AXIOMATIC Chapter Four part A – Scene Number Thirty Three (one) A Sequel of Heels Over Head A ConYuu Fan-fiction

By: Ami

Beta-reader: Sherlockian Slytherin a.k.a Proud Snapist

Alternate Universe, spoilers, maybe

Specially dedicated to: Prosopopeia, thanks for your patience, understanding and support. No worries, there's no way I'll leave your dedication fic unfinished. Anyway you can always send me more 'inspirations' when you think I'm getting short on ideas. My Ruru-plushie and I can handle any(x-rated)thing! –wink-wink-

For pheecat, that was the longest and most flattering review I've ever received as an author! I haven't even decided on the title, but I think you deserve the last part of this ConYuu trilogy!

Special Note: Guess what? My talented beta has drawn Juliet-Yuuri for all of us! Yay! You can find the picture at: www (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) view (slash) 41554022. Don't forget to leave a comment if you agree with me that she should draw Romeo-Conrad too for us!

Also, some changes have been done on Ax's previous chapters, and we encourage you to turn back and take a look at the edited chapters for more explanations (especially chapter one).

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

Blood Pledge Castle, roughly fourteen years ago…

If there was a 'Most Politically-Unaffected Community' Award to be given to any one particular group, the Maid-Quarters Association would have won it hands down. While the world around them shook, crumbled and cracked apart, their daily routine remained constant like the blueness of the sky and the darkness of the night. It fascinated outsiders around them when they saw how the maids never complained about their 'boring' lifestyle, which they had been carrying out for years.

Several wise people who had made it close enough to their society, though, would have known better than to assume that a maid's life was boring and constant. For the love of Shin Maou, they corresponded with the royal family, every single day! They served breakfast and 'inevitably' heard what the Maou and her family were discussing about. They stood in front of the Maou's door with a tray of afternoon tea in their hands and came to know more than they should about her colorful love life. It was at night after they were back at their quarters when every tiny little bit of information they had accumulated in the whole day was shared. Every so often, they talked about how Gwendal rejected every single marriage opportunity his mother had 'unnecessarily' made for him. Once in a while, they would discuss about how Gunter kept his hair so smooth and shiny; or they would sigh together when they talked about Wolfram's day-to-day worsened personality and there were also times when the information they got was more significant than the common tittle-tattle. However, it didn't matter for them what kind of information it was, since what they valued the most was the joy, laughter and bliss it brought among them, tightening their bonds and feeding their muses.

The maids were astute enough to enforce a policy to keep their mouths shut to any outsiders, thus intriguing and tempting people even more to extract valuable information from them, which was easier said than done. The maids rarely gathered and talked together outside of their quarters, which unofficially prohibited anyone with shady intentions from entering. Anissina had even invented a legendary felon-detector alarm in their gathering room, which the genius scientist had proudly stated, would send those leeches straight to the nearest puddle of water to refresh their evil minds.

That day however, seemed to have been destined as one of those rare days when the gossip became too hot for the wielder to hold alone until the evening. So early that morning, they decided to hold an emergency meeting specially for discussing that one particular juicy rumor.

At first, the maids were all excited to know what kind of shocking news that their 'informant' had prepared to make their day. After all, it had been more than ten years since they had that emergency meeting over the sudden appearance of an obsessed cross-dresser claiming to be Gwendal's true mother; a rumor that had taken precedent over their maid duties. Unfortunately, the glee in their faces was quickly replaced with pouts and looks of disappointment the moment the meeting started.

"I'm telling you, something is fishy here!" The spokesperson, an especially vigorous maid told her friends, who were all looking up at her with narrowed, distrustful eyes, "Ever since he came back, he has been locking himself up inside his office for hours! There has to be something wrong! He must have gotten himself a secret lover during the getaway and is hiding him/her inside his office!"

"Ano… senpai…" A young and small maid raised her hand shyly, "As much as I know, he has never sneaked any food inside his office. Can a person survive without food and drink?"

"And without showers at that?" came a disgusted remark from a girl who couldn't imagine starting her day without her apple-scented soap.

"Also, why should he bother to hide him/her? He can always ask for approval, propose to him/her and have a legal relationship. Her Majesty isn't very strict on this subject (in fact, she wants all her children to get married as soon as possible, with whoever they want…)" Another skeptical maid added with a snort.

"Okay, perhaps that 'hiding a secret lover in his office room' part was a little bit far-fetched, but the presence of a secret lover itself can't be flawed!" The energetic maid retorted at her friends' cynical responses, "Sir Conrad has changed a LOT! Can't you see how he smiles more often now? And how he responds to our greetings with words instead of the usual stiff nod? When a man suddenly becomes generally happier with his life, there can't be any other reasons! He's in LOVE!"

When her audience suddenly fell silent and looked at her tensely, she thought that she had finally enlightened those lost souls. At least until she realized that they had been staring at something behind her instead.

"Sir Yozak!"

"All right, beautiful ladies, I don't mean to interrupt your… lively conversation…" Yozak coughed, folded his arms and glanced at her pointedly, "But Her Majesty Maou seems to be up, shining and starving already. She wonders if an omelet with extra cheese would be amenable for this scenic morning…"

"Yes, Sir! We'll prepare it right away!" All the maids immediately stood up and scattered around to prepare the very early breakfast.

XXX

Yozak came out of the room and strolled down the corridor with a wide smirk on his face. Of course, he hadn't just shown up in the kitchen to remind the maids about Cheri's breakfast, seeing that it was only five in the morning (and it really had nothing to do with the fact that the maid's felon-detector having slapped him in to next week a few days before, and thus effectively showing him how to get past the system), it was just that his ears tended to perk up at the mention of his commander's name.

Conrad was a fairly peaceful and quiet person, but rumors and gossip about him were always interesting enough to lift his spirits exponentially. So far, the best one was the rumor about Conrad's suicide note, which had been found on the man's table in his room during one of the half-mazoku's annual inspection trips to the town. The whole castle had literally shaken at the discovery. Many had cried, some had fainted, while the others had lamented in their own ways. Man, the priceless expressions of the mourners had kept Yozak's smile extra-sparkly for two weeks straight when Conrad came back a week later and amusedly told them that he had never written such a note! But of course he had had nothing to do with the 'mysterious' appearance, and later, disappearance of the note. Really.

Well, all pranks aside, this time's joke really had nothing to do with his inner or outer prankster. Seriously, if he were going to make up a rumor about the infamously frigid man, he would have come up with something more believable. He meant… come ON! A secret lover? Hiding in his office? CONRAD? Pfff… amateurs…

"…Good morning, Yozak."

The redhead abruptly paused his joyful early morning musing and looked up to find the object of his amusement standing only several feet in front of him, with the face of someone who had spent most of his night working instead of sleeping comfortably under warm cozy blankets. Conrad was frowning at him with his usual 'I-don't-even-want-to-know-what-you're-thinking-about-but-whatever-it-is-please-DON'T' look.

"Yo! Good morning, Commander! Working already?" He casually meandered closer to the other man who looked like he was thinking up an excuse to escape the 'friendly' advance.

"…I just need to check on the weapons stock report you delivered to me last night." The brunet sighed as he pushed the door open and glanced back at his widely grinning subordinate, "You look quite unoccupied at this moment. I thought I asked you to tutor Wolfram when you had the time?"

Yozak shrugged. While most people learned from their mistakes, he was the type who liked to learn from other people's mistakes. It saved him a great amount of time and energy. Wolfram was a brilliant student, but not necessarily a pleasant one to teach, so he had heard many times from many exhausted teachers.

"Maa… that lad is quite skilled already. He has probably learned more than enough from the others."

Conrad sighed again and seemed to be wondering why he did it a lot whenever he was talking to this particular person, "Then please inform the maids that I won't be coming for breakfast. And I don't want it delivered to my office either."

"Okay." The redhead quickly replied before Conrad changed his mind and asked him to teach Wolfram again instead. The brunet gave him a nod of approval before stepping inside his office. Out of curiosity, Yozak took a brief scan of the room and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Unmistakably aware of the scrutiny, Conrad slammed the door shut loudly behind him.

