Yuuri was roused by Giesela at about ten that night. She would have been pleased to let him just remain collapsed there, but it didn't seem fair leaving him to wake immobilized from sleeping with his body contorted like that. Yuuri was being sweet, but Wolfram didn't need watching over and the Maou didn't need to spend the day with every muscle in knots.

She practically yanked Yuuri from Wolfram's bedside. "He will be fine, Your Majesty." Giesela's eyes began to narrow, hinting at the dangerous fury within that could be unleashed any moment. Yuuri was determined to oversee Wolfram's full recovery, but he was not quite suicidal.

He left reluctantly, still stumbling a bit from leftover exhaustion and the fact that he'd spent about eight hours kneeling. This was a kind of soreness he'd never imagined. Not the discomfort that came of a hard baseball practice or like that of various injuries he'd picked up. Just pain with no purpose except to remind him to sleep better. Ouch.

Yuuri intended to limp off to his own room. He was still tired, needing to replenish what he'd spent securing Wolfram's system from the poison. And Greta never slept well if she didn't get tucked in. And then immediately kick off the blanket and start writhing around the bed at least as much as Wolfram.

But then he remembered he still hadn't washed off the blood and dirt from his earlier ordeal. Even Yuuri found that rather off-putting. Gross. He was glad Wolfram had been too weak to tear into him about appearing in such a disgraceful state. While a little of the blonde's whining had been comforting, Yuuri was finding Wolfram's taunts bothered him more lately. He wasn't sure why that would be.

It was late, but the baths were warm and ready. Yuuri was starting to suspect they were magic. Either that or Anissina had rigged up one impressive system of boilers and plumbing. Probably both, actually. Yuuri stripped and sank into the bath with a contented sigh. He was afraid for a moment he'd be slipping back to earth before he remembered that he controlled his own passage now.

And the thought of what his mother would say if he turned up in the kiddie pool still smeared with Wolfram's blood—he didn't want to imagine.

Yuuri put his head back and sighed, finally relaxing. He sank into the water, soaking a bit before he got to scrubbing. With his eyes half open, the flickering lamps above the bath were reduced to smears of golden light. Looked like the sun shining on Wolfram. Only the glow from that hair was far more blinding. Not to mention entrancing. Yuuri smiled sleepily, not alert enough to catch himself in thoughts he'd normally have forced from his mind.

He sank in the bath. It felt like layers of filth were being peeled off him. It felt lovely, the calm, hot water enveloping him, thoughts of Wolfram floating vaguely through his mind. Yuuri made himself snap to attention. He didn't have all night to linger. Greta needed him, and he'd want to be up nice and early to check Wolfram. And then do two days' worth of work in return for skipping all of this one.

Maybe he could convince Gunter to do it. Would it be unforgivable to ask it as a special favor, eyes wide and tilting forward a little? He didn't like manipulating Gunter, but if he could stay with Wolfram, it'd be worth it. Somewhere the morals would even out.

He finished scrubbing the blood and dust away and toweled off. Yuuri sighed, wrapping the towel around his waist and limping back to his room. He yawned as he crawled into bed, situating himself with difficulty around his daughter, who was spread-eagled in the middle of the mattress, muttering something about sheep.

The next morning, Yuuri really did intend to rise with the sun and run back to Wolfram. Instead he was shaken awake about midmorning by an unapologetic Conrad, who just nodded politely when Yuuri objected. Greta woke and followed as Conrad hurried him through dressing and marched him out into the hall.

As Yuuri had feared, she hadn't slept very well, left alone for half the night. Without someone to cuddle if she so desired, Greta's subconscious mind took that slight loneliness and amplified it back to the days of her neglect in her original home. She hooked her little fingers into Yuuri's belt loop as they walked, yawning a bit.

They arrived and Yuuri resigned himself to a day full of paperwork and worry. When he entered, however, it was to find Gwendal and Gunter within, looking grave, and Josak looking a bit less carefree than usual. Maybe it was just Gunter looking grave. It wasn't as though Gwendal had another expression. But Yuuri did determine something was up, using his incredible skills as a detective.

"What're we all looking cranky about?" Maybe his lingering tiredness made him think that was funny. Yuuri groaned internally to realize he'd actually said something that stupid.

"Are you all sad because Wolfram got hurt?" Greta had been brought up to speed by Anissina, but hadn't had a chance to visit her father. She was quite worried.

"There's the pressing question of what to do with the attacker," Gwendal said quietly, looking mildly disgruntled. Greta stuck out her lower lip at him, and he visibly wilted.

"Of course, I knew Your Majesty would be a proponent of mercy." Gunter looked at him for a moment with adulation, entirely missing Greta and Gwendal's staredown. "But the seriousness of this crime is such that mercy would be unjust."

Yuuri had, in fact, been about to suggest that they find the assassin a comfortable room and try talking things out. But then he thought of Wolfram collapsing against him in a shower of blood. An unfamiliar spark of wild energy lit in him, and for a moment there flashed something in the Maou's eyes that had never been seen there before. Only Gwendal managed to catch it, as he was studiously looking away from Greta's admonishing glare.

