his anger. But if Leona didn’t think it was important…

Then it must not have been.

He smiled at the prince, feeling that if he didn’t smile, he would be crying. “I’ll write better letters next time.”

“You don’t have to.” Leona let out a sigh and shook his head. He finally met Vil’s eyes, his emerald gems seeming as though they were as cold as ice. “We’re engaged, that’s it.” He started walking away from Vil. “I don’t want your letters, I don’t want to talk to you unless I have to, I don’t-”

Vil grabbed onto his wrist in a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving. “I-I know you don’t feel anything for me, but-”

“I don’t want anything to do with a clingy brat like you!” Leona slapped his hand away.

The rest of the guests instantly silenced, staring at the two with shock in their eyes.

Vil held his hand close to his chest. Leona continued to speak. “I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but the only reason I’m engaged to you is for your family’s support. I don’t care about you, I never have, and I never will.”

He moved closer to Vil, and let out a sigh as he looked at the tears welling up in his fiance’s eyes. “Look.” He put his hand on Vil’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. “I know you think I’m some prince charming who can sweep you off your feet, but thinking I’m all that will only hurt you in the end. I’ll never be the guy you want me to be, so stop looking for him.” He looked away. “Don’t love me, Duke Schoenheit. It’s better that way for both of us.”

Vil’s hands trembled and he grit his teeth together. He didn’t say anything, he simply bowed to the prince with his head down. He turned around and went outside, hand still held tightly against his chest.

He was alone when he went outside, and he felt tears falling down his face as he trembled. “Don’t love me, he says...” He muttered to himself.

“But…” Vil wiped at his eyes. “How can I stop loving him when I don't even know how I started?”

Loving Leona was all he was. All he would ever be. He couldn't just stop his feelings. He didn't know how. What was Vil Schoenheit if he wasn’t in love with his fiance? Did he even exist without his love?

Vil then let out a gasp as he saw two people wrapped in each other’s arms. He watched as they smiled at each other before pressing their lips against each other in a passionate, loving, wonderful kiss.

Vil’s hands trembled and his eyes widened as he continued to watch them. “Why…”

As he spoke, the pair turned around. He recognized Cater, but didn’t recognize the man he was with. However, he did notice his outfit, the one that all servers were meant to wear. “Why…”

“D-Duke Schoenheit! I-It isn’t what it looks like! Uh…” Cater waved his hands. “I got uh… bitten by a snake, and he was… sucking out the venom! And, and…”

As Cater continued to speak, Vil continued to shake. Rain began to pour down from the sky, and the waves began to crash against the docks. “Why…”

He glared at the two of them. “Why do you get to be in love?”

“What?” Cater stared at him. The boy beside him put his hand on his shoulder. “Look, I know that we’re a bit unconventional, but Cater and I love each other! Please, you-”

“SHUT UP!” Vil screamed before prowling across the dock as he glared at them with hate. “Love? LOVE? You say you love each other?” He spat. “Why do you get to be loved? Why do you get to be happy? Why do you get all of this…” He stepped back, bringing his hands to his hair and pulling at it. ’When I get nothing?’

Cater and the server looked at each other before the ginger carefully made his way over to Vil. He put his hand on the younger boy’s back in comfort. “Hey, let's try to take some deep breaths, alr-”

Vil slapped his hand away. “Don't touch me.”

He stepped closer to the two of them. ’If I don’t deserve love, then nobody does.’ Vil’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the green-haired man. “You are nothing. And you.” He looked at Cater and let out a sardonic laugh. “You’re with that?”

Cater flinched. “I-”

“I can’t believe it.” Vil continued to laugh. “Lord Diamond, fucking a servant.” He tilted his head. “Oh, once everyone hears of this, you’ll be chased out of society like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“N-No!” The ginger instantly shook his head. “Please, don't tell anyone! M-My family, t-they’ll disown me!” The server looked at Cater with wide eyes as he continued to speak. “P-Please, just don’t tell anyone!”

Vil narrowed his eyes at them. “Get out of here.”

“Of course!” Cater fled the scene. The other boy trailed after him, but as he walked, he glared at Vil.

“What’s wrong with you?” The green-haired man spat.

Vil blinked, his voice as faint as a whisper. “Everything.”

“I can see that!” The man continued to glare at him. “How much hate does it take someone to have to be so… cruel?”

“A lot.”

The man clenched his fist. “Do you have any… any kind of… of e-empathy, or sympathy?” He was so mad that it was a struggle to get his words out.

Vil blinked. He felt absolutely nothing at this moment. No empathy, no sympathy. Nothing. “I don’t.”

“Why do I even bother trying to reason with you?” The man glared at him. “You’re nothing but a villain.” He turned away angrily. Vil felt numb as he was left alone on the docks.

’Villain?’ He looked down into the raging waters crashing against the docks. He stepped closer to the railing, leaning against it weakly. Vil rested his head in his hands. “What a perfect word to describe me, hah…”

The storm continued to rage right in front of him.

“Okay, we can plan this out!” Cater grabbed onto Trey’s shoulders as soon as the taller boy approached him. “We won’t be able to see each other, but maybe we could sneak letters, or, or-”

“Cater.” Trey spoke. “I… I’m not going to ask you to choose between me and the rest of your life.” He looked down. “We should break up.”

“N-No! We shouldn’t!” Cater cried out. His eyes were wide with desperation. “We can make it! It might be hard, but-”

“If your parents find out about us, they’d at best send you away and at worst kick you out.” Trey’s usually warm eyes were blank as he spoke. “I can’t let you get hurt because of me.”

“O-Okay! W-We break up and then get back together once we go to Night Raven College!” Cater shook his head. “We don’t have to stay broken up, we-”

“Cater.” Trey grabbed onto his boyfriend’s hands. “That won’t work. I… Even when I become a studied mage, I… I’ll still be…”

“You’ll still be Trey.” The ginger cupped Trey’s cheeks in his hands and pressed his forehead against his. “The man I love.”

“The man you shouldn’t love.” Trey pulled away from Cater. “No matter who I become in the future, even if my rank changes, I won’t ever be… enough for anyone.”

Cater tried to grab his hand. “You’re enough for me!”

Trey smiled at him, eyes welling up with tears. “No… No I’m not.” He turned around, fighting against his every instinct to stay where he was. “Goodbye, Ca-... Lord Diamond.”

“Trey!” Cater called after him as he walked away. “Trey!” He ran after him, but fell to the ground as he did so. “Trey! Come back!”

He wrapped his arms around himself. “Trey!”

But he didn’t turn around.

Two sets of green eyes watched as Trey left. One welled up with tears, and the other watched with an indescribable look on his face, and a glint in his eyes.

Vil continued to stare at the waves on the lake. Some of them washed over the dock, drenching him with its cool waters, but he couldn’t feel anything.

A voice called out to him. “E-Excuse me. Duke Schoenheit.”

Vil turned his head, seeing a boy his age with blue hair making his way over to him. Try as he might, though, Vil couldn’t make out his face. Not that he cared.

The boy seemed nervous as he spoke. “U-Uh. Sorry that I'm bothering you but have you seen my brother?”

Vil blinked, the boy’s words barely registering in his head.

“He looks exactly like me, but way cuter and full of optimism?”

Vil blinked once more. He looked at the boy, still unable to clearly see his face. Not just the boy, he couldn’t make out anything. It was as though the entire world before him was a complete and total blur. He opened his mouth slowly. “I haven't seen anyone like that.”

“Oh. Okay.” The boy moved away as Vil spoke up once more. “If your brother is missing, you can ask one of the guards posted around the docks about it.”

“I'll do that.” The boy frowned. “Hey, are you…” He bit his lip and hid his shaking hands behind his back. “Are you okay? You seem… out of it.”

Vil continued to watch the waves crash against the docks. “Out of it?”

The boy then let out a groan and smacked his face with his hand. “Of course you're not okay, everyone saw you and the prince argue.”

Vil felt something wet fall from his eyes. ”Everyone?”

“N-Not everyone, I mean! Uh…” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “What I mean is uh… The prince is wrong!”

Vil’s eyes widened. ’Leona is… wrong?’ He narrowed his eyes. “My fiance is a very intelligent person, there is not anything he wouldn’t be right about.”

“I-I’m sure he is! I… I just mean…” The boy looked away. “You're too pretty to be crying over a guy.”

Vil blinked, suddenly realizing why his cheeks were wet. He brought his hand up and touched the moisture. ’How long have I been like this?’

He turned to face the boy. “What's your name?”

“I-Idia. Idia Shroud.”

“You don't know everything about me.” Vil narrowed his eyes. “My feelings for Leona will always be everything to me. Do not ever doubt them or think they are undeserved.” He then smiled. “But still, I appreciate your kindness.”

Vil bowed. “Thank you, Lord Shroud, for speaking to me.”

Idia felt a blush spreading over his cheeks. “T-Thanks! Uh… I mean… You're welcome! I mean…” He quickly turned away. “I… should keep on looking for Ortho! Bye!”

Vil watched the boy leave with a smile on his face and the feeling of unfamiliar warmth in his chest before turning around to continue gazing at the cold waves dancing across the lake.

Leona was like the sun. Bright, sustaining, and blinding. Ever since he had met the prince, it had been as though he had gone blind from his all-encompassing brightness. He was all Vil had, but… talking to Idia just then felt like something new.

Something bright, but not blinding. Like a little flame on a candlestick. It was warm. It was nice.

’Maybe…’ Vil put his hand to his chest. ’Maybe it's time I found another light to reach for.’

The railing he was leaning against seemed to wobble and totter with the waves. If he focused hard enough, he could hear the faint sound of the wood beginning to crack and break as he stood.

But his focus was elsewhere, so all he heard was the pitter patter of rain against the glass roof above his head.

Just as the railing he was leaning against broke, he felt small hands wrapping around him, pulling him away from the dock as it was destroyed by a clashing wave.

However, the sudden touch shattered the peace he had felt, and an instant wave of anger washed over him. He grabbed the arms around him with a growl. “Don’t fucking touch me!” And before he could think about what, or why, or how he was doing what he was doing, he pushed whoever was grabbing him away.

It felt as though the entire world slowed down in that moment.

He stared into the boy’s bright yellow eyes, so similar to Idia’s. ’What had he said? Cute and full of optimism?’ The boy’s eyes welled up with tears, the light dimming as he fell over the docks.

Vil scrambled to the edge and launched his hand out to the boy, but it was too late. He watched as the boy’s hand reached out for him as he fell, before his head slammed against the rocks against the edge of the docks. Slowly, the crashing waves pulled his body beneath their restless waters, claiming him as their personal victim.

“N-no!” Vil scanned the surface of the lake, searching for the boy’s hand to shoot back out, or for his blue head of hair to make its way to the surface. He didn’t see him, not a single trace of anyone, except the slow spread of red blood mixing with the waters below. Vil put his hand to his mouth in shock. As he fought back a scream, the waters grew silent, and the clouds began to clear up, revealing the starry night sky above once more.

Vil’s hands trembled. “Did… Did I…” He scrambled away from the dock and wrapped his arms around himself. “I…” ’I killed someone. I killed someone. I killed someone.’

This must have been his punishment for thinking about someone other than his love.

Feeling sick, he stumbled across one of many bridges surrounding the lakehouse. He didn’t know where he was going, but he continued walking. As he left the venue, at one point he heard a loud, earth-shattering scream. The kind of scream where you lost all of the air in your lungs.

One full of raw, painful grief.

Vil bit his lip, drawing blood as he quickened his pace. He slammed his hands against his ears, trying to avoid hearing the screams of grief that he had caused. ’I didn’t mean to kill anyone, I…’ He blinked. ’But if I didn’t then why did I run?’ His legs continued racing away from his crime.

’If I’m not guilty then why didn’t I jump in after them? Why did I push them?’

He didn’t notice as he stopped stepping on the bridge and was walking on dirt, stumbling before leaning against a tree. ’I killed someone. I’m a murderer. I…’

“I…” Vil grit his teeth together and hugged the tree as tightly as he could, feeling the rough bark digging into his hands.

'Everything I do is wrong.’ He sobbed, falling to the ground as he continued to hold into the tree. ’Leona… Leona… Leona… What did I do? Is that it? Is that why you don’t love me?’

He dug his fingers into the tree. ’Papa, Father… Why did they choose Rook over me? What did Cater do to get someone to love him that I couldn’t do? And…’

Vil screamed before digging his teeth into the tree to silence himself. ’That boy… Why did he push me away from the water… Why didn’t I try to help him? Why did I run?’

The server’s words echoed in his mind.

“A villain… yeah…” Vil pulled away from the tree, continuing to shake. “What a perfect word… to describe me.”

He fell to the ground, and as he did so, a creature emerged from the bushes. A dragon with sharp green eyes, and shining black scales.

Vil stared at it, gaze completely dull.

The dragon glared at him before raising its wings and letting out a dangerous roar. If Vil cared any more, he might have felt scared.

But instead. He felt nothing.

He held his hand out to the dragon. “If you want to kill me, then just kill me.”

The dragon blinked at him, pausing its roar.

Vil lay down on the ground, feeling numb. He continued to hold his hand out to the dragon. “Come on then. Who cares? The world would probably be better off without a villain like me.”

The dragon’s ears twitched at the word Vil used. It looked at him and stepped closer. Vil let out a huff and pulled his arm back. “If you aren’t going to do it, then what are you doing here?” He looked at the dragon, noticing a jagged tear stretching across its entire wing. It looked as though it had been burned.

Vil let out a sigh. “That looks painful.” He remarked absentmindedly.

The dragon looked at its wing before looking back at him. It stepped closer to him cautiously before putting its snout against his hand.

Vil blinked at the creature as it curled up around him. ’Why?’ He shook his head. “If you aren’t going to kill me, then leave.”

The dragon let out a snort, moving closer to him. Despite all odds, Vil found himself laughing at the noise.

And as he laughed, he began to cry. He pressed his hand over his eyes, sobbing loudly. He wrapped his arms around the dragon’s neck as he cried. The dragon pressed its snout against him in an attempt at comfort. It raised one of its wings, stopping the few droplets of rain that had wormed their way through the thick leaves overhead from falling on top of him.

Vil screwed his eyes shut.

“I don’t like being a villain.”

Chapter Text

Vil shook his head as he read the letter in his hands. “Rook always has such a way with words.” He looked over to Malleus, who was sitting at his side with a foul expression on its face. “What? You don’t think so?”

The dragon let out a grunt.

“Uh-huh.” Vil placed the letter inside his vanity along with the others he had received from his friend since their parting.

“It’s hard to believe how time flies, don’t you think so, Malleus?” He spoke as he brushed his hair, looking at himself in the mirror. It had been two years since he had parted ways with Rook, two years since he had befriended Cater, Idia, and Trey, two years since he’d met Malleus, and almost three years since he had gotten engaged to Leona.

It was late August, his eighteenth birthday had already came and went, and soon he and his friends would be joining Leona as students at Night Raven College.

And more importantly, the day school began was not only his first day of college, but it was also when the game began. Yes, ’Twisted Loverland’ began at the opening ceremony, as the protagonist was brought into their world as the Saint, capable of…

Things.

The game never really specified what exactly the Saint did, other than having magical healing powers that he could use to save his love interests in various homoerotic ways. Because the game developers wanted to make their protagonist useful in that they could act as support, yet also be completely useless when it came to fights so that he could be saved by the love interests. Kind of like a glorified sexy lamp.

Which was a little bit annoying, but hey. Vil had played the game for Idia, not for the (nonexistent) worldbuilding.

While ’Twisted Loverland’ never specified what the Saint was capable of, Vil was lucky enough to have lived in this world all his life and thus knew that the powers specified to the Saint were…

Things.

Yeah… they hadn’t really had a Saint for the past century, so the only people who knew the Saint’s abilities were the people who actively followed him.

That being the mages of Noble Bell Sanctuary. At the opening ceremony, Rollo Flamme was meant to use his magic to bring the protagonist into the world, where they would land gracefully at Night Raven College.

The protagonist would then be sent to live at the sanctuary, but they also had to enroll as a student at the college. Because it was a school dating sim, and other plot bullshit.

However, the protagonist was so much of a cute, innocent, little doe that they needed the assistance of multiple tutors to help them adjust to the world of Twisted Wonderland! Where they’d begin to warm the hearts of the love interests and blah blah blah, dating sim.

What was important was that the original flavor of Vil was also one of the tutors, educating the protagonist on the rights and wrongs of high society, potionology, and whatever other contrived bullshit the creators could come up with. Vil had apparently been so appalled at the protagonist's lack of decorum in regards to everything (and the protagonist's budding relationship with his fiance) and had bullied him, until his eventual beheading.

Because you can just get beheaded for that in this world.

Of course, with his game knowledge, Vil knew to completely avoid doing anything that would separate his beautiful head from his shoulders. He was planning on straight-up avoiding the protagonist. Sure, whenever they ever crossed paths, he’d be polite to them, but for the most part he was planning on doing nothing.

That was also his plan if he ever encountered Malleus. Er, well, Non-Dragon Malleus.

He stood up from where he had been sitting and showed his eye makeup off to the dragon. “How do I look?”

Malleus flapped its wings in appreciation as it looked at the smokey eye Vil had been wearing. The dragon’s gaze then moved to Vil’s neck, where he wore a purple choker.

The dragon let out a happy grunt as it looked at the choker, as its colors matched the ribbon that had been lovingly tied around its own neck.

Vil tied his hair up in a bun, letting his bangs frame his face gracefully as he spoke. “I’m glad you like it. Now, while I’d love to spend some more time with you, I really need to head out.” Vil nodded to his reflection in the mirror. “It’ll be the last gala I’ll be throwing for a while. At least until I’ve settled at NRC, so I want to go out on a high note.”

Malleus nodded in understanding. “I’ll make sure to tell you all about it, my little dragon.” Vil scratched between the dragon's horns before and moved over to the balcony door.

He opened it for the dragon before returning to the mirror to check himself once again. “Feel free to stay here as long as you like, but when you leave please close the door.” He pointed at the dragon seriously. “And I said close. Don’t slam it shut like you did last time. I had to get it fixed, and my dads asked me a lot of questions.” He shrugged. “They didn’t believe me when I said a dragon broke my door.”

Malleus nodded and Vil smiled at him. He pressed a kiss against the dragon’s head. “Good boy. See you later.”

And with that, he was gone, and Malleus was alone in the room.

The dragon’s eyes were completely dilated and his wings flapped as he let out a happy sigh. Malleus then shook his head before looking around Vil’s room carefully. He glared at Rook’s letters, but fought against the urge to rip them into shreds (last time he’d done that, Vil had gotten very upset) and let out a low growl.

He moved over to the door, but as he did so, a powerful gust of wind suddenly blew past, slamming it shut. Malleus let out an annoyed grunt, unable to grab the doorknob without thumbs.

Malleus was tempted to just stay in the room until Vil came back, but he knew that Vil was always tired after galas. It would be a crime if Malleus took away Vil’s precious eight hours of sleep for his own sake! And besides, he needed to talk with Lilia about the new semester.

So, the dragon nodded to himself before becoming enveloped in a flash of light. His skin grew cooler and softer, and the black scales covering his body vanished. The horns on top of his head proudly remained, one still wearing the bracelet Vil had given him years ago. His claws disappeared alongside his wings and snout, replacing the dragon with someone who looked less…

Well, draconic.

Malleus stood up from the ground and stretched his arms over his head before nodding to himself. He glared at the door, which had been slightly chipped from being slammed.

The fae shook his head and placed his hand over the door. His green eyes glowed with magic as the door slowly began to heal itself. Once he was satisfied with his work, he smiled.

“That’s better.” He spoke, with a deep and quiet voice. Malleus looked around the room once more, double-checking that everything was the way Vil liked it. He nodded once more, and pulled the door open. Once he stepped outside, he very slowly and very carefully shut it.

And with another flash of light, he returned to his previous form and flew away.

“Leona, you’re being annoying.”

The prince’s tail lashed as he pressed his cheek against Vil’s neck. “I can’t help it, you smell so weird.”

Vil tried to pull away from his fiance, but was unable to. He settled for rolling his eyes instead. “By your logic, I’ve smelled weird for the past two years.” He swatted at Leona. “Quit bothering me about it.”

The prince grinned as he evaded the palm of Vil’s hand, pulling the blond closer. “No.”

“Leona!” Once again, Vil tried to pry the taller boy off him. A pair of guests walked by them, and Vil could tell they were staring. “People are staring!”

The prince shrugged. “Who cares? It’s good for me if people know we get along anyway.” He put his chin on Vil’ shoulder, smiling as he felt the blond’s warm body against his. “That’s why we’re engaged in the first place, remember?”

Vil froze. “Ah, about that…” He looked away and slowly wrung his fingers around each other. “I hope you know that you can still cancel at any time.”

Leona’s ear flicked. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“I’m just saying.” The blond attempted to leave Leona’s embrace once more to no avail. “When you find someone that you love that you actually want to marry, just let me know and the engagement’s off. No hard feelings.”

’I’ve already found the person I’m going to marry.’ Leona rolled his eyes. ’But good luck getting Vil to see that.’ Seriously. They’d been engaged for ages, gone on countless dates, and yet…

Vil never seemed to realize that Leona was genuinely in love with him!

It would have been annoying if not for the fact that Leona was in love with him and therefore could come up with a million and one reasons not to ever get mad at him.

On top of that, Leona wasn’t the only one in love with…

“Vil~!”

Cater launched onto the blond, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of Leona’s grasp with a surprisingly strong grip. “There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you~!”

Vil smiled at his friend. “Cater, what do you need?”

“I need you.” The ginger bit his lip and put his hand to his chin.

Vil blinked. “Yes. What do you need me for?”

Cater pouted. “You’re no fun.”

The blond let out a laugh. “I consider myself to be loads of fun, actually.” He cleared his throat. “But seriously, what do you need?”

“I don’t know, I just wanted to see you, I guess.” Cater crossed his arms. He held out a hand fan and pointed it towards Vil knowingly. “We won’t have as much time to hang out as we do now once we start school, sigh!”

“True, but we’ll have a class together.” Vil nodded. Cater had a free slot that he could take as an elective, and he’d opted to take Potionology 101, which happened to be the class that Vil would be TA’ing for. Normally freshmen weren’t meant to be TAs, but well…

Vil’s dad was the professor. Divus had literally taught Vil how to do potions since he could walk. Vil knew potionology. That, and nobody else wanted to work with his father, for some reason.

“True! Ugh, but I heard that Potionology’s actually a supes hard class!” Cater pointed at Vil seriously. “You’ll have to help Trey and I out with it!”

Trey, as someone studying magic, was required to take a few potionology classes. Speaking of which, wherever Cater followed, his boyfriend was never far behind. He walked up and smiled at Vil. “Please take care of us, Vil.”

Leona snorted. “You’ll need all the help you can get. No offense, Vil, but your dad’s kind of got a reputation for being tough on his students.” ’Especially when said students are his future-in laws…’ Leona rubbed the back of his neck, remembering his Potionology 101 class. He’d taken it as some way to get close with Vil’s dad, but well…

It hadn’t worked.

The only reason he’d decided to take Potionology 102 was because Vil would be in the class with him.

“No offense taken.” The blond shrugged. “Father’s always been strict when it comes to his teachings, and he is good at what he does. Still, though…” He put his hand to his chin. “Having that kind of a reputation feels uncalled for. He’s always been nice to me.”

“Vil, he gave birth to you.”

“He didn’t, I asked. And neither did Papa so I’m probably adopted. Except I look exactly like a clone of the two of them so it could be surrogacy.” Vil waved his hand. “It’s a whole thing. Anyway.” He smiled at Trey. “Of course I’ll do everything I can to help Father’s students.”

“Great!” Cater cheered. He poked the blond’s cheek. “I’ll look forward to it, Teacher Vil~!”

“Ugh, don’t call me-”

“Teacher Vil!” Trey laughed. “It suits you, though.”

“You two…” The blond rolled his eyes. As he did so, he spotted a bit of blue hair lurking in the corner. His eyes brightened up and he raised his voice. “Idia! When did you get here?”

“V-Vil!” The boy squeaked, feeling the gazes of his rivals shooting through him. “I… I just got here.”

The blond moved closer to Idia. He looked around, surprised to see his brother not with him. “Where’s Ortho?”

“He went to give Aquata her book on divorce back, leaving me alone. That traitor.”

“Oh.” Vil patted Idia’s arm. “Poor you. I’m sure it’ll be hard for you once NRC starts up and you won’t be able to share classes with him.”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started.” Idia crossed his arms with a groan. “I tried to get the headmaster to let Ortho take classes with me, but he was all ‘No babies allowed’ and while Ortho is a baby, it’s still a dick move to not let him come with me!”

He closed his eyes and whined. “He’s my emotional support brother! How am I gonna survive without my little guy…”

“There, there.” Vil had always been an only child, so he’d never experienced the bond between siblings, but he knew just how important Ortho was to Idia, and vice versa. “I know he’ll miss you too.”

“He will!” Idia wailed. He buried his head into Vil’s shoulder. “Just thinking about how sad he’ll be, uuugggghhhhhhh!”

“Hey, man.” Trey lifted Idia’s head up and spoke with a stern voice. “Pull yourself together. Just because you’re going to college doesn’t mean you won’t ever see each other again.” He held his finger up knowingly. “You’re his big brother, not the other way around, so it’s up to you to be strong for him.”

Idia let out a sigh. “I guess…” He shook his head. “It’s just going to be hard without him.”

Trey grinned. “Don’t worry, I get it.” He high-fived Idia. “Older sibling gang.”

Leona then shrugged. “I don’t.” He fistbumped with Cater. “Younger sibling gang.”

Vil blinked. After a moment, he high-fived himself. “Ah… Only child gang.” He then felt sufficiently embarrassed by his actions and changed the subject. “But we’ll have a class together, won’t we Idia?”

“Yeah. History with Trein.” Idia held his hand up, devoid of any excitement. “Yayyy…”

Vil grabbed onto Idia’s hand and pulled it down. “You’ll love Mister Trein. He’s the sweetest old man you’ve ever met.”

Behind him, Leona- someone who had actually taken a class with Trein- shook his head.

Vil didn’t seem to notice this however, and continued. “And on top of that, we have our club to organize!” Vil’s fathers had gone to NRC, and had gotten to know each other through the school’s theater club. However, in the past few years, attendance for the club had staggered out, and it eventually disbanded.

Divus had been lamenting this, and Vil had taken it upon himself to start the club up again. And Idia had been in the same room as them, so he’d gotten roped into that as well.

(He’d moaned and whined about it, but Vil swore he saw his eyes lighting up at the idea of creating a play of his own. Ah, so long as he wasn’t on stage, that was.)

“Yeah…” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess. But you’ll do all the interacting with others, got it?”

The blond frowned. “I don’t mind doing that, but as the club's co-leader, it would do you good to at least help me promote it.” He smiled at the rest of his friends. “Speaking of which, I hope to see you all whenever auditions take place.”

“You got it~!” Cater blew him a kiss. Beside him, Trey gave him an awkward grin. “I don’t think I’d be good on stage, but if you ever need someone to help backstage, I’ll do my best.”

“You always do. Thanks, you two.” Vil nodded to them before everyone turned to look at Leona. The prince shrugged. “I ain’t doing shit. I don’t have time for that.”

“Then make time.” Vil flicked his fiance’s forehead. As Leona let out a groan of pain, the blond nodded. “Rook promised me he’d help out, and if he can, I don’t see why you can’t either.” His voice seemed to grow quieter as he mentioned his friend.

Cater piped up. “He is? Wow! Hey, where is Rook, anyway?” He looked around the room, surprised that the hunter wasn’t there. “I thought he was going to try to make it to this.”

“He did try.” Vil sighed. “But something came up and he couldn’t make it. He’ll be back here the week before classes start, though.”

“Yayy…” Idia mumbled. Vil finally let go of his hand and crossed his arms. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen him… I miss him, you know?”

“Aww, Vil-” Cater held his arms out to hug the blond, but Leona pushed him aside and spoke. “Aww, Vil, come here.”

He hugged his fiance, ignoring the glare Cater sent his way. “I know you miss him, but you’ll be able to see him soon.” ’Which kind of sucks for me, but whatever, as long as Vil’s happy.’

Cater crossed his arms with a huff. “That’s what I was going to say!” He grabbed onto Vil’s arm and pulled him away from Leona. “But let’s not worry about being sad, hey? The night’s still young, Vil!”

The blond let out a laugh as Cater led him to the dance floor. “I suppose it is. Well then, Lord Diamond, may I have this dance?”

And the night went on without a hitch.

On the other side of the world, rather than celebrating with a party, something much… different was going on.

A woman let out a scream as she was pushed to the ground. “Please! Don’t hurt him!” She struggled as her arms were pinned behind her back to reach for her child.

“Shut up!” The guard holding her back yelled. One of the other guards picked her child up in her arms and shook her head at the mother. “If you had paid your dues like you should have, we wouldn’t have to do this to you.”

“And how can I do that?” The mother spat at the guard, not taking her eyes off her child. “I work myself to the bone every day, and you pay me nothing.”

“Work harder.” The guard holding her back rolled his eyes. “It’s not our fault that you’re lazy.”

“Lazy?” The woman struggled. She was about to continue yelling at the guards when suddenly a carriage rolled up to them. The two guards straightened up as the door opened, revealing a decked-out noble.

He scoffed as he looked at the woman. He raised his voice and spoke to the guards. “What seems to be the issue here?”

The guards bowed at him and the female guard spoke up. “There is no issue, sire. We are evicting his woman and she simply is putting up a fuss.”

“A fuss?” The noble stepped forward. He glared at the woman before letting out an annoyed groan. He examined the jeweled ring on his fingers absentmindedly as he spoke. “If she’s putting up a fight, then kill her. I trained you better than this, didn’t I?”

“Of course, sire.” The guards nodded to each other before the male guard raised his sword.

The woman stared at him in horror before closing her eyes, but as she did so, something warm and wet splattered on her face. She opened her eyes, and let out a scream of terror as she saw the very same guard who was about to kill her fall to the ground, dead.

A bloody arrow had pierced his heart.

“What’s going o-” The female guard drew her sword, but as she did so, an arrow shot out from far away, hitting her in the chest as well. She coughed up red blood before falling to the ground, slowly bleeding out.

The noble looked up from his rings and his eyes widened in horror as he noticed his two guards dead in front of him. He turned around, attempting to go back to the safety of his carriage, but as he did so, he let out a scream as an arrow shot at him, grazing his ear.

He stared at the person in front of him. They wore a dark suit, complete with a mask and a hat, concealing their identity completely. They held a bow in their hands and aimed an arrow at him carefully.

The noble held his hands up in surrender and let out a nervous stammer. “W-What do you want? Money? I’ll… I’ll give you whatever you want so, p-”

“I admire that ring.” The person spoke.

“Y-You do?” The noble grabbed his ring off from his finger and held it out. “Here, it’s yours, so-”

Those were his last words. As his corpse lay on the ground, the person took off their mask and admired the ring gleefully.

“Oh! What élégance~!” He held it up to the moonlight sky and admired the way its purple jewel seemed to sparkle. The man reached out his fingers and carefully dug the gem out of the ring.

As he did so, he turned to look at the woman, who at that point had grabbed onto her child, holding them away from the archer. She snarled, though her bravery couldn't conceal the fear in her eyes. “Hurt me or my kid and you’ll regret it.”

The figure nodded. “You are right.” He crouched down to the man’s body and began looking through his pockets. “If I were ever to harm someone like you, I would never allow myself to step foot near him ever again.”

He pulled out a sack of money from the man and weighed it in his hand. Seemingly not satisfied with it, he took a few golden coins from his own pocket and added it to the sack. He then weighed it again and nodded.

The archer tossed the bag over to the woman, who gaped at its weight. “Y-You’re giving this to me?”

“It’s only a fraction of what he has extorted from people like you.” The hunter stood up and kicked the shin of the deceased man. “Would I have had more time, I would have loved to tear his heart out, but…”

He smiled at the child, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “That might have been too much for the little one.” He then nodded to the mother. “You will receive more compensation after the dust has settled, but for now, please bear with this.”

The woman clenched her fist. “And what do you want in return? My silence?”

“Hahaha!” The archer let out a chuckle. “I do not care if you tell stories of what happened tonight. They’ll get told anyway, so who cares?!”

“I care!” A youthful voice called out to the archer. They had a similar-looking bow strapped to their back, and their face was just as concealed. They looked at the woman and let out an annoyed groan before bowing to her. “Please leave, Madame. We will do what we can to get rid of the bodies so please-”

The woman ran away. She pulled her child along, whose gaze never left the older hunter. The child waved at him and smiled. “Thank you, mister!”

The hunter waved back cheerily before he was whacked on the back of his head by his companion.

“Brother!” The younger archer held his hand up, about to hit him again. “What did I tell you about going on ahead of me?”

“He was going to kill her, I had to do something!” The man rubbed the back of his neck, feigning a pained grunt. “Besides…” He pulled the gem out happily. “Once I saw such a beautiful item, I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible~!”

“Seriously?”

“Yes! This jewel is perfect, is it not?” The man took his mask off, revealing his shining green eyes. He held the gem up to them. “Does it not contrast with my optical portals perfectly?”

His younger brother let out a sigh and crossed his arms. “I don’t care about that. You’re giving me a lot more work to do with cleaning these guys up, you know?”

“I did?” Those jade gems blinked in surprise. “We were going to kill them anyway…”

His brother let out a huff. “Whatever.” He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and wrote something on it. “He and his goons are dead, our job’s over, so we can-”

The hunter was already gone.

“Seriously, dude?”

From the rooftops of the city, Rook swung his legs happily as he continued to hold the gem up to the sky. “Ah~! It truly is beautiful!” He then held it close to his chest. “Of course, nothing compares to his beauty~!”