Yozak rubbed his sore nose with an exaggerated, loud pained groan, only to make sure that Conrad heard every pitch of it. Once he turned his back, his smirk grew anew.

"So suspicious…"

XXX

Later that night, Yozak was back in front of Conrad's office, armed and prepared like the competent undercover agent he was. After having a friendly midnight conversation with the guards, who unsuspectingly opened the door for him when he told them that Conrad had asked him to get an important document inside, he casually entered the room, flicked the lights on and surveyed his surroundings. The office still looked as plain and boring as he remembered.

"Well, whether the secret lover is here or not…" He slid a hand inside his pocket and produced Anissina's handmade microscopic recording machine, which had been bestowed to him for his field work (and collecting 'momentous' information, Anissina had added with a smirk) only a few weeks before.

"We'll see… no, hear."

Wishing the little device the best of luck for its first mission, he looked around for the most suitable place to install the gadget. His eyes immediately fell on the desk, which he brilliantly realized, would be the 'noisiest' possible place in case the secret lover really existed. The redhead snickered at the censored mental image as he giddily approached the innocent-looking desk and installed the recorder on its underside, standing up and dusted his hands off with a satisfied smirk.

"All right, now it's time to…"

For a moment, Yozak wondered what the thing that had just caught his eyes was, since it had just seemed like a flash of yellow. He turned his eyes back to the desk and scanned it again for the distracting-colored thing. Yozak felt his jaw drop in incredulity as he spotted the yellow rubber ducky. It was a goddamn yellow rubber ducky!

"Don't tell me that THIS was what he was trying to hide from me at the bath before…" He snickered softly as he reached out a hand to grab the duck, which looked back at him innocently. The toy looked old, but still very well cared for. He couldn't find any speck of dust on its smooth plastic surface.

Of course it was clean. He must take it with him to the bath everyday, Yozak giggled like a love-struck schoolgirl at the mental image. Aww, dear strict commander, never knew you had this side in you!

The redhead continued to squeeze, brush and cuddle the lovable toy until he got kind of bored of imagining Conrad doing the same thing and quickly reverted to his usual manly-self. He placed the duck back at its previous position on his commander's desk and sighed again at the lovely image it brought among the scattered official documents, pens and inkbottles.

Just when he started to understand why the toy was so important to Conrad, he suddenly heard familiar footsteps from outside. Mostly out of a spy's reflexes, he switched off the light and rushed to hide. A moment later, the owner of the footsteps entered the room and calmly flicked the light back on.

Yozak calmly crouched in the darkness, wondering if the man knew about his presence. Despite being a half-mazoku without any magical abilities, Conrad's war-sharpened senses had proved more useful than common magical ability in the battlefield. Yozak also had to admit that it had saved his ass in numerous occasions, but it was also the very same ability that had deprived him of his 'Pranking-Dear-Commander' entertainment. Ah, deep thoughts about the predicaments of life sure felt worse than they should when one was sitting on the cold tile under one's superior's desk.

The footsteps stopped in front of the desk. Yozak nervously sat still, expecting one sword or two through vital bits of his anatomy, or at least the desk if Conrad really did like the special unagi bento he had bought at the new famous restaurant in town a few days before.

One brief moment later, Yozak was kind of surprised to hear Conrad walk away, with his body still in one piece, as was the desk, and he hadn't even been admonished about his sense of morality yet. Conrad must really like the bento. After all, he had queued for one hour for that last box!

He listened carefully as Conrad walked back towards the door and twisted the knob. He vaguely noticed that the light was still on, but couldn't really figure out why until the scolding he had been expecting finally disembarked.

"Stop telling nonsense to my guards. If you want to get inside, just tell them so."

Yozak shivered at the deep and firm tone, starting to wonder if the rubber duck had just been a part of his imagination. This Conrad certainly didn't sound like he needed the company of a rubber toy in his bathtub everyday.

"Don't cause a mess, and turn off the light when you're done." The brunet ended with a huff. At this point, Yozak just realized that Conrad sounded wearier than usual, and the noise of his footsteps clearly indicated that he was in his working boots, which could have easily made it in to Shin Makoku's National Museum with all the experience it had gained during the past thirty or so years.

With Conrad's fatigued face and slumped figure in his head, Yozak couldn't help nodding his compliance despite its pointlessness, and stayed perfectly still until his commander exited the room and had shut the door.

Not wasting another minute in his uncomfortable position, Yozak crouched out of his hideout and took some time to signal his blood to start circulating again. It actually didn't work until he snarled at it and at himself to stop thinking about what might have happened to exhaust his dear commander so. That man was always like that, keeping problems to himself. Well, he did share sometimes, only when he needed Yozak's expert advice regarding the situation, which was usually not that complicated (Yozak's intelligence was insulted). But when the problem was actually the kind that was big enough to make common souls crave to want to break down and cry in their closest ones' shoulders, Conrad preferred solitude. It was mostly why Yozak often felt the need to 'research' more of his introvert commander's private life. And don't frown upon the seemingly illegal methods; installing a recorder and other similarly extreme measures were about the only ways to help that lost soul!

And even if he couldn't do anything to help, it was the thought that counted, after all.

Giving one last glance at the still-messy-looking desk, Yozak briefly noticed that the rubber duck had disappeared. Well, he guessed it was time to find out some information about Conrad's activities for the day. Maybe after that, he'd start to understand why his dear commander needed a toy duck's company in his bed that night.

He sighed softly as he crouched under the desk again and reached for the unused recorder.

"Can't you see how he smiles more often now? And how he responds to our greetings with words instead of the usual stiff nod? When a man suddenly becomes generally happier with his life, there can't be any other reasons!"

"He's in LOVE!"

Yozak's hand paused midway and froze for a moment before retreating completely.

Just in case, he reasoned to himself as he stood up, casually made his way to the door and exited without turning off the lights.

XXX

Present time, Blood Pledge Castle…

If confronted, Conrad didn't think that he would have been able to state it outright that Yozak was his best friend, or at least, his favorite subordinate. To tell the truth, the word 'friendship' was quite vague in his point of view. He had never really had any friends before. Usually when he gained one, that one would betray him, forget him or die in the battlefield, leaving him, once more, alone.

Yozak was so far one of the few who actually hadn't fallen in to one of the three categories, and was currently the only one whom he still sometimes spent his free time with. The man was generally a nice person. He was fun, friendly, tough, adventurous, and never said no to alcohol. Even when he had been a kid, he had always admired the redhead's nonchalant personality. Yozak always spoke his mind and was never worried about what people thought about him. Yozak never hesitated to confront risks and just went on without mulling over consequences. Yozak hardly knew the true meaning of 'courtesy' and 'good manners' but still managed to have so many friends. When Yozak knew what he wanted, and found one way to gain it, he would just go and gain it. It was how Yozak always came to get the things he wanted, and Conrad didn't.

Even when knowing the fact better than anyone, Conrad didn't do anything to change, or rather, he couldn't. A one-hundred-or-so year old wasn't exactly the tender age to attempt a change in personality, after all. The traits had become an inseparable part that determined his identity. Furthermore, how would people look at him if he woke up one morning and decided to dye his hair red and impersonate Yozak? Conrad shivered at the thought and quickly made his mind up that he was fine being his normal, even boring-self.

Although sometimes he envied the redhead and felt irritated with his offhandedness, Conrad also knew that nobody could read his mind better than Yozak. The man seemed to always know which button to push to get the reaction he wanted, yet he had never used the excess-information to stab Conrad in the back. Instead, Conrad always felt that the man was protective and actually very careful about his feelings.

It was Yozak who had showed up in his room with the most ridiculous frilly and translucent red night-gown when he had been suffering from insomnia after making his first killing in the battlefield, making him laugh until he had become too tired even to feel depressed (Conrad was horrified when he realized that the 'newly-wedded bride's bed-of-roses pose' might have been the only lesson Wolfram had picked up from Yozak's private class). It was Yozak who had 'accidentally' used the announcement loudspeaker in the meeting hall for the 'Thirty Minutes with Yozak and His very very very Dirty Jokes' radio show when the officials had especially gathered to scrutinize his every flaw during the recent battle. It was also Yozak who remembered the day of Julia's death, and purposely appeared in front of his door in the middle of his reminiscing with a bottle of nice booze and a promise of temporary memory loss until the day completely passed.

