"Do you realize that once you go through with this there is no turning back? Apart from death or the 'Blood and Fire Ceremony', you'll be stuck with each other. What will you do if things don't work out as you want them to?" Murata remained silent, replying to nothing.
Seeing to his unresponsiveness, Shinou fumed inwardly but otherwise maintained a calm expression. Sighing, he continued, "Alright, if you want to stay silent on the matter then I'll respect your wishes. But at least be honest with me while answering this one question - Are you doing this for Yuri or yourself?"
"A little of both," Murata admitted. "Shibuya needs a chance to find out if Lord Weller will bring him true love and happiness or not. And I believe that I can handle Lord Von Bielefeld quite well." Shinou just stared.
Taking over an almost sinister aura, the reincarnation of the great sage voiced his next words, "Don't you think we'll make a good couple if I can force him to give me a chance? I realize that it won't be easy but I think sincere efforts would yield results."
"Why are you so insistent in trying to make Lord von Bielefeld see you as a potential suitor?" Shinou asked suspiciously.
"Why? I think I deserve my share of happiness as well. Don't you?"
"I meant why him particularly?" Shinou retorted.
When Murata did not replied, Shinou continued, "Could it be that he resembles me so much? At least in looks."
Murata smirked evilly, "Don't flatter yourself. It's true that you two look a lot alike but your personalities are entirely different. There's no way that I could ever mistake him for you, or you for him for that matter."
"Are you saying that you love him?" There was a sharp edge in Shinou's voice at this question.
"And what if I do?" Murata was quick to retort.
A nerve rippled at Shinou's temple.
Noticing Shinou's quickly fading calm, Murata got serious and replied honestly, "No. I don't think that I'd go so far as to say that. Maybe someday we can fall in love, I'm sure. For us both, I hope so."
"Then why do you insist on this? If something goes wrong with the ceremony… Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with him?"
"You sound like a jealous lover." Murata teased. Shinou was not pleased.
"Why? What's wrong with this?" Murata defended. "This method ensures that Shibuya gets his freedom and Lord von Bielefeld remains free from hoards of potential suitors after the nullification of his engagement. That makes it very convenient for me to make my move. And anyways, just as you so conveniently pointed out earlier, if all else fail, we can always call upon the ancient sprits of past nobles and kings and perform a blood and fire ceremony. Isn't that simple?"
Shinou's frown deepened. "It's not a matter of joking."
"You're especially cranky today. Aren't you?"
Shinou glowered, "You're gambling important lives and you know it. You are well aware of how many couples have died while performing this ceremony, aren't you? In the best case scenario, only one partner has survived. Have you told Yuri of this? If he and Lord Weller get engaged, they too will fall in the same position as you are in now due to this switch."
"I am well aware of those facts." Murata exploded, his frustration finally consuming the better of him, shocking Shinou. "But you seem to have forgotten, Oh Great One, that those were the people who have angered the spirits due to their ignorance and ended up dying as a result. Those who died were the foolish ones who got engaged on a whim after merely one or two dates, and when the date for the marriage loomed closer, either one or both of them chickened out or simply cheated on the other party, and thus angering the spirits even more. We, on the other hand, have no such intentions. Also, don't forget that there were those ones, too, who had actually survived such ceremonies. Just barely, I agree, but survived nonetheless."
"And those lucky few were given permanent scars as a reminder that if they were to ever try it again, they would not be so lucky the second time." finished Shinou.
"Yes, yes. I know that. And as for your concern regarding Shibuya and Sir Weller, no, I have not told Shibuya of these side effects. But take it this way, if Sir Weller and Shibuya get engaged, there won't be a need for any take backs, I am sure. So, there's no danger from the ceremony."
Shinou wasn't entirely convinced, but thought it better to drop the subject…at least for now. "I hope you're right about that." He sighed and dropped the subject.
Now, free from the unproductive argument, Murata started setting up the trap…ahem…I mean the stage for ceremony, all the while listening and replying to Shinou's meaningless rants. Meanwhile, Shinou had given up in trying changing his sage's mind. He knew it wasn't going to be of any good anyways. What his sage want, he gets, and he knew it.
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Yuri wondered what they both were talking about. He wanted to eavesdrop but he feared that either Shinou or Murata or both would, one way or another, find out about his malpractice. He knew it was neither logical nor ethical to do so and obviously against his policy to trust others but for some reasons, he was a bit scared of Murata's schemes this time. He was having a strange intuition that made him distinctly uncomfortable.
After a moment's thought, he sighed, discarding the feeling. This strange world had never really seemed too comfortable to him. It's not that he didn't love his kingdom, but the thing was that no matter how much time he spends here, this world always managed to surprise him with a disturbing frequency. If at one time someone had told him that he'd, one day, have super powers, will be named as the king of an entire country and that a water portal would be his only way to move between the two worlds, well he'd have told him, then, to go and get his brains examined.
It had come as a huge shock to him when he found out that whatever he'd so firmly believed to be a vivid imagination or a fairytale throughout his life was actually true. Worse yet was that his whole family knew. And yet, no one bothered to tell him anything until he was already traumatized for the rest of his life. Honestly speaking, he wouldn't have completely believed it if he was informed beforehand, but at least it'd have come as far less of a shock when Conrad and Gunter finally told him when he met them for the first time.
He remembered when Shori insisted on tutoring him once after he scored low in the World History. He had once again reminded him that no one likes a stupid king. Yuri hadn't exactly understood his words back then, but now that he reminisces, he could clearly point out the numerous encoded hints his brother used to throw at him back then. Obviously he was too ignorant to understand any such hints and every one refused to explain to him.
