Ulrike could find nothing wrong with Ken. Giesela had no more luck. No doctor or sorcerer at Covenant Castle could determine any reason he might have fallen into such a strange trance. Even more perplexing was how he'd managed to get all the way from the temple to the palace in that state. Possession usually left signs on the victim's body, or at least a vague sense of foreboding. That even the great Daikenja couldn't figure out what had happened to him was decidedly worrisome.

The mirror was another problem all its own. It had been found in the records, thanks to Gunter's obsessive knowledge of the proper place for everything in a general three-miles radius of Yuuri. That wasn't very useful, though. It had been included in a large delivery of curios collected by the nineteenth maou from various merchants around Shin Makoku. Even if the seller could be traced, the records were a few lifetimes old and there'd have been no guarantee of useful information even if the merchant was still alive. Those who dealt in oddities like that often picked them up under strange or not entirely legal circumstances.

It was eventually just brought back to the temple along with Murata, who was handed off to the captain's little sister to be placed under protective guard. If he acted so strangely again, he was to be stopped. Simple enough for a girl taller than Gwendal who used a spear like an extension of her arm. Yuuri was trying to get her on the baseball team as well.

Yuuri had a distinct headache by the time Ken was sent back to try again at searching for information. Under strict supervision. He felt sorry for his friend, of course, and worried, but a lot of Yuuri's concern was for the obvious threat this posed to his plans. If whatever Murata was investigating was enough to fight back from this distance, then no one was going to let the maou anywhere near it. He might have to run away and be heroic. Wolfram would probably help. He could call in Al, maybe get supplies from Flinn…

Even Yuuri knew that was idiotic.

He headed back up the stairs and was hit all at once by a lot of shouting. Something about the way the stone of the stairwell curved tossed it all into his ears at once, and he spent a moment wincing before he could really pay attention to what was going on.

He heard Wolfram. That was enough. Yuuri hurried up and burst into the hallway. His first thought was that it had gotten a lot easier to tell the twins apart. Maddox was walking half bent over, with his hair limp and cheeks looking hollow. He was also seething, leaning against the wall so he could look up at Mael with a truly poisonous expression on his face.

Wolfram was standing to the side. Yuuri was pretty sure he was amused, but he seemed to be trying to separate them. Arianwyn was hovering nearby, looking excited. Yuuri remembered his desire to dismember Mael and… well, Yuuri was actually at a loss to decide what he'd do if Airhead happened to try.

"So you didn't think telling me about this would have been worth it?"

"It was hard enough to trust father's agents to obey without your prior knowledge gumming things up further. You're not exactly the family thespian." Mael glanced over, realized the maou was watching, and got visibly more nervous. "You see that, certainly?" He was speaking a little faster.

"I see that I'm going to spend another week swathed in bandages with a pesky healing witch hovering around." Yuuri heard Giesela snort through the nearest door. She was good at derisive when she wanted to be. "And that apparently Rammy and I might as well both be poor, distant relatives. Except in a normal family even they aren't usually getting half murdered for someone's convenience!"

Wolfram blinked several times. He couldn't remember the last time any of them had voluntarily sided with him.

"Come now, Maddie." Mael smiled and put his hands squarely on his brothers shoulders. Funny. Now that they were really right next to each other, Yuuri thought Maddox was just a hair taller, as he painfully drew himself up to glare at Mael. Not enough to reliably tell them apart, but something. "You know whenever you're hurt, so am I. Someone has to make sacrifices sometimes. We're the same blood. Does it matter much who takes the fall any given time?"

"It'd matter less if it was ever you."

"Well, would it do to put the heir in danger?"

"You're the heir by forty-five seconds, you bastard."

Alright, that was enough. Yuuri simply ducked around them to Wolfram. Maddox was yelling and Mael having trouble keeping his stoicism, so he didn't worry much about being overheard. "How serious is this?"

"I don't know. I've never seen them fight before." Wolfram was smiling a bit. Yuuri disapproved in principle, but he didn't blame his fiancé. "I suggest you just let the thing run its course. Unless one of Josak's rats is around."

"I bet I could find one!" Arianwyn was suddenly leaning in too. Yuuri condiered being annoyed with him and decided it didn't matter. Mostly because Wolfram's hand had snuck into his. And rather than flirting, Airhead was just chattering. "Hey, Wolfram, what's your other brother's name?"