Now when Conrad thought about it, perhaps Yozak was indeed both his best friend and favorite subordinate, despite all the troubles the redhead caused to people within a hundred-meter-radius in general. When Conrad thought about it, Yozak was indeed one of the few people he could trust with his life, despite the man's infinite stubbornness and bad fashion taste. And when Conrad thought really hard about it, and looked down at his clenched fist, and looked up to his proclaimed 'best friend' and 'favorite subordinate'—who was still smirking at him despite his swollen cheek—nausea hit him immediately.

What have I done?

"Hit a sore spot, didn't I? You must have not gotten laid for more than a little while."

Conrad was immediately snapped out of his rather long daydream and looked up to see Yozak bring a hand up to his own sore spot and cringe, "That really hurt. I always knew you were wild under that gentle mask, dear Commander."

When usually his words (or rather, tone) would instantly bring flares to the brunet's normally calm brown eyes, all Conrad did was freeze at his place, still looking down at his now unclenched hand with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Perhaps I picked the wrong words before, so let me rephrase," Yozak's voice sounded a bit odd with his unbalanced cheeks, but what surprised Conrad the most was the fact that the redhead hadn't punched back yet.

"That boy likes you. That's why he went as far as begging Lady Anissina to 'make' you take the role. I'm sure that you have realized that too. But you're just too afraid to confirm it and start thinking on how to work the relationship out for both of you."

Regaining one small part of his shattered composure, Conrad quickly took one short breath and undid some of his top buttons. It always worked to calm his nerves whenever officials started condemning him for the half of his blood.

"All the things you've said are merely assumptions. He's probably just doing this because he feels more comfortable with me…"

"…Than doing those romantic scenes with his fiancé, and the rest of the top-fifty best-looking people in this castle?" Yozak smirked triumphantly as Conrad glared at him like he wanted to deliver another punch to his unscratched cheek. Ever since Yuuri came in to their lives, it was easier and easier for him to get in to the brunet's infamously durable nerves. One negative comment about their current Maou, and BOOM, there he blew. Actually Yozak disliked this particular method the most since most of the damage would eventually land on him, but Conrad tended to be more honest when he was not in control of his anger.

"You know, I was actually supposed to not tell you about our king's feelings and Lady Anissina's plan." He continued, purposely avoiding Conrad's eyes and stared at the slightly blurred sight of the garden, "But I still braved those threats (and you KNOW what threats she delivers) and told you. Aren't you curious as to why? Save for my compassionate nature, of course."

Conrad had stopped glaring at some point, and went back to frowning at his new boots. Or the floor, which looked like it hadn't been vacuumed for one week. Or the line of big red ants that was crawling near his feet.

"I pity you, Commander, for being the only one who won't to admit to your real feelings, while others have seen and acknowledged it."

The red ants, the dusty floor and the boots were immediately thrown out of Conrad's mind like a dump of garbage. Yozak had to suppress his wide grin at the priceless expression on his beloved commander for two reasons: 1) The not-so-amusing overall situation and 2) His swollen and hurt-to-move cheek.

"What---"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Your mother has known, your older brother has sensed it at least a bit, your little brother definitely knows, and Lady Anissina knew when her machine's algorithm returned a TRUE value." Although he couldn't openly express his amusement, Yozak was happy enough with leaning on the wall while watching so many colors appearing and fading on the brunet's dazed face. "Anyway, if it's any encouragement, Sir Gunter probably hasn't sensed anything at all (or he's also in denial for having his beloved ex-student as his rival in love). Cute, isn't he?"

Conrad took one deep breath and decided that since his legs didn't feel reliable enough at the moment, he'd rely on the nearby concrete for support. During the brief moment of silence, Yozak continued to watch the rare scene of his strict commander fidgeting and prepared himself in case the brunet's mental emergency alarm suggested bolting. Not that he would blame Conrad for that. After all, it was one of the most common reactions to run away when facing a situation we couldn't logically cope with. Not the manliest common sense ever created, but a very safe one indeed.

"…How long… has it been?" Conrad's voice sounded unusually feeble, and his miserable brown eyes almost made Yozak want to pat his head.

"Sometime before today, I'd say."

The offhand answer seemed to have reawakened the stubborn Strict Commander persona inside of him, "I mean, how long have you been having these misleading assumptions about my affection for Yuuri?"

Yozak groaned in frustration, "Goddamn it, Weller! Just admit it! Does it hurt to say that you love someone? Is it so shameful to you?"

Yes, when the 'someone' is my little brother's fiancé, Conrad was about to retort, but he managed to hold the words back just in time.

"I'm not sure what to say about this. All of you just go assuming… things." Conrad seemed glad that he had regained control over the situation and prepared to excuse himself from the uncomfortable circumstance, "As for me, I don't really regard this situation as a big problem. But if it makes Yuuri-Heika uncomfortable, you should…"

On the battlefield, Conrad's sharp senses were like blessings from above to all the soldiers in his army. Sometimes Yozak would sit and stare with unabashed admiration at the brunet, who seemed to always correctly predict the movements of his enemies, whether the enemy be individual soldiers or whole armies. Hell, Conrad could even take several soldiers down with one swing of the sword with blood-chilling strength and accuracy. Conrad was not a full-blood mazoku and he lacked magical power, yet he still made it to the top of the military-forces without relying on his mother's name, all thanks to those incredible senses.

Knowing and having witnessed all of those things with his very eyes, Yozak had known that his blow was going to be dodged as beautifully as Conrad's dodges always were. He was satisfied enough to feel the rim of his knuckles brush lightly against the other man's jaw, before his sight went black as the familiar punch landed on his unscratched cheek. Luckily for Yozak, Conrad seemed to have all his A-class punches reserved for his beloved king's affairs only, but it still hurt all the same.

Yozak stumbled backward with a choked gasp, but quickly regained his balance and glanced back at the brunet with a smirk.

Conrad looked down, brought one hand up to his scratched jaw and drew some blood.

"Gotcha?" Yozak leered. A breathless one; but it still was a leer nonetheless, "Lucky me. You should have been able to dodge that one easily. I'm an injured man, after all."

Conrad knew all too well that he shouldn't be showing his weaknesses in front of an 'opponent', but his eyes just found their way to his new boots, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid for behaving like a girl during her first experience with high-heels. Yozak didn't miss this brief opportunity and smirked even wider despite the trickle of blood that started to seep through the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, I see," He spit some of the blood out, "Your boots are new. WOW. Should I congratulate you for getting rid of the old, I mean, ancient ones?"

"We've wasted enough time." Conrad remarked darkly, "Let's get over this pointless discussion. You should be back to the audition room and---"

"And YOU should listen to me!"

Conrad's brain froze for a brief second, and when it finally rebooted, his back was pressed on the cold wall, and Yozak's hands were already clutching his loose collar so tightly that it choked both his breath and the upcoming indignant words in his throat.

"Just this once, try listening to someone else instead of your cold logic, damn it!" With the close distance, and without the ability to yell back, Conrad could feel each word was pounded in to his skull through his abused ears. "That boy loves you! He might not be doing his best yet to show it, but at least he did!"

Conrad squeezed his eyes shut, only to later realize that it only strengthened the effect of the words to continuously batter his rickety brain.

"You think you're doing the right thing?! You think you're being a gentleman by restraining your own feelings and pretending that you're fine seeing him walk away with someone else?! You think you're just an uncivilized jerk who falls in love with somebody else's fiancé twice?! And here I thought you were smart enough to learn from experience!"

"You will regret it, damn it! You will! Right now you might be thinking that this is for the best, but soon, you'll mourn over the day he leaves you for good! You'll curse that day and you'll realize that you're just a cowardly hypocrite!"

Even after Yozak released him, Conrad could still feel the words prickling on his skin like thorns. He looked down at his boots like they would soon speak up to encourage him, or at least take him somewhere else far away. His face was as red as Yozak had never seen before.

"I won't tell you to join the audition. In the end, it's your choice to make."

