Wolfram woke up from his deep slumber. His eyes were half close, trying to adjust from the sunlight coming from the glass window. Blinking a few times, he sat up and stretched his arms wide as he can. his hair is a mess after rolling over and over, changing his sleeping positions. A yawned was released from his lips before jumping off the bed. Walking to his closet, he began searching for his formal attire to change his clothes.
He took off his nightgown and started putting on the formal clothes. While changing, his mind starts thinking about yesterday. He knew he has to make a decision before anything else happen, and until now, there's no clear choices for the Fire Mazoku.
A knock on the door interrupted Wolfram from his thoughts. It's one of the maids, Sangria, saying the breakfast is ready.
Wolfram hummed in response. Since last night, his body feels really heavy that his feet cannot move easily. It's because he didn't get enough sleep at all. He cannot find a comfortable position in his bed to let himself sleep. Not only that, his thoughts didn't stop even if he close his eyes. His mind continued thinking about Yuuri.
He put on his sword's belt and left the room. As he walked down the hall, the soldiers are greeting him, but he didn't respond. He went to the dining area where everyone is present. The table is full of food for them. Suddenly, a small hand held his and was pulled enough to grab his attention. And there's Greta, looking at Wolfram.
"Are you alright?" the little girl asked, worried expression is visible in her face.
"Um…y-yeah." Wolfram replied. His mind is playing many thoughts that he didn't notice Greta at all. He stepped in, while the little girl is still holding his hand and took his seat.
Gwendal and Conrad looked at each other. They both knew something is wrong with their brother. But knowing Wolfram, he will deny it if they ask him.
"Good morning, everyone." Yuuri stepped in, grabbing everyone's attention. He's wearing his all black attire. Everyone greeted the Maou.
"How is your head, Yuuri?" Conrad asked. Yuuri gave him a sigh.
"It's still hurts." The double black replied. Yuuri took his seat next to Wolfram and settle down. They all began eating.
As everyone eating their food, Yuuri notice Wolfram's silent. Since he stepped in this room, the blonde is not saying anything at all. He was expecting to receive another 'wimp' call from him but until now, nothing is quite as it seems. Wolfram is just sitting and eating his food in silencei . His eyes were focused only at his plate and like he's eating all by himself and there's no one around him
Yuuri couldn't control his curiosity anymore. "Wolfram, are you alright?"
Wolfram stopped his actions before looking at the double black. "Yeah." His answer isn't convincing at all for Yuuri. But the Maou didn't ask anymore, he doesn't want to receive any rant from Wolfram and continue eating his food. But his gaze is fixed at the Wolfram.
After eating, Yuuri went to his office. The sore part in his forehead is still aching. But he has to start working again or else, he will be lecture by Gunter, saying it's the duty of the king. As he settles down, he looked at the documents that were piled up. Seeing tons of paper in his sight makes his head hurts. Picking up the feather and started signing the papers one by one. He just wants to finish these so he can do other things.
As he continues signing them, his mind starts thinking about Wolfram. Earlier, he observed the blonde to be different. Though it's not the first time he acted that way, but he knew Wolfram, something is bothering the blonde and he doesn't want to tell them about it.
Yuuri think about yesterday, Wolfram looks gloom when he left him. It looks like he's not himself. And this morning, he's not saying anything to anyone. He was really used to being greet by the blonde and that's why it bothers him why Wolfram didn't. Not only that, he's giving him silent treatment.
Just like now, Wolfram should be in this office as well. He should be standing and leaning at the wall like Conrad, but he is not. The Fire Mazoku said he will take care of his horse. Usually, he will follow Yuuri everywhere and always insist that he should be with the double black all the time because he is Yuuri's fiancé.
Did anything happen to Wolfram? Is he alright? He's not in good condition. His face looks really tired earlier. I should've asked him. But if I did, he would be mad at me for asking many questions. But I'm just worried. His face looks like he didn't sleep at all. I can tell he is not fine. That's for sure. But what's bothering him anyway? These thoughts continuously running in his head and he can't stop it.
"Heika!" Gunter's voice interrupted the double black from his deep thoughts.
