Chapter 11: Regret

"Wolfram?" Conrad said, as he rested his hand on the blonde's shoulder. The hall had cleared, and only the two princes remained. The younger boy winced at the touch, but didn't move.

"How could he leave?" Wolfram stated, his face void of any emotion. Conrad sighed and tightened his grip on the boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture. The blond pushed the brunet's hand away and faced him.

"HOW COULD HE LEAVE?" Wolfram shouted, his voice cracking from the pain that wracked through his body. "He just said he wanted to be with me forever! What the hell did that jackass do to make him change his mind?"

"Wolfram please…Sir Jacoby…" Conrad said, approaching the now crying Wolfram again. Wolfram did not push Conrad away when he placed his hands on his shoulders. "…he was only trying to help." Wolfram blinked.

"You knew?" the blonde said looking up into his brother's eyes betrayal shown brightly as the realization settled in. Conrad looked down to the floor guiltily.

"YOU KNEW!" Wolfram accused and stepped away. "You knew he would leave! That he was planning on accepting that filth's stone! Why didn't you tell me?" The blonde's eyes were as close to being on fire as anyone had ever seen. Conrad stepped towards him again and Wolfram backed up again.

"No…After what that man did to you, you would let him take Yuuri away as well?" The blond could not believe his ears. How could his own brother be so thoughtless?

"Sir Jacoby helped me Wolfram. You have never let me explain that to you." Conrad said, his calmness wearing a bit thin.

"He dropped you off in the middle of the night, half dead, and you expect me to believe that he was helping you?" Wolfram said, his tone still high. Conrad nodded.

"If you would just listen to me…" Conrad stated calmly. Wolfram's eyes narrowed.

"No way in hell. I don't want to hear anything more about that sorry excuse for a lord. Leave me alone Weller." The blonde said as he began to stride towards the exit. Wolfram was through listening to his brother. His anger was so welled up within him that he thought me may explode. Conrad followed after him.

"Wolfram, please allow me to explain, you need to hear this!" Conrad said loudly, trying to catch his attention.

"Leave me alone!" Wolfram shouted and started to run. Conrad quickened his pace and gripped the blonds' wrist tightly before forcing him to turn around.

"Wolfram-" Conrad called out.

"Let go of me!" Wolfram shouted, trying to wrench his hand away, Conrad held strong.

"You need to listen to me." Conrad stated again, his composure breaking.

"Release me." The blond demanded, tears of anger welled around his eye sockets.

"Will you listen?" Conrad asked sternly.

"No." Wolfram replied stubbornly, his childish ways winning out over his composure.

"Then I will not." Conrad retorted and began his tale. "When Sir Jacoby found me-"

"I will not listen to anything you say. You cannot possibly defend that man!" Wolfram interrupted. Conrad tightened his grip on the boy's arm suddenly and his eyes intensified.

"You have no choice!" The brunette shouted. Wolfram gasped and became quiet. Conrad had never once raised his voice to the blonde before that night. Conrad led Wolfram over to a table and forced him to sit down, before releasing his hand and sitting next to him. The blond made no move to run. Wolfram had been surprised by Conrad's anger, as it was not often shown, and decided he had better at least hear him out.

"When Sir Jacoby found me, I was just heading off to war for the first time. I was angry since I was being forced to do so while still so young. My body, at the time, was aging at a normal human rate. Gwendal was already 90 years old, while I had just reached the age of 16. That is why you only remember me at the same basic age as Gwendal. We both went off to war that year and I was extremely unprepared. You were just an infant then, barely 15 years old. Anyway…Mother was also upset that I had to go off so early, so she contacted Sir Jacoby and urged him to find me on the battlefield."

"You aged at the human rate…" Wolfram interrupted, trying to process the story. "…but that would mean that…you would be dead by now from old age…" Conrad nodded his reply and continued.