Yozak turned around and started walking away like a cool hero protagonist who was about to leave the battlefield where he had just defeated an ugly and vicious final-stage boss that deserved no mercy. At least that's what common spectators would see (and the bruises on his face added quite an effect).

Unfortunately for Yozak, Conrad, the only spectator, was not a common one. The brunet was one of the few special VIP who had seen about all of his walking styles, from the dignified warrior's steps to the flamboyant midnight-lady's sashays. Even in his edgy state, Conrad could easily see that the redhead was walking a lot slower than he should be, and he also knew what the other man was waiting for. Something he was about to give him.

"…I'll join the audition."

Conrad could have sworn that Yozak's ears perked up as he paused in mid-step, and felt the need to explain his decision.

"Only because His Majesty wishes so."

It didn't really change a thing, though. Even with the sight of his back only, Conrad could see that the man was fighting the urge to laugh maniacally. Utterly against his will, his blush deepened.

"…And also to prove to all of you that Yuuri holds no such feelings towards me at all."

"Understood, understood." Yozak cutted in as he waved a hand dismissively, sparing his thoroughly discomfited commander from thinking up more ridiculous excuses, "We'll soon see which of us is correct."

Hoping to chase his grinning subordinate away, Conrad didn't answer and let the other man walk away. As if knowing exactly what was in his mind, Yozak paused again only after several short steps and turned around. Conrad awkwardly met his twinkling red eyes and felt the already-fading redness on his cheeks return.

"Nice boots, by the way. Yuuri got you those?"

Conrad nodded stiffly and turned his face away.

"As I thought, only he could change your mind." Yozak shrugged, "It's okay to keep the old ones for reminiscing about your father, but just don't wear them again, okay? They're practically irregular scraps of leather soled together, you know."

Although everything Yozak had said was true, Conrad couldn't help feeling a bit insulted. Those old boots were a precious gift from his late father. That's why he had insisted on never buying a new pair and kept wearing those. But when he had woken up one morning to find a present box with pink ribbon and cute strawberry-designed wrappers in front of his door, his resolution had quickly crumbled. There was no name on the card, but the handwriting looked suspiciously like Yuuri's. Conrad had several times contemplated on confirming with Yuuri if he had really been the one who had sent the new boots to him, but hadn't been able to find the right chance to ask. He had kept believing that those boots had been from Yuuri, but now suddenly he wasn't as sure as before. Frowning up at Yozak's (feigned) wide, 'I'm-as-innocent-as-a-newborn-baby' eyes, he started considering several possible scenarios involving him, a prank, Yozak, and the redhead's 'almost-magical' ability to replicate other people's handwriting.

"…Yozak, you didn't happen to…"

Yozak was already twenty meters away at the moment, and was running even faster than before.

XXX

Pathway to the capital town, several months before…

Yuuri didn't look like Julia at all.

It was a thought that frequently passed Conrad's mind every time he looked at Yuuri and his antics. It amazed Conrad how two people who shared the same soul were so different from each other. But what amazed him the most was the fact that it never really disturbed him at all, while he had been half-hoping to see at least a little bit of Julia in Yuuri.

"Are we there yet?"

Conrad felt a particularly loud pounding that his heart made when he felt the warm breath on his shoulder, as his passenger squirmed in discomfort on his seat.

"Just a little bit more, Your Majesty." He replied with a soft chuckle, "Or would you like us to stop for a while to rest your…"

"Uh… well… I'd rather not. It's so embarrassing." Yuuri squirmed some more, and gasped when the horse stopped rather hastily, causing another painful bump on his sore… ahem, part.

"Please, there's no need to feel embarrassed." Conrad turned back and smiled reassuringly, "There're only both of us here. If you need something, you can always tell me. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible."

"Ah, but…" Yuuri returned his smile sheepishly, "Haven't I caused enough trouble by making you take me here without asking for Gunter's consent?"

"I can't confidently say that it won't cause me problems…" Yuuri finally relented when Conrad held his hand and gestured for him to climb down the painful ride. "But we have a good reason for this trip. I can only hope that he'll forgive me sooner after seeing your boosted confidence to accept the throne."

"Nn," Yuuri still stumbled when he tried to climb down without someone helping him, but at least he hadn't fallen flat on his butt like his few first tries.

"Are you hungry? Shall we have our lunch now?"

Yuuri's dark eyes twinkled as he nodded vigorously. Conrad confirmed the source of the rumbling noises he had heard before.

"All right. Please wait for a moment. It will be ready in no time."

Conrad could feel the boy's eyes watching his every movement as he moved around to prepare the 'instant picnic'. After spreading the mat on the most comfortable spot nearby and dusting it off, he went back to the horse to retrieve the rather oversized picnic basket he had over-excitedly packed that morning, along with various traditional picnic foods (Yuuri's world's style) he had been preparing since very early in the morning.

A little while ago, he had been trying to convince himself that it was normal for a military commander to wake up before all the kitchen-staffs did and cook for his secret trip with the next king of his nation. But it still felt embarrassing when Yuuri openly showed his bewilderment at the large variety of meals scattered on the mat, leaving only about a small part of the mat to sit on.

"Whoa… it's just like a hanami!" Yuuri sat down and scrutinized each of the food ravenously, "Not even my mother could shape an octopus that has eyes like this! Such detail! The Royal chefs are really something, aren't they?"

Seeing an easy escape route from his embarrassment, Conrad only nodded in agreement and gestured the boy to start eating instead of just drooling on them. "Saa, which would you like to start with?"

Conrad couldn't help chuckling as he watched Yuuri's exceedingly solemn face as his eyes moved from one food to another. If he could appreciate paperwork as much as he did food, he'd probably be able to adapt with his new life as a king much easier than everyone's estimation.

"Nah, I think I'll start from the octopi! It's begging me to eat it first!"

Conrad responded with warm laughter and the requested octopus-shaped wiener on a small plate. He had to admit that it was one of his masterpieces. It had taken him half an hour to shape up one and make sure that its eyes looked expressive enough.

Conrad's apprehension only lasted until Yuuri happily chewed on his first bite and swallowed appreciatively. While his way with a sword was legendary, Conrad wasn't all that famous for his way with the spatula. Although all the foods looked simple and easy to prepare, Conrad had considered it quite a challenge after so many years living out of the kitchen. He had even pondered on two bottles of sauce, which had similar taste, smell, color and density to mayonnaise, wondering which had tasted like the real mayonnaise the best. In the end, he had decided to mix them, while continuously praying that Yuuri would still be hungry enough to appreciate the taste. It seemed that Shin Maou had heard his desperate prayer, and had apparently blessed Yuuri with a very large appetite for the occasion.

Conrad continued to watch until Yuuri abruptly stopped during his 'sampling' and started staring at him with an odd look.

"You're not eating?"

"I'm not that hungry. You can go first." Conrad replied and motioned him to continue, "Have all the food you want."

Yuuri looked thoughtful for a moment, although the overall effect was kind of ruined by the messy strands of fried noodles he still had on his spork.

"Umm… do you mind if I ask you something? About this 'being-a-king' thing?"

Conrad quickly nodded, wondering what the normally nonchalant boy was about to discuss about.

"First of all…" Yuuri put down his spork, "Would it have been a serious violation to your customs if I had insisted on helping you setup the picnic area and that we ate together?"

The man only stared dumbly at the Maou-to-be until he finally found the voice box he had misplaced before. "Of course not. What made you think it was?"

Yuuri scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly, "Oh… uh… well… actually I am kind of… traumatized with your… nonstandard customs. I was thinking like: 'uh oh, if slapping equals proposing, and picking up a fallen dining utensil equals acceptance to a duel, what can I do not to mess things up like before?'"

Conrad smiled fondly, "Why? You're worried of getting accidentally engaged to me?"

Yuuri's face turned almost as red as the apple he was biting on at the moment, "N---no! Of course not! And I will never slap you because you're so nice to me!"

"That's a relief," Conrad chuckled again as he passed on a glass of cold tea to the violently choking king-to-be. "Anyway, you don't need to be worried. We have a lot of traditions here, which might sound peculiar to your ears, but we don't usually implement them like some strict rules. As long as the situation wasn't 'official', like now, we can still bend them."

