Usually, it takes two days to travel from the castle to that place on a fast horse, but this time a small army was going with them, so they would be lucky if they made it in five. Everything depended on the weather, but until now, it was warm and sunny, and there was no sign that it would suddenly start raining.
Yuuri and Wolfram had breakfast that day in the royal chambers with Greta and spent some more time with her afterward, waiting until everything was ready to head out. Wolfram even combed their daughter's hair and arranged it into a hairstyle that Yuuri thought was just a tangle of braids decorated with artificial flowers, but Greta was delighted, so he preferred not to comment.
When they finally went out into the main courtyard, most of their party had already left. Only Gwendal's, Conrad's, and Wolfram's personal soldiers remained - the latter especially happy that they would finally have a break from training and go outside the castle walls.
However, most people had serious faces, given the purpose of their trip. The only sounds of conversation were the last orders given by the commanders.
"Please take care, Your Majesty!" Gunter went outside to say goodbye to them, as always, almost crying that they were leaving him behind. In their absence, he would be in charge of taking care of the castle. Rosalinde immediately followed him out, but Yuuri tried with all his might to ignore her.
"Don't worry. We'll take care of it quickly and get back right away. So I leave everything in your hands."
"Ah, Your Majesty, you have nothing to worry about! I, His Majesty's personal teacher and advisor, Gunter von Christ, will see to everything in your absence." He said some more, but Yuuri stopped listening to him. It's a learned skill after spending so much time with Gunter, and one that was necessary if you didn't want to hear something disturbing.
"It's just a pity you won't be around for so long." Rosalinde finally cut in with a cloying voice. "I will miss you so much. I hope you will make it up to me somehow when you return."
Yuuri smiled crookedly, having no idea what she was talking about. Why would he make anything up to her? Her imagination seems to have gone too far. He examined her look, trying to find some words to answer her.
The girl had outdone herself with today's creation and looked like she was going to a ball. In addition, her dress was very much in Celi's style. But, unfortunately for her, she was not shaped like Celi. And her long blond hair didn't make anything easier and only made him even more inclined to compare the two. In addition, the dress was blue, an almost identical shade to Wolfram's uniform, and Yuuri wondered if that was on purpose.
If Rosalinde decided that she would now also compare herself visually to Wolfram, she had no chance with him.
Mentioning Wolfram, the boy was already standing by his horse and observing him from there. Yuuri was grateful that he didn't run up to him, calling him a cheater, but his furious gaze made him feel like he was treading on thin ice. A feeling he had managed to forget already and, for some reason, welcomed.
He wanted to say something that would make the girl give him a break, but he didn't want to be unkind. But, on the other hand, Rosalinde wasn't nice to anyone but him, so did it matter that much?
"I'm afraid that, as before, I won't have time for anyone else besides my family, so don't get your hopes too high."
"But you still have time for Wolfram."
"Exactly." He walked away from her before she could respond, feeling proud of himself. He glanced at Wolfram, who was no longer even looking in his direction. Oh, c'mon, he could at least praise him.
He approached him, intending to get some comment out of him with his own hands, but then Gwendal announced in a loud voice that they were departing.
Conrad brought him his horse, and they set off, riding through the city. Gwendal was at the front, along with Adelhard, while Conrad and Wolfram rode on his sides. His boyfriend was still not paying attention to him, discussing something with one of his men.
The passing of such an army immediately attracted people's attention. They gathered in the street and looked curiously out of the windows, many pointing their fingers at him with excitement. He felt more like they were a parade than an army march, but it was good that they didn't cause panic. So he tried to act appropriately and waved back to the people with a grin.
"Wimp," Wolfram muttered under his breath, and Yuuri almost laughed out loud. He had to put his hand to his mouth to stop himself. "What's so funny to you?"
"Nothing. Just good to hear you again."
Wolfram raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"Do you have a new bracelet?" He started a new topic as Wolfram seemed to turn his attention away from him again.
