Gwendal was highly upset after Taka had left. He wasn't sure who he was more pissed at, Waltorana, his aid Taka or his own guards. However, since there was nothing he could do about Waltorana and very little about Taka, he chose to take his vengeance out on his guards. He stormed outside despite the rain and was even more infuriated when he saw no guards at the gate.
Not even in the gate house. Seeing red, he stormed over to the barracks and threw the doors open.
"Who is in charge of the gates today?" he roared, causing several guard's heads to snap up towards him from whatever they were doing.
Recognizing their interrupter for who he was, they all quickly stood up at attention. "Is-Is there a problem, sire?" one of the guards asked nervously.
"You tell me?" Gwendal leveled him with a glare. "I was just informed by Waltorana's assistant that he arrived nearly 30 minutes ago. I was beginning to wonder exactly what could be the reason that I am yet to be informed by my own guards. So, I thought that I'd come and see for myself. But when I come out here to investigate, what do I see? No one at the main gate or even in the guard house, but instead everyone back here in barracks engaged at work of much, much more importance than the safety of the main castle of the kingdom or even the king and that is, playing cards. Very well done, I am so proud of you."
The entire group of guards gulped nervously at their master's menacing gaze and accusing tone. "M-Merrik, it was your turn on duty." the one being questioned said to another guard trembling in the corner.
"No it wasn't. I traded with it Kazu."
"Well, I…I let them in, sir. But I was the only one on duty. So, I didn't want to leave my post and so I spotted Dorcas who was passing by and begged him to tell you that he'd arrived."
"Stop giving me excuses." Gwendal glared. "There is a reason for there always being two or more guards' presence on the duty. Where were the rest?"
Just then another guard walked in, "L-Lord von Voltaire, what brings you here?"
"Looking for an explanation as to why I wasn't informed that Waltorana had arrived about 30 minutes ago."
"I told you sir." interrupted Kazu. "I asked Dorcas to tell you."
The new guard looked puzzled, "Dorcas? You must have seen him in better shape than I did. When I saw him last, he didn't even seem to know his own name, much less anything else."
"He seemed fine at the time." Kazu replied.
"Well, I just saw him a moment ago and all I can say is that he seemed to be walking off into the distance in some kind of a daze. I think Lady von Karbelnikoff was looking for him. She asked me his whereabouts."
That explained a lot to Gwendal. Obviously, the red-haired devil, the enemy of the entire men population on the face of the planet - Anissina had done something to Dorcas. Obviously, there was no point in further torturing these poor guards. With that he left without another word and went straight to find Gisela.
The guards were all confused at the uncharacteristic silence as their lord left them. Usually, such an indication meant great troubles for them. Shuddering internally with dread, each wondered what kind of punishment Gwendal was planning to unleash at them. They could only pray that he'll be gentle.
x-x-x-x-x
Gisela was surprised to see Gwendal in her office. "Lord von Voltaire, what can I do for you?"
"It appears that the training of the castle guards needs improvement…drastic improvement."
Gwendal was so tempted to confront his brother Conrart himself on the matter, considering he was the captain of the guards, but only if he knew where to find him. Curse that young, incompetent, mind-meddler Maoh. Sigh!
"Oh! Really?" Her inner devil was awakened at the prospect and vast possibilities of the job.
"I was informed of Waltorana's arrival 20 minutes after he'd already settled himself comfortably in the castle, had his aid prepare some tea for him and a long chat with Wolfram; and that too through his personal aid." Gwendal pinned her with an accusing gaze. "I thought that you were responsible for keeping the guards tight and alert in Conrart's absence?"
"Oh…" Gisela flushed with embarrassment. "I am so sorry. I wasn't aware that Lord Weller isn't around." Gisela's voice contained a hint of nervousness.
Not being a man to skip such hints, Gwendal arched a brow, not at all believing her explanation. After all, how could it be that she was unaware of Conrart and Yuri's secret date when the fact had been so well publicized and announced throughout the castle, and maybe even the city, by some rather nosy maids?
"And guess what, when I went to the guard house to question the ones on duty, 'I found none'. The entire castle gate was left unguarded."