"Uhn," Yuuri took a deep relieved breath for the nice tea and good explanation, "Then it means that I can force you to eat together with me? Because it's not nice to eat alone, no matter how starved I am."

The apple's redness on the boy's cheeks returned when Conrad leaned forward and helped him to wipe some spilled sauce around his mouth.

"With pleasure."

XXX

Contestant's Tower, present time…

After learning about Yuuri's 'little deal' with Anissina from Yozak, it felt a bit odd to meet and talk to Yuuri again, yet it still managed to make his heart jump silly and his genuine happy smile resurface despite the not-so-nice things that had happened to him throughout the day.

"Conrad!" Yuuri looked as energetic as usual as he hastily approached him, dodging some autograph requests from the present contestants.

"Are you free now?" The king was slightly panting when he finally reached Conrad's front. The enticing sight of his sweat-glistened jaw and neck caught Conrad off-guard for a moment before the older man finally recollected enough pieces of his scattered brain to respond properly.

"I think so," Conrad glanced at the workers who were working diligently under Gisela's rather intimidating supervision, "We're still waiting for the preparations. I'll probably be free until the next hour."

"Good. Then can I borrow you for a moment?" Yuuri caught the other brunet's hand before he could think up an excuse to escape or refuse his offer. As if it wasn't enough, the king flashed the infatuated man a bright smile, which was way too inhumanly adorable to deny.

Conrad congratulated himself for actually being coherent enough to nod, and willingly let himself be dragged away.

XXX

The situation under the towers, due to the 'sudden' off-calendar event, had pretty much resembled the real festival they were about to hold as a welcome for the foreigners. Every vendor who lived nearby came to sell their products, mostly food, some provided mini-games, while a few of them sold children's toys and their unused old appliances. All the people who had come to watch the lottery looked generally happy. They bought food, played games, and laughed together. People looked like they were having so much fun that Conrad felt absorbed in the cheerful atmosphere. But it was probably Yuuri's enthusiasm that affected him the most. After being 'trapped' in his castle for the past few weeks, Yuuri looked like a bird that had just escaped its cage. He stopped every time he saw something interesting, he tried many different kinds of food he had never tasted before, and he had just won the first prize of the 'shuriken-throwing' mini game one of the vendors had offered.

"Uh… Conrad…" Yuuri was still frowning at the supposedly shiny first-place grand prize even after Conrad promised him the area's renowned dango, "I still think that we have been cheated."

"And I still agree." Conrad replied amusedly, throwing another glance at the small old-looking vase, that looked like it hadn't been scrubbed for ten years in a row, "But I think it's not very bad. You can use it in your room for the flowers you get from your new garden."

"Yeah… I guess…" The king sighed in disappointment as he set the dusty vase aside on the counter, "By the way, how do you feel? Lucky enough, I hope?"

Conrad smiled and shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm really bad at lottery. I just don't belong in gambling centers."

"Nah, I don't think I need to worry about you. I think you're one of the most capable people I've ever met. I feel safe to rely on you for anything and everything."

Conrad had to turn his face away to hide his embarrassment at the sincere compliment.

"I'm just a bit worried about the machine. It looks… so…" Yuuri struggled for the appropriate vocabulary, "…Beta… and creepy."

The older man chuckled at the exactness of his king's chosen words, "I'm sure that it's relatively safer than her other machines. Otherwise, she wouldn't have held this competition in the first place."

Yuuri nodded. Yes, he could still trust her, at least with the large number of people whose lives were on the line.

"Sorry for the wait," an old man with an eccentrically shaped moustache came with their dango sticks. Yuuri would have thought that he was just an unlucky customer who had been talked (or bribed) in to helping the dango restaurant with the hectic number of customers if not for the apron and ID card he was wearing. Yuuri could only blink when Conrad signaled to him that the man might be the owner of the restaurant.

"Would you like to refill your tea? It comes free with the dango." The old man asked with a warm smile, reminding Yuuri of the stereotypical grandfather image.

"Sure," Yuuri helpfully handed the tea jug over to him. The old man gave them a brief nod before turning and walking away with the empty jug.

"He? The owner?" Yuuri asked after making sure that the old man had been far enough to overlook this conversation.

"It appears so." Conrad took a sip of his cold tea, "His ID card only states his name. It usually means that he is the owner of the place. And all of the workers greeted him although they were very busy."

"Oh," Yuuri absent-mindedly ran his fingers on the dusty surface of the vase he had just gained, "The dirt won't come off. Hehe, maybe the same thing will happen to the jump rope my mom bought a few weeks ago. She stopped touching it after the third day."

"Really? Your mother looks stubborn enough to maintain her exercises to me." Conrad smiled at the fond memory.

"Right… You've met her." The king chuckled, "She's stubborn in some things, and lenient in some other things. Exercising and our lives in general fall in the second category."

"She isn't strict with you and your brother?"

Yuuri waved his hand dismissively, "The only part of our lives she cares about is how and when we're going to bring our true loves home and introduce them to her." Yuuri did a fair impression of his mother's rather forceful, yet cheerful nature.

Conrad laughed, "That's just so like her."

"Here's your tea."

Without both of them noticing it sooner, the old man suddenly reappeared at their table with the refilled jug. Conrad briefly noticed how he was staring at the vase Yuuri had carelessly neglected at the corner of the table. Maybe the vase was actually worth the grand-prize title?

"Yes, thank you." Yuuri received the jug and placed it back on the table, expecting the old man to turn around and leave soon so he could continue with their conversation, but the old man remained at his place and kept gazing at the vase like a genie would come out of it after an appropriate amount of intense staring. Yuuri waved his hand in front of dango restaurant owner's eyes experimentally, more out of worry that the old man might suddenly faint rather than the fear of getting his precious vase stolen.

"Ano… you okay? Still there?" The king moved his hand a few more times until the old man finally blinked and was snapped out of the La-La Land. Conrad continued to scrutinize the old man's eyes, and the vase that was swaying dangerously at the corner of the wooden table, waiting for its future death in utter silence and total acceptance.

"Oh… yes. I'm fine." The old man laughed nervously, "I'm sorry. Perhaps I scared you. I tend to do that a lot. You know, spacing out. I guess it's normal for people around my age…"

"That's a relief. I thought you were going to faint for sure." Despite the lame excuse, Yuuri didn't look skeptical at the slightest bit, just as Conrad had expected, "Here, sit for a moment. I'll pour you tea and…"

Conrad bit down a gasp as another scene of his foretelling came true. Yuuri's elbow, which had been menacingly hovering near the already wobbly vase, finally decided that the time had come to send the poor unwanted thing to its quick and loud death... or not.

Only distinctly trained eyes would have been able to witness the whole scene in detail, when the old man who had been standing on the other side of the table suddenly 'warped' to Yuuri's left side and caught the fallen antique just in time, saving it from its not-so-early grave. The vase would have fallen on its knees, cried him a million of 'thank yous' and built his shrine if it was not for the fact that it was just a helpless inanimate object. Despite its stillness and silence, the old man seemed to know how grateful it was for his heroic action. He patted the antique with the gentleness that should have been reserved for his grandchildren while carefully checking for fatal 'wounds'.

Conrad was alternating between exchanging bewildered looks with Yuuri and glancing at the old man who looked well on his way to crossing the bridge that connected sanity to lunacy. So far, he hadn't tried anything to hurt Yuuri for almost 'killing' his 'grandchild', but Conrad gestured Yuuri to move away all the same, just in case.

Yuuri threw the old man one last tentative look before reluctantly following Conrad's instruction.

After making sure that Yuuri was safely out of any antique-loving psychos' reach, Conrad approached the old man, who at that point seemed to realize how psychotic he looked just before and had had the decency to look sheepish.

"Uh… I'm sorry… here, your vase…"

Sensing no bad intentions, Conrad smiled and received the vase, which surprisingly looked a lot cleaner than before. The old man's touches had to be magic. Only magic could have scrubbed that dirt off.

"It's okay, it's okay. We should be thanking you for saving our vase. Right, Conrad?" Yuuri decided that it was safe enough to come close now. Conrad who was momentarily distracted by Yuuri's hand on his back only nodded briefly before handing over the vase back to its owner.