"My father gave it to me." He replied indifferently but pulled his sleeve to cover the jewelry.
"It suits you."
Wolfram may not have looked like a fan of such ornaments, but something so simple looked good on him. Maybe he should get him something too? It would be nice to see his boyfriend wear something he got from him.
"It only to help me with... Never mind." He shook his head again and directed his attention back to the boy riding beside him. What are they discussing so much again? For some reason, Yuuri felt jealous. After all, Wolfram had spent so much time with his men during training, and it still wasn't enough to discuss everything?
They left the city, and the people around them finally disappeared. Now they passed only fields and grasslands with the occasional house there and there. The rural landscape was pleasant to look at but repetitive and quickly got boring, so he spent most of the way talking to Conrad. Unless they passed some animals, in which case he would point excitedly to grazing cows or sheep. It was difficult for Wolfram to understand what was interesting about this, but for a boy raised in the suburbs, the sight of any animals was exciting.
"They're just cows. And on top of that, these only have two horns," Wolfram said, looking at the animals behind a low wooden fence. It didn't look strong enough to stop any of the animals from escaping, but the pasture was overgrown with lush green grass, so maybe they didn't have any reason to run away.
"Wait. They can have more than two horns?"
"Of course. The more horns a cow has, the better its meat. These are probably only for milk."
Yuuri tried to imagine a cow with several horns, but his imagination failed him after four. So now he looked out for cows even more carefully, hoping to see one with five or more horns.
Eventually, night came, and they had to stop. Riding with so many people, there was no way they could just stay at some inn, so they took their own tents with them. They set them up in a vast clearing as it began to get dark. Yuuri's tent stood first; its inside looked more like the inside of a house's room than the tent's one. And this was after he made it clear that he didn't want to take any excess furniture or unnecessary decorations.
A simple double bed, a table with two chairs, and a desk. Plus a soft carpet in the middle. Only the fabric walls reminded him that he was still in the travel.
He glanced at the double bed, and a flicker of hope ignited in his mind. He peered outside, looking for Wolfram. This time he was talking to his father, but thankfully, he was facing him and saw Yuuri.
The boy looked at him for a moment, then excused himself and approached him, leaving Adelhard behind. The man had a knowing smile on his face, and Yuuri freaked out that he could read his mind.
"Is something wrong?" Wolfram looked around the tent as if he expected to find a bear. However, he didn't go all the way in, so Yuuri decided to grab him by the hand and pull him inside, not wanting anybody to see them talk.
And then they stood for a while, waiting for the nearest soldiers to stop laughing. Perhaps he acted a little ambiguously, and even Wolfram blushed. That's why he was now afraid to ask. After all, these walls are so thin, everyone will hear what they are talking about.
So he leaned closer to whisper a question in his boyfriend's ear, but when Wolfram's face came so close to his, he immediately decided that was an even worse idea.
"Er..." He hesitated, but he didn't feel like backing away.
"Do something stupid, and I'll have to stick to Gwendal like a dog for the rest of the trip," Wolfram whispered, taking a step back.
"I just wanted to ask where you will sleep," he said resignedly.
"With my father in our tent."
"So there's no option for you to sneak out to me at night?"
Wolfram crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to his right leg, looking at him as if he had said something stupid.
"I mean... We hardly ever see each other, and when we do get the chance, something always gets in the way. Sometimes I feel like everyone is trying to break up our relationship." He stared at the floor, feeling foolish for saying it out loud.
"Yuuri." Wolfram sighed and walked back over to him. When Yuuri raised his head, his boyfriend was looking at the tent's exit and listening for a moment. And then he leaned in slightly, kissed him on the cheek, and smiled gently. "They're just worried. Don't take it too personally." His expression was so gentle that Yuuri forgot about all his worries. It was unexpected for Wolfram to kiss him like that, but he didn't complain.
Then, the boy looked again at the tent's exit and went out, saying they would see each other at the dinner.