"You mean Maddox?"

"Yeah, if that's the stabbed one."

Wolfram attempted again to raise a single eyebrow. He still couldn't do it very well. Yuuri debated telling him how silly it looked when he tried. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to know. Because, you know, he doesn't seem to care about rats. I don't want to waste their time." Arianwyn smiled beatifically and skipped away. Literally.

"Naomi needs a message carried back home on her wedding night. Who spends six hours riding around in the rain and misses the party? Not Mael. The elves are being terrorized by an ice-spewing cave monster, and do we send the one of us who's decent at maryoku after it? By that I don't mean Wolfram. Your third or fourth illegitimate kid this decade shows up, and funnily enough you've got an important meeting with the officers that I'm of course not qualified to run. Because… oh, look at the time. And this doesn't strike you as a pattern?"

Wolfram looked wickedly delighted. Yuuri decided it was time to move away a little bit. It wasn't nice to glory in other's misfortunes, even if they were both horrible and deserved it. Yuuri took Wolfram's arm and a tentative step down the hall. Wolfram looked a little disappointed, but he followed.

"Maybe they'll work it out themselves," Yuuri suggested hopefully.

"I hope not." Wolfram snorted. "It's not like Maddox is any hero. At least they'll be out of our way for a while. There's no way of knowing how long this will last."

"Oh, well." Yuuri tried not to worry about it. He couldn't force them to live in harmony. Though he wasn't letting anyone else have a duel. There was a ban for the rest of the month, at least. He'd have to tell Gunter that when next he sat down to get work done.

But Gunter didn't know where he was right now, and the situation with Murata was as settled as it'd get. They had some time. "Want to find Greta and read or something?" Yuuri had gotten to the point where he could almost read out loud without too many stumbles.

"No." Wolfram's hand tightened around Yuuri's suddenly and he threw open the closest door. It turned out to be a broom closet. Yuuri was very confused for a second, and then Wolfram dragged him inside and slammed the door again. "We need to spend more time together."

"Oh." Yuuri flushed a little. "You know, our room is just downstairs."

"And Greta might be there." Wolfram planted his hands on the rough, wood wall on either side of Yuuri's head. "I want time with just you. Besides…" Yuuri heard a smile on his voice, which suddenly got softer. He'd been acting rather predatory (something Yuuri had found he didn't mind at all), but suddenly Wolfram was bashful. "Isn't it a little exciting?"

"Maybe." Yuuri did not like the idea of being caught. And there was no lock on the door. But if he just didn't think about it… He was in the dark with Wolfram. The little shaft of light under the door didn't illuminate anything. The risk of being walked in on had no thrill for him, but feeling Wolfram kiss him without being able to see was oddly invigorating. He wrapped his arms around Wolfram's waist and kissed back. It was slow and searching, and Wolfram pressed closer as it went until Yuuri was once again pinned to the wall.

It occurred to him Wolfram was trying to prove Mael's potion wasn't responsible for any of his behavior. Either that or he'd been slipped it again. Either way, this was nice. He found himself trembling a little as Wolfram kissed his way along Yuuri's neck. Without the alcohol, it seemed, the whole thing was somehow more intense. Wolfram was deliberate, as strong and coordinated as ever. And he really was strong. Yuuri loved just being held by him. Wolfram might look wispy, but he was all lean muscle.

"Are you going to leave another dozen hickies?" They horrified Gunter so profoundly…

"Probably. Mmm." Wolfram nuzzled Yuuri's hair. "You smell good."

"Oh." He wasn't very good at taking compliments. "Thank you?"

"I can put them where no one'll see…" He sounded shy again. Yuuri felt Wolfram's fingers unfastening his collar and inhaled sharply. Wolfram stopped a moment, but when Yuuri couldn't think of anything to say, he undid just a few clasps. Enough to expose about two inches below Yuuri's collarbone.

Yuuri almost told him to stop, but he wasn't sure if he wanted that. And then Wolfram nipped at the tender curve of muscle where his neck met shoulder, and Yuuri shivered and had absolutely nothing to say. Wolfram turned out to bite hard, and Yuuri was surprised to find that it was actually quite enjoyable. He felt feverish and his knees were a little weak. Good thing he had Wolfram supporting him.

