Upon arriving back at the castle, the group noticed something amiss. No one could figure out anything until Geigen Hube stumbled out of the castle with his arm in a sling. He waved his good arm to stop them.
"I need to warn you. Wolfram is back."
"Hube, what happened to your arm?!" Conrad asked in concern.
"It... it was your younger brother. He wanted to know where everyone had gone and I wouldn't tell him. He threatened me, but didn't really explode until he found out that Gwendal and Yuri Heika were engaged. After doing this to me, he locked himself in Yuri Heika's room and hasn't left for two day."
Gunter hopped down off of his horse. "I will go restrain the young prince. Gwendal, take the Maou to your room. Gisela go with him. Conrad, you go too." Gunter strode off purposefully.
"What's wrong with him?" Hube had only just noticed Yuri's lack of movement.
"He passed out after summoning the powers of the Maou and has yet to wake up. It's been several days" Conrad glanced over at Gwendal, who clenched his jaw and held Yuri a little closer.
"Oh, I see. Well, let's get him inside and taken care of." Hube whistled and two stable boys came running. "They will take care of your horses if you would like to go on in."
Conrad hopped off his horse and gently pulled Yuri from Gwendal's arms. The older mazoku quickly jumped down and took his fiancée back. As soon as they had all arrived at Gwendal's room, an explosion ripped through the castle. Yozak sprinted in just moments later.
"The little brat knows everyone is back. Gunter is having a slight problem keeping him under lock and key, so Geika is going to help him out."
Conrad sighed heavily. "When is our brother going to grow up? I can't go try to calm him down. He'll fry me."
Gwendal looked frustrated, first watching where Gisela was tending to his Yuri and then shifting his gaze to his brother. "I suppose I should go help out. I might be able to at least put him in a prison that he cannot escape from."
Gwendal stalked out of the room. Gisela didn't stick around for too much longer after he left. Conrad and Yozak both moved to sit next to Yuri on the bed. The spy draped his arm around his Captain, pulling him closer.
"Everything will be fine. The kiddo will wake up at some point. Wolfram will calm down eventually. Not to mention-"
Yuri sat straight up in bed, eyes wide, making the two older men yelp and jump off of the bed. "What has he done?"
Both men stared at him for several seconds in shock before responding. "Yuri! You're awake! Yozak, go for Gwendal."
"No! I need to know what Wolfram has done. I-I can't, won't, summon the Maou to deal with him. Unless I know what's going on, I'm afraid that will happen."
"Heika, you need to calm down and rest. You have no business leaving this bed."
"Yozak is right. Yuri-"
"How long have I been out?"
"Four days, but-"
"There. You see. Four days worth of rest." Yuri threw back the covers and turned to stand. He never made it to his feet. Vertigo struck and he fell back onto the bed.
"Yuri, since you have been out for four days, you haven't really eaten. You need to rest and eat. Let me go get Gwendal and send for a tray of you favorite foods."
Yuri's face crumpled. "Gwendal must hate me. I, that man, he really did deserve to die. You couldn't see inside him like I could. I was totally wrong. Not everyone has some good in them. That man was pure evil. Even so, I murdered someone after preaching peace for so long. He should have been allowed a trial. How can Gwendal love a murderer?"
One of the guards must have alerted Gwendal because he was in the doorway in time to hear the question. As he moved toward the bed, Conrad and Yozak slipped out the door.
"You could ask me, you know?" His eyes burned into Yuri's and the younger man bit his lip. "I've killed people too. Does that make you love me any less?"
Yuri's eyes filled with tears. He gripped the blanket in his hands, not making eye contact. "That was war. I could have let him be brought back here to be put on trial. I could have-"
"Yuri," Gwendal sat on the bed, taking Yuri's hands in his own. "You did what you had to do. I have a lot of respect for you because of that. I will love you forever. I'm just wondering what you're thinking of me after you found out about my other side."