He smiled. “Oh, Mon Roi, Mon Roi. My sun, my moon, my star! I will be with you soon.” Rook then let out a gasp and stood up. “Very soon! I must get him more gifts before I see him again!”

He was about to leap down from the roof, but he pulled his gem out one last time. “I think… I shall keep this one for myself, however.” Rook put it in his pocket and patted it carefully. “I wouldn’t want Mon Roi des Poison to have to touch the same thing as that disgusting noble!”

And then, with a gleeful laugh, he leapt.

In two years, a lot of things had changed about him. But there was one thing that would never, ever change.

Chapter Text

“And I’m telling you, Father…” Vil gestured to the papers in front of him. “The students aren’t going to understand if you explain it to them like that!”

Divus rolled his eyes. “What’s not to get?” He picked up a piece of paper and pointed at it. “The plasma membrane for the cells within Mandrake Root is nonpermeable, as opposed to that of literally every other cell in existence, which means when working with Mandrake Root, you need to first completely destroy the plasma membrane using Dionysis Elixir, which can be grown in Dry WhiteHip liquor after having been fermented aerobically exactly seventeen minutes!”

Vil widened his eyes. “That! Nobody would get it if you just explained it like that!” He smacked his hand against the table. “You need pictures, examples, anecdotes, something to make it stick in their heads.”

“Pup, trust me, they’ll understand. I’ve been teaching this class for years, and not once have I allowed any of my students to fail.” Divus patted his son’s head. “And it worked for you, anyhow.”

“Because I live with my teacher.” The blond crossed his arms. “I had you with me to review as much as I needed, but the students? They only get a couple classes a week-”

“-And office hours.” Divus put a finger to his chin. “Surprisingly, not a lot of students use those, though.” He gestured to his son. “But even if they don’t, you’ll be there to help clarify for them.”

“Yes.” Vil nodded. “I will.”

Divus reached over to hug his son. “Ohhh~! I’m so happy that you’ll finally be able to join my classes.” He sighed. “Even if I’ll miss having our little homeschooling sessions.”

“Me too, honestly.” Vil returned the hug. “You’re a great teacher, Father. You really are.”

“I know.”

“And humble, to boot.” The boy shook his head, pulling away from the hug. “Either way, I’m excited to be able to work with you.”

“Yes!” Divus nodded. “I’ll show you the school’s labs before the semester starts up too. It’s a bit different than the one we have here, but you should be able to get a handle on it.”

“Sounds wonderful!”

“Oh, you’ll love it!” His father then let out an excited gasp. “There’s a garden on campus too, but I think you’d prefer the one you’ve been working on here with your little Lambents. However-”

Just then, Eric knocked on the door. He smiled at his husband and son before walking in. “Hey, you nerds. Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all! My assistant and I were just going over some lesson plans.” Divus patted the seat next to him. “But come, sit, sit! We needed a break anyhow.” He nodded to the maid standing by the door. “Andrina, can you get some tea, please?”

She nodded, and Eric called after her. “Only two cups, thank you.”

Vil tilted his head. “Only two? You’re not drinking?”

“No, you’re not drinking.” Eric chuckled. He looked at the scattered papers on the table and reached out to organize them, but decided against it. The last time he’d ‘organized’ his husband’s work, he’d almost thrown away a poor student’s exam paper.

Vil raised an eyebrow quizzically. “I’m not?”

Eric tilted his head happily. “Well, I figured that since Rook’s here, you’d want to go see him as soon as possible.”

“Rook’s here?!” Vil stood up, eyes shining brightly.

“Yes, he is!” Eric let out a loud laugh. Divus rolled his eyes and let out a huff. “Great. He’s here…”

“Now, now.” The silver-haired man patted his husband’s shoulder before turning to speak to his son. “He just arrived, he’s waiting for you with some souvenirs in the northern sitting room, actually.”

“That’s great!” Vil clasped his hands together. He fought back a smile as he spoke to his father. “We can continue our lesson plans later, do you mind if I go see Rook?”

“I do mind, but that’s just because I don’t like him.” Divus sighed and waved his hand lazily. “Go on, see your friend.”

“I will.” Vil bowed slightly, and only for a second before rushing out of the room. He nearly bumped into Andrina, only just avoiding her. “Ah, excuse me, Andrina.”

“It’s all right my lord. Would you like me to bring some up for you and Sire Hunt?”

“Yes, please.” Vil nodded. “Thank you.” And with that, he was gone.

Divus let out a tired sigh as Andrina placed cups of tea before him and his husband. “The manor was so calm without that mongrel…” He nodded to Andrina. “Be a dear and tell me what he acts like when you deliver their drinks. I can’t imagine he’s gotten any better.”

“Of course, sir!” Andrina smiled as she bowed to the dukes.

As she left, Eric shook his head. “Come now, Divus.” He put his hands on his husband’s shoulders. “Vil looked so happy to finally see Rook again. I know you like that.”

“Hmm, I do.” Divus shrugged. He turned to face Eric. “I don’t suppose that he brought us back any souvenirs, did he?”

“Ah…” Eric’s smile faltered. “He… did not.”

Divus blinked. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flask. “I see.” He poured the liquid into his tea. “I’m going to need this, then.”

Eric held out his cup to his husband. “Some for me too, love.”

They then tapped their cups together.

“Cheers…”

“Rook?” Vil opened the door, looking around the room for his friend. He didn’t see any trace of him, although he did notice a large stack of boxes sitting in the center of the room, right between where two couches sat facing across from each other.

The blond raised an eyebrow as stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Rook? Come on, greet me properly.”

He shook his head and moved to the center of the room. “Really. Two years of not seeing each other, and you-”

“Roi des Poison!” Suddenly the door behind him swung open. Rook stood before him, holding a pile of boxes in his arms. As soon as their eyes met, however, he tossed them to the ground and ran towards him. “Roi des Poison!” He repeated, before suddenly remembering himself.

He lowered himself to the ground in a bow. “Ahem. Duke Vil Schoenheit. I, Sire Rook Hunt, offer you my most sincere greetings.”

Vil couldn’t fight against a grin from spreading across his cheeks. He held his hand out to Rook. “I return your greetings.” His eyes shone. “Sire Hunt.”

“Roi des Poison…” Rook carefully took Vil’s hand and pressed a kiss across his knuckles in worship.

In the last two years, Rook had been almost scared to see Vil again, worried that his mental image of the man he loved might have been something greater than reality during their separation. But that wasn’t true. The Vil in front of him was even more beautiful than he’d remembered. It took everything in Rook to not worship the very ground he was on. Rook pressed another kiss to Vil’s hand. “Vil…”

Vil shook his head and cupped Rook’s cheek in his hand. “I’ve missed you, Rook.” He patted his friend’s shoulder with his other hand. “Come now, no need to be so formal. Stand up and let me look at you.”

“Oui!” Rook stood up happily. Vil walked around him, nodding in appreciation. His taste in clothes hadn't changed over the years, preferring to wear simple vests and comfortable trousers paired with boots. But he'd seemed to have grown an appreciation for accessories at least. A feathered hat sat in his head, and he wore a brooch with a beautiful purple gem in the center of his chest.

And over the last two years, his friend had grown more muscular and taller, though Vil was proud to say he still had a few inches over him. The blond hummed to himself as he looked at Rook’s hair. It looked exactly the same as the last time he’d seen his friend. “You never grew it out?”

“Non.” Rook shook his head. “I am very content to keep the style you have given me, Roi des Poison.”

“I’m glad you like it so much. But don’t think you have to stick with what I’ve given you.” Vil waved a hand. “Follow the beat of your own heart, and such.”

The hunter nodded seriously. “Oh do not worry, Roi des Poison! I always follow the beat of my own heart!”

“You really do, don’t you?” Vil then remembered something. “And now, onto something much more pressing…”

Rook tilted his head. “What is it?”

“The fact that I’m mad at you! Rook Hunt, you’re an awful man!” Vil hit Rook’s shoulder. “Why did you never come to visit me? I really missed you, you know?”

“Mon erreur, forgive me, Roi des Poison!” Rook cried, grabbing onto Vil's hand. “I could not ever get enough time away from my family’s work to visit you." He brought his hand up to his forehand, the other still holding onto Vil. "Oh, how it broke my heart to be away from you for so long!”

Vil shook his head. “They never gave you time off?”

“Non.” The hunter sighed. He pouted pitifully. “I would have snuck away to see you, but, alas… Had I gone to visit, I fear I would have never left your side again!”

“Well, don’t feel bad for putting your family first.” Vil moved to sit down on the couch, pulling Rook to join him. “It’s a noble thing to do.”

“Thank you!”

“But still…” Vil tilted his head. “In all our letters, you never told me exactly what it was that you were doing for your family.”

“Ah…Aha…” Rook trailed off. His heart squirmed in his chest as he looked around the room nervously. While Rook had no personal qualms with his family’s line of work, he knew that Vil would be against it. He remembered something Vil had told him once, when they’d visited a library together…

Vil had pulled a book of poisons off a shelf and looked at it carefully. Beside him, Rook read from over his shoulder. He let out a hum and spoke. “Roi des Poison, you must be very curious about the topic of mortality to enjoy reading such subjects!”

“Well, I suppose.” Vil had shrugged. Rook admired the way the light seemed to hit his hair in so many different ways, making it appear as though he were glowing. The blond tilted his head. “I think everyone has some kind of fascination with death, don’t you think so?”

He then froze and his eyes widened. He seemed to realize something as his gaze grew slightly fearful. “Ah, but… of course, death is not the greatest thing in the world. Murder is bad, Rook! You must make sure to never kill anyone!”

Rook tilted his head in confusion. ’What an odd thing to say!’ He frowned. ’When he says to not kill anyone, does he mean not ever or is it circumstantial? Such as self-defense or in an act of heroism?’

But, alas, he’d never clarified.

Rook bit his lip. ’Mon Roi does not like discussing deathly topics. Ah, such a kind heart he has, how beautiful… To protect his heart, I must lie!’

So, he lied. “We perform jobs wherever we can get hired. My siblings and I are the most skilled in our family, so we had to come back home to get the Hunts back on our feet.”

He held Vil’s hands in his and nodded earnestly. “And we are doing better now. I’m sure you’ve noticed my recent noble title~!”

“Of course, Sire Hunt.”

“Hehe~!” Rook laughed before holding his hand up. “I have made it abundantly clear to my parents that I will not be accepting any more odd-jobs on behalf of our family for the next four years!”

His friend frowned at him. “You say odd-jobs, what exactly does that mean?”

“Aha…” Rook chuckled. “Well, we get hired to gather objects and materials.” ’Such as lives.’ “Or to protect certain people.” ’From money-hungry tyrants by killing the tyrants’. “Oh! And sometimes we do a bit of networking as well.” ’Networking with rebel groups to kill their tyrant overlords, that is.’

Rook smiled at Vil, who furrowed his eyebrows together. ’Rook… doesn’t seem to be telling me the full truth, here…’ He let out a sigh and shook his head. He grabbed onto his friend’s hands. “Rook, if you can’t tell me the truth, I understand.”

His hunter practically deflated. His voice grew soft and his eyes were watery. “Roi des Poison, forgive me for hiding the truth from you. I… do not think the truth is something I can share.” ’Because, I know you would probably hate me if you knew what I did.’ He placed his hands over Vil's, realizing how soft they were compared to his.

He clenched his hands into fists. ’It was all for you… But… If you knew…’ He let out a noise of surprise as Vil squeezed his hand.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Vil smiled at him. He clasped both of Rook’s hands against his and blinked in surprise. “Rook, your hands are full of calluses!” He pressed his fingers against the palm of his friend’s hands, rubbing them slightly. “You must have worked hard.”

Rook blinked. His chest felt tight, but as Vil touched him, he felt as though a wave of relief washed over him. He smiled. “I have, Roi des Poison.”

“That’s good.” Vil patted his head. “I’m proud of you, then.”

Rook’s eyes welled up with tears. “Roi des Poison!” He screwed his eyes shut and held his arms out. “May I embrace you?”

“Come now, you know you don’t have to ask at this point.” Vil wrapped his arms around Rook, pulling him close.

Rook hummed happily, feeling at peace after finally being able to be with his love after so long. He would have been content to spend the rest of his life within Vil’s embrace, but alas, the maid Andrina entered the room.

She smiled at the pair, eyes widening slightly as she took notice of their close proximity. “Welcome back, Sire Hunt.”

“Thank you, Mademoiselle.”

“Here’s the tea you asked for, my lord.” She set the cups down on the table in front of them quickly.

And just as soon as she had entered, she left. Rook frowned at the interruption, but smiled when Vil spoke.

“So, Rook.” The blond gestured to the pile of boxes in the center of the room. “You seem to have quite a bit of luggage.”

“They’re gifts for you, actually!” Rook smiled.

“Rook, you shouldn’t have!” Vil put his hands to his chest. He gestured to the pile. “Of course, I appreciate it, but this is too much.” ’Save the gifts for the protagonist, buddy.’

“Nonsense!” The hunter wagged his finger. “These items are nothing compared to my feelings for you!”

Vil shook his head with a laugh as Rook grabbed a box from the pile. ’Rook, I’m going to miss you when you fall for the protagonist…’ He then blinked in surprise as a box was shoved into his hands.

“Here, open this one first!”

“Okay, okay!” Vil pulled at the ribbon on the box, opening it carefully. He then pulled out black choker that had a green jade as its centerpiece. He smirked as he looked into his friend’s eyes. “What a familiar shade. It’s beautiful, Rook.”

“I’m glad you like it!” The hunter grinned, placing his chin on his hands as he watched Vil happily.

’Two years…’ Rook hummed as Vil put the choker on. He kicked his feet merrily. ’Two years of wishing for nothing more than this.’

And oh, how he was worth the wait.

“Hugging? Before marriage?” Divus crumbled the papers in his hands as Andrina finished giving her report. “How dare he!”

“Divus, we did far worse before we were married.” Eric took the paper from his husband. “And after. And even during the wedding!” He rolled the paper up and smacked his husband’s head. “Don’t be a hypocrite.”

“I’ll be as much of a hypocrite as I want to be when it’s about our Puppy!”

“Well, calm down at least.” Eric poured his husband another cup of tea, this time opting to not add any liquor to it. “They’re friends, they haven’t seen each other in a long time, obviously they’re going to act close.” He handed the cup to Divus. “And besides, Vil’s other friends are very physical as well.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Divus crossed his arms and let out a huff. “They hang off him like mutts in heat, the lot of them!” Divus let out a sigh and placed his head in his hands. “I miss Jack! He was such a good puppy! I’m sure he would be a good boy to Vil!” Jack Howl had been friends with his son when they were children, and Divus had always had a soft spot for the younger boy.

“I know, I know.” Eric shook his head. “Nobody will ever be able to compare to Jack.” Eric then let out a fake gasp. “Hold on… Could it be that you don’t approve of our son’s friends?!”

“Of course I don’t!” Divus nodded sternly. He held his fingers up as he listed their names. “Kingscholar can’t protect him, Rook’s a mongrel, Diamond is far too clingy, Shroud is a trembling pup that can barely blink his eyes open, and Clover...”

He blinked, calming down somewhat. “Well, I do like him, at least.”

“Because he bribes us with cakes.”

“Because he bribes us with cakes.” Divus echoed. He then waved his hand. “But still, none of them are good enough for Vil!” He then let out a sigh and shook his head. “But, Vil doesn’t ever listen to me when I tell him that.”

Eric took a sip of his (spiked) tea. “I wonder why.”

“Apparently I’m ‘too picky’. Hey, I know!” Divus smiled at his husband. “You should talk to him! Tell him which friends you don’t like and he’ll drop them like that!” He snapped his fingers together.

The silver-haired man tilted his head. “But I don’t dislike any of his friends?”

“Then tell him which one you like the most and he’ll spend more time with them.” Divus shrugged. “I can handle one boy pining after our Puppy. Probably.”

“Ah…” Eric put his hand to his cheek and let out a chuckle. “I don’t know if I necessarily like any of them, either.”

Divus blinked.

Eric chuckled once more. He placed his teacup down and stood up from the couch. “I think I’ve been away from my work long enough, dear.” He nodded to Andrina. “Thank you for the tea, it was delicious.”

The maid bowed to him. “Thank you, my lord.”

He then turned to his husband. “At the end of the day, who Vil wants to spend his time with is his choice. Of course, if things ever get dangerous I’ll do what I can to protect him, but our boy’s grown now, Divus.” He patted the man’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “So, I’ll trust him.”

Divus still didn’t say anything as Eric walked away from him. The silver-haired man turned back and let out a chuckle at his husband’s face. “Oh, don’t be like that Divus. I still do enjoy our little gossip sessions.” He nodded. “I figure we’ll be having quite a few more before Vil starts school, don’t you?”

He then left the room.

Divus still stared after him. He then looked at his reflection in his tea. ’Wow.’ He let out a happy sigh and drank from the cup. ’My husband’s such a hunk!’

It was delicious.

Chapter Text

Mozus nodded to himself and put his hands behind his back. “That’s all you’ll really need to know about the library, and you can ask the librarian for help whenever you need any assistance finding anything.”

“I’ll be sure to do that, thank you Professor Trein.”

The older man shook his head. “I’m not your teacher yet. Save the formalities for next week.”

“Ah…” Vil clasped his hands together. “Then, thank you Lord Trein.”

Beside him, Rook raised his hand politely. “Shall I address you as my teacher as well, or as my superior?”

“I’m not your teacher yet either, Hunt.” Mozus shook his head. “For now, stick with the noble title. My wife will teach you both all about the greater aspects of societal etiquette once you have a class with her, but she’d have my head if I didn’t instruct you properly now.”

The blonds chuckled as Mozus led them further across campus.

Divus had wanted to give his son a tour personally, but unfortunately he had to meet with the headmaster over a sudden and important matter. He’d called in a favor with Mozus, and his former teacher was giving Vil and Rook the tour instead.

Originally it was just going to be Vil alone, but he and Rook had been especially inseparable as of late. The hunter linked arms with the duke’s son as he raised his hand. “Lord Trein, so far we have already seen the library, business building, and event center. Where are we going next?”

“The science building.” Mozus nodded. He narrowed his eyes at Rook, who tightened his grip on Vil’s arm. “And Hunt, it would do you well to study my wife’s books on proper etiquette in regards to physicality before you and Duke Schoenheit take her class.”

“Oh?” Rook smiled. He tilted his head happily, leaning it against Vil’s shoulder. “Please do not worry about me! I have already memorized the required course materials for her class.”

“Really?" Vil raised an eyebrow. “That’s very impressive of you, Rook!”

The hunter’s eyes curled up happily and he placed his hand to his chest. “Think nothing of it! I simply wish to do right by you, Roi des Poison!”

As the two friends talked, Mozus shook his head tiredly. ’Young love. I can hardly blame them, though.’ He chuckled to himself. ’We were like that too.’ He then frowned. ’But falling in love with someone who is already engaged…’ He muttered a few condolences to his wife under his breath. ’You’ll have your work cut out with him, my love.’

He then raised his voice and spoke. “Now, the science building is officially titled the ‘Villa Nus Q. Ween’ Building, named after one of our school’s original seven founders. But, that is a bit of a mouthful, so most students and faculty address it as simply the science building.”

Vil nodded. “I can see why they’d shorten it.”

Mozus walked up the stairs to the building in front of them. “This is where your potionology classes will take place.” He nodded to Rook. “You aren’t taking any classes here, right?”

“Non.” Rook shook his head. “It is unfortunate, but my electives are focused more on physical education than the sciences.” He pouted sadly at Vil. “Alas, we’ll only have one class together!”

“How sad.” Vil patted his friend’s arm. “You’ll have to tell me all about your classes with Sire Vargas. I think you’ll really like him.”

“If you say so!” Rook hummed happily to himself as Mozus led them to a large lab. “This building isn’t where any of my classes are, so I can’t tell you where to find any of the specific materials. I know there's a greenhouse behind the building, but that's about it. Other than that, all I can show you is this lab.”

Vil waved his hand. “That’s enough for me, Lord Trein. Father said he’d show me the specifics after his meeting with Headmaster Crowley.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here, then.” Mozus moved to exit the lab, and as he did so, he passed by a shut door.

Vil narrowed his eyes at the door and stopped in front of it. “Lord Trein, what’s this?”

“Hm?” The older man turned around. “Oh, that’s your father’s old office. He used to do most of his personal projects there, but ah, after the incident, he moved rooms.”

Rook tilted his head. “L'incident?”

Mozus waved his hand. “Yes, the incident. I’m sure Duke Schoenheit can tell you all about it.” He continued to walk towards the room’s exit, but Vil spoke up.

“I’ve never been here before, so I can’t recall any incident taking place here, actually.”

Mozus froze. He looked at Vil in surprise. “You can’t? Your… fathers didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

The old man let out a sigh and moved to sit down at a desk. He gestured for Rook and Vil to sit down as well, which they did. “I don’t know much about it, but one day, your father came here to visit Crewel.” He shrugged. “They were newlyweds at the time, so he was on campus whenever he could be. Ah, my wife and I were like that too.”

Vil smirked at him. “You still are, aren’t you?”

Mozus let out a chuckle. “Quite so. I don’t know much, but all I know is that they walked into that office empty-handed, and when they came back out, they had a…” He then trailed off.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. “What am I doing? This is something your fathers should tell you, not an old man like myself.”

’Was I about to learn about how I was born?’ Vil stood up. “Please, Lord Trein! You have to tell me!”

“No.” Mozus stood up as well and shook his head. “This is a personal matter between you and your fathers.” He held up his hand, silencing Vil before the boy could protest further. “Quiet. Come on, let’s look at the fine arts center, next.”

Vil practically deflated. “Yes, sir…” Rook patted his shoulder comfortingly as they were led to the theater.

Which, of course, was a wonderful place, enough to snap Vil out of his gloomy thoughts and brighten up immediately. The blond’s eyes shone as Mozus showed them the stage, surrounded by over one thousand seats. Vil snapped his fingers, marveling at how the noise echoed throughout the room.

“Lord Trein, this place is wonderful!”

“Isn’t it?” The teacher let out a sigh. “It’s a shame we barely use it. There isn’t enough staff to maintain it, so for the most part, this place is only here to collect dust.”

Rook looked around the theater, stepping onto the stage. “A dying beauté, how sad…”

“Quite so.” Mozus moved to sit down in one of the many seats surrounding the stage. “Most of our students are in line to become heirs of their properties, so they usually focus on learning about politics and such rather than the fine arts.” He crossed his arms. “I’m glad that the students are focusing their energies on that, of course, but it aches to see a place that was once bustling with life like this…”

He smiled at Vil. “Which is why I hope the club that you and your friend are planning to revive catches steam. It’s important for kids to learn all about the importance of performance.” His chest puffed out proudly. “I made sure my daughters learned all about music, and they loved it!”

The blond nodded. “Your work paid off. Your girls are well known for their music.” He stretched his arms behind his back before putting his hands on his hips. “Idia and I will do everything we can to breathe life into this theater, I can promise you that, Lord Trein.”

Rook raised his hand. “And Rook will help, too!”

Vil gestured to his friend. “And Rook will help, too.”

Mozus nodded. “Good.” He stood up, popping his back with a grunt. “I’d like to see a show performed here again before I retire, so you better keep your word, young man.” He began to walk towards the theater’s exit. “Come on, you two. There’s still plenty more of the campus to see.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Oui!”

After showing them most of the campus, Mozus had taken Rook off to tour the school’s sports facility. While Vil would’ve loved to join them, he figured it would be a better idea to check and see if his father was done with his meeting.

He’d asked Rook to tell him all about it later, though. To which his hunter had promised him he would.

So, Vil stood inside the executives building, where most of the professor’s offices were, including the headmaster’s. He leaned against a wall, watching people as they walked past him.

A couple of women holding books crossed the room, whispering to each other. Vil’s ears perked up to listen to their conversation.

“...He’ll show up, then?” The woman with large rounded glasses covered her mouth with her hand. The other woman, with a scarf wrapped around her head, shushed her loudly. “Quiet!”

She looked around the room, and Vil made a point of looking away from them. The woman let out a sigh and lowered her voice into a quiet whisper.

Vil could barely make out what she was saying.

“...The entrance ceremony… Don’t know… Sanctuary…”

He couldn’t hear the rest, as they exited the room. Vil furrowed his eyebrows together and put his hand on his chin. ’Someone showing up? At the entrance ceremony?’

This had to be it. The summoning of the protagonist!

In the game, the Saint had appeared with a flash of light during the school’s entrance ceremony. He had been welcomed by the higher-ups of the school and enrolled immediately, where he eventually would come to pursue the love interests.

He was also supposed to do plot-things to save the world, or whatever, but if Vil was being honest, all of the worldbuilding took a backseat to making out with the love interests.

Vil leaned his head against the wall, feeling tired. ’If they’re really talking about the Saint…’ He brought his hand to his chest. ’Then he’ll appear during the entrance ceremony, and… everyone will fall in love with him.’

The blond bit his lip. ’I might not have thought everything through… My plan was to avoid the protagonist completely, but if he’s going to be spending time with all of my friends, our paths are bound to cross eventually…’

He wondered which of them the protagonist would pursue. Leona was still an asshole, but -in Vil’s humble opinion- he was much more loveable than he had been in the game.

He wasn’t as much of a dick about the whole succession thing, he didn’t mope around as much, honestly, he was… a wonderful person. Not Prince Charming by any means, but a truly charming prince. The protagonist would be happy with him.

Or Rook! Oh, sweet, wonderful Rook. Who wouldn’t want to date him? Someone who could take care of you, who could brighten up your entire life in a second. An adorable, precious little huntsman. Oh, what a wonderful time he’d have with Rook!

What about Cater? That bundle of energy? Well, he was more than just that, of course. Vil hoped that if the protagonist chose Cater, he’d realize that. Cater was far more than the sunny personality that he projected, but someone who was incredibly intelligent. Who could turn the tides in any situation to his favor, who loved and hurt hard, but hid it. From everyone.

If the protagonist chose him, they better make him happy, or else Vil might just end up going ‘Villain mode’!

Oh, Trey was always a good option, too! They’d go on bakery dates, although the whole ‘poor boy with a heart of gold’ aspect might have been diminished a small bit since the Clover family business was doing just fine. Really well, actually, but hey! That just meant that they could go on a few expensive dates (though… Trey still was quite a bit frugal, even if he could afford to spend more). Trey was also quite experienced when it came to romance, so that was always a good thing.

Hell, since Cater and Trey were still together, maybe the protagonist could pursue them both? What a fun time that would be? After all, what was better than dating one hot guy? Dating two!

Oh, oh, oh! What about Idia? That hunk? The world’s most perfect, handsome, charming, kind of pathetic but also had this really strong side to him that made you want to spend the rest of your life with him? Vil fanned himself slightly before he realized what he was doing.

Vil grit his teeth together. ’Yes. Anyone would be… happy to be with any one of my friends.’ His hand trembled against his chest. ’And no matter who the protagonist choses, I know they’ll be in good hands. With a love story for the ages.’

He put his hand down. ’Yes. It will be wonderful.’

Vil shook his head. ’No matter who he chooses, I’ll have to act accordingly.’ He chuckled to himself. ’I’d like to say I’ve done a good enough amount of work with my friends, enough that hopefully they won’t want to kill me without sufficient evidence. And I’m sure that as long as I treat the protagonist kindly, I’ll be fine.’

He just had to keep thinking that. He had to believe he’d be alright. Because if he ever stopped believing that, he was sure he’d have a complete and total mental breakdown.

’Maybe I should see a therapist?’ The blond then shook his head and put his hand over his mouth to let out a chuckle. ’No, if anything I’d probably make the therapist have to go to a therapist of their own if they heard everything that was going on in here.’

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment before stepping away from the wall. “What’s taking Father so long?”

Vil walked forward, going towards the closed doors of the Headmaster’s office with the intent of listening, but as he did so, they swung open. He just barely missed getting hit as a boy his age angrily stormed out of the office.

“Young man, get back here right now!” Divus called after the boy, and he froze. Vil watched him clench his fist, but he couldn’t make out his face.

The boy raised his voice, and Vil suddenly realized who he was.

Rollo Flamme practically spat as he yelled back to the office. “I refuse to be a part of a school that promotes such a foul display of magic.” He turned towards the doors and reached to shut them. “Noble Bell Sanctuary will be there for the opening ceremony, but that is where our cooperation ends!”

He slammed the doors shut. “Good day.”

And as he turned around, he came face-to-face with Vil. His eyes widened in surprise. “D-Duke Schoenheit?”

Vil glared at him. “Rollo Flamme.” He stepped closer to the man. “I’m surprised you remember me.”

Rollo took a step back. His face was red with anger, but his voice appeared to be calm. “I could say the same about you. And I never forget a face.” He glanced at the blond’s neck, glaring as he saw that it was covered by a black choker. “Especially one like yours.”

“Oh? Are you flirting with me, Flamme?” Vil raised an eyebrow. He took a step closer to the man.

Rollo took another step back. He glared at Vil. “Nonsense! You are the son of the man who rules over Pyroxene. Noble Bell Sanctuary is in Pyroxene, of course I’d remember you.” He looked away. “I am far too righteous of a man to ’flirt’.”

“It was a joke.” Vil crossed his arms. “Besides, I have a fiance anyway.”

“My most sincere congratulations.” Rollo attempted to move away, but Vil reached his arm out, pinning the man against the wall. “D-Duke Schoenheit?”

“Did you know that my father was one of the people you yelled at just now?” The blond glared at him.

Rollo glanced at Vil’s hand as it stood next to his head. “I am aware of your relation to Duke Crewel, yes.”

“Good. I’d hate to think that you’d not know the husband of the man who rules over your sanctuary’s main place of residence.”

The gray-haired man pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to cover his face. “What are you getting at?”

Vil continued giving Rollo an icy glare. “I don’t like you yelling at my father.” He raised his hand and placed it over Rollo’s, pulling his handkerchief away from his face. “It’s rude.”

Rollo glanced at where Vil’s hand touched his, and quickly moved his hand away. “Of course I know that, but your father and the headmaster were asking far too much of me.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t help but get heated.”

“What were they asking you to do?”

“They asked me to enroll.” Rollo sneered. “Can you imagine? Me? Rollo Flamme, the head of Noble Bell Sanctuary, joining a school for mages.” His gaze grew heated and he glared at Vil, fire against ice. “I’d die before even considering it.”

“They asked you to join the school?” Vil pulled his hand away from the wall. “Why?”

Rollo stared at Vil’s arm, lamenting the feeling of closeness. Then, as he realized what he had just been thinking, he quickly brought his handkerchief back over his face. “They wanted to expand their mage program.”

He waved his hand. “They’re beginning to enroll fae students. Those disgusting balls of magical potential, refusing to bow to the Saint.” He snarled once more. He then blinked, and looked at Vil. “But…”

His voice turned smooth, growing as soft as velvet. “I’m sure you know all about the fae.” He looked at Vil’s neck once more, reaching his hand out to touch it. “Don’t you?”

“Not at all, actually.” Vil slapped the man’s hand away. He felt something uneasy welling up inside him, so he took a step away from Rollo. “But they’re adding fae, so that means they want to add people from your sanctuary for what? Diversity?”

“Yes.” Rollo nodded. “Naturally, I refused.”

He straightened his back. “Noble Bell Sanctuary will assist with the school’s opening ceremony, and that will be the extent of our interactions.”

“Why help at all if you hate our school so much?”

The silver-haired man crossed his arms. “As loath as I am to admit it, this school has a powerful magical base. It has been foretold that the Saint will be brought into this world, and we believe it will happen here, during the opening ceremony, when the magical potential of this school is at its highest.”

“Oh?” ’I’m going to be honest, that sounds like such a bullshit reason.’ Vil frowned. ’I’ve never researched magic, so he knows more than I do. Whatever it takes to bring the protagonist here, I suppose.’

“Yes.” Rollo nodded. He stepped away from Vil. “If that’s everything, then. Oh.” He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a small brooch with a orange gem attached to it. “Here.”

“What’s this? The blond took the booch, looking over at the back, where a small bit of writing had been imprinted on it.

“I have lost hope for those not affiliated with the Saint.” Rollo nodded to Vil. “But you might not be completely unsalvageable.” Rollo pressed the brooch into Vil’s hand. “If you ever have more questions, you can find me at my sanctuary.” He smiled, and Vil felt chills running down his back.

“We can get tea and discuss. It would be most enjoyable.”

’If I ever have tea with this guy, he’s 100% going to poison me.’ Vil smiled politely. “I appreciate it, Flamme. Perhaps I’ll take you up on your offer one day.”

“I’d like that.” Rollo walked away, and he waved to Vil as he left. “I’ll see you at the opening ceremony, then.”

“Yes, until then.” Vil watched Rollo leave before looking back at the brooch in his hand, tilting it so that its orange gem shone in the light. The Rollo Flamme in the game had been nothing like the one he saw now. He’d always been kind and generous, if a little bit overwhelming at times.

But, then again, the protagonist had been the literal deity he worshiped. Vil figured that was the reason for his attitude change.

As he continued to look at the brooch, Rook eventually entered the building, followed by Mozus. The blond grinned as he saw his friend. “Roi des Poison! The athletic building was…”

He trailed off as he noticed Vil looking at something in his hands. He looked at the item over Vil’s shoulder. “Mon Roi? What’s this?”

“Oh, just something someone gave to me.” Vil handed the brooch to Rook. “No big deal.”

Rook examined the back, reading Rollo’s name before bringing his hand to his forehead and letting out an exaggerated sigh.

’Putain de merde! I leave him alone for only half an hour, and already I have another love rival!’

