Have you any idea?
"Stay close to me," Conrad told him as he, Wolfram and his men stood outside a hovel. Yuri nodded, his hand on Morgif. He wanted to go in as much as Conrad did. Wolfram already had his sword out. There was something almost hungry seen in his green eyes. Many expressions had crossed Wolfram's face within Yuri's memory, but the look of hunger was not one that was suitable for him.
Wolfram looked at Conrad who gave him a nod. The blond kicked down the door and ran in. A maniacal laugh came the second he entered, causing worry to Conrad and Yuri. They rushed in to find Wolfram's sword pointing to the ground. The target croushing before him covered with filth. Conrad held Yuri back with his left arm. Yuri could not understand until Wolfram yelled bloody murder.
"You!" Wolfram yelled, "You coward!"
"Well," the target sneered, "took you long enough to find me again, Sannan?" Yuri heard that nickname only from Adelbert a few times before, but never with such insult.
"Are you honestly asking for an early death?" said Wolfram venomously, fire licking the tips of his fingers. Conrad nudged Yuri to get behind him. Yuri however had noticed how Conrad was shaking slightly – and not from the cold or anger. The man before them had nearly ten rape victims within the past month.
At first, Yuri thought Wolfram was thinking about Greta's safety but seeing now how Wolfram had his sword at death's grip and Conrad's bleeding arm it was worse – a lot worse. Not to mention all of the victims were young boys. If there was one thing Wolfram hated more than sexual hunters, its paedophiles.
The man who crouched cowardly before Wolfram gave the blond a smirk. "I told you..." he slurred, almost purring, "You would regret doing what you have done... particularly that half-breed you care..." those were the last words he spoke. Blood spattered all over Wolfram. The man still had a sneer on his dead face. The blond's fingers were coated with blood and burnt flesh.
"Wolfram...?" Conrad called
"Go home, Conrart Lawrence Weller!" he hissed. The statement surprised Yuri, he never heard Wolfram call Conrad by his full name. Conrad sighed. "Wolfram..."
"I said go home!" the blond commanded, his voice turning into a darker tone. "Report to Gwendal, leave some men here, I won't leave until this filth disposed and burned."
Conrad took a shaky breath and led the visibly shaken King out. "Come on, Yuri... we should not be here."
Things did not go to well with Gwendal.
"You could have taken him into custody," Gwendal was saying mildly – mildly enough at the level of anger he was currently at. Yuri was clearly not joking when he told Gwendal that his youngest brother's anger had been taken to a whole new level. He could almost see red in Wolfram's green eyes.
"And then what?" Wolfram reprimanded heatedly, "Torture him, give him prison time and set him free so he could go after young boys again?"
Gwendal clenched his hands together, his knuckles whitening. "You are missing the point-!" He stopped as he felt a killing intent rise from Wolfram's aura. At the corner of his eye, Gwendal could see that Yuri was trying his best not to be afraid. He could empathise with Yuri; Wolfram had been angry before but not like this – it was nearly as bad as the Soushu. The killing intent was so great, that Gwendal thought he could see flames forming around his youngest brother. Yuri almost thought he could see the gates of Hell opening.
"Gwendal Siegbert Von Voltaire," said Wolfram darkly, as if he was the Devil himself, "If I had kept him alive I would have done worse before killing him, a lot worse." Yuri almost thought he saw Gwendal shiver. "It is clear you are not in the state of mind of soldering at the moment," said Gwendal evenly, obviously doing his best not to show fear, "I am placing you under house arrest for a month, you will be stripped of your rank and placed in the dungeon." He paused for a moment noticing Wolfram's narrowed eyes, "You have anything to say?"
"Yeah," said Wolfram, his killing intent ebbing slightly, "Look after Connie while I'm down there."
Yuri looked on worriedly as the soldiers led Wolfram away, his hands bound behind him. The King wondered how he was going to tell Greta that she would not be seeing her Daddy Wolf for awhile. Gwendal groaned as he covered his face with his hands when the doors closed. "Go ahead and ask," he muttered.
"Is it really that bad of a crime?"
"Not a crime exactly," said Gwendal, "more like clearing his name for the offence against the code of Soldiers, even if he did it to protect."
"To protect?" Yuri asked, confused, "You've heard Conrad's and my accounts of what happened, what made you arrive to this conclusion?" The advisor looked his king pointedly. "I thought you didn't believe in killing. You know full well by now how some things are hushed up in politics."
"Yes," said Yuri carefully.
"If word got out, people might interpret that Wolfram's jealousy of you had gone to a whole other level." The advisor sighed then, "Not to mention the last time he called me by my full name, he nearly destroyed a room."
Destroyed a room?
Yuri was getting worried; there was something that was eating his fiancé. In all honesty, he had never seen Wolfram that angry before; and the way he addressed his brothers was even more disturbing. What could that man have done that made Wolfram so angry he would actually kill?
