MPD CHAPTER 4

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Chapter 4

Leian changed into the neatest formal outfit among the clothes he had brought and headed for the dining room. It was not his first time eating at the villa, yet he was terribly nervous.

When he entered the dining room, many people were seated around the table. Naturally, Edward occupied the seat of honor.

“Your Highness, after the meal, would you play a card game with me? Ludo like yesterday would be fine, or whist.”

“Oh, I’d like to join too. How about we place a bet this time?”

“Then His Highness would win it all.” Leian quietly watched the people laughing and chatting as if having a grand time.

It had already been a year since Edward, once the Crown Prince, was deposed and began living in seclusion at the Red House in a rural village in the southeast.

Though he had lost the luxurious life, honor, and status of the palace, he was building a new life of his own here.

Outwardly, Edward worked tirelessly to win the nobles to his side by throwing lavish parties and hosting various events for them.

Thanks to that, his past was gradually forgotten, and everyone wanted to get close to him.

That was not limited to his public connections alone. He was a dominant alpha with a handsome face, so naturally all sorts of people constantly flocked around him.

While Edward was surrounded by so many people, Leian always watched him from a step behind.

How many people must have passed by his side while I was away? He probably never even thought of someone like me.

That must be why he never came looking for me. It felt as though he had confirmed that fact with his own eyes, and he grew gloomy for no reason.

On the other hand, since becoming an omega, Leian had so rarely attended formal occasions that all of this felt extremely unfamiliar and awkward.

Without Edward, he was nothing, so he had never found the courage to show up at such gatherings.

“Leian, why are you so late?”

Just then, Edward, who had been turning his head with a bored expression, spotted Leian standing in the doorway and greeted him first.

He frowned and gestured toward an empty chair. It was one seat away from him.

As he headed for his assigned seat, Leian glanced at the man sitting beside Edward. His appearance seemed familiar somehow.

He had the same sparkling black hair and bright blue eyes as Edward, but the air about him was much softer and gentler.

“That’s the look of someone who has no idea who I am.”

The man spoke to him first with a smile. Not knowing how to react, Leian only glanced nervously at Edward.

“I… I’m sorry, but I don’t quite remember.”

“That’s understandable. It’s been nearly five years since I came back to the palace.”

Who had left the palace five years ago? Lost in thought, Leian finally recalled one person and his eyes went wide.

“Surely not Lord Aaron?”

Aaron was the former King’s youngest child, born when he was over fifty. He was twenty years younger than the current King, Pedro, and only two years younger than Edward. In a palace full of unpresented people, he was the only presented person besides Edward.

They had only learned he was a dominant alpha after Pedro took the throne.

Five years ago he had left the palace, saying he would go abroad to study, and now it seemed he had returned.

Leian had also gone back and forth to the palace as a child and exchanged greetings with him, so he could not help but be glad to see him. Aaron was one of the few people in the palace who had been kind to Leian.

“I’m glad you recognized me before I even introduced myself.”

Leian was glad to meet someone he knew in a place full of strangers. But before he could properly catch up with him, questions poured in from all around.

“This is the first time we’ve met since the rumors that you presented as an omega. How have you been?” They could have phrased it more delicately. Leian was no fool, and he knew it. They were deliberately bringing up the fact that he had become an omega because they saw it as a weakness.

It might have been malice, or they might simply have been curious to see how Leian would react. Either way, to them, Leian without Edward’s protection was someone they could treat however they pleased.

“Well enough, I suppose.”

“Right, more importantly, I’m starving to death, so let’s start eating.” As if to cut off the attention converging on Leian, Edward interrupted, cutting his answer short.

Edward had always been like this. Whenever unpleasant attention turned toward Leian, he would snatch it away.

It might have been to protect Leian, or he might have disliked having attention that should have been on him taken away. Either way, Leian was always grateful.

“You’ll stay for the party after the total eclipse, won’t you?”

Aaron asked, looking at Leian, seemingly uninterested in the meal. Leian, chewing a small cut piece of beef, glanced sideways at Edward and spoke cautiously.

“Yes, I think so.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried you’d leave right away.”

To be honest, Leian was glad to see him too. The problem was Edward, who was glaring at him discontentedly from a distance, annoyed about something.

Leian did not really know, but Edward seemed displeased that Aaron and he were talking. Leian had no idea why.

“I’ll come find you once the party starts. It would be nice to chat for a while.”

“Yes, I have much I’d like to talk about too.”

Thinking it would not be bad to talk where Edward’s eyes could not reach them, he nodded slightly. At the reunion after so long, a smile seemed to faintly cross his lips.