He had a sudden memory of how soft and silky Wolfram's hair was. That was something he'd been meaning to revisit. Yuuri took one arm from around his fiancé's waist and raked it through Wolfram's hair. He got a shiver and a cute little noise in return. He wondered how often he could make Wolfram make that noise. Interesting challenge. He tugged a little. Wolfram growled and nipped at his earlobe.

Had he actually just growled? Wow. Wolfram made great noises. Yuuri felt he wasn't contributing much, and twisted his head to nip at Wolfram's neck, nudging the blond's collar away with the end of his nose. He tried to mimic what Wolfram had done.

"Ow!"

"Sorry…" Yuuri blanched. He'd thought that was alright…

"Idiot. You don't just bite down like that." He sounded a bit exasperated, and Yuuri cringed. "Like this. Suck." Yuuri lost all sense of reality for a moment. Oh. Yes, he supposed that was a difference. And it hurt a little, but not in a way that he wanted to stop. Ever. "Got it?"

"Th-think so…" How was Wolfram staying so calm? Yuuri couldn't keep his mind focused. His knees wanted to collapse and tremors and shivers kept going through him, tossing aside any concentration he could have built. Timidly, he once against tried to mimic what Wolfram had done. Instead of a yelp, Wolfram sighed and tightened his grip on Yuuri's shoulder. So better? Yuuri's next attempt landed right at the base of Wolfram's ear and jaw, and he felt his fiancé's breath catch. He'd made Wolfram shiver! Yes!

A moment later Wolfram had him shoved against the wall again and his tongue down Yuuri's throat. He didn't approve of losing control like that, nice as it had been. Yuuri felt Wolfram's fingers toying with the next clasp down on his shirt. That didn't seem fair. Wolfram hadn't so much as loosened his own collar. Yuuri clumsily reached up, unfastening the decorative little chain, making Wolfram jump (ha!) and loosening his vain little cravat so it fluttered to the floor. Much better. Yuuri leaned in to kiss the newly exposed neck and collarbone, feeling Wolfram's arms tighten around him. Oh, this was wonderful. Wolfram's had managed to twist his head enough for another nibble at Yuuri's neck. It was almost enough to distract him from his own exploration of his lover's smooth skin.

The door was thrown wide open. "Thought you were in here. I won't tell Gungun if I can get a kiss from Wolfram!" Arianwyn beamed at them as Wolfram stood frozen like a deer in someone's headlights and Yuuri winced from the sudden onslaught of light. "Oops, too late. Okay, Gunter, I said I'd find them. Can I still have a kiss?"

Gunter had his eyes covered. Yuuri finally bought himself to move, if only enough to hold his shirt together and blush a lot. Wolfram seemed to be trying to retreat to the back of the broom closet. There was only about another foot or so of space behind him, and it was full of brooms, so he wasn't having much luck.

There was a long moment of silence. Yuuri's eyes adjusted to the light. He glanced at Wolfram, noting the brilliant red hue to his cheeks, the faint red spots on his neck, the smile that hadn't yet left his eyes. Yuuri's guess was Wolfram wasn't going to kill him for this. Good.

"Wow, Wolfram, you are good at those." Arianwyn had his head tilted to the side, and Yuuri realized his own neck was the subject of amazement. "He's a real wimp compared to you. I can barely see yours."

"Arianwyn, that's hardly a fitting topic for discussion!" It was a little difficult to understand Gunter, as he was still trying to speak through the hands covering his face. "Y-Your Majesty, Maddox Von Bielefeld has requested an audience with you."

Yuuri was, for a brief moment, so annoyed he forgot to be embarrassed. "Oh, what does he want?" For that he'd had to interrupt making out with Wolfram in a dark closet? He was so miffed he let his grip on his collar slip, just as Gunter dared a peek and therefore got another good look at the evidence of Wolfram's talent for marking his territory. Poor Gunter. He turned around, making a sort of keening noise as he did.

"I believe he wishes to offer fealty to Your Majesty and express disapproval for his father's and older brother's actions." His voice was admirably steady, considering the shock he'd received. Arianwyn patted his back reassuringly. Yuuri used the interval to get his shirt on properly.