'WHAT?' Gisela couldn't believe what she was hearing…and hearing it from Gwendal no less. It was one thing for the guards to act a little casual while Conrart is away and Gisela is unaware of the fact. But it was entirely a different thing to leave the gates unguarded. The guards knew better than that. Both, Lord Weller as well as she had practically drilled it into their minds that the gates are never to be left unguarded, and also the consequences, should they ever fail to follow that instruction in particular. Then, how dare they forget it? Hadn't their earlier training in the matter been enough? If so, then she'll just have to retrain them. She made her mind and a dangerously calm look settled across her face. They'll pay for their felony. Somehow, without her knowledge, her hand had formed into a rock hard fist and an evil repulsive aura overtook her visage that almost chocked Gwendal, while she mumbled something unintelligible as if something had possessed her. "I'll…I'll…"
That information had raised Gisela's sensitive ears and her eyes glinted dangerously, causing even Gwendal retreat a step due to the raw fury he saw reflected in those, usually calm, green eyes. He wondered if he'd just, in a way, issued a death sentence for those guards.
Gulping his doubts back, he continued speaking in a stern voice, though his fingers were constantly making stitching patterns in the air, reflecting his nervousness.
"To top it all, do you know where I found them? I found them all in the barracks…playing cards and gambling. And when I confronted them, they all simply fought with each other, making excuses but never accepting their fault. So, unprofessional. Now, you tell me who should I blame for this insolence, those guards or their trainers?"
Gisela flushed red with embarrassment once again at being directly questioned like this. "I am truly sorry my lord. You should never have to see something like this. I apologize on their behalf and assure you that something like this will never happen again." A very serene yet sinister smile appeared on her face. "I'll personally make sure of it. I promise."
A shiver ran all along Gwendal's spine. Gulping his dread once again, he replied, "Good. See to it that such a thing doesn't repeat again ever."
With that he left without a pause or even glancing back. He needn't punish the guards personally anymore. Gisela was more than capable of doing far worse than anything he could ever dish out. He just hoped that she wouldn't kill them. But remembering her expressions during their little talk, he thought that maybe he should've gone easy on those guards while complaining against them. But then maybe they just deserved it. He just wished that he could do something similar for their all-so-often careless king. Shutting off his mind against all such unnecessary thoughts for the rest of the day, he quietly marched off to his office to get some paperwork done before the lunch.
x-x-x-x-x
After their rather uncomfortable talk Murata invited Wolfram inside to dry himself off. The rain had soaked him thorough.
Murata had insisted that Wolfram take a shower. While waiting for him to finish he sensed Shinou's presence in the room. "Something I can help you with?" Murata asked curtly. He had begun to feel repulsive to Shinou recently, considering how he was trying to find every little suitable moment to make his life hell.
Shinou just calmly stared at him for a moment before speaking. "You may have convinced him, and I'll believe you when you say you didn't stock any jewels in case of a future emergency somewhere. But I, however, don't believe you when you say that you don't know how to find them either."
"Why don't you…why can't you just leave me alone?" Ken was exasperated.
Shinou, however, showed no reaction to his reaction and continued on casually as if he was never interrupted. "My Daikenja is a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them. There exists at least two other switching ceremonies, each just as rare as the one you chose and both of which have other ways out of it other than a blood and fire ceremony. Yet you opted the difficult way. I don't believe you would do that without planning a way out of it in case things went wrong."
"Then you don't know me as well as you think you do. How many times will I have to tell you that I don't have or know how to get those crystals?"
"Mmmm…so you say." Shinou said smirking and vanished.
Shinou didn't believe his Daikenja at all. But he couldn't understand why Ken wants to hide things as firmly as he was doing? What was his Daikenja thinking? Why he chose that particular method when he could've chosen any of the other methods to break Yuri and Wolfram's engagement? He himself knew of at least two other switching ceremonies just as rare but with several ways out of both of them, as interesting as they might be.
First one required a fairy, though rare to find but not impossible if you knew where to look. At one time, they used to live in harmony with humans and mazoku, until someone chose to use them as part of switching ceremonies. Many fairies were killed driving them to go into hiding and developing the ability to hide in plain sight. A fairy can be right in front of you but unless you have a sixth sense you won't be able to see one, unless it wants you to see it too or you know how to draw them out and force them to reveal. Doogle berries were their favorite. Mix that and some gypsum weed and you'll get at least one, if not a dozen fairies, depending on how strong the wind blew and how close their home base was. One sip will make them visible to everyone for about 2 hours. He didn't remember such clear details of the other ceremony other than that it required hair from all parties concerned. But the point was that there were alternatives.
"Then, why…?" Ken's behavior was confusing him more and more. It felt like he didn't even know him anymore. Was it really just and solely for Yuri and Conrad's sake, or did he had some personal motive behind the whole act? Did he really love Wolfram? It was obvious that he pinned for the boy, maybe even want him. But why wasn't this forced marriage bothering him?
