Bouquet
By The Cookie Cutter World
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Wolfram was standing by one of his mother's flowerbeds in the garden of Blood Pledge Castle. The afternoon sun was brighter and warmer than usual but the wind was cool enough to keep him comfortable as he observed the flowers.
"Excellency," said a voice from behind him.
He turned his head to the side and saw Gisela from his peripheral vision, standing behind him. He smiled and turned to face her. She was holding a bouquet of flowers composed of red roses with five Beautiful Wolframs—the flower that Lady Celi had cultivated in honor of her son.
Gisela handed the bouquet to him. "Here you go. Just like how you told me on how to arrange them." She said sweetly.
Wolfram eagerly took the roses. "Thank you for helping me, Gisela. I really appreciate it. You see, I don't really know how to arrange flowers so…"
"You're welcome, your Excellency." She said as she bowed down. With that, she turned and walked away without saying anything else.
Wolfram watched silently as she walked away and went back inside the Castle, leaving him alone in the garden. He looked down at the bouquet and took a deep breath. "Now to give this to…" He mumbled. Yuuri was not even there in Shin Makoku at that moment. The Maou had been away for almost 25 years already. According to Conrart, he got into one of the best universities in the United States, so he could not go back to Shin Makoku anymore for maybe 4 years since he had to concentrate on his studies. However, it could be 4 years in Earth's time, but in that world where Wolfram lives, it can take forever.
Wolfram had to admit that he had never felt lonelier in all those years that Yuuri had been gone. However, he eventually learned how to cope with the loneliness, thanks to Greta, his brother Conrart, his mother, and then Gisela. As the years went by, he learned to be on his own again and due to uncertainty, he decided to break off his engagement to the Maou in an unofficial manner that he hasn't even divulged to any of his family members.
Wolfram breathed in and proceeded to walk back inside the Castle with the bouquet of flowers that Gisela had arranged for him. That day marked a holiday that his mother had made legal when she was still the Maou. It was similar to the Valentine's Day of humans, but Cecilie added a little twist to it: Men are to give a bouquet of their favorite flowers to their most favorite girl, not just to show their appreciation and love to them, but also to thank them for being there for them. If the girl received several bouquets in one day, she is to choose only one and then spend the entire day with the person who gave her that bouquet.
His mother was out-of-town and Greta is away on a trip with Gwendal and Anissina. He knew Gisela would be the only one left in the Castle with him on the week of that holiday because Conrart was tasked to visit Caloria to see how Lady Flynn was doing based on Yuuri's orders. Wolfram have had a lot of sleepless nights for the past couple of days just planning his moves for that holiday and the words that he would have to say.
As soon as he got inside the Castle, he saw Gisela standing in one corner of the hallway seemingly talking to someone. Wolfram could not describe his devastation when he saw that Adalbert von Grantz was talking to her and he had a bouquet of flowers in his grasp, too. His bouquet, however, had yellow and red roses with colorful wildflowers. Wolfram thought that the combination was horrible and he himself never liked Adalbert so he walked over to them and demanded angrily what he was doing.
Adalbert turned to Wolfram and smiled rather mockingly at him. "Well, if it isn't the third son with a bouquet of flowers, too. Well too bad your so-called fiancé isn't here." He told him.
"Your Excellency," Gisela began, surprised with Wolfram's sudden display of behavior.
"Answer my question, Adalbert. What are you doing here?" Wolfram demanded.
"I just dropped by to give these flowers to Gisela." Adalbert said before handing the bouquet over to the girl.
Gisela was surprised but she was too speechless to say anything. She just accepted the flowers with a rather hesitant look on her face. "Uh…" she stammered.
Adalbert flashed her a sweet smile before looking at Wolfram again. "You look infuriated over something, Lord von Bielefeld." He pointed out mockingly before turning away. "You know where to find me in case you change your mind, Gisela." He said before disappearing into the next hallway.
Gisela stood still, observing the bouquet of flowers in her hand. She had never received a bouquet of flowers from any man before especially on that holiday. However, instead of feeling excited, she wondered why she felt disappointed.
"Gisela," Wolfram began.
She looked at him and saw the worried expression in his green eyes.
"Am I too late?" he asked her.
Gisela blinked.
Wolfram clenched his jaw and swallowed hard before shutting his eyes just as he pushed the bouquet he was holding near Gisela's face. "Here. Take these flowers. This bouquet is for you. I'm sorry if I made you arrange them for me but I don't like mediocre things and you're the only one I know who can make such beautiful flower arrangements aside from Julia and my mother." He rambled.
She stared at the flowers on Wolfram's bouquet as she accepted the gift.
Wolfram bowed down his head and opened his eyes. He could feel his face heating up and he figured that he must be very red by that moment already. "Oh well, I'll understand if you don't like them." He mumbled before he turned to walk away. However, a couple of seconds later, he heard some footsteps trailing from behind him.
"Your Excellency,"
He stopped when he heard her voice calling to him. He turned around and saw her approaching. "…What… are you… doing?" he stammered, but he was citing a prayer with a wish in his mind as he did so.
Gisela blinked twice, looking at him unbelievably before giggling. "Silly. I'm spending the day with you." She said.
Wolfram felt the color draining from his face. "…really?" he asked. His lips curved into a smile as he felt victorious and relieved at the same time.
"But I have to put these flowers in a vase for a while." She said.
He nodded. "A-alright! I'll wait for you in the stables. Let's go horseback riding, shall we?" he asked.
"That's a lovely idea. Sure, your Excellency." She answered eagerly.
Wolfram watched as she walked away. "Oh and by the way," he began. She stopped and turned to face him again. He had a calm smile on his face as he corrected her, "It's Wolfram."
Gisela thought for a moment, observing the determined look on his face. And she smiled at him. "Wolfram." She repeated his name.
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Author's Note: WolframxGisela happens to be one of my favorite couples (no matter how silly it is for some people) in Kyou Kara Maou. I decided to challenge myself and write this little one-shot.
