Wolfram looked around slowly. He still remembered most of the places here from when he had spent holidays at his grandfather's mansion as a child. The vast expanses of the forest were perfect as a playground, and hardly anyone ever entered the higher parts of the mountains so he could explore in peace.
He was still unfamiliar with the situation, and he wasn't even allowed to participate in any of the meetings. They just wanted him to sit around, doing nothing and waiting. Like he will do so. He was not going to be a deadweight.
So he decided he would at least explore the area. He is familiar with this region more than anyone else on this trip. But all he had noticed so far was that nearby residents were much more reluctant to venture near the mansion grounds than when he remembered. His grandfather always had a reputation for being eccentric but never before was it so strong that it scared people away.
Gwendal sending such a huge army might be probably just for the show, but the fact, that Yuuri agreed on it must have something to it.
After his patrol was over, he returned to the camp set up next to the residence where they were staying. The main building was too small for everyone to accommodate, so the rest of the soldiers slept in tents. Dinner time was slowly approaching, the preparation of which he could already see. He set off to explore the area right after breakfast, and it took him longer than he expected.
"Where have you been?" Wolfram turned at the sound of Conrad's voice. The man was standing right behind him, a disgruntled expression on his face.
"Exploring the area." The younger boy turned back and tried to walk away, considering the exchange over. Conrad, however, caught up with him and continued.
"Alone?"
"You didn't let me take my people here, so I didn't have much choice."
Conrad held out his hand in front of him, stopping him. "You shouldn't leave this place at all. We still haven't checked the area thoroughly, and we don't know how safe it is here. "
"Well, I did it for you. Completely empty, I didn't encounter a single soul almost to my grandfather's mansion. "Wolfram passed him and continued walking towards the main building.
"Wolfram!" Conrad exclaimed in warning, but his brother ignored him and walked away.
He was okay, and everything was fine, so he didn't see any point in worrying about it. He can take care of himself, and they really should stop treating him as a child. It even stopped irritating him – it was just exhausting.
He went straight to his room. Thanks to all the fuss around, he could eat there, and no one will have a problem with that. When he entered, he noticed that Yuuri was sitting behind the desk, browsing through quite a large file of documents.
Wolfram was about to speak something but noticed the same aura around his fiance that he had seen during the meeting in the castle. He paused mid-step, unsure how to react.
The figure, however, quickly noticed him and gave him a scolding look, which made him flinch in alarm. Whatever it was, the presence of that… side of Yuuri was making him uncomfortable.
"Where have you been?" he heard the same question again. Wolfram took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He wasn't going to show how distressed he was. He resumed his walk around the room, heading towards the table by the window.
"I just looked around." He replied and sat down in the chair, avoiding looking at the other person.
"This man was considered dangerous enough that we needed an army to come with us here, and you just decided to walk around?"
"He's a noble, so this army is mostly just for show. Besides, the area didn't look very dangerous. And even if it does, I can defend myself. I don't see the point in worrying about it so much. "
He didn't understand why anyone was so upset about it. After all, he wasn't a wimp who couldn't take care of himself but a soldier. Moreover, he knew the area pretty well, so he was sure he could handle it.
Yuuri, however, seemed to disagree with him completely. He put the papers on the desk and walked over to the table.
"You keep telling me that I shouldn't go anywhere alone, but it looks like you're not going to follow your own rules."
"I am a soldier. I can take care of myself and ..."
"Enough." Yuuri interrupted him. His tone of voice was so loud and firm that Wolfram flinched. "You are prohibited from leaving this building. It's an order, do you understand? "
Wolfram blinked a few times and turned his head, finally staring at the face of his interlocutor, whose expression strongly reminded him of that Gwandal's. He was trying to protest, but he was unable to say anything for some reason. So, he was just staring in disbelief until Yuuri turned around and left the room.
He spent the whole time in his bedroom until supper, still not quite believing what had happened. He was walking in circles, not knowing what to do with himself. He had gone out on the balcony a few times, wondering if he should just ignore the order and leave. After all, Yuuri is unlikely to punish him for it. But then he saw the face of the second version of his fiance, and he gave up the idea at once.
