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

53 - Magic Practice

(A/N: Sorry for not updating.)

Remis's shock was visceral, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. A light, helpless grin caressed Sylvien's hazy face as he watched Remis' slow processing of the information he had just thrown down.

"You... you..." Remis faltered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. His mind was as blank as a canvas as he stared at the tall figure with glazed eyes. Sylvien chuckled, his deep voice reverberating around Remis' ears.

"You're adorable, just as I thought." He brushed Remis' chin, pushing the astounded youth's head up to meet his. Lucius jumped out of his chair, his arm moving by itself. He reached over and slapped the meandering hand away, his brows furrowed and his left hand clenched into a tight ball, revealing five white knuckles.

"What do you think you're doing?" The prince muttered through gritted teeth. A vein protruded from his forehead as he struggled to restrain his anger.

Yeah, what do you think you're doing? Remis nodded inwardly, his mind still backlogged by the amount of information coursing through the current situation.

The prince felt the newly familiar, whirlpool of a feeling prod his heart. His eyes, fixed on Sylvien's friendly and intimate behavior, grew dark. He didn't understand. Why was this foreign stranger allowed to be so close to his aide? What right did he have to touch Remis? It is only natural that only he was allowed to, after all, he was the prince and Remis was his aide. He held back the growing feelings of inadvertent jealousy and forced his gaze away, gritting his teeth. Why do I feel this way? He thought. His confusion, which had plagued him ever since the aide selection, grew.

Syvlien turned to the prince with an expressionless stare. His friendliness seemed to fade away, left with a feathery, distant air. "Prince. Exercise restraint." Sylvien drawled, his eyes narrowing. "After all, I am of the same standing as you."

Lucius' bit his inner lip, his mind dazed and disconnected. "My apologies. I meant no disrespect," he said. He had momentarily forgotten, his judgment clouded by his growing feelings. I need to rid myself of whatever spell my aide has cast on me. This is getting out of hand... His heart began to pang, but he didn't understand why. In fact, he didn't understand most of the things he thought and felt lately. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Remis, who remained blissfully unaware of the bubbling emotions in the two princes' hearts, hung his head low, his eyes fixed on the wooden table under him. Nore blinked at the sight, letting out a small chirp from within Lucius' small bag when he saw Remis' familiar face. He popped his head out of the leather satchel, jumping and flying clumsily towards Remis as soon as he turned his head up and fixed his startled gaze onto the chaotic snow owl.

Nore made high pitched tweets in cheerful content. Remis's confusion gave way to relief as he scratched the underside of Nore's head. He rested his head on the crook of his elbow as he caressed Nore's feathers absentmindedly. "Right, at least you're still sane, little bird." He whispered under his breath, the soothing effect of petting the owl negating his stress. The bird squawked loudly in response.

Theodore eyed the bird with discontent, his lips pressed together in mild bitterness. He grew more annoyed as soon as he thought of the fact that he was jealous of a mere bird. And yet, Nore's eyes seemed to dart towards his direction once in a while. He could see the smug look on its face, as if its satisfaction of being the favorite was palpable. Theodore could only pocket his grudge, turning his head the other way with a tch.

Sylvien turned his attention away from the prince, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. It seems there is much more danger around him than I previously thought. Sylvien mused, a trace of discontent threading through his gut. It's good I came here. Sylvien turned, watching the scene of Remis' endearing attempts of calming Nore's pestering. He felt a slight prickle in his heart, and his flat lips turned up into an inadvertent small smile. He's so much cuter in person... Sylvien chuckled.

He had long realized that Remis was dense. It showed, plainly, in the letters he wrote. His childhood friend, Cyrus, in particular, seemed to take advantage of his ignorance, his blatant intimacy obvious even in the words of a letter. Sylvien's lips pursed together as his eyebrow furrowed. He had never felt such vivid, possessive feelings until he met Remis. And now... that prince. Sylvien's closed fist clenched until his knuckles turned white. I need to get rid of them soon.

----

They moved to the training courtyard, enclosed by thick, baroque pillars stretching high to the open ceiling. They stood in a tense semi-circle, with Sylvien pressed against Remis' right and Theodore to his left. Nore flew jubilantly above, his occasional flapping temporarily disrupting the tension in the room. Remis had his eyes fixed to Aileen, surveying the situation around her, with worry jumping from his stomach.

"We will be doing basic exercises today," the professor said, his glasses glinting in the bright late-morning sun. His mouth was worked into a small arc, his amusement almost palpable. Theodore's hand inched closer to Remis', his fingers twitching and growing the more restless the longer Remis remained unaware. His face was dusted in a light red before he finally reached forward and grabbed Remis' hand in his.

Remis jumped, startled out of his wits, before shooting his eyes down and gawking at Theodore's fingers wrapped around his own. What the– his confusion almost worked his way onto his face, but he forcefully repressed it, pursing his lips ever-so-slightly and remaining deathly still.

Cyrus was standing close to Aileen, his shoulder tucked behind hers. He knew there was tension, he saw the sparks between them and Aileen's slightly blushing face. The plotline is finally here. The first event—the heroine meets her chosen capture target! They pair up, they get to know each other... their magic is beautiful, each of them feeling an unfamiliar yet enchanting feeling bloom in their hearts... Remis gritted his teeth. Yes, that's right. I can't disrupt the plotline. I can't make a scene.

Theodore's face flushed a shade redder when he found Remis's silent acceptance. His heart raced, and a shiver ran down his spine. He carefully snuck a peek up at Remis's expression, a hopeful feeling welling up inside him. His hand tightened, his finger gently caressing Remis's supple palm. Remis stifled his yelp, shooting daggers into the ground with his neck stiffened.

"Alright, pair up. Since it's the first day, we'll work on getting familiarized with each other." The professor waved his hand nonchalantly, turning away and walking to the storage closet, gathering some equipment.

Remis felt a sense of urgency as soon as he heard those words. He needed to get out of the situation he was in, and he needed to make sure he didn't interfere with Aileen's event. So how... oh! He turned to the right with a sudden jerk, facing Sylvien with a savvy glint in his eye. "Let's pair up," Remis said with resolution, grabbing Sylvien's slender forearm. He seemed to be demanding it instead, as if he was with his comrade marching into the field of battle one last time.

Sylvien blinked, momentarily stunned, before smiling contentedly. His expression held a trace of smugness, his eyes bent and the corners of his mouth curling up like the cheshire cat. "Of course, Remi," He nodded, indulging in the feeling of his name rolling off the tongue, the warmth of Remis' skin pressed against his arm.

Remis inwardly sighed in relief, and, with one final attempt of an inconspicuous pull away, shook Theodore's hand off and practically ran away with the silver-haired youth. With Remis' hand still unwittingly clinging to Sylvien's arm, he dragged his partner farther away from the other four, only sighing in relief when he determined that he was a safe distance away.

Sylvien chuckled in amusement watching Remis' chipmunk-like expression, his eyes growing softer. He leaned down, resting his chin on Remis' narrow shoulders and pressing his mouth to Remis' twitching ear. "Are you that eager for us to be alone, Remi?" He whispered, sending a jolting shiver up Remis' back. He blinked in surprise and didn't hesitate to jump back now that he was a safe distance away from the heroine, his expression alarmed. Sylvien's smile grew wider watching his charming reaction, his unfamiliar sense of fondness deepening. "Aren't you cute."

Theodore had his eyes fixed on the spectacle some distance away from him. His gritted teeth grinded together, his jaw working back and forth. He brought his hand up to his eyes, feeling the lingering warmth of Remi's hand on his palm. That silver-haired bastard... if it wasn't for him, I could have...