There was no way that Gwendal would ever let what was currently happening ever be known to his friends and more especially, his mother. He'd die of mortification, for one. It was bad enough what they'd had to do before, but now he had to stand on the sidelines as if he was some sort of prize. It made an annoying twitch appear under his eye and he glared at the sun, as if he could somehow will it to go away and hide the embarrassment he saw in front of him.

Günter didn't seem to notice the crowd's attention for the duel he'd been challenged to. His eyes were focused solely on his opponent. He'd seen this sort of deadly concentration before. Their king, Yuuri, might only know Günter as the light-hearted and loud advisor that was his teacher, but he knew the depths of Günter's seriousness, especially when it came to battle. And given this knowledge, Gwendal just knew this was going to expose everything.

How did this come to pass? How did a fight break out for his honor? That was a very long and humiliating story.

Two weeks earlier

The carriage bumped over a relatively rocky road and Gwendal shifted uncomfortably in his seat for what must be the millionth time since he had gotten in it. "I understand why we have to do this, but remind me why must we pretend to be lovers while we're here?"

Günter seemed to flush just a little, but his answer was clear and precise. "For protection. Given my appearance, many others might think to take advantage of it." A violet eye glanced at him briefly. "It's just for 'just in case'."

Gwendal snorted and crossed his arms, turning to glance out the carriage window on his side. "We both know that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, despite your appearance."

"They don't know that and anyway, we're going as minor diplomats of the court. Given the backgrounds we have created for ourselves, we spent most of our time indoor and doing paperwork and other such physically easy tasks, with only the most minimal of fighting lessons. Not high ranking individuals who spent half their time in military academies and fighting in wars. This is just to make sure that no one tests us in that respect."

He didn't say anything more, but couldn't really say he was all that pleased. In order to create the unified world that their king dreamed of, they had to make sure that every treaty didn't have a loophole in it. That was fine for the big and relatively small countries, but where the problems lay were with the minor nobles that might or might not agree. They could, theoretically, raise rebellions easily or finance such things.

Which was why they were on their way to spend the next few weeks with one of the more prominent nobles that sat on the border of Shin Makoku. When it came to these things, Gwendal preferred to get a look at someone himself, rather than entrust it to someone even as competent as Yozak. Günter had been brought along, suggested strongly by Yuuri to do so, because he was far friendlier with people than Gwendal was.

The manor house slowly came into view and it looked like a tiny castle. His eyebrows hitched up in slight surprise, as it appeared as if the lord of the place were showing off his wealth. The grounds were well kept and green, flowers seeming to decorate almost every available surface. As soon as the carriage stopped, a servant stepped away from the small congregation waiting for them to open the door.

Gwendal went first and his harsh blue eyes took in everything with minute detail. Before them, were three men of varying ages. The oldest of them had strands of white amid his brown hair and he had a congenial smile on his lips. As far as he could tell at first glance, he didn't stand out in any way. Standing next to him was someone that reminded him of Wolfram vaguely, with his light blonde hair, only his fell down to his waist. His eyes were a tad icy and suspicious, obviously the perfect counter to the other man who seemed far too welcoming and unassuming. And the youngest, someone who could only be barely over eighteen, had pale, silvery blue hair that one might say almost prettily fell over his forehead.

Gwendal's eyes landed on who was presumably their host. "Deitrich Hertzog?"

The oldest of the pair stepped forward and eagerly held out his hand. "Good day to you. I assume you are Gwendal von Jaeger?" Gwendal nodded as Günter stepped up next to him. Their host's eyes held no malice as he turned to the new man and shook his hand firmly as well. "And you must be Günter von Lehrer?"

"I am," Günter replied with a nod and polite smile.

"Then let me introduce you to the rest of the family." Deitrich motioned them to follow inside and for all that he was looking for it, Gwendal couldn't detect any hint of malice or deception. "This is my life-partner here, Viktor von Strauss and my adopted son, Julius."

The blonde linked his arm with that of Deitrich, making it clear who was who and if he hadn't known better, he swore he saw suspicion in the hazel eyes that stared at him and then Günter pointedly.

Dietrich didn't seem to notice the faint stiffening of the atmosphere and continued to chatter on, unlike his son Julius, who seemed painfully shy and wouldn't even look at Gwendal.

The inside of their manor house seemed just as palatial as the outside and long tapestries instead of paintings hung from the vaulted ceilings down to almost brush the floor. He tried to hide his frown at the expensive tastes and structure of the place, as it did indeed feel like a tiny castle. The knowledge didn't do much to alleviate his uneasiness with this obviously very rich lord. If he really did decide to go against Shin Makoku, he could no doubt at the very least easily fund a large sized rebellion and it wouldn't even put a chink in his wealth.