Even if it wasn’t love that Rollo was after from Vil.

But something much more important.

Chapter Text

Cater hummed to himself as he painted his nails. “So, I’m thinking we match the colors. You, me, and Trey. And nobody else.” His mouth curled up into a smile as he wiggled the nail brush in his hands. “What do you think?”

Vil turned around from where he had been looking at himself in the mirror. “Wouldn’t it be better to wear the colors associated with our families instead?”

“Yeah, but like… What’s more important than young love?” Cater gestured to Trey, who was in the middle of cleaning his glasses. “You’ll match with me, right Angel Cupcake Sweetie Pie Bubble Butt Kitten Kissies~?” He eyed Idia. “I mean that platonically btw.” Their relationship was still a secret, after all!

The green-haired boy looked up at his boyfriend, squinting. “You’re not supposed to have painted nails when you work in food handling, so I’ll have to opt out of your idea.” He put his glasses back on. “Sorry, Cater.”

“Boooooooo.”

Rook raised his hand from where he had been spraying some perfume on. “I wouldn’t mind painting my nails with you, Monsieur Mystery~!”

“Ooooh, I like you, Rook!” Cater then moved to paint the hunter’s nails a nice shade, and as he did so, Idia let out a groan. “Why are we primping in here anyway?”

He gestured to his outfit, a hooded robe with purple and gold embellishments. His hood was pulled over his head and his hands covered his face. “It’s not like anyone’s gonna see our faces… Don’t even want to do this stupid thing anyway…”

Vil walked towards the blue-haired boy and sat next to him. “Because the opening ceremony is a big deal!" He smoothed the wrinkles from Idia's outfit as he spoke. "Even if we’ll be wearing hoods, you need to put forward your best self.” ’And besides, I’m sure you’ll want to look your best when the protagonist sees you for the first time!’ His hands gripped the fabric of Idia’s robe tightly.

Today was the day Vil had been anticipating for the past three years. Night Raven College’s opening ceremony.

He and his fellow freshmen were waiting inside one of the event center’s many dressing rooms before they were to be brought out for the actual ceremony. And the more things he had to do, the less he thought about the fact that he was practically walking up to his personal chopping block.

“Idia, what’s wrong?” Vil put his hand on his friend’s back. As he did so, Idia pulled his hands away from his face and frowned.

“Everything. I don’t want to do this. I fucking hate being in front of people.”

“I know.” ’To be honest, I don’t know if I want to be here either…’ Once the ceremony started, that meant the game started, and Vil would have given anything to not have to deal with any of that nonsense. He smiled at Idia. “But think about how excited Ortho will be to see you!”

“Ortho sees me every day.”

“Yes, but not like this!” He gestured to Idia’s robes. “All dressed up and decked out? He’s going to be practically squealing with joy when he sees you!”

“He does that anyway.” Idia snorted out a laugh. “The kid loves me.” He then let out a huff. “But that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Here.” Trey sat next to Idia. “Why not try some deep breathing exercises with me? That’s what I do with my sister whenever she gets stressed out.”

“I’m already breathing, so-”

Trey placed his hand on Idia’s chest. “Come on.” He took a deep breath. “In.” He exhaled. “Then out.”

Idia half heartedly joined Trey, and as he did so, there was a knock at the door. Cater looked up, holding onto Rook’s fingers tightly as he stopped painting his nails. “There’s no way it’s time to go already.”

“I’ll get it.” Vil opened the door, coming face-to-face with Leona.

“Hey Vil, I-”

He shut the door.

Leona knocked on the door once more and Vil leaned against it with a playful smirk. “You can’t come in here, Leona. Freshmen only.”

“I’m gonna beat your ass~!”

“Try me, old man.” Vil swung the door open once more and laughed at Leona. “You’re so old you’d probably turn to dust before you even touch me.”

Leona’s ears twitched. “Bitch, I’m barely older than you.”

“Old is still old is still old!” Vil clicked his tongue. He then tilted his head. “But anyway, what are you doing here? I thought the second-years were supposed to wait somewhere else.”

“We are.” Leona shrugged. As he spoke, he pulled Vil into a hug. “I kind of hate everyone there, though, so I decided to grace you with my presence instead.”

“How kind of you.” Vil returned the embrace, reaching his hand out to pat Leona’s head. As he did so, Cater called out from inside the room. “Your highness, do you want me to paint your nails for you? I’m done with- Rook stop touching things you’re going to ruin my work- I’m done with Rook’s nails.”

“Nah.” Leona waved a hand. “I do a lot of athletic stuff, the paint would chip off in like, a day.”

“That didn’t stop- Rook I swear on your mother’s life if you keep touching things I will actually put a hit on you- That didn’t stop Rook!”

Leona smirked. “Rook’s a dumbass.”

Vil glared at his fiance and pulled away from him. “And you’re rude. Goodbye~!” He shut the door once more.

The prince continued to knock for a good five minutes, but he was ignored by the freshmen. He let out a groan and raised his voice. “Whatever. See you at the ceremony. Good luck.”

Vil also raised his voice. “Thanks, you too, Leona.” He moved back to the mirror, examining his eye makeup.

“Love you.”

Vil wasn’t paying attention. “Uh-huh, same here.”

Cater dropped the bottle of nail polish in surprise, but luckily the object was caught by Rook, though the hunter also wore a similarly shocked expression on his face. Trey blinked at Vil with his mouth open, and Idia…

Well, Idia also hadn’t been paying attention, too busy working on those deep breaths.

Leona’s smug laugh could be heard through the door as he walked away.

Cater cleared his throat and gestured for Idia, Rook, and Trey to come to him. When they did (Idia, albeit reluctantly), he wrapped his arms around them.

“The prince got a confession in guys. Not. Good.” Cater shook his head. “Luckily for us, Vil is the most oblivious person I have ever met.”

Rook nodded eagerly. “This is true!”

“Right? But!” The ginger held up a finger. “Just because Vil wasn’t listening this time, that doesn’t mean he won’t listen next time.”

Trey tilted his head. “Okay? And?”

“And, we need to get rid of the prince before he can do that!” Cater clasped his hands together. “Here’s what we do.” Cater looked over to Vil, who was fixing his eyes and lowered his voice to a whisper. “We frame the prince for a treason and send him to jail.” He nodded. “While he’s rotting in there, we tell Vil he died and then seduce him.”

Rook put his hand to his chin thoughtfully and Trey shook his head. “Cater…”

“Ugh, you’re right, it wouldn’t work.” The ginger deflated. “The prince would probably come back years later and enact revenge on all of us before realizing that sometimes in the path to revenge you end up hurting yourself worse than you were at the start.”

Idia raised his eyebrow. “Cater, that’s ’The Count of Monte Cristo’.”

The ginger blinked.

Idia spoke up again. “Like, carbon copy. Come up with original plans ISTG.” He then shrugged and shook his head. “Besides, why would I care about the prince and Vil being together? I’m not in love with…” He trailed off as his gaze moved over to Vil.

The blond was glaring at a brush in his hands. He raised his hand and began hitting the object with a sneer. He muttered “You fucking bitch, work already”, under his breath before letting out a sigh. Vil then put the brush down and settled for fixing his hair carefully with his fingers.

Idia watched in wide-eyed admiration as Vil fluffed his hair out, the long blond strands seeming to be woven out of pure gold itself.

Cater watched Idia and patted his arm. “Sure you aren’t buddy.” He then pulled back away from the group. “But whatever.”

Rook smiled at the rest of the group. “So I take it you three haven’t made any more progress in your attempts to woo Roi des Poison in the last two years?” He smirked. “What a surprise.”

Idia raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ’you three’?” He scooted away from Cater and Trey. “Don’t lump me with these normies.”

“Rude!” Cater raised his finger and wagged it at Idia. “We’re all fighting, here! So you’re one of us, whether you know it or not!”

Trey let out a chuckle and patted Idia’s shoulder. “He’s right. No matter what happens, we’re all-”

Vil turned around, watching his friends talking together. “What are you guys talking about?”

“You!” Rook chirped happily.

“Oh?” Vil smirked. “All good things, right?”

“Always~!” Cater nodded eagerly. He grabbed onto Trey’s arm and pulled him close. “Trey and I were just wondering what your skincare routine was?”

Vil’s eyes glowed. “You really want to know?” He stood up from his seat. “Because let me tell you, it’s a lot.”

As he began to go over his entire skincare routine in excruciating detail, Idia stared at him. ’In love with Vil? Me?’ He shook his head. ’No, I just… I’m his friend, that’s all. I like being his friend, right?’

In the past two years, sure, he’d always felt something whenever he was with Vil, but that was just the warm feelings of friendship! He didn’t think about Vil before he went to sleep, he didn’t feel butterflies in his stomach whenever they talked, he didn’t feel like his soul was complete whenever they were together!

No… Not at all!

’And besides…’ Idia looked at Cater, Trey, and Rook. He looked away from them. ’It’s not like there aren’t people already in love with him. Even if I did want to be with him- WHICH I DON’T- why would he choose me when he could have literally anyone else?’

He let out a sigh and shook his head. He then took in a deep breath, trying to calm his ever-rapidly beating heart.

Thirty minutes later, someone who wasn’t Leona came and knocked on their door, signaling for them to head to the opening ceremony.

Rook smiled and latched onto Vil’s arm as they walked across the event center. “Roi des Poison, isn’t it exciting? It’s all going to start soon!”

The blond clenched his fist but smiled at Rook. “You’re right. It’s all going to start… soon.” ’Whether I want it to or not.’

Beside him, Idia let out another mutter. Trey and Cater were on either side of him, grabbing onto his arms as they led him to the doors. “Don’t want to fucking do this…”

’I don’t want to fucking do this either.’ Vil’s heart began to race in his chest. As they inched closer to the door, he found that it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe.

’Air. I need… air.’ He reached into his pocket to pull out a fan, but grabbed nothing. “Oh, I… I left my fan in the room.”

Rook tilted his head. “Do you want me to get it for you?”

“No, that’s fine. I…” Vil stopped walking. “I’ll go grab it myself.” He gestured to his friends. “Go on in, I’ll find you guys once I get it.”

Trey frowned at him. “Vil, are you o-”

“I’ll be fine, I just need to go.” The blond shook his head, prying Rook’s hands off his arm. “I need to go and get my fan.” His voice had a bit of a tremble to it as he spoke. “Go in, I’ll be back.”

Cater opened his mouth to say something, but Vil had already left before he could. He looked at his boyfriend. “Trey, do you think Vil’s alright?”

The green-haired man stared after Vil. “I don’t know. He’s not usually like this…”

“I don’t blame him for wanting to leave.” Idia muttered, but from the way he stared after Vil as well, he seemed to be just as concerned for the blond as the others were. “I would run if I could.”

Rook took a step after Vil. “I’ll go after him.”

“Don’t.” Cater stopped him. He shook his head. “I think he needs some time to himself.”

“But-”

“He told us to go inside.” Cater moved to the doors and placed his hands on the knobs. “So let’s go in.” He smiled at Rook. “Wouldn’t want to worry him, right?”

The hunter still looked after where Vil had gone, but let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Very well.” His gaze was hardened. “But if he’s not back after a few minutes I’ll go after him.”

Trey laughed. “You won’t be the only one, trust me.”

Cater joined in his laughter and pulled the doors open.

For them, at least, the ceremony had begun.

Leona’s tail flicked side-to-side as he slowly made his way back to where the rest of the second-years were meant to be waiting. As he did so he narrowed his eyes as a familiar scent wafted through the air.

It was roses, something he’d come to -unwittingly- associate with Vil. His eyes brightened up at the idea of seeing his fiance, but when he turned around, instead of the guy he loved, he saw someone else.

A tall man with black hair and almost scarily-green eyes stood. Long, black horns stretched from the top of his head, poking out from the hood that covered most of his other features.

He stared at Leona and blinked.

The prince narrowed his eyes at him. “What?”

The man- no, he wasn’t a man, but a fae- the fae blinked at him once more, this time widening his eyes in surprise. “What?”

Leona crossed his arms. Something felt off about the guy in front of him, but he didn’t know what. “You got a staring problem? What do you want?”

“Forgive my stare.” The fae looked away from Leona. He took a step closer to him. “I just feel as though… I know you, somehow.” He watched as the beastman’s ears and tail twitched.

“Yeah? Well you don’t. I would have remembered meeting someone like you, so-”

“Your highness!”

Both of the men looked up. A short student wearing ceremonial robes let out a panting breath as she gestured to Leona. “P-Prince Kingscholar, we…” She took in another breath. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”

The black-haired boy’s eyes widened at Leona’s name. “Kingscholar…” He whispered, looking back at Leona as the prince waved the student away. “You’re… the fiance.”

“What?” Leona turned around, but as he did so, he came face-to-face with air.

The man he had been talking to earlier had completely vanished. Leona narrowed his eyes and flicked his tail once more.

“Prince Kingscholar, the second-years are all-”

“Yeah, yeah.” Leona sniffed the air, finding that the scent of roses had completely vanished. That uneasy feeling came back tenfold. He turned back to the student. “Let’s go to the event center.”

He didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to find Vil.

As soon as possible.

Vil pulled the hood off his head, taking in a deep breath. He looked back at the doors to the center, feeling his stomach churning as he gripped the fan so tightly in his hands that it came close to shattering. ’Just go in, Schoenheit. Just walk through the door.’

He took a step towards the door. Then he took three more away from it. ’Go inside, Schoenheit! Just go inside! What are you so afraid of, huh?’

Vil attempted to move forward, but it felt as though his feet were stuck to the ground. He let out a sigh and crouched down. ’Why are you acting like this? Just go through the door! The protagonist will be there anyway, whether you’re there or not so just…’

He blinked as a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw a person wearing similar robes to the ones he was wearing. A student, there for the opening ceremony.

He had pitch black hair, pulled back while his bangs framed his face. His skin was almost inhumanely pale, and his bright, ivy-colored eyes shone as they looked at him.

He was beautiful and strange and somehow familiar all at once.

From his head sprouted two large horns, fitted through holes in his hood. Vil looked at them in surprise for half a second before he stood up quickly. “You must be here for the ceremony as well.” He gestured to the door in front of them. “I’ll… I’ll be inside in a minute, but if you go inside, you’ll see the rest of the students.”

The man looked at him, not once tearing his gaze away from Vil.

The blond frowned at him. “What are you staring at me for? Just go inside.”

The man nodded. He took a step towards the door before pausing. He then turned back around to Vil, and held his hand out.

“Are you…” His voice was deep and rich, like a melody playing on a violin. He cleared his throat. “Are you going to join the ceremony as well?”

“Yes, I…” Vil pressed his hand to his stomach, feeling it churning once more. “I will be, I’m just… waiting, I suppose.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“Something stupid.” Vil muttered under his breath before covering his mouth with his hand. He smiled politely at the student. “Nevermind. I don’t think you would understand if I told you.”

“Oh?” The black-haired man tilted his head. He smirked. “Try me.”

Vil raised an eyebrow. He then let out a sigh and shook his head. “I don’t want to go inside, so I’m stalling.”

The boy moved so that he was standing next to Vil. “If you don’t want to go inside, then don’t go inside.”

“I need to go inside, though.” Vil gestured to the door. “It’s the entrance ceremony, everyone’s expecting me to show up.”

“Then go inside.”

“But I don’t want to.”

“Then don’t.”

“But I have to.”

“Then do.”

Vil frowned at the boy. “You aren’t helping.”

The boy seemed surprised at this, as his eyes widened and he blinked quickly. “I am not? I figured that talking things out would help you.”

“It…” Well, Vil supposed that having someone to talk to was some form of soothing. “That’s kind of you to do. Thank you.” Vil nodded and took in a deep breath. He took another step towards the door. “I… I know I have to go in, so…” He smiled at the boy. “I’ll do it.”

The boy returned the smile. “Good idea.”

Vil placed his hands on the doorknob. He then turned to look at the boy. “I just realized I never asked your name.”

“You didn’t.” The boy blinked. “But that’s alright.”

“No, it’s not. It was rude of me.” Vil placed his hand on his chest and bowed to the man before him. “My name is-”

“Vil Schoenheit. The only son of the dukes of Pyroxene.” The boy finished. “I know who you are.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose I am quite well-known in society.” Vil laughed.

The boy blinked at him. “I do not take part in your noble society.” He smiled. “I simply know you.”

“You do?” Vil’s eyebrows furrowed together. He took a step away from the man. “Have we met before, then?”

“Yes. We have met before, I simply never properly introduced myself until now.” The man continued to smile at him. In any other situation, Vil would have felt uneasy speaking to someone who acted like this, but with him… for some reason, he didn’t feel that way.

The man bowed to him. “My name is M-”

“Mon Roi!” The doors swung open and Rook shot out of the center. He grabbed onto Vil’s hand. “Here you are! I was worried about you!” He put his hands on Vil’s shoulders and examined him carefully. “Are you alright? You seemed out of it when you left.”

The blond grabbed onto Rook’s elbows. “I’m fine now, Rook.” He let out a sigh. “I was feeling a bit nervous about the ceremony, but talking it out with him helped.”

“Him?” Rook tilted his head.

Vil gestured to the boy in front of him. Rook turned around and stared at the black-haired man before his lips turned downwards into an angry frown as he noticed how his gaze never strayed from Vil.

’Vous plaisantez j'espère? Another suitor?!’ He pulled Vil closer to him. ’We already have enough!’

The boy narrowed his eyes at Rook. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rook spoke over him. “Come, Mon Roi! The ceremony is starting now!” He pulled Vil into the center, shutting the doors as they did so.

The fae blinked at the shut doors. ’Rook…’ He turned around from the door and walked away from the doors. ’The fiance, and the friend.’ His gaze grew dark as he exited the area. ’That is two out of five. I wonder if the rest will be as trivial.’

The Headmaster’s speech was straight out of the game’s opening cutscene.

“’Twisted Wonderland’, a world full of magic, nobles, and secrets. A world unlike that of which anyone has ever known.” Headmaster Crowley raised his hands as he stood on the stage. “Night Raven College has been blessed to be able to nurture the intellect of nobles and mages for countless years, and every single day I find myself feeling grateful for such a wonderful school.”

“A school where students can choose to be with whomever they want to be with. What they want to be! Should they choose a hero…” He seemed to look at Vil for a moment. “Or a villain. A good ending, or a bad one.” He let out a laugh. “Who knows?! Your fate is in your hands from here on out.”

Crowley placed his hands on his hips. “What I know is that your actions will determine the course of your fate. So be careful in what you decide to do. And know that no matter what you become, you will always be a student here.”

“So it is with great pride...” He grinned at the rest of the students. “That I welcome you, to Night Raven College!”

Crowley then gestured to Rollo, who had been standing beside him with a disdainful look on his face. “If you would, Flamme.”

The boy scowled at Crowley but stepped forward. He gestured to some mages that were dressed similarly to him and spoke. “Night Raven College has been blessed with powerful magic. While I do not approve of their teachings, even I cannot deny the potential power this school has.” He met Vil’s eyes for a moment, and a grin stretched across his face. “I know some of you undoubtedly have wonderful potential.” His gaze then sharpened, and he looked forward.

The mages he had gestured to begun to surround the stage, holding out strange crystals and spreading something into a circle as he spoke. “Which is why you all have been honored to be able to witness the summoning of…”

He smirked. “Our Saint!”

The rest of the students let out gasps and begun to murmur among themselves. Cater grabbed onto Trey’s arm. “Did he say the Saint? Like… the super magical dude?”

Trey nodded. “Yeah… Nobody’s heard anything about him for a long time, though.” He squinted at the mages spreading something across the stage. “Idia, what are they doing?”

The blue-haired boy shifted his weight. “They’re making a summoning circle. I don’t know a lot about magic like that since it’s reserved for followers of the Saint, but those are the kind of materials you're supposed to use when summoning a creature from another world.”

Cater’s eyes widened. “You can summon creatures from another world?!”

“You’re not supposed to.” Idia crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Rollo. “The materials are impossible to get, it wastes a lot of magic, and it never works! What’s that guy thinking?”

“Vil?” Rook grabbed onto the blond’s hand. Since the opening ceremony had started, Vil had stared at the stage, frozen. But now, as Rollo spoke about how he was going to summon the Saint, his hands began to tremble and his skin grew pale.

Cater shared a look with Trey and moved over to Vil. “Hey, you okay?”

“I…” Vil was cut off as Rollo raised his voice, silencing everyone.

“And now!” He lifted his hands and tall pillars of golden fire sprung fourth from the summoning circle, surrounding it completely. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead, but he grit his teeth together and raised his hands higher.

“Students of Night Raven College… I present to you…!”

The flame spun around quickly, illuminating the entire room as the students stared at it in awe.

Rollo cried. “The Saint!” He waved his hands, extinguishing the flames immediately.

Now, what happened in the game was that the protagonist appeared, collapsed onto the floor weakly, like a beautiful ragdoll that you couldn’t help but want to protect.

The love interests would run over to him, and the first choice in the game was to pick which hand you would take to help you up, starting your whirlwind romance and Vil’s damnation.

Yes, that was how it was meant to be in the game.

But, Vil must have made a lot of changes, because there was a bit of a difference this time around. Nothing major, just that-

THERE WAS NO FUCKING SAINT.

Chapter Text

Silence permeated throughout the room. Rollo stared at where the Saint SHOULD have been in wide-eyed shock.

Nobody spoke, until a loud laugh echoed from Leona, who had been standing with the other second-years.

He wiped a tear away from his eye. “Look at that.” He gestured to Rollo. “All that fuss, and nothing!”

At his laugh, a few other students joined in until the entire student body was laughing their heads off.

Well, every student except for one.

Vil’s face was pale as he stared at where the Saint should have been. Where the protagonist should have been. Where he wasn’t.

His knees gave out and he fell to the floor with a thud.

“Vil!” Rook cried. “Mon Roi, are you alright?” He held out his hand for Vil to take.

Trey held his hand out as well. “You really don’t seem like you’re doing alright… Maybe you should sit down somewhere?”

Cater nodded before offering his hand to Vil. “Uh-huh! I can take you outside and we can relax as much as you want.”

Idia pulled his hood more over his head, and held out a shaking hand to help Vil up. “I… I wouldn’t mind leaving here early if you’re not up for it…”

He then let out a yelp as Leona ran past him to get to Vil. “Hey, you okay? Here.” He offered his hand to Vil as well.

Five hands stretched out to Vil. He stared at each of them, mind elsewhere. Before he could choose whichever one to take, he felt someone hoist him back up on his feet.

It was Headmaster Crowley. He shook his head. “A Night Raven College student doesn’t fall! No matter what the circumstances!” He then clapped his hands together, signaling for silence.

He then pointed to Rollo. “Well, Flamme, it appears your summoning… thing wasn’t successful.” He smirked. “Maybe if you had accepted the help of some of my students studying magic, things would have been different~!”

Crowley nodded to himself assuredly. “After all. For a spell as big as this, you didn't have nearly enough magic at your disposal. Tsk tsk tsk.” He waved his hands in the air and raised his voice. “Those studying magic, take note of this instance, and never be like Rollo Flamme.”

Rollo didn’t seem to hear him, his hands were trembling as he covered his face with them. “This… This can’t be… I… I did everything right…”

’It was how the game was supposed to start…’ Vil felt lightheaded. He leaned against Rook, pressing his hand to his forehead. ’But…’

“Clearly you did not do everything right!” Crowley stepped onto the stage. He put his hand on Rollo’s shoulder and looked around the room. He called out. “Vanrouge, do you mind escorting the students from Noble Bell Sanctuary out?”

“Of course.” A short man with black hair and pink streaks walked onto the stage.

Cater’s eyes widened in shock. “Lilia?”

The man stuck out his tongue and did a peace sign at his friend as Crowley let out a gasp. “Oh, right!” He gestured to Lilia. “This is Lilia Vanrouge, he’ll be our new magical studies teacher. Round of applause for him, please.”

The students clapped for literally half a second before Crowley cut them off. “Alright, Vanrouge, please escort our guests out!”

“Sure~!” Lilia reached out to Rollo, but the man snarled at him and pulled away. “I refuse to follow a fae anywhere.” He then covered his face with a handkerchief and walked off the stage, gesturing for his people to follow him. “We’ll show ourselves out.”

As they left, Leona raised his voice to call after Rollo. “Boo! You suck!” He wrapped his arm over Vil’s shoulders and muttered something in his ear. “The ceremony’s almost over okay? Just stick it out and then you can relax.”

His words of comfort went in one ear and out the other.

Crowley raised his hands. “Alright, that concludes this year’s opening ceremony! Please remember to read the pamphlets we gave out- it has all the legal stuff I forgot to tell you about-, remember to give us money, and gooooooo Night Ravens!”

And just like that, the ceremony was over.

Vil sat on a couch as his fellow students chatted around the room. The drink in his hands went untouched, and he hadn’t said a word since Rollo’s failed summoning. He stared at the red liquid in it, sloshing side-to-side as he moved his hands.

’Why didn’t it work?’ A drop spilled from the glass, trailing down his finger. He stared at it absentmindedly. ’The protagonist HAS to be here. Without him… What’s going to happen to this world?’

Would they all vanish? No, if that was going to happen, it already would have when the protagonist failed to show up.

No protagonist meant no story, no story meant no romance, no romance meant no drama, no drama meant…

Vil’s eyes widened. ’If there’s no protagonist… then what happens to the villain?’

He put his hand against his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Trey, who had been talking with the rest of their friends in concern earlier, noticed this and made his way over to Vil. ’I’m still here. Does that…’ His eyes welled up with tears. ’Does that mean I’m safe?’

Vil let out a laugh. “I-I’m safe?!”

Trey blinked. “Of course you’re safe?” He tilted his head and sat down next to Vil, taking the blond's drink and putting it aside. “Why wouldn’t you be-”

He stopped talking as Vil threw his arms around him. “Trey!” He cried, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I’m safe!”

Trey raised his eyebrows in confusion but returned the hug. “You’re safe.” He rubbed Vil’s back in comfort. “I don’t know what you were so worried about earlier, but I promise I’ll do what I can to make sure you’re safe, alright?”

“Me too~!” Cater called out, falling in-between the two men. He wrapped his arms around them both and pulled them into a hug. “I’ll bite, kick, scratch and kill anyone who tries to hurt you!”

“Provided they survive an encounter with me, that is~!” Rook piped up, pulling Vil to stand up (and away from Team TreyTer-Tot). He hugged Vil tightly. “I do not know what ails my beloved Roi des Poison, but there is not a battle I would not fight if it meant seeing your smile.”

“Rook…” Vil smiled. Leona then cleared his throat, moving to hold Vil’s hand. “You’re my fiance, aren’t you? Even if you weren’t, I’ll make sure you're safe no matter what.”

Leona squeezed Vil’s hand. “It’s the least I can do for you, after everything you’ve given me.”

From behind the couch, Idia cleared his throat. “U-Uwwwhhhaaaggh…” Everyone turned their heads to stare at him, and a drop of sweat began to drip down his forehead. “I… I’m kinda super weak physically so I probably couldn’t protect you from like a bear or something…”

He pressed his fingers against each other. “But… I’d definitely stand in front of the bear heroically to give you time to leave. O-Or patch you up if you got attacked by it.” He looked at the ground. “Even if you would probably die on impact.” Idia looked up. “Bears are very strong like that.”

“Idia… thank you.” Vil moved to hold Idia’s hand. He then looked at his friends with tears in his eyes. “You guys…” Vil wiped a tear away from his eye. “Are such good friends to me.”

Each of the guys (minus Idia, who actually seemed really happy) visibly flinched at the word ‘friends’, but smiled at him as he continued. “I promise that no matter what happens, I will always be by your sides.” Vil put his hand to his chest. “I love you all so much.”

Rook was the first to speak. “And I love you too, Vil!” He wrapped his arms around Vil to hug him once more, causing him to fall into the couch.

“I love Vil too!” Cater called out before grabbing Trey’s hand and falling on top of the pair of blonds in a silly dogpile. Trey blinked in surprise, but smiled. “Me too! Love you, Vil!”

Leona looked at them and let out a laugh. He crossed his arms behind his neck and fell onto the entire group as he yelled. “I love Vil!”

Idia looked at the pile of men in front of him. He tried to creep away from them, not one for physical affection, but Vil’s hand blindly shot out from it. He first accidentally smacked Idia’s face, before grabbing him and pulling him in.

“Uwaaaghh!” The blue-haired boy’s ends of his hair turned pink as Vil pulled him closer. He then noticed everyone looking at him expectantly, and he began to stammer. “I-I… I guess I l-lo-love you… too?”

From across the room, Ortho bopped his head side-to-side happily. He had two cups of juice in his hands, one for his brother and one for himself. But he heard his brother’s cry and immediately started running towards it, expecting the worst.

But he never expected to see a pile of people on top of Vil, proclaiming their love for him.

Ortho blinked. He tilted his head. ’Oooookay?’

He then shrugged and put his cups up.

’I guess I’ll leave them to that~!’ He nodded, looking back at his brother. ’You GO big brother! Look at how many friends you have!’

He’d been worried about how Idia would handle school without him by his side, but from the looks of it, he didn’t need to worry about him at all!

As Ortho walked away, he bumped into another person. “Oh! Excuse me!”

“Don’t worry about it.” The man spoke with a deep, melodic voice. He didn’t even look at Ortho as the boy walked away. He simply stared at Vil, laughing so much that there were tears in his eyes.

His gaze wandered over to Idia, whose hair was still dotted with a blushing pink. ’The recluse…’

The man looked at Cater, who pressed his cheek against Vil’s playfully as they embraced. ’The socialite…’

Finally, his gaze turned towards Trey. He noticed the small calluses across his palms, and on top of that, was able to make out the faint traces of magic emanating from his body. ’The mage…’

As he stared, Vil let out another laugh, and the man brought his gaze back to the blond. His heart churned and pulled towards Vil in an almost frightening display of emotion.

And for now, he walked away.

Rollo Flamme stared into the fire burning within the hearth before him. His teeth grit in fury as hot tears rolled down his face.

'Why…' He brought a shaking hand over his eye. 'Why didn't it work? I followed the ritual perfectly, didn't I?!!'

He bit his lip so hard that it drew blood. 'Was our magic not strong enough? Dedicating our souls to serve the Saint all our lives wasn't enough?!'

Rollo's eyes widened. 'No… that can't be it…' Magic was a gift given to their land by the Saint years ago. But, in all his years of training, Rollo had learned something.

Magic was a gift that had limits. It was a finite resource. The people of Noble Bell Sanctuary could only use a small amount while free-roaming mages wasted it.

And fae… those horrible wicked fae!

Born with more magic than a mortal being could ever hope for! And their prince most of all.

Rollo looked up, blood dripping from his mouth. 'We came so close to killing him once before… We cannot fail again.' Magic was in every fiber of that creature's being after all. Killing him would release a wave of magic that the Sanctuary could use for themselves.

He clenched his fist. "That man. Vil. He's connected to that beast." A fire lit up from his fingers and he pictured the blond inside of it.

“Get him, and I’ll get that beast. He waved his hand, destroying the flame. As he did so, he felt his heart swelling with a feeling he couldn't recognize.

’Purge your mind of him.' Rollo stared at the smoke emanating from the flame he had just destroyed. ’Do what must be done.’ Rollo waved away a strand of smoke that had reached out for him and straightened himself up. "Once that monster is gone, then… we will summon him again. We'll have enough magic, and the Saint will return." He had to. Because Rollo didn't know what he would do if he didn't.

"And then…" Rollo's gaze turned sorrowful as he reached out for the fire. "He'll be able to bring you back."

The flames curled around his fingers, and although he was burning, he didn't feel the heat of the fire at all.

"My dear little brother."

Chapter Text

Vil smiled to himself as he looked at the paper in his hands, reading ‘Historical Society Building 117’. ’It’s really such a good feeling, to not have to worry about dying!’ He opened the doors to the building. ’Now, I can live life with my friends in school, where nothing bad will ever happen to me at all!’

At least, he hoped so.

The protagonist was kind of the source of every single thing that went wrong for the original flavor, after all. Ergo, if he was gone, then all of Vil’s troubles were gone too, right?

Well, not all of them, of course. He still had to be like… a decent person and go through the struggles of everyday life, but all of his death-related problems were pretty much vanquished.

’Although…’ Vil tapped his hand against his chin. ’Without the protagonist here, I feel like a lot of things in the world aren’t going to play out quite like I remembered it.’

The appearance of the Saint had been a huge deal, of course. His arrival completely shattered the peace between the nations that had grown throughout his absence, each one wanting to either get rid of him or get him on their side.

Honestly, the Saint not being here was kind of a good thing, in that regard. At least the ruling nations of Twisted Wonderland weren’t trying to destroy each other!

Which, while it had been really interesting to see such a cool plotpoint never be brought up aside from fanservice moments, Vil didn’t exactly want to see every single kingdom fall apart since he, you know, fucking lived in one.

Vil adjusted the items in his hands, looking around the building until he saw his classroom. ’Still, it will be interesting to see how all of the events unfold in a world without the protagonist.’

Off the top of his head, he could remember a few events the protagonist had gone through.

Kidnappings by far too many one-note villains (all so that he could be saved later, by the LI’s, of course), falling down far too many staircases (and into the arms of their chosen LI), having their clothes destroyed yet keeping certain parts covered to keep the game's teen rating (all so that the LI could give him their coat, obviously), and more.

Every single one of those instances, naturally, having been plotted by the world's biggest bitch, Vil Schoenheit.

’I wonder why we hated him so much…’ The blond frowned. ’Sure, he got close to Leona and the original was a controlling bitch, but he was the Saint.’ Vil shook his head. ’Kind of a big deal. Definitely not the kind of person anyone would ever want to go up against.’ The original flavor had been a complete idiot, and had it out for the protagonist since day one.