"I'll go talk to him." Yuuri tried to keep a straight face. It was made a little more difficult when Wolfram opted to bolt down the hallway. Yuuri hadn't seen him run like that since the last time he'd been seasick. Well, some people didn't have to deal with running kingdoms. Lucky. "Is this supposed to be very formal? He's been living in the castle for a while, and he's going to be my brother-in-law…" No use being circumspect about that now.

"An informal meeting will no doubt be sufficient, Your Majesty." Gunter seemed to be recovering. At least he was turning around and looking out carefully from between his fingers. His face was still as pink as Wolfram's had been, though. "Though a fealty oath should properly be made with a few witnesses."

"We can grab whoever happens to be around, then. It's just about dinner time, so I'll pick up Conrad and Gwendal and right after we eat he can swear all the fealty he wants." Yuuri smiled, trying to restore a hint of normality to the situation. Gunter seemed to be trying bravely. He nodded and started downstairs, keeping pace with the maou.

The dining room was reaching its capacity. Maddox was sitting on the opposite end of the table from Mael, glowering. He had been given a chair brought from the kitchen, and it was rather shorter than the rest, reducing the effectiveness of his glowering quite a bit. Another kitchen chair had had a box set on it so Chai could reach the table. He was sitting happily between Conrad and Josak, bouncing slightly. Greta was bouncing too. Yuuri wasn't sure if there was a contest underway or just a lot of child-energy feeding off itself.

But there seemed to be an interesting dynamic afoot. Yuuri paused for a moment. Mael wasn't looking at his twin. Well, he couldn't be blamed for that. From what it had sounded like, he'd been put pretty well in his place, and might have just lost an ally in his and Lord Evert's various machinations. He also was refusing to look at Conrad. Or maybe Josak. Chai? They took up most of a side of the table, though. Mael's head was at a very awkward angle, and he seemed to have settled on merely staring balefully at the tablecloth. He was going to have a crick in his neck.

Conrad's expression seemed to be black more often than not lately. Yuuri wasn't surprised to see that nasty glint in his eye, though it dimmed and Conrad smiled as he sat down. "Did you lose Wolfram?"

"Um… I think he…" Yuuri blanked. He meant to lie, but no lie presented itself. "Busy." He forgot to even connect the word to anything grammatically. Alright, next time they didn't use a closet. Or they used Yuuri's closet, at least. The close darkness had actually been rather nice.

"I… see." Conrad looked close to laughing. "Official business, is it?"

"Yes." Yuuri caught himself blushing. He wished Wolfram would turn up. Except that there'd be a telltale smear of red right below his ear. Yuuri hoped his fiancé had told the truth about aiming below Yuuri's collar… Otherwise Conrad was entirely too justified in his snickering.

"Your Majesty?" Maddox's voice was welcome, for once. Conrad was very good at teasing, and it had looked like Josak might join in. "If it's alright with you we might as well speak now."

"Sure, if you want to." Yuur'd rather not have to use the throne room anyway. It always felt kind of stuffy. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Mostly I'd like to offer my services and loyalty in a general and appropriate fashion for a subject." He wiped his mouth rather primly with the napkin. "Only I want to reiterate it's the maou and not my estimable father."

"Maddox!"

"Shut up, Mael. Or are you going to contradict me in front of, oh, the ruler of the whole country and most of his most powerful advisors. The only one missing is the prince consort to be." On cue, Wolfram stepped into the room. His collar was tighter than usual, but Yuuri could still see… Oops.

He forced himself to focus on the rather pleasant happenstance before him. "That's good." Of course, it was also quite reasonable to expect that. But Yuuri liked new friends. And this was good for Wolfram, too. Not that he was ready to embrace Maddox into his inner circle. Yuuri was trusting, and naïve, and maybe outright stupid, but he wasn't insane.

"Gracious of you. As long as I'm not tarred with the same brush as those two, I'm happy." He sighed and took a long swig of wine. "Also, I've been overhearing a lot of talk about the situation with that assassin and the Daikenja."

"Oh." Yuuri waited, hoping he had a point.

"He comes from that human temple that's obsessed with the Tears of El, right?" He propped his chin on his hand, looking tired. "I don't know whether it's worth looking into, but the plants grow right around the border between Bielefeld and Voltaire lands."