Daikenja wasn't one to be forced if he didn't want to. Then, did he really want to get permanently bounded to Wolfram? But of these all, the most difficult question to answer was what occupied his ghostly mind next, which he voiced out somewhat sadly. "And even if he did want Wolfram, why does it bother me so much?"
x-x-x-x-x
Murata was thankful that when Wolfram came out of the bath that he didn't say anything more about the crystals. Apparently, he thankfully hadn't heard him and Shinou talking before.
Wolfram dressed in the clothes that Murata had given to him to wear. "So, there's really no other way to get these crystals other than hunting for them from where they used to grow?"
Murata sighed. It seemed like he asked for a bit too much. "I'm afraid that I don't know of any. There may be a few scattered in the towns located near the area. Some even near Mount Watlese. Despite its close proximity to Mount Makadira, I'm sure there are quite a few foolish people who would risk being infected by the miasma to climb Mount Watlese." He covertly glanced towards Wolfram as he said this. "The odds of being infected on Mount Watlese are about one in a thousand though. Other towns may have some people who may have found some stones lying in fields."
"Then we should make plans to head out and look for some." Wolfram said resolutely.
"Is it really that horrible being married to me? According to Shibuya when he initially proposed, though not knowing he had done so, you refused to accept him at first. But after your duel you accepted him quite easily. He never wanted anything to do with your engagement; and even so, you were determined to go through with it. Is that what I'll have to do to earn the same kind of loyalty from you? Have a duel with you? I'm afraid I don't have the same kind of abilities Shibuya has. Although I do possess maryokou, I can only use it as a booster." Murata half said and half mumbled that last statement.
Unfortunately for him, Wolfram wasn't listening. He was deep in thinking about the crystals and their locations.
"Hmmm…let's see, according to what Gunter found, Aphrodite Crystals are supposedly grown near Venus waterfall near the town of Liefde Circle. So, that would be good place to start from. Jakcor Crystals once grew in abundance in the caves outside the Sesshome Rin village, but most of the caves in that area were destroyed in order to make a new route between Sesshome Rin and Inu Kage village. Earlier it used to take six to eight hours in going around the caves, now it's less than two hours journey by going through the artificially built tunnels. I think we should take a look there too; we might get a hint. Allotime Crystals once grew near Kohlrabi plants. But then during the war, most Kohlrabi (cabbage turnip) plants were destroyed along with any Allotime Crystals. We might have trouble finding them. Adipose Crystals used to grow near minamo trees which are only found in Erwiston village. It's dangerous to travel there as it's rumored to harbor thieves and killers and is on the border between the mazoku and the human lands. It's dangerous but I think I'll take the risk."
"So you hate me that much then?" Murata mumbled.
This time, Wolfram heard Murata mumble something and asked, "Did you say something?"
'Since you obviously haven't listened to a thing I've said, why bother repeating it?' He sighed, "No, nothing."
"Good. Then first thing tomorrow morning, I'll talk to Aniue and let him know of our journey."
"Our?" Murata questioned surprised.
"Well yes, of course. I wouldn't know what those crystals looked like. It'd be pointless to go alone searching. I'd end up coming home with all the wrong crystals or fake ones. What's the point in doing that?"
Murata sighed deflated, "Oh, of course. Well, it is late. Are you going to risk going back to the castle or stay the night?"
"Mmmm, I'm perfectly capable of riding in the dark. Besides there's a new moon out tonight and that'll make it easy to see. I'll go back." With that he grabbed his clothes that were still a little wet and put them back on. "Goodnight Ken."
"Yeah, goodnight." Murata was feeling down.
After Wolfram had left, Shinou reappeared and said, "Well, you were looking for a way to make him notice you. Perhaps this trip will be good for you both. Maybe you can finally make him notice you. Who knows by the end of this trip he may even come to accept you?" Despite his earlier confusion, Shinou had decided to help his friend in whatever he was planning. After all, he had done a lot for him, so it was Shinou's duty to see that his friend gets whatever he wants. If it's Wolfram, then so be it.
"Or hate me even more." Ken said after a moment's silence.
"Now, now you used to think more positively than that."
Murata sighed, "I'm positive he'll never accept me."
"Come now, I don't think he hates you."
"Well, he obviously hates the very idea of us being married. I think if he knew of a way, he'd reverse the whole thing, this time making sure that he ended up married to Shibuya."
"Mmmm…perhaps. But then, perhaps not."
"Don't tell me you went to the castle to spy again?"
Shinou waved his hand, "No, nothing of the sort. Just a feeling, really. I believe he has already accepted that Yuri is no longer his. He doesn't like it, but I believe he has accepted it."
"Besides a feeling, what else do you have?"
