I Became the Villain Alpha's Omega (BL)

Flio cleared his throat, quickly trying to pull his expression back into something normal so he wouldn’t look so obviously caught off guard. He straightened up, brushing at his clothes even though there probably wasn’t any dust on them in the first place.

"Karson," Flio said, his voice steadying though he couldn’t hide the slight edge of anxiety underneath. "What are you doing here?"

Karson tilted his head. "I couldn’t help but notice you," Karson replied smoothly. "You were pacing back and forth, looking under every corner, stopping palace servants to ask questions with that heavy frown on your face. Naturally, I wanted to make sure everything was alright." He paused, folding his hands casually behind his back as his gaze locked onto Flio’s. "By the way... you still haven’t answered my question."

"Oh, yes. I’m... looking for something."

"Clearly," Karson replied, stepping farther into the glass garden. He came closer, glancing around at the floor and the surrounding planters. "What did you lose? A signet ring? A sidearm pin?"

"A charm," Flio muttered, his cheeks warming slightly under the glass roof’s glare. "A lucky charm."

Karson raised a brow, a teasing smile creeping onto his face. "A lucky charm? I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing. Can’t you just buy another one to replace it? I’m sure the market have hundreds of them."

"No," Flio answered immediately, his voice firm. "I can’t just replace it. It doesn’t work like that."

Karson paused, his smile softening into something a bit more intrigued. "Oh? Then it must be pretty precious."

He pulled back his fine silk sleeves just enough to keep them off the damp tile and crouched down a few feet away, looking behind the plants. "Let me help you, then. Two pairs of eyes are better than one."

Flio blinked, slightly taken aback by the offer. "You don’t have to help me, Karson..."

"I don’t mind," Karson interrupted smoothly, scanning the floor.

Flio hesitated, his boots shifting slightly against the warm, damp tile. Watching a high-ranking noble crouch in the dirt of an imperial glasshouse to hunt for a wooden trinket felt absurd. It wasn’t just improper; it made an uncomfortable warmth crawl up the back of Flio’s neck.

"Karson, really," Flio pressed, his voice tight as he reached out as if to physically stop him, though his hand hovered uselessly in the humid air. "You don’t need to do this. I can..."

Karson paused, turning his head slightly to look up at him. A faint, knowing smile curved his lips, though his eyes remained intently fixed on Flio. "Why? Is the sight of me helping you really that repulsive?"

Flio fell completely silent. The blunt question caught him off guard, leaving him unsure of what to say. He opened his mouth to deny it, but the intense gaze Karson held him with made the words catch dryly in his throat. Unable to meet that look any longer, Flio snapped his head away, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting.

"That’s not what I meant," Flio muttered, his voice dropping into a quiet, resigned sigh. He let his hand fall back to his side, effectively giving up his attempt to stop the man. "Besides... I already checked that entire section thoroughly. There’s nothing down there."

Karson let out a low, amused hum, his smile broadening just a fraction as he turned his attention back to the soil and overgrown roots. He swept aside a heavy, damp palm leaf with patience.

"Perhaps," Karson murmured, shifting closer to the marble planter. "Or maybe you just didn’t look carefully enough. It’s easy to miss something when you’re in a hurry."

Flio watched Karson search for a moment longer before letting out a soft exhale. Feeling the lingering absurdity of just standing there while a noble sifted through foliage, Flio crouched down again a few paces away. He began probing around the base of a towering clay pot, thinking back to where Elios had been standing earlier.

It could have fallen here and gotten kicked into the corner, Flio reasoned silently. With how distracted Elios gets, that possibility is entirely likely.

As Flio turned his back to check a narrow gap behind the display, Karson’s question came.

"So, what makes this specific charm so irreplaceable to you?"

Flio didn’t stop shifting the leafy fronds, his mind focused on the search. "It’s not mine," he answered plainly. "It’s Elios’s."

Behind him, the soft rustle of leaves instantly ceased.

"He dropped it somewhere while we were waiting for the Duke," Flio continued, oblivious to the sudden stillness. He ducked his head lower to peek into the gap. "He was so fussy about it. He carries it everywhere, so if we don’t find it before we leave, he’s going to sulk about his bad luck all week."

A brief, heavy beat passed before Karson spoke, his tone flat and stripped of its prior amusement. "Oh. It’s his."

"Yes," Flio replied, still peering into the shadows.

"You are as close as ever to him, I see," Karson murmured.

Flio straightened up to turn back toward him, opening his mouth to answer, but the words died in his throat. He startled slightly, his body tensing as he realized just how close Karson had moved. The crown prince’s aide was standing directly over him now, his towering frame blocking out the sunlight filtering through the glass canopy.

"Karson..." Flio began, his breath catching.

Before he could pull back, Karson lifted his left hand. His fingers brushed lightly past Flio’s cheek, carefully sliding the thin metal chain of Flio’s monocle over his ear and pulling the glass lens away from his face. The touch was surprisingly gentle, yet the intensity in Karson’s gaze was suffocating.

"I always feel this sting whenever I see you so close with Elios," Karson confessed in a low, quiet murmur, holding the monocle between his long fingers. His eyes searched Flio’s face, but he couldn’t seem to find the answer he was looking for. "To watch the two of you spend your time together so easily... without a single worry. I can’t help it. I am envious of him."

Flio blinked, his pulse quickening as he stared at Karson in disbelief. "Karson, what are you..."

"Forgive me," Karson interrupted softly. "Forgive me for constantly imagining how different things could have been between us."

Flio stared at him, his pulse hammering against his throat as Karson held his monocle in his grasp.

"You should," Flio replied. He tried to pull his gaze away, but Karson’s proximity locked him in place. "Because I’ve already moved past those thoughts long ago."

Karson didn’t blink. A faint, bitter curve touched his lips as his eyes locked onto Flio’s face, searching for any flicker of hesitation.

"Have you?" Karson challenged quietly. "Really? You’re telling me you never lie awake wondering what our lives would look like if nothing stood between us?"

Flio opened his mouth to deny it, to remind Karson of the boundaries between them, but Karson stepped even closer, his shadow falling over Flio against the marble planter.

"You know, the fact that we’re both Alphas isn’t really the thing standing between us after all," Karson murmured, his thumb lightly tracing the delicate chain of the monocle still held in his hand. "It isn’t. It never was. That’s just the convenient excuse you hide behind so you don’t have to face what’s actually standing in your way."

Flio shifted against the stone ledge, his heart thrashing against his ribs. "Karson, stop. You’re out of line..."

"Just leave," Karson interrupted softly, his gaze dropping to Flio’s mouth before rising back to meet his eyes. "Leave the Duke’s side."

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