For example, early on in the game, Vil- being the “kind” guy he was- had thrown a drink at the protagonist, completely ruining his outfit on his first day of school, humiliating him in front of everyone.

But, no villain, no protagonist, no drink, no humiliation! It was events like that which Vil wondered how they’d play out. Would they even happen at all? Who knows! Vil shrugged. ’Either way, it doesn’t affect me.’

Vil nodded to himself and opened his classroom’s door.

And immediately was drenched in some kind of liquid that he prayed didn’t leave a stain.

Vil’s eye twitched as he blinked water out of his eyes. ’I am. Going. To. FUCKING KILL-’ He clenched his fist. ’No, Schoenheit. Calm down. Deep breaths. Deeeeeepp breaths.’

As Vil took in a deep inhale, he heard a yelp. “Oh my gosh!” A young boy with a (now empty) cup in his hands immediately ran over to Vil. “I am so, so sorry! I-I don’t know what happened!” He looked at the cup. “It… it just… slipped from my fingers, but I’m so-”

Vil held his hand up. “Save it. Apologies are useless if they’re repeated too often.” ’Whatever. Just move on.’ He looked at himself, staring at the damp splatter dripping down his chest. “What were you drinking?”

“Water…”

“Good.” ’If it was something that would've left a stain, I would have killed him.’ Vil let out a sigh and put his -thankfully dry- items at a nearby desk. “It won’t leave a stain, and kudos to you for being well-hydrated.” He pointed at the boy with narrowed eyes. “However, it would do you well to be more aware of your surroundings.”

“A-Absolutely, Duke Schoenheit! I-I…” The boy’s face turned a rosy shade of pink. He pressed his fingers together and looked away. “Thank you… And again, I’m…” He caught himself and shook his head. “I-I’ll go get some towels.”

“That would be a good idea.” Vil nodded. After the boy left, he looked back at himself, languishing in the ruin of the outfit he had so carefully put on earlier. ’What a waste of a perfectly good vest. At least my makeup’s waterproof.’ He patted his fingers against his face, relieved to see that at least his makeup hadn’t been ruined. ’He should have been more careful. I mean, how does a drink just slip from your hands? Preposterous.’

Of course, it could have been purposeful, but that wasn’t likely. Vil had made it a goal of his to have as little enemies as possible, and it wasn’t like he had been humiliated in the slightest. Annoyed perhaps, but Vil knew better than to show any form of weakness to anyone. And besides, his ‘attacker’ seemed to be meeker than even Idia.

“Vil? You good?”

’Think of the devil…’ The blond turned to look at his friend. He gestured to himself. “Damp, but I’ll live.”

Idia sat down next to Vil. “What happened?”

“It’s raining outside, didn’t you notice?”

The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyebrows. “No it isn’t. I was outside like 0.376 seconds ago.”

Vil rolled his eyes. “Sarcasm, Idia.” He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and tried to use it to pat away some of the water from his face, before realizing that it was too damp to do anything. He bunched the item up in his fist and frowned. “Someone spilled their drink on me as soon as I came in.”

“Huh. That sucks. Oh!” Idia’s eyes then glowed and he reached into his jacket pocket. “Here, try this.” He placed a small red stone on the table.

Vil stared at the item. He then looked at Idia. “Are you going to explain what it is, or…?”

“Oh, shit, yeah.” Idia held the stone up. “It’s a new thing my family and I are working on. Warming magestones have been around for ages, but this is a portable version that'll totally revolutionize the world.” He nodded to himself. “I use it for my fingers cuz my circulation sucks ass.” He then cleared his throat and handed it to Vil. “B-But you can use it to uh… dry your stuff off.”

“Well, thank you Idia.” Vil smiled and took the magestone. “I appreciate it.”

He then unbuttoned his vest, revealing his white shirt underneath. He folded the vest up tightly before placing the stone on top of it. Vil then held his hand over the magical item, eyes widening in surprise. “Wow, it’s so warm!”

Idia laughed. “That’s magestones for you. Greatest things on the planet!”

“They’re very useful, indeed.” Vil nodded. Then, the student from earlier quickly entered the room, holding a towel in his hands.

“D-Duke Schoenheit! I’m sorry I took so long!” He handed the towel over to Vil. “H-Here. And once again, I’m really sorry for…” He trailed off as Vil raised his eyebrows at him. He looked down, blinking in surprise as he noticed the blond’s state of undress.

While the vest had done a good job for the most part of taking the water, some of it had leaked onto Vil’s shirt, causing the fabric to cling to his chest, hiding nothing. The boy’s face turned an even brighter shade of red before he turned away from Vil.

“I-I’ll go to… my seat now…” As the boy left, Idia frowned. He glanced at Vil, suddenly realizing why the boy had been staring at him so much.

’Dude! What. The. Fuck. Don’t look at Vil like that! So rude ffs…’ Idia let out a groan and pulled off his jacket. He handed it to Vil. “Here.”

The blond took the jacket. “Idia?”

“Your uh…” Idia gestured vaguely to his chest. Vil then looked down at himself and his face turned a bright shade of red. “Oh!” He quickly put the jacket on, covering his body. He smiled at Idia. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” ’Hooooolllyyy fucking shit, I’m wearing Idia’s jacket. Fucccccck!’

Idia returned the smile before looking away. ’Holy fucking shiiiittt, he’s wearing my jacket. He looks so good in it. OMG. Wifey material. Husbando material. Spouseandy material. Aaaaagggghhh.’ He put his chin on top of his hands, feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. ’I’m not feeling this way because I like him, because I DON’T. It’s just that Vil is a grade-A hottie, anyone would get like this if they saw him like this!’

Idia gripped his arms tightly, sneaking another glance at Vil, who adjusted the jacket before using the towel to pat himself dry. The wet ends of his hair left droplets of water trailing down his body, catching the light as it did so.

’Y-Yeah… this is… so, super normal…’

And to be fair, he wasn’t wrong. The other students in the classroom that had all witnessed the same things Idia had all felt pretty much the same way. Only, they weren’t in denial like he was.

And so began the continual (albeit unintentional) stealing of hearts by one Vil Schoenheit.

Vil put his hands on top of his hips with a huff. “I can’t believe it, Father! Seriously, it was all over me!”

He turned around to look at his dad. “I mean, sure, thanks to Idia I got out of it alright, but I was this close to having to use one of your emergency outfits.”

Divus slapped his pointer against his hand. “How dare that mutt try to ruin your outfit! When I find out who did this, I swear, I’ll neuter him!” He glared pointedly at Leona, who was inside the classroom alongside them before Potionology 102 started. “I’ll neuter anyone who ever does anything to my puppy.”

Leona subtly put his hand over his crotch as Vil admonished his father. “Father, please! It was an accident!” He crossed his arms and muttered to himself. “Even if I wanted to castrate him at first too…”

“Aww, Vil…” Leona moved to wrap his arm over his fiance’s shoulders before he was stopped by Divus clearing his throat loudly and angrily. He held his hands up in surrender. “You’re so nice for not killing that poor freshie.”

“I’m a freshie too, I’ll have you know.” Vil frowned. He then looked at his father. “Speaking of which, Leona and I should probably get to our seats.”

“Yes, yes. I hope you enjoy today’s lecture.”

“Lecture?” Vil tilted his head with a smirk. “Aren’t you supposed to teach only the syllabus on the first day?”

Divus returned the smirk. “Just watch me, Pup~!”

The blond let out a laugh as he and Leona moved to sit down near the back. Vil raised his eyebrow at his fiance. “You don’t want to sit up front?”

“With the fucking nerds?” Leona smirked as he moved to one of the rows near the back of the class. “No way. Plus, your dad’ll call on me no matter where I sit, so might as well relax back here right?”

Vil shrugged. “Your argument is a weak one, but whatever.” He sat down next to Leona. “Oh, Cater and I are grabbing lunch after this class, do you want to come with us?”

“Sure. Are you eating on campus or somewhere else?”

“We haven’t decided yet, but he’s been mentioning this new place a lot recently, he’ll probably take us there.” Vil smirked. “Maybe I’ll get a salad just to piss you off.”

Leona laughed and put his chin on his hands. “Everything you do pisses me off~!”

“Awww~!” Vil put his hand over his chest. “Thank you! I really try hard, you know?” As Leona swatted at him and he laughed, Vil began to realize something. ’Hang on. Without the protagonist here, Leona doesn’t have a person to fall in love with.’

He bit his lip. ’Ergo, he has no reason to call off the engagement.’ His eyes grew wide. ’Which means… Oh shit.’

Vil grabbed Leona’s shoulders. “We might get married one day.”

The prince blinked. “Yeah? That’s kind of the end goal of being engaged.” He smiled and squeezed Vil’s hand. “We’re going to get married, no ’might’ about it.”

“Haha…” Vil trailed off. ’I… I suppose I’m not opposed to this. After all, Leona is a great friend to me, but…’ He gripped the fabric of his pants tightly. ’I can’t help but feel guilty. He could have been with someone he loved and instead he’s stuck with… with someone he never wanted.’

Leona noticed the look on Vil’s face and raised his eyebrow. ’Why does he look so upset? He knew that it was going to happen eventually, right?’ He frowned. ’Sure, Vil always brought up that I could walk out of this, but… Is… Is he not happy with us being engaged?’

Leona chewed on the inside of his lip. ’If Vil doesn’t want to marry me, shit… What do I do? I can’t force him, but the idea of letting him get away…’ He turned to face the younger man. “Vil, are you-”

“Excuse me.” A deep voice cleared their throat. The dark-haired fae that both Leona and Vil had run into before the entrance ceremony stood in front of them. He gestured to the seat next to Vil. “Do you mind if I sit there?”

Vil shook his head. “Not at all.”

Leona looked at the tall fae, feeling uneasy. He pushed away his previous thoughts for another time and instead frowned. ’This guy again? Also…’

The room was practically empty, save for a few nerds sitting at the front. The guy had plenty of seats to choose from, but he just had to sit right next to Leona’s fiance?

’Figures.’ Leona scowled, watching the fae stare unabashedly at Vil with clear adoration in his eyes. ’Just keep on adding more people to the VilHarem. Why not?’

As the older boy continued to gloom, Vil spoke to the fae. “How have you been since the ceremony?”

“I have been well, thank you.” He sat down slowly. He then looked at Vil, seemingly either ignoring or not noticing Leona’s presence. “It is a bit of an adjustment, scheduling myself along that of a mortal timezone to attend class, however.”

“Oh, I imagine it must be rough.” Vil nodded. He gestured to the fae’s horns. “There isn’t a lot that I know about fae if I’m being honest, but I’ve heard that time works differently for you. Is that right?”

“Yes, you are right.” The fae smiled at Vil. “Mortal lives are much faster than our own, something I mourn for greatly.” His gaze seemed to grow sad as he continued to look at the blond. “A human life, no matter what it does, will always end after so little time. It breaks my heart.”

“Everything ends, that’s true, but…” Vil narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Looking at life and only seeing how it will end is quite the bleak perspective. Life is about living, not dying.”

The blond let out a sigh. ’Which is the complete opposite of the way I’ve been seeing things this whole time. But I can live now, can’t I?’ He looked at the fae. “It’s about growing and changing, and learning and loving, and yes, one day, dying. But in the end, the fact that you can do so much in spite of dying is beautiful, isn't it?”

The fae put his hand to his chest, feeling his heart pull as the memory of a voice whispered into his pointed ear.

As the fae’s eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought, Vil looked up at his horns. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a bracelet wrapped around one of them. ’Haven’t I seen something like that before…?’

Vil shook his head. ’Nonsense. Malleus is a dragon, not a fae.’ He took another peek at the bracelet. ’But it really does look like the one I gave the little guy…’

The fae quickly shook his head and looked back at him, the far away look fading from his eyes. He smiled at Vil, tilting his head so that the blond could get a better look at his horns. “You have an interesting perspective. I would love to talk to you more.”

“And I, you. I’d love to learn more about fae, only if you’re interested in sharing, that is.”

“For you, yes.” The boy smiled.

Vil returned the gesture before his eyes widened. “Ah, where are my manners?” He gestured to the fae. “This is our second time meeting, and I still haven’t gotten your name!”

The fae chuckled. “I was wondering when you’d ask.” He held his hand out to shake Vil’s. “My name is Ma-”

“Good day, mutts!” Divus smacked his pointer against his hand, signaling for class to start. The fae’s eye twitched in annoyance, and the paper in his hands quickly turned into charred ash. He brushed it off his desk before anyone could notice and smiled pleasantly at Vil when he looked his way.

As the professor breezed through their course syllabus, Leona quickly stole a piece of paper from Vil- to which the blond glared at him, but soon went back to listening to his father- and wrote something on it.

And then, after making sure Divus wasn’t looking, he threw it at the fae, hitting him on the horns. The dark-haired boy looked away from Vil and blinked at Leona in surprise before picking up the crumpled paper. He stared at it for a moment before looking at Leona.

He slowly handed it back to the prince, to which he hissed under his breath. ”Read it, numbnuts.”

’Oh. That makes sense.’ Malleus read the note with a chuckle.

Malleus then tapped Vil’s shoulder and pointed to his journal. The blond rolled his eyes, but tore off a piece of paper for the fae.

After nodding gratefully to Vil, Malleus wrote in it. When Divus wasn’t looking, he crumbled it up and threw it at Leona.

The paper showed a photorealistic drawing of Malleus holding his hands up in the shape of a heart, complete with shading. In the most elegant cursive handwriting that Leona had ever seen, a message was written.

Chapter Text

Divus smacked the pointer against his hand and glared at his students. “You think that since it’s your first year here, I'm going to treat you like toddlers? Hah!” He let out a laugh.

“News flash mutts, I’m not your dad.”

Vil laughed but covered it up with a cough. Trey and Cater gave him looks, but they quickly returned their attention to the teacher.

“I’m not going to hold your hand. This class isn’t going to be easy. I respect you enough not to make it easy. You’re going to work in this class. And you’re going to do great.” He nodded proudly. “Never once have I allowed my students to fail. Don’t disappoint me.”

He then nodded and clasped his hands together. “With that out of the way, let me introduce my aid for this semester.” Divus gestured for Vil to stand up, which he did.

The blond cleared his throat and spoke. “My name is Vil Schoenheit, and like Professor Crewel said, I am going to be the teacher’s aid this semester.” He nodded to his father. “It’s not an easy course, but I will be holding tutoring sessions later on this semester, and I will do what I can to assist you all as much as possible.” He brushed a strand of hair behind his ear and smiled politely at the other students. “I’ll let you know when they are next week.” He bowed his head slightly. “Thank you.”

Divus smiled at his son, clearly proud. “Thank you for that P- ahem, Vil.” He nodded. “Vil here has already taken this class and passed with flying colors, so it would be within your best interests to go to his sessions. Now.” He sat down at his desk. “With that said and done, we’ve gone over everything we needed to today. Normally I like to get straight into the course materials on day one, but since I’m feeling nice today, class is dismissed.”

As the rest of the students began to chatter and walk out the doors, Vil stretched his arms behind his back. Cater let out a sigh and put his chin on his hands. “Mannn… Daddy Crewel’s going to be really tough, isn’t he?”

Trey made a disgusted face. “First, never call him that again. I feel like I need to bleach my ears. He’s Vil’s dad, he’s our professor, it’s weird.” He then patted his boyfriend’s arm. “And second, you could always drop the class. You’re just taking it as an elective.”

The ginger pouted. “Yeah but…” He wrapped his arms around both Trey and Vil. “If I don’t take this class, I won’t be in any classes with you two at all!”

Vil rolled his eyes. “Poor thing.” He laughed and pulled Cater’s hand off him. “If you don’t think you can handle it, drop the class. But, if you think you can, I’ll be happy to tutor you.”

Cater tapped his finger against his chin on consideration. “You promise?”

“No promises about it. It’s going to literally be my job.”

His friend began to smile. “Do you think I could convince you to like… wear glasses while you tutor me?”

Vil shared a look with Trey. “For starters, I wouldn’t just be tutoring you, I would be tutoring everyone, and…” Vil raised an eyebrow. “I don’t wear glasses usually, so why would I wear them just for that?”

“Because!” Cater put his hands on Trey’s glasses and wiggled them so they went up and down his face. “It’s like, statistically proven that people with glasses are in! Glasses make people so much hotter~!”

Trey did nothing to stop Cater from messing with him. He turned to look at this boyfriend. “Has it actually been statistically proven?”

“Sort of. Watch.” Cater pulled Trey’s glasses off and put them over Vil’s eyes.

The blond blinked rapidly. As soon as the item was on him, the world turned completely blurry.

He could vaguely make out Cater grabbing onto a green blob and shaking it. “Trey! Look at how hot he is!”

“Cater…” Trey squinted his eyes. “I can’t see shit.”

Vil nodded. “Same here.” He pulled Trey’s glasses off, much to Cater’s disappointment. “I couldn’t see a thing.” As he moved to hand Trey back his glasses, his eyes widened.

Without the item, Trey looked somewhat menacing. His hazel irises popped out strikingly, and with it he seemed to appear to be both more dangerous, getting rid of the softness his face usually carried.

It kind of reminded Vil of the CG that showed when Trey had driven the original Vil to his death. Which, while terrifying, had still been a really amazing moment of character growth for his character. Plus, as was the standard of a love interest, he looked incredibly attractive, even while torturing someone with hallucinations until his death.

“My, My, Clover.” Vil put his chin on his hand and smirked. “You’re quite dashing like that.”

Cater grabbed his friend’s hand. “Isn’t he? Ahhhh~!” He fanned himself quickly. “What a hottie, right?” He then pulled Trey’s glasses from his boyfriend’s hands. “But what about me? How do I look with them?!”

“Wow.” Vil blinked as he looked at his friend. With the glasses, Cater looked like a much more serious student. But then he played with them, completely ruining the facade and changing his appearance to be more playful. Like he was one step away from gushing about his new favorite novel or anything that caught his fancy.

’From a serious student to a silly comedian in seconds. Cater’s ability to put on different masks is quite interesting. It makes me want to look at him more and more.’ Vil thought before the ginger winked at him.

Vil found himself blushing at the sight and looked away. “You look very nice, Cater.”

“Hehe~!” The ginger grinned. “Thank you~!” He then pouted and looked at Trey. “Come on, Clover-Plover~! Where’s my compliment~?”

Trey squinted his eyes once more. “I still can’t see shit.”

The three of them laughed as Cater finally returned the glasses to their proper owner. At the noise, Divus looked up from his desk. He watched his son smile and shook his head, unable to stop himself from smiling as well.

Ever since he had been a child, Vil had been… Well, he hadn't really gotten along well with his peers. He’d only really had one friend back when he was younger, and that cute little puppy had ended up moving away. After that, his son had just… pushed everyone out.

It was only since he turned fifteen that his boy finally bloomed into the person he was now. And oh, how wonderful it had been to watch his son grow up! Enough so that even now, Divus still didn’t want to let go.

But, he supposed, at the end of the day…

Even if he didn’t fully approve of Vil’s friends, they were still that. Vil’s friends. The people who made him laugh and smile in a way Divus had once only imagined.

Even if he still preferred Vil’s childhood friend before anyone else. Jack was always such a polite little puppy, after all!

The man moved up from his desk to the boys. “Now, now, boys.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m quite certain that I dismissed class, haven’t I?”

Trey smiled. “You did, sorry Professor.” He grabbed onto Cater’s arm. “We’ll leave. See you next class.”

“Buh-bye.” Divus waved as the boys left before looking at his son with a grin.

Vil returned the smile. “Excellent first class, Professor.”

“Ah!” The multicolored-haired man wagged his finger. “We’re alone, and I’m still your father so you must address me as such!”

Vil smirked. “I thought you said I was supposed to refer to you strictly as my professor on campus?”

“I changed my mind.” Divus put his arm over his son’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get lunch.”

“Don’t you have classes to teach?” Vil tilted his head as he and his father walked out of the classroom.

“Not for another hour!” Divus waved his hand. “I want you to tell me all about your day!”

Vil’s first and only class had been the lecture. “You were here for most of it, Father.”

Divus grinned. “So I was! But the club fair is happening today, isn’t it? You and that Shroud mutt are running a booth, aren’t you?”

“We are.” The blond nodded. He then made a so-so gesture with his hand. “Well, I am. Idia made most of the materials, but when it came to face-to-face interaction, he handed that role over to me.”

“That scoundrel!”

Vil shrugged. “It’s not like he didn’t do any work. The flyers and brochures are all incredibly well-done.” He nodded. “All I need to do is flag down some potential members to audition for our club.”

“Still…” Divus frowned. “It’s a lot of work for just one person…”

Once again, Vil shrugged. “It can’t be helped. Leona’s working the booth for his own club- no, I don’t know how they roped him into doing that either- and Cater, Trey, and Rook are all going to be looking for clubs to join themselves.”

“Hmph.” Divus crossed his arms. They walked in silence for a while. As they walked, they passed the fine arts center, and a nostalgic smile spread across Divus’ face. “Oh, I really can’t wait to see this place alive again.”

He turned to his son. “Did you know that your father and I-”

“Met each other through the theater club when you were students?” Vil laughed. “Yes, you’ve told me a million times.” He cleared his throat and attempted to make his voice sound like his father’s. “There I was, a little Queendom noble, all ripe and ready to make my mark on the world of the stage! I auditioned, and I thought I did splendidly~! But then I watched this handsome upperclassman audition- your father, obviously- and woof!”

Vil spread his arms out, continuing his story. ”Why, I’d never seen a more compelling performance! His subtle movements, the gentleness of his voice, the passion in his eyes… I think I fell in love with him there~!”

Divus chuckled. “You’re paraphrasing, but do go on.”

Vil rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t paraphrase, we’d be here for hours.” He then went back to his ‘Divus-voice’. “I then signed up to work on costumes for the performance. I’ve always had a love for fashion, you know? My family’s business was built on it after all~! But, eventually I started talking to your father during rehearsals and well…” Vil clasped his hands together. ”He liked me so much that he canceled his engagement to…”

The blond narrowed his eyes. “Who was Papa engaged to again?”

Divus shrugged. “Someone who wasn’t me and therefore is not important to the story.” He clapped his hands. “You’re almost done, keep going!”

“Okay.” Vil nodded. ”He liked me so much that he canceled his engagement to ‘someone who wasn’t me and therefore is not important to the story’, and then… one night, he asked me out! We went to the theater, and on that very stage where I first fell in love with him… He got down on one knee!”

Vil bowed. “And that’s the story. The end.” He then furrowed his eyebrows together. “However, you two were eighteen and nineteen when you got engaged…”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re thirty-two now…”

“Uh-huh.”

Vil pointed to himself. “And I’m eighteen…” He frowned at his father. “The math doesn’t add up. You couldn't have had me when you were fourteen!”

“Oh no, we didn’t!” Divus tapped his finger against his chin. “I think I was twenty-one? Twenty-two? It was right when I first started working here, actually!” He’d graduated early, and the school had practically begged for him to start working for them as soon as possible.

Vil grabbed his father by his arms. “Father, please, you have to tell me. What-”

Just then a loud voice came from behind them. A student ran up to Divus and spoke. “Professor! Professor! A bunch of students just broke into one of the labs and are throwing potions at each other in a battle over your son’s hand in marriage!” They then made eye-contact with Vil and bit their lip, brushing a strand of hair behind their ear. “O-Oh… Duke Schoenheit… I didn’t know you were-”

Divus pushed the student away. “Those MANGY...” He let out a growl. “How dare they!?” He grabbed his son’s arm and started pulling him towards the science building. “Come with me, you’re going to reject every single one of them and break all of their hearts until they regret ever being born!”

“A-ah…” The blond blinked. ’Scenario that 100% happened to the protagonist in the game aside… Am I just never going to FUCKING find out how I was born?’ He grit his teeth together before nodding to his father.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“You should have let me at them, Roi des Poison!” Rook held his arms up. “I would have ruined them!”

Vil shook his head. “Trust me, Rook. I ruined them just fine by myself.” He let out a laugh. “Seriously, imagine getting rejected by someone in front of their dad. Who’s also their professor? Priceless!” The students had quickly apologized for their actions and had cleaned up the lab.

Still. It was a bit weird that something like that had happened. Vil had been aware of his affect on his fellow students, but still.

Rook let out a laugh. “Well, I am glad that you were able to have fun with them.” He held his finger up seriously. “Still though, if anything like this happens again, do allow your hunter to assist! I wish to have fun, too!”

“Alright, alright. I promise.” The blond sighed. He crossed his hands over each other and looked at Rook. “But, have you looked at the other clubs yet?”

“Non! I went straight to you, mon cœur!”

Vil frowned. “Rook. Not that I don’t appreciate your company, far from it, but I really think you should look at the other clubs.”

The hunter tilted his head. “Are you saying you do not think it wise for me to sign up for your club?”

“That’s not it, I just think that you would enjoy another club more than you would this one.” Vil handed a flier over to Rook. “The way our club works will be a lot of work and will need a lot of people. Those who can help with set-design, costuming, machinery, and of course, those who will appear on stage. As such, we are a club that works by affiliation with other clubs for their assistance.”

Vil gestured to the general-sports club, where Leona was talking with some students. “For example, we have asked the sports-focused clubs to assist with set building.” The prince met Vil’s eyes, and he waved. Vil returned the gesture. “Leona was very helpful when it came to that.”

“Ah, I see!” Rook nodded. “So, you wish for me to branch out into another club to help them assist you!”

“Well, I wouldn’t complain if something like that happened.” Vil shrugged. “But, of course, before anything else I want you to pick a club that would be the most enjoyable for you.”

’Oh, Vil~!’ Rook chuckled. ’Being by your side is what is enjoyable for me~!’ He put his chin on his hands. ’But, I must think of this logically. What club can I join that would allow me to assist Roi des Poison to the best of my abilities?’

His gaze wandered until finally he noticed the title of one of the booths. “Of course!” He shot up. He smiled at Vil. “I believe I have found the club for me, Roi des Poison. If you’d excuse me~!”

“See you later.” Once Rook was gone, Vil moved to look at their audition sign-up sheet. Since their club would use the assistance of other clubs for the more technical parts of their performances, the main thing that Vil was after today was to find actors.

He trailed his finger down the already long list of names. ’I was worried that nobody would want to sign up, but…’

Before Rook had shown up, there had actually been a long line in front of the booth. So many people seemed ecstatic to take part in the wonderful world of theater. Many of them had exclaimed how happy they were to be able to join Vil on stage in so many words.

It was sweet. However, quite a few of them had held onto his hand as they shook it for a bit too long to be considered merely ‘friendly’...

Vil put his chin on his hand. ’Everyone's in love with you Schoenheit. You wench!’ He laughed and looked down at the list of names in front of him.

’Having too many auditioners is a good problem to have. With so many, Idia and I can weed out the people here for ingenuine reasons.’

He was still looking at the list when a shadow loomed over him, and he looked up. Vil smiled as he spoke. “Once again, we meet.”

The fae from before smiled at him. “Yes, we seem to meet a lot.” He gestured to the booth. “You are a part of a club?”

“Co-founder, actually.” Vil took out a flier and showed it off. “We’re the theater club, and our goal is to put on a successful production at the end of the year.”

“Oh? What production?”

“Ah…” Vil looked away. He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment before speaking. “It will be an original script, written and directed by our other co-founder.” That had been one of Idia’s demands. He only wanted to direct a production if he could write it, and while Vil had told him time and time again that it would be incredibly difficult, he stayed stubborn. (Which Vil had found infuriatingly attractive. He remembered how many arguments he had gotten into before with his… nevermind.)

Idia was a genius, so Vil was sure they’d get a good script out of him.

The fae before him seemed doubtful, though. “An original script? That must be a lot of work for you.”

“I’m not the one writing it, I’m just acting.” Vil winked.

The fae tilted his head. “You’ll be acting in it?” He looked over at the audition sheet. “How interesting…”

Noticing the fae’s stare, Vil pushed the paper towards him. “Would you like to audition as well?”

The fae blinked in surprise. “I have no experience in the theatrical arts, so I worry that I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“That’s fine.” Vil got up from his seat and moved to stand next to the fae. His shoulders brushed against his own as Vil pointed at the flier. “As it says here, you don't have to have stage experience to join.” He nodded. “Idia and I are anticipating a lot of newcomers, so we don’t expect professionals.”

The fae stared at him as Vil pointed out some other aspects of the flier. As he did so, his gaze started to wander over to the blond’s neck, where a small, almost unnoticeable mark could be seen.

The fae couldn't help a smile from spreading across his face.

Vil looked up and saw his acquaintance smiling. He returned the smile and moved to grab the sign-in sheet. “So, do you think you’ll audition?”

“I will.” The fae picked up a pen from the table and took the sheet from Vil. Before he wrote his name down, he looked up quickly in concern. “I am a part of another club, will this interfere with my chances at passing the audition?”

“The only thing we’ll be judging at the audition will be your skills as an actor.” Vil crossed his arms. “If we like you, we’ll let you know. After that, it’s up to you to decide if you want to join.” He frowned. “Other club activities could interfere with some rehearsal schedules, but we don’t know anything for certain now.”

“That is fine.” The fae nodded and moved to write his name down on the sheet. “I am the leader of a new club, so if my meetings interfere with rehearsals, I will simply change their dates.” He chuckled. “Provided I pass the audition, that is.”

Vil took the sheet back. “Exactly.” He put it on the table and continued to talk to the fae. “What kind of club are you leading?”

The fae’s eyes seemed to glow happily. “It is a research society based on the gargoyles surrounding Night Raven College! Our goal is to go around campus and examine every single one of the over two hundred gargoyles.” He was grinning widely. “We plan to determine the exact date and time of each of their creations, their exact creator, the materials, the cultural context of the world, everything! And we might even be able to add one of our own creations on campus if I am able to get permission from the Headmaster!”

Vil blinked. The fae usually spoke slowly and very meticulously, but it seemed that talking about gargoyles turned on some kind of switch on him. The blond broke out into a laugh.

The fae paused his rambles to stare at Vil. The blond held up a hand. “No, I… I’m not laughing at you, haha!” He smiled at his acquaintance. “I just think it’s wonderful how happy gargoyles make you.” Vil shrugged. “I’ve never really paid attention to the ones on campus, but hearing how interested you are in them is a bit eye-opening.”

The fae stared at him with unblinking eyes.

Vil frowned. “I hope my laughter didn’t offend you.”

“It didn’t.” The fae smiled. “You have a nice laugh.”

“Thank you.” Vil gestured to the booth he was currently leaning against. “My club alongside my classes will most likely keep me busy, but does your club have a flier?”

“No.” The fae shook his head. “We simply meet up.”

“That seems an odd club practice.” Vil tilted his head. “An organized schedule would benefit you a lot.” He then smiled. “But if I ever see your club meeting up, I wouldn’t mind seeing the gargoyles with you.”

The fae stared at him before smiling even wider. “I would like that very much.” The tips of his ears flushed with a very faint pink dust. “I should head out, but it was lovely talking to you.”

“You as well.” Vil waved as the fae left, disappearing into the crowd of people. It was only after he left that Vil realized once more he had failed to get the fae’s name.

’Schoenheit, he must think you’re the rudest person on the planet!’ Vil grit his teeth before letting out a gasp. “Wait! He wrote his name down!”

The blond grabbed the sign-in sheet, and was about to go to the final page when suddenly a loud crash sounded from the sports club booth. Quickly he placed the sheet down and rushed towards the noise.

Once again, Malleus’ true identity escaped him.

Chapter Text

Rook wiped sweat away from his brow as he put his bow away. It had been another long and hard class, but he’d enjoyed every second of it. Coach Vargas had decided to start their year off with “individualized study”, meaning, Rook could do whatever he wanted so long as it had something to do with physical education.

Which meant that he got to go to the woods near campus and hunt to his heart's content. Easily, his favorite class!

Well. It was actually his second favorite class. His real favorite was Etiquette Training with Professor Trein (the senior professor Trein, that is. She instructed everyone to call her Professor in class, and Lady Trein outside of class to reduce confusion). He adored that class because it was the one he shared with Vil!

Oh, the long hours of staring at his beau were easily the highlight of his entire time at Night Raven College!

And luckily for him, it was his next class. Rook bopped his head side-to-side merrily as he moved to exit the woods. As he did so, however, noticed something a few miles away. His smile brightened as he recognized Vil, sitting on a bench with a book in his hand.

’Is he waiting for me? My heart, ah!’ Rook quickly dusted himself off as best as he could and ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to look like he hadn’t just spent the last hour hunting down a poor fellow freshman (they’d been fine, he hadn’t shot at them).

However, once he was satisfied, he looked up and his gaze darkened. Leona had made his way over to Vil and quickly grabbed the book from the younger man’s hands. Vil swatted at Leona, but didn’t seem to be genuinely angry.

Rook watched as Leona rolled his eyes and handed the book back, only to pull Vil into a hug. Leona gestured to Vil’s ankle, which had been wrapped in a bandage after the incident at the club fair. Vil shook his head, and Rook prayed for him to push Leona away, but the blond unsurprisingly let out a sigh and returned the embrace before continuing to read.

Leona rested his chin on Vil's shoulder, and as he did so, he turned to look at where Rook was, having noticed his stare from miles away. Leona smirked at Rook before wrapping his arms around Vil’s waist and nuzzling his chin.

Rook grit his teeth together. “That man…” Vil patted Leona’s head and Rook looked away with a sigh. “Alas, my Roi des Poison adores him… What can I do to win his heart for myself?”

“I’ll tell you!” The hunter turned around to see Ashton emerging from the trees behind him. “It’s easy to get someone to fall for you!”

“Entraîneur Vargas?” Rook tilted his head. “What were you doing in the forest?”