"Yes. Most humans die around age 90. Half demons age the same way more often than not. Sir Jacoby found me on the field. He was somehow able to get me into a carriage and I can't say that I remember much of how he actually did it. The injuries you remember were not caused by Jacoby, but from the battlefield.

I only recall him telling me that everything would be alright, and that it would be many years before I would have to worry about death." Conrad paused again, waiting to see Wolfram's thought processes.

"He did something to you then…" Wolfram prompted.

"Yes. What it was, I am not sure, but he owned no powers of healing to make me look any better before presenting me to you and mother after the three day journey. Mother took it well, she got a healer to me quickly…but you…it was like Jacoby had brought me in a cadaver.

You started screaming that your brother was dead, and started throwing fists at Sir Jacoby. Mother told me that he left after that, and that you ran somewhere else in the castle and could not be consoled for many days. I was honored by your reaction truthfully. I thought you hated me for my being human. It wasn't until a few years later that I realized what had happened."

Wolfram looked confused again as he tried to understand the implications.

"I had begun to age at the rate of demons." Conrad finished.

"I don't know why I haven't thought about your aging before. I just assumed it was your demonic side. What does this have to do with Yuuri accepting Jacoby's stone? Or why he broke off his engagement with me?" Wolfram questioned in a frustrated tone.

"Would you have let Yuuri leave otherwise?" Conrad asked.

"Of course…If it meant Yuuri gets to age at the same rate as I do." Wolfram said.

"Yuuri would have been gone for several days with Dorian, you would have put up a fight." Conrad said. Wolfram huffed angrily.

"Not if you had told me this story. Why does everyone assume that I will not listen to reason?" The blond fumed silently.

"Probably because you tend to not listen to anything anyone wants to tell you." Conrad said matter-of-factly.

"I am not a child anymore Conrad!" Wolfram shouted. Conrad blinked and looked into the blonde's eyes.

"I may have put up a fight, I may have thrown a fit, but I am not stupid. I know what is best for this kingdom, and having Yuuri gone for a few days would not have ruined me. You should have told me." Wolfram accused.

"Perhaps we were in the wrong…but that was not our only reasoning for making it so public. We needed the news to spread quickly. Political scandals tend to work well for rapid movement. When Yuuri comes back with news of his now lengthened life, there will be few who wish to tangle with Shin Makoku." Conrad said thoughtfully.

"We? Who else knew about this plan?" Wolfram asked in a dark tone.

"It was originally mother's idea…She ran it by me, Murata and Gwendal before telling Yuuri, who agreed after quite a bit of pressuring."

"So everyone knew but me…" The blond said quietly. He knew his temper was a force to be reckoned with, but he never expected such a lack of trust among his family.

"Yes." Conrad confirmed.

"I'm pissed. You know that right?" Wolfram stated. "And I'm not going to forgive you all."

Conrad nodded. "Mother said you would be." Wolfram seethed for a bit, then turned to look at him

"So…Yuuri will return then? In a few day's time?" Wolfram asked curiously.

"That is the plan, yes. He will return saying that the newfound relationship did not work out. He will propose to you again after that." Conrad explained. Wolfram huffed.

"And he expects me to fall back into his arms like some heartbroken, sobbing, lonely female doesn't he?" Conrad blinked at this reaction. It was what the entire kingdom would be expecting of the blond.

"You won't?" Conrad asked, his worry now increasing.

"Hell no. If Yuuri thinks that I will accept him after breaking my trust like this…then he has another thing coming." Wolfram said, an angry edge lining his words.

"You will not accept his proposal then? He never wanted to do this to you Wolfram…you know that don't you?" Conrad asked the blond warily, who had crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Don't get me wrong Conrad…I still love him, and I know what he did, he did for the kingdom…but if he thinks winning me back will be as easy as simply proposing to me again…he will be in for a huge surprise. I will make him earn back my trust and affection piece by piece. He will regret lying to me." Wolfram concluded seriously.

Ooh I love this chapter. Do you?