Both Gwendal and Wolfram stared at him. Maddox shrugged, then winced. His wounded ribs seemed not to like shrugging. "I was visiting Alapai." Both the brothers nodded, so Yuuri decided not to ask who or what Alapai was. He'd feel stupid. "The stuff grows best where it's cold and dry. So no wonder no one stumbles across it much. And it's a low little plant. I'd never noticed, but it was windy and I asked about the smell."

"I guess it might be worth investigating. Thanks!" If nothing else they'd have a sample of the poison for Anissina to apply mad science to until there was a better cure than bear bee wing scales and enormous expenditures of power. Yuuri looked over to Gunter. "Does it sound useful?"

"I couldn't say. A messenger should be sent to the temple tomorrow to see what Ulrike and Daikenja have to say." Gunter managed a mannerly nod. He struck Yuuri as a bit cold. He might still be in shock, or maybe Maddox just looked, sounded, and acted too much like Mael for anyone's comfort. It struck Yuuri that it might sort of doom a person to have a twin as nasty as Mael. People would think of you as interchangeable, and you wouldn't profit any from being nice.

Yuuri was turning to thank Maddox a little more warmly, with that in mind, when they were interrupted by a scream. Oh. Friend Rat had hopped onto the table. He dropped a note on Yuuri's plate and ran across to Chai, who immediately picked the rat up to cuddle.

Maddox snorted into his wine as Mael balefully forced himself to sit back down. "Get it away from the table…"

"No. He's my friend. And you're mean." Chai stuck his tongue out defiantly.

"Mean, am I? Get the little rodent away from the table or I might just have to collapse a house on it and you and finish the job."

Yuuri didn't exactly see what happened. There was kind of a blur. Then Chai was crying and Mael was smashed against the wall with Josak's hands around his throat. Tightening. Rapidly. Yuuri didn't doubt it was as justified as violence ever was, but Mael's eyes were quickly rolling into the back of his head. Hands as strong as Josak's could probably do that work quickly.

Yuuri stood up. "Let him go!"

"Not this time." Yuuri had never seen Josak look like that. His wasn't a face built for anger. So when he took on a mien of absolute fury, the effect was a bit horrifying.

"Josak, let him go!" There was a hot prickling behind his eyes. Either he was going to start crying out of frustration (Mael sort of just oozed frustration for bystanders, Yuuri had found), or the Maou was waking up. That would be bad. Josak was a good friend. Mael was definitely not. Yuuri would still rather not hurt either of them, and he wasn't even sure which the Maou would go after.

"Josak, this isn't the time." Conrad set his hand firmly on his friend's should. Two heartbeats passed. Josak let go and let Mael crumple, gasping, and whirled around. Chai was still crying. Josak picked him up and marched out of the room.

Yuuri covered his face in his hands for a few seconds, then looked up again. He was so tired of this. Even Conrad and Josak weren't being honest with him at this point. All he wanted was to be friends with everyone and save the world from itself, and Mael and his plans had to get in the way, and everything he touched seemed to turn sour.

He was still the maou and responsible for his subjects. "I guess Giesela should look at him."

"It'll just have bruised a bit," Maddox waved a disdainful hand. "He might not be able to scream as ungodly loud. Give us all a break."

Mael made a rude gesture and managed to mouth what looked like "Fuck you," but he clearly wasn't up to talking. Actually, that was a pleasant respite.

"Conrad…" Yuuri just wanted to be let back into the loop. "Can you please tell me what this is about?"

"I should have before." Conrad nodded and stood. "We should speak alone."

"Sure." Anything to get it out of him. Wolfram looked like he was going to protest. Yuuri gave him a pleading look, and he sat back down next to Greta, looking sulky. Yuuri followed Conrad to the room where he'd failed to learn a card game and not managed to save Maddox from being impaled.

"I could tell you'd noticed my own and Josak's animosity to Mael Bielefeld from the beginning, and his reciprocated." Conrad sat, looking grave. "I should have explained the situation, but it's a grim one, and Josak finds it a very sensitive point."

"Fine. Just tell me now, okay?"

