Salvation of The Scum Fifth Prince

[74 - fame: unwanted conversations]

"You wouldn't understand."

The words were quiet under the loud bustling of the crowd, clattering drinks and laughter that vividly contrasted the man's moody frown. He swirled his drink in his hand, and sighed.

There was a mutter of irritation beside him. "I ran away to have some lovely alone time, why is it that you also had the same idea?"

"Shut up, Haze Prince. I always frequent this bar."

"And? Do you own it now, Leny~?" A tease contained in the mocking tone that is anything but sweet.

Brioc leaned back with a playful smile at his lips, though his eyes carried a biting dislike that was obvious on his face. It wasn't that he couldn't hide his emotions, but that he didn't care if this drunk prince was aware of his dislike.

Wasn't it mutual dislike, after all?

His violet eyes gleamed under the lights, pulling at the wooden seat. In the beginning, he had grabbed a random table at a popular restaurant he'd seen a few times in passing, but another hand had stretched out and grabbed the other chair at the same time.

When Brioc glanced up at the hooded figure, and the amber eyes that narrowed viciously when noticing him, he decided against leaving. He wasn't in the mood to argue with somebody over a table, but this wasn't just anybody.

This prince had disliked him from the very beginning, for origins that even Brioc didn't wish to have.

What nonsense.

"Well~ a prince visiting a bar at the dead of the night... I feel like it'd be a pretty popular rumour, don't you think?"

Erlen scowled, slamming his cup down. "Don't play tricks, Haze Prince. I'm in no mood for it."

"I'm oh-so-sorry your highness," smiled Brioc with curved eyes. "Did you think I'm in the mood for it either?"

There was a scoff, before silence fell between them. Brioc looked away in boredom, taking his time to drink and let the music play over his ears.

A few days ago, he received notice from one of the fox boy's secret sources, that the group had arrived back at the palace. He'd left in a dramatic manner that was unlike him, but the emotions that stirred in his chest were exactly like that.

Dramatic, explosive, unreasonable.

He snapped his fingers, watching a small flame flicker at the tip before vanishing. Losing control wasn't something that happened since the event in the Haze Kingdom all those years ago.

A tentative, bitter voice interrupted his thoughts. "What are you doing?"

"Hm~ I don't want to tell you?"

"...ha. Then don't."

Then, the prince added on with casual motions, though his tone said otherwise, "How is Soren faring?"

"Pretty good without you." said Brioc simply, not even sparing the other a glance.

"....." Erlen took another swig of his drink, turning away with lowered eyes. Brioc looked over at his silence, unlike the usual arrogance he displayed and decided to speak a little more.

"I don't like you, Leny. I'm not really a huge fan of some of your other siblings too," said Brioc casually, resting back in his seat as if he was talking to any random civilian. "But of all of them, you haven't even tried to do anything, instead just drowning in your own sorrows. It's pathetic, you know?"

Erlen scowled deeply, snapping his head back to glare at Brioc. "I believe I said before, but you wouldn't understand, Haze Prince."

"What part?"