"Eh?" Yuuri looked at him, confused.
"You're not signing the papers right!" Gunter exclaimed. "You tore it already!"
He looked at the paper and he saw the tip of his pen has made a cut in the paper. "Wah! I'm sorry!" He was too distracted by the thoughts about Wolfram that he didn't notice he bruised the paper already. He let out a hiss, irritated at his recklessness.
Carefully, he continues signing the rest of the papers and made sure that he's paying attention to avoid making another mistake. Again and again, he wrote his name. Gunter told him he had read them already and the only thing it needs is the Maou's signature.
"You seem too focus today, Heika." Gunter said when he noticed how serious the double black in doing his work. Yuuri nodded without taking his eyes off the papers, his hand and eyes is practically moving like a machine. The lavender-haired tutor didn't say anything again to let the Maou do his work.
After couple hours sitting and doing his work, it's noon already. But Yuuri aimed to finish the work the whole day, so he decided to skip his meal. The whole lunch time he is alone in his office. Gunter and Conrad tried to convince him, but he rejected and continue working. He can feel his stomach growling but ignored it. It was like he's doing school project that is about to meet the deadline.
When he feels his back starting to sore, he will stretch his back and continue working again. Without taking a break, the papers are halfway to finish. It wasn't difficult to read them since his mind is starting to be more familiar with the writing and reading system of Shin Makoku. Though, there's still some writing he was having a hard to read. But unlike when his first year as the Maou where he couldn't read even the simplest writing. He continues to improve.
And when Gunter got back, his eyes widened in surprise. The papers are almost done. For the first time, the Maou will finish the work in a day. Before, the double black can only finish ten papers in a day. And now, he's almost done. Walking up to Yuuri's table, he looked at the papers. The signature is clear and that gave him a relief. But then, Gunter remembers something. The Maou hasn't eat anything since breakfast.
"Heika, take break and eat your food." He said but the double black shook his head.
"I can't and I will not until I finish these papers." Yuuri replied, without looking at his assistant.
Gunter wanted to protest but when he saw the serious expression in the Maou face, he didn't do it at all. But he was amazed how Yuuri is working today. Unlike the usual days where the double black would complain about how many the papers he has to sign. Now, he didn't even eat his lunch to finish everything. He walked up to the shelves and starts searching for books. The room became quiet as the two mind their businesses.
Two hours has passed, and the double black is almost done now. He stretched his back and arms then continue signing the remaining documents. A knock on the door broke the silence of the room. Yuuri still didn't pay attention to it. It opened, revealing the three sons of the previous Maou and Greta.
They walked inside and was stopped in their tracks when they saw the same thing Gunter did earlier. Their eyes widened in shock, not expecting this is possible to happen. The Maou is working like a real king. Greta walked closer to his father to grab his attention.
"Yuuri, did you eat already?" the little girl asked.
Yuuri shook his head. "No, I'm still busy." Greta turned around and looked at the four. There's a worry expression in her face. They all looked at each other, showing gestures. Gwendal who has a patch in his head, cleared his throat but Yuuri didn't raise his head. Conrad didn't say anything.
"I'm done!" Yuuri declared and stood up, stretching his back and arms. He looked at them, they're just staring at him. "What's wrong?" He asked with confused expression. He walked up to Greta and took her hand. "Let's go outside." He said and turn his gaze at Wolfram. "You're coming?"
Wolfram is surprised at his question, he pointed himself. "Me?"
Yuuri chuckled. "Yes, you. You're the only 'Wolfram' here right?" the blonde's cheeks became red because of the double black's last sentence. "Yes or no?" Wolfram hummed in response and they stepped out and closed the door. The three left Gwendal, Gunter and Conrad in silence. Conrad just shook his head in disbelief and smiled.
. . .
Yuuri is walking outside the castle while holding Greta's hand and Wolfram following them behind. Greta asked the maid if they can prepare food for them since Yuuri hasn't eaten his meal. While they're walking to where the table is located. Yuuri likes eating outside because he can see the view of nature and the atmosphere is relaxing. And the little girl seems to like it as well.
