Before Gwendal could respond, Conrad and Gunter arrived and demanded to know Wolfram's condition. Gisela repeated what she had told Gwendal, adding, "It is also possible that Wolfram has been poisoned. His current symptoms are common in a person rejecting a toxic substance."
Gwendal sat back hard in his seat and exchanged a look with Conrad. "Let our guests have their night's rest. We will speak to them in the morning – separately."
Conrad and Gunter nodded their agreement. Gisela said nothing, merely
bowed and left. This was not her concern whereas Wolfram's health was.
XXXXX
Conrad was surprised to find Lars Holsted waiting for him in the morning.
"You have questions for me, my lord." It was a statement of fact and Conrad merely nodded. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"
"Lord von Walde is waiting in his office, sir." Conrad led the way in
silence, trying to assess the elderly gentleman walking beside him.
Conrad remembered Lars from his rare visits to Blood Pledge Castle
while accompanying Wolfram's grandfather. The latter had been a rather
distant man, cold to Conrad and anyone who was not a pure blood
mazoku. Lars, however, had been kind and always had seemed to treat
Wolfram well.
"Lord Gwendal." Conrad knocked on the open office door before entering with Lars. He closed the office door for privacy, taking up a position beside it. It gave him the opportunity to observe the visitor and the conversation without being a distraction.
"Please, sit." Gwendal rose to greet the Bielefeld advisor. He motioned for Lars to take a seat before returning to his own.
"Please," Lars spoke before Gwendal's questioning began, "my life is already forfeit, but you must hear me. Lord Wolfram is in danger, as is the king." He reached for an inner pocket only to have Conrad stop him. The soldier had moved from his post at the door before the older man even realized what had happened. "I just... in my pocket." The man motioned towards the inner jacket pocket but made no farther attempt to reach for it, letting Conrad retrieve the small vial instead.
"It's a Bielefeld secret. Lord Ulrich wanted his own version of a mind-controlling potion like the Wincott's and has had healers and alchemists working to develop one for years. Now he's used it on Wolfram."
"Why?" Conrad demanded, holding the vial away from himself in disgust.
"To kill the king and assume the throne." Lars looked down, unable to meet the eyes of Wolfram's brothers. "He never recovered after Wolfram's father died; since the war he's focused all his anger on humans and half-breeds." Lars murmured an apology to Conrad, then continued. "I had been tending to matters on our borders and returned shortly after Lord Wolfram's arrival. I didn't know..." He looked up with tears shining in his eyes. "He's like the child I never had, I would never hurt him! But Lord Ulrich... all those years of filling that sweet boy's head with poisonous words wasn't enough. He's poisoned Wolfram's body too, and he plans to use Wolfram to kill the king!"
"Is this the potion?" Conrad gestured with the bottle. "We must take it to Gisela immediately."
"It is, but you need to hear the rest before you give it to your healer. I've been giving Wolfram a counter-potion. It's not a true antidote, but it lessens the effects of the Bielefeld potion. It's here." He gestured to another pocket in his jacket and waited while Conrad removed the small bottle and set it on the desk beside the first vial. "The Bielefeld potion doesn't allow the user to control the victim completely the way the Wincott formula does. It only works on someone who is weak, physically and mentally. Lord Ulrich tried to weaken Wolfram by restraining him in a cell and depriving him of food and sleep. The potion was administered twice daily followed by instructions to kill the maou, banish you, Wolfram's brothers and family, and name Lord Ulrich as the king's chief advisor."
Lars' voice broke and he paused, breathing unsteadily. Conrad went to the sideboard and returned with a cup of tea for the shaken man. "Take your time," he insisted.
Lars nodded his thanks and took several sips of tea before speaking again, urgently pleading, "My lords, please, for Lord Wolfram's sake as well as the king's. Please watch him carefully. Beware of any changes in behavior or attitudes that might indicate the potion is at work. I have no idea what the long-term effects are, but the danger is very real."