After supper, Wolfram decided that he could no longer stay in one room, so he took the book he had found on one of the bookshelves and decided to take it to the main salon.
The room was empty, but someone had lit a fire in the fireplace. A pleasant warmth was spreading from it, so Wolfram sat as close to the fireplace as possible. He opened the book and was about to begin reading but noticed Conrad entering the room.
He was too pleased with himself, which made Wolfram roll his eyes.
"I have heard that His Majesty has grounded you." The older man began in a cheerful tone. He was clearly satisfied with this decision.
Wolfram held back all this time, but here it is. The perfect object to take his anger out, asking for it himself, with that annoying smirk of his. The book went towards the man's head just as he was about to start the next sentence. Conrad, however, dodged, and the object hit the wall behind him.
Completely unfazed, Conrad walked over to the couch and sat down a bit away from him. Wolfram folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the backrest, exhaling an unhappy sigh.
"What is this anyway? Why did this wimp suddenly act so weird? And none of you seem to care at all. "
Conrad looked at him for a moment. "This has been going on for a while." He started, "We talked to Great Sage about it, but he said it was a natural event and we have nothing to worry about."
Wolfram looked at him incredulously.
"And that's it? You just accepted it without asking?"
"Well, everyone was glad that His Majesty was finally starting to take his responsibilities so seriously, and there was nothing to worry about either. Great Sage knows what's going on and has already prepared himself properly, so we figured we'd leave it in his hands. "
So they just ignored it. Even if Great Sage claims he has everything under control, this sudden personality change is too weird. Aside from the fact that they still didn't quite know what Maou Mode was. Wolfram was not able to fully trust the second double-black. He was too mysterious and seemed to be hiding something from them every time. When all this is over, and they will return to the castle, he must go to the Shinou temple and question him thoroughly. He doubted he would be able to get any satisfying answer out of that person, but he could always count on reading something from between the worlds.
Conrad didn't spend much time with him when some of his men called him out. Wolfram then decided it was time for him to come back to the bedroom. He didn't want to be here anymore.
He bathed and readied himself to sleep but didn't go to bed yet. The room was empty, as usually those days. Wolfram had an impression that Yuuri was coming back later and later.
And although he understood that he had a lot of responsibilities on his head, such a thing would have a profound effect on his health. Gwendal and the rest should pay more attention to this unless they also choose to ignore it. It seems that, as long as the job was done well, nothing else interested them. As soon as they come back, he intends to share his opinion with them as well.
While he was still lost in thought, he heard the door to the room slowly open. Someone cautiously slipped inside and quietly closed them behind him. It was completely dark in the room - Wolfram's eyes were already quite tired, so he decided to turn off all the lights - the newcomer, however, smoothly headed straight towards the bed. Wolfram noticed that it was Yuuri, who probably hadn't seen him sitting in the chair, and assumed that he was already asleep. However, when the double-black noticed that the bed was empty, he quickly withdrew and began to look around the room.
Wolfram didn't like his panicked movements. Did Yuuri think that the blonde decided to just sneak out in the middle of the night?
"Are you looking for something?" Yuuri jumped at the sound of his voice, but his posture quickly relaxed. He walked over to the chair where Wolfram was sitting, placing his arm on the backrest behind him.
"Are you still awake?" His voice was soft and gentle. Wolfram was still a little worried that he would still be in his... more serious version, but hearing him now, he relaxed completely. He didn't show it, however. Instead, he turned around, folding his hands over his chest, making it clear that he was still angry.
"And why are YOU still awake?" Wolfram was unable to see his face, but he was sure Yuuri was now smiling apologetically.
"There is still a lot to discuss before we can deal with ... current affairs."
"It will be hard for you to do this while sleep-deprived. Fainting from fatigue is not behavior suited for a king." Wolfram suddenly flinched as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.
