I love this show! I seriously need to rewatch it though. I've almost forgotten all of the minor characters' names!! _ Anyways, enjoy the second chapter.

Chapter 2

After lying low for a while after his embarrassment involving Yuuri's wardrobe, curse the thing, Wolfram put the plan of the second day of investigating into action. Putting his true spying capabilities to the test, Wolfram employed a technique he had done since day one of their engagement – follow Yuuri whenever he went.

Usually when he was keeping an eye on him, Wolfram was always in his presence, the ever vigilant fiancé and constant reminder to Yuuri of his vow never to be taken back. That was no doubt somewhat of a hindrance to Yuuri's philanthropy, though Wolfram would still catch his fiancé every now and again, giving a thoughtless consolation to some poor soul or some careless contact.

Now in order to see Yuuri's true feelings, Wolfram concealed himself, using all his military training. Behind corners, tapestries, walls, he used anything at his disposal to follow Yuuri without his knowledge.

Currently the group was setting out on a trip to the village. Dorcas had gathered the horses together in the courtyard, already saddled and ready to go. Wolfram had already taken his horse out prior and was waiting with it outside of the gate, out of view.

Yuuri came down the front steps, holding Greta's hand, with Conrad and Günter in his wake. He pet Ao, speaking softly to him, and then hoisted Greta up onto the saddle. With a swing of his leg, he mounted behind her. He then glanced around, seeing Günter and Conrad straddling their rides as well. He squinted, looking around, as if something was missing.

"Huh? Where's Wolfram? Isn't he coming with us?"

Wolfram felt a flutter of happiness in his heart that Yuuri actually noticed his absence.

Dorcas cleared his throat and declared, "Sir Bielefeld's horse was not in the stable. Perhaps he's gone out as well."

"But where would he be going?" Yuuri wondered. Shrugging his shoulders, he offered to Greta, "We'll just have to get him something nice on the way back, won't we?" She nodded in agreement and the group set forth to the village.

Once they were barely in sight, Wolfram started after them, off the beaten path. As he followed their trek through the village, into shops, to people's houses, Wolfram soon discovered that spying was a tiresome task. It required so much more effort then just walking alongside him. Wolfram had to figure out where Yuuri was going, to seek out hiding places, to make sure he was concealed, to find the best places to spy from to be able to hear and see without being seen himself. More than once, he tripped over himself and misheard their next stop and ended up backtracking for several hours before he found Yuuri again.

Finally they started heading back and Yuuri asked to make one last stop before the castle. He turned his horse aside towards the temple.

Why would he be going there of all places now? Could it be one of the temple priestesses he was secretly seeing?

Wolfram reined his horse in and nearly galloped after them. He made it to the temple before they did, as they were taking a more leisurely pace. Wolfram snuck in without anyone seeing, at least he hoped not. Who knew how great Ulrike's powers were. He hid himself and watched as Yuuri entered. The wimp greeted the girls with a regal wave and then asked the guards if Ulrike was busy.

"You always choose the wrong time to come, Shibuya." The Great Sage muttered leaving the shadows of the archways, head shaking in disapproval. "Ulrike is deep in mediation."

"Oh, Murata, how's it going? Are you well?"

The Great Sage sighed. "These girls have got me working hard here." He started massaging a sore shoulder for emphasis. Then he beckoned Yuuri to come closer and whispered, "Though it's worth it to be surrounded by all these sexy guards and priestesses, right?"

"Murata!" Yuuri groaned, a blush tingeing his cheeks a little.

Murata just grinned and said, "If you came to encourage Ulrike, you'll have to do it another time. For now I'll pass on your message, all right? I'm sure you also have many things to be doing."

Yuuri stiffened and chuckled to himself, while Günter nodded in complete agreement. "Yeah, please do, Murata. Nice seeing you. Bye!"

"Later, Shibuya." The Great Sage waved them off.