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

Suddenly, Edward set down the knife he was holding noisily on the table and spoke loudly. Then, before anyone could say anything, he pushed back his chair and rose from his seat.

Several people frowned slightly at his behavior, so far from proper table manners, but no one opened their mouth. The master of this meal was none other than Edward.

“I’ll go back and rest now, so finish your meal. Leian, come with me.”

“Ah, yes!”

Leian had not finished eating either, but at his call he had no choice but to set down his fork.

Besides, with everyone’s eyes on him, he felt as though he would choke. It might be better to stay on an empty stomach.

“We’ll meet in the garden at noon.” Edward left a brief farewell and led Leian out of the dining room.

“Are you feeling unwell? Shall I call a doctor?” Leian glanced around as they stepped into the corridor. When others could hear, he had to use formal speech.

“Never mind. You there.”

Edward caught hold of a servant passing through the corridor.

“Bring the meal to my room.”

Now he saw that feeling unwell had only been an excuse, and he had simply found the meal uncomfortable.

“For two!”

“Am I eating with you too?”

“What, would you rather starve?”

Had he brought him along because he did not want to eat alone?

“Ah, no. I’ll eat with you.”

Edward shot a glare at the hesitating Leian, then turned away again.

“Then stop complaining and follow me.”

He could not know the exact reason, but Leian had found that place uncomfortable too, so he thought it was rather fortunate.

***

The meal alone together was awkward, but still better than being surrounded by people.

Edward said nothing throughout the meal. It was so quiet that Leian could not understand at all why he had called him out.

After the meal, which felt endlessly long, Leian and Edward headed for the garden.

In the courtyard of the Red House, where early spring had arrived, flowers of every color were in bloom. Breathing in the dizzying scent of flowers, everyone looked up at the sky.

The people, dressed in clothes as splendid as the spring flowers, each held eclipse-viewing glasses fitted with black filters.

Soon the moon covered the sun, and darkness blanketed the world.

“Oh, it’s started!”

Leian let the nobles’ fussing go in one ear and out the other. At that moment, when everyone was gazing up at the sky in awe, Leian glanced at Edward sitting beside him.

It was nearly his only chance to observe him up close, since he had not yet had a good look at his features since their reunion.

Edward sat slouched in an iron chair, arms crossed, gazing into the distance with a bored expression.

Beneath jet-black lashes that were the spitting image of his mother, who was revered as a goddess of beauty, his blue eyes were half-hidden. At this rate, his eyes looked ready to close before the moon covered the sun.

Separated as they had been, it had already been well over ten years since Leian had known Edward. He was surely thinking he wanted to get out of here right away.

True to a man who knew only himself, even the majestic miracle created by nature would mean nothing to him.

“Right, the preamble is over. Let’s get the party properly started.” As soon as the sun came out again, Edward sprang from his seat. Then he went inside without looking back.

The nobles, their faces flushed with excitement, followed in a line behind him. Leian, caught in the crowd, hurried his steps so as not to lose sight of the receding Edward.

“Hello, Mr. Ashford.”

Just then, someone came up close and spoke to him first, and Leian was startled.

“It’s been so long, and I’ve been wanting to greet you all this time, but only now have I finally had the chance. Do you remember me?”

Turning his gaze from Edward’s retreating back, he saw a man standing there with a friendly smile. The face seemed familiar somehow, so Leian paused for a moment, lost in thought.

“I’m Mason Bellute.”

Growing impatient, Mason introduced himself first. Only then did Leian recall who he was.

Mason Bellute, the third son of the Marquis Bellute family. Like the Ashford barony, the Bellute family was one of the houses with influence in the legal world. He had heard they had served as royal lawyers for quite a long time.

It had been so long since he’d seen his face that he’d forgotten, but back when they attended the law academy, Mason and he had often met and talked.

As far as he remembered, he had said he had no interest in the legal world. He had said he would travel the world after graduating, and he wondered if he really had gone.

“It’s good to see you after so long. How have you been?”

“After graduating from the law academy, I traveled here and there by steamship with Lord Aaron. Now I’ve come back, thinking it’s about time I settled down.”

So he had gone traveling with Aaron. Young as he was, Mason already seemed to have achieved his dream, and Leian envied him.

Mason had the freedom to choose his own future, whether to stay in the legal world or travel and find a new goal.

But Leian had been robbed of every such opportunity for the single reason that he had become an omega. It would be a lie to say he did not resent it.

“…I see.”

Leian tried not to think deeply about the misfortune that had befallen him, but at times like this it was hard to bear the painful feelings.

As Mason listened to Leian’s heavy reply, he spoke brightly, oblivious.

“By the way, I heard the rumors. They say you presented as an omega?” Just then, his unfortunate question made Leian flinch despite himself.

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