I Became the Villain Alpha's Omega (BL)

"I don’t think I can tell him now..."

Cherion leaned back in the armchair, letting himself sink into it as he stared at the steaming cup of tea on the low table. His hands rested loosely in his lap, his thoughts nowhere near the room around him as he went over everything he’d seen in that painting room again.

He couldn’t tell Zarius. Not yet.

He certainly couldn’t just casually stroll up to his future husband, pat him on the shoulder, and say, ’Hey, by the way, I didn’t only find paintings of pretty scenery and majestic animals in the gallery, so guess what else I found? I found a portrait of your late mother. Yes, your mother, the only portrait that was hidden away and covered. Which is obviously completely normal and definitely not suspicious at all, except it absolutely is, because why would the King have a portrait of your mother hidden there when every other painting is just sitting there for everyone to admire? And then, naturally, my brain decided to come up with a theory about your mother and the King, which I want to emphasize is only a theory, a completely unverified theory that I have absolutely no evidence for, so please don’t overthink it or jump to conclusions or start imagining things, although honestly, what kind of person am I to tell you not to overthink when I’ve already spent half the day overthinking it myself and probably invented three different conspiracies, two secret romances, and one extremely tragic political scandal in my head? So, yes, maybe there’s absolutely nothing to it and the portrait means nothing, but also maybe it means something, and I’m just saying, if you suddenly start wondering why the King had your mother’s portrait hidden away, that is not my fault because I technically warned you not to think about it, even though I am currently doing an absolutely terrible job of following my own advice.’

Absolutely not. Not right after he had dropped the ultimate existential bomb on the man.

Cherion let out a dry, exhausted huff, rubbing his face with both hands. It was already stressful enough having dropped his big confession, ’Hi, I’m actually from a modern world, and this entire reality was just a fantasy novel I read before I got accidentally unalived by God’s assistant right after winning the lottery, so technically I was supposed to be rich, not dead, but apparently the divine realm has terrible quality control.’

Dropping the painting discovery on top of that would probably turn Zarius’s brain inside out.

Cherion took a slow sip of the tea, his mind working through the puzzle piece by piece.

When he had asked Zarius about House Valtrane’s relationship with the royal throne a few days ago, Zarius’s answer had been utterly straightforward. From Zarius’s perspective, the King and the late Duke Valtrane had simply maintained the standard, respectful relationship expected between a monarch and his most powerful northern subject. They shared mutual respect, attended official state banquets, and kept their distance. Basic, boring, standard political nonsense.

Zarius didn’t know a thing. And frankly, considering how distant and cold his relationship was with his late mother, Cherion knew he couldn’t rely on Zarius, or Marielle, for that matter, to fill in the blanks about Nerissa’s personal history.

It wasn’t even that unusual. A person’s relationship with their parents didn’t necessarily mean they knew everything about them. Even children who had grown up in perfectly happy families probably didn’t know every detail of their parents’ lives before they were born, much less the secrets those years might have left behind.

"She wasn’t exactly a saint, you know."

Reiner was leaning against the edge of the desk, swinging his legs back and forth like a giant golden retriever with far too much energy for eight in the morning. Nearby, Ezek stood rigidly near the corner of the room, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his short sword, his eyes quietly scanning the hallway outside the open door.

That was about as much as Cherion had managed to get out of Reiner when he tried asking about Nerissa Valtrane.

"You’ve said that three times now, Reiner," Cherion remarked, raising an eyebrow as he set his tea glass down with a soft click. "I know she wasn’t a mother-of-the-year contender. Zarius made that abundantly clear. But I’m asking about her before she married into House Valtrane. Her family, her background, her life in the East. Surely you’ve heard something from the palace staff or the local gossip mills?"

Reiner blinked, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at Cherion with round, curious eyes. "Why are you so obsessed with the late Duchess suddenly? Is it really that important to research your future mother-in-law’s ghost?"

"Is it wrong for a man to want to know a little bit about his future husband’s family history?" Cherion shot back, his voice dry, tilting his head with a slight smirk. "Consider it my due diligence. Now stop dodging and spill more about what you know."

Reiner let out a dramatic sigh, slumping his shoulders. "Fine, fine! I don’t know much, okay? All I know is that she was the daughter of Count Delvaris from the eastern territories. Back when she was younger, people used to call her the ’Cold Flower of the East.’ Apparently, half the young lords in the capital were falling over themselves trying to send her flowers and poems, but she ignored basically all of them. Then one day, out of nowhere, she married the former Duke of Valtrane and moved straight to the northern border."

Cherion leaned forward, his dark eyes sharpening. "And? That’s it? Who were these lords? Did anyone in particular make a giant fool of themselves trying to court her?"

"I don’t know!" Reiner groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "I was practically a toddler when all that happened! Flio is the one who told me that much, and even he only knows because our father used to talk about it over dinner!"

Cherion paused, the gears in his head grinding to a sudden, deliberate halt.

Flio and Reiner’s father.

Winston.

Winston had served as the personal aide to the former Duke of Valtrane for years. He was the man who kept the northern ledgers, managed the household correspondence, and stood two paces behind the old Duke during every high court visit to the capital. If there was a single living person in the entire northern territory who knew the real story behind Nerissa, her marriage, and her hidden ties to the royal court, it was Winston.

The real question was: would the old man actually be willing to share any of it with Cherion?

Winston was notoriously sharp, fiercely loyal to the Valtrane bloodline, and entirely unimpressed by court gossip. He wouldn’t leak family secrets to just anyone who asked politely over a cup of tea. If Cherion wanted answers from him, he had to ask the right questions, and he had to frame them in a way that wouldn’t make Winston run straight to Zarius to report that his son’s fiancé was digging into dead family scandals.

Cherion stared at the empty hearth for a long moment, his fingers tapping a slow, thoughtful rhythm against his knee.

"Reiner," Cherion said quietly, his tone shifting into something clear and decisive.

Reiner stopped fidgeting, looking over at him. "Yes?"

"Fetch me two sheets of parchment, a black ink, and a wax seal stamp," Cherion said, leaning back in his chair as a small, sharp smile touched the corners of his lips. "I have a letter to write."

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