The sound of the feather pen scribbling away surrounded the silent room as he read the documents in his hands, frowning. With a sigh, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Silence greeted him as he opened his eyes and scanned the room. His eyes slowly made their way to gaze upon a particular chair. Already, a faint image of Wolfram appeared seated in that chair, reading. The faint golden-haired boy turned his head and narrowed his emerald green eyes at him, stabbing pangs shot through his heart at the green gaze. Reluctantly, he averted his gaze away and concentrated upon an painting of him.
Seeing the painting, he smiled as he gently lay his cheek on his hand that was on the armrest of the chair. He watched the swirls of striking colors that was supposedly to be him. The smell of the paint still got to him but, now, he did not mind. The paintings were, however, the only things that Wolfram had left behind. Looking away, he chanced upon a small framed picture that was on his cluttered desk. A huge pile of documents obstructed his view of the frame and he frowned. With a swipe of a hand, the huge pile was pushed aside and he was able to fully see the frame. He gazed upon the shiny golden locks and the emerald green eyes.
Without realizing, his hand slowly made its way to gently touch the picture when a sudden knock of the door startled him. His hand jerked, causing the frame to fall forward.
"Your Majesty, I'm very sorry for the -" Conrad started. He stopped short when he saw the dark-haired Maou frowning up at him. With sharp observation, he noticed a small frame cradled in the young Maou's hands. "What is that?"
At Conrad's question, Yuuri looked down blankly and was hit with sudden numbness. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he whipped his head up with a sudden. "This?" he stammered. The brown-haired knight nodded as he secretly smiled.
"Is that happens to be-"
Yuuri shook his head almost instantly. But, he seemed to change his mind and sighed. Without saying a word, he placed the frame back on the desk. "Please don't tell your mother. Who knows what she'll do to me if she finds out that I took her picture of Wolfram."
"She'll be thrilled to know that you've finally admitted but my loyalty goes to the Maou," the knight promised as he made his way towards the young Maou. Yuuri nodded absent-mindedly, his gaze was still on the photo. Suddenly, the dark-haired boy seemed to perk up and glanced at the knight with hopeful eyes.
"So?" he asked. The knight sighed as he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"His answer is still the same," Conrad replied in a sympathetic voice. Crestfallen, Yuuri stood up and made his way to the window behind and sat on the windowsill.
"Is that so?" he asked, his voice soft as he wrapped his arms around his knees and lay his cheek upon the top of his hands.
Silent minutes ticked by as the brown-haired knight watched the dark Maou gazed outside the window. Then, with a sudden, Yuuri lifted his head. Suddenly, he turned to face the knight with a sudden hopefulness in his dark eyes.
Like before, he paced almost haphazardly in front of the stable. Dressed in his usual commoner's clothes, he stopped only to turn and paced again. His chocolate-lensed eyes were narrowed as his brow was set in a frown.
"Where is he?" he muttered.
"Your Majesty," Conrad's voice called out, causing him to stop abruptly. He turned and found the knight standing a few steps behind him.
"It's about time. We haven't got time to waste," he said, turning to enter the stable. Conrad sighed as the Maou disappeared into the stable.
"Conrad? Where is his Majesty?" he heard Gunter asked from behind.
"In there," he answered as he looked over his shoulder. He saw Gunter sitting upon his own horse while Murata was seated pillion behind Yozak. Gwendel, to his surprise, was following them. One of his soldiers came forward and handed over his horse's reins to him.
"Do you have it?" the reincarnated Great Sage asked, his glasses gleaming. Conrad nodded in answer. The black-haired Sage nodded and smiled enigmatically.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Gunter asked. Gwendel gave out a stifling snort.
"He deserves it," he curtly answered. Gunter glared at him to which the grey-haired knight ignored.
"Now, now. It'd be all right Gunter. No harm will be done to any of them," Murata replied with a cheeky grin. Gunter nodded in resignation while Yozak and Conrad smiled.
Trees whizzed past as he and the others galloped out of a dense forest. Already, he caught a glimpse of the next village looming closer with each gallop. Anxiety and anticipation coursed through his veins as he impatiently sped past Conrad and the others. Above, Kohi and another flying skeleton flew past them and he saw them landing swiftly onto one of the roofs of the village houses. Pulling the reins, his black horse came to a stop just a few distance away from a large field. His eyes scanned the area and he saw several of the villagers were hard at work of tending to the fields.
Cries of child-like laughter rang at his side and he turned his head slightly just as the others caught up with him. From far, he watched as lots of the village children played under a huge tree; a dark-haired boy chasing several of the children as they ran giggling away from him. For a moment, another faint image of Wolfram replaced the black-haired boy. He blinked twice and the image disappeared. "He would never allow himself to be surrounded by children. Much less human children," he muttered. Conrad, whose horse trotted to stand beside him, heard the soft mutter. He then smiled, an enigmatic smile that was particularly to no one.
The children laughed around him as he chased after them. Several of the villagers who were nearby smiled at them before returning back to the fields. One of the children, Alex, poked him at his leg and he turned. Setting a mock anger expression, he pretended to be outrage and chased after the squealing child. Suddenly, something caught his attention and he stopped short. The children, too, stopped running as they stared back at him with confusion in their eyes. Ignoring them, he walked a little out from under the shading tree and his eyes widened a little.
There, in the distant, a group of horsemen appeared just before the fields where the villagers were working. Lily came to stand beside him and gently tugged on his hand.
"Wolfe?" she called out as she looked up to see a stricken expression on his face. But he somehow did not hear her as his blue gaze fixed on a certain reddish-brown haired boy seated atop on a very familiar black horse.
He could hear his heart beating faster with each passing second. Panic coursed through his body as he took a step back. It was not true. He should not be here. Those were the thoughts that kept repeating themselves in his mind. Suddenly, through his dazed trance, he heard several of the children crying and Lily repeatedly calling out his name worriedly. Mentally, he shook his head and looked down at the children. He lowered himself to their level and began to soothe them.
"It's all right. I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine, see?" he consoled them as they ran into his embrace. From amidst the children's head, he watched as the group of horsemen made their way into the village. When the last of the horsemen disappeared behind several of the village house, did he finally turned his full attention to the children.
- I don't care about what my destiny is. I'll not accept, no, I refuse to accept a destiny that does not have you in it. No matter how much the angels of destiny try to separate us, I'll always come back to you. Your heart may be broken and it cannot be mended. But I'll be the one who will revive your heart. A new love will be born; a stronger bond will be created. I'll scatter the broken pieces of your old heart in welcome of a new love. This I promise you. - (Yuuri Shibuya)