Princess Alver (og Cale x Alver)

Part 10

All things considered, things were going better than Cale expected. He'd decided to pursue Alberu with an upfront and shameless attitude because the purpose was to avoid feeling regret, not to succeed. Despite his immediate attraction toward his highness, Cale was well aware that he was destined to be rejected and even more so that he didn't know Alberu well enough for these feelings to be anything more meaningful than puppy love.

He really hadn't expected Alberu's reactions to be quite so cute.

It was strangely endearing the way that the prince tried to act like Cale wasn't getting under his skin. The impervious holier than thou attitude intermixed with the silver tongue of a seasoned politician made the gap when his ears would start turning red quite adorable.

Truthfully, if not for reactions like that Cale would have given up after the first rejection. But Alberu just kept entertaining him with ridiculously dishonest reactions and at this point it became a game of who would crack first. Cale was enjoying himself more than he thought he would.

Alberu was charming. And surprisingly adorable. Cale found that he liked Alberu the more and more he got to know him.

He especially liked how Alberu fell for his trap. Cale wasn't an adept politician but he certainly knew his way around games of manipulation. His entire persona as a lout was all an elaborate game of manipulation after all and he couldn't help himself from rigging the system.

People were silly. To any given situation there were a multitude of ways to respond. Especially when one was willing to break through the box of behaviors that were considered conventionally acceptable. The foolish who were willing to break boundaries had quite the advantage over the smart who stayed strictly on the beaten path because they were so much less likely to fall for traps like Cale had set.

A person, when given options, would often fail to look for their own options and instead respond as though the given options were the only ones available. In truth, Alberu could have ignored Cale, contacted the Count, or even had the lout disciplined for his unseemly behavior. But since Cale gave him the options of exchange letters with me or meet me in person, Alberu had chosen one of the two.

And it was fun. In a way that Cale hadn't experienced since Bob left.

[I fear that your behavior will one day land you in trouble.]

[Bold of you to assume it hasn't already.]

[And what sort of trouble have you landed into?]

[Come out with me some day and I can personally show you.]

[My apologies, Young Master Henituse, but I prefer to spend my evenings without vomit-stained clothes.]

[I never said anything about alcohol, there are plenty of ways to have fun without it.]

[I believe the topic was about trouble, young master, not fun.]

[Is there a difference?]

[It troubles me that you haven't learned that much. Alright, Young Master Cale, as your senior in life I will take the time to patiently teach you.]

[You're a sarcastic bastard, ya know that?]

[If you dislike it, you are free to end this correspondence whenever.]

[Who said anything about disliking it?]

Dozens of letters sent between the royal palace and the Henituse villa in the capital filled with various topics from the weather and all the way to future aspirations. It was mostly just silly nonsense exchanged on a whim though but Cale couldn't help but find a bit more happiness with each exchange. There was something so freeing about talking to Alberu. Despite his attempts to remain in character as a lout, Alberu always seemed to see through his bullshit and in a strange way being seen like that felt invigorating.

Although it solidified that Cale certainly had a type. He could so easily imagine Bob writing those letters that sometimes he felt a bit confused over who he was talking to. It wasn't that Alberu wasn't carving a spot in his heart, it was just that the particular spot was already occupied by Bob and the more Alberu's spot grew, the more it uncomfortably brushed against Bob's spot.

"...haa... I like them both." Cale flopped down on the railing of the balcony with a troubled feeling in his heart. It wasn't wrong to like them both, he wasn't bound to either of them and frankly speaking, despite all the fun he was having, he wasn't naive enough to think he had a chance with either one of them.

It was just that Cale had always held a tiny bit of resentment in his heart for those who could love two people at once. It was petty but some part of him had always struggled to forgive his father for remarrying. Despite how deeply Cale loved his step family, there was just something so uncomfortable to him about Deruth's ability to love both Jour and Violan.

Cale had never wanted to be a person like that.

Yet, here he was, fond of two people at the same time. Except, he was several steps more pathetic than his father because at least both Jour and Violan had returned Deruth's feelings. Cale was thoroughly rejected in all regards.

And the more time he spent getting to know Alberu, the more it was impossible to deny. Despite Alberu's adorable reactions and ongoing communication, it was clear that when the time came for their in person meeting, Alberu would persist in rejecting Cale. As for Bob, if she had any real interest in Cale she would have returned to the territory at least once. Or even sent Cale a letter, it wasn't like she didn't know where he lived.

That was why Cale was here, resting on the balcony, instead of making a menace of himself inside the event. He'd been avoiding formal events ever since his communication with Alberu began in order to delay the inevitable rejection but he'd been unable to avoid getting dragged here today.

It would be fine so long as he avoided meeting Alberu but the moment he was spotted, it would be the end.

Cale sipped his drink despondently as he glared at the city skyline. He'd been enjoying himself far too much talking to Alberu and now the end was a breadth away.

He regretted it, a tiny bit, because if he'd been less assertive with his intentions perhaps he could have built a friendship with Alberu instead. While Cale definitely liked the prince in a very non-platonic way, a friendship would mean that the goodbye wouldn't be so quick and he could spend more time enjoying Alberu's company.

"It's a blessing in disguise." Cale decided with another swig of the wine bottle. "I'd start liking him a whole lot more then."

It was better to keep it short and sweet then.

The balcony doors opened and some sixth sense allowed Cale to know that this was indeed the prelude to the end.

I should ask to be friends. I don't want this to end.

Cale turned around, the words getting lost in his throat as he got a look at the bastard that had somehow managed to entrance him from first glance.

"Oh shit, I think I love you."

Damn. That wasn't what he was supposed to say at all.