Arle's mouth parted slightly, surprised at the firmness of Savier's voice. He seemed not to be expecting that his twin would be offended by his simple questions towards the person he idolized.
"Sa... Your Highness." Rylan was also taken aback and almost called his name in front of Arle, but managed to hold back. He looked back and forth at the twins, forcing a smile.
"No, Your Highness, I'm not dating someone." He chose to answer the question, hoping to divert the attention and stop the growing tension between the princes.
Arle blinked in surprise at his eyes, gaze landing on the alpha who spoke. His eyes stared deeply at him, and confusion appeared in his eyes.
He was not unreasonable either, and thinking he might indeed made Rylan uncomfortable just because he wanted to tease his twin, Arle gave an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be rude." Arle still did not take his eyes off Rylan as though wanting to discover something from him.
"No, Your Highness. It's fine..." Rylan clasped his hands in front of him and bowed.
The moment that he did, Savier's jaw clenched, and he attended to the alpha. "Rylan, you don't have to bow. You did nothing wrong."
Arle's brow furrowed, watching the two. Sure, Savier could be uptight and boring sometimes. It was nothing surprising there, but Arle had never seen his twin like this.
Overly agitated and offended for someone, and the way he interacted with Rylan was also unfamiliar. Savier was an overprotective asshole, always wanting to nitpick everything he did under the guise that he was instructed by their parents to take care of him.
And yet, he wasn't like this... Arle also did not know how to describe it. He felt like he overlooked something, which gave him an unpleasant feeling. It was like it was already in front of him, but his mind could not figure out what it was.
He swallowed, averted his gaze, and took a deep breath. Somehow, Arle wanted to leave them alone. And, he found this Savier... strange.
"Well," Arle stood up. "I might as well leave since I'm not welcome here."
Of course, it was not that he was mad or overly so. That was how he expressed himself in front of Savier. He did not know when it started, but he stopped being a sweet brother.
Savier lifted his gaze from Rylan, meeting Arle's.
"I never said that." His brows furrowed, eyes that resembled their omega father's narrowed.
"You shouted at me." Intimidated inside, Arle could only respond like this.
"Stop being unreasonable. That's on you for being rude."
Arle clearly did not know what was rude for asking someone if they were dating, not like it was too invasive?
"Whatever. See you... when I see you." Arle then left without looking back.
Savier massaged his temples and called for the butler while heaving a heavy sigh. Arle was always like this, but he could not play along with him when Rylan was involved.
"Your Highness,"
"Please make sure Arle makes it home safely."
Nodding at him, the butler left.
Although Arle was having a tantrum, Savier also reflected on himself. He should not shouted at him like that. Arle knew how to hold a grudge.
"Did you two fight because of me?" Rylan felt guilty, thinking that if he had not been there, then the two might not have fought.
Savier shook his head. "No... that's just how he is. He's spoiled, you see."
He told him that as an omega, Arle was treasured and could do anything he wanted, and so were a little unruly.
"Don't worry about him. He'll get over it after a while."
Savier tried to brush it off and stopped stressing about Arle's tantrums. Although he needed to explain to his parents if Arle babbled about the incident to them. He was sure they would understand.
The last thing he wanted was for the two to have a bad impression of Rylan, although it was the least likely to happen.
"Are you sure?" Rylan still looked worried.
Savier watched him and could not help but smile. Even the alpha might only be worried because Arle was considered his superior; seeing him like this almost gave the illusion that he was worried for him.
"Yeah, he'll get over it."
That night, Savier got an expected call from his royal mother. Yes, he expected it, but he still cursed in his mind.
The royal mother was not scary, but in their minds, they could upset their royal father, but never his royal mother. They would invite the wrath of their royal father otherwise.
"Royal mother..." Savier gently answered, standing on the balcony.
[Oh my baby,] Savier shut his eyes, embarassed to still be called baby by the empress, but did not react negatively and hummed. [It's been a while since I talked to you, so I called.]
"Uh, the schedules' hectic, sorry... I'll make it up to you, royal mother."
[Why are you so formal?] There was a laugh. [Anyways, don't stress yourself too much, alright? Tell me if Spade's pressuring you, I'll deal with him for you.] Someone reacted on his end, causing him to laugh again.
Savier immediately shook his head and denied. "No... royal father isn't pressuring me."
[If you say so.] There was a pause. [Hmm, do you know why Arle's upset? He came home early.]
Savier's expression changed; it was finally here.
"Actually..." Savier recounted what happened, but only vaguely about Rylan, but more on Arle's behavior. "I'll apologize for shouting at him when I meet him."
Savier would apologize, but did not mean he admitted it was his fault. His firm voice was also noticed by his royal mother.
[Hmmm. It's fine. I just asked, you two can resolve your own problems.]
"Yes,"
[Then, take care, okay? And, don't you forget to attend the banquet this Sunday!]
"Banquet?" Savier pondered and tried to remember.
[You really... remember Uncle Ramon's daughter? It's her coming-of-age ceremony. You'll escort her.]
He finally remembered, although he was unfamiliar with her, Uncle Ramon was the royal mother's friend, so it made sense to be invited. And being an escort was not a big deal for him.
After nodding and promising to attend, the call hung up. Savier even chuckled when he noticed how his royal mother still wanted to continue the call, but his royal father already urged him to end it.