While his attention wandered, his subconscious took in every word of Deitrich's chatter, who didn't seem to be able to stop talking. He had always thought Günter to be fairly lucrative when speaking, never seeming to run out of things to say, but compared to Deitrich, Günter seemed almost simplistic and downright silent in his words.

Günter and Deitrich seemed to get along marvelously well and by the time their tour of the manor house ended and they had been shown to their rooms, the two men had covered topics ranging from fine art to politics to the esoteric eating habits of Bear Bees and dragons.

The double doors closed behind them and blessed silence surrounded Gwendal for what felt like a lifetime of noise, which was what he considered Deitrich's chatter to be. It held no substance. They had arranged to stay for two weeks there and there was no need to rush, he told himself, when all he wanted to do was get it over and done with so he could get back to work on the things that needed to be done back at the castle.

"I don't think it will be that hard to find out where his politics lie," Günter commented as he looked out the window and to the back garden below them. "He doesn't seem inclined to solitude or quietness."

Günter was very much into his role as a serious scholar and the normally flippant attitude he adopted at the castle was nowhere to be seen. He knew the coldly determined look in those lavender eyes and knew that nothing would be getting in the way Günter's duty. He reflected more than once on the fact that Günter really did give his all and beyond a hundred percent when Yuuri asked him to.

"I didn't see anyone suspicious that we passed on the tour," Gwendal muttered as he set out changing into something for their dinner engagement in half an hour. "And Deitrich Hertzog doesn't seem the type to fund an insurrection. His lover, on the other hand, is another matter. Viktor has the sharp eyes of thieves, assassins, and spies. The kind that will secretly flit around in the shadows and gently push larger and more blunt forces to face off while they wait around in safety to see who the victor will be."

"I'm concerned about the son as well," Günter replied, letting the curtain of the window fall and waiting until Gwendal had finished pulling on his shirt before turning around. "He wouldn't look at either of us, which could be put down to shyness. However, I didn't feel very welcome when I was near him."

Wasn't that interesting, he thought. The son had never given him that impression. In fact, despite his pretty appearance, he faded away into the background as far as Gwendal was concerned. Someone that was not a mover or a shaker of any sort of political movement. In fact, he was even hard pressed to remember any distinguishing features.

"Change soon," he said instead and turned to give his companion some privacy. "Dinner will be served in a few minutes and it's best if we're not late."

Dinner seemed to last a lot longer than Gwendal expected it to, but for all that Deitrich was a congenial host, he didn't feel welcome. The atmosphere back at Blood Pledge Castle during such routine occasions had always felt comfortable despite the antics of his younger brothers and mother and Günter. They had always been lively and if he had to equate a color to them, they would be rich and full, like warm reds and browns. Here, it felt like cold blues and grays, welcoming somewhat but always keeping that faint hint of distance.

His observation skills did not fail him and he began to pick out very distinctive behaviors that characterized their hosts. Deitrich seemed absentminded and no matter what he did, his actions seemed directed by Viktor, who never left his side. He was always laughing and talking and the smile never seemed to leave his face. Given what he'd seen so far, Gwendal had little choice but to write him off as only someone who was interested in peace and the gentle, pretty things in life.

Viktor was another matter. He wielded the 'authority' of Deitrich, given that Deitrich always did as he suggested. He also doted almost incessantly on the lord and while he did not doubt the depth of the blonde man's affection, he also could tell that Viktor was the type of person that would do anything for a cause he believed was just. It wouldn't take much if Viktor believed in a resistance to get Deitrich to finance in it and believe in it too.

Julius said little and kept his eyes on his plate, proving that he seemed to be painfully shy and quiet, the type that preferred books to living company. He appeared fond of both his surrogate father and 'mother', but held a strange sense of detachment to them as well. As if he loved them, but didn't say what he really thought most of the time. The kind that would say he was fine to them even if he happened to have just coughed up blood less than two minutes before.

Knowing now what to look for, thanks to Günter's observations that afternoon, he did see the fact that Julius was not exactly fond of the silver haired man. His eyes rarely looked up, but he seemed faintly disapproving. Given that there was no such attitude directed at him, Gwendal could only assume that it was not the relationship they had lied that they'd had that caused such a thing. What it could be though, he had no idea.

So when Gwendal dropped onto his side of the only bed in their room, he had plenty to think about and kept him up later than he liked. Günter seemed lost in contemplation and had no wish to talk, so Gwendal didn't press him. After all, Günter was older than he was and more versed in court politics than the rather antisocial general was. Maybe he saw things that Gwendal didn't, but wasn't sure if they were anything enough to alarm the bigger Mazoku about.

Either way, he figured the next two weeks were going to be quite a test for his patience.