Not even Stoffel or Belal or Ranjeel had that capacity.
"Is he allowed visitors?" Yuri asked tentatively.
"He knows the rules," Gwendal said, "though I highly doubt he will do anything more."
Yuri then thought of something. "Gwendal, what did Wolfram mean when he asked you to look after Conrad?" Gwendal's fingers tightened around papers he had in his hands. "It's something you have to ask him for yourself."
It was evening.
Yuri stood just outside the door, a tray of food in his hands. These dusty underground dungeons beneath Covenant Castle were used centuries before to keep criminals until a particular dangerous one escaped and killed the Royal family – it was then the Prison tower was built. Now it was only used for loyal soldiers who broke the Code of Soldiering and must remain in these dark cells until their superiors agreed that their rank can be regained; if not, they will be sent to the Prison Tower, stripped of their rank and right, and forever shamed. Wolfram was no different even if his reason was a rare case.
The King knew it hurt Gwendal to punish his brothers in such a way, but they had to make sure that people or even soldiers later on would not get any dangerous ideas in their heads. The man Wolfram killed did hurt people. He was accounted for the rape of ten young boys. What was even sadder was that he was once a noble. Yuri could understand if it was out of fatherly instinct, but there was no need to kill. The only thing Yuri could do now was trust his men. The King however could not understand one thing: the killing intent rose from the blond only when the fugitive mentioned the word 'half-breed'. Was the criminal referring to Conrad?
He sighed and nodded to the jailer to let him in. In the dark only a single candle flickered. Yuri wondered if that was safe until he saw the iron cuffs surrounding Wolfram's wrists, connected by a long chain. Instead of his uniform, Wolfram was dressed in grey sack textured pyjamas that were reserved for prisoners.
"I brought you something," Yuri murmured. Green eyes looked up as Yuri entered and turned away when they saw who he was.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Wolfram just curled, refusing to face him. "What is there to talk about?"
Having enough, Yuri grabbed the blond's shoulders and forced Wolfram to face him.
"Honestly, Wolfram," Yuri demanded, "What's going on with you?" He was only met with burning green eyes. "Have you any idea?" Wolfram said softly, fire burning so fiercely within his green eyes they seemed almost red, "Have you any idea what it was like to watch someone precious to you get hurt?"
"How do you mean?" Yuri asked, though he had an idea Wolfram was referring to Conrad. Said man had nearly gotten killed twice. (A/N: Trust me, it's actually easier writing it down than actually experiencing it) Wolfram gently pushed Yuri's hands away as he calmed his breathing and snarled, "Because that man I killed today... had nearly raped Conrad."
The answer surprised Yuri so much, he let go of Wolfram. While it was true Conrad had no Maryoku that did not mean he was completely vulnerable – did it?
There was certainly more to this than what happened earlier. Something Gwendal wanted to tell him but was so pained by the memory, he left it to the one who knew what happened. "You don't have to..." Yuri began before he was cut off. "You will know sooner or later," Wolfram continued, hand over his eyes, "It was a long time ago, about four months after Dan Hiri died, during Mother's birthday party. She was rather reluctant about it. Conrad was not present when it started, Aniiue sent me to find him...
The blond prince grumbled slightly. It was bad enough that he was late for the banquet but why did he have to call him?
Just as he was about to knock he heard a voice yelp. The little boy peeped through the crack of the door to find someone pinning a struggling Conrart against the wall. "No! Please!" Conrart begged.
The older man slapped him in response. "Know your place worthless half-breed!" It seemed to have brought the desired result.
Conrart? Crying?
"If I'm a worthless half-breed what do you get from doing this?" Conrart yelled through his tears. This only earned him another slap in the face and was thrown against the bed. The offender then straddled the prince's waist and started unbuttoning his tunic. Conrart started to scream and was silenced by another slap. The only thing young Wolfram knew was that Conrart did not enjoy this... and neither did he!
"I-I threw my first fireball then... all I thought about was hurting that-that paedophile! Hurting him for..." Wolfram choked as tears start to leak out. "Damn it Yuri, Conrad was so scared!"
Yuri just nodded taking in all that had happened. After three years of being Maoh he had come to learn, even after the hard way, that Conrad was not perfect. Though the brothers' relationship improved while he ruled, there were still some things that were kept secret from him. Yuri knew it was none of his business, but here was Wolfram opening up a terrible ordeal to him. The King knew it was because the blond trusted him.
"You were just protecting your brother," Yuri soothed.
"Have you any idea what I see every time I look into the mirror?"
Yuri shook his head.
"I see a monster," he murmured. He covered his face then. "Shinou, Yuri!" Wolfram yelled, "I was a kid and I wanted to kill a man that night! I killed him only today for referring to Conrad." He looked up from his hands then and turned to his fiancé fiercely, "I would kill you as well if you did that!"