"Then it is you who will watch for it, Mr. Holsted. I am invoking my authority as advisor to the king to assign you as Wolfram's guardian until he has fully recovered from his illness. We will return Siegfried to his home with a letter explaining the situation." Gwendal leaned over his desk and looked sternly at Lars. "I understand the sacrifice you have made to bring us this information. I will offer what protection is in my power to give, but I can not guarantee your long-term safety without alerting Lord Ulrich to our knowledge of his plan. It may become necessary to send you back. Do you understand this?"
"I do, Lord Gwendal. The safety of our king and Lord Wolfram is paramount, and I will give my life for their protection."
"We will try not to make that necessary," Conrad insisted. "Is there any family I should notify?"
"Thank you, no. My wife died years ago and we had no children, which is why Lord Wolfram is so dear to me."
Conrad smiled as he escorted the exhausted man out. "I understand," he
said softly. "He is my precious little brother"
XXXXX
"It's only a walk in the garden. It's not like I'm planning to hike to Cabalcade!" Wolfram crossed his arms and dropped back against the messy pile of pillows on the bed in a huff. Yuuri was already up and dressed but was insisting that Wolfram remain in bed. Wolfram was putting up a token resistance, but it was clear he didn't mind lingering in the warm bed while Yuuri trudged off to a day of paperwork and history lessons.
"We'll go together after Gisela says it's okay." Yuuri's months away, believing he'd never see Shin Makoku again, had made him even more stubborn – particularly where his friend, fiancé, whatever Wolfram was – was concerned.
The one thing Yuuri thought he wouldn't miss while back on Earth was
having his brain tied in knots over the whole marrying a boy thing.
But then Murata and his mother – his own mother! – had supplied an
entire shelf of books with titles that made him blush. Yuuri couldn't
bring himself to actually read any of them, especially those his
mother and Murata had taken notes in – complete with color-coded
highlighting! Okay, he had paged through a couple, but only when no
one else was home and he'd locked his bedroom door. He could never be
too careful about those kinds of things...
"Are you listening to me?!" Wolfram rasped, tossing a pillow at Yuuri for emphasis. "I said, you just want an excuse to get out of Gunter's history lesson."
"That's beside the point." Yuuri replaced the pillow missile, then put one knee on the bed as he leaned over his pouting fiancé to check his temperature. "You need to rest and get better. Your mother will be bringing Greta home soon and I don't want her to see you so sick."
Wolfram softened a little. Greta had him wrapped around her little finger and everyone knew it but him. "Alright, I'll stay here until Gisela comes back. But then I'm taking a bath. And we are walking in the garden this afternoon."
Even with a sore throat Wolfram sounded menacing. Yuuri held up his hands in surrender and laughed. "I'll bring you lunch and then – if Gisela says it's okay – we'll go out."
"You'd better not be late! Now get downstairs before Gunter comes looking for you and I have to see him slobbering all over you."
"I'm going, I'm going. Off to learn more about the seventeenth maou."
"The one who played musical sporks at every state dinner." Wolfram nodded and looked pained. "Gunter really likes talking about her."
Yuuri groaned loudly and trudged off like a condemned man. Wolfram's
laughter didn't make him feel any better.
XXXXX
Siegfried Warner pulled nervously at the cuff of his tunic. "I did what my Lord asked of me." He looked up at Gwendal but didn't meet his eyes. "It is not my place to question his orders."
"Were you aware of what had been done to Wolfram von Bielefeld?"
"Not... not at first. There were rumors, of course. There are never any secrets in a crowded castle. But I didn't really know what was happening, or why; Lord Ulrich is not averse to using his dungeon to persuade people. But this was different. I'd heard there was a Bielefeld potion to rival the Wincott's but... to think he would use it on his own grandchild!"
Siegfried straightened a little. "I'm not always proud of what Lord Ulrich asks me to do, but I am loyal to him, and to my country. When I realized that there was a threat to the king and his fiancé, I did what little I could to help." The strength seemed to leave the healer and he slumped, as if exhausted. "I will accept any punishment for my part in what happened to Lord Wolfram. But if there is some way... My Lord, I have a family. If Lord Ulrich chooses..."
"The matter will be addressed," Gwendal promised. "There is always a need for healers, even beyond the Bielefeld border."