Yuuri raised his hand to his cheek, feeling a burning warmth where Wolfram's lips touched him. A very pleasant warmth. A wide smile appeared on his face, and he stood like that for a while, replaying the moment in his mind.
He left the tent only when Conrad came to take him to dinner. He was probably involuntarily grinning the whole time because everyone was looking at him significantly, and Conrad asked if anything good had happened. He was afraid to answer because Wolfram glared at him the whole time, so he only nodded slightly. With this kind of behavior, he probably couldn't hope for anything more in the near future, but he couldn't help himself
They ate dinner at a table with a tablecloth and full tableware. Conrad told him that with so many people around, it would be appropriate to keep up appearances, but Yuuri wondered if there was still a point in doing so. Most of the soldiers had already begun to act casually around him and only straightened up abruptly when Gwendal or Wolfram looked at them. But there was nothing he could change now, so he adjusted to the situation.
He was unable to determine which tent was Wolfram's and Adelhard's, and Wolfram himself did not even speak to him before going to bed. Here's how quickly he was able to turn the whole situation. Yuuri wondered if the argument that he had to get used to it would help anything. He didn't want Wolfram to decide that if he couldn't even handle a kiss on the cheek, he shouldn't get anything more. But no matter what, it was definitive that this night he would spend alone.
This was his first outing outside the castle in a long time, and even if he didn't feel so much that he was actually outside, the noises coming through the tent walls strongly reminded him of that.
The initial rustle and busyness eventually quieted down once most of the soldiers had gone to sleep. After that, only a few circulated slowly through the encampment, keeping watch. The sounds of the night took on a life of their own, crickets, owls, and some other bird he could not identify. Usually, it was a soothing sound, but now Yuuri was turning from side to side.
He should have been tired after the trip and fallen asleep as soon as he put his head on the pillow. But he was unable to.
Maybe he's already become unused to sleeping outside? Well, there was no point in lying in bed if it won't do anything. So maybe if he goes outside and breathes fresh air, he will feel sleepy.
After leaving the tent, he looked around for some quiet place to sit down and, to his delight, found Wolfram sitting on a downed log at the edge of the camp.
The boy raised his head and looked at him as soon as he heard Yuuri approaching, which was a nice change.
He sat down next to him and breathed deeply. The night air was pleasantly cool.
"You're not sleeping?" Wolfram asked. He was still dressed in his uniform.
"I can't fall asleep. What about you?"
"I couldn't stand my father's comments anymore, so I decided to wait outside until he fell asleep."
"Sorry," Yuuri muttered, and Wolfram sighed, leaning back and looking at the sky. But this time it wasn't gazing at something that was not for Yuuri to be seen but only observing stairs. Thes he already could tell by only looking at his eyes.
Maybe it wasn't bad for Wolfram to come? Thanks to this, he could see him coming back to himself. It was reassuring; finally, something good was happening.
Yuuri noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Conrad standing casually among the tents. And that was it for their nightly rendezvous. But nothing would stop him from holding his boyfriend's hand, and Wolfram even smiled when he did. It was good to see him responding again. It would be even nicer if he paid more attention to him.
"Your father always behaves like this?"
"I suppose life in the temple is boring, so he must find entertainment on his own."
"Do you think he likes me?"
"What?"
"Well, he's your father, so it wouldn't be good if he didn't like me."
Wolfram shrugged his shoulders.
"He advocated for me to go back to the castle with you. But I'm not sure he doesn't see it as just another source of entertainment."
"He stood up for you? So that's why you were able to go so suddenly?"
"Just don't mention to him that you know, or he might start demanding something from you in return."
"So, it was like that? Well, I'm grateful. At least one person who doesn't oppose us dating."
"What are you babbling about again?"
"They don't even let me get close to you."
"If you begging for another kiss, you can forget about it."
Yuuri laughed weakly and stuck his gaze to the ground.
