Chapter Text
This morning Wriothesley hurried to the Opera Epiclese. The trial was over and Wriothesley had already had word that the two new prisoners would be on their way to the Fortress of Meropide. Wriothesley therefore needed to be able to intercept the Chief Justice before he went to his office in the Palais Mermonia to collect the files on these two new prisoners.
At the trial itself today, Wriothesley chose not to attend. In fact, the official presence of the Lord of the Fortress of Meropide was not required at such hearings, so he didn't need a special reason not to attend. But today he still had that special reason. And he didn't want to let him out of his warm, crumpled bed until the last minute.
Wriothesley smiled, blinking against the bright sun. He was in a great mood. He'd had a passionate night and a slow, lazy morning, now he was looking out at the beautiful views of his hometown, and ahead of him was a reunion with a friend he hadn't seen in a long time. There had been too much work lately, and he and the Chief Justice rarely crossed paths. But today Wriothesley was determined to take Neuvillette out to lunch.
There was hardly anyone left in the opera house. On the way, Wriothesley caught sight of the Chief Justice's secretary, and she nodded when he looked at her questioningly. So the Chief Justice hadn't left yet, the Duke had made it in time. And he knew, without her telling him, where to find him.
Wriothesley made his way to an inconspicuous side room where the files of current cases were kept. Neuvillette was indeed there, standing with his back to the entrance, sorting through the papers on the desk.
Wriothesley smiled, genuinely pleased to see his friend, and, closing the door behind him, approached him, "Your Honour! What have you got for me today?"
The Duke stood at the side of the desk and looked at the papers the Chief Justice was sorting through. Yes, it looked like his two cases.
"Your Grace," Neuvillette answered his greeting without raising his eyes. He took a breath, as if to say something else, but suddenly and completely froze, as if he had turned into an ice sculpture in an instant. He didn't even seem to be breathing.
Wriothesley wasn't at all aware of what had happened, and he looked around him for anything unusual or dangerous, just in case. But he saw nothing.
Neuvillette stayed like that for a few seconds, then he thawed out, closed his eyes and began to breathe again.
The Duke wanted to ask him what was wrong, but there wasn't time.
Neuvillette spoke first, "Wriothesley. Do you remember what I promised to do if you came to me reeking of omega in heat again?"
"Um."
Oh, er, yes, Wriothesley remembered the conversation, and the promise. For some reason, their Chief Justice hated it when Wriothesley had foreign odours on him. And that time he'd threatened to bathe the Duke in the Fountain of Lucine if he ever smelled an omega scent on him again.
And then it occurred to the Duke that they were now in the Opera Epiclese, which meant they didn't have to walk far to get to the Fountain of Lucine. Wriothesley was in too good a mood to resist grinning.
Neuvillette, who had already opened his eyes, didn't appreciate it at all. He frowned and asked, "Do you find this amusing, Your Grace? Do you think I won't keep my promise?"
"No, no, I don't think so!" the Duke protested immediately, but he couldn't help it. Neuvillette was now talking with such a straight face about how he was really going to bathe him in the fountain that Wriothesley simply couldn't stop smiling.
Neuvillette raised his eyebrows, "I see. And when, may I ask, Your Grace, was the last time I broke my promises?"
Oh, it seemed that this situation was beginning to take a serious turn.
But Wriothesley still, still couldn't help smiling. But his instincts were still working perfectly, telling him to stay away from this Neuvillette. Wriothesley began to back away slowly towards the door. The Chief Justice followed him, his squinting, unblinking eyes fixed on his face.
"Neuvillette, you're exaggerating! I had a shower before I came here!"
The Chief Justice was not convinced by this admission. Nor did it stop him. He still followed Wriothesley slowly, with murderous determination written all over his face.
And Wriothesley remembered that, yes, he had had a shower. But after that shower, his night lover had seduced him into another kiss. Or two. Or ten.
"Oh, come on, Neuvillette! He wasn't even in heat!"
Judging by the way the Chief Justice's eyes narrowed even further, that wasn't the right answer at all.
Wriothesley slammed his back against the door and stopped. This was it, he had nowhere else to go, which meant that he would now most likely be bathed in a fountain. But Wriothesley wanted to laugh. His already good mood was suddenly enhanced by something else. As Wriothesley looked at this formidable man coming towards him, it suddenly became crystal clear why he didn't even think about resisting him right now. His alpha instincts were not screaming that he was in danger from this man, nor were they urging him to fight him for dominance. His inner Alpha was calm and even more so. He seemed to want to laugh with him. And all because he finally seemed to have an answer to a question that had vaguely troubled him for a long time. Why did the Chief Justice hate the smell of omegas on the Duke so much?
It was simple.
It seemed to be simply that their Chief Justice was not a beta, as everyone thought. As he wanted everyone to think.
Neuvillette had come up to him and stopped. They were the same height, so they were now perfectly aligned in each other's eyes.
Wriothesley could never tell exactly what colour Neuvillette's eyes were, there were too many shades in them. And this was the perfect opportunity to examine them once more. A pity it was short-lived.
