Don't Come Near Me, I'm Just a Background Character [BL Harem]

22 - Jealousy

Rem?

Confusion flashed through Zier as his eyes stayed glued on the figure entering the room. Waves of panic soon followed. Rem said that he didn't like the duke's son... what if he knows it's me? Will he stop meeting with me? Will he stop seeing me? Will he hate me? Paranoia enveloped his mind and his previously cool and calm expression was nowhere to be seen. He brought his hand up to his face and covered his mouth with his palm, biting the calloused skin with a dark expression.

Remis' eyes drifted along the crowd, bouncing from person to person before landing on Zier. He let an apologetic expression slip and waved his hand gently to signal that he wanted to meet with Zier later.

The crowd continued to murmur and shift as Remis bowed once more, to show sincerity. Then, everyone stilled when he began talking.

His voice was powerful and beautiful when he started talking. The amulet continued to radiate a faint red that seemed to entrance anyone who would look at it. "Ladies and gentlemen. As a late debutante, there have been rumors being spread about my appearance, personality, and magic power, I would just like to take this time to dispel some of the rumors."

His voice continued to resound around the ballroom, and people listened with intention, perhaps influenced by his pure and beautiful face.

Finally, he ended his speech with, "I shall end the ball with this. Thank you all for coming, and have a wonderful evening."

He bowed and left through the door, his clothes fluttering slightly behind him. Zier still stood, waiting for him to come back down the ballroom with baited breath. The rest of the guests had already left for their carriages by the time Remis had appeared on the lower level of the venue.

Zier looked at Remis as he approached him with a heavy gait. "Rem? Why are you..." He asked, his posture tentative and soft, unlike his previous persona a few hours ago, talking with other aristocrats. Remis could almost see two invisible puppy ears pop out of Zier's head as he approached.

Remis stopped, with a sense of awkwardness he had never felt with Zier before. His eyes darted to the left and to the right, avoiding eye contact guiltily. He knew that he had approached Zier with a great, blatant lie about his identity.

But it wasn't like he didn't have a good reason! He was always worried about the butterfly effects of his existence in the world, wasn't this just another way to reduce the possible implications of his presence? He had good intentions, did he not?

He continued to console himself, shifting his weight and fiddling with his fingers until Zier finally spoke.

"Why did you hide from me?" A dim question was posed. The shifting finally stopped.

"I..." Remis opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by Cyrus, who ran towards them at full speed and jumped on Remis' back almost immediately.

"Remi~ I'm here~" He pressed his nose towards Remis' nape and breathed. Then his eyes darted up and his voice turned hostile. "And why is he here with you?"

Zier's smile twitched at their intimacy, and his hands curled into fists. His gentle and endearing facial expression almost crumbled at Cyrus's blatantly provocative gesture.

He smiled and tilted his head, showing a pair of innocent and confused eyes. "Lord Fortier, may I ask why you're here?" His crescent eyes narrowed with slight goading, just enough so that Remis' rose-tinted glasses wouldn't see his antipathy.

"He's just here because I asked him for something. Lord Fortier, please, could you wait outside? I have to speak to Zier privately." Remis' eyes darted back and forth between the two, his smile twitching as much as Zier's. He felt a sense of panic, whatever Cyrus was here for, it was probably going to end up in disaster. Before Remis even began to try to overturn the situation, he felt Cyrus' grip on his shoulder tightening and saw his eyes narrowing with annoyance.

"Lord Fortier?" Cyrus echoed. "Since when do you call me that?"

"Please, lord, I implore you-"

"Why do you need me to speak to him privately? And," Cyrus snickered, "since when was he named 'Zier'?"

Zier's fists tightened until his knuckles turned white. His smile felt strained and he turned his head towards Remis. "Rem, it turns out you were lying to me... who are you?" He inquired, his eyes widening and his lips pursing together like a lost puppy.

"He's changing the subject, Remi." Cyrus sneered.

The tense atmosphere grew. "Lord Fortier, it's discourteous to hold onto Rem like that."

"Since when were you allowed to call Remi like that? It's just as rude."

"It's disrespectful to Rem. Stop."

"Hah-"

Zier bit the inside of his cheek and suppressed his panic. "Zier is a nickname. Rem knows my identity."

"Stop calling him that, I really will kill you, even if you are-"

Remis finally couldn't stand it and shoved his hand to Cyrus' mouth to muffle him. "Cyrus, stop. Get out, I need to talk to Zier."

Cyrus revealed a hurt expression. His silent protests stopped at Remis's harshness. "...sorry." He mumbled, trying his best to quell his anger. He looked away and withdrew after shooting Zier a belligerent look.

His steps faded away and the door shut loudly behind him. Zier's fists loosened and his apprehensive eyes relaxed slightly. "Rem, are you a Xenith? Why didn't you tell me?"

Frankly, Zier didn't care whether Remis was a Xenith or not. It didn't matter to him, as long as he could keep talking with him. As long as he could keep joking, reading, laughing, with him and see his pure, unadulterated smile bloom when talking passionately... nothing else mattered. All he was trying to do now was drive the attention away from Cyrus's previous statements as much as possible.

I can't let Rem find out about my identity. He'll hate me...

He bit his lip and grabbed Remi's hand dejectedly.

"Do you hate me? Is that why... you lied to me?"

----

Cyrus stared at his hands blankly as the carriage rattled and turned. Silent, emotionless tears streamed from his eyes and fell on his lap.

His jaw clenched tightly, trying to overcome the panic and loss bubbling up. He tasted blood in his mouth and realized that his flesh was torn by his bite. He didn't care.

Remi's... never talked to me like that before.

He curled his legs up onto the cushioned sofa. A slow smile spread, his eyes hazy and dark as he stared at the ground with mad eyes.

It's the fault of that shitty duke's son. That's the reason why Remi was treating me this way... I have to get rid of that pest.

His hands gripped the fabric of his pants, slowly ripping the delicate cloth. The sound of fabric tearing was the only noise left in the delicately adorned carriage.

Then when I get rid of that pest... I'll find that Nyiel royal who sent that messenger bird to Remi.

(A/N: Should I change to 3rd person?)