“Muscle training!” Ashton flexed his biceps and Rook looked at them in amazement. They’d grown .072 millimeters since he’d seen the coach. “Impressive!”

“I know.” Ashton grinned. He then put a hand over his eyes and squinted in the direction of Leona and Vil. “Let’s see, you’re looking at them, aren’t you?”

’Of course a fellow hunter such as Entraîneur Vargas can see them from so far away.’ Rook nodded. “Oui. I am in love with Vil, but, as Vil is so lovely, I am not the only one. That makes becoming the sole object of his focus quite difficult.”

“Hm… Hmm…” Ashton put his hand to his chin. He’d heard Divus complaining about all of the ‘mangy mutts’ going after his son enough times to have a general gist of what was going on. “I see, that’s rough.”

He then gave Rook a thumbs-up. “But not to worry! I’m something of an expert on romance myself, so as your coach it’s my job to help you out, hahaha!”

“Entraîneur Vargas…” Rook’s eyes shone. He clasped his hands together gratefully. “Thank you very much!”

Ashton nodded. “Don’t you worry about it.” He sat down on the ground and crossed his arms. “I’ll tell you a story about myself, and I’m sure that you’ll learn from my romantic exploits!”

“Oui!” Rook sat down eagerly.

“Ahem.” Ashton waved his hand in the air. “In town, there was only she, who was as beautiful as me.” He put his hand to his chest and a single tear fell down his face. “On the inside! So, of course, I made plans to marry her. Alongside my thirteen other spouses of various genders, of course.”

Rook nodded, listening closely.

“But then! Tragedy struck!” Ashton shook his head. “She was taken hostage in a castle.” He looked at Rook. “Filled with… demonic furniture.” Rook let out a gasp and Ashton nodded sadly. “Yes. It was awful. I organized a rescue mission only to find out that she had fallen in love with her captor!”

Rook shook his head angrily. “How awful! You must have killed him! Oh, I imagine that if something like that had happened to my Vil… quelle horreur...”

Ashton looked at Rook in surprise before letting out a booming laugh. “Haha! I didn’t know you spoke my language! Impressive! Now!” Ashton put his hand on his chin and nodded. “As it turns out, her captor was quite the attractive man, and after realizing that she’d never been held hostage at all, I seduced both of them and now I have fifteen spouses of various genders, and we’re all in an open relationship!”

He patted Rook’s back. “The moral of the story is, there is no such thing as love rivals. Only people who you can get to fall in love with you.”

Rook frowned. “But… I do not wish to be with anyone other than Roi des Poison.”

“Hm…” Ashton sighed contemplatively. “But you can’t stop him from falling for anyone else, can you? The heart wants what it wants!”

The younger man frowned once more. “I suppose that is true. If Roi des Poison truly does fall for Roi des Lions, then I can’t stop him.” He then crossed his arms. “But I still wish for him to fall for me!”

“Then you must work hard!” Ashton stood up. He grabbed Rook’s arm and pulled him up from the ground as well. “Get yourself some muscles, learn how to flirt, and get your man!”

Rook nodded. “Oui! I will get my man!” He bowed to Ashton. “Thank you for your advice, Entraîneur Vargas. Please, I beg of you. Coach me in the ways of romance.”

Ashton patted Rook’s head. “Of course I will, kid!” He then froze, remembering the look on his coworker’s face when he’d growled about all the people after his son. “Uh. Just don’t tell Divus.”

Rook mimed zipping his lips and Ashton nodded. “Good. Now, your first lesson is to go spend time with him! Make sure to talk about how wonderful you are, and show him your muscles.” He pushed Rook in Vil’s general direction. “Go, go!”

Rook saluted the coach and quickly ran off. As he did so, Ashton watched him proudly. “You did it again, Vargas.”

He wiped a single tear away as he watched Rook push Leona off the bench and wrap his arms around Vil. Leona quickly jumped up from the ground and grabbed Rook by the collar, only to be stopped by Vil. “Ah, no one matchmakes like Ashton!”

Lilia Vanrouge placed a box of donuts on his desk. “Hey, kids!” He pointed to himself. “My name’s Professor Vanrouge, but you can all call me Lilia, alright? Hehe.”

He gestured to the box. “Welcome to our first class! Cooking and baking are big hobbies of mine, so I decided to make some sweets for you to celebrate our first class together~!” He opened the box up, and a sugary scent wafted from it. “So take a donut and settle down!”

Most of the students got up to accept their professor’s gift, but Trey and Vil stayed seated. Noticing this, Lilia made his way over to them.

“Ah! Cater’s friends! We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Trey smiled at him. “Yes, Cater’s excited to have you as a professor.” He glanced in the direction of an unassuming student who ate one of Lilia’s donuts. ’And Cater warned us never to eat any of your food! I’m not dying today!’

“Aww, shucks!” Lilia placed his hands on his cheeks. “I’m excited to have Cater as a student! Even if I don’t have any classes with him, hehe.” He pointed at Trey. “But you, Mister Mage, I’ll see you for your first class next week!”

Trey bowed his head slightly. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“I’ll have you know that Cater’s already tried to bribe me into giving you all A’s.”

Trey’s eyes widened. “W-What?” He put his hand to his forehead. “I hope you know I would never-”

“I know, I know, hehe!” Lilia chuckled. “Don’t worry about your grade though, it’s not a super difficult class.” Lilia placed his hands on his hips proudly. “I’ve taught countless mages how to do their thing, so you’ll be in good hands. And if you need extra help, my TA is very talented.”

He looked over at Vil, who was watching students eat the donuts before falling over in morbid fascination. “He’s also very handsome! And eloquent! And single!”

Vil blinked, not paying attention at all as he was watching a student begin to cough after eating a donut. “Good for him.”

“No, not good for him.” Lilia let out a sigh and shook his head. “His heart’s set on this one guy, but alas…” He put his chin on his hands. “The guy’s both super oblivious, and has a bunch of other people after him!”

Vil nodded, watching the student fall to the ground, clutching onto their friend as the light faded from their eyes. “That sounds tough.”

“It is! But, he’s very determined. He always has been, ever since the little guy hatched!”

Trey raised an eyebrow. “Hatched?”

“Yes, hatched. He’s a dragon fae, you know.”

At the word dragon, Vil’s eyes widened. “A dragon fae? What does that mean?”

Lilia shook his head. “Ah, I forgot that what I’m saying isn’t common knowledge. Here.” He waved his hand and a small illusion appeared before them of a crocodile.

“All fae have some kind of animal associated with them.” The crocodile did a little squirmy dance on the table, flicking its tail back and forth. “And as such, fae spend their adolescence as such creatures.” The crocodile slammed its claws against the desk. It began to glow before transforming into a boy with green hair and a sharp gaze.

Their professor held his hand out to the illusion, and it jumped on. “Of course, once a fae has reached adulthood, they are able to transform into a more fae-like, or human-like, form. They can change to and from these forms at will.” He poked the fae’s cheek, and it transformed into a crocodile to bite his finger before transforming back.

“Adulthood for fae can be different depending on their kind of species, and the more control they have over their magic, the easier it is to change forms.” Lilia waved his hand, causing his little friend to disappear. “But that’s only a very brief explanation.” He pointed at Trey. “You’ll be learning about this in unit two of our class!”

Inside, Vil was reeling. 'The bracelet I saw on that fae’s horns earlier…’ Vil looked away. ’It matched the one I gave to Malleus. On top of what Lilia said… It’s too much of a coincidence to not be true! But if they really are the same person, why didn’t he just tell me?’

He shook his head. ’When I see him again- as a dragon or as a fae- I’ll get to the bottom of this.’

Lilia then frowned at the two of them. “You two haven’t had your donuts yet… I promise they’re good!”

Trey and Vil looked at each other, then looked at the collapsed students on the ground.

Trey grinned awkwardly. “I actually had donuts today already, and I’m still pretty full! Sorry, Professor!”

Lilia then looked at Vil, who also grinned awkwardly. “I had a big breakfast with my fathers, so while I appreciate you sharing your goods, I will have to decline.”

Lilia stared at them for a moment.

After the tensest minute of their lives, he turned around. Both Trey and Vil shared a sigh of relief before their professor handed them napkins with donuts wrapped around them.

“You can just take them to-go! And make sure to tell me all about how they taste!” Lilia winked. “I’m always open to criticism!”

Neither Trey nor Vil had been spared, it seemed.

“Leona!” Vil pinched his fiance’s ear. The prince had sprawled out on his lap, tail twitching as the blond had been attempting to read with Idia. “I’m not a pillow!”

The blue-haired boy blushed at their display and looked away. Leona smirked at him and moved closer to Vil. “But you’re so comfortable, Villey~Pie~!”

“Fuck off with that nickname. Besides, I thought you said I was boney.”

Leona shrugged. “I lied.” He took the book from Vil’s hands and looked at the title. “Anyway, what’s…Snow White?”

“It’s an old fairytale from Pyroxene.” Vil gestured to Idia, who had turned silent at the prince’s appearance. “Idia’s play is going to be based on it, so I wanted to reread the story.”

Finally, Idia spoke. “Y-Yes! I already have most of it written out… or whatever.”

Vil clapped. “That’s wonderful, Idia.”

The blue-haired boy blushed even more and stood up. “Y-Yeah. Anyway, I’ll leave uh… you two… bye.” Before Vil could call out for him to stay, he was gone.

Vil frowned at Leona.

The prince raised his eyebrow. “What?”

“He’s scared of you!”

Leona smirked. “As he should be.”

Vil took the book from Leona and hit him with it. “You’re rude.” As Leona stuck his tongue out at him, he rolled his eyes. “Anyway. Are you done with classes for the day?”

Leona shrugged. “Mostly. I have a club meeting from five to seven, but after that I’m free.” He tilted his head. “Why? Do you want to meet up later?”

“No, I was just asking for the sake of conversation.” Vil looked away. “I don’t know if I’d have time to meet up anyway. I need to work on some papers for my father’s class, I want to check out the fine arts center before auditions next week, there’s some studying I need to do, and-”

Leona narrowed his eyes and brought his hand up to the blond’s cheek. “Slow down.”

Vil gently pulled Leona’s hand away from him and sighed. “I know. It’s just…” He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree he’d been sitting under. “There are so many things I can do now.” With his newfound freedom, he wanted to do everything.

“I know, but don’t do them all at once.” Leona turned so that he was looking up at Vil. “You have time, Vil.”

The blond smiled at Leona. “I really do, don’t I?” He shook his head. “It’s amazing. What do you think I should do first?”

“This.” In an instant, Leona switched their places so that Vil’s head was resting in his lap. The blond blinked in surprise. “L-Leona? What are you doing?”

“You’ve done enough right now, so let your brain take a break.” The prince shrugged. “Relax, you know?” He laughed. “I’ll even be your pillow as payback for all the times I’ve put my head in your lap.”

Vil frowned. “You’ve done it hundreds of times. One time isn’t enough payback.”

“Then I’ll do it a hundred more times.” Leona patted Vil’s head. “Until I’ve paid you back completely.”

Vil couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re funny, Kingscholar.”

“I try.” Leona continued running his fingers through Vil’s hair. “Seriously though. Just relax, okay?”

Vil nodded and closed his eyes, letting the soft noises of the wind and Leona’s gentle breathing wash over him.

What was happening to him at that moment was almost a carbon copy of a scene from the original game. The protagonist has broken down in front of Leona, stressed out from everything.

It had been a sweet scene. The first one showcasing Leona’s more caring personality while also giving a prelude to their future romance. Vil’s fingers twitched. ’Events from the game's plot are still happening, aren’t they? Even without the protagonist.’ The Saint’s summoning, the water incident, the students at the lab, and even this very moment.

But they were all different.

He felt fingers brushing his hair, sectioning it off into three parts. ’I don’t understand it. They shouldn’t be happening, not without the protagonist. And since he isn’t here, it feels like all of his events are happening to...’

Vil felt his hair being pulled slightly as Leona braided it. ’They shouldn't be happening to me. I’m not the protagonist. I can’t be! He has to show up eventually, right? Should… Should I try to do something to look for him?’ He still had that brooch Rollo had given him. If anyone knew anything about the protagonist, it would be him.

’But even then, I don’t even think I want the protagonist to be here. Trying to bring him over would be practically shooting myself in the foot.’ Vil screwed his eyes shut as he felt something being wrapped around the end of his hair and heard Leona hum appreciatively.

’But let’s operate on the assumption that he won’t ever show up. Do I just live out my life normally? Hell, if he really never shows up, then I’d just end up getting married to Leona…’ He opened his eyes slowly, looking away from his fiance. ’He’s a wonderful guy, anyone would be lucky to have him, but…’

His hand clenched into a fist, tearing at the grass on the ground. ’I still feel so guilty, though. Like I’d be taking away Leona from someone else. Someone he’d actually love.’ Vil let go of the grass.

’Someone who I’ll never be.’

He felt a finger tapping his eye, causing him to close it. “Hey, I said relax. Close your eyes.”

Vil laughed. “Okay, okay.” He took in a deep breath and relaxed his body. ’This world, I’ve made a lot of changes to it, haven’t I?’

Leona’s engagement, Rook’s upbringing, Cater and Trey’s relationship, Idia’s grief. All of it had been altered in a way that was better than it had been before. A boring, happy story.

A finger poked the blond’s cheek, trailing down his face.

If fate decided that this was how the world was meant to be, then that was what it was meant to be. Vil had already done his fair share of interfering with the story’s plot, and it ended up well for him.

’So, is that it? Do I settle?’ Vil flinched as Leona’s fingers trailed down his jawline, poking his earlobe before going to the back of his neck. ’I suppose… if this really is the best world I can live in, then that’s that.’

No drama, no chaos, no events. Just a simple, happy life. With no twists, love interests, or harem nonsense at all!

Leona touched the back of his neck and suddenly let out a yelp. Instantly, Vil sat up, concerned. “Leona? What is it?”

“Shit!” The prince shook his hand in the air. “Just got a burn, it made me jump.” He frowned at Vil. “Sorry for ruining your relaxing.”

“It’s fine.” Vil shook his head, feeling a sudden headache coming on. He touched the back of his neck, finding it bare as while his eyes had been closed Leona had braided his hair into a small side braid. “How did you get a burn?”

“I don’t know.” Leona shrugged. “I just did when I touched you there.”

“Where?” Vil touched the back of his neck, finding nothing of notice. “Are you sure?”

“I think so?” The prince narrowed his eyes. He looked at his hand, slightly red from the burn, but as he looked at Vil, it really didn’t seem like he could have gotten hurt from touching him. “Maybe it was static?”

“Maybe.” Vil shrugged and put his hands down. “I doubt touching me could have burned you.” He grabbed onto the prince’s hand. “Let’s head inside and get you some ice, alright?”

“Alright.” Leona followed after him. As Vil led him away, he looked at the prince. “And by the way, thanks for helping me relax.”

He squeezed Leona’s hand slightly. “You’re wonderful, Leona.” Vil laughed. “I hope you were serious when you offered yourself up as my pillow a hundred times. I might just take you up on that!”

Leona laughed as well. “Of course I was serious. A hundred times, a thousand, a million. Whatever you need.”

Vil felt his heart stirring in his chest. “I’d like that, Leona.”

His hand felt warm against Vil’s.

Chapter Text

“Alright.” Vil held a stack of paper in his hands before looking at the brothers in front of him. “We have everything?”

“Uh-huh.” Idia nodded. Beside him, Ortho nodded as well. “Yes! Thank you so much for letting me watch the auditions!”

Idia smirked and ruffled his brother’s hair. “You wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I didn’t.”

Vil laughed. “That, and I know how much you love watching people act.”

“I do!” The boy nodded, eyes shining. “It's so amazing how people can just completely transform themselves when they're on stage!”

Idia ruffled his brother’s locks. “Yeah, I know. You told us all about how amazing actors are when we went to the Last Petal Festival.”

The Last Petal Festival the biggest celebration in Pyroxene, meant to showcase the land's history of folk stories and fairy tales. Every spring, a new Pyroxene city would be chosen to put on the festival, where certain shows would be performed for the entire venue. That, and of course there were games, souvenirs, music, all celebrating the history of Pyroxene.

As the son of the Pyroxene dukes, Vil had gone to the festival every year for his entire life. And as an avid lover of theater, Idia had gone all his life as well, though he avoided anything to do with socializing.

Last year, they had gone together, and Ortho had tagged along with them and he had the time of his life! He’d happily talked his brother’s ear off the moment the actors stepped on stage, to the moment they had left.

Ortho nodded seriously to his brother. “That’s because actors are really cool!”

“That they are, Ortho.” Vil got up from his seat and moved over to the doors of the auditorium. “Speaking of actors, are you two ready for me to let everyone in?”

Idia looked at the ground. “Not really…” Ortho patted his shoulder and he let out a sigh. “But whatever, let’s do this.”

“Great enthusiasm, Idia.” Vil shook his head as he opened the door. In the lobby, a large group of students were waiting. At his arrival, they perked up eagerly.

Vil put on a polite smile. “Welcome, everyone. My name is Vil Schoenheit, and if you’re here for auditions into the theater club, you’re in the right place.” He pushed the door open wider and gestured to the items in his hands. “If you’d just take a paper and then go sit down in the audience, we’ll fill you all in on our plan once everyone is settled.”

He passed out papers to each student who walked through the door. This went relatively well, until Cater, who had shown up to audition (having been the last person to sign up, as he’d been seriously debating joining the Science club with Trey and Rook), came up to him.

“Vil~!” The ginger waved. He attempted to hug his friend, but Vil held his hand up. “Forgive me, Cater, but we have a schedule to keep. I won’t be able to talk like we normally do.”

“Awww…” The ginger pouted before nudging Vil’s shoulder. “Does that mean we’re not doing girl’s night with Rook after?”

Vil smirked. “Of course we’re still doing girl’s night. I just need to stay on track right now.” Cater nodded eagerly. “Okay good, I have so much tea for you~! See ya~!” He blew a kiss to the blond as took the paper and went inside.

Vil hadn’t realized how many people were planning on auditioning for their club. It was good, of course, but that meant that bringing everyone in took quite a bit longer than he had expected it to.

That, and someone he had been looking forward to seeing hadn’t shown up.

Vil let out a sigh and closed the theater doors. He made his way over to the stage, where Idia was sitting with his brother, trying to appear as calm as he could be.

The blond put his hand on Idia’s shoulder. “Are you ready?”

Idia still looked nervous, but he nodded. With shaking hands, he stood up from his seat.

“U-Uhh.” He mumbled as the auditioners continued to speak, not noticing his presence. “I… uh… I’m…” He wrung his fingers together nervously.

From the audience Cater shook his head with a sigh. He opened his mouth, about to tell his fellow auditioners to shut the fuck up, but before he could, Vil stood up and clapped his hands together loudly.

Instantly the students grew silent and stared at Vil. The blond smiled and gestured to Idia as he sat back down.

“I’m Idia… I’ll be…” The blue-haired boy gulped audibly at the countless pairs of eyes bearing down on him. “The… scriptwriter and… director… for this club… Thanks for making it bye.” He then sat back down instantly.

Ortho hugged his brother. “Good job, brother!”

Vil patted the man’s shoulder and stood up to address everyone. “Like Idia said. For today, we will be focusing on auditions.”

He moved so that he was sitting in the center of the stage, keeping his voice loud enough to be heard. “Our club’s main goal is to put on a performance at the end of the year, and to do that, of course, we need actors.” Vil gestured to the audience of students in front of him.

“That is what this audition is for. We will select only the finest to be a part of our club.” He waved a hand. “The sheets of paper I gave you all when you entered contain very short monologues that you will perform in front of Idia, myself, and Ortho.” He gestured to Ortho. “This is Ortho, he will not be deciding who makes the cut, but he will be assisting Idia and I in our decisions.”

Vil nodded. “Of course, you do not have to be memorized for this audition. What we are looking for is how you perform the monologue through your own interpretations, manner of speaking, and acting abilities.”

He then turned around and walked over to the table where Idia was sitting. “We will give you all fifteen minutes to read over your papers and then we will start calling names to audition, and if we like your performance, we will offer you a spot in our club.” He sat back down. “Please go out into the lobby to practice.”

As the students began to funnel out of the doors, Idia spoke to Vil. “We’re kinda throwing them to the sharks, aren’t we? I mean, only fifteen minutes to practice is kinda rough.”

“I know, but in the interest of our time, I figure it's best.” Vil shrugged. He then smirked and poked his friend’s shoulder. “Plus, this can be a good way to weed out our best crops.”

Idia returned the smirk. “You’re devious.”

Vil feigned sad sigh and turned to look at Ortho. “Your brother’s bullying me.”

As Ortho admonished his brother, Vil picked up the sign-in sheet. “Are we going to call them alphabetically?”

“Nah, I figured we’d call them by who signed up first.” Idia took the paper from Vil. “We’ll have to give the first few auditioners some grace because they’ll have less time to practice, though.”

“Naturally.”

“But the monologue they’ll be reading isn’t a tough one.” Idia nodded. “Super easy to write, baby stuff, honestly.”

“I liked it, though!”

“That’s cuz you're a baby lol.” Idia ruffled Ortho’s hair once more. The boy huffed at his brother before taking the audition sheet from Idia. “Brother! I’m sixteen, statistically speaking I am far from being an infant!”

“No. You’re younger than me, you’re shorter than me, and you have less hair than me.” Idia held up a finger for each of his points. He then pointed seriously at Ortho. “Statistically, that makes you a fetus.”

As the brothers continued to squabble, Vil watched them with a chuckle. It had been years since Ortho’s near-death experience, and even though Vil had seen the two together like this more times than he could count, he couldn’t help but feel his heart growing warm when he saw the brothers.

His gaze wandered over to Idia, who was smiling brighter than he ever had in the original game. ’Things are better this time, aren’t they?’ Vil put his hand to his chest. ’Idia… you’re so happy. I love it.’

His thoughts were soon inturrped as Ortho turned to him for support. “Vil! Tell my brother that I’m right!”

“Nonononono!” Idia covered Ortho’s face with his hands, pulling the boy away from the blond. “Don’t tell Vil to lie. Ugh, Vil, put him out of his misery and tell him he’s baby.”

Vil put his hand to his chin contemplatively. “Hm… what to do, what to do? Such strong arguments from both sides.” He clasped his hands together. “I will abstain from voting. Now!” He quickly raised his voice before the brothers could argue again. “I know that I tutor some of the people auditioning, but Idia, is there anyone you know?”

“Cater?”

“Other than Cater.” Vil rolled his eyes. “I know you know Cater.”

“No, then. I don’t talk to new people.” Idia shook his head.

“That’s fine, you’ll get to know whoever we let into our club.” Idia let out a slight groan at Vil’s words, but the blond continued. “Even with the people I know, for the most part I haven’t talked with more than half of the students here.” His eyes lit up. “Oh! But there is one that I am acquainted with.”

He took the audition sheet from Ortho and trailed his fingers down the cast list. But then he realized how pointless it was for him to do so, as he had never gotten the fae’s name. He’d tried to check the list, but the incident at the sports club booth had put him out of commission. Apparently an overeager freshman had attempted to arm-wrestle his fiance, and had gotten heated when she’d lost.

While he’d been holding the freshman back, he’d gotten knocked to the ground and sprained his ankle, leading to Rook showing up out of nowhere to carry him in his (impressively muscular and admittedly attractive) arms to the infirmary.

Something that had absolutely happened in his route. But Vil was trying to stop associating this world with that of the game, something that had caused him an unimaginable amount of stress. He’d been trying to work on finding ways to relieve his stress, as try as he might, thoughts about his death plagued him daily, even though he knew that realistically, that it wasn’t going to happen.

’Fuck…’ Vil rubbed the back of his neck, feeling tense. ’I should ask my fathers for help finding ways to calm down. At this rate, even if none of my friends kill me, I’ll end up dying from a heart attack.’ His fingers trailed down the list of names. ’Anyway. He didn’t show up, so I guess I won’t get his name this…’ He froze as he noticed a familiar name.

“Vil?” Idia raised his eyebrow as he watched his friend’s arms begin to tremble. “You good?”

’Malleus… Not my Malleus, but THE Malleus. He’s here. He’s actually here. I might finally get to meet him!’ Vil bit his lip. ’What do I do if he’s here? I don’t know anything about him…’ He shook his head ’No, Schoenheit. The world’s already so different from the game. It’s not the same, it’s not the same! I should just… treat him like I would anyone else!’

“Vil.” Idia put his hand on Vil’s arm. “You’re shaking.”

Instantly the blond put on a polite smile. “Am I? Excuse me. I was just thinking about the auditions.” He put the sheet back down on the table and moved away from it. “It’s been fifteen minutes by now, I’ll go call the first person.”

As he walked toward the doors, he found himself lost in thought once more. ’This world isn’t a game. Not any more. The people here are real, I’m real, and… and the protagonist isn’t here, anyway!’ He furrowed his eyebrows together. ’No protagonist means no love interests. Malleus can’t hurt you. None of them can hurt you. You’re safe, Schoenheit. You’re safe. You’re safe!’

He put his hand to his chest, and took in a deep breath. “You’re safe, Schoenheit.” Vil nodded to himself and put his hand on the door’s handle. “All you need to worry about is the auditions. You’re safe.” He then opened the door and raised his voice. “The auditions are starting now. When I call your name, please enter the theater.”

“Even if you hate me, that’s alright.” A brown-haired student placed their hand to their chest. “I don’t mind.”

They glanced at their sheet and then spoke louder. “I said I don’t mind! So why...” They lowered their head. “Why does it hurt so much?”

Their gaze sharpened. “Oh, I know. This is it, isn’t it? The all-encompassing feelings of love?!” They let out a cackling laugh. “I get it! I get it now!”

Their gaze darkened and they stared at the empty seats of the audience. “It is only right then, for me to love you as you love me. So come.” They held their arm out. “Let me adore you.”

They then bowed quickly. Vil and Idia clapped, while Ortho let out a cheer. “That was wonderful! Bravo! Bravo!”

“Ortho, we can’t talk about their performance right now.” Idia muttered under his breath as Vil wrote something down. The blond then looked up and nodded to the student, his face giving away nothing. “Thank you for auditioning. You can wait out in the lobby now.”

“Thank you!”

“Hehe~! Even…” The girl put her hands on his cheeks, laughing maniacally. “Even if you hate me, it’s okay~! I don’t mind!”

Her gaze grew angry and she snarled. “Hey, hey! Listen to me!” She held her arms out, and her voice suddenly grew saccharinely sweet. “I said I don’t mind…”

Her arms then wrapped around herself. She seemed to be speaking to herself more than she was anyone else. “So why…” She began to tremble. “Why does it hurt so much?”

She then quickly snapped her head up. “Oh. I get it now! This must be the all-encompassing feeling of love, isn’t it? Hahaha!” Her eyes were crazed and wide. “I get it! I get it now!”

She put her arms down and began to crawl downstage. “In that case, it’s only right then. For me to love you as you love me. So come.” She licked her lips. “Let me adore you.”

The girl stayed in character as Idia and Vil clapped for her. Ortho clapped as well, smiling happily. “Wonderful! Very energetic!”

The girl snapped out of her character and let out a laugh. “Thank you!” She bowed to the judges. “And thank you both for your consideration.”

As she walked off the stage, Idia and Vil looked over their notes carefully.

“Even if you hate me…” Cater smiled sadly. He wrapped his arms around himself. “It’s alright. I don’t mind.”

He let out a shaky laugh, tilting his head and closing his eyes as he tried to feign happiness. “I said I don’t mind!”

Cater waited a second and then put his hand to his chest. “So why…” His voice was soft. “Why does it hurt so much, I-” He winced and took in a shaky breath. “O-oh… I… I get it now!”

He grit his teeth together. “This must be it then! The… The ALL-ENCOMPASSING feeling of love!” The ginger raised his voice, glaring at nothing. His fingers twitched, like they were seconds away from breaking something.

“I get it now.” He looked up, fire in his eyes. “It’s only right then.” He took a menacing step forward. “For me to love-” He practically spat the word out. “-You as you love me. So come.” His hand lashed dangerously.

“Let me adore you.”

And in an instant, he was back to his smiling self. “So, how’d I do~?”

Vil shook his head. “You know I can’t tell you that, Cater.”

“Boo.” The ginger pouted. “Whatever, I’ll just wait.”

“You won’t have to wait long. You were the last one, so tell the others to come in, please.” Vil frowned at the sign-in sheet. For all of his fears, Malleus hadn’t even shown up to the audition, alongside a handful of other students. He let out a quiet sigh. ’It’s no skin off of my nose, I suppose. Even if I would've liked to at least see what Malleus looks like. No matter.’

“Got it~!” Cater moved over to the door as Idia and Vil whispered to each other.

”He’s a good actor, but I can tell he’s holding back.” Vil frowned as he looked at his friend.

Idia shrugged. ”Yeah, but good is still good”.

“Sure.” Vil shrugged, not bothering to whisper any more. “And I suppose we can work on that more. He’s in, then?”

Idia nodded.

As the rest of the students funneled in, the three wrote down the names of those who passed the audition on a sheet of paper. Once they were all down, Vil moved to the center of the stage and spoke. “Thank you all for auditioning. I hope that this experience has opened your eyes to the wonderful world of theater, and that even if you have not been chosen to join our club, you will still seek out other ways to appreciate the art form.”

He looked at the sheet. “With that said, when I call your name, please meet with Idia and I for more information about the club.” And with that, he began to read the names.

Thirty minutes later, after all those who had not passed had left, and those that had passed had been given all the information they needed, Vil let out a sigh. “That took longer than I thought.” He organized the papers in front of him before waving to Cater at the door, who had been joined by Rook as soon as the club had let out. “I have to get going. We’re experimenting with V-kei for girl’s night, it’s going to be wonderful.”

“V-kei?”

“Visual Style. It’s this kind of music genre that has its performers express themselves visually through big costumes and, of course, stunning makeup!” Vil’s eyes shone. Weeks ago, he’d learned that V-kei was a thing in this world, despite it not fitting in at all with the entire story’s setting at all. Normally he’d complain about the game’s bullshit writing, but he liked V-kei, so he decided to let it pass.

“That sounds super cool.” Idia waved a hand. “Good luck with your…” He cleared his throat and felt a blush coming on as he stared at Vil’s smile. “Uh…”

“V-kei! Visual Style!” Ortho chirped, helpfully.

“I appreciate it, you two.” Vil patted the boy’s head. “If it goes well, I’ll be sure to dress you both up in V-kei later.” His eyes then brightened up. “Unless you want to join us now?”

Idia shook his head and after looking at his brother, Ortho shook his head as well. The older boy waved his hand. “My social battery’s kinda dead. But later, sure, that could be fun.”

“It will be.” Vil reached out and patted his friend’s cheek. “You have such wonderful skin, I won’t have to do much to make your charming face stand out.” He then waved goodbye to the brothers and joining Cater and Rook, leaving them to finish up.

Ortho waited until the blond was out of earshot before speaking. “Brother! Are you and Vil dating?”

Idia dropped the papers in his hands on the stage. “D-D-D- DHWA????” His hair was completely pink, matching his cheeks. “W-W-Why would you think that? He wouldn’t ever date someone like me!”

Ortho blinked. “He wouldn’t?” The boy crossed his arms and let out a huff. “Why not?”

“I’m literally a loser.”

“No you’re not!” Ortho stomped his foot on the stage. He wrapped his arms around a brother in a hug. “You're the coolest person ever! I’m sure Vil sees that too!”

’Doubt it, but k.’ Idia restrained himself from saying that. Instead, he patted Ortho’s head and shook his head. “Thanks, man, but…” He let out a sigh. “Vil’s engaged to someone else anyway, okay?”

Ortho pouted. “Engagements aren’t everything! And if they were, then why would Rook Hunt, Trey Clover, and Cater Diamond also be in love with him?”

“The heart wants what it wants, Ortho.” Idia shrugged. “They can be in love with him, sure, but that doesn’t mean he’ll ever look their way.”

“Hmph.” Ortho huffed and pulled away from his brother. “I think that he looks your way a lot!”

“Haha…” Idia rubbed his arm. “He doesn’t, but thanks.”

“I mean it!” The boy crouched onto the ground to pick up one of the scattered pieces of paper on the stage. He wagged his finger at Idia. “He’s always really nice to you!”

Idia also went to the ground. He stacked a couple of papers as he spoke. “Which is weird, but whatever.”

“People being nice isn’t weird, brother…”

“To me it is, but Vil…” Idia sighed, not hearing the door to the auditorium opening and shutting quietly as someone silently entered the area. “He’s… Vil’s special.”

Ortho giggled. “I like him, big brother!”

“Yeah.” Idia felt a smile growing on his face. “So do I.” He reached out to grab another sheet of paper, but as he did so, a shadow loomed over him.

Idia let out a yelp and shot back. “H-H-Haaahhhhhhhgggggggg!????”

Ortho looked up. “Oh!” He walked towards the figure. “Hello!”

The figure shook the boy’s hand. “Greetings.” He then looked at Idia on the ground and held his hand out to help him up. “To you as well.”

Idia took his hand and let himself be hoisted up. With trembling hands, he shook with the figure. “H-H-Hello…” He cleared his throat and put on the bravado of bravery. “What are you doing here? The theater is…” He gulped and let go of the hand, moving beside his brother. “Closed.”

“Is it?” The figure blinked in surprise before a frown spread across his handsome face. “I am here to audition for the club. I suppose I am too late, however…”

Ortho shook his head. “No! It’s alright! Don’t be sad!” He handed one of the pages to the figure and grabbed his brother’s arm, pulling him to the audience. “You can still audition!”

“Ortho!” Idia whisper-yelled. “No he can’t! He’s too late, and Vil isn’t even here!”