He looked as though he didn't know whether to be pleased or worried, which translated to a slightly increased furrow on his brow and a miniscule tilt to his head.

Yuuri was back to his usual wimpy self in a moment. "Do we know why he attacked..." He considered. "Me?" It had been at Yuuri that the knife was directed. But had the intended victim just been anyone who happened to be nearby? Or was it a royal assassination?

Annissina appeared with hair and dress sweeping dramatically about, throwing the doors aside and striding into the room with purpose, lugging what looked like a bucket and several metal palm branches. "He's a member of one of those human groups that have been springing up lately." She slammed the contraption onto the desk. Gunter, Gwendal, and even Josak shied away. Greta ran up to examine it in excitement. Squealing. "I have that by the supremely trustworthy testimony extracted by Mr. Don't Even Try Lying To Me!"

"The lie detector you've been working on?" As the only one in the room truly safe around one of Anissina's toys, Conrad allowed a tiny bit of smugness to creep into his polite smile.

She scowled. "Mr. Don't Even Try Lying To Me does much more than detect lies. It highlights the grains of purest truth within any statement and elevates that to prominence! It gives the one lying reason to repent his wickedness!"

Yuuri pictured an electric shock accompanying the detection of a lie. He was completely correct.

"Right." Yuuri nodded. "…What groups?"

Gunter looked disgusted. "There's been a growing movement among certain humans opposing the alliances Your Majesty forged for Shin Makoku. They feel that Mazoku are inherently evil, that the alliance is destroying all that's good about humanity, and that all this evil must be destroyed at the source. Ridiculous." Gunter sniffed, then looked slightly contrite, as though remembering his audience. But only slightly. "It's a more malicious form of the same fear Your Majesty has worked so hard to allay."

Yuuri considered. Once again, he felt a stirring of something horrible, a blind fury that wanted to inflict on the puny human boy what had been done to Wolfram, send a message to anyone who would use such horrible tactics. But that wasn't him.

"Precisely!" Anissina's voice broke through his reverie. Yuuri had thought the explanation was at an end. "He was sent to assassinate the Maou, chosen because he looks harmless more than anything else. Or that's my guess. Of course, he's male, so that's to be expected." She shrugged. "The poison used on the knife was the Tears of El, extracted from a plant that grows only on a mountain sacred to some human deity. They feel that makes their murders into divine justice."

"Potent stuff," Josak said quickly, just wanting a break from Anissina's babbling. "It's got an odd smell, like the dust that rises after a little rain." Yuuri distantly remembered that, though he'd been a little busy at the time.

"Right. So this was an intended strike at the heart of the alliance, to take down morale among not only Mazoku, but those humans who dared defy tradition and side with us." Anissina looked disdainful as only she could.

"What does Your Majesty decree must be done with him?" Gwendal looked ready to be annoyed.

Yuuri was tempted to advocate diplomacy and mercy, but… This was a direct strike against his attempts at just that. How to appropriately respond to someone who was trying to ruin peace and happiness? To answer with violence was to let them win, to prove that what Yuuri was trying to achieve could be torn down. But to let him get away without proper punishment showed the Maou wasn't able to defend his peaceful world.

A strike right at the heart of the alliance... So Yuuri wasn't really the victim they were going for. Shin Makoku's pact with human nations was. And then he had a solution. "This was an attack against all of us. Cavalcade, Caloria, everyone. So the alliance will decide his fate." Yuuri tried to whirl on his heel. He managed instead to almost fall over and had to steady himself on the desk. "Gunter, please send messages to all our human allies. Everyone will weigh in on this man's punishment." And, because he was Yuuri, he had to add, "And please suggest that I advocate justice, not vengeance..."

"Wimp."

Yuuri spun around and really did fall against the desk. Gunter caught him deftly and righted the Maou with a sheepish smile. Once he was properly balanced, he was free to finally stare at the door, where Wolfram stood, already being energetically hugged by Greta. She'd been getting bored with the grown-ups talking.

Though the picture Wolfram made with the tiny girl clinging to his waist was quite endearing, he looked like a very slightly animated corpse. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were only half open (if as fiery as usual). He was wearing what Yuuri thought was Conrad's shirt. The array of bandages on his chest was apparently too bulky for one of his usual, form-fitting outfits. Yuuri couldn't even guess who the loose, gray pants belonged to, worn to threads and not beginning to hide the elaborate wrappings on Wolfram's legs. He was even leaning on a cane. As un-Wolframlike a picture as Yuuri could imagine.

But the look on his face was entirely characteristic, that smug scowl Yuuri suddenly found a hint of affection in. How strange.

Behind him, Yuuri heard snickering. He was about to start scolding when he realized it was Conrad laughing. And... Gwendal.

"Oh, and what's amusing you?" Wolfram spat venomously.

"Isn't that...?" Conrad trailed off, covering his mouth with one hand, failing absolutely to hide his smirk.

Gwendal finished, his dour expression looking disrupted by the smile, rather than seeming more cheerful. "...Grandfather's cane?"