They saw the maids preparing the table for them. They approached them and took their seats. Greta is sitting between Yuuri and Wolfram. As they are being serve their food, Yuuri felt his stomach growls. Greta giggled. They began eating their food.
"I'm hungry from all the work earlier." Yuuri said as he took another spoonful of food into his mouth.
"Hmph! That's because you didn't eat." Wolfram rolled his eyes. "And you made Greta worried about you." He took a sip of his tea.
"Well, if I didn't choose to finish the papers first then I wouldn't be able to relax and spend with you and Greta." He said and chewed the food inside his mouth. That was the real reason behind it. Now, he can relax and doesn't need to worry about anything related to his duties.
Then, he looked at Greta who is smiling from ear to ear. "What is it?" The little girl shook her head while wearing the smile. She took a bite of the cookie she's holding and hummed in happiness for being table to spend time with her two fathers. It feels so great.
Wolfram started his thoughts about his engagement with Yuuri. There's no real discussion happen about it until. Furthermore, Yuuri seems not to be interested about that matter at all. He wants to bring it up but he's having second thoughts. He started to feel nervous, his fingers tightened around the cup. And Yuuri noticed it and he stopped from eating.
"Hey, Wolfram, is there something wrong?" Yuuri asked. Wolfram turn his gaze at him. "You're holding the cup too tight." He pointed out. Wolfram relaxed himself and shook his head. "Hey Wolfram, I want to ask you something." Yuuri said. "Why you didn't sleep in my room last night?"
Yuuri's question made the blonde froze for a moment. That's odd. It's something he wasn't expecting. He suddenly remembers what he did when Yuuri is unconscious yesterday. He put down the teacup and cleared his throat. He can feel the double black's stare at him while waiting for his answer and it's making him uneasy.
"Wolfram?" Yuuri called him, still waiting for his response.
"I…I was just—"
"Shibuya!" Murata's voice interrupted the stuttering words of the blonde. He's walking his way to the three. When he got closer, he noticed their set up. "You're just eating right now?"
"Well, I didn't eat my lunch earlier." Yuuri said and placed down the utensils then wiped off his mouth. "Anyway, what brings you here?"
The Great Wise Man shrugged his shoulders. "I just want to see how are you after yesterday's incident." And he laughed. Seeing the little red swollen part on the Maou's forehead is making him laugh and also, his expression when he was hit. Yuuri gave him a serious glare.
"It's still hurts."
"That's what you get for being a wimp." Wolfram commented.
Yuuri quickly turn his gaze at the blonde. "Don't call me a wimp!"
"Kidding aside, I want to talk with Lord Voltaire to discuss something. See ya!" Murata stated and began walking away from the three without waiting for the Maou's answer. But the truth, he just wanted to see the bruised forehead of his best friend.
When Murata's figure is gone, the three finished their food and stood up. Greta excused herself to go see Anissina. Yuuri nodded only and didn't ask if he can come with her. He doesn't want to be Gwendal's substitute and never dreamed to be. And he let his daughter ran off, leaving only Wolfram with him. Looking at the blonde who's being in silent mode for the whole time, he snapped his fingers at him to grab his attention.
"It's almost sun set." The Maou said. He stared at the sky. It's slowly changing the colors. An idea popped in his mind. "Let's go to the roof!" he announced, grabbing Wolfram's arm and ran off. The blonde couldn't keep up to Yuuri's pace, the double is dragging him. The soldiers and maids saw them, but Yuuri didn't stop to greet them.
"Where are we going?" he asked. But Yuuri didn't say anything. They started running upstairs without Yuuri letting go his grasp of Wolfram's arm. The blonde almost lost his balance many times already, but the double black isn't aware and continues dragging him.
"Yuuri, slow down!"
"No, we can't!"
The door slammed open and the two reached the roof top. Yuuri is panting like he ran a few laps, but Wolfram is almost falling down on his knees, while panting. He wasn't ready for the run and Yuuri was dragging him.
"Next time…. Give me a warning!" he said. But the double isn't listening.
