The silence carried on for a moment, but it felt like an eternity to Tenshi. Mentally, he cursed his inability to talk to people.

“I like the way it makes me feel,” Prince Veo finally offered in an attempt to break the uncomfortable quiet.

Tenshi latched onto the olive branch with frantic desperation. “How does it make you feel?” he asked, unwilling to go back to the previous moment.

“Hungry,” answered the Prince.

“Hungry?” Tenshi’s eyebrows were raised in surprise. He wondered how a blind man could feel hungry when he couldn’t even see the food painting but wisely kept that question to himself this time.

Determined to move on as well, Prince Veo chose to explain. “Well, it’s a food painting. And it’s a lot of food in the painting,” he said, before adding, “from the way you described it, I mean.”

“Right,” Tenshi agreed encouragingly. 

“The painter would have sat before a feast and he couldn’t be eating because he was painting. I just feel like the painter would be hungry.”

It was a surprisingly adorable explanation. Tenshi smiled to himself. “I see what you mean,” he said. “It does look very appetising.”

Veo’s cheeks were slightly pink, and he steadfastly did not want to turn his head in Hisahiko’s direction. The fake Prince had not given him another name and frankly, Veo was tired of calling this imposter ‘fake Hisahiko’ in his head. It didn’t help when Hisahiko was currently doing him a favour and had also proven to be excellent company—barring a few tricky moments, of course. Also, Hisahiko’s voice was just mesmerising. Veo could listen to him describe the paintings in the museum all day.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” said Tenshi. “Are there any other paintings you’d like to visit?”

Veo barely had to think before he answered. “Yes, please,”

“You’ll have to tell me where the paintings are since you know this place better than I do,” Tenshi told him quietly. 

The Prince nodded. “There are some I’d like to visit, we can start with the sixteenth-century gallery,” he declared and tugged lightly at Tenshi’s elbow to pull him away. 

~

In the fifteenth-century gallery, Dimitri studied the paintings with deceptively casual eyes. Every now and then, he’d snap a flash-less picture on his phone, as though to save the memory of a painting he liked. As far as anyone was concerned, it was exactly what this alpha was doing.

So caught up in his admiration of this particular art piece, the alpha didn’t quite notice when Ms Timbers came to stand beside him.

“Hi,” she said, sidling up to his side. 

Dimitri barely grunted a response. He was busy inspecting the portrait.

“Does this painting appeal very strongly to you?” asked the amused omega. 

The alpha looked at her and blinked. “It’s exquisite,” he said in response.

“Ella,” she introduced herself with a smile filled with whitened teeth. 

“Dimitri,” he said. “Aren’t you supposed to be with the, um, the Prince?”

“He’s not really my type,” she admitted freely. 

Dimitri’s eyebrows raised in thinly veiled interest at the petite blonde standing beside him. “And your type is?”

Ella grinned. Dimitri was reminded strongly of a shark. He did not find it unappealing. “You seem to know quite a bit about what you’re looking at. Perhaps we can explore this art gallery together and you can educate me.”

He looked around to check if she meant to direct that at another alpha in the vicinity, and when he found the gallery devoid of anyone but the two of them, he blinked and turned back. Confident now that she was actively requesting his company, he grinned and offered an arm. “Ms Ella,” he said courteously. “Shall we?’

She giggled and hooked a small hand around the crook of his elbow. Respectfully, Dimitri did not stare at all the skin in her revealing dress, though his eyes did catch on the locket resting atop her chest. She didn’t recognise him—and he wasn’t going to tell her.

They took a turn around the relatively spacious room, pausing to inspect more portraits. Dimitri had a knack for spinning wild tales about the people in the paintings that had her stifling peals of laughter. Occasionally, he’d snap a picture of the painting and point out details. Ella was fascinated.

Tenshi and Prince Veo entered the room as they were leaving, the other omega raising an eyebrow at their interconnected arms. Dimitri refused to make eye contact and Ella simply waved as they left.

~

If Prince Veo was amused by Ella and the alpha that had come with his fake Prince, he didn’t show it. He did notice Tenshi’s amusement though. 

“What’s so funny?” he asked for show. Veo had seen the pink of Ella’s interest and the slighter darker shade of delight that the alpha carried, but he wasn’t supposed to be able to.

“Oh, Ella and um, Di—I mean my servant?” Tenshi’s voice pitched higher at the end. It felt weird to call Dimitri a servant. 

“Hm,” said Veo, but didn’t push further. “We’re in the fifteenth-century gallery, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” answered the omega. “Is there—did you want to see something?”

Veo smiled at nothing in particular. “Most of the paintings in this gallery were done by the same person,” he announced.

“Who?” Tenshi wondered if he would be interested in the answer. 

The Prince tugged lightly on his arm and they wandered around until he came to a stop before a portrait of a man. 

“Jorges de Illustrado,” read Tenshi off the golden plaque. “Painted by Camila Chaqon. A relation of yours?”

“Yes,” answered Veo. “My Great-Grandmother painted my Great-Grandfather. Quite a few Greats, actually; I can’t remember how many. And most of the artwork in this gallery was done by her, but this one is my favourite.”

Prince Veo’s answer was far more interesting than Tenshi had anticipated. His curiosity was peaked. “Why this one?” he asked.

“Because they loved each other so much and this painting tells me that,” Veo replied.

Tenshi couldn’t help feeling a little sceptic.

Veo frowned. “I’m not explaining this right,” he said. “But I don’t know how to make you understand what I see.”

“What do you see?” asked the fake Prince, tone free from mockery, which Veo greatly appreciated.

“Colours,” he said. It was sort of true anyway. “Still legally blind though,” Veo added.

“I see,” blinked Tenshi. It certainly explained why the Prince always knew where things were. Well, he had certainly learnt a lot about Prince Veo today, including the fact that he was a romantic at heart. “Does anyone know you have a romantic soul?” Tenshi asked teasingly.

Prince Veo blushed lightly, cheeks pinking only slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he coughed, but didn’t move away from staring at the painting of his Great-Grandfather. 

“No?” Tenshi smiled. “If you insist.”

Veo scowled.