Yuuri saw tiny tongues of flame licking from Wolfram's fingertips. They disappeared within an instant and Wolfram teetered a little, leaning against the doorframe, still looking as sour as could be.

"I think it's a nice cane, Wolfram! Look, it's got flowers carved in it. I like it!" Greta looked up and grinned, forcing Wolfram to smile back, though it was an awkward, pasted-on smile that Yuuri found unsettled him.

"What an excellent plan, your Majesty!" Gunter, it seemed, had successfully ignored the entirety of that conversation. "What wisdom! What kindness!" Gunter hugged Yuuri and paused, finding him non-responsive. He wasn't even stiff. The Maou was simply ignoring him. Gunter's face fell in total devastation.

"Wolfram, Giesela said that to heal properly you need bed rest." Yuuri's voice was low, almost a whisper, and he took a step toward Wolfram, unwittingly dragging Gunter behind. "At least a few days' worth."

"Hmph. I've only been up for twenty minutes. I've had plenty of rest. I can't leave you alone to run the country into the ground with your wimpy tactics."

Yuuri seemed not even to be listening. "Right. Your legs are both broken! You shouldn't be standing up, never mind walking! Even with a cane!"

"Grandfather's cane." Gwendal was clearly enjoying himself. You could tell by the substantial decrease in the angle his eyebrows made.

"Gwendal, if you're mean, I'll stop helping with your knitting." Greta easily glowered him into submission. "Yuuri's right. You should rest up and get better, and Yuuri and me will bring you a birthday cake and some warm broth." She went mostly ignored by her fathers, but she didn't mind much. It was funny to watch them tell each other off.

"I'm fine." Wolfram seemed to have noticed the change in his fiancé, the uncharacteristic focus and determination. "Giesela has been recruiting maids and guards to feed energy into me. I'm fine."

"Bed rest," Yuuri repeated, clamping his hands onto Wolfram's shoulders. "Magic speeds and assists healing, but it doesn't replace real recovery. Go to bed and rest."

"Yuuri, I—"

Yuuri tightened his grip, digging into Wolfram's shoulders just a little. He wasn't sure what might be tender. "The Maou commands it! Do I need to make Josak carry you?"

Josak suddenly looked interested, where before he'd been busy reverse-alphabetizing the books on the shelves.

While Gwendal quietly laughed into his sleeve, Conrad smirked, and Gunter looked on in silent admiration, Wolfram was led out of the room, slowly but very firmly. Yuuri marched him into the hall to avoid the assorted eyes on them. "Wolfram, I was told you were in pieces, and I've never known Giesela to be wrong. I am not letting you hurt yourself more limping around the castle to yell at me!"

"Yeah!" Greta wanted in on the scolding-Wolfram fun.

The tirade didn't have exactly the effect he was looking for. Wolfram gave a tiny smile. "This is an interesting side to you."

"Is it... not wimpy?"

"Less." Wolfram wavered a bit where he stood and sighed. "Hmm. I guess some more rest couldn't hurt. The sooner I get well the sooner there will be someone to keep a proper eye on you."

Yuuri frowned a bit, resisting the urge to pout. For one thing, no one could hope to stand up to Wolfram's perfect model's pout, or Greta's ten-year-old-girl's. For another... Why the hell would Wolfram's attitude make him sulk? He should be used to being taunted. It hadn't bothered him for a long time. "And it's a royal order. Don't forget that." He abruptly slipped his arm around Wolfram's waist, stiffening then shivering as he did so. This was… very awkward.

"Yuuri!" The Maou turned his head when he heard his name and almost drowned in a sea of sparkling green.

He recoiled a little, at least enough that he could see more of Wolfram's face than those jewel-like eyes. Not that he cared—in the least—whether Wolfram's eyes were jewel-like. "It's the fastest way to get you back to bed without risking more injuries. Don't read anything into it." Yuuri scowled, looking away, trying to hold Wolfram steady with the least possible contact. He could swear Wolfram was purring. He really hoped there was a cat nearby. Assuming cats in Shin Makoku purred. He'd learned not to assume things like that.

"Gotcha!" Greta tried to cling to Wolfram's other side, but found she didn't fit where the cane did. So she ran off to find the doctor instead.

Giesela met them before they'd made it down even one hallway, fire in her eyes. "I hope you're returning my patient, Your Majesty." She seemed to be toning down her unbounded fury for the Maou's benefit, though he still felt threatened.

"Of course. He's under the Maou's royal edict to stay in bed until he's recovered much more." Yuuri stuck his nose in the air in what he imagined was a dignified and kinglike manner.

Wolfram giggled. Giggled!

Yuuri coughed. "I can have Gunter write it up legally if you make me."

"How sweet to treasure your fiancé's wellbeing so." Wolfram smiled fetchingly. ...No. Not fetchingly at all. Obnoxiously. Yuuri handed him over to Giesela, who smiled like a successful crocodile. Wolfram immediately began to whine, and Yuuri beat a fast retreat, back to the relative safety of Gunter's praise for his decision and a lot of paper to sign.

Sometimes... Wolfram made him uneasy.