"I can't even spend time alone with my boyfriend. I feel like they're treating me like some kind of beast that can't control itself." He kicked at the ground in frustration.
Wolfram moved and sat closer to him, so their shoulders were in contact.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.
Yuuri lifted his head and looked at him, raising his eyebrows.
"I can walk you to your tent if you feel unwell."
A few moments passed before the gears aligned properly in his head, and he had to fight with all his self-control to keep the excitement from appearing on his face.
"As you mention it now, I actually feel weak. And I'm a little dizzy, so maybe it's better if you help me." He engaged all his acting skills but still sounded stiff.
Wolfram smiled, his eyes becoming so warm Yuuri thought it was enough to warm up his whole body. He helped him up from the trunk, and together they walked toward the royal tent.
"I bet everyone is listening more carefully now than even while they're expecting an attack, so you'd better be quiet," Wolfram whispered in his ear as they went inside and pushed him slightly toward the bed. "Now go sleep."
He wanted to start protesting but saw Wolfram unbutton his jacket and quickly looked away, doing as he was ordered, just to keep his thoughts from going in the wrong direction.
Once he was lying down, tucked under the covers, the bed creaked slightly when Wolfram climbed on and lay down next to him. He was still wearing pants and a white shirt, making Yuuri somewhat unhappy. But it's unlikely he would ask him to go back to his tent for his nightgown.
He reached out and put his arm around Wolfram's waist and pulled him closer to himself. They stared at each other in the darkness, and although Yuuri wanted to stay that way, he felt sleepiness overtake him. At first, he tried to fight it, but when Wolfram's breathing calmed and quieted down, he realized that the boy had already fallen asleep. So he smiled and, drawing him even closer and hugging him, also gave himself over to the embrace of sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, Wolfram was gone. And when he went out to eat breakfast, most of the soldiers were acting oddly stiff, as if they had been scolded for something. Because of the strange atmosphere, Yuuri preferred not to ask what had happened, but it made him feel like behaving better, or he too would be scolded. Fortunately, no one also brought up what happened last night, and everyone ate in silence.
They quickly packed up their belongings and continued on their way. The landscape had already begun to change last evening, with gentle hills getting higher and higher. They began to climb an exceptionally high hill, which might as well have been a low mountain, overgrown with forest on one side and a meadow on the other. And when they reached the top, Wolfram poked him lightly and pointed to a high mountain range visible in the distance.
"This is the border of Bielefeld territory," he said, smiling. "Although it will take us a few more days to get there."
"I saw them when I went there to get you earlier," Yuuri replied, looking up at the blue peaks. It took them almost a full day to cross the pass then, and the temperature there was as low as if it were eternal winter.
"But now we'll be going through a different pass. Two completely opposite mountain ranges merge there and create an amazing view."
"Really?" He smiled at the excitement in Wolfram's eyes.
"Those mountains we see now look like they are made of ice. It's so cold there that no one has been able to climb them even halfway up the lowest mountain. And there are only a few passes that are safe to drive through. We will use the one located where this mountain range joins the volcanic mountains that separate us from Voltaire territory. There, on the other hand, it is too hot to venture deeper because of the lava rivers."
"That's why this pass is called the pass of ice and fire," Conrad added.
That's some really fantasy stuff, Yuuri thought. The volume of work had already numbed him, and he had almost forgotten that he was in a world where dragons existed and his boyfriend was a demon able to control fire. And he felt the urge to go on some adventure again.
Even though the ice mountains were still far away, it was already possible to see how high they were even from this distance. He wondered if they were higher than Mt. Everest.
"And no one has ever been able to climb them, right?" He wondered, looking at the peaks in the distance.
"I know a few people tried, but most of them froze." Wolfram followed his gaze. "But in Rachadale, during nice weather, you can see something interesting on the slope of one of the mountains." He paused, looking at Yuuri with anticipation.
"What's that?" He smiled indulgently. He didn't expect Wolfram to go into storyteller mode.