"Is something special about this vase?" Conrad asked while trying to ignore how particularly snuggly Yuuri was at the moment and the strange familiar feelings when he was talking to the old man, although he was sure that they had never met before.

"Well… I guess I have no choice but to explain, don't I…" The old man sighed and smiled apologetically as he gestured to his guests to sit back down before he started his tale.

"Actually, I owned an antique shop many years ago. My mother was a fanatical collector, and she kind of influenced me to become one as well. Well, parents tend to do that to their children. I didn't even realize how obsessed I was until I started stopping abruptly and staring at every antique I considered interesting…"

Yuuri thought about his mother and blanched.

Conrad thought about his mother and was lost to the world for a moment.

"I gave up on the business many years ago. People here don't care about antiques and their values. That's why I switched to this dango business. Apparently, it gives me more profit, only that I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed running the antique shop before." The old man started to stare at the vase again, almost longingly, "I was thinking of switching again to antiques, but I was too afraid to suffer another shortfall… life was so hard back then, and now that my business is moving steadily upward, it'll be pretty ridiculous to start again from zero, don't you think?"

Yuuri looked sympathetic about the old man's fate for taking after his mother's habit, "Even if you can't open an antique shop, you can still collect antiques, can't you? Or did your mother's curs---addiction consist of selling after acquiring them?"

"No, no, not really," The old man laughed, "But when I opened an antique shop, people would sometimes come by to show me their antiques. So I could stay in one spot and still got to see a lot of interesting things. I think that's the part of the job I'm the fondest of. Especially since my age and my business won't allow me to travel around for antique-hunting now."

Conrad nodded in agreement, "In that case, why won't you open a small antique shop while maintaining this business? Or are you incapable of keep up two businesses at the same time?"

"Actually, what I'm afraid I can't preserve the most is my own fixation." The old man started staring at the vase Yuuri had been carefully holding again, "When I deal with antiques, my mind becomes useless for everything else."

Silence fell among them for one stiff moment, when everybody was thinking about the best solution to the old man's problem. They frowned, and sighed in frustration at the same time. From the way Yuuri was staring at his coin on the table, he seemed to consider hypnosis as the most effective method to relieve the old man from his mother's cur---addiction. And from the way the old man was ogling Yuuri's vase once again, it was pretty obvious that all he wanted at the moment was to grab the vase and run very far away to a place where they could declare their undying love freely to each other and live together happily ever after.

Conrad sighed again with a different type of frustration this time.

"Anyway, Your Majesty, we really need to get back. I think I heard Anissina's siren just now."

"Eh? Really?" Yuuri's failure to notice the honorific slightly disappointed Conrad, "Then we must get back as soon as possible. Anissina might disqualify you!"

Conrad nodded and turned to the forlorn-looking old man, "We're sorry, but we have to go back now."

The old man looked even sadder at the news. Yuuri felt that it was his responsibility to cheer up the old man since it had been his vase that had reminded the poor man of his fate.

"Here, it's not much, but I think you can appreciate it more than I ever can." The king handed the vase over to the only too obliging old man, "I honestly don't know what you see in it, but please take good care of it."

The old man nodded vigorously, holding the vase close to his chest, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I promise I'll make this up for you somehow."

Yuuri laughed sheepishly, "Nah, there's no need to."

"No, no, no, you don't understand," the old man held the vase up, "This vase is one of the most exquisite antiques I've ever seen. This is a true art. It only needs a bit of cleaning and…"

Anissina's siren rang again, this time louder than before.

"We're sorry, but we really need to go." Conrad noticed how unusually anxious Yuuri was at the moment, "We'll talk to you and help you to solve your problem again later."

"No, no, the problem is not a problem anymore." The old man smiled, "I've decided to open an antique shop and let my son administer it. I think that's the best way. And I can ask him to show me the antiques he deems interesting, while I keep this dango business going."

Conrad and Yuuri looked at each other and knew that they were thinking about the very same thing at the moment.

Why didn't he tell us sooner that he has a son?!

"…After I find him, of course. He has been gone missing for fifty years now, after our intense argument about his stupid speech…"

Oh, that's why…

"I blame his bad habit entirely to his mother. She was always using those big words while baby-talking to him…"

-choked gasp- NOT another mother-induced habit!

Yuuri waved one last time before grabbing the unsuspecting man beside him and quickly made their escape before the old man's malicious family curse also infected them.

XXX

Yuuri finally stopped running when they reached the stairs that led to the contestant's tower. When Conrad saw how breathless the king had become from their sprint, he immediately felt bad for getting carried away with the feeling of Yuuri's tight grasp on his wrist that he had forgotten about the rather vast difference of stamina between the two of them. Without a second thought, he reached for his bag and pulled his half-empty flask out. And when he realized about the indirect kiss they were about to share, Yuuri had gulped the whole content down, and returned the container back to him with a relieved smile and dripping water around his mouth, sapping his ability to form words. So he ended up nodding while clumsily trying to stuff the flask back in to his overcrowded bag. The magic of a jam-packed bag: you can take something out, but later find no space to put it back in.

"We're late. Go now." Yuuri grimaced at the stinging afternoon sun as he looked up at the top of the tower, "I'll watch from the spectator's tower."

Conrad nodded; still holding onto the flask he had (shamefully) failed to pack, "I'll see you again after the… lottery."

Yuuri nodded once more and let Conrad climb the stairs, despite the obvious reluctance reflected in his dark eyes. Conrad didn't know whether he should be feeling relieved or not when Yuuri stopped him after a few steps. He turned around and swiftly returned to the king's side; right at the place he belonged.

"What is it?"

The demon king looked a bit too angelic to fit his title at the moment.

"Uh… well… actually…" Yuuri took another deep breath and seemed to be muttering something inaudible under his breath to brace himself, "The lottery looks… dangerous. I'll understand if you… want to… you know… resign. I'll talk to Anissina if it can help you… and…"

"That's unnecessary." Conrad quickly replied him, still smiling encouragingly, "It was my own choice to enter the audition. And I've seen enough of Anissina's machines to know what risks I'm about to face."

"Honestly, Conrad… do you really want this?" Yuuri looked up at him uncomfortably, his eyes looked even bigger than usual, "I'll feel guilty if you're forcing yourself."

Conrad found himself speechless again under the king's miserable look. No, he wasn't exactly forcing himself, although it would have felt a lot better for him to think that he had been forced in to his current situation. But if he were about to blame someone for forcing him, he'd most probably turn to a mirror. While he knew exactly what kind of answer Yuuri wanted to hear, the words were choked in his throat. Wouldn't Yuuri want to know the truth? Wasn't Yuuri sick of getting pampered? Had the time finally come for them to face the truth? It felt good to be together without thoughts of the future, but it was no more than temporary contentment. To make it long lasting, something needed to be done. Some words needed to be said. Some actions needed to be executed… at the right moment.

Not right now, Conrad's mind concluded with a small voice, anytime but now.

"I appreciate your concern, Your Majesty." He didn't mean to stress the honorific to annoy Yuuri, but it just emerged whenever he intended to remind the boy about the difference of their status, despite the closeness they had shared outside of official issues, "However, I assure you that I'm sure about this. And I'm not forcing myself. It's true that I've rejected the offer once before, but as you went as far as asking Anissina to take me in, I…"

Conrad paused abruptly, realizing his mistake the moment the words came out. He brought a hand to his mouth, something he tended to do when he said something embarrassing or just plain wrong. If Yuuri's thick head hadn't realized it before, the gesture must have made him double take the words. And by the astonished look the boy was displaying, Conrad knew that it had become too late for him to correct his statement.

The brunet sighed softly and moved the hovering hand on to his closed eyes. He had gotten extremely drunk like he had never done before in front of a new batch of soldiers, he had punched Yozak two times in one morning, he had agreed to enter the audition and ride on Anissina's beta-version machine, and now this. Conrad didn't normally appreciate someone messing with his head, but it was probably a good thing to have it checked once in a while, in case some of its parts needed to be replaced or to check if anything had been permanently detached.