The younger man cracked a smile for the first time in a while. "Gwendal," he chuckled. "If anyone understands what it's like to have another side, a different personality, it's me. I'm not myself when the Maou takes over."
"I guess that's true. So then, Heika, does that mean you still want to marry this grumpy old mazoku?" As Gwendal moved in to kiss Yuri, he slid his hands up the younger man's arms. "What? What is wrong?"
Yuri had a strange look on his face. He looked almost terrified. Gwendal felt more than saw his youngest brother enter the room. He stood slowly and turned. Wolfram wasted no time. He threw a fireball that Gwendal barely blocked.
"Cheater!" Wolfram screamed. "How dare you leave me for my older brother. Of all people!" Another fireball flew at the couple. Again, Gwendal blocked it. "How dare you, brother. Aren't you supposed to look out for me? Aren't you supposed to take care of me?"
Everyone had come running after Wolfram when he escaped his prison. They stood in shock as he continued to attack Yuri and Gwendal. Several more fireballs were blocked until finally one managed to catch Gwendal's sleeve on fire. Almost instantly the fire was put out and Wolfram was pinned to the wall by his throat with a water dragon.
"How dare you insult my love! Your own brother! I've put up with you torturing me for many years. I will NOT stand by while you torture those I love. I broke it off with you. We are finished. If you continue to be a threat, I will show you just exactly what I am capable of." Red light flashed through the Maou's eyes. Wolfram panicked. He had heard horror stories from history of the red Maou and his anger.
Gwendal shook his arm and put his hand on Yuri's shoulder. Wolfram was lowered slowly to the ground, though still pinned by the water dragon. Conrad and Gunter started to move toward their angry king, but Murata stopped them.
"Let's see how this plays out. We may be pleasantly surprised."
Wolfram looked back and forth between his brothers for help. Even his own mother, though she looked at him with pity, said nothing in his defense.
"Tell me why I should spare you," Yuri growled at him.
"I-I, well I forgive you for being a cheater. I won't be angry anymore. I won't hurt anyone, especially you and Gwendal. Please, Yuri! Please don't kill me for our daughter's sake. For Greta!"
"Greta?!" Yuri roared. His eyes flashed red. "How dare you mention my child's name. She does not belong to you any more. You gave up your claims on her when you were banished the first time. No, I won't kill you, but you will forever be banished to the earth realm where your magic will no longer work. You will live the life of a regular human for the rest of your days. This is my sentence. Let justice be served."
Wolfram felt his body tingle and he started screaming for help. A flash of light shot from Yuri into Wolfram and within seconds, the blond had disappeared. Yuri collapsed onto the bed and barely kept himself from passing out.
"I'm sorry everyone for what I had to do. I just couldn't trust that he would be true to his word and not hurt anyone. His anger was embedded too deep. I will check on him from time to time, but for right now, he's in a safe place."
Cheri-sama smiled sadly at him. "It's okay. I know my son had become more like his father the older he got. I had hoped that it wouldn't have to come to this, but I know that the only other choice was death. Thank you, Heika, for not killing my baby."
Yuri breathed a tired sigh of relief. "It makes me happy that you feel that way. I just couldn't bring myself to kill another person. Now, I am tired and I would like some food and to snuggle my fiancée. I apologize for kicking everyone out, but whatever business is left will have to wait until I feel better."
Everyone smiled at each other as they left the room. Gwendal sank to the bed next to Yuri. Yuri pulled Gwendal close and sighed happily.
"Please tell me everything will be okay. That we will not be interrupted for a long time. It's all I really want right now."
"Well then, hush my Yuri. All will be well. The only interruption will be food."
Yuri smiled and snuggled closer to Gwendal. By the time the food trays arrived, the two men were sound asleep. Gunter could only smile at the happy couple as he turned, walked out of the room, and closed the door.
Well, I know it has been forever since I last updated. Many things came up between then and now: issues with my health and several family members' health. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. Thank you all for your patience.