Siegfried slumped a little more, seeming to accept that he would have to take his family and leave his home if he ever wanted to feel safe again.
"I have friends who can assist your family, if you wish. They will go as travelers, not soldiers." Conrad placed a comforting hand on the man's arm. It wasn't fair to ask the man to uproot his family, but there was nothing that could be done about Ulrich until there was more proof of his plot against the king. It was repugnant, but not illegal for him to have hurt Wolfram, because Ulrich was the head of the von Bielefelds. If Wolfram were actually married to the king, it would be a different matter.
Thinking hard, Conrad waited for Siegfried to leave, then turned to Gwendal. "I think we need to have a talk with Yuuri."
Gwendal sighed and rubbed his forehead. He was going to need a
painkiller for this.
XXXXX
"You're serious?!" Yuuri jumped out of his seat, unable to remain still. "You're really serious? But he... and I... and... You're serious???"
"Yuuri," Conrad was careful not to use the maou's title. He took a step closer and spoke soothingly. "It's the best way to safeguard both of you. Once you're married Wolfram will be entitled to protection even from his blood relatives. We can sever his grandfather's hold over him and make sure he recovers from the Bielefeld potion without interference."
"Our alliances are too new to withstand a scandal within our own country, Heika. Your marriage will be an indication of stability as well as a means of protection." Gwendal looked over at Gunter who was, thankfully, not sniveling.
"Royal unions may be dissolved at any time. You are not making a life -long commitment, Heika, but you are protecting Wolfram, who is very vulnerable right now."
"I want to protect him," Yuuri shouted. "But do you believe for one minute that he'd ever agree to dissolving anything? This is Wolfram we're talking about. He's like a... a... barnacle or something!"
"Barnacle!!" The door slammed open and Wolfram stormed through, red-faced and looking ready to kill. "You... cheating wimp! I'll show you a..." The threat died out with a fit of coughing that left Wolfram hunched over and fighting for breath. Yuuri and Conrad rushed over to help, but Wolfram pulled himself away from their touch. "I don't need your help, or your protection! I can protect myself!"
"I know that!" Yuuri was getting angry now, frustrated and helpless in the face of his fiancé's stubborn pride. "You think I'm just a wimp and a cheater who can't do anything right, but you have never let me try! So forget it. Just... forget it." Yuuri dropped into a chair with a defeated sigh. It was ridiculous anyway, getting married to a boy – especially one like Wolfram. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
"It means that much to you?" Wolfram studied Yuuri curiously. "Enough that you'd agree to be married? Tomorrow?"
"Today. Tomorrow. It doesn't matter when if it would keep you safe. You're always protecting me and I never... Just forget it."
Yuuri got up to leave but Wolfram reached out to him as he passed. He grabbed Yuuri's arm and looked into his eyes for a moment before touching his face. He tapped Yuuri's cheek lightly with his fingertips and smiled.
"I accept."
"What?" Yuuri looked at Wolfram, then Conrad, but it was Gunter's
happy cry that gave it away. "Did we just get married or something"
Yuuri asked suspiciously.
"Not quite," Wolfram replied, giving Yuuri a real smile. "I just accepted your proposal."
"What? Wait, does that mean we weren't really engaged all this time?"
"Well, technically..."
"Conrad!!" Yuuri glared at the men around him. "You told me we were engaged!"
"We were, I just hadn't formally agreed to the marriage until now." Wolfram looked over at Gunter who was just about dancing around the room, muttering about dresses and decorations and cake. "I want it simple, though."
Yuuri blinked. "Simple?"
"Military uniforms. Just a few witnesses. A quiet dinner afterwards." Wolfram leaned close and placed a light kiss on Yuuri's cheek. "And then, just us. Alone."
Yuuri sputtered and blinked, looking as if he were completely lost. "Simple? Alone? What?"
"I'd better go prepare. Say tomorrow night at six?" Despite his illness, Wolfram still managed to sweep out of the room.
Yuuri watched him go, still blinking and asking, "What?"
Conrad placed an arm around his godson and led him out to the gardens for a long, private chat.