"Yuuri… actually…"

"Ah, right, you haven't met my friend yet, have you?"

The statement couldn't sound more abrupt, like someone who suddenly commented about the weather in the middle of his marriage proposal.

"He's really nice. Anissina likes him a lot. I think you're going to like him, and his stepbrother too. He looks a lot like Wolfram. You'll definitely be surprised. If you don't mind, I'll introduce you to them after the lottery."

Conrad couldn't manage anything more than a stiff nod, suddenly having a hard time to look at the king straight in his eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say, but Yuuri didn't seem ready to listen at the moment. As he didn't feel so prepared to speak to boot, maybe it was best to wait.

After the lottery, Conrad promised himself as he flimsily excused himself, turned around and walked back towards the stairs.

"Conrad," When Yuuri stopped him at the same spot for the second time, Conrad froze for a moment before slowly turning back to the king, who had had his back to him.

"Good luck."

With that, Yuuri started running away towards the spectator's tower.

Conrad stayed at his place for a very long time, Anissina's earsplitting siren suddenly sounded very far away.

If it was supposed to be an encouragement, why was he feeling so down?

XXX

Blood Pledge Castle, roughly seventy-five years ago…

"Why did you do that?"

Conrad closed his eyes, took in another deep breath, both fisted hands were still trembling on his sides.

"Whatever he might have done, Wolfram still doesn't understand it. You know that, don't you?"

But that's beside the point, his mind protested. However his father had told him to be an obedient child and not to trouble his mother, so he only nodded weakly.

"So, why, Conrad?"

Silence.

"The two of you used to get along so well. Wolfram likes you a lot. I could hardly believe it when Gwendal told me that you… pushed him to the ground?"

Another weak nod.

"Do you regret it?"

A nod wouldn't be enough to express his guilt, so he voiced a raspy 'yes'. His mother nodded in approval at that.

"Good. That's the most important thing when you make a mistake. You regret it, and promise yourself to never repeat the same mistake again."

"Father told me the same thing."

Another silence fell, which was a bit longer than the previous one.

"That doll… is it…"

"Father gave it to me a few months before he passed away," Conrad looked at anywhere but his mother's face. He hated to bring up his father, reminding the queen of the pain of his death, "Some girl threw it to him on his way back to the castle. He said you hated it when he received gifts from other women. So he gave it to me." 'And told me to keep it a secret from you' went unspoken.

Cheri went silent. Her normally vivid eyes looked so empty that she looked a lot older than she actually was.

"I'm sorry, Mother." Conrad looked down at the floor again. No, he wouldn't cry, at least not in front of his mother. She had suffered more than enough. She didn't need a weak crybaby by her side. She needed someone firm and strong. Someone who could and would give her a warm shelter, the security and protection she desperately needed. Someone like his father. Someone he knew he could never replace.

"It was selfish of me. I know Father would have been mad too if he knew that I hurt Wolfram for defending the silly doll."

The brunet stood in silence for another brief moment. The gentle arms pulling him into a warm hug were something he had expected; so he didn't stumble and just let the queen pull him closer to her chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly in his ear. Her voice was still as clear as usual, with no hint of sobbing at all. Conrad had also expected that. His mother would never cry in front of any of her children. She refused to cry for the same reason as he did. She wanted to be strong. And while all he wanted to protect was his family, she was needed to protect the whole nation. Sometimes Conrad wished he had been born in a normal family, where he, his mother and his two brothers could live together in peace without having to deal with those haughty aristocrats. "For putting you through all of this pain… I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, Mother. I understand." Conrad mourned at the loss of his beloved mother's warmth and nice smell, but he still braced himself to gently snuggle out of the embrace, "I'll let the doll go. I don't really need it to remember Father anyway."

Cheri smiled at him. Conrad couldn't decide whether it was a proud or a sad one.

"Please take care of your little brother." The queen brushed her second son's shoulder affectionately. When she did that, Conrad always found it hard to reject any of her requests. He vaguely wondered if his father had often fallen for the gesture too. "You're his hero."

Conrad looked down and smiled bitterly, "Perhaps not anymore after this."

"Nonsense!" Cheri shook her head disapprovingly as she produced a sweets-filled get-well-soon basket and handed it over to the bewildered boy, "All of my sons are fine gentlemen who know how to forgive others. Go and apologize to him with this. There's no way he can stay angry."

Conrad chuckled softly after recovering from his surprise. His mother's eyes never left him as he nodded and briskly ran towards the door, never actually bothered by the weight of the oversized basket.

Cheri sat back down on her chair and smiled to herself, "Just expected from my little hero."

XXX

Present time, Contestant's Tower

Lunch tasted horrible. Conrad immediately understood why Gwendal had secretly thrown his untouched food in to the trash bin earlier. In the background, he could vaguely hear Anissina lecturing to his frustrated older brother about the importance of nutrition, and Gunter happily munching on his banana jam-filled onigiri while some random passers-by gagged at the sight.

Conrad sighed softly, spooning another piece of inedible-looking chopped vegetable before tossing it to the side of his plate. What had happened to the royal kitchen anyway? It was a good thing that he had had dango earlier. He sighed again when he realized that thinking about the dango drifted his mind back to Yuuri.

…Well, actually at this rate, everything reminded him of the king, especially when he unconsciously turned at the direction of the spectators tower. Perhaps it was just his war-induced neurosis, when he sometimes felt an intense stare coming from that direction.

Conrad shrugged the unreasonable discomfort off and looked down at his meal again, as if trying to find something bizarre enough inside to distract him even for a moment.

"…Brother."

Conrad jolted, dimly remembering how he knocked on the unused bread knife and sent it falling on to the floor noisily. His eyes widened in horror as the knife landed right next to someone's feet. And the all too familiar 'someone' bent down to pick it up.

"Challenge accepted. So, what kind of competition do you call for?" Wolfram smirked, enjoying the unusual fright on his older brother's face as he brushed it off with a wave of his hand, "…Kidding. Nobody saw it anyway."

One innocent contestant who happened to sit close by opened his mouth to say that he had witnessed it, then smartly closed it again as Wolfram whipped his head to the young man and threw him one 'meaningful' glare that equaled more threats than he had ever known in his life.

"Is this seat occupied?" Wolfram gestured to the empty seat across from the tense brunet. He had placed his tray on the table before picking up the knife.

Conrad shook his head in the negative, taking a bite of the over-salted chicken breast, munching on it slowly while fighting a grimace.

Wolfram sat down and began his meal. Conrad mildly noticed that his little brother's food looked a little bit more decent than his, but decided not to push on the affair. He calmly sliced on his boiled potato and sighed in relief that it tasted marginally more normal than the other portions of the lunch. At least he had known which food to pick when rendered speechless or needed time to think about how to respond. He could feel Wolfram's eyes following his movements, seeking for the right time to bring the conversation up.

"It surprised me," The blond started, still looking down at the content of his plate indifferently, "Your decision to enter the audition."

Conrad coughed an affirmative, vaguely remembering how Wolfram had looked at him earlier at the technical meeting. He had been able to guess that the blond wanted to tell him something, and that all the other reasons he had come up with earlier only emphasized how much of an 'in-denial' person he was. Hushing negative thoughts away, Conrad reached for his flask, only to realize that it was empty. There, another thing brought his mind back to Yuuri. It always did.

"I thought that you'd definitely resign," Wolfram picked up his own glass and placed it in front of the slightly dazed man, "To protect my feelings. You were always like that. You had always put other's feelings above your own. Or at least you think you do."

Whatever dazed state the older man had formerly been in, that seemed to wake him up entirely. Conrad tried to form words and respond, but ended up silencing himself with another slice of the potato. He had wanted to talk back and correct the last statement, but quickly realized that Wolfram probably wasn't done talking. It was always important for him to gain as much information as he could gather before taking a crucial action. If there were still things Wolfram wanted to let him know, he'd make it easier for both of them.

"I've been thinking." Wolfram started again, using his fork to toss a piece of meat on to his fried noodles and roll it around. Conrad amusedly noted that the blond was supposed to have stopped playing with his food many years ago. "About… things."

