I Became the Villain Alpha's Omega (BL)

Chapter 266: The Bitter Observation

The heavy doors of the imperial ballroom felt less like an entrance and more like a gateway into an arena. Step by step, Yerel walked into the grand hall, his posture immaculate, the pristine white and gold of his formal royal uniform catching every beam of the enchanted chandeliers. He looked every bit the perfect crown prince. Unfortunately, his mind was an absolute mess.

There were hundreds of people filling the room, high-ranking nobles from every corner of the empire, foreign nobles in silk, and whispering socialites looking for any scrap of court gossip. But the moment Yerel’s eyes swept across the ballroom, everything else blurred into a meaningless background.

All he could see was Cherion.

Yerel stopped in his tracks for a fraction of a second, his chest tightening. He looks... dashing. The thought struck him like an uninvited slap to the face. Yerel had always known that Cherion was pleasant to look at. He had known the boy was beautiful back when Cherion used to follow him around the imperial palace like a loyal, quiet shadow. But had he always been this staggeringly beautiful?

How was it possible for someone to bloom so aggressively the moment they were taken out of the Capital? Standing under the brilliant light, dressed in deep, elegant northern navy-blue that made his hair and eyes pop, Cherion looked entirely out of reach. And what infuriated Yerel the most was the sheer confidence radiating from him. How did he become so utterly dazzling beside a broken, supposedly dying man like Zarius?

Before Yerel could spiral any further into his thoughts, his father stepped forward and spouted a bunch of opening words. But Yerel paid little attention. Yerel’s eyes remained locked onto the far side of the ballroom, tracking Cherion’s every movement.

When the speech finally concluded, Yerel immediately stepped down from the dais, his jaw tight. He didn’t want to mingle. He didn’t want to smile.

"Your Highness," a calm, grounded voice called out from his left.

Yerel blinked, snapping out of his daze to see Karson standing not far away near the refreshment tables. The knight was casually picking up a freshly poured glass of wine, his sharp eyes taking in the tense line of the Prince’s shoulders. Karson looked down at the empty tray beside the servant. "The banquet has only just started, and Your Highness has already finished two full glasses. Is the drink not to your liking tonight?"

Yerel felt a surge of irritation, but he forced a cold, smooth smile onto his face, snatching a third glass from the passing servant’s tray. "You know my tolerance for alcohol is great, Karson. A few glasses of sweet wine won’t do anything to me."

"If you say so," Karson murmured, taking a slow sip of his own drink. He didn’t point out the way Yerel’s fingers were practically white-knuckling the stem of the glass.

Before the conversation could turn any more awkward, a soft rustle of silk announced the arrival of the evening’s main companion. Philia approached the two of them. Walking half a step behind him was Valen, his trusted aide.

"Greetings, Crown Prince Yerel," Philia said, offering a flawless, elegant bow. His voice was smooth and perfectly measured. "You look exceptionally regal tonight."

"And you look as sophisticated as always, Philia," Yerel replied, smoothly sliding back into his public persona. He gestured lightly with his glass.

Valen and Karson exchanged a brief, polite nod of acknowledgment, stepping back slightly to give their lords some space. As the Crown Prince’s partner, Philia took his place by Yerel’s side. For the next twenty minutes, they did what high society demanded: they walked around the perimeter of the ballroom, exchanging shallow pleasantries and talking with various high-ranking nobles.

The gossip of the night was entirely predictable. Everywhere they went, nobles were whispering behind their fans, bringing up the name of Heinrich Bramwell over and over again. They discussed his sudden political ruin, his stripped titles, and the absolute collapse of his faction.

"It truly is a shame about Lord Bramwell," one countess whispered conspiratorially, leaning in toward them. "To think such a prominent house could fall so low overnight."

Yerel, however, didn’t show even a single spark of interest in the topic. His face remained perfectly neutral, his responses polite but completely detached. He didn’t care about a fallen noble who had been stupid enough to get caught in his own schemes. Instead, as the conversation dragged on, Yerel found himself occasionally glancing across the room toward the edge of the floor.

He watched as Cherion and Zarius stood in a semi-private corner, deeply engaged in a conversation with the Solaric siblings. Yerel’s eyes caught the strange, sudden moment where Prince Gillian suddenly ended up with a block of ice over his face, and how Cherion had giggled, looking entirely carefree.

The Prince’s expression darkened, his chest burning with a toxic mix of jealousy and deep, bitter regret. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He couldn’t just stand here and watch them be happy from afar.

Right on cue, a sudden, dramatic shift in the atmosphere occurred. The grand orchestra at the center of the hall finished tuning their instruments, and the heavy, rhythmic chords of the imperial waltz began to swell through the massive space. It was the signal for the formal dancing to begin.

Yerel didn’t waste a single second. He turned to Philia, setting his empty glass down on a nearby table with a sharp clink.

"Shall we, Philia?" Yerel asked, extending his hand. His tone was polite, but his eyes carried an intense, almost desperate edge.

Philia placed his hand in Yerel’s, his expression smooth. "It would be my honor, Your Highness."

Yerel led Philia out onto the polished marble floor, taking their positions just as the music picked up its tempo. They began to move, swaying gracefully to the rhythm of the strings. Yerel was a flawless dancer, every step was precise, every turn was perfectly calculated. He used the momentum of the dance to spin Philia around, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd, trying to force himself to focus on the partner in front of him.

After they danced a few times, navigating the grand floor with practiced ease, the tension in Yerel’s chest finally began to ease just a tiny fraction. The music was soothing, and the rhythm was helping him block out the chaotic noise of the room. Other high-ranking couples began to filter onto the floor, joining the waltz and filling the space with spinning silks and moving coats.

But the brief moment of peace didn’t last.

As they swayed to the music, executing a wide, sweeping turn near the center of the floor, the crowd near the entrance of the dance floor suddenly parted.

Yerel’s eyes automatically snapped toward the opening. Walking side by side, perfectly in sync with the rising crescendo of the orchestra, Zarius and Cherion entered the dance floor to join the dance. Zarius’s large hand was resting firmly against Cherion’s lower back, guiding him with an effortless, commanding grace that completely defied the rumors of his failing health. Cherion looked up at him, a soft, radiant smile on his lips as they took their first steps into the rhythm.

The sight hit Yerel like a physical blow. His steps faltered for a second, his grip on Philia’s hand tightening uncomfortably. A dark, fiercely irritated scowl broke through his carefully constructed royal mask, his stare fixed uncomfortably on the pair as he watched his former shadow dance beautifully in the arms of another man.