"Wolfram look!" he pointed out at the view. Wolfram looked up and his emerald eyes sparkled. The sun is slowly setting down. The colors slowly change before his eyes. His gaze turned to Yuuri whose eyes are also sparkling from the view. Then, the Maou's face lifted and a smile appeared. "It's beautiful and amazing, isn't it?" Yuuri asked and looked at the blonde, catching the stare. Wolfram cheeks became red. But Yuuri just smiled at him like he didn't see the stare Wolfram was giving him.
"I've always like watching the sun goes down, even when I was a kid." The double black said. "But I can't do it in Earth since my house isn't tall enough like in this castle see it completely." He added, still looking at the blonde. Wolfram can see the contentment in those black orbs. Then, he noticed something. Yuuri is still holding his arm.
"Yuuri, you can let go of my—"
"Why don't we do this every day?" Yuuri cut off Wolfram's sentence. The blonde gave him a stare, but he can't find any words to say. He just looked away. The sky is turning into night and Yuuri turned around. "Let's go back inside." And pulled Wolfram gently to go back inside with him. The Fire Mazoku felt guilty of not giving any answer quickly after Yuuri's question.
Both went downstairs in silence. No one is talking or saying at all. When they reached the end of stairs, the maids saw them and bowed their heads. Then, they saw Yuuri holding Wolfram's arm but didn't say anything. Yuuri nodded at them and walked past them, ignoring their stares.
"Yuuri, you can let go of my arm now." Wolfram said, breaking the thick silence between them. Yuuri let go of his arm and walked out without saying anything. He left the blonde who' wearing a confused expression because of his action.
. . .
Yuuri went to his chamber and changed his clothes. He put on the blue pajamas and went to his bed. He threw himself on the bed but regret it quickly when he felt a sting pain in his forehead. Rubbing his forehead to ease the aching pain, he let out a sigh.
Things happened today is different. He didn't know what's gotten in him and where the idea came from. All he knew was he ran off to the rooftop while holding Wolfram's arm. And there's a feeling that he didn't want to let go the blonde's arm. Maybe because he value him like the others. After all, he treats everyone in the same way.
But there's a great feeling that he managed to show Wolfram the view, even he practically dragged him all the way to the rooftop without saying anything. Showing to the blonde the view made him feel proud to himself.
"Yuuri?" Greta's voice dragged him back to the reality. The door opened, revealing his daughter wearing nightclothes and Wolfram who is wearing his usual pink nightgown. They walked in and Wolfram closed the door. Greta climbed up to Yuuri's bed and laid beside his father. Wolfram followed her actions. The little girl is lying between her two fathers.
Yuuri took out a book that was written by Annissina to read it for his daughter. As he started reading the book, Wolfram settles himself and pull the sheets cover his body. He turned to his side, closing his eyes. He can hear Yuuri's voice as the double black read the events inside the book. After thirty minutes, he heard Greta yawned and Yuuri telling her to sleep because of that. He felt the sheets moved a bit and the space behind him sunk down, giving him the idea that Greta is lying behind him. Then, a small arm wrapped around his waist. "Good night Papa…" Greta whispered before letting herself to be in deep slumber. He held her hand and relax to sleep. But then, he felt a hand touched his side and gently caressed him. His curiosity urged him to tilt his head and he saw the two sleeping peacefully. And it's Yuuri's hand on his side. A smile appeared in the blonde's face before he rolled to Greta side and hugged the little girl and join the two in their slumber.
. . .
The next morning, Wolfram felt something wrapped around his neck. And it's making his breathing hard. So, he opened his eyes and saw Yuuri's face close into his. Their faces are almost leaning into each other's. His eyes widened in surprised and made him pushed Yuuri, making the double black fall to the floor. Then, he heard a groan. Yuuri was awakened by the painful fall and hold the side of the bed, sittng up to see the blonde. He glared at Wolfram.
"What the hell is your problem?!" he yelled, wearing an annoyed expression.
"Sorry!" Wolfram apologized.
"You could've wake me up by shaking my shoulder, you know." Yuuri rolled his eyes, caressing his back to ease the pain. Then, they both heard soft snores. It's coming behind Wolfram and the two saw Greta sleeping. That gave them an idea why. The little girl probably sneaked into Wolfram's side when the two fell asleep.