Another pause. Conrad stopped picking on his potato and started listening very carefully.

"It might sound strange coming from me… but…" A brief pause, "Do you think you can and will…" another pause. Wolfram seemed to be stumbling with the proper statements to use. "Compete with me for Yuuri's heart?"

Conrad could see how the words Wolfram had difficultly choosing backfired and made his tongue itch. The straightforwardness of the question made his stomach tighten too, as he dimly remembered hearing from Yozak that Wolfram had known. The blond flushed bright red in embarrassment and avoided Conrad's narrowed eyes. "Just answer, yes or no."

"Wolfram, I…"

"Yes or no."

"I don't know."

The thing that had surprised Wolfram the most was probably the lack of pause before Conrad answered. Conrad hadn't even given it a second thought before he had responded, as if he had been asking the very same question to himself repeatedly…and coming to the very same dead end. He didn't know. While it frustrated Wolfram to not get a proper answer, the blond knew very well how Conrad was feeling at the moment. He'd most probably say 'yes' to the question had he been in the same situation, but deep in his heart, he knew that the true answer was the same. He didn't know. Both of them didn't know. It felt so pathetic. They were lucky that Yuuri wasn't the type of person who would have just laughed at their stupidity and go off with some other who could provide steadier relationships and louder love declarations.

"I don't know if I could do the same thing to you either." Wolfram admitted with a small voice, surprising Conrad with the honesty it held, "But I insist that you at least try."

"Why?" seemed to be Conrad's automatic, though unintended response.

Wolfram inhaled deeply before settling himself to answer, hoping that it sounded firm and sincere enough. "Because there're some things that will be useless if you don't gain it in fair play."

There was a long pause, in which none of them actually tried to use the food as an excuse to remain silent.

"…I have no reason to compete with you." Conrad said softly as he put down his fork and knife, suddenly feeling too nauseous to finish (the edible-looking parts of) his lunch. The number of people who knew about the direct line between his stomach and his mind was about as small as the number of people who knew that the person who had first taught him how to cook was Gwendal (he still kept his first pink frilly teddy-bear apron under his pile of childhood clothes, hoping that no one would ever find it). His feelings and thoughts always seemed to have a way of influencing his eating habits, or in this case his digestion.

"You're his fiancé. That should be more than enough reason for me not to do anything."

Conrad wasn't sure whether it was the answer or the faked nonchalant manner as he had spoken it that had irritated the blond the most. Whichever it was, Wolfram could still look angry enough to fling the knife instead of dropping it normally at his feet at the moment.

"Why didn't you tell yourself that before you started making advances on him?!" The blond hissed irately. Despite his anger, Wolfram looked like he was still trying to lower his voice and make the conversation as private as possible. He looked around to make sure that nobody was overhearing them before turning back to his older brother, who looked like someone had just pressed his 'Reset' button and restarted his brain.

Advances… have I been… Conrad searched through his memories, remembering how he had seemed to always find a reason to touch the king; from the 'he's still wobbly(airsick) from riding the horse(skeleton)', the 'I'm thankful that he's safe', the 'he might fall if I don't', to the most common 'he needs my encouragement at this time' reasoning. Or how he had always tried to look nice and dependable around the boy, sometimes going beyond his limitations. Or how he had been unreasonably telling himself to check on Yuuri's bedroom in the middle of the night for the same 'just in case' excuse, which had gone overboard a few weeks after the 'attack'.

Conrad's brain froze again for a moment, relishing the freshly uncovered fact that he had indeed been making advances. The knots in his stomach tightened, as he tried to fight the wave of nausea and told himself repeatedly that vomiting in front of Wolfram wouldn't solve the problem for them. Settling down would be the best solution. He just wasn't sure if he could handle it.

Noticing how Conrad's face was losing blood rapidly, and being one of the few people who knew about Conrad's stomach's… weakness, Wolfram decided to close the case and started with a new one, which had been the whole point of him trying to make the conversation with Conrad.

"Sorry, maybe I said too much."

Conrad shook his head weakly, "…Don't worry." A defeated sigh, "I deserve it."

Another moment of silence fell, making both of them grow more and more uncomfortable as the clock ticked by, until Wolfram decided that it was time to break the silence.

"The engagement was accidental." The blond was surprised at how easy the words flowed out of his mouth, while he had repeatedly prohibited it from even crossing his mind before, "He didn't even mean his proposal."

Conrad seemed to have been rendered stunned for a moment for the same reason.

"It's still an official proposal, as long as none of you call it off." He reasoned, not entirely sure if it sounded sincerely comforting or hypocritically offending.

"I don't know why he hasn't done it yet…" Wolfram's eyes looked uncharacteristically piteous, "He's always so carefree. I can't be sure if he hasn't done it because he doesn't take it seriously, or because he really likes me."

Conrad silently agreed. Despite his natural easy-going personality and honesty, Yuuri was also sometimes very hard to read. The contents of the king's brain were likely irregular and un-indexed, sometimes making it hard to foretell his next move and guess what he was thinking about. Yuuri was ridiculous like that. Conrad thought that it was merely one of his loveable qualities, though.

"Anyhow, I think this condition makes us even." Wolfram seemed embarrassed for having said another mushy and honest thing, "I know you've been trying to hold yourself back, but you're only stalling the end."

Conrad raised an eyebrow, "What end?"

"Yuuri's final decision."

"He…" Conrad froze again. If his conversation with Yozak had never taken place, and he hadn't seen Yuuri acting unlike himself earlier, he might have been able to state out clearly that the king didn't even consider him as one of the 'choices'. It often made his stomach flutter when he thought about the possibility; especially since Yuuri had been extra clingy and touchy-feely lately. All the reasoning he had accumulated over the months had suddenly become meaningless when Yozak had confronted him with the fact that morning. Yuuri might like him, and he might not mind the extra attention at all. Would it make both of them cheaters? For once, Conrad wished that he had been born with Yozak's sense of morality.

…Or in second thought… maybe not to that extreme.

"Sooner or later, Yuuri will confirm everything for us, who he chooses, and the reason behind his choice. That's what I believe." Wolfram continued, looking oddly calm while talking about something that should have been a sore spot for both of them, "Until that time, I hope you will stop pretending and show him how you really feel. Like what I'll do. So he can judge more wisely."

Conrad nodded weakly, suddenly feeling too tired to deal with anymore denials.

"Anyway," The blond took a hold of his long-abandoned fork, seeming a lot more ready for his lunch now, "This isn't war, so there's no winning or losing."

For a moment, Conrad was captivated at the depth of the words. The wisdom they held was beyond Wolfram's years (a youngster in Mazoku age), and it humbled Conrad somewhat.

While a glass of champagne did better for a celebration, a piece of over-sauced meat was held up instead, "But I still expect you to do your best. Hold back, or tell the wimp about this conversation, and I won't forgive you."

With that, Wolfram started eating and didn't seem to expect an answer soon.

Conrad looked down at his own meal and suddenly felt very hungry. He retrieved his fork and started eating; cleaning his plate without identifying each item he put in his mouth like before. Then he looked at Wolfram, who was still eating at a slower pace. Maybe seconds wouldn't hurt. After all, most of the people were too queasy to finish their share.

The rest of lunch was relatively quiet, a distinct contrast to the people's gaping reaction when they saw the pile of empty plates on Conrad's and Wolfram's table afterwards.

TBC

I'm working as fast as I can on part B, which you all should skip (or divide in to small parts to read one in a day) in case you couldn't handle the sugariness in more than one thousand words.

Information (i)

Nurse – Juliet's servant. I think nobody would fit this character's costume better than our one and only Gunter-sama. –grins-

Paris – Juliet's fiancé and the real inspiration of Wolfram's character birth, perhaps?

Mercutio – Romeo's friend, Yozak's role

Tybalt – Juliet's cousin, Murata's role

Prince(ss) – Prince(ss) of Verona, Anissina's role, gender-altered to celebrate women-emancipation…

Friar Lawrence – The Franciscan who marries Romeo and Juliet, Gwendal's role

Lady Montague – Romeo's mother, Gisela's role, is a widow for altered plot's sake…

Lady Capulet – Juliet's mother, Cheri's role.