"Mael is responsible for the death of Chai's father and the child's injuries." There was a long pause. Yuuri winced so hard he almost fell off the chair. He'd begun to suspect something like that, but… "Even if it had been more deliberate, there'd have been no hope of a legal case. This was before your influence began to take root in Shin Makoku. A peasant woman's human husband just happened to be lost. Tragic accident. And if anything, people cared less for the mangled little boy."

"They hate half-Mazoku even more." Yuuri sighed. "What happened?"

"The war ended twenty years ago, but hostilities continued up until… Well, as you've seen, in many ways, they're still in place. Bielefeld lands are fairly near human territory, and took a lot of the brunt of the sort of skirmishes and sabotage that resulted from lingering resentment. When Chai was about six, a human spy was caught collecting information on the fortifications and preparedness of the Bielefeld manor. She then proceeded to slip right out under Mael's nose."

"I can guess how he'd react to that."

"I believe it was somehow considered Wolfram's fault. Wolfram was staying at Gwendal's castle at the time. In any case, he managed to wake up the entire neighboring village pulling the place apart in search of the spy, who was eventually spotted running into the Gurrier house. Hindelle was serving in the city garrison, and the soldiery was perfectly prepared to fight their way inside or to negotiate however necessary to extract the spy and save her husband and son, of course, but rather than trouble himself with such involved tactics, Mael opted to just set fire to the house."

"What?" Yuuri almost dislocated his jaw, it dropped so hard.

"The spy was killed when the house fell in, and Mael considered that justification. Roderick managed to nearly get Chai outside, but he succumbed to the smoke and a falling beam severed Chai's spinal cord before Hindelle could be fetched. Had it not been for a healer who lived in the next house…" Conrad closed his eyes a moment.

"He really just has no regard for any human's life…" Yuuri swallowed. He wasn't even angry or sad at this point, just stunned. "Even a half human."

"He has very little for any life but his own. I'm sure the plan that endangered Maddox started with him, even if Evert would have agreed." Conrad stood again. "But particularly humans, yes. Josak's family in Shin Makoku, once he tracked them down, wasn't particularly welcoming. Hindelle was the only one of them who didn't object to his being half human. For obvious reasons perhaps, but it meant a great deal to him. He doted on Chai as his own son even before Roderick died."

"And you?" Conrad looked at least ass sad and angry as Josak, even if he hadn't been strangling people.

"I was also quite fond of the family, though I only met Roderick once. Usually I only saw Chai. Josak's watched him for his mother many times. And I have more experience with children than he." Conrad smiled what was almost his own smile for a moment. "I'd better go and find Josak. When he does lose his temper, it can be rather frightening."

"I noticed…" Yuuri sighed. "Okay. Tell him… I said I'm sorry."

Conrad smiled. "I'm sure he knows. But as you wish. And if Greta and Chai could have a playdate tomorrow, all for the better."

Tomorrow came cold and rainy to match Yuuri's mood. He'd spent the rest of the night in something of a daze. Wolfram was mildly miffed with him for being unresponsive to cuddling. He'd tried, but his heart hadn't been in it. And he had nightmares about fire and screams. Mael and the mysterious, malignant power of El's temple seemed to have a lot in common.

When he came down for breakfast, having not slept well and looking worn out enough that Wolfram wasn't nagging too much, he found Murata at the table, deeply in conversation with Maddox. Mael was nowhere to be seen, and Chai was sitting on Josak's lap eating a grapefruit the side of his head.

Always darkest before the dawn, wasn't it?

Yuuri sat on Ken's other side. "So does this stuff about the plants sound promising?"

"Well, herbal energy is intrinsically linked to the psychic vibrations in both time and space. Magically potent herbs are often directly created and almost always at least correlated with a specific signature power or energy. What's pertinacious in this case is whether the same patterns creating the radiant misfortune surrounding the Temple of El are also correlated to the presence of the plant. The poison, according to record, is chemical and not magical in nature, and therefore could be wholly coincidental. However, that there's no connection whatsoever is improbable, risk is limited, and alternative explanations are definitely wanting."

Yuuri took a moment, determined that he had, in fact, understood one word in five, and blinked a few times. "Huh?"

"Um…" Murata managed a bland smile and spoke slowly. "Might be connected. Couldn't hurt to look. We don't have any better ideas."

"Okay. I'll get on organizing that immediately, then." They couldn't object to him going somewhere in his own kingdom. "It's on the border between Bielefeld and Voltaire, then?"