"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." Wolfram apologized again, offering his hand out to help Yuuri stand up. The double black took it and stood up. Then, he glared at Wolfram. "You have a unique way of waking up someone." He sarcastically complemented. This time, Wolfram rolled his eyes. "I was surprised, and I pushed you unintentionally."
A knock on the door interrupted their argument. "Heika? Are you awake?" It's Conrad. Yuuri stood up, still caressing his back and walked up to the door to open it. He saw Conrad standing before him. The second son noticed his expression and saw Yuuri rubbing his back. "What's wrong, Heika?"
"It's Yuuri and as for your second question, Wolfram can give you the answer." Yuuri said and turned around to give the blonde another annoyed look. "He has a very nice way to wake me up. Jeez!" Conrad chuckled at Yuuri's reply. He excused himself, but he told the double black that Gwendal wants to see him.
Yuuri went to the closet and find his attire then started changing. Wolfram watched Yuuri as he unbuttoned his sleeves and took it off. Then, he pulled down his pajamas and the black thong he's wearing revealed. Wolfram couldn't stop himself from staring at Yuuri. His back is facing the blonde, so he didn't know he's being stared at.
When Yuuri turned around, Wolfram looked away quickly. His cheeks blushed at thought of Yuuri caught him staring. His hands curled on sheets as he tried to ease the embarrassment inside him. Yuuri walked up to the bed and saw Greta stirred. The little girl opened her eyes and met her father's. She gave a smile and sat up. "Good morning Papa." She rubbed her eyes. Wolfram finally calmed himself and raked the little girl's hair.
"Wolf, you'll look after Greta, right?" Yuuri asked. Wolfram raised an eyebrow. "Of course! It's a duty of the other parent to look after his daughter." His answer made Yuuri smiled. "I'll be leaving you two."
"Where are you going?" Wolfram asked.
"Gwendal wants to see me. I think there's something important to discuss." Yuuri replied before walking out and left the room.
. . .
Yuuri went to Gwendal's office where the first son is busy doing the documents. Conrad and Gunter are present as well. Seeing the two made him curious why Gwendal asked him to come here. The first son cleared his throat before speaking, "You're early."
Yuuri scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't eat breakfast yet." Gwendal stopped writing and looked at Maou with his usual frown expression. Yuuri can feel a tension between him and Gwendal. He's used to his typical face expression but right now feels different like Gwendal will skin him alive anytime. "You want to discuss something?" Yuuri asked.
"Ah yes, I want to discuss something very important." Gwendal fixed his position. "What's your plan now?" He asked.
Yuuri give him a questioning look. "Of course, I plan to maintain the peace here and—"
"No. What I want to know is about your personal issues." Gwendal cut off. Yuri furrowed his eyebrows.
"Personal issues?" he repeated. "What do you mean 'personal issues'?"
The first son massaged his temples and took a deep breath. The Maou has a slow understanding when it comes to personal matters, especially about him. Somehow, their king is lacking in common sense.
"I want to know what is your plan about your engagement with Wolfram." That question made Yuuri silence for a while. He didn't see it coming.
"Well…" Yuuri can't bring any words to say. He was caught off guard by Gwendal, not only the by the sudden question but the stare as well. It tells him that Gwendal is waiting for his serious answer. Conrad wanted to interrupt to save Yuuri but seeing the expression in Gwendal's face is telling him not to do so.
Yuuri think about the engagement. He wanted to annul it but something in the back of his mind is telling him to have different answer. I never gave attention about that matter since I don't think it's important to discuss. After all, I was the one at fault for not having any knowledge about this world before. He thought. This world is different from the Earth and the things here is also different.
"I'm waiting for your answer, Heika." Gwendal said, his eyebrows furrowed.
"This is too sudden for Heika to answer." Gunter said. "I think we should let him think about it all by himself." Conrad nodded his head. Asking the king about this so sudden might lead them to have a wrong decision.
"Gwen—" Conrad was cut off when the double black speaks.
"I won't take it back." Yuuri said in a serious expression