Hidden In Plain Sight (MxM)✔

Chapter 25 - Waiting

The next night, Luke was startled away by Nicholas as he covered the human's head and shouted orders for someone to leave. As it turned out, the Emperor's maids had arrived to tidy up the room, but Luke didn't have his contacts or fangs in. If the human had turned to see what was going on, the maids would definitely have noticed his green eyes.

Once they finally left, Luke decided it'd be safer to risk keeping the contacts in while he slept and only remove them when he was certain they'd be alone.

For the duration of their stay, both Luke and Nicholas were ordered to visit the banquet hall during meal times. To hide his tattoo from the other guests, Luke began wearing his top hat everywhere. It wasn't proper etiquette, but Nicholas managed to convince the Emperor to allow it. 

If the two of them weren't already the center of attention, Luke would have felt worse about standing out so much. 

The human found the banquet hall uncomfortable, especially when he had to sit across from some random noble who spent the entire time showering the Emperor with praise. The Emperor himself sat at the head of the table, with his most loyal followers nearby. Luke and Nicholas sat side by side, but every day, more and more of the Emperor's supporters would show up. Some would make indirect jabs towards Nicholas, feeling emboldened by the Emperor's presence, and others would be more discreet about it.

"You really should be thanking him." A woman in a lacy pink suit and flowery hairpin batted her eyelashes. "We nobles are held to a high standard. Anyone who doesn't behave is just asking to be reprimanded. If we lowly lords and ladies can stay in line, then surely an Archduke can manage as much?"

Luke grit his teeth when the Emperor let out a hearty laugh. The rest of the table then joined in, leaving Nicholas humiliated.

Unfortunately it was clear that this was the true purpose for inviting them down for meals. Luke wondered how Nicholas was able to hold himself back so well when he was more than powerful enough to kill them with a flick of his wrist. Then again, he also knew the Emperor may be just as strong as Nicholas was, so if there was ever a fight, the Archduke may be in trouble if the others joined in. Therefore he held back and somehow managed to keep a stoic expression before leaving to quickly escort Luke back to their room.

It was a frustratingly boring experience. In between, they were left alone to discuss their plans and wondered when Maximilia would return.

It wasn't until the fourth night when they started to see results. The nobles were talking merrily, either discussing how wonderful the Emperor was, or how unfortunate Nicholas's management skills were.

"You there." One gentleman spoke.

He had a handlebar moustache with short dark hair and a pin striped suit and bow. The man was pecking at a Cornish hen before taking notice of Luke. He nodded towards the human's goblet. "You have a problem with the blood his majesty has provided?"

Luke tried not to react. He'd done his best to only sip a little each night. It was an easy feat when he only had to do it once in a while, but now that he was doing it three times a day, it was starting to make him queasy. So tonight he tried not to drink any with the hopes that no one would notice.

Unfortunately, he wasn't quite so lucky.

"I'm sure it's fine." Nicholas quickly defended him.

"Oh? But then, why hasn't he been drinking?" The man pushed. "I heard you two are not allowed to leave the guest suite, yet this one practically never drinks his given blood. At this rate, he should be starving by now."

Annoyed, Luke grabbed his goblet and braced himself to chug the disgusting liquid, but Nicholas grabbed his arm and stopped him before it hit his lips.