"Would you?"
"I don't care if Gwendal throws me in here again and again. No one touches my family like that and gets away with it. Do it to our daughter, you would wish you'd never met me." The warning was clear and dangerous, "Do you now see why I see a monster?"
"You are no monster," Yuri said firmly, putting an arm around the blond.
"Why do you say that after I threatened you?"
Black eyes softened. "Monsters are people can't love, who take advantage of others at their weakest. That monster took advantage of Conrad because it was still a short time after his father died. You never took advantage of Conrad, even at Luttenberg. You love your brothers and our daughter. You are no monster."
"What am I then?"
"A loving father and brother," Yuri told him, "and one of the bravest men I've met."
Tension broke loose. Wolfram threw himself against Yuri and cried into his shoulder, unable to speak anymore.
Conrad stood by the door and inhaled shakily. He tried to forget about that night. It had given him weeks' worth of nightmares. Though the man died in Wolfram's hands just today had chased after him for four months after Dan Hiri died, it made him feel guilty. The man was his to kill, not Wolfram's. It had taken many years for his precious people to convince him that it was not his fault.
He vaguely remembered how Gwendal had tried to restrain Wolfram while his brother's men took his would be rapist away. Gwendal stayed with him until Lady Celi came. The rapist voice still rang in his mind.
"He's mine, I've just proposed to him!" the rapist was yelling as Gwendal's men dragged him away. Gwendal had to restrain Wolfram from creating any more fireballs when he heard the commotion and Wolfram screaming "Don't touch my brother!" He had asked Anissina to bring Wolfram to his room and to make sure the blond stayed there, until he came. Conrart was paralysed on the bed. His shirt awry, his nose bleeding...
Conrart screamed and tried to push him away, but Gwendal kept a firm hold of him and murmured, "Connie, it's okay, it's just me..."
Hearing his voice, Conrart stopped struggling and looked at him with frightened brown eyes, "A-A-Aniiue?"
"I'm here, I'm here..." Gwendal soothed, "Are you hurt anywhere?" Conrart broke down crying, holding onto his brother. "Gwen," he sobbed, "I swear, I didn't consent!"
"I know, Connie," Gwendal soothed as gently wiped the blood away, "I know..."
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's coming..."
"Please don't be angry with Wolfram..." Conrart begged, "he saved me before..." he stopped and hid his eyes
"Yes?"
"Before that man could touch me..." the boy mumbled. Gwendal nodded. In all honesty there was nothing to be angry with Wolfram about, except leaving himself open to attack. It was only by luck that Wolfram had awakened his Fire affinity.
Gwendal did not leave him until their mother came in. "Mommy!" Conrart exclaimed as she walked through his bedroom doors.
"Oh baby," Lady Celi murmured, pulling him close.
"I didn't consent, Mommy..." he sobbed
"I know you didn't..." Lady Celi soothed, "You're safe now... You're safe now..."
"Mommy," he murmured, "Wolfram saved me... please don't be angry with him..."
Lady Celi nodded. She always knew, despite the fact that Wolfram said he hated Conrart, somewhere deep down inside her youngest son's angry and selfish exterior there was someone who loved. She did not know how close to the truth she was until years later.
To know Wolfram willing to protect him...
"Yoo hoo, Earth to Conrad?" a voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Conrad blinked and refocused finding himself in the dungeon and looking at a solid wall. He looked for the source of voice and found his godson looking worriedly at him.
"You all right? It's not like you to space out you know," Yuri stated.
"I'm fine," said Conrad, "Can I be of assistance, Heika?"
"Conrad," said Yuri, slightly exasperated, "We've had this discussion for three years it's-"
"-Yuri," Conrad finished. He smiled then, "This never gets old does it?"
Yuri refused to buy it. "Don't pull that on me," the King ordered, "I've known you long enough to know when you're faking it." He jerked his head towards the cell. "He's waiting for you by the way, I'm going to see Greta."
"Hai," said Conrad calmly. Yuri left him alone then. He quietly pushed the cell door opened and looked inside. Wolfram was sitting on the bed, the tray of food Yuri brought lay untouched. The firelight from the torches illuminated the tears that poured down his cheeks though his eyes were already red. Conrad remembered that Yuri had a wet shoulder when he left.
Pushing down a sigh, Conrad walked over and knelt before the blond, his tanned hand hesitantly reaching to caress the blond's cheek and wipe away the tear. Green eyes looked up to him then. "Conrart?"
Conrad stood and pulled Wolfram into a hug, surprising the blond slightly. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"Thank you," was all Conrad murmured, "Thank you so much." It was enough to tell Wolfram what was in his heart. The blond just sighed and returned the hug. "Don't mention it."