"Right up in the mountains. Better make sure you're properly outfitted. It's cold up there. Wait a few days and I can come along. And you should probably bring Wolfram, too. He used to love expeditions up there. And the elves like him." Maddox managed to make a long swig from his glass of orange juice look badass. He had just as much poise as his twin, if applied rather differently.

"Most people do." Yuuri tried not to snicker, envisioning Wolfram hanging around a bunch of tiny pixie-like creatures. "Anyway, that shouldn't be hard to put together. It's probably not a very long trip, right?"

"It's a trek. We're one of the outer territories, and getting up in the mountains can take a few days all by itself. Horses have to be bred for it to be reliable up in the hills, and the ones specially trained for it are rare and pricey. Even Father only has a couple."

Yuuri doubted much of anyone but Evert had money to spare in that territory. He really had to start saving the world domestically as well as internationally.

"Alright, so there will be logistic concerns. Even Gunter can't make difficulties about me going to visit some subjects."

"Ahem." Yuuri felt a familiar couple of fingers on his ear. The way Wolfram was going, he'd just have a permanent bruise there. "As you're apparently debating a visit to my family's holding without your fiancé's input, it's no surprise you're foolish enough not to see the opportunity open to you."

"Could you explain it to me?" He tried to smile ingratiatingly. …It was sort of hard to be ingratiating to Wolfram.

"You idiot. You'd be within a day's travel of my family's home! Little as I'm fond of any of them, a visit is in order. It's something you ought to do anyway. In fact, it's well overdue. We've been engaged for over a year."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess. Though I've already met your father. And given how I just banished him…" That seemed easily the most awkward way to visit his fiancé's family he could think of.

"That's a problem. But you haven't met my stepmother. And you should. Besides, while we're there, I can… try and arrange my dowry…"

There was a long silence, abruptly broken by a poorly stifled snicker from Maddox. Wolfram glared at him. Yuuri coughed and blushed. "I… you don't need a dowry, Wolfram, it's—"

"You would say that! You're so uncouth. Would you like me to appear a beggar at my own wedding!" His eyes had a hint of that spark Yuuri had learned to be terrified of. "Either you have no regard for my reputation or your own or you've been more than usually derelict about learning your etiquette!"

"The second one, I guess." Not that reputations really concerned him much. But Wolfram was perfectly entitled to one if he wanted.

"Hmph. We'll be addressing that. I'll speak to Gunter and have a lesson planned for you on, oh, I don't know, common decency? But that leaves the problem of how you're going to visit while my father's still smarting from the banishment."

"Especially given his tendency to draw a sword on people he doesn't like. I guess we could bring Raven along."

"Sir Raven. Honestly. You can't even keep the titles you grant in mind. I have just about given up on you."

Wolfram was really annoyed about his fiancé's lack of enthusiasm for snuggling the night before. Or maybe for the deep wine color the expanding blotch below his ear had reached. Even Gwendal had snickered at it. Yuuri was grasping for an answer that wouldn't get him snapped at again when he smelled orchid and heard jewelry clanking against itself. "Oh, Your Majesty!" Celi somehow dropped into three seats at the same time, lounging majestically. "Did you get your message?"

"What message?"

"I gave it to one of Josak's rats, since I was busy having my hair done. Did that naughty rat not bring it to you?" She pouted a bit.

"Oh, I completely forgot." Friend Rat had given him a note. Between Mael's wickedness and Josak's retaliation he'd completely forgotten. And left it on his plate. It had probably been thrown away by now. "Er, what did it say?"

"Not very much, I suppose. Would have been easy to read through quickly." For a moment, she looked a lot more like Wolfram. "Evert sent a messenger back behind him. In hopes of making amends to Your Majesty, he would like to present an invitation to visit the Bielefeld Manor and surrounding lands."

Author's Note: Happy Valentine's/League of Women voters day to all. Ha, I just made it. Unless you're in Europe somewhere. Ooh, does anyone in Europe read this? That'd be cool. I opted against having it actually be Valentine's Day in the story because, frankly, that would be silly. And I don't actually care for the holiday. I don't like chocolate. But since I had such a ridiculous Wolfi scene (in a closet, no less!) I figured V-day would be good for its release. So… Hope you enjoyed!