“Awww…” Ortho pouted. He pointed at the figure, who was reading the audition script carefully. “He looks so sad, though!”

Idia looked at the figure, who didn’t seem to be upset in the slightest. He then looked at his brother’s adorably pleading gaze and let out a low sigh. ”Fine.”

He waved his hand. “Okay, state your name and then read the script whenever you’re ready.”

“I am ready now.” The figure waved his hand, and the paper in it turned into ash before his very eyes. He cleared his throat and stepped forward to the center of the stage.

“My name is Malleus Draconia, and I will be auditioning for this club.” He bowed. “Please enjoy my performance.”

Chapter Text

Vil looked at the card in his hand, reading it carefully.

He’d mentioned feeling stressed out to his fathers earlier that week, and they had recommended seeing a therapist or going to get a message.

And obviously, he’d chosen the massage.

It wasn’t that he was against going to see a therapist, fuck knew he needed one, but he’d never be able to be fully honest with them without breaking their mind with the whole “We’re all characters in a BL” thing. So, for now, a massage was his best bet.

Plus, it was always a treat to visit Fleur City. It was a truly gorgeous place, one of Pyroxene’s most well-known tourist spots. By the river, a fisherman fished, and within one of the many stores lining the streets, a bakerman baked as the bells of Noble Bell Sanctuary in the center of the city tolled in the hour.

It seemed as though music, art, and magic lived and breathed through the city, with townsfolk wandering and chattering about without a care, and -true to its name- flowers blooming everywhere in sight.

Vil smiled as he leaned down to touch the soft petals of a nearby red flower. “Isn’t this place darling, Trey?”

The green-haired boy had tagged along with Vil, wanting to visit Fleur City to compare his family’s baked goods with the traditional treats of the city. He smiled at Vil. “It’s really nice. I’m glad I was able to come with you today.”

“So am I.” Vil nodded. “It would have been lonely coming here by myself.” He moved to link arms with the shorter man as they walked along the street.

“Ha!” Trey laughed. “I’m happy to keep you company. As long as there’s something in it for me, of course!” He winked.

“Ah.” Vil frowned. “Is my charming personality not enough compensation?” He put his hand to his chest and pouted. “You wound me, Clover.”

The green-haired boy shook his head and chuckled. “I’d say it counts as about half of my compensation. Buy me a croissant and I’ll consider us even.”

“I’ll buy you a dozen, how about that?” Vil patted Trey’s surprisingly toned arm. “Then you can share them with your siblings.”

Trey smirked. “If you insist.”

“I do insist. Your company is more than worth a few croissants.” Vil put the card containing the address for the massage parlor in his pocket and looked around. “My appointment isn’t for another hour, but I’d still like to find the place before we get too close to the time.” He frowned. “Except I haven’t the faintest idea of where it is.”

“Hm.” Trey looked around as well. “This place is part of Pyroxene, have you not been here before?”

“I’ve visited the square and some of the historic buildings a few times for the Topsy-Turvy festival and visits with my father, but not enough to know the city very well.” Vil shrugged. “Pyroxene is far too big of a place for my father to govern everything by himself, so large cities like this one usually will be led by smaller sections of nobility. Father meets with the leaders every so often for status-reports.”

He and Trey walked forward as he talked. “Fleur City is a little bit different in that The Noble Bell Sanctuary manages it.” Vil gestured to the sanctuary, where it towered over the entire city. “They do such a wonderful job of taking care of this place, my father and I haven’t had to visit it often enough to have the layout down.”

“Oh, I get it.” Trey looked at one of the signs for a shop. He then turned to look at Vil. “It’s like…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I can’t think of a good comparison, but I get it.”

Vil put his hand over his mouth to laugh. “Are you sure?”

“Would I lie to you?”

The blond tilted his head. “Maybe.” He brushed the bangs out of the baker’s face and tapped his nose. “I’m sure there’s a bit of a devil underneath those cute glasses.”

“Heh.” Trey leaned forward and gave Vil a smirk. “You’ll just have to look for him, won’t you?” He then turned away from Vil. “But you aren’t very familiar with this place?”

Vil shook his head. “Unfortunately.”

“And neither am I.” Trey put his hands on his hips and let out a sigh. “We really should have taken up Rook’s offer to join us.”

“No!” Vil narrowed his eyebrows and pointed at Trey. “That man already has way too much homework to do! He cannot waste time with us!” He crossed his arms. “I can’t believe the nerve of that hunter. All week, I asked him again and again ‘Do you have any work to do’ and you know what he told me?”

Trey raised an eyebrow. “Something along the lines of ‘Non, my etoile, all I need to do is see your beautiful face~’?”

“Exactly! And on top of that, he’s started flexing his muscles at me every chance he gets and telling me all about his hunting trips.” The blond put his hand to his forehead. “Which is admittedly very entertaining, but the point is!” He held a finger up. “He has to stay at home as his punishment.”

“You say you’re punishing him, but you’re still going to get him a souvenir with everyone else.” Trey tilted his head. “Right?”

“Well.” The blond crossed his arms. “It would be rude not to bring him back something. And only if he’s gotten his work done.” Vil winked. He then looked around the street, looking for someone who seemed like they were local. “We might need to ask someone for directions at this rate, though.”

Trey nodded before noticing a shop nearby. “Yeah. I’ll go ask someone, why don’t you keep looking around?”

“Okay, don’t go too far, though.”

The boy gave a thumbs-up and Vil looked around once more. ’Fleur City is divided into regional districts, if I could find a map that would be great.’ But the only thing he could see was shops and tourists milling about.

Vil walked forward a bit, noticing a restaurant with outdoor seating. Overhead stood a pergola, with flowered vines hanging from it, covering the area in a beautiful rainbow of flora and fauna. As his eyes trailed down one of the many hanging vines, Vil slowly noticed a familiar face.

Sitting at a table right in front of him, eating a croissant with a fork and knife sat none other than Rollo Flamme himself.

Vil immediately turned around, hoping to avoid the boy. He then let out a sigh and put his hand to his forehead. ’Why are you running away from him, Schoenheit?’

Well, that was obvious. Vil didn’t like him!

For one, he was far too rude to Vil’s father that one time, and Rollo’s attitude towards mages was appalling. And besides, getting near someone who was so closely associated with the Saint was a bad idea all around for Vil.

Vil shook his head. ’But, then again… He’s practically a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the Saint. Even if I don’t know what’s going to happen with the protagonist, I can’t deny that it’s not a bad idea to get to know him better in case I ever need to learn more.’

The blond pulled a hanging vine dappled with red flowers away from his face, staring at Rollo as the gray-haired man took a sip of the drink in front of him. ’And besides, the head mage of Noble Bell Sanctuary is bound to know his way around his own city.’

Vil took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the vine before letting go. He put on a polite smile as he called out to the boy. “Rollo Flamme, is that you?”

The gray-haired boy’s eyes widened in surprise before he cleared his throat. “Duke Schoenheit.” He stood up to greet the man, subtly wiping crumbs away from his mouth with a cloth napkin. “What a pleasant surprise to see you in Fleur City.”

“You as well.” Vil took his hand and shook it, quickly removing his hand from the man’s grasp. “I have an appointment with a masseur here.”

“A masseur?” Rollo sat back down with a quizzical look over his face before his eyes lit up in realization. “Ah! You must be talking about ’The BeaYuuty Salon’, yes?”

Vil nodded. “You know where it is?”

“Yes. Many of my fellow followers of the Saint go there on our days of rest.” Rollo looked at Vil, noticing how a red petal had fallen on top of his golden locks. He watched, almost hypnotized as the blond brushed the petal away and it fell to the ground.

Rollo quickly shook his head and cleared his throat. “I can take you there after I’ve finished here, if you would like?”

“I would appreciate that, thank you.”

Rollo nodded and took another sip of his drink. He gestured to the seat in front of him. “Why don’t you sit down, then? Would you like anything? My treat.”

Vil shook his head as he sat across from the gray-haired man. “No, thank you.” He looked around them. “I’m here with a friend. I wouldn’t want to get something without him.”

“I’m sure your friend wouldn’t mind.” Rollo pulled out a menu from beside his plate and handed it to Vil. “Why not enjoy yourself?”

Vil shook his head and lightly pushed the menu away. “My friend and I are going to eat together later, I wouldn’t want to ruin my appetite.”

“I doubt a simple drink would ruin anyone’s appetite.” The mage let out a chuckle. “The drinks and pastries here are always so wonderful, I find that I am rarely satiated after only one.” Rollo pushed the menu closer. “And your friend can join us, I don’t mind.”

’Considering Trey’s a mage…’ Vil pushed the menu back. “You probably will.”

The mage tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean by-”

“Hey, Vil!” Trey made his way over, waving to Vil. He put his hand on the blond’s arm in a friendly manner. “Sorry I took so long. I got some directions, but it’s a bit of a complicated route.”

“Hm.” Vil hummed. “I’m not surprised they’d be complicated.” He gestured to Rollo. “I’ve found us a guide. Trey, do you remember Rollo Flamme?”

Trey looked at the mage, who was growing pale as he looked at the taller boy. “Flamme? Flamme... Oh!” Trey snapped his fingers. “From the opening ceremony. Sorry your spell didn’t work, it must have been disappointing for-”

“I don’t need an apology from a leech like you.” Rollo sneered before slamming his hand down on top of the table, causing his drink to spill slightly. “I can see the filth of magic on you, mage.” He glared at Trey with pure disgust as his green irises glowed. “It’s because of people like you that the Saint has refused to show himself to us.” Rollo stood up angrily. “People that waste the gift of magic.”

Trey blinked at Rollo in surprise. ’Way to go from zero to one hundred…’ He awkwardly laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t say I waste my magic. I’m just trying to-”

“Any magic that isn’t used to serve the Saint is a waste.” Rollo practically growled as he moved closer to the taller man. His face was turning red and his gaze never shifted away from Trey. “You are the trash that taints this world. You are despicable, foul, and vile. Nothing more than a-”

He then blinked as his drink was thrown in his face.

Vil stood up from his seat, slamming the now-empty cup onto the table. He glared at Rollo with an icy gaze that froze the fire that had previously burned in his eyes. “Shut your fucking mouth.”

He grabbed Rollo by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. “Do not talk to Trey like that.”

Rollo’s green eyes widened in shock as droplets of tea trailed down his face. Lifting him higher, Vil moved to whisper in his ear. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Or were you never taught that?”

Rollo felt a jolt down his spine as Vil’s lips brushed past the shell of his ear. “You think yourself so high and mighty, but from what I see, the only trash here is you.”

He let go of Rollo, causing the man to fall to the ground. Vil then grabbed Rollo’s chin in his hands, turning him to look at Trey, who was staring at them both with his mouth open in disbelief. Vil tapped Rollo’s cheek. “Apologize.”

Rollo grit his teeth. “For what? I’m right.”

“Being rude to my friend isn’t right.” Vil’s nails dug into Rollo’s cheeks. “It’s just rude.”

“If what I said was considered rude, what does that make what you’re doing to me right now?!” The gray-haired man spat, trying to distract himself from the man’s touch.

“Hm.” Vil tilted his head. “I suppose you’re right.” He crouched down until he was at Rollo’s eye level. He batted his eyes innocently and clasped the man’s hands in his. “I’m so sorry, Flamme. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

The blond’s purple-eyed gaze bore into Rollo’s soul. His hands shook within Vil’s and he felt his face grow warm. The mage bit his tongue, hard enough that it would have bled if not for Vil grabbing his face once more and squeezing his cheeks. “Don’t go biting your tongue off, Flamme.” He shook his head. “Is it really so difficult to apologize?”

Rollo didn’t say anything.

Vil sighed and let go of Rollo’s face. “How disappointing. Here I thought that the head mage at Noble Bell Sanctuary was better than that.” He got up and moved back to Trey, whose cheeks were covered in a blushing red tint. “I’m so sorry, Trey.”

He linked arms with the shorter man and began walking away. Rollo stayed put on the ground, blinking his drink out of his eyes. He watched Vil leave, feeling his heart beating so loudly in his chest that he felt as though it were screaming. Screaming for Vil to turn around, for him to turn his icy gaze back to him, to touch him once more. The sound of his voice against Rollo’s ear was hypnotic, breathy and dangerous.

Rollo wanted that voice to call his name, but he didn’t know why.

He gulped and raised his voice. “I’m sorry.”

Both Vil and Trey turned around, each of them looking at him in surprise.

He continued. “What I believe is one thing, but that doesn’t mean I should treat other humans as anything less than that.” Rollo stood up, putting his hand to his chest. ’Put your feelings aside. You need to be on Schoenheit’s good side if you ever want to use him later.’

Rollo bowed. “I apologize. I have much to reflect on.”

Vil and Trey looked at each other. The green-haired man sighed and walked towards Rollo. “You really do. But I’m not trying to make any enemies, alright?”

Rollo put on a polite smile. “Neither am I.” He put his hands behind his back. “If it is alright with you two, could I show you two to the massage parlor? It is the least I could do to make up for my behavior.”

Trey looked at Vil, who gestured to him, leaving him to make the decision. Trey bit the inside of his cheek. ’I have directions to the place, but it’ll be a lot easier if we get him to show us…’ But he didn’t like that Rollo guy. Even before he had lashed out at Trey, something felt off about him.

And Trey definitely didn’t like the way Rollo looked at Vil. It didn’t look like the ones everyone else gave Vil, but something more sinister.

So, Trey smiled and shook his head. “There’s no need. Thank you for your offer.” He walked back to Vil and took his hand. “Let’s go.”

The blond nodded. As they walked, Rollo watched Trey wrap an arm around Vil’s waist, pulling him close. Vil gave Trey a confused smile before letting out a laugh.

Rollo smiled politely at the two, waving at them until they were out of sight. As soon as they were, his gaze turned into a scowl. ’I wasn’t able to get closer to him. That damned mage ruined everything.’ He slammed his hand against the table, causing the glass cup he had been drinking out of to fall to the ground loudly.

The mage took in a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. ’Calm yourself. We need more time to create our trap for that beast, so it’s fine that I haven’t secured Vil yet.’

Rollo put his hand on his chin, right over the spot where Vil had grabbed him earlier. ’Still though. It might have been nice to spend more time with him.’

A red flower fell down from above, dancing playfully in front of him so that he couldn’t ignore it as he stared in the direction Vil had left. Slowly, with shaking hands, he reached for the flower.

As he grabbed its soft petals, he felt another hand wrapping around his own, lacing their fingers together. Where the hand touched, it felt as though fire danced across his skin, teasing, hot, and dangerous. A familiar voice echoed in his ears, causing a chill to run across his spine.

”Flamme…”

Rollo quickly let out a gasp and pulled his hand away to cover his ear. He looked around him, seeing that he was alone, save for a few flowers scattered around him. Rollo put his hand to his forehead.’What are you thinking, Flamme?’

The gray-haired man’s gaze darkened, and with a wave of his hand, the red flower was set ablaze. As its petals curled in on itself and it slowly faded to ash, he walked away with his arms wrapped around himself.

’He’s a means to an end, that is all.’

Despite telling himself that, he still couldn’t get that voice out of his head.

“Was I?” Vil’s eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t think I was.”

“No. You were.” Trey laughed. “I mean, I appreciate you sticking up for me, but you went way too hard on him!”

Vil tilted his head. “Really?” He frowned. “I think it was a perfectly normal reaction.”

Trey looked at Vil. Upon seeing he was completely serious, the green-haired man let out a sigh. “I appreciate it, really I do, but I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Flamme is the one who caused trouble, not you.”

Trey shrugged. “Trouble is trouble is trouble.” He smiled. “But still, I appreciate you sticking up for me.”

“Of course!” Vil widened his eyes. “Why wouldn't I? It’s you.”

Trey tilted his head. “It’s… me?”

“You only deserve kindness, Trey.” Vil then let out a grimace. “It makes me sick to think someone would ever treat you with anything less than that.”

The green-haired boy let out a quiet chuckle. “I appreciate that.” He then smirked. “But don’t go thinking I’m so delicate that I need protection.” He leaned in close to Vil, inches away from his face with a glint in his eyes. “You said it yourself. There's a devil hiding behind these glasses.”

The blond stared into Trey’s hazel eyes as a faint blush spread over his cheeks. He cleared his throat and pulled out a fan from his pocket, covering his face. “There really is, isn't there?” ’Why are you blushing Schoenheit? Okay, well. You know why, Trey’s gorgeous, but come on!’ He looked away. ’He’s your friend! And Cater’s boyfriend!’

Although Cater had stated numerous times in front of Vil he was alright with Trey dating others… Why was Vil thinking about that?

“O-Oh.” Vil cleared his throat once more and put his fan away. “Have you and Cater told anyone about your relationship yet?”

“Mmhmm.” Trey shook his head. “We want to wait a bit longer until we’re settled into school. My family has their suspicions though.”

“Oh?”

Trey shrugged. “There’s only so many times Cater can sneak into my room and use the ‘bitten by a snake’ excuse before it starts to wear off.”

Vil put his head into his hands. “Trey. You two are really bad at hiding your relationship.”

Trey lowered his head in shame. “Yeah, we are.” He laughed. “But my parents seem alright with it. I’m more worried about Cater’s parents. They’re real sticklers for societal rules.”

Vil frowned. “I’d say I’m surprised, but… I’m not. Wherever I visited Cater’s house, they seemed quite a bit strict on him.”

“Yeah. He says not to worry about it but…” Trey rubbed the back of his neck. “I know he’s been stressed about everything, even if he tries to hide it. But I don’t think we’ll be able to tell his parents about us any time soon.”

Vil put his arm over his shoulder in comfort. “Whatever you need, I’ll be there to help you two out.”

Trey laughed. “I don’t think you’d be able to grab Cater’s parents by their collars and force them to apologize.”

“Not with that attitude!” Vil joined in the laughter. He squeezed Trey’s shoulders. “But whatever you need. I’ll be there.”

Trey reached for Vil’s hand and squeezed it back. “Don’t worry, Vil.” He smiled at the taller boy, remembering what had happened with Rollo earlier. “You’ve made that clear.”

“And I’ll keep making it clear.” The blond shrugged, letting go of Trey’s hand to move to the door of the massage parlor. He turned around and smiled. “You’re the kind of person I could have quite a bit of fun protecting.”

As Vil entered the parlor, Trey let out a sigh. He placed his hand over his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly within it. ’Vil, you really can’t say those kinds of things to a guy…’

He chuckled and shook his head before following after his friend.

Chapter Text

“Alright.” Vil clapped his hands together, grabbing the attention of all of his club’s members “I want to welcome you all to our first official rehearsal for our show.”

The rest of the club members cheered. He let them do so for a bit before holding his hands up to silence them. Once it was quiet, he gestured to Idia.

The blue-haired boy gulped and stepped forward. “S-So like I said before.. I’m the director and scriptwriter…” He clenched his hands into fists. “O-Our performance is going to be an adaptation of this old fairy tale… called Snow White…”

He twisted his hands together. “It’s about this chick and uh… Her evil queen stepmother - who is a total MILF btw- wants to have her killed because she’s jealous of a literal child for having a better skincare routine than her.” Idia’s voice began to speed up and his eyes began to shine as he spoke more about the story. “So she sends her huntsman to kill Snow White, but the hunter fails because they don’t know what loyalty is.”

Back at the Schoenheit manor, from where he was brushing Le Cheval’s coat, Rook let out a powerful sneeze, scaring the horse.

Idia nodded. “The hunter tells Snow to go into hiding, and she does. Snow befriends these seven dwarfs and they protect her until one day the evil MILF shows up in a disguise.”

“Omg!” Cater clapped his hands together. “I remember this story!” He nodded to the people around him. “It’s like… supes big in Pyroxene.”

“Cater, shh!” Vil had been handing out scripts as Idia was speaking. He turned to look at his friend, a slow smile growing on his face as he saw how excited he was.

Idia grinned. “The evil MILF gives Snow this bright and shiny red apple, and Snow eats it but SHIT! It was poison all along!” He let out a loud laugh.

“Oh, yeah!” Cater clapped his hands together. “It’s super unlucky to eat a red apple in Pyroxene because of this stoRY!” He let out a yelp as Vil threw a script at him.

“Yeah.” Idia waved a hand. “That’s why you’re not supposed to eat red apples in Pyroxene.”

“AND ALSO BECAUSE RED DELICIOUS SUCKS!!! AGH!” A club member let out a yelp as a script was thrown his way.

Idia nodded. “And also because red delicious sucks ass. Nobody likes red delicious.” Vil glared at Idia and instantly the boy let out a yelp. “AH! I-I mean… only hot bitches like red delicious?”

Vil smiled and continued passing out scripts. Idia let out a sigh of relief before continuing. “Anyway, Snow passes out and her friends are super sad about it. So they put her in a glass coffin to preserve her corpse, and while they’re mourning their dead friend, some prince guy shows up.”

Idia shrugged. “And instead of like… doing literally anything else, he decides to make out with the corpse. Which through the magic of true love’s kiss, wakes her up.” Idia waved his hand. “Then she and the prince get married, the seven dwarfs get to live in luxury, and the evil MILF is forced to dance while wearing burning iron shoes until she dies.”

Vil felt a slight tingle in his feet as Idia finished up his story. He finished handing out scripts and moved to sit by his friend as he continued to speak. “It’s a really simple story, which is why I chose to make an adaptation based on it for our first performance.”

The blond put his hand on Idia’s shoulder. “Good idea, Idia.”

The ends of Idia’s hair turned pink and the boy looked away from Vil. “T-Thanks!” He then looked at the rest of the club members. “But when I made the script, I made it with certain people playing certain roles in mind.”

“Oooohh~!” Cater held his script up, showing the name ’Snow White’ written on it. “Could it be? Am I our leading lady?”

Vil nodded. “Yes. And since it’s your first time doing something like this, I’ll help you out.”

“How romantic~!” Cater swung his legs in his seat happily. ’And while he’s helping me, we can get our flirt on~!’ He clasped his hands together and smiled at Vil. “So who are you playing? My cute little prince?”

The blond rolled his eyes and held his script up. “As if.” He gestured to his script, which was titled; ’Evil MILF’. “I’ll be your cute little villain.”

A part of Vil had wanted to laugh when Idia had asked him to play the villainess for obvious reasons. Another part of him had wanted to cry, also for obvious reasons. But, he’d accepted the role, if nothing else for the fact that his father had offered to help with costumes, and Divus would have a lot of fun designing the queen’s costume with him.

And also because it really was funny!

Idia clapped his hands together, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Also, we only have six dwarfs today because the king of Sunset Savanna is sponsoring our performance and asked for his grandson to be in it because of nepotism!” He let out a sigh and shook his head. “So, we’re going to be bringing a five-year-old here at some point.”

Before anyone could complain, he held his hands up in defense. “He’s only going to have two lines, and someone will be backstage with him at all times, and he’ll be with the other dwarfs the whole time when he's on stage.”

As the actors began to whisper to each other, Vil spoke up. “You guys will have the extra job of keeping Cheka on track, he’s the sweetest kid in the world, but he gets excited easily.” He nodded and put his hand to his chest. “I’ll try to stick with him when I can, but if you guys could help him out on stage, I’d really appreciate it.”

“ABSOLUTELY!!!” One of the dwarf actors, this one with muscles the size of Vil’s head, stood up eagerly. She slammed her hand against her chest proudly. “ANYTHING FOR YOU, VIL SCHOENHEIT!”

The blond smiled. “I appreciate it.” He then nodded to Idia.

“Okay, we’re going to get started learning the biggest scene of the show, the sort-of opening. I say sort-of since the show technically begins with an Evil MILF scene, but whatever. In this scene, everyone is milling around and giving exposition about the plot, and it ends with Snow showing up and falling, only to be caught by the prince in this super romantic way.

Cater’s hand shot up. “That doesn’t happen in the original story.”

“Shut up.” Idia glared at Cater. “I literally wrote this for free. And don’t complain, the prince is really hot, so I’m doing you a favor.”

Vil moved closer to Idia. “About that…” He handed the script for the prince’s character to Idia. “Who did you pick for the role of the prince? I couldn’t find a name.”

Idia’s eyes widened. “Shit!” He clasped his hands together and bowed to Vil in an apology. “I completely forgot to tell you! Another auditioner showed up after you left and I let him join-”

“You what?!”

“Only because he’s really good!” Idia nodded. “Like, it’s actually crazy.”

The blond crossed his arms. “Still… You should have at least talked to me about letting someone else in.”

“I know.” Idia lowered his head. “I’m really sorry.”

Vil shook his head before reaching out and flicking Idia’s forehead. “You better hope I like his acting.” He looked around the room. “So who is he?”

“Malleus Draconia.”

The blond blinked. “M-Malleus Draconia?!”

The rest of the actors gasped. “Malleus Draconia?!” Hushed whispers sounded throughout the auditorium as they moved to gossip about their newest member.

“I hear he’s one of the strongest mages like… ever!”

“Well DUH he’s powerful! He’s the prince of the fae!”

”I’m gonna be honest, I have no fucking idea what a fae is. Everyone’s been talking about fae like it’s something I’m supposed to know about but I don’t.”

”Fae are magical beings! They come in all kinds of different species, but every single one of them is born with HUGE amounts of magic and they all mostly live in Briar Valley! Lils is a fae!”

“Thank you SO much for explaining, Cater. I’ve been SO confused this entire time!”

“He’s an actual prince… what a coincidence that he’s playing one… almost TOO much of a coincidence. Idia’s soooo got a bias!”

“I saw the fae prince FLOATING across campus one day… I think I shit myself...”

”You’re fucking disgusting.”

“Be quiet!” Vil stood up on the stage. He took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter who he is, he’s one of us and I expect us to treat him as such.” He glared at the other actors. “If Idia says he can act, then I believe him. Having said that…” Vil turned to look at Idia. “Where is he?”

“Right here.” Just then, the auditorium doors swung open, and the dark-haired fae floated across the floor. He nodded to Vil. “My apologies for being late. Mortal time is something I still struggle with.”

Vil blinked. ’I have my suspicions about who he is, but… hang on.’ He held the script in his hands up. “You’re Malleus Draconia?”

“Yes.” The fae smiled. He then gave Vil a look. “My friends call me Malleus.”

As Vil’s eyes widened with shock, Cater and Idia shared a confused look.

’It has to be him. My Malleus. He… He’s really…’ Vil shook his head. He tossed Malleus his script. “See me after rehearsal.” Vil then nodded to Idia.

The blue-haired boy raised his eyebrows at Vil but then turned to face the rest of the actors. “Okay. Now that everyone’s here, we can get started.”

“W-W-WOAH~!” Cater tripped over his feet and fell into Malleus’ arms. The prince gave him a slow smile. “Hello, there.”

“I-I…” Cater blinked, never taking his gaze away from the taller man. He then shook his head and pushed himself away from the prince. He bowed quickly. “Thank you for catching me! I… should be more careful.”

Malleus let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it.” His gaze never wavered away from the ginger. “I’m happy that I was able to catch you.” He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind Cater’s ear. “Wouldn’t want a face as beautiful as yours to get bruised.”

A pink blush spread across Cater’s face, and he found himself leaning closer to the prince. “You… You are very charming, your highness.”

Malleus flashed Cater a playful grin. “The name isn’t Prince Charming for nothing.” He pressed a kiss to the ginger’s hand. “Would you tell me yours?”

Cater quickly pulled his hand away nervously, clutching it against his chest. “M-My name is-”

“SNOW WHITE!!!” An actor’s voice called out from offstage. “Your highness, where are you?!”

Cater flinched. Quickly, he bowed to the prince once more and ran off. Malleus held his hand out and attempted to run after the boy, but wasn’t able to reach him. So, he stepped forward and put his hand to his chest. “Snow White…”

He smiled. “What a beautiful name.”

“ALRIGHT GUYS!” Idia clapped his hands together. “We got that scene down, we’ll iron out the kinks later, but gg my dudes.”

The rest of the cast, who had been on for the scene earlier and had spent their time chatting in the audience let out cheers of relief. Vil moved to stand on the stage with their director. “What Idia said. Good work everyone. Please look over your scripts so we can be off-book as soon as possible.”

With that, the rehearsal was over and the students started to mill out of the auditorium. Cater let out a tired sigh and wrapped his arms around Vil, leaning against him in exhaustion.

“Don’t get me wrong, that was a lot of fun, but I’m supes tired after all of that~!”

“I imagine. Being the lead is a heavy burden.” Vil patted his friend’s head.

“No, you don’t even get it!” Cater pointed his finger at Malleus, who had made his way over to Vil. “It was so hard pretending to be in love with him!”

“Cater!”

“No, wait.” Cater held his hands up in defense. “It’s not because he isn’t hot, I mean…” He gestured to the fae, who let out a chuckle. “Hello? Look at him. But like… I have a thing.”

Idia tilted his head. “A thing?

“Mmhm!” The ginger nodded. He gestured to Malleus’ ivy-green eyes. “They’re green. It’s like… my biggest turn-off.”

Vil and Idia shared a look. The blond raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like men… with green eyes?”

“Yeah!” Upon their confusion, Cater continued. “It’s like… green is Trey’s color. Whenever I see another guy with green associations, I’m like ’Why are you trying to be another Trey? Trey’s already perfect wtf’, you know?”

Idia blinked. “You do realize you have green eyes, right?”

Cater let out a sigh and patted Idia’s arm. “And I have to live with that. Every day.”

“Why would you even care if green is Trey’s color?”

The ginger’s eyes widened. “Uh…” He bit his lip. ’Shit! I forgot that Idia doesn’t know!’ He then looked at the blue-haired boy. ’Do I backtrack or… Well, realistically I guess it doesn’t matter if he knows… Sorry Trey-Bae!’ “Trey and I have been dating for the last three years.”

Idia let out a gasp. “WHAT?” He put his hand to his forehead. “You… and Trey… d-d-dating?”

Cater nodded. “I know it might be a bit of a surprise.”

Vil narrowed his eyes. He thought back to all of the times that he and Idia had walked in on Cater and Trey making out, only to be waved off with the ‘snakebite’ excuse. “Is it, though?”

“It is a surprise to me!” Malleus piped up. He nodded to Cater. “Congratulations on your relationship, Diamond.”

“Thanks!” Cater grinned. He then lifted Idia up out of his chair, as the boy had froze. “Well, I should probably walk this poor guy home. I think I destroyed his brain or something, oopsies!”

Idia started to mutter to himself as Cater waved at the fae and the duke. “See you guys later~!”

Vil returned the wave before turning back to look at Malleus. “Thank you for staying behind.”

“Of course. You asked me to.”

“Yes I did. Your acting was just as wonderful as Idia said it was. You’re very talented.” Vil smirked and stepped towards the fae. “Your voice especially came to me as a surprise.”

“Oh?” Malleus tilted his head. “Why are you surprised at my voice?”

“Well.” Vil brought his hand up, placing it at the base of the fae’s horns. “After years of only ever hearing grunts and growls from you, I’m quite a bit surprised to learn you can actually talk.” He flicked at the bracelet sitting proudly on the leftmost horn.

“My Malleus.”

The two sat at a bench outside the theater. They were surrounded by statues depicting the seven founders of their school, with only the light of the moon, stars, and a couple stray fireflies lighting the path before them.

“I just can’t believe it.” Vil laughed, shaking his head. He held his friend’s hands. “I mean…”

Malleus smiled. “I am certain it’s a shock for someone who doesn’t know much about my kind.”

“A little bit, yes.” Vil shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Forgive me.” Malleus lowered his head, appearing slightly bashful. “We are able to take on forms such as this once we reach adulthood, and I thought it would be nice to greet you as a classmate.”

“Which you didn’t end up doing.” Vil raised an eyebrow. “You could have told me when we ran into each other before the ceremony.”

“I…” Malleus looked away. He scratched his cheek shyly. “I suppose I was hoping you would know…” He shook his head. “It was wishful thinking, I realize.”

“A little bit, yes.” Vil repeated. He brought his hand up and patted Malleus’ shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, I got it eventually.”

Malleus stared at Vil’s hand on his shoulder. He looked at the blond’s hand and put his own hand on top of it, squeezing gently. “I’m glad you did.” He then put his hand to his chest and bowed slightly.

“I should finally introduce myself, however.”

Vil waved a hand. “It’s a bit late for introductions, but go ahead.”

“Better late than never.” Malleus winked. He then cleared his throat. “I am prince Malleus Draconia of the dragon fae bloodline, heir to the throne of Briar Valley, one of the top mages in all of Twisted Wonderland, and…” He looked away with a slightly red tint on his cheeks. “Vil Schoenheit’s friend.”

Vil nodded. “Quite an impressive title. I don’t know how being my friend stacks up against the rest, however.”

“You’re right.” Malleus stared at Vil, eyes tender and full of an emotion that Vil couldn’t understand. “It far outweighs any other title I could ever receive.”

“Malleus!” Vil swatted at the prince before looking away. Inside, he was reeling. ’Okay, there’s no denying it anymore. Malleus Draconia the dragon is also Malleus Draconia the fae prince, who is also Malleus Draconia the love interest.’ He bit his lip. ’However since there is no protagonist, that means that Malleus is not a love interest. Therefore, is it alright for us to still be friends like this?’

He looked over at Malleus, who seemed content to lean against him. ’The protagonist isn’t even here, anyway. Malleus is a nice dragon, er, guy. Fae? Either way.’

The way he saw it, the rules of the world had gone completely out of the window. So he was allowed this at least, wasn’t he?

Vil leaned against Malleus as well, bumping the side of his head against the fae’s. “What do you want to do now?”

Malleus turned his head to look at his friend. “What do you mean? I’m with you right now, what else could I possibly want?”

Vil huffed out a laugh. “Were you as eloquent as this when you were a dragon?”