Following him from the castle to town to the temple, Wolfram was exhausted by the time they passed through the gates of Blood Pledge Castle again. All that effort and he had found nothing. Other than a reaction to that Sage's lecherous comment, Yuuri had just made his rounds as usual and any unfaithfulness – saying hello to the swooning village girls, commenting on how nice they looked - was of the common kind.

As they reentered the castle, Yuuri wandered around and seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid Günter and the word 'study.' It was during this meandering time that Wolfram was sure he almost was spotted. He had seen Yuuri take a left down the hall and was creeping up to take the corner himself before he lost sight of him, when Yuuri started heading back the way he came.

In a panic, Wolfram hid behind the only thing available: a pedestal atop of which a blue vase filled with yellow flowers sat. He held his breath and hoped his shoes weren't sticking out in plain obviousness.

Yuuri paused in the hall for what seemed like an eternity, scratching his head. "I'm sure I saw someone." Then with a shrug, he continued on his way.

Wolfram let out an explosive breath once his footsteps had disappeared. "That was too close." He emerged from behind the pedestal only to run right into Gwendal.

His older brother's glowered down at him, his stern expression never changing. "What are you doing?"

"I was… looking for a cat. Excuse me, Older Brother." Wolfram answered quickly before heading down the hall in the opposite direction to recover his stealth.

"A cat?" He heard Gwendal muse behind him and saw his brother peered behind both pedestals before he turned a corner.

After searching high and low, Wolfram finally found Yuuri in the library. Obviously he had been caught for he was reading history to Greta. Captive by Günter who was standing nearby, gathering more books in his arms for His Majesty to study in further depth. Conrad was also in the room, for a reason Wolfram did not know, other than the fact they had all spent the entire day together.

Since chairs, tables, and shelves did not make for good hiding places, Wolfram had to use his knowledge of the castle's interior and climbed up into the rafters overhead. Quite a ways down, but it was a perfect place to observe and listen.

As he secured his position, wrapping his legs around a rafter, Wolfram's ears pricked, having overheard his name mentioned. Were they talking about him? He leaned in closer to find out.

Having finished another chapter, Yuuri paused his reading of The Life Cycle of the Rare Bear Bee. Greta, seated on his lap, turned to Conrad. Her expression was one of worry. "I haven't seen him all day. Is he all right?"

Yuuri glanced up at the ceiling in thought and Wolfram hunkered down lower, praying he couldn't be seen. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him either. I was sure he'd join us going to town with his 'keeping an eye' on me and all. But he went off somewhere else. He's been acting a little strange lately. I hope he's not getting sick."

Conrad smiled softly and said most reassuringly, "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably busy with some important matters. Once he returns, I'm sure he'll be glad to know you were worried about him."

Wolfram harrumphed as quiet as possible and crossed his arms. He hated to admit it, but Conrad was right. He was happy they were thinking about him.

Now armed with an excuse to take a break from his 'studies,' Yuuri started talking with the others about their day in the village. Although Wolfram had seen the majority of it, their words filled in many details.

After saying how delicious this week's Maou bread had been, Greta mentioned the 'pretty thing' they saw. "She was so gorgeous, wasn't she, Yuuri?" She asked, eyes sparkling with love. "Just like a real princess."

"Yes, she really was!" Yuuri agreed heartily. "If I could, I would have married her in a heartbeat." Father and daughter giggled together, touching foreheads.

"WHAT?!" Wolfram screamed, voice echoing like a ghostly roar in the rafters. In his anger, he forgot where he was and reached for his sword. He gasped as he lost his grip and began to fall. The wind rushed about him as he shut his eyes, but then he stopped as he was yanked back up and to the side.

While those looked around in wonder at the voice, Wolfram was surprised to see Yozak in front of him, running his fingers through his orange hair and whistling softly to himself.

"Yozak, what are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the very same thing, Your Excellency." He winked.