"Well, you and I both have heard that he helped Yuri in getting together with Sir Weller. If he hadn't accepted that it was over between them, he wouldn't have done so."
Murata couldn't counter that.
"I'm sure that you'll find a way to get him to accept you on this trip." Shinou encouraged him. "I suggest that you go with him."
"I seriously doubt that there will be a trip. Most of the areas are almost safe but not exactly safe and the rest are extremely dangerous to the point of being fatal. I doubt Lord von Voltaire will ever approve such a trip."
"Mmmm…perhaps." Shinou said, although he had a feeling that Wolfram may go against his brother if he refuses him this time.
x-x-x-x-x
Meanwhile back in the castle, the new maid Satsuki Aisaka was dusting. She was still trying to adjust to this wild castle, which was more easily said than done.
Her very first experience in the castle had left her uncomfortable and more than a bit confused. After she had been instructed regarding her duties, she was given the rest of the day off in order to familiarize herself with the new surroundings, so she went to inspect the castle. It was then that she saw two very strong-looking exceedingly gorgeous men in the hallway, fighting savagely. When she told about it to the other maids, the feedback she received was certainly not the one that she had been expecting.
Flashback
"Last night, I saw two men in one of the hall corridors trying to kill each other. I was so scared." She recounted with appropriate expressions.
"Oh? What did they look like?" Doria asked her, still calmly monitoring the food that she was cooking.
Satsuki was shocked. Here she had just told Doria about two men fighting in the halls of the castle and all the reaction she showed was asking their descriptions. She looked at the other maids who were all flitting about the kitchen, trying to get ready for breakfast and none seem alarmed either. She had hoped that they'd at least be a little alarmed or worried about the two men. At this calm reaction, she didn't know what to do, so she just answered the question directed at her earlier. Details were vague in her mind but she told them what little she had remembered before passing out from fright.
"Well, one of them was tall with red hair. And the other had a brown soldier's uniform on and had chocolate brown hair and he, too, was of almost the same height as the other."
"Ah, you must have caught Sir Weller trying to kill Yozak again. Nothing to worry about." Sangria said casually.
Satsuki was lost.
Lasagna smiled at her and taking pity, explained, "Don't worry you'll get used to it. They're best friends and are often at each other's throats. It's best to just ignore them and let them fight it out. Ok?"
End Flashback
She just sighed, 'How could they be so calm about two people fighting?'
She had never worked in a castle before so she hadn't known what to expect, but that wasn't it. Her previous employer owned a mansion and she looked after him and his children. Though it was noisy with five kids running around all day, she at least knew what to expect. However, business had been extremely slow so he chose to move his family to Cavalcade. She had been excited because she'd never been out of the country before. She was, however, devastated when her master, one day, summoned her and asked her to leave. So, she came to the castle and was happy to find a job here.
What she didn't know was that it would be so dynamic in here. Her job in this castle was definitely not boring.
Flashback
She had only been working here for a day or two and she and Effe were dusting downstairs, when suddenly they heard a blood curdling scream followed by an explosion. She screamed and hid behind a chair. Of course, it hardly hid or protected her, but a sense of protection was all that she needed. When, still trembling, she peaked out to see where Effe was hiding; she was astounded to see her still calmly dusting as if nothing had happened.
"What are you doing? Didn't you hear that scream or that explosion?"
"Mmmm? Oh, that? Well, it sounds like poor Lord von Christ has just had the pleasure of being the unfortunate soul to become Lady Anissina's guinea pig again."
"'Again'? You mean that this happens often?"
"Well, you can say that. It's not an unusual occurrence."
'NOT UNUSUAL!' Satsuki's eyes widened. In a scared small voice, she asked, "Does this Lady Anissina make everyone her guinea pigs?"
"No. She uses only those who have strong maryokou. She usually targets Lord von Voltaire or Lord von Christ."
"So, she never targets the maids or the Maoh?"
"No. It's usually men. She often preaches about how men are the useless creatures and must help her with her experiments so that something beneficial for the society and women could be invented. As for the Maoh, I think she'd love to use him but she never try to force him like she does with Lord von Voltaire or Lord von Christ because of propriety. I, however, believe that her restraint towards using the Maoh is more due to the fact that the uncontainable amount and sheer power of his maryokou would probably destroy her experiments even before they could be tested."