"Ruins. Huge ones at that. They look like castle ruins, built of black stone, so they stand out clearly. Most people trying to explore these mountains go there. But no one has yet managed to make it to that place. In addition, there is no information about it anywhere, so no one knows who built it or when. But that means that someone once lived there, right?"
"They must have been immune to the cold in that case."
"Who knows. Maybe there was no ice on these mountains before." Wolfram stared at the mountain peaks with dreamy eyes, and Yuuri wondered if he himself had tried to get there. And if not, he was probably thinking about it. "There are several other ruins in places impossible to get to. I wonder who built them."
"Maybe ask Murata? He was around here four thousand years ago, so maybe he heard something about it."
"He said they were already ruins then, and no one knew anything about it."
Of course, he had already asked him. Before that, for a long time, there was no indication of this, but it turned out that Wolfram was a big fan of adventure books. Once, he even summarized his favorite one to him, about the search for some lost treasure. Yuuri guessed that for a prince who had been sheltered for most of his life, anything related to this would be exciting. He even suspected that when Wolfram first insisted on joining him on the expedition to find Morgif, it was actually because it reminded him of an adventure from his books. It was charming to imagine Wolfram complaining about his outings every now and then, yet deep down, he was already looking forward to them.
But mentioning Morgif. He had it clipped to his belt almost all the time but almost forgot that he had taken it with him. Gunter said it was a necessity for Maou to have his sword with him, especially during an important trip, but Yuuri was reluctant to do so, mainly because of how loud the sword can be. But, to his surprise, this one was completely silent. At first, he thought it was sleeping, but now he was worried about whether it was sick. Could the sword get sick? He wasn't sure, but with Morogif, nothing would surprise him anymore. He just hoped it wasn't contagious.
When night came again, and Yuuri was getting ready to sleep in his tent, he almost was crazy with happiness when Wolfram came in and announced that he would sleep with him. He didn't ask why or how he managed to convince the others to do so and didn't even have a chance to do so, as Wolfram shushed him and told him to just go to sleep.
For the trip, Wolfram took a much simpler, peach-colored nightgown, which was much shorter than usual and didn't even cover his knees. And because of this, Yuuri got hit on the head with a pillow because he stared longer than he should have.
Sleeping with Wolfram was much more pleasant than alone, and if you put your arms around him and hug him tightly, he doesn't even wriggle much while sleeping. That's why he woke up in the morning rested and ready to continue his journey.
That day the mountains were much closer, and during a meal break, Conrad told him that soon they would be turning onto the road leading to the pass, and they would have the mountains on their left for some time.
On the fourth day, the peaks of the mountains were already sinking into the sky, and the pass could be seen. It stood out strongly, as the mountains were rapidly shrinking at this point.
And on the fifth day, they finally got there.
Yuuri stopped his horse and stared at the pass for a moment. The whole experience was all the more pleasant because of Wolfram, who stared at him with anticipation. He was really proud of his territory and waited for Yuuri's reaction to it.
The pass was wide and partially sheltered by a mountain. It looked as if someone had carved a tunnel in its side. So on the left, one had a wall of frozen earth, and on the right, the pass gently transitioned into a small mountain. Or rather, it was an active volcano from which lava flowed lazily and flowed like a river toward the pass, creating a fiery barrier separating them from the rest of this mountain range. So, for obvious reasons, they all preferred to stick as close as possible to the frozen wall.
It was only now coming to him why no one ventured deeper into these mountains. Wolfram was really literal when mentioning rivers of lava.
"Are there a lot of volcanoes up there?" Yuuri asked when, after passing the first fire mountain, another one appeared, just as active.
"From what can be observed, almost all the mountains are active volcanoes." Wolfram and his men were the only ones riding on the right side of the group. They were probably used to it by now. "But what's interesting is that the lava never flows beyond the area of the mountains. That's why you can put buildings very close to the border and not worry about them burning down."
