Chapter 7

Yuuri woke up with a pair of panda eyes.

He had known that he would find the bed and the room too large when the occupants had reduced from the original three (Greta hadn't come here to sleep ever since she turned twelve) to two and then now only one.

But he didn't assume that it would affect him that much.

After his one-hour attempt to fall asleep but failed, he started to think if he should sleep in the middle or on either side of the bed. Then, he suddenly remembered that Wolfram had moved into the room next to him because of his royal knight duty. Once the thought hit his mind, he began to wonder if it was possible to get Wolfram to move back to his room (and on his bed, even better) as he had once watched a movie about a close guard of a queen. He was like a shadow of the queen and lived in a room which was right next to her (there was only a thin door between their rooms). And eventually, of course, that guy became her secret lover and stayed in her bed from time to time.

Actually the queen kind of ordered him to provide her that kind of service.

Yuuri wrinkled his nose in distaste. He would never give Wolf such a revolting order. Even the mere thought disgusted him.

The guard himself was in love with the queen though.

He turned and faced the window, watching the dark, cloudless sky outside.

Isn't there quite a similarity between the story and the situation now? Wolfram is in love with me...

He shook his head frantically, feeling the heat on his face. What on earth was he thinking? He turned to another side and stared at the empty half of the bed. Although Wolfram hadn't really confessed to him, Yuuri knew very well how the blonde felt about him through his actions and words. In the first year he spent in Shin Makoku, Wolfram reminded him every day that they were engaged by following him anywhere and terrorizing anyone who dared to come close to him. However, at some point of time, Wolfram didn't do that anymore although he still stayed by Yuuri's side. This made him think about a question.

Is Wolfram still in love with me?

He would be devastated if the answer wasn't affirmative. Anyways… he could consider building a mutual door between Wolf's room and his.

Right, let's settle on that one now.

He sighed and decided to focus on sleeping. But then, after about an hour, he started to wonder if Wolfram was asleep already and if he snored and if he occupied his whole bed and if he was wearing his white pajama or pink pajama and …

At last, he wondered if he could sneak in Wolf's room and sleep next to him.

He kept thinking about this and that and gradually fell asleep just an hour or so before dawn.

The first beam of sunlight shone into his room.

A soft knock on the door woke him. From his unrested state, he could tell that it was only 5 am or something... Did Conrad come early for the morning jogging?

Though he really didn't feel like leaving his bed (or even lifting his head from the pillow) , he forced himself up and walked towards the door at a snail's pace, dragging his feet along his way.

With a ghost-like expression on his face, he pulled the door open.

And the drowsiness was all gone in a blink of an eye. The person who was standing right in front of him was the one whom he had been thinking about during the past seven plus hours...

Or maybe more

The blonde looked a bit surprised when he looked up and saw his king's seemingly distraught state, which was totally unexpected. Knowing his ex-fiancé well, Wolfram was certain that he had an unsolved problem on his mind. Though there were days when he still looked exhausted or in bad spirits even after a full-night sleep, Wolfram hadn't seen him look this haggard before.

The usual spark in his eyes was absent. His complexion was paler than normal and the dark shadows under his eyes were hard to miss.

Seeing him like this made his heart ache.

And he had completely forgotten what he had planned to say.

It was Yuuri who broke the awkward silence. He cleared his throat before he said in an unusually hoarse voice, "Morning?"

Wolfram had to blink a few times before he could remember to reply, "Good morning, your majesty." He must keep the formality for the presence of the guards in front of the king's chamber.

But he regretted it once he noticed that Yuuri's expression turned even more miserable, if that's possible.

Forcing a smile on his lips, Yuuri moved a step away and suggested, "Why don't you come in first?"

The thought of saying 'no' appeared and vanished in merely two seconds. Wolfram didn't have the heart to reject him and worsen his mood, so he nodded and walked into the room.

Once hearing the door was closed behind him, Wolfram lifted his hand to the king's forehead and asked, "Yuuri, are you sick?"

The warmth of Wolfram's palm and the sound of his own name made him feel a bit better. With a weak smile, he took his hand, feeling glad to have an excuse to do so, "No, just lack some sleep."

The knight frowned and pursed his lips, silently demanding for an elaboration.

Yuuri had mixed feelings towards his reaction, guilty for making him feel worried while secretly being gleeful for his concern.

He knew he was pathetic.

"It wasn't like I was staying up late on purpose…" He scratched his cheek with his index finger, an old habit which Wolfram recognized he showed whenever he was nervous. "I just … couldn't sleep."

Because you weren't here.

How easy would it be if he could just tell Wolfram everything? The urge of telling Wolfram how he was feeling and how much he regretted not holding his hand properly was strong. Steadily, he breathed in and started counting to ten in his head.

"You shouldn't think too much," with a sigh, Wolfram said at last, "You know you need to rest well for good judgements, right?"

Here it is again. Yuuri thought bitterly. He never fails to remind me of my duties.

Unconsciously, he held his knight's hand a bit tighter.

It's not like I need any reminders though.

Just when Yuuri decided to act like a reliable king again, Wolfram laced their fingers together. With a trace of sad smile lingered on his lips, he said quietly, "You just need some time to get used to it."

Get used to… what?

He found Wolfram's emerald eyes looking up at him. It was just like another normal day when he met his glances but the emotions reflected in the shade of green at the moment were too difficult to be interpreted. "You'll be fine in time, Yuuri."

He didn't know what triggered these overwhelming waves of possessiveness inside him, but all he wanted to do was to pull him into his arms and hold him tight.

And for once, he did.

"I know I probably shouldn't do this," Yuuri said, closing his eyes for a moment. "But hey, who cares? I'm the king, right?"