"I wasn't doing anything in particular. I was just studying the structural integrity and design of the castle. That's all. It's frequently overlooked but quite remarkable for having been built four thousand years ago." Wolfram muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That it is, Your Excellency. But even for the sake of ancient arts, it was a bit reckless of you. We can't have anything bad happening to the Maou's fiancé, now can we?" He smiled and Wolfram realized this man had truly perfected secrecy in spying. He had no idea Yozak was anywhere remotely near him. He must have been doing it for years. Since he usually was nowhere to be seen, maybe Yozak had been watching over Yuuri all this time and had seen him up to no good. Or possibly, he was just stalking Yuuri as a rival.

Wolfram extended his drawn sword and asked, "What are you doing up here, Yozak?"

Hands raised in defense, Yozak tried to pacify the angered prince. "Now, now, I was only watching over His Majesty to protect him from any dangers under orders. I have no intention of taking your precious fiancé from you."

Wolfram sheathed his sword, satisfied that his point had been made. "Good. You'd better not even think about it or I'd make you regret it.' He said haughtily.

"I understand." Yozak rose and started walking across the beam with ease. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. "A word of advice for the next time you spy on His Majesty: you might want to consider a change of clothes. That blue is quite noticeable against these old grey walls." Without a second's hesitation, Yozak jumped down, landing in the hall outside the library, and strolled away.

Wolfram was stunned for a moment at how clearly he had been seen through. Then he scrambled after the half -Mazoku. "Wait a minute! I never said I was spying on Yuuri. Get back here!"

Meanwhile, the library doors opened as Yuuri and Greta peeked out. "Wolfram?"

~*~

Wolfram finally caught up to Yozak, who pretended to be clueless as to why he was now being tailed. Spotting some guards heading their way, he quickly pulled his brother's friend into the closest room for some privacy. Holding the doors shut behind them, Wolfram regarded the man before him. "Give me a word of advice then on how you got so good at spying? What's your secret?"

Yozak rubbed his chin. "There is no secret, Your Excellency. Just a matter of blending in, I guess." He grinned broadly and added in a falsetto tone, "Plus it always helps to have a disguise handy as a distraction. Men are putty in your hands when they see a lovely, sexy woman, so one can walk about freely without worrying."

Wolfram gave him an incredulous look, feeling sick at the memory of this buff veteran in drag. "Surely you're not referring to yourself as that sexy woman."

Yozak coughed and continued. "It's not something to look down on. Not just anyone can pull it off. Although you have the face to do it beautifully, it's all about the attitude, one's mindset. Consider that beauty pageant your mother held. You or His Majesty could have easily won if you had just played the part."

Wolfram stamped his foot. "This isn't about some stupid beauty pageant!"

"Yes, yes. I understand."

Yozak did make a good point, however. Women really did hold a power over men. Even Yuuri seemed attracted to them, considering his constant flirting. Also considering the matter of that mysterious girl Greta and Yuuri referred to... How dare they betray him for another!

Then an idea hit him. Maybe he had to 'play the part' like Yozak said. Yuuri had mentioned things were different on earth as regards to engagement. Maybe Yuuri didn't feel inclined to show affection because the circumstances weren't right. Maybe if he…

No! Wolfram shook the thought from his mind, cringing internally, while Yozak asked if he was all right. Wolfram would never degrade himself to dress like a woman. His frilly pink nightgown was bad enough. He only wore it because his mother insisted he looked good enough to eat in it. He had listened, thinking Yuuri might like it. It didn't seem to go over too well, considering Yuuri had started throwing a fit, and frankly he didn't care for it either – other than the fact it was very comfortable.

But maybe it was just because it wasn't the right choice of dress. His mother was constantly wearing tight revealing outfits and she certainly had a large pick of the men. Maybe the matter of Yuuri's lack of affection was because he was too much of a wimp to admit his real feelings or what he really wanted. And if it was something that Yuuri wished for, as his fiancé, Wolfram had no choice but to do it.

He faced Yozak and fought down his pride. The words were so hard for him to say. "Could you show me how?"

Yozak seemed taken aback but quickly recovered. "All right," he said with all seriousness, seeming to understand the young prince's plight. With a finger, he beckoned over his shoulder. "Follow me. I think I have just the thing."