"Oh, I see." Satsuki was lost, mesmerized as she tried to visualize the all-powerful Maoh in her thoughts with the help of the little description that she was just given. She couldn't help but be amazed at the powerful, muscular, and toned, lean body; gorgeous vibrant skin, marred with unlimited scars; impressive height, even taller than Gwendal; wide broad chest; sharp black eyes with silky black hair that appeared in her head. The visage that she envisioned was middle aged, somewhere in his 150s and was holding the powerful demon sword, alluding all the authority that suited the most powerful king in the world, with one foot placed atop a heap of conquered enemies. Yes, it was truly impressive and hugely appropriate image for the king of such a vast nation as Shin Makukou in her opinion. Satsuki's eyes twinkled and she trembled with pleasure at the mere thought that she would be able to meet the Maoh in person while staying in this castle, one day, soon.
And who knew, maybe the Maoh might even…might even…praise her for her work. KWAIIII…
And with that, she had fainted at the spot due to uncontainable pleasure surging through her body, leaving a very confused Effe behind, staring at her out cold form.
End Flashback
'I don't think I'll ever adjust to the strange happenings in this castle.' Satsuki thought.
Suddenly, she spotted a strange man lurking in the halls. She had never seen him before. She knew that the Maoh was currently indisposed not to be disturbed and everyone in the castle had been instructed as such, so she doubted that he worked in the castle. Although he wasn't near her, it was clear that this person was searching for someone or something. She guessed that that something could very well be the Maoh. For all she knew, he could be a potential kidnapper, as unlikely as it seemed considering how nicely he was dressed. Even so, she still had an obligation to protect the Maoh in the worst case scenario. And although a coward at heart, she felt that if necessary she could take the scrawny thing down.
"Hey, you there! What are you doing? No one is allowed to look into any of the rooms in the castle without permission."
x-x-x-x-x
When Taka returned to his Master's room, he found him in a foul mood.
"Um…is something wrong, sir? Is the tea not to your liking?"
"The tea is fine. It's that servant girl you sent to deliver it."
"I'm so sorry sir, was she rude?"
"Yes, quite. I told her to inform the Maoh of my presence here."
"And she refused?"
"Yes, she told me that the Maoh and his new whore Weller are together somewhere in this castle. The little bitch had the nerve to lie right to my face and tell me she didn't know where they were."
"Well, perhaps, she didn't know, sir."
"No. I could tell by the look on that bitch's face. She was lying flat out. Taka, I want you to go out and search for them. But be very discreet about it. The whole reason that I didn't call the bitch on her lie was that I can't afford to start a war with the castle until I have the chance to take the Maoh down and teach him a good lesson for breaking Wolfram's heart."
Taka sighed, "Yes, sir." With that he left.
x-x-x-x-x
He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do about it if he did happen to find his quests. He peaked into what seemed to be the hundredth room but actually was more like twenty or so, when he suddenly heard a woman yelling at him.
"Hey, you there! What are you doing? No one is allowed to look into any of the rooms in the castle without permission."
He turned to find a large, heavy-set woman standing there, staring at him with suspicion. "Ah! Well, I…I was looking for a laundry room." He replied.
"What do you need there?"
'Oh Shinou! She's so curt. I wonder why everyone's so rude towards me? When've I wronged them?' He thought.
"Ah! You see my name's Taka and I'm Lord Waltorana von Bielefeld's personal aid. He wishes to take a bath and there aren't enough towels or wash clothes." It wasn't the best excuse in the world but it was all he could think of at the moment. He hadn't expected to get caught. But considering the giant size of this maid, he was defiantly surprised that he hadn't heard her approaching and become alerted.
"Oh, I see. I wasn't aware that we were having guests." She apologized politely.
"Yes, we arrived just a short while ago. I would be really glad if you could show me the way to the laundry room."
"Oh, I see. Well, I'm still new here so a lot of things are still new to me. Please follow me and I'll take you to the laundry room. You can get some clean towels there."
Taka breathed a sigh of relief. She doesn't suspect a thing. "Ah! Yeah, thank you very much."
'Maybe after I get the towels, I will be able to ditch her and continue on with my search.' Taka thought. But little did he know that that was not meant to be.
x-x-x-x-x
An hour and a half later, Taka and the maid Satsuki, were still wandering down the corridors.
"Umm…where are we?" Taka asked as they came across yet another dead end. He was tired from the long stroll, not to mention all the time that it wasted. Waltorna would be furious.
Satsuki gave a nervous laugh. "Oh. Umm…well, you see, as I told you earlier, I'm still new here. I've barely been here for a week. I'm afraid I'm still not used to how things are here, or the complicated ways of the castle. I often get lost. But don't worry. I always find a way out…eventually."
'Oh boy! I have a feeling we'll be wandering around the castle all night.' Taka thought desolately.