“Of course.” Malleus smiled. “I regaled you with poetry every second. Or couldn’t you tell?”

“Nope.”

“A shame.” Malleus leaned his head against Vil, careful to not hit him with his horns. “But all I want is to be allowed to remain by your side.” His gaze was tender with unspoken love as he stared at the blond. “Would you let me?”

“Of course.” Vil nodded. “You’ve been such a good friend to me. I’d hate to ever be without you.”

“I feel the same way.” Malleus held his arms out. “If I may, would you allow me to…” Vil smiled at him and brought the prince into an embrace. Malleus froze, eyes widening in surprise as he looked at the man he loved. A familiar voice whispered in his ear, pulling at his draconic heart.

Malleus grit his teeth together. His hands trembled as he slowly wrapped them around the blond. He pressed his cheek against the top of Vil’s head, feeling his eyes beginning to grow misty.

Why they did that, he had no idea.

But it didn’t matter. Because they were together once more. And Malleus was never going to let him go again.

From behind a statue, Cater bit the nail of his thumb. ’So they know each other, hm?’ He let out a silent groan. ’That just makes things so much more difficult! Vil already has one old friend in love with him, he doesn’t need two! Where’s the variety in that?!’

He peaked out from behind the statue. Malleus and Vil were continuing to hug. Cater would have loved nothing more than to interrupt them, but he was stuck watching over Idia.

The blue-haired boy was squatting on the ground, hands clutching his hair. “Dating… Trey… Cater…”

“I know.” The ginger patted his friend’s shoulder. “It’s really surprising.” He sat next to Idia. “And you can’t tell anyone else, alright?”

“Obviously.”

Cater patted Idia’s head. “Good! Now!” He gestured over to Malleus and Vil, who were now standing up from the bench and walking away. “What do we do about that?”

“Huh?” Idia looked up. He watched the fae and duke link arms as slowly-dancing fireflies flitted around them. “What do you mean?”

“Malleus so has the hots for Vil!” Cater pouted. “That’s six people!”

Idia’s gaze didn’t stray away from the blond. “I think you mean five. You, him, Trey, Rook, and the prince.”

Cater blinked. “Just us five?”

“Yep.”

The ginger took in a deep breath. “Okay. I’m not going to argue with you. Even if you’re totally in denial.”

“I’m not in-”

“Either way.” Cater waved his hand. “Malleus is like… HUGE, alright?” His eyes widened in exasperation. “He’s a prince, he’s a super powerful mage, and he’s apparently known Vil for a super long time. It’s been two seconds, and he’s already on Leona’s level!” He put his hand to his chin contemplatively. “Maybe even a little bit higher.”

Idia tilted his head. “What’s his status got to do with anything?”

“Oh, Idia, Idia, Idia.” Cater clicked his tongue. “Why would Vil want to hang out with people like us when he has people like Malleus fucking Draconia wrapped around his finger?”

The blue-haired boy flinched. “W-What?”

“We can’t do magic.” Cater’s fingers dug into the dirt of the ground. “We’re not princes, we don’t live with him, any way you look at it, we’re at the bottom of the barrel!”

Idia felt his heart sinking within his chest. “Bottom of the barrel…”

“I hate it.” Cater’s gaze turned cold. “I might not be the best pick of the litter right now, but I will be.” He stood up, brushing some grass off his pants.

As he did so, Idia stared at him. “Why do you care so much about being picked by him?”

“Because.” Cater shrugged. “Look at him.” His gaze traveled over to where Vil had been earlier. “He’s perfect.” Everything a noble should be. Beautiful, graceful, intelligent, everything Cater had worked to become all throughout his life.

It came so naturally to Vil, though. In another life, Cater might have found himself almost jealous of him, but Cater genuinely felt nothing but admiration for the blond. Well, to say he felt nothing but admiration would be a lie. He felt all kinds of things for Vil, beyond admiration.

If Cater closed his eyes, he could see his perfect world. Him, Trey, and Vil, all sitting together at a party with everyone’s eyes on them. He wouldn’t have to hide how he truly felt, or pretend to smile at people whose names he could scarcely remember.

It was nice. Really, really nice.

Cater turned to look at Idia. “You say you don’t love him the same way I do. Come on, Idia.” He shook his head. “I know that’s not true. Why do you keep on lying to yourself?”

“I…” The blue-haired boy clenched his fist. “I’m not lying…” Because if Idia ever actually had feelings for Vil, there was no way he’d ever return them. It was better this way, you couldn’t get rejected if you never tried, after all!

Even if it might have been nice to entertain the idea that Vil might actually-

“He likes you.” Cater spoke, wrapping his arms around himself. He looked pointedly at Idia. “I have no idea why, but he does.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I’m helping you out by telling you that in the first place, but just…”

The boy stepped away from Idia. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

He then gave Idia a blinding smile, changing his tone to sound cheery once more. “Anywayzies~! I’m supes tired, so I’mma head out, kay?” He blew a kiss toward Idia. “See ya later!”

Idia watched Cater skip happily away. As he did so, he thought about what the ginger had said.

’Vil likes me…? Did he mean as a friend, or…’ His face grew red and his hair turned pink as he shook his head. ’N-No way! Obviously Cater meant as a friend!’

He let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. “This is all too much… I need a break.”

Chapter Text

Azul grinned smugly at Idia as he placed a card down in front of him. “Three.”

Idia narrowed his eyes. He looked at Azul’s smug face, then back at the cards. After a moment of consideration, he spoke. “Bullshit.”

“Bullshit, you say?” The younger man’s eyes widened in surprise. He clutched his hand to his chest and a single tear fell down his cheek. “Why, Idia… How could you say such a thing? I thought we were friends…” He sniffled. “I would never lie to you!”

“Yes, you would.” Jade chuckled. He was the third member of their game, playing ‘Bullshit’ with them while also playing a one-sided match of chess/checkers/old maid/whatever it was that Floyd felt like playing.

“Jade.” Azul glared at his friend. “Shut up.”

“You shut up, Azul.” Idia grinned, pointed teeth flashing. “I called you out on your bullshit, so take your cards.”

Azul sighed. “Yes… I suppose you did call me out…” He held his hand over the deck of cards. “I suppose that, since you say I was lying about what card I placed, that I must take every single one from the deck.”

“That’s how the game works, yeah.”

“Yes.” Azul then let out a laugh. “EXCEPT…!” He turned his card over, revealing a three. “I NEVER LIED!!!!!!” He shoved the deck towards Idia. “Azul Ashengrotto always wins! Haha!” He’d been plotting his victory against Idia for months now. It had kept him up late at night, haunting his every move.

And finally, victory was his!

“Damn.” Idia clicked his tongue. He took the cards. “You got me, gg.”

“It’s simply a matter of skill, my dear boy!” Azul wagged his finger. “I am far better than you at everything, and as such, I will always beat you in anything you ever accomplish~!”

Jade placed his final card down. “Four.” With his final card placed, he had won the game. Unless someone called him out for lying, which he had been.

Both Idia and Azul didn’t pay attention to him, and he shrugged and continued playing what was now Poker (with chess pieces somehow) versus his brother.

“Azul, STFU.” Idia rolled his eyes. As he did so, he looked around. He and Azul usually met up at the Mostro Lounge to play games, and since it was, you know, a working business, usually it was quite crowded.

But today, it was only the four of them. Idia gestured around him. “Hey, what gives, Azul? You finally get put out of business?”

Azul shook his head. “That would never happen! No, we’re just working on a new event for the restaurant, so most of the staff are away for that.” He shrugged. “No staff means no work, unfortunately. So, we’re closed today.”

Idia pointed at Jade and Floyd. “No staff?”

Jade smiled. “My brother and I refused to work. Isn’t that right, Floyd?” He nodded to Floyd, who was staring at the chess pieces in front of him with an attention the likes of which nobody had ever seen. He had no intention of responding.

Azul crossed his arms. “They sat on the ground and said they were going to hire a hit on me if I didn’t let them take the day off. So, alas, here I am. At least I know the event will bring in a lot of money, and...” He then grinned with a dark look on his face. He reached out and clutched the locket around his neck. “Something more important than anything else in the world…”

“Ominous feelings towards everything about what you just said aside…” Idia tilted his head. “What’s the event?”

“Well! You see!” Azul stood up. He moved over to the wall before pulling out a piece of paper within his pocket. He pinned it to the wall and gestured to it.

On the paper was some kind of graph. “I am the kind of man who is always looking for new opportunities to make money, of course.”

“Of course.” Idia echoed.

“And as such, I decided to do some research as to how I can continue to make more money!” Azul slapped his hand against the wall. “SO! In my research, I realized that limited-time events always bring in sales, and what’s more, events with limited attendence have a way to do so as well.” He pointed at the paper. “People will pay more for the idea of getting something that is one-hundred percent exclusive, so to speak.”

Idia nodded. “I get that.” He had waited outside of bookstores on multiple occasions just to get limited-time copies of Crimson Muscle’s books, after all.

“Right! And so, we decided to have a Mostro Lounge Limited-Time Event!” Azul clapped his hands together before pointing at Idia. “But! I hear you, what kind of event could this place do that’s in theme with its oceanic vibe?”

Idia looked at Jade. The merman raised his hand. “Azul, could you possibly be talking about… a ship?”

Azul frowned. “I was hoping to build up to the reveal more…”

“The readers were getting bored, Zuzu. They want you to stop talking so that they can see the harem bullshit they signed up for.” Floyd chewed on a rook piece absentmindedly. Jade patted his brother’s shoulder. “Floyd, I think you need to see a doctor. You’re beginning to act mad!”

Floyd spat the rook out and threw it at his brother. “Says you.”

They stared at each other. For a moment. Then another. Then another.

Before letting out loud, cackling laughs.

Azul rolled his eyes. “Ignoring Floyd’s nonsense.” He smiled. “We have rented out a ship and are going to use it as a venue for our restaurant during our event. We’ll take a scenic tour all around the marshes of ’Kissu D’Earl’ Lake -which are absolutely lovely this time of year- and will be accompanied by music and the Mostro Lounge’s delicious food~!” Azul clapped his hands together. “Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful time?”

“Sounds like it’d be a good date.”

“Does it?” Azul’s eyes widened in falsely innocent surprise. He wrapped the chain of his locket around his finger. “I suppose it does~!”

Idia blinked. “Any chance you’re doing this just so you can ask out Jam-”

“AND NOT ONLY THAT!!!” Azul slammed his hand on the table, his face growing red. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “But I have also organized a competition at Night Raven College for two tickets to this event~! Free promotion!”

Jade leaned over to whisper in Idia’s ear. “Most students at NRC can afford to buy tickets to the event, so if they hear about it through the competition…”

“Yeah.” Idia pushed Jade away. “I get it.” He nodded. “Good idea tbh.”

“Thank you!” Azul grinned. He put his arms on his hips. “And, as both my friend and as a supporter of my business, I am certain you’ll take part in the competition as well, yes?”

“Fuck no.” Idia scowled. “Competing in fuck-knows-what with everyone watching me? Do you want me to shit myself?”

“Ah, but I’m certain you have someone you’d like to take with you for this event?”

Idia shook his head. “I don't trust Ortho around water.”

Floyd looked up. “He meant as a date, dumbass.” He shook his head and went back to stacking pawns on top of each other in a somehow-structurally-sound-tower.

“O-Oh…” The ends of Idia’s hair turned pink. The sudden image of Vil flashed in his mind before he screwed his eyes shut. “No way! T-There wouldn’t ever be a guy w-who’d want to go out with me anyway!”

Azul raised an eyebrow. “Nobody? Not even a certain attractive duke?” Vil Schoenheit was one of the most influential nobles around, after all. If he came to their event, Azul was certain the Mostro Lounge would be practically set for life in the promotion department.

Idia shook his head. “N-No! Not at all!”

The silver-haired boy frowned. “Now, now, Idia! No need to be shy! It would actually be very beneficial for us if you ended up competing and inviting the duke, so-”

“Uh-uh. Nope. Not happening.” Idia made an ‘X’ shape with his hands. “Not gonna do it, don’t try to convince me, you know it won’t work.”

“Hmmm.” Azul sighed. ’There goes my plan of rigging the competition so he’d win.’ He crossed his arms. ’Well, I suppose it’s fine. I would have liked to get some free promo, but the goal of the event is getting someone else to arrive anyway.’ “Fine. If you won’t compete, then I expect your assistance during the competition! But for now…” Azul clapped his hands together. “Back to our game. Where I will no doubt obtain a complete vic-”

“Jade already won.” Floyd finally spoke up. He gestured to his brother, who stuck out his tongue and did a little peace sign. “Like, a while ago.”

Azul grit his teeth. “Dammit.”

Leona raised an eyebrow as he looked at the flier in his hands. “A competition sponsored by the Mostro Lounge? Hard pass.” He tossed it over his shoulder.

Vil glared at him. “Leona, pick that up right now.” He lifted Cheka (who had been on campus for rehearsals and was now third-wheeling) up in his arms. “Set a good example for the little one, hm?”

He tapped Cheka’s nose. “What do we say about littering?”

“Don’t do it!” The five-year-old chirped. “Because the environment is good!”

“Awww, you’re the one who’s good!” Vil patted Cheka’s head as Leona begrudgingly picked the flier back up. The blond then looked at it once more. “What kind of competition is it anyway?”

“A sort of shooting match, Roi des Poison~!” Rook popped up from behind Leona, causing the beastman’s tail to puff up.

“Shooting? Like with arrows?” Vil frowned, pulling Cheka closer to himself. “That won't go well.”

“Non, non!” Rook wagged his finger. “The match will be done with enchanted magestones that shoot water! No blood, no gore, just a refreshing battle of moisture!”

Cheka wiggled in Vil’s grip. “I wanna battle!” He reached out for Leona as his tail waved eagerly. “Unca, Unca! Let’s play!”

Leona’s ear flicked. “Don’t wanna.” As Cheka let out a loud wail, Cater made his way over to the group, with Malleus at his side.

“Hey, did you guys hear about the competition?” He held his arms out to take Cheka from Vil. After handing the boy off, the blond reached out for Malleus’ hands in a friendly greeting, something neither Leona nor Rook failed to notice.

Vil tilted his head towards the fellow blond. “Rook just told us about it. It sounds interesting enough, but I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

“Oh, Vil, Vil, Vil.” Cater clicked his tongue before tossing Cheka towards Rook. The boy batted at the feather on Rook’s cap as Cater wrapped an arm over the blond’s shoulders. “It’s not just the competition that people are excited about! It’s the prize!”

Leona quickly pulled Cheka away from Rook before raising an eyebrow at Cater. “What prize? Also, don’t give Cheka to Rook, I don’t trust him.”

As the hunter let out an offended squawk, Malleus tilted his head. “Yes, Diamond. What is the prize for winning this competition?”

“I already asked that, numbnuts.”

“Tickets!” Cater waved his arms in the air excitedly before the princes could get into an argument. “To this event the Mostro Lounge is putting on. Basically, it’s like a dinner cruise, but-” His eyes sparkled. “Apparently, the place they’re sailing on is like. This magical marsh!”

Cheka let out a gasp. “Magic?!”

“Yep!” Cater picked Cheka up. “Kissu D’Earl Lake, where the wildlife comes alive at night and practically sings! The birds, the reeds, the fish, everything!” He lifted Cheka into the air as the boy let out a gleeful giggle.

“Did you know, Mister Prince, that once upon a time, a mermaid princess and a prince shared their first kiss there?” He nodded to himself knowingly. “And, rumor has it that if you share a kiss on that lake, you and whoever you kiss are destined to be together forever for the rest of your life!” Cater tapped Cheka’s nose with a cheer. “Like soulmates~!”

Cheka let out a gasp. “Mermaid princess?!”

Leona eyebrows rose in interest. “Share a kiss?”

Rook’s eyes shone. “Together forever?”

Malleus felt something within his chest begin to ache. “Soulmates?”

Vil tilted his head. “Where are you getting all of this information from, Cater?”

The ginger took a brochure out from his front pocket and handed it to Vil. “They were passing these out earlier.”

Vil looked at the brochure skeptically. “Exaggerated tales to promote their event, no doubt.”

“Ah, Mon Roi!” Rook let out a sigh and put his hands on top of Vil’s shoulders. “Where is your imagination? Even if the rumors are false, Kissu D’Earl Lake is a beautiful place at night. Wouldn’t you love to see it during a dinner cruise with your precious hunter by your side?”

Vil shook his head with a laugh. “It would be a wonderful place to see. But I can just get tickets on my own, why bother with a competition?”

“Wouldn’t a meal be most delicious after a hard-fought battle?” Rook nuzzled his cheek against Vil’s. As he did so, he narrowed his eyes at the two princes before him. “Come now, Roi des Poison, doesn’t that sound fun?”

The blond tilted his head. “Hm. It does...” He stepped forward, causing Rook to stumble slightly, as he had been resting most of his body weight against Vil. “I’ll sign up for the competition.”

Cheka wiggled out of Leona’s arms. “Me too! I wanna go to the marshes!”

Vil crouched down so that he was the boy’s height. “Your highness, who would you bring if you won?”

The boy put his hand to his chest proudly. “Mama! She gets seasick!”

Vil reached out to grab Cheka’s hand. “Then maybe you should bring your father instead? He might enjoy it more.”

The boy put a hand to his chin. “Hmph. I dunno…”

“You can talk to your parents about it if you win.” Vil started walking away.

As he did so, Rook moved between them merrily. “Come on, petit prince. Le Chasseur D'Amour and his beautiful Roi des Poison will help you sign up.” Cheka grabbed his hand, and Rook wrapped his free arm snuggly around Vil’s waist. He turned around to smile at the trio, raising his eyebrows cheekily in goodbye. “Au revoir~!”

As they left, Leona let out a groan. “Seriously? Does that creep have to be so obvious about it?”

“Quite so.” Malleus nodded. He glared at the hunter before shaking his head. “It is uncultured to behave that way to someone who is already spoken for.”

Leona snorted out a laugh. “Says you.”

“Says I indeed.” Malleus turned to look at Leona. He stared at the prince in silence, to the point where Cater felt the need to jump in. “Hey, Rook and Vil are friends. So what if Rook’s super obvious about his feelings towards Vil?” He shrugged. “It’s not like Vil’s ever going to realize that!”

Malleus looked at Cater. “And what makes you so certain?”

“I’ve literally seen Rook propose to Vil and all Vil did was pat his head and say- and this is a direct quote- ‘Don’t joke around like that. Now can you help me stretch my back?’” Cater shook his head. “The guy’s hot as fuck, but as dumb as a brick when it comes to love.”

Before either of the princes could say anything, he tilted his head innocently at them. “But what about you two? Are you going to sign up for the competition?”

Leona let out an exasperated sigh. “It seems like too much work, but if it means stopping Rook from seducing my fiance, then I guess I’ll sign up.”

Beside him, Malleus nodded. “Yes. I shall join as well to get rid of that little pest.”

Cater let out a loud laugh. “Ha! You think Rook is the guy you need to worry about?” He shook his head. “Oh, that’s funny.”

Leona raised his eyebrow at Cater. “What are you talking about?”

The ginger opened his mouth in a gasp. “You didn’t put it together?” As the two princes stared at him in confusion, he gestured between the two. “Hello? Two princes of like… really powerful kingdoms? Both of them after the same dude?” He shook his head in exasperation. “Come on, guys. I shouldn’t have to spell out who your real rival should be!”

Malleus looked at Leona and blinked at him in surprise. “Why would I see him as a competitor? If we fought, surely I would win.”

“Don’t sell him short, Malleus!” Cater spoke up before Leona could say anything. “I’ll have you know that his highness is an excellent strategist and completely wonderful when it comes to underhanded ways of winning!” Cater patted Leona’s back proudly. “He was the one who led his club’s team to victory in the playoffs last year! What a guy~! Even if Vil is oblivious as hell, there’s no way he isn’t at least somewhat attracted to him~!”

Cater held his hand up knowingly. “On top of all of that! They're literally engaged!” The ginger let out a sigh and leaned against Malleus. “He's awesome!”

Leona’s tail flicked happily. “Fuck yeah. I’m great.” He then nodded over to Malleus. “If anything, I should be wondering why you think he’s someone I should be worried about.”

Cater spoke up once more, this time before Malleus could speak. “Hey! I'll have you know that the prince is really strong, probably more than you in terms of physicality!” He lowered his voice, speaking in a stage-whisper. “I saw him break an entire pillar with his just hand. It was SO sexy.” He then raised his voice once more. “Not only that, he’s a mage- even though that has nothing to do with the competition as you’re not allowed to use magic in it hehe.” Cater covered his hand with a mouth as he let out a giggle.

The ginger then held a finger up and nodded seriously. “And, and, and, he and Vil have known each other for a long time!” Earlier that day during a break in their rehearsal, Cater had gotten Malleus to spill everything, from dragons to surprise sleepovers.

Leona looked over at Malleus, surprise evident on his face. “You… what?”

“I have frequently visited his home on many occasions.” Malleus smiled. “I would go to his room to deliver tokens of my affection, and he would caress me gently in his bed during our time together.” The fae nodded. “We are very close. We’ve frequently slept together, even. While you may be engaged to him, Vil and I share-” Malleus stopped talking as Leona grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

The prince glared at the fae with a fiery fury. “I don’t know what kind of joke you’re trying to make, but it isn’t fucking funny!”

Malleus glared at Leona, bringing his hand up to grab the prince’ wrist. “Do not pick a fight with me, Kingscholar! Vil’s friend or not, I will not back down from a challenge.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Cater let out a screech and pushed the princes away from each other. “Guys! Save the fighting for the competition!”

Leona let out a low growl. “Who gives a fuck about that? I want this gecko squashed.”

Malleus’ green eyes glowed dangerously. “And I want this kitten declawed.”

“And I want Vil not to be mad at you two when he comes back here!” Cater waved his hands. “Imagine how pissed off he’d be if he saw you two like this!”

The beastman continued to glare at Malleus before letting out a sigh and tossing him aside. He rubbed the area on his wrist that the prince had grabbed, wincing slightly. “I don’t want Vil to get upset either.”

Malleus adjusted his collar, feeling a bruise beginning to form from Leona’s tight grip. “That is something we can agree on.”

Leona grit his teeth. “I can’t wait to pummel you during the competition.”

“Another thing we can agree on.”

The two princes glared at each other as they walked over to where the sign-up sheet was. As they did so, Cater felt his knees give out and he fell to the ground.

He clutched his chest, feeling his heart racing within it. ’Holy fucking shit! They were so scary!’ He screwed his eyes shut. ’The raw power of princes is no joke, aaaaggghhh!’

The boy tilted his head to the side. ’Imagine if I actually ended up fighting against them during the competition, ugh. I’d be fucked!’ He nodded. ’And not in the fun way! Hats off to me for thinking up the idea to set them against each other.’

It was simple, he’d thought of it as soon as he’d heard about the competition! Leona vs Malleus, and then the winner would take on Rook! After that, the winner of that fight would be so exhausted that taking them out would be as easy as pie! And boom! Then Cater would win the competition, win the tickets, and then sweep Vil off his feet at their date!

Easy~!

Chapter Text

“Alrighty-roo!” Azul clapped his hands together, grabbing all of the competitors' attention. “Now that we have everyone, we can get started!”

He smiled as he walked in front of the crowd of contestants. “This will be a simple competition, winner takes all. You will all be separated throughout the science building’s greenhouse that the headmaster generously allowed us to use.” He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear magestone.

“Each of you will be given one of these! An invention created by one of your very own classmates, Idia Shroud!” Azul walked over to a nearby statue where Idia was hiding behind and grabbed his friend’s arm to pull him out. “Why don’t we give him a big round of applause for his creation?!”

Idia winced as the crowd began to clap. Eventually, he made eye contact with Vil. The blond smiled and gave him a slight wave.

Idia’s face flushed several shades of red and he looked away from Vil.

Vil tilted his head in confusion as Idia refused to meet his eyes. Before he could say or do anything, the silver-haired man pushed Idia back behind the statue and spoke proudly. “This magestone will shoot water obtained from the water particles within the air in a steady stream. Like so.”

Azul gripped the stone in his hand and pointed it at Floyd, who let out a laugh as the liquid splashed across his face. Jade put his hand over his mouth and let out a chuckle at his brother’s antics.

The silver-haired man smiled and tapped the stone, making the water stop. “Now, this magestone is quite the new invention, so you all must be careful with it. It won’t constantly spout water.” He nodded. “You will have to wait in between firings, and the force of the stone’s power will depend on both how long you wait and the tightness of your grip on it.”

Azul nodded to the twins, who picked up buckets of the magestones and began passing them out. “We will be keeping track of every single stone we pass out. Should any go missing, well…” He smiled. “My associates and I will make sure you regret it. So take care of them.”

He waved his hand. “Once the stones are all passed out, you will go into the garden separately to start the competition. We will send out a signal, and then…”

Azul grinned. “The game will begin! Remember what you're fighting for! Tickets to the world’s most exclusive and romantic event, sponsored by the Mostro Lounge~!”

Trey genuinely had no idea what the fuck was going on.

He had just been trying to walk back home from his last magical studies class (which had been rough… Lilia was a nice enough guy, but his teaching style didn’t really work for Trey, he personally preferred the way Malleus -their TA- did it) when Cater had latched onto him.

He hadn’t really been paying attention when Cater had told him all about the competition, but he’d signed up anyway.

Why? Well, Vil had come by as well and with the two guys he was in love with convincing him, he’d pretty much do anything.

He was only human!

Trey lifted his magestone up in the air, admiring the way it shone in the sun. However, as he did so, it suddenly glowed, and before he could do anything, water spurted from it.

Luckily for him, he was tackled to the ground before it could reach him and knock him out of the competition.

“Chevalier des Roses!” Rook grabbed Trey by the shoulders and shook him. “You are a mage! How can you be so foolish as to look down the wood of your proverbial arrow?”

Trey patted his chest, not finding a trace of water on him. “I… don’t even know. You're right, that was dumb.” He nodded to Rook gratefully. “Thanks for the save.”

Rook stood up and held his hand out to the green-haired boy. “Thank this hunter by helping me win.”

Trey blinked. “You want an allegiance?”

“I wouldn’t have saved you if I didn’t think you could be of any use to me~!”

Trey blinked once more. “You know, Rook. You’re kind of scary.”

“It warms my heart to hear you say that, thank you.” The hunter put his hand to his chest. “But, let us be on our way, shall we? There are many enemies that we must take down in order to win!”

“One of which is me.” Trey pointed the magestone at Rook. “What makes you think I won’t just shoot you now?”

Rook let out a chuckle. “By all means. Shoot me if you think you can land a hit!” He stepped closer to the boy with a glint in his eyes. “I would love to see you try.”

Trey frowned at Rook. “Again, you’re scary.”

“And again, thank you!” The hunter linked arms with Trey and led him across the garden. “Now, let us be off on our wonderful hunt~!”

Malleus tilted his head at the magestone in his hand. They didn’t have items such as this in his kingdom, as it would have been unnecessary, seeing how fae were all born with magical abilities.

So he didn’t really know what to do with it. The prince let out a low sigh. ’If only I were allowed to use my magic in this competition. That would make things much easier.’

He smiled as he imagined summoning a tidal wave to wash his competition away and sweep Vil off his feet. ’What a delight, that would be.’

The past few weeks had been wonderful for Malleus now that Vil had finally realized who he was. However, it seemed that he had gotten less physically affectionate with Malleus upon his realization.

Gone were the days of head scratches, warm arms cuddling him against his chest, and soft kisses on his snout. Even when Malleus had visited him in his dragon form in the hopes of resuming their usual cuddles, Vil seemed almost embarrassed to embrace him as he once did.

Malleus thought it was cute.

Too cute! Malleus couldn’t in good conscience let someone else become Vil’s soulmate! It wouldn’t be right!

So, the prince nodded to himself, set on his mission to win the game. He clutched the magestone in his hand in determination, but…

When he did so…

The stone glowed and shot out water at the fae’s face, drenching him completely. Malleus blinked water out of his eyes as he processed what had just happened. He looked at the magestone in his hand.

“What a dangerous object…”

“Vil!” Cater waved his hand at the blond. He then put his hands up in a surrender as Vil pointed his stone at him. “Woah, woah, woah! I come in peace!”

The blond rolled his eyes. “This is a competition, Cater.” He continued pointing the stone at the ginger. “Peace doesn’t exist.”

Cater poked his fingers against his cheeks and pouted cutely. “Do you really think lil ole me could ever hurt anyone?”

“Yes.” Vil spoke without hesitation.

Cater crossed his arms with a huff. “Well, I wouldn’t hurt you!”

Vil lowered his magestone and shook his head. “Just be on your way. For the sake of our friendship I won’t shoot.”

“I appreciate it.” The boy walked away before sniffing the air. “Zomg, waitsies! Are you, like, trying out a new perfume?”

Vil shook his head. “No. It’s the same as usual.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial with a few petals floating inside a sweet-smelling liquid.

The ginger clasped his hands together “I really like it! You think you could let me borrow some?”

His friend raised an eyebrow. “Why? If you really want some perfume, I’d be happy to work with you to make some later.”

“Ooooh, please do that! But I really wanna use yours right now.” Cater tilted his head innocently. “So would you share? Pleeeeeeaaaassseee?” He batted his eyes.

Vil looked at the vial in his hands before slowly giving Cater a smirk. “By any chance, do you have nefarious purposes for wanting to wear my perfume?”

The boy continued to bat his eyes. “Maybe~!” He then quickly caught the vial as it was tossed his way.

“Tell me all about your exploits later.” Vil waved his hand as he walked away.

Cater clutched the perfume to his chest. “You’re the best!” He smiled as he held the item up in the air. ’I’ll make sure to tell you everything… on our date~!’

Rook sniffed the air. “Three men on the right. A rabbit beastman, someone from the Southern district of Fleur City, and someone who- from the sound of their breathing- seems to be angry. They’re fighting right now, so we can wait a moment until there is only one left.”

Trey lifted his nose to sniff the air. He looked at Rook. “How do you know? I don’t smell or hear anything.”

“I am a hunter, dear Chevalier des Roses.” He waved his hand and spoke as though that explained everything. Which, okay, it kind of did. Trey had always known that Rook had more finely tuned senses than most.

Trey nodded. “Alright. We’ve already taken out a couple people, but is our only goal to just weed people out?”

“Oui!” Rook bobbed his head up-and-down. He then rested his hand on his chin as a smile spread across his cheeks. “Perhaps I shall even be lucky enough to compete against Roi des Poison in this game of love. Oh, what beaute!”

For the third time, Trey repeated himself. “You scare me.”

And for the third time, Rook repeated himself. “Thank you!” He then lifted his head up. “But, I will be honest in saying that Roi des Poison is not the main target that I am after today. That title would have to go to Roi des Lions or Roi des Dragons.”

Trey’s eye twitched. ’Love how Cater and I aren’t even worthy of a mention, there…’

“You are upset that I do not see you nor Monsieur Mystery as competition, aren’t you?” Rook grinned.

Trey took a step away from him.

The hunter let out a laugh. “It was written all over your face!” He waved his hand. “Worry not. I see you both as competitors powerful enough on your own two feet normally, but I speak of the princes only because I know they are more physically powerful than all of us.” He let out a sigh and put his hand to his chest. “Even more so than I.”

“Then why do you want to go after them in the first place if they’re so much stronger than you?”

Rook looked at Trey with wide eyes. “Because!” He nodded as though what he were saying was obvious. “Hunting a beast is only fun when they put up a fight!”

Trey stared at Rook. He gestured to the look on the man’s face. “Do I even need to say how terrified I am of you at this point?”

Rook shook his head happily. He then reached out and patted the boy’s head. “Worry not, my friend! I would never point my arrow at you nor your beau~!”

“What.”

“Ah!” The hunter’s green-eyed gaze sharpened at the almost unnoticeable rustling of bushes behind them. “Chevalier, it seems we must continue our hunt.” He grabbed onto Trey’s arm. “Let us be off~!”

“Okay.” Idia sighed. He grabbed onto a magestone and held it up to Malleus. “I’m not going to explain it a fifth time, so listen carefully.”

The prince nodded, having made his way over to his director as soon as he had been eliminated to get a better grasp on the power of magestones. “I shall.”

“That’s what you said last time.” Idia rolled his eyes. He’d been intimidated by the guy before- who wouldn’t be, he could literally kill Idia in less than a second if he felt like it- but seeing him so earnestly asking for help had immediately knocked him down a few pegs in the ‘guys I need to never interact with’ scale.

Idia held the magestone away from himself. “You aim it at whatever you want to shoot at.” He aimed at the back of Azul’s head as the octopus discussed something with the twins. “And then you fire by tightening your grip, like so.”

A spurt of water fired at the silver-haired boy. He would have been drenched if not for Floyd jumping in front of him, catching all of the water in his mouth before collapsing on the ground. Azul stared at his fallen comrade before looking at Idia and wagging his finger in clear disappointment.

Malleus clapped his hands in amazement. “Astounding.” He stepped closer to the magestone, his eyes filled with wonder. “To think that such a small stone should have such powers…” He chuckled. “Although, this kind of magic is something a mere babe would learn in my kingdom.”

Idia shrugged. “I didn’t want the firing power to be too harsh. This is supposed to be a game, not a death match.” He handed the stone to Malleus. “Now, are you ready to try again?”

“Yes.” Malleus gripped the stone in determination. He held it out, aiming at the back of Azul’s head as he poked at Floyd on the ground.

He tightened his grip, and …!

The water sprayed his face, drenching the prince instantly. As he blinked water out of his face, Malleus slowly handed the magestone back to Idia. “Shroud.”

Idia flinched. “Y-Yes?”