"Your last word?" Neuvillette asked in his best Chief Justice voice.
Wriothesley still couldn't quite believe it. He barely managed to get it out, "You won't do it," and suddenly his world was turned upside down.
He realised that in one fell swoop Neuvillette had lifted him onto his shoulder and carried him outside, opening the door. To the Fountain of Lucine, it seemed. The Duke couldn't hold back any longer and laughed out loud.
"Neuvillette, come on! Let's forget this misunderstanding! Just put me down! And we'll forget the whole thing!"
He tried to speak between bursts of laughter, but Neuvillette didn't even bother to respond to one of his very reasonable (by the way) suggestions.
Wriothesley tried to twitch a few times, testing how tightly the, er, beta was holding him. Yes, he was holding him tight, the Duke could barely move.
Wriothesley saw that they had entered the square, but from his position he could not tell exactly how many were now there to witness his shame. A second later, the Duke, still laughing, was thrown into the water.
He choked and tried to get up immediately, but felt strong fingers in his hair, which kept his head underwater for a few seconds.
Finally he surfaced, coughed and sat down at the bottom of the fountain.
Neuvillette removed his hand from his hair, leaned in close, almost touching his nose, and said, "Dare me."
And then he turned away and said over his shoulder, before calmly walking back into the opera house, "Next time it will be in the Primordial Waters."
Wriothesley looked after him, before he disappeared behind the door and took in the square and all the people in it who were now staring at him with varying degrees of surprise on their faces.
And he laughed again. A beta, yes. Yes, indeed. A beta!
The Duke Wriothesley was not known for his consistency in his private life. But he himself preferred to think that this was not due to his supposed 'carelessness', but simply to the fact that he had not yet met the One.
He certainly adored his lovers, each and every one of them. When he was with them, he thought they were wonderful, amazing and on and on. But building a long-term relationship with them was not something he wanted to do.
With none of them did Wriothesley have what he wanted to have with his permanent mate. And that was. Complete and unconditional trust, where he could not only turn his back, but share what was on his mind without hesitation. Comfortable communication and comfortable silence. Jokes that only two people could understand. Understanding with a look and a smile, when sometimes nothing needs to be said.
Wriothesley had that with two people in his life.
Clorinde. His closest and dearest friend. Wriothesley didn't know where he would be without her. But Clorinde was a beta. Besides, she wasn't interested in the Duke in that way. So there could only be platonic love between them. And they both agreed to that, without too much talk.
And then there was Neuvillette. Wriothesley's history with Neuvillette was very different from his with Clorinde.
He and Clorinde had not immediately become friends; at the beginning of their acquaintance they had been rivals, fierce and uncompromising. Only in time did they realise that their rivalry was due to the fact that they were essentially the same. And it was after this realisation that a friendship was born between them.
And with their new Chief Justice, Wriothesley immediately felt as if he had known him all his life. And his past life, too. And the one before that. And judging by the ease with which they had begun to communicate from the second they met, Neuvillette felt the same way.
And Neuvillette was also a beta.
Or at least that's what Wriothesley had thought, until one day.
That day, Wriothesley had been summoned to the Opera Epiclese on an emergency call. And he'd been in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to check the doublet he'd brought with him. As it turned out, he was wearing the one he wanted to have cleaned. Oh, it wasn't dirty, but it was the doublet the Duke had worn when he had gone on a rendezvous with the omega who had invited him to spend his heat with him. And that doublet hung in the omega's room for the entire two days they were in bed together.
It was on that day that the Chief Justice first reprimanded him for the omega's scent on him. And after that, he became much more zealous about the odours coming from Duke. And it turned out that the only acceptable option for the Chief Justice was Wriothesley's natural scent - the scent of a frosty morning in a cypress forest.
And after the Duke's next careless appearance in his office after his rendezvous with the omega, Neuvillette threatened that if it happened again, he would bathe him in the Fountain of Lucine with his own hands. Well, that did happen.
And then the Duke was supposed to go on thinking that their Chief Justice was a beta?
Well, no. There was only one logical explanation for his behaviour. Neuvillette really was an omega! Why else would he be so intolerant of the smell of other omegas on Wriothesley? That's right, he was jealous!
But apparently his position as Chief Justice prevented him from revealing his second gender. Omegas were stereotypically thought to be more emotionally vulnerable than the other genders. And Neuvillette couldn't allow even a hint that he wasn't being objective. After all, knowing his true second gender, someone might try to accuse him of making decisions under the influence of emotion. And if there was such a precedent, the Chief Justice's reputation would suffer greatly.
But Neuvillette was fortunate that Wriothesley fully understood his situation. And if they had begun a relationship, he wouldn't have insisted that Neuvillette reveal his second gender. Wriothesley's alpha pride would not be hurt in the least by the fact that everyone would assume he had chosen to mate with a beta rather than an omega. The Duke had always paid little heed to public opinion. Even less so in this matter.
The important thing was that Neuvillette felt comfortable around him and accepted his advances.
Wriothesley smiled. Yes, that was a good idea. He really wanted to start courting Neuvillette. His, he hoped, future omega.