It was yet again another ball. And another night watching him dancing with the women attending. He knew that it was another royal duty of his to dance with them, but he, as always, had not been able to suppress the jealousy and anger that threatened to burst out. But surprisingly though, he still managed to control them and watched as his fiancé danced with one of the ladies. Enviously, he watched them twirled around and wished that it could have been him instead. But, he turned around and listened to some of the men talking.
Soon after, he realised that the music had died down and the people there were just chatting with one another. Realising how late it was, he began to search for his daughter, who was last seen playing with Beatrice. One of the maids told him that she had seen Greta somewhere in the castle and he rushed out of the ballroom. Turning a corner, he soon found his daughter giggling with a light brown-haired girl as they gazed upon the bright yellow moon.
"Greta," he called out. He watched as his daughter turned and her eyes drooped a little at the prospect of having to go to bed.
"Just a while more?" his daughter pleaded, her chocolate eyes glittering. The other girl nodded but he shook his head firmly.
"It's already late," he said as he held out a hand towards the small girl. She made a disappointed sound but grasped his hand instead. Turning around, he began to lead the two girls back to the ballroom where he deposited the light brown-haired girl to her father. Once inside her room, he sat down on her bed and tucked the little girl who snuggled deeper into her sheets while trying to stifle a yawn. Giving an approving nod, he stood up and began to walk out of the room.
He walked back into ballroom and began to scan the area for the dark-haired boy but was unable to locate him. Spying his eldest brother nearby, he walked towards the grey-haired man who silently stared at his glass.
"Gwendel, have you seen Yuuri anywhere?" he asked, his emerald green eyes scanning the area at the same time.
"Try the courtyard," his brother curtly said before he finished his glass. Thanking him, he once again walked out of the ballroom.
He could hear murmurs coming from the garden and thought of asking the people there about the whereabouts of the young Maou. But a distinctively familiar voice stopped him in his tracks just before he turned a corner.
"It's such a pity though. It was quite a shock for the people to hear that the great Maou would have to marry one of his knights instead of one of ladies. Such a shame."
"What can I do? I had no clue that slapping was a marriage proposal."
"Pity. You should have slapped me instead of him." He could several of the ladies let out giggles.
"What's done is done. It's bad enough that I've made that mistake. It'd be disastrous if I were to actually marry him."
Several locks of his hair slid forward, hiding his features and his expression. Numbness flowed through his body as the words kept repeating themselves endlessly in his mind and pain-streaked heart. Suddenly, he heard the two of them moving closer to where he was. Fearful that he would be caught for eavesdropping, he quickly snapped himself back to reality and walked away without making a sound.
He had no clue where he was running towards to, but after a few turns and stair-climbings, he realized that he was heading back to their room. His heart pounded furiously against his ribcage, threatening to burst out, as he stood motionless in front of the closed door. Part of him wished to enter the room but another part desperately wanted him to hide and stay hidden forever. Finally, after a few long tensed minutes of silence, he strode towards the door and walked in. Few quick minutes later, he was out again, his arms full of his clothes.
In the midst of the night, a lone shadowy figure hurriedly made its way towards the stable. The moon shifted and moonlight shone upon its commoner's clothes, making it murky green. The figure's golden hair shone and gleamed under the moonlight before he disappeared into the stable. Minutes later, he led one of the horses out by the reins. The animal was not his own white stallion, instead it was an unknown chocolate mare that was docile enough for him to mount on. Fortunately, no one was on duty that night and he was able to slip past out of the castle.
As soon as he was near the gate, he reined in the mare and turned to look back at the castle. His emerald green eyes were dark and murky with unsuppressed emotions and one would have thought that he would turn coward and return back to the castle. Instead, he closed his eyes wistfully and turned to face the front once again. With a quick whip of the reins, he galloped out of the castle without looking back.
A shadow moved away from one of the opened windows of the castle, its brown hair shining under the moonlight. Its dark brown eyes held concern and sympathy for the lone rider but the figure did nothing, except to stare at the rider's fleeting back.
He stifled a yawn as he nodded in acknowledgement as the nobles walked past him. Gunter, his light purple-haired advisor, was beside him while he attended to the people who were getting ready to return back to their homes. His dark eyes spied the faces of the people and his subjects.
"Gunter, where is Wolfram?" he asked thoughtfully when he realized that he had not seen his partner. Gunter looked back at him, his purple eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure where he is. The last I saw him was when he was looking for Greta," the purple-haired man said.
"I see," he said as he turned to walk out of the room once the last of the nobles was gone. "Well then, I'll go and take a look at Greta first before resting for the night," he threw his words over his shoulder at the advisor who nodded back at him.
He walked along the dark hallway, the moonlight was the only source of light around. The nightly scent of the air was calming and soothing but his mind was miles away.
"I wonder where Wolfram is right now," he muttered. "I didn't see him in the ballroom and Greta said that he was going back to ballroom after tucking her in," he said. His daughter had informed him that after tucking her in, his golden-haired father had intended to return back to the ballroom. During that time, he was busy entertaining the guests. Especially the ladies whom he escorted to the garden for a refreshing breather.
"Maybe he's already in the room, fast asleep," he said thoughtfully. Just then, he saw that he had already reached his room. He walked into his room, to find that the room was shrouded in darkness. He walked towards the full-length window and pulled aside the curtains, allowing moonlight to stream inside. He smiled upon seeing the brightly shining moon. Wolfram would appreciate this, even though he was already fast asleep. He stretched his arms straight up and yawned softly lest he would wake up the golden-haired boy. Already an image of the boy in his usual nightgown, snuggled under the sheets, appeared in his mind. He, himself, intended to snuggled against the boy, despite knowing fully that he would be on the floor once again. But as he turned around, his eyes widened with shocking revelation to find there was no golden-haired boy in his bed. Only a piece of paper lay softly atop the soft pillows.