"Who would want to be so close to the lava?"
"A lot of people. It's a popular tourist attraction. Even if the effect is the same, people are willing to pay a lot more to stay in a bathhouse whose water is heated over the lava. It's the same with cooking."
"Cooking on lava, huh? I think I've heard of something similar even on Earth."
"People on Earth use lava stones, right?" Conrad said.
"Yeah, I think my father was talking about it after dinner with a client."
"Well, here you have live, unsolidified lava," Wolfram said proudly. "In some places, it forms large lakes. And there's even a lava waterfall at one of our residences. My uncle likes to hold meetings for important guests there. The entire side wall is glassed in, so you have a great view from there."
For some reason, he had the feeling that he would never be invited to any of these meetings for "important guests."
It took them almost a full day to cross the pass, during which Wolfram told him more about the tourist attractions centered around the lava and even demonstrated to him how to cook on lava during a meal break. It wasn't too different from cooking on a campfire except that you had to be much more careful - so Conrad kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't get too close - and the food tasted slightly different - Wolfram said it was due to the lack of smoke.
They had already spent the night beyond the pass and, to the relief of most of the expedition members, far from the lava. Although after darkness fell, a luminous glow could still be seen.
This will be their last night in the open air. The next evening they will arrive at their destination. They are not heading straight to the residence of Lord Burenward, Wolfram's grandfather. Instead, they'll stop at a place that, as he recently learned, belongs to him. One of the summer residences for the king, where he can go on vacation. It's just a shame that it will be used for a completely different reason. However, now that he knew about it, he was going to take a break afterward and spend some time in one such place.
The next day they began to move even further away from the fiery mountains, which Yuuri was relieved about - he didn't want someone with Burenward's reputation to be so close to the lava because that could end up even worse than it was already. In the afternoon, a small town appeared in the distance, which was already not far from their destination. However, they did not pass through it, instead turning onto the road going around it. It's possible that Gwendal didn't want to disturb the locals. After all, people here were not as used to the sight of soldiers as those in the capital.
It was already beginning to get dark when they reached a small residence, at the sight of which Yuuri realized that most of the soldiers would have to sleep in tents anyway. The two-story building looked like a charming country residence, with light blue walls with ornamental shrubs growing alongside. In front of the entrance was a veranda supported by wooden columns, on which stood several fabric-lined chairs. Yuuri sat down on one of them, wanting to catch his breath after the journey.
Wolfram sat next to him, leaning his elbow against the veranda railing. They were told to wait outside until they were sure everything was ready and safe. So all they had to do was watch the tents set up in the fields in front of the building.
"Who would have thought that this place belongs to me." Yuuri looked around. He liked the simple style of the residence, although he felt sorry for the garden, which ended up trampled under the soldiers' boots.
"It was a gift to the king. Although I don't know how long ago and under what circumstances it was given. At one time, it must have been a lovely place to spend the summer."
He nodded. Because of its proximity to a certain person's residence, it probably no longer was.
"Are you familiar with the area?"
"I've been to the city several times. And at my grandfather's house before he was declared insane. The surrounding woods are abundant with wildlife, and it's a good place to hunt, although it's mostly the townspeople who use it now."
"You used to hunt here?"
"I'm not a fan of hunting."
"Yeah. That doesn't sound like something for me either."
Wolfram smiled slightly and stood up when Conrad came to tell them they could go in now. Before walking through the door, he stroked the lion statue standing on a pedestal next to the entrance. Carved from white stone and the size of a house cat, it looked like a guardian of the household. Yuuri also decided to stroke it.
The interior was white, with light wood accents. Due to the late hour and the commotion of setting up camp, they decided to discuss any matters regarding further moves the next day. So after a quick dinner, they were chased together with Wolfram to the bedroom. Maybe it was just because of the lack of places, but Yuuri hoped that they would be able to sleep together and not be separated again when they returned to the castle.