When one day Shori asked him how things were going in Shin Makoku, he flat out panicked. He had no idea how Shori could've known. It was then that Shori, finally, told him everything. When he understood the entire scenario and his family's conspiracy to hide everything from him, he'd snapped and yelled at his brother that he should have told him. It was his life after all that they all were meddling with. In response, Shori had complained he had thought he'd become the Maoh of Earth before he, Yuri, became Maoh of Shin Makoku. He said that he'd wanted to protect Yuri and then proceeded on to reprimand him for not informing him sooner that he'd become the Maoh of Shin Makoku already.
Yeah, Shori makes it sound so simple. "Hey Shori, guess what. I had a weird dream that I went to another world and became their king." Sure, Shori knew all about it, but had the situations been reversed and Shori had come to him and told him he had just become the Maoh of Earth he'd have laughed. He even knows exactly what he'd have said too, "Really? You a demon king? And of the Earth…? Right! Do mom and Dad know of this delusion?" Then more seriously, "Do you need a psychiatrist?"
He sighed. The entire situation was so weird, so how was he supposed to know everyone in the family but he himself knew. This was all so confusing.
But seriously, if they all knew then would it have hurt so much to at least clue him in on Shin Makoku or at the very least teach him how to read and possibly speak their language. His father was a Mazoku for crying out loud. Really, he felt cheated. It wasn't fair to learn that he was the only member of his family who was clueless about this world or about what he was supposed to become.
Yuri was suddenly brought out of his daydream at the sound of a horse approaching. He quickly cleared his mind. Really, why was he even thinking about all of that? It's all cleared up and in the past. He really should be focusing on the current problem at hand. Shaking his head to clear it of all unnecessary thoughts, Yuri looked up to see an approaching Yozak's surprised face. Yozak looked really shocked by the look on his face.
"Bochan? What are you doing here? Does Taicho know that you're here?" He asked.
Yuri laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "Ah, ha, no. You see, Murata promised to help me get out of my engagement to Wolfram. And to do so we had to do it in secret. That would have been impossible if everyone knew that we were here."
Yozak grinned and asked, "So, you're finally going to ask Taicho out, huh?" He seemed distinctly smug.
At that Yuri squeaked in surprise, blushing and causing Yozak to laugh hysterically.
"How, h-h-h-how…?" In turn, this was all Yuri could squeak out.
Yozak's laugh intensified at that. "Come on now Bochan, you can't possibly fool me. I am the best spy in the entire country after all. Besides, the whole castle knows that you prefer Taicho to Lord Von Bielefeld. Plus after you left, Taicho was acting so funny. But, well, he's got a very stubborn streak; and even dead drunk, I can't get anything out of him." A huge suspicious knowing smirk made its appearance on Yozak's face before he continued. This caused Yuri to become distinctly uncomfortable with a strong urge to run. Well, this man really knows how to make people uncomfortably conscious. "So, I asked Annisina to make some truth potion, and I slipped some into his beer. He told me all about your kiss." Yozak teased cheekily.
Yuri didn't know if his blush could get any deeper but apparently it did. Keh, he never thought that anyone would find out.
"Don't worry Bochan, Lord Von Bielefeld is still clueless. Well, beyond already thinking that something's going on. And that you're cheating on him, that is. But that's just normal, at least for him. Isn't it?"
Yuri sighed and nodded. This was another reason for which he hated being engaged to Wolfram so much. Even if he says so much as a passing hello to someone, he's instantly accused of cheating. Just like that one of the numerous times, when they visited Caloria. Lady Flynn was, so excitedly, telling him about the hot spring trip she'd arranged. He had suddenly turned towards his advisors to acknowledge them, only to find Conrad and Gunter holding a very irritated Wolfram. His blood boiled. Then there was the incidence with King Sara. He was showing him around his castle. They were having fun and talking about Sara and his father. After their talk, Wolfram had grabbed his ear and dragged him away. Really, he still couldn't believe that Wolfram did such a thing in front of another King. He had felt as if Wolfram doesn't care about his reputation and just see him as nothing more than just trash.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Yozak was waving a hand in front of Yuri's eyes, trying to gain his attention. When Yuri finally acknowledged him, he asked in concern, "You okay there Bochan, you spaced out?"
"Huh, oh yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go. Murata and Shinou should be finished with their talk by now." 'I hope.' "They must be waiting for you."
Yuri opened the door to the courtyard and walked over to where Murata had made a circle and stars with the spoons and forks they'd brought with them. In the center was a small plastic cup about the size of a shot glass.
"Murata, what's with the circle of spoons and the star of forks?" Yuri asked curiously.
"Well, it's just to make sure that Lord Von Bielefeld steps on at least one fork while walking to the middle of it."
"But how are we going to convince him to walk into the middle of it?" Yuri was unsure.
"Sorry for interrupting, but might I ask what's going on?" Yozak questioned.
For Yozak's benefit, Murata proceeded to explain all about the switching ceremony and why he felt that this was the best method to go for.
"I see." Yozak absorbed the information provided to him. "But do you realize that even if your assumption is true and Lord Von Bielefeld doesn't know anything about this particular ceremony, there's no way that he'll just walk right into that circle. No matter what kind of image of himself he projects, but he's not that big of a fool. At best, he'll just walk around it in wonder."
"Yes, that does present a problem."
Yozak grinned, "But I have an idea on how to make sure that he falls for it."
"Really?" Yuri asked excitedly, "What is it?"
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A/N: The trip to the hot spring and Sara showing him around the castle again refer to OVA 1 and 5. It also occurs in an episode of Season 3 and I know the first and fifth OVA are just side alternate telling's and don't match up with what happened in Season 3 don't mind me I like mixing things. But for this story I am referring to the OVA.