Wolfram was taken aback by the sudden gesture at first, but then relaxed and leaned on his shoulder. His heart beat was faster than usual and he scolded himself mentally for feeling this way again. "Your majesty, you know I have the habit of burning everything whenever I'm alarmed, right?"

Then, Wolfram felt his king shaking with laughter, "You can do that. I allow you to." He moved away a little to look at him again, smiling just too gently. "You can burn me if you want."

For some reason, Wolfram felt himself heating up at that.

"Ahem," Wolfram stepped backward to leave his embrace entirely, to Yuuri's disappointment. "Back to business, Yuuri. I'm here to report my schedule to you. Don't waste my time."

Feeling in a better spirit, Yuuri stretched his limbs and replied, "Alright, go on then."

Relieved to see his king back to be his usual self, Wolfram listed out all the tasks he was going to perform in the morning and everything would begin an hour later. That's why he was here so early in the morning.

"Then, my team will undergo the annual Maryoku and fitness assessment and…"

Catching the keyword, Yuuri's eyes grew wide. "Wolf, you said assessment? Did you just say assessment?"

Puzzled by his king's sudden weird outburst, the blonde nodded with a slightly stunned expression, "Yeah… is there a problem?"

Yuuri's reply was to smack his palm onto his own forehead a few times , "Assessment means exam right?"

"Yes?"

"I can't believe I totally forgot!" he exclaimed. "My final exam is scheduled for next week!"

Wolfram didn't know much about the education system on Earth, but when it comes to exams, it should be more or less the same as what students would expect to undergo in Shin Makoku.

He raised an eyebrow, "Have you started revising then?"

"Did you see me study?" Yuuri asked with an almost sadistic grin.

"Are you planning to start now?"

"Do I have a choice?" he covered his face with his hands and whined.

Wolfram snickered at his child-like behaviour, which was quite rare to see nowadays.

But it's kind of cute. He thought fondly when he tugged at the king's sleeve and pulled him to move somewhere.

"Eh? Shouldn't I start studying?" he asked when he was pulled near the bed.

"Lie down."

Not sure of his knight's intention but he complied anyways.

"Close your eyes."

After throwing Wolfram a questioned look, he did, but refused to pass over the chance of making a 'clever' comment. "I think we should lock the door first," he said with an oddly high-pitched voice which sounded very much like Mickey Mouse and he failed to suppress a laugh.

And he earned a smack on his head for this (ouch!) "There is not such a need."

Yuuri was very tempted to ask him to lie next to him but he didn't dare push his luck.

When he was wondering if he should say something, he felt the soothing warmth just above his eyes. The tiredness there was slowly easing away.

This was one of the special healing magical skills of fire wielders.

It felt so comfortable that he felt his consciousness gradually drifting away.

"A piece of advice for you, your majesty," he heard Wolfram's voice telling him, softly, calmly, "Rest well before you begin your work. It's your day off. You have a whole day for your study."

He was too much asleep to form a response. If he was more awake, he would have thanked him, telling him that he wouldn't know what to do without him, how much he needed him and asked him to stay by his side before he woke up again.

"I'll wake you up before I leave."

Yuuri wondered if his head was playing tricks or Wolfram had really said that but at that point, he had already fallen into a deep slumber.

The maids and servants were quite astonished when they saw Wolfram running in the corridor. It had been a long time ever since they found him doing that in the castle. The last time he did that was back a few years ago when he was chasing after the king shouting ''cheater!''.

Of course, they now know that he does it because he is in a hurry.

The maids stopped their chores and admired how stunningly beautiful he looked even though he was rushing through the people and trying to avoid bumping into anyone.

When he managed to reach the courtyard, he found himself couldn't step any further. He was unable to move all of a sudden. The next second, he felt a pair of hands on his eyes.

"Guess~ who?"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he scowled, "Moni, stop it. I don't have time for this."

"Tsk, you are no fun," shrugging, Monica walked around and faced him. "At least try to pretend to guess!"

"Please," Wolfram closed his eyes and counted to twenty. "I really have to go."

"I'm sure your soldiers can wait a little," she drawled, examining her nails.

"..." he pursed his lips into a thin line and shot her a disapproving look.

"What's with that face?" she puffed her cheeks, with her lower lip sticking out. "You have the time to spend with your king, ex-fiance, fake best friend, high school baseball benchwarmer aka wimp but have no time to spare for me? What in the Demon Kingdom is that possible?"

Wolfram opened his mouth and closed it for a few times, "I…"

"Huu..huu… let me guess…" she tapped a finger on her chin while staring into his eyes, "You like him so much that you risk being late on duty just to watch him sleep and ended up falling asleep too."

His face was burning at this point, "I told you not to…"

Monica raised her hand to halt his retort. "When you woke up, you found him sitting there, looking at you as if you meant the world for him…"

"Just stop talking non…"

She ignored his embarrassment completely. "… but you told yourself it was just an illusion…"

"It's not…"

"If you two are so much in love with each other, why not just get married already?" Monica put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "That's kinda annoying."

It was the lack of response that made her look at his face again. He lowered his head, hiding his expression under his fringe.

"We… we aren't like that," he said finally, looking at her straight in the eyes. "I'm serious. Let me go this instant!"

By hearing Wolfram's tone, she knew that there wasn't any way that she could get any answers she wanted now. Sighing, she released him, "So… when are you starting the lessons?"

Finally getting the freedom, he moved his limbs a bit. "What lessons?"

"On Maryoku control, of course."

With this, Wolfram's eyes brightened, "Really? You're going to teach me again?"

Something just didn't change no matter how much time had passed. She smiled indulgently and nodded.

"Tonight, no! This evening !" as he began to run outside, turning back his head and called, "At the backyard! I'll definitely be there! Don't stand me up!"

She waved and giggled, "Told you that you would die to spend time with me~"

To be continued