"Alright, alright. I'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about." Yuuri put his other hand on his shoulder and started making small circles with his thumbs. "You're still mad about the whole no-go ban, aren't you?"
"Don't try to change the topic." He wanted to reply irritably, but his tone was much softer than he wished to. Trying to ignore the sudden touch didn't go very well either - the feeling was much nicer than he had expected.
"We can make a small exception as long as you are not alone. It's been a long time since I had a chance for my morning runs, so I wanted to go tomorrow between work. And it would be nice if you join."
Wolfram finally turned away and looked at his fiance. Yuuri's face was illuminated by moonlight, making his warm smile clearly visible. Something in the man's eyes made Wolfram's heart begin to beat faster. He stared for several seconds and then turned away, nodding slightly.
The blonde could feel Yuuri leaning closer to him, his hands running down his back and waist. His body started to heat up. It was already too much for him. He needed to already go to sleep before his heart explodes.
He got up from his chair and tried to walk toward the bed, but Yuuri's hands did not leave his body. Instead, they descended lower and began to draw him towards their owner. Before he knew it, he was locked into a gentle embrace.
"Yuuri..." he tried to say something, but the grip tightened slightly as soon as he spoke. Wolfram fought with himself for a while and finally decided to rest his head on the other boy's shoulder.
They stayed like this without doing anything more, and Wolfram took that time to calm himself. He was fine with something like this, but he automatically started to panic when Yuuri tried to make something more. It wasn't the other boy's fault, just an after-effect of his previous "relationships" when he was treated like a pretty doll to play with. It might be half his fault with his choice of men, but he isn't so good at determining who will treat him how.
But Yuuri didn't mind, for which Wolfram was grateful. They can just go one step at a time, and Wolfram hoped he would be okay with it. Even if thinking about it made him nervous for an entirely different reason.
"It's late. Let's go to sleep. " Yuuri released him, grabbed his wrist, and led him to the bed. Then he went to get ready for sleep while Wolfram waited for him, already wrapped in the sheets. When he came back and lay down next to the blonde, they both went to sleep right away, holding hands as always.
When Wolfram woke up in the morning, Yuuri was no longer in the bedroom. The boy just sighed in resignation and began to dress. Since Yuuri is not going to listen to him, all he can do is accept it for the moment. But only for a while until he comes up with a different approach. If words don't work on him, he must find another way.
He had some time until breakfast, so he decided to spend that time planning. Maybe he can achieve something in today's running session. He was slightly excited about the occasion. He was tired of sitting around doing nothing, so today, he'll be able to vent a little.
He wanted to go to the armchair he was sitting in yesterday, but he suddenly heard a scream so loud it felt as if his head was about to explode.
Instinctively, he covered his ears with his hands, even though he knew it would be useless. He was already used to those sounds, but now they were much louder than ever. It was so intrusive that he felt dizzy.
He looked at his wrist and noticed that the bracelet his father gave him had slipped and was now lying on the ground. So he knelt, trying to pick it up and put it back on his arm. Then he noticed a pair of shoes suddenly appear in front of him.
He jerked his head up so hard that he felt unsteady and almost lost balance. He tried to get up and jump back, but his body didn't respond as quickly as he wanted to. And the screams were already so loud that he had trouble thinking.
A strange man was in front of Wolfram, looking at him with a mocking smile. He was slowly approaching the boy, who tried to step back simultaneously. The blonde had the impression that everything was getting hotter every time the stranger got closer. Only after a while did he notice that they were no longer in his bedroom but in a strange room, entirely consumed by fire.
There was nowhere to withdraw if he did not want to burn himself. He was sure it was just an illusion, possibly produced by the same thing that made him hear the screams. However, the fire was too realistic. So realistic that he was able to feel its warmth against his skin.
Wolfram looked around, trying to find another way to escape, but the strange man was already right in front of him, blocking any way to move. Then, he extended his hand and touched Wolfram's forehead before he was able to react. And everything disappeared at this moment, swallowed by nothingness.