Chapter 4 No brother quite like you
The next morning Wolfram came down last for breakfast. "Are you feeling better now Wolfram? Yozak didn't want any of us to enter your room last night" Yuuri asked worriedly. "That's because I instructed him to. Don't worry I'm fine" Wolfram said. "Wolfram would you like some bread?" Gretta asked passing the small basket of bread to Wolfram. "Yes, thank you Gretta" Wolfram said with a smile. "If you're not feeling well Wolfram, you should go see Gizela" Guinter said. "I will, but I feel fine now. Thank you Guinter" Wolfram said.
That day Wolfram spent time with Gretta, making flower crowns, reading her stories and playing hide and seek with her and Yuuri. When Yuuri had his afternoon lessons with Guinter and Gretta, Conrad excused himself to go talk to Wolfram who was reading by a tree in the gardens. "May I sit beside you?" Conrad asked. Wolfram looked up from his book and saw Conrad. "Sure, I don't see why not" Wolfram said as he closed the book he was reading. "In the past, you wouldn't even let me sit beside you, let alone be 10 feet near you." "Well, a lot of things have changed since then" Wolfram said and there was a moment of silence. "Wolfram, you've been quite distant these past few days. Is there something wrong?" Conrad asked with a worried look. "Don't sound so surprised. Haven't I always been distant?" "True but Yozak has been acting strange recently as well. He seems angry at me because he thinks I don't care about you." "Well do you?" Wolfram asked without looking at Conrad, bracing himself for what the answer might be. "Of course I do Wolfram. No matter what happens you're still my little brother and nothing and no one can change that" Conrad assured. Wolfram then turned to look at him with a smile and patted Conrad's head. "Then what are you so worried about?" Conrad was surprised to see Wolfram smile. "It's been years since I've seen you smile like this" Conrad said. "I guess you just never saw. It doesn't matter though, what's important is now….. Just so you know I never really hated you for anything you're my little big brother after all, no matter what other people say" Wolfram said. "It's nice to know, the same thing goes for me. If there's something bothering you, don't hesitate to come to me or Gwendal okay?" "Yeah thanks. Is that all you wanted?" Wolfram asked. "I just wanted to ask you if something was wrong." "Nothing's wrong. Anyway, isn't it time for you to be somewhere? That wimp's going to be looking for you soon." "I better go then" Conrad said. Wolfram smiled and he left. Wolfram watched Conrad leave the garden as tears soon began to fall from his eyes. Even after hearing from Conrad himself that the feeling of love and care he had for Conrad was the same feeling Conrad had for him, it still felt insufficient. Wolfram still felt second in Conrad's heart, no matter what. It was to be expected that every subject or subordinate must put forth first and foremost their king before anyone else but Wolfram hoped that maybe, just maybe things would be different for his brothers.
Gwendal massaged his right temple. It was already late at night and he was getting really tired. There's just so much to be done, especially since he needed to be aware of any danger that might be imposed on Shin Makoku based from Geika's warning that something bad might happen. Gwendal decided to go take a walk. He never really took walks, but just tonight, something told him he had to. Gwendal was walking along the halls when he spotted a lone figure sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall as he stared at the portrait of Shinou. "Wolfram?" Gwendal called. "aniue?" Wolfram greeted back in surprise. "What are you doing here so late at night?" Gwendal asked as he stood beside his youngest brother. "Just thinking" Wolfram replied. "About what?" "Nothing. How about you? What are you doing here this late at night?" Wolfram asked as Gwendal sat beside him. "I was taking a walk." "But you don't take walks" Wolfram said. "This night felt different' Gwendal said and only the howls of the wind could be heard. After a few seconds of silence Wolfram laid his head against Gwendal's shoulder. "Am I brat?" Wolfram asked. "You are." "Am I selfish?" "When you were a kid, but not so much now" Gwendal replied not knowing where these questions were coming from. He turned to look at Wolfram who was slowly drifting off to sleep. "Do I make you stressed out?" "Sometimes." "I'm sorry." "For what?" Gwendal asked. "Causing you problems." "It's not a big deal." "Do you ever regret….. having me as your brother?" Wolfram asked. Gwendal's eyes shot down to his brother whose eyes were now closed. "What?" "I think….. Yuuri would be a better brother to you…. And Conrad" Wolfram whispered now fully asleep. Gwendal sighed and carried Wolfram to his room. He slowly laid his youngest brother on his bed and tucked him in just like before. "You're a brat, a selfish loafer, loud and a headache but no one in this world can ever replace you because there's no brother quite like you, Wolfram. I love you and no one can ever replace you. Understand?" Gwendal asked the sleeping Wolfram. No reply. "I asked if you heard me?" Gwendal asked with a stricter tone this time. "yes…aniue" Wolfram said in his sleep. Gwendal smiled and left the room. Sometimes the truth can only be spoken and heard when one's asleep.
Author's note: I really like writing this chapter especially with Gwendal and Wolfram. It's amazing how people can still answer even when they're asleep. Hope you guys like it too. One more night to go before Wolfram leaves for Shin Makoku! Stay tuned!