Malleus opened his eyes, green irises glowing with thinly-veiled annoyance. “Your magestone needs work.” He glared at Idia as the air around them began to crackle with a dangerous aura. “Fix it.”

The blue-haired boy nodded. ’Aaannnnddd, just like that, I’m back to being fucking terrified of him!’

“Y-Yes, your highness!”

Leona’s ears twitched as he heard quiet steps approaching from behind. He gave a smirk and sniffed the air, recognizing a familiar scent. His tail flicked eagerly as he hid behind a tree.

Vil stepped into the clearing, holding his magestone carefully. Spotting his fiance’s tail, he let out a low chuckle. “Leona, you need to do a better job of hiding yourself. That tail gives you away.”

From behind the tree, the prince’s tail flicked.

Vil laughed at the movement and stepped closer. “Come on, let me see your handsome face. If you’re nice, maybe we can form an allegiance to take everyone out.”

Another flick.

“Leoooonnnnaaaaa~!” Vil called. He reached his hand out to grab the beastman’s tail. “I’m sure you’re already tired by now. How about I shoot you as a mer-CY!” He then let out a gasp as the prince instantly shot out from behind the tree.

Leona grabbed Vil’s wrist, knocking the magestone out of it and into the ground. Vil tried to move to grab it, but the prince’s tail wrapped around his waist. Unable to move, the blond let out an annoyed groan. “Seriously, Leona?!”

The prince grinned. “Seriously.” He moved so that his lips were inches away from the shell of Vil’s ear. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I couldn’t resist taking such tempting prey for myself~!”

With his free hand, Vil flicked the prince’s forehead. “As Idia would say, you’re cringe.” He frowned as Leona’s grip tightened around his wrist. “That hurts, you know.”

Leona’s grip loosened, though still not enough to release Vil.

The blond nodded. “Thank you.” He tried to grab the magestone in Leona’s hand, but the prince held it out of his way. Vil frowned at his fiance. “Well, come on. You’ve caught me, just hit me and get me out.” He shook his head.

“What if I don’t wanna?” Leona smirked. He nuzzled Vil’s neck. “What if I want to hold onto you like this for as long as I can?”

The blond’s face flushed. “T-That would be… a very dumb thing to do during a competition.”

“Vil.” Leona pulled away from the blond to meet his eyes. Their faces were only inches away, their lips were only inches away. Leona wanted to say fuck it and just see what would happen if he moved closer, but that wouldn’t be right.

The scarce traces of sunlight that had made their way into the garden through the dense leaves overhead parted for a moment, the light reflecting off Vil’s eyes, making him seem almost ethereal. A few leaves fell past them, guided by the cool breeze as they danced to the ground.

Leona’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared at Vil’s lips, decorated with a slight shine, looking softer than anything the prince had ever felt in his entire life. Leona slowly cupped Vil’s cheek. “Can I-”

Just then, Cheka ran out of the bushes. He pointed his stone at Leona with a glare. “Unca! I’m gonna getcha!”

Leona let out a growl as he turned away from Vil to look at the kid. ’YOU COULDN’T HAVE WAITED TWO SECONDS? CHEKA!!! CHEKA!! CHEKAAAAAAAAAAA!’ Instead of saying all of that, however, he simply blinked. “I forgot you were here.”

At Vil’s glare he rolled his eyes. “I mean…” The prince smiled at his nephew. “Cheka! Buddy! How did you find me?”

The boy puffed his chest up proudly. “I tracked ya!”

“Wow!” Vil tried to move his wrist, but Leona’s grip proved to be as solid as iron. He frowned at Leona but turned to smile at Cheka. “You didn’t tell me you were good at tracking, your highness. You’re so wonderful.”

As the boy let out a gleeful giggle, Leona shook his head. “It’s not wonderful, it’s my own personal hell. Falena taught him how to track and he hasn’t given me a moment's peace since.”

“I think- ugh-” Once more Vil tried to move his wrist away to no avail. “I think it’s sweet how much he adores you.” He frowned at Leona. “Can you release me now?”

The prince let out a sigh and released his grip on the blond. Vil moved over to pick his magestone up, and Leona lamented the loss of his touch. As he did so, Cheka pointed his magestone at the two of them.

“Hehehe!” Cheka laughed. “Unca, I’m gonna win tickets for Mama!”

Vil let out a sigh and put his hands up. “Oh no.” He shook his head and took a step closer to the boy. “You caught me!”

“Splashy splash!” The boy exclaimed, spraying Vil’s face with the water.

“Ah.” The blond closed his eyes. “That feels very refreshing, good game, your highness.” He then turned to Leona. “Well, we both lost, so-”

“Uh, you lost. I’m still in the game.” Leona pointed his magestone at his nephew.

“Leona, you can’t tell me you’re actually going to compete with a five-year-old.”

The prince shook his head. “Nah.”

“Oh good, because-”

“Competing would imply that I’m actually giving him a fighting chance.” And like that, before anyone could blink, Leona had shot his weapon, absolutely drenching the boy in front of him.

Cheka fell to the ground, looking like he had just swam through a river. He blinked before letting out a pitiful sneeze. Not bothering to wipe at his nose, he grinned at Leona. “Unca, that was so cool!”

Vil rolled his eyes before pulling a handkerchief out from his pocket and wiping the boy’s face. “Yes. Your fully-grown uncle just beat a literal child in a shooting match.” He picked Cheka up before turning to glare at Leona with an unamused expression on his face. “How… cool.”

Leona shrugged, lowering his stone. “Hey, a winner never gives in.”

Vil held up Cheka, who stuck his tongue out playfully. “Leona, this is a child.”

“Never give in.”

“You’re an...” The blond covered Cheka’s ears. “Asshole.” He then uncovered Cheka’s ears and spoke before Leona could say anything. “Well, whatever.” He smiled at Cheka. “Alright, your highness. Since we’re out of the game, let’s go return the magestones and get you dried off, okay?”

The boy nodded. As Vil carried him off, he waved at Leona. “Unca! Make sure you win! Show no mercy to your enemies!”

Leona saluted him. “I will.” His gaze moved over to Vil as he watched him leave. ’For what I’m fighting for, I can’t afford to lose!’

Rook sniffed in the air. “Roi des Lions, to our left.” He shook his head. “It is difficult to track the scents of those who have been sprayed with water… The creators of this competition were very smart.”

“Uh-huh, yeah. Wait did you say the prince?” Trey’s eyes widened. “We need to get out of here!”

“Non.” Rook shook his head. “I need to get out of here! You need to act as bait and distract him while I get into position!”

Trey blinked. “Are you kidding me?”

Rook patted his shoulder. “I swear to you, mon Chevalier. I am not kidding.” He nodded over to the left. “Please stand there and talk to him for at least thirty seconds.” He gave a thumbs-up. “I had my scent glands removed, so he’ll have no reason to suspect anything.”

“You can get your scent glands removed?”

“I don’t need to say anything else.”

“I think you do actually?” Trey’s eyes widened. “Is it like a surgical procedure, or-”

“Chevalier!” Rook put his hand over Trey’s mouth. “We can talk about my non-existent stink after I win this competition!”

The green-haired man’s voice was muffled underneath Rook’s hand. “You promise? Because that actually sounds really interesting and I’d like to know how they did it.”

The hunter removed his hand. “Oui, oui.” He smiled at Trey. “I will also reward you for your sacrifice by offering my services to you in any situation, no questions asked!”

Trey hummed to himself in consideration. He then nodded. “Okay.” He gave Rook a thumbs-up. “Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck~!” The hunter waved as he left the area. “I have a killer’s instinct.”

’I am so fucking scared of that man.’ Trey smiled. He then let out a chuckle. ’But still, he’s a riot.’ He moved to sit down against a tree and let out a contented sigh.

’Now I just wait, I guess?’

“He’s ruthless.” Vil shook his head, drying Cheka’s hair with a towel he’d received from one of Azul’s assistants earlier as the boy sat in his lap. Cheka let out a giggle and Idia let out a laugh. “Nah, he’s smart. I’d do the same thing to Ortho if I had the opportunity.”

Vil smirked at Idia. “No you wouldn’t.” He put his hand on the ground, only a few centimeters away from his friend’s. “You’d let that kid win in a heartbeat. You love spoiling him.”

Idia’s face flushed red and he put his hand to his chest. “M-Maybe, I-” He flinched as Malleus sat down between him and Vil. The prince’s face was completely drenched from his continuous attempts at using the magestone. He smiled at Vil. “Hello, there.”

“Malleus.” Vil blinked in surprise, taking in the prince’s appearance. “What happened to you?”

“I was attacked by a dangerous weapon.” Malleus nodded seriously. He handed the magestone back to Idia. “I do not think I will ever understand these items.”

Idia rolled his eyes. ’I explained it like… fifteen times. Skill issue.’ But he -wisely- didn’t say anything and put the stone into his pocket.

“It must be difficult working with something so new.” Vil pulled the towel off of Cheka’s head. After making sure the boy’s hair was dry, he gestured for Malleus to move closer. As he dried the prince off, he spoke. “Your kingdom doesn’t use magestones, right?”

“We do not.” Malleus closed his eyes happily. “Fae are magical beings by nature. We have no need for magestones, so these are quite foreign to me.” He let out a happy sigh and lowered his head as Vil brought the towel across his horns. “This reminds me of before, do you remember, Vil?”

“You mean me drying you off because you thought it was a good idea to sneak into my room during a literal storm?” Vil pinched the fae’s horns. “Something that happened multiple times, by the way.”

Idia blinked. “He snuck into your room?” He looked between Malleus and Vil. “Multiple times?”

The blond let out a sigh and pulled the towel away from the prince, much to Malleus’ discontentment. “When you say it like that it sounds bad.” He pointed at Malleus. “He was a dragon, that’s why I let him in.”

Idia blinked once more. “What?”

Leona’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Trey sitting in the clearing. He nodded to the green-haired boy. “Sup.”

Trey waved his hand in greeting. ’Thirty seconds, starting from now…’ “Hey.”

The prince aimed his magestone at Trey and the boy quickly held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, hey, hey. I’m not gonna fight you. Just…” He let out a sigh. “I’m taking a breather right now so give me a bit.”

Leona rolled his eyes, but relaxed his stance. Trey smiled at him. “Thanks.” He shook his head. “This competition is crazy, huh? How many guys have you knocked out so far?”

“Enough.” The prince nodded. He smirked at Trey. “For now, anyway. What about you?”

“Thirteen, I think?” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “On that note, have you seen Cater anywhere? Or Vil?”

“Cater, no. But Vil’s b-” Before Leona could finish his sentence, his eyes grew wide. He put his hand on his back and held it out. Droplets of water fell from his hand, and he fell to the ground. “Shit.”

Rook let out a chuckle. “Well done distracting him, Chevalier~!” He kicked Leona’s foot. “Now all that is left is to get rid of Roi des Dragons, and I shall win the competition! Haha!”

Leona looked up from the ground and glared at Trey. “You… traitor.”

“I think you mean Trey-tor. Hah.” Trey laughed before offering a hand to help Leona up. “And it’s just water. You’ll live.”

“Still.” The prince shrugged. As he got up, he nodded to the green-haired boy and the blond. “I can’t help but respect your underhanded tactics. Good game.”

Rook smiled. “Thank you!”

“But don’t think that you’ll be able to get a kiss from Vil by winning the tickets and getting the date.” The prince nodded. “There’s no way he’d make things that easy for anyone.”

Trey blinked. “What?” His mouth opened in shock. “Is that why we’re all competing? Did Vil say he was going to kiss the winner?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Non, but…”

Trey shook his head. “I can’t believe that is why you all are fighting.” He narrowed his eyes at Leona and Rook. “You do realize you could just ask him out, right?”

Rook held his finger up. “Non! Because, you see, this is a date at a hopelessly romantic place! With music, magic, and rumors that if you share a kiss you will be together forever!”

“Rumors spread by the establishment, no doubt.” Trey rolled his eyes. “And if you guys really want to go to a nice place with Vil, just take him out. You’re rich.”

He pointed to Leona. “You’re a prince!” He gestured to Rook. “I don’t really know what you do, but I know you have really shady money.” The hunter nodded. Trey raised his arms in exasperation. “I just…”

“To be fair.” Leona spoke up. “This was a fun experience no matter what.”

Trey nodded. “Okay, yeah, true.”

Rook smiled. “I do not regret sharing my afternoon with my friends. Hunting them down, and such.” He nodded. “I shall have even more fun once I hunt down Mon Roi!” He sniffed the air and his eyes glowed eagerly. “Speaking of which~!” He happily bounded over to a nearby bush.

Leona sniffed the air as well. “Vil’s perfume… but…” He narrowed his eyes in confusion. ’The water should have washed it all off… I don’t-’

Rook let out a yelp as water slashed his face. The droplets fell down his face as he stared at Cater.

The ginger put his hand to his chest and let out a yell. “Ahhhhh! That was so scary!” Cater shook his head. “I thought I was gonna die~!”

Leona tilted his head at the younger man. “You’re wearing Vil’s perfume?”

“How else was Rookie-Rook going to lower his guard around me? And you, for that matter!” The ginger smiled as he made his way over to his boyfriend. “It took a lot of planning, you know~!”

“Ah…” Rook let out a sigh and wiped at his wet face. “I was so excited at the prospect of seeing my Vil that I didn’t even notice how your breathing patterns differed!” He put his hand to his forehead. “This hunter is ashamed at his failure!”

Leona laughed as Rook continued to sigh. He nodded to Cater. “Congrats. You outsmarted that freak.”

“Not you?”

Leona shook his head. “Vil got out a while ago. Saw it happen. I knew he couldn’t be here.”

“Hm, well.” Cater put his hands on his hips. “While I was hiding, I saw a bunch of people get knocked out! I think I’m the only one left~!”

“No.” Trey held his hand up. He gestured to the sky. “For one, they would've signaled if you were the last, and for two…” He picked his magestone up and pointed it at his boyfriend. “I’m still in the game, angel.”

As the boyfriends smirked at each other, Leona looked at them. “Trey, did you just call Cater ‘angel’?”

“Oh. Yeah, about that.” Cater gestured to himself and Trey. “We’ve been dating for years.” Cater nodded seriously to Leona. “I know it might come as a shock, but-”

“Fuck off.” Leona narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re dating. You’ve literally made out in my room, on my bed, during my birthday party. Only to feed me some bullshit about a snake and sucking poison.” Leona crossed his arms, and Trey put his face in his hands.

“It was a dumb excuse then and I’ve never forgotten about it.” He glared at Trey, who had the decency to look bashful, and at Cater, who looked incredibly proud of himself. “I know you’re fucking.”

He pointed at Trey. “But ‘angel’? You need to choose a better nickname for your boyfriend, buddy.”

Leona then gestured to Cater. “Because that man is anything but an angel.”

The ginger bowed. “Thanksies~!”

“Not a compliment.”

Malleus flapped his wings slightly as he pranced around the clearing with a giggling Cheka on his back. Idia stared at him with wide eyes. He pointed at Malleus and looked at Vil. “D-D… D…rag… on…?”

Vil patted his friend’s back and nodded. “Dragon.” He let out a laugh as Malleus moved closer to press his snout against his cheek. He lowered his wing and let Cheka slide off it before transforming back into his other form.

The fae grinned at Vil before turning to look at Idia. He nodded. “Dragon.”

Cheka jumped up and down happily. “Dragon!” He wrapped his arms around Malleus for a quick hug. “Thank you Dragon Unca! You’re just like the fire guy! Super magical!”

Malleus looked at Cheka, unsure if he was supposed to return the hug or not. He tilted his head instead. “The fire guy?”

Vil picked Cheka up and put him on his lap. “He’s this mage Cheka saw years ago. Rollo Flamme, from the entrance ceremony, do you remember him?”

Malleus narrowed his eyes in thought. He’d shown up at the venue for the entrance ceremony, but hadn’t realized that there was anything going on until Lilia had dragged him to the “after party”. “No… I do not.”

“That’s surprising, he kind of made a big impression with his whole summoning spiel.” Vil let out a sigh and shook his head. “But whatever. Rollo’s magic is interesting enough, but his personality ruins anything good about him.”

The prince nodded. “I see. I’m sorry you had a sour experience with him.”

“It wasn’t your fault, don’t apologize.” Vil sighed. “Rollo is just… he… he has really bad ideas about mages and magical creatures.” He ran his fingers through Cheka’s hair. “But I won’t get into it right now.”

Malleus nodded. “I understand.” He then tilted his head. “However… Rollo Flamme... I feel as though I’ve heard that name before, could you-”

Just then Azul threw a magestone into the sky, sending a large light across the competition. He then nodded to Floyd, who cupped his hands around his mouth to let out a loud yell.

”THE WINNER’S WON!!!!! THE COMPETITION IS OVER!!!! EVERYONE GET YOUR BOOTYCHEEKS OVER HERE NOWWWWWWW!!!”

Chapter Text

“Ahhh~!” Cater let out a squeal and kicked his legs into the air from where he was laying across the countertop. “I just can't believe I actually won!”

Sitting on the counter beside him, Kalim nodded. He pointed the file that he’d been using on the ginger’s nails at his friend. “I can! You worked hard for those tickets!”

Lilia let out a sad-sounding sigh and hit a piece of dough with a frying pan. “Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for your victory Cater, but I just can't believe Malleus lost!”

“Me neither!” Cater rose to a sitting position atop the counter. “But! It made things easier for me, hehe~!”

Lilia let out a chuckle. “I can't argue with that!”

When it came to being either Team MalleVil or Team CaterVil, Lilia had made it abundantly clear that he swung for both sides. And also that he rooted for them both. Even if he did have a bit of a Malleus bias at the end of the day!

But that didn't mean he was any less proud of Cater scoring a date with Vil! The older fae waved his hand, causing flames to shoot over the uncooked dough before him. “Speaking of which!” Lilia narrowed his eyes at a cookie and raised the temperature of his flames.

He gestured with his free hand to Cater. “Are you all ready?”

“Uh, doi! Look at me!” The ginger jumped down from the counter and did a small twirl, showing off his outfit.

For his top he wore a cute little black blouse with open shoulders leading to long sleeves, tucked under an exciting yet strictly professional white pencil skirt. The boy tapped his ankle boots against the kitchen’s floor and grinned. “I’m going for playful, yet totally DTF, what do you think?”

Kalim let out a laugh and let go of Cater’s hand, finishing his nails. “I think you look great!” He then frowned. “But won’t you be on a lake? It's going to be cold, are you not going to wear a coat?”

Cater clicked his tongue. “Kalim, Kalim, Kalim. Sweet innocent little Kalim.” He gestured to his outfit. “You can’t wear a coat on the first date! Especially if it’s going to be cold!”

“I feel like you should, though?” Kalim tapped the file against his chin. “Jamil always gets mad at me when I don't properly bundle up!”

“Jamil’s wrong!”

Kalim let out a gasp, and Cater corrected himself. “I mean… He’s right but he's also wrong!” Cater wrapped his arms around himself and leaned against the younger man. “What happens is, I make a show of acting all shivery and vulnerable in front of Vil, he gives me his coat, sees me in a brand-new, romantic light, and then we kiss and happy ending for everyone~!”

Kalim tilted his head. “I don’t really get it, but okay!” He then pointed seriously at the older boy. “But hey, I know that you’re seeing this as a date, but just make sure that you both are having fun before anything else, okay?” He nodded. “Pals before paramours!”

“Ooooh~!” Lilia clapped his hands. “Good alliteration.”

“Alliteration is one of my favorite words, haha~!” Kalim let out a chuckle before going back to look at Cater seriously. “But I mean it!”

The ginger rolled his eyes. “Obvi. I’m going to give Vil the best date he’s ever had!”

“Which might be a low bar.” Lilia tilted his head. He grabbed some of the dough and spun it around his finger like a pizza, despite it being cookie dough. “Has that boy ever been on a date before?”

“Sort of.” Cater shrugged. “If you ask the prince or Rook the answer is 100% yes, provided it's with them. If you ask Trey the answer is ‘it depends’, because he’s cute like that.”

The ginger held out his fingers and counted down on them. “If you ask Idia he’d probably run away or die on the spot or something. And if you asked Malleus, he’d probably say something like ‘Vil and I have been soulmates since we first met’, which doesn’t answer the question at all, but he’s hot so whatever.”

Kalim watched Lilia spin the dough with an awed expression on his face. “And… If we ask you?”

“Fuck if I know.” Cater shrugged. “Vil probably doesn’t think he’s ever been on a date, hell, he probably doesn’t even think this is a date!”

Lilia frowned. “When you asked him out, did you use the word ‘date’?”

“Multiple times.” Cater blinked, eyes wide in exasperation. He let out a sigh and put his hand to his cheek. “He’s as oblivious as he is hot, sexy, smart, witty…” As the boy continued to list off different adjectives, Kalim poked at a half-baked cookie. He watched in horror as it crumbled before him and took a step away from Lilia.

The latter of which seemingly didn’t notice. “Well, I’m sure he has his reasons for why he is the way he is!” He picked up an incredibly burnt cookie and held it out to Cater. “Here, freshly baked, made with all the love in the world! It’s my brand-new recipe, so have one before you go for luck~!”

“Uhhhh…” Cater started walking backwards, out of the kitchen. “I’d love to, Lils, but, haha…” His hands brushed past a pair of earrings with red gems dangling on them that he’d put on the counter earlier. He made a show of putting them on before pointing to a clock. “LOOK at the time! Gotta get going!”

He quickly ran out of the kitchen. “Don’t want to be late or spoil my appetite, haha~!”

Cater quickly blew kisses to both of his friends. “TTYL besties, I’ll spill everything that happens when I come back tonight.” He covered his hand with his mouth and laughed. “That is… if I come back at all~! Bye~!”

“Good luck!” Kalim called after him. He then nodded to himself proudly and put his hands on his hips. “I’m so proud of him! Getting two boyfriends!” He then tilted his head. “Well, I don’t know if going on one date with someone makes them your boyfriend… Maybe it’s a matter of opinion.”

Kalim waved his hand. “Either way! Good on Cater for having so many guys wrapped around his finger!”

“Mmhmm!” Lilia nodded in agreement. He let out a sigh and placed his cookies on a plate decoratively. “I remember when I was young like him! Ohhhh, they couldn’t get enough of me, hehe~!”

“How old are you again?”

“Seven-hundred, give or take a few decades.” The fae adjusted the cookies like a proud father of his abominable creation.

Kalim gave him a thumbs-up. “You don’t look a day over four-hundred-and-seventy! That skincare routine of yours really works wonders!”

“Thank you! I use eel-juice!” Lilia then held the cookies- of which their looks could only be described as indescribable- out to Kalim. “But since Cater wasn’t able to eat them, there’s plenty to go around! Come on! It's a new recipe!”

The younger boy frowned sadly. “I'm really sorry, Lilia. I want to, but you know the rules. I can't eat anything unless Jamil makes it or poison tests it…”

“It's not poisoned!” Lilia took a bite out of one of the cookies with a crispy squish. He then looked around the kitchen for Jamil. “But sure, if he needs to test it, then that just means more people get to eat my cookies! Where is he?”

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Kalim clapped his hands together. “It's Jamil’s day off!”

Lilia let out a sigh. “Fiddlesticks!” He then shook his head with a smile. “Oh well! This just means I can bring back leftovers for my kiddos, hehe~!”

Somewhere far away, Malleus, Silver, and Sebek all sneezed at the same time as a sudden wave of doom washed over them.

Vil adjusted the furry shawl over his shoulders (which had been a gift from his father, alongside a hour long speech about how it was alright to use his shockstone on Cater if he ever felt uncomfortable, which was sweet, albeit unnecessary) as he leaned against the dock leading to the Mostro Lounge’s ship.

Weeks ago, Cater had ended up winning the competition for tickets to the event, and to Vil’s surprise, instead of asking his boyfriend to accompany him, he’d asked Vil of all people.

He’d felt bad for Trey at first, until the green-haired man had assured him that Cater had promised to ‘more than make it up to him’. Which, as evidenced by the marks he had helped Trey cover up around his neck the next day, he had.

So, Vil had accepted. Except…

Cater had referred to their outing as a date. And in the game, the winner of the competition was meant to be the character you had the most affection points with, and then they would share a kiss with the protagonist on the lake in an event so uneventful Vil had almost completely forgotten about it until now.

But the thing was, Cater called everything a date. From an actual date with Trey, to a lead-only rehearsal with Idia and Vil.

It wasn't like Cater was actually interested in Vil. He couldn't be. No, he just… had a funny way of wording things.

’He’s fun like that. I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful time together.’ The blond smiled to himself as he saw the older boy running towards him. He waved. “Cater, you look wonderful!”

“Thank you so much!” The ginger hugged him tightly before pulling away. “So do you, Mister Schoenheit~!”

“I know.” Vil winked. He was wearing a backless purple jumpsuit that hugged his figure, complete with a set of heels that raised his already very impressive height. He towered over Cater, something the ginger seemed to be very happy with as he eyeballed the blond. “Seriously, Vil. I don’t know how you do it.”

Vil flipped his hair, which had been pulled into a small braid over his shoulder. “A good skincare routine, genetics, and knowing my color palate mainly.”

Cater nodded. “Noted~! Come on!” He grabbed Vil’s hand and led him to the ship, where a gangway stretched to a door leading inside. Upon entering, Cater’s eyes widened.

The inside of the ship looked almost like a carbon copy of the Mostro Lounge, only without any tables. A small bar stood off to the side, where a bartender peacefully cleaned a pair of glasses until they shone. Dim lighting shone quietly throughout the room, and a small aquarium stood in the center of it all, displaying a beautiful reef without any fishes swimming inside.

In front of the aquarium stood a small podium, where Azul was speaking to Jade and Floyd. Upon noticing the pair, the silver-haired man smiled. “Welcome, Duke Schoenheit and Lord Diamond.”

Vil nodded to Azul, feeling Cater tense. ’I suppose he still doesn’t like him. Cater’s always been protective of Trey.’ He opted to respond in his friend’s stead. “We’re happy to be here.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, coming from you, Duke Schoenheit!” Azul smiled. He put his hand on Jade’s back and pushed him slightly towards the blond. “I don’t believe you’ve formally been introduced to my companions, this is Jade Leech.” He then pushed Floyd towards Vil as well. “And this is his twin brother, Floyd Leech.”

“Ah, yes.” Vil nodded to the twins and held his hand out to shake. “I remember you two from the competition. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Floyd rolled his eyes and shook Vil’s hand. “Charmed, Betta-Fishy.” He let go of Vil’s hand just as fast as he had touched it.

The blond blinked. “Did you just call me a beta?”

“A betta fish! One of the most colorful and beautiful kinds of aquatic life there is.” Jade stepped forward and bowed. “My brother likes to assign sea-based nicknames to those he holds dear. He only calls you a betta because he is astounded by your beauty.” He cleared his throat. “Just as I am. It is wonderful to meet you, Duke Schoenheit.” He kissed the blond’s hand respectfully. “Idia has told me a lot about you.”

“All good things, I hope?” The blond smirked. Jade let out a chuckle and winked. “I will leave that up to you.”

He reached down to kiss Vil’s knuckles once more, but Cater cleared his throat. His cheeks were slightly red and his arms were crossed in annoyance. “As much fun as it’s been ah, talking, we should head to our table.”

“Of course!” Azul gestured gaily to a door that led to the deck of the ship. “If you head out there, you’ll find a table with your name on it. We’re still waiting on a few guests to arrive, so feel free to walk around before the tour of the marshes begins.”

Vil nodded once more. “Thank you.”

As soon as the pair had left, Azul turned around to glare at Floyd. “I thought I told you to leave a good impression on him!”

“I called him a betta, what else do you want from me?”

“I want more.” Azul turned around, leaning against his stand. “It is within our best interests to get Duke Schoenheit’s favor. I was hoping we could use Idia as a way to do that, but…” He gestured over to where Cater and Vil had left.

“As evidenced from what Idia has told us, and what we saw at the competition, it seems that Duke Schoenheit has gathered a harem.” Azul nodded, holding a finger up pointedly. “If we ever want to be able to influence him to suit our goals, we must bring in more members who can seduce him.” He pointed to the twins. “So, congratulations, you two. You’re in love with Duke Schoenheit now.”

Floyd blinked. “Ew.” He shook his head. “Hard pass, ZuZu. Why don’t you seduce him yourself if it’s so important to you?”

Azul angrily pulled out the locket around his neck and waved it at Floyd. “I am a taken man, you heathen! How dare you suggest that I try to get with someone when Jamil and I are practically on our fifth wedding anniversary!?” He crossed his arms after carefully tucking the item back into his shirt. “And besides, Duke Schoenheit isn’t even my type.”

“He isn’t my type either!”

“He’s my type!” Jade raised his hand. He smiled as he lowered it. “I am very interested in him.”

Azul patted the boy’s back. “Thank you for being a team player, Jade.”

Floyd raised an eyebrow at his brother. “Seriously? You’re into that?”

Jade nodded. “I want to chew his face with my teeth.” He let out a chuckle. “Romantically, of course.”

“As you should!” Azul patted Jade’s back before glaring at Floyd. “Quit trying to ruin everything, Floyd.” He clasped his hands together. “Jade, your goal today will be to try and get yourself within the duke’s good graces with your seductively slimy wiles.”

“Affirmative.”

“Floyd, you will be performing music for this evening’s entertainment.”

“Sure, write me out of the chapter. The author doesn't know what the fuck else to do with me.” As his brother left to start his task, Jade ignored his words and tilted his head at Azul. “What shall you be doing, sir?”

Azul smirked with a glint in his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? I will be going on a date, of course.” He nodded to the boat’s closed doors and held his hand up gaily. “In five… four… three… two… one!”

“AZUL YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!” Just then the doors of the boat swung open and Jamil stormed inside. Upon seeing him, Azul quickly ran his fingers through his hair and straightened up his tie. He then posed and turned around to look at the new guest.

“Jam-Jam~?” Azul feigned surprise. “Whyever do I have the pleasure of-”

“You asshole.” Jamil took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and smacked Azul’s face with it. “Where the fuck is he?”

The silver-haired boy held his reddened cheek in his hand before batting his eyes innocently. “~Who~?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Jamil glared at Azul and unfurled the paper before waving it before Azul. “I know he’s here.”

On the paper, in various font and color choices, it read:

Azul blinked at the paper. He looked at Jamil. After a moment, he let out a loud gasp. “You think I sent you this? W-Wh- I…”

Jamil glared at Azul and turned the letter around, revealing that the return address was Azul’s name.

Azul blinked. 'Note to self; Never let Floyd write a ransom note again.’ He then smiled. “That’s circumstantial evidence and will not hold up in court.” Azul let out a sigh and looked over to Jade. “Can you believe this, Jade?”

“No.” Jade grinned. “I cannot.”

“Exactly! Why…” Azul let out a laugh. “I don’t even know what a ‘Kalim’ is!”

Jamil crumbled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket before pointing at Azul. “I’m being serious here. Do you have any idea how much trouble I could get into if the Asim family found out Kalim was kidnapped on my watch?” He crossed his arms and let out a grumble. “Even if today was supposed to be my day off…”

“Hm.” Azul moved closer to Jamil. “Well, I certainly still have no idea what ’Kalim’ or this ’Asim’ family you speak of is, I can tell you that I might have heard that he’s spending the evening with one Lilia Vanrouge inside his home, safe and sound as can be~!”

“You…” Jamil growled.

Seeing no signs of danger, the octopus let out a chuckle and wrapped an arm over Jamil’s shoulders. “It’s your day off, isn’t it? Why not relax here? We just so happen to have an extra table, and as compensation for your troubles, I’ll let you eat for free!”

Jamil raised an eyebrow and pulled Azul’s arm off of him. “Free isn’t a word in your vocabulary, Azul. What’s the catch?”

“The catch is that I’m in love with you and this could be considered our first date, leading to a whirlwind romance culminating over ten years where we will continuously take over the economic world with our respective talents before then separating over differing views of our business practices only to then get back together right before the divorce is finalized and continuing to take over the world while being gay- or in your case, bisexual- and in love until our respective deaths.” Azul smiled. During his entire monologue that he’d clearly spent a long time thinking about, Jade decided to leave the pair.

Jamil’s eye twitched. “You sent me a ransom letter… as a way to ask me out on a date?”

Azul blinked, not revealing anything. He then gestured to the deck. “How about it?”

The dark-haired boy let out a groan and put his head into his hands. After a solid minute of doing that, he looked up at Azul. “What kind of food are you serving?”

“I asked the cooks specifically to make literally every single thing in the world that you enjoy.”

“And it’s all free?”

“All of it.”

“No catches?”

The silver-haired boy shook his head. “No catches!” ’Besides, you’ll be paying me back in full once we get married and take over the universe with my business savvy skills and your snakelike charms~!’

“Fine.” Jamil crossed his arms. Before Azul could celebrate, though, he pressed a finger against the shorter man’s chest. “But this is not a date, okay? If you want to go out with me, ask me out like a normal person.”

Azul’s face flushed at Jamil’s touch. “W-Would you have come if I had asked you normally?”

“No.”

“It was worth it, then~!” He linked arms with the man and led him to their table.

As he did so, he passed by Vil and Cater, who had been chatting with drinks by the railing. Vil looked at Cater with a curious look on his face. “This might be an odd question, but do you feel like we’ve been… forgotten about?”

“I feel that, like...” Cater’s eyes widened. “Every single day of my life.”

Vil narrowed his eyes and wrapped an arm over his friend’s shoulders comfortingly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

’Yes!’ “No.” The ginger smiled. He snuggled up next to Vil, relishing in his warmth. “I’d much rather talk about funner things, yeah?”

“Hm, I can’t say I don’t understand that.” Vil lightly bumped his head against Cater’s before turning to look out to the ever-fading docks as their boat slowly began to move forward.