They walked outside. One of the establishment's stable-attendants approached Conrad and asked, "Your ticket, sir?"
Conrad handed him the ticket he was given in the beginning when he had handed over his horse to the man earlier before entering the restaurant. He frowned when the attendant didn't asked Yuri for his. But then dismissed it thinking that perhaps the attendant had remembered which horse was Yuri's.
Soon Conrad's horse was brought around. He frowned when Ao wasn't brought out as well. He was a bit confused at first and thought to reprimand the young attendant for his carelessness (especially towards the king). But then he thought better of it and decided to ask Yuri first. Maybe Wolfram had wanted to make things special and brought him by carriage or something.
Not wanting to make a scene and accusing people of things that weren't true, he turned to Yuri and asked, "Why didn't he ask for your ticket? You did bring Ao, didn't you?"
"Yeah about that…"
Conrad frowned, "You did NOT walk all the way to here, did you?"
"Well...ahahaha. No." Yuri laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Well, you see Wolfram kept complaining that we were going to be late and I wasn't getting dressed fast enough. So when I finally got dressed, he practically dragged me outside to his horse and we rode here. When I asked why couldn't I bring Ao along, he dismissed it saying that it'd just be faster and easier for me to ride with him. That way, he wouldn't have to worry that I've fallen behind or gotten lost. Otherwise, he'd have to just go looking for me and unnecessary time woold be wasted. So..." the rest trailed into a mumble. "Of course, I hadn't expected Wolfram to desert me here." Yuri finished.
Conrad sighed and thought, 'Obviously this, too, was part of their plan. Without a horse he'd have to ride with me.'
Thinking that maybe Conrad was upset, Yuri hurriedly interjected, "Ah but it's okay, really. I mean we can't really be that far from the castle. I can walk or wait for Wolfram. Ahahaha..." Although the latter didn't really appeal to him considering Wolfram's current mood, he kept on blabbering in sheer nervousness.
The young attendant heard the tale and, grabbing his chance, stepped up and said, "Um...excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt but we do sell and rent horses." He looked hopeful while offering.
Conrad quickly deflated his enthusiasm though, and shook his head saying, "No, thank you! We'll be fine."
He, then, turned to Yuri and said graciously, "I wouldn't be a very good bodyguard or a date if I let you walk on your own. And I think Wolfram would, most definitely, kill me if I allowed that to happen." Conrad said this with a handsome smile before, quickly stealing a kiss. Then he got up and helped Yuri to get on behind him before striding his horse forwards.
Behind him, Yuri was blushing madly as he once again found himself holding onto Conrad's lithe but strong body from behind as they rode home, trying not to think of so many different ways in which he could touch it but failing miserably.
x-x-x-x
It had gotten quite late when they reached their desired destination. Night had almost fallen, wrapping everything with a dark shroud. Conrad helped Yuri to dismount and then handed his horse off to one of the stable-hands, who were still present wrapping up for the day. Thereon, he escorted Yuri to his room, all the while holding onto his waist and keeping him very close.
Guards stood at attention as they passed and wondered where the two had been for so late but never voiced out their questions. It was none of their business. And besides, if Lord Weller was with his majesty, then there was no need to worry, which brought them to their next predicament. Lord Weller never let his majesty wander off too late into the night, even if he was with the protection of a guard(s). Some passers by even noticed the captain's lingering hand on his majesty's waist which caused several eyebrows to be arched upwards. All those who saw them waved it off as he being friendly or protective of his liege but somehow felt too unconvinced of the fact themselves. Each eye felt as if it was witnessing something more deep but nobody could affirm their suspicions. So, many question marks hung in the air but no answers. Everyone seemed confused but it was none of their business, so they had no other option but to shrug it off.
Upon reaching Yuri's room...
"Here we are Yuri. If you'll excuse me now. I have to go, find and have a little chit chat with Yozak."
Watching Yuri's face fall at that, Conrad figured the boy was upset, maybe mistaking his retreat as escape, thinking that he didn't have a good time with him or didn't mean what he had confessed to him in the end.
To alleviate the boy's fears and prevent any further misunderstanding, he said, "I just want to tell him he shouldn't have done it the way he did or rope Wolfram into helping. But maybe we should go out again. And next time we can go where you want to. I loved our time spent together."
Yuri's practically glowed at that. Looking at him thoughtfully, Yuri asked, "Wherever I want to go?"
"Any where you want."
"Ah, then m-maybe we could go on a picnic?" Yuri whispered hopefully.
Conrad had thought that the boy would say something involving baseball or maybe something romantic considering the nature of his offer, so Yuri's proposal actually came as a shock. He blinked in surprise, 'A picnic? Well, I guess I should've known.'
Quickly masking his surprise, he flashed a brilliant smile before replying, "Well Yuri, if that's what you want then sure. I'd love it."
Happy but surprised, Yuri looked at him grinning, "Really?"
"Certainly, Next Friday?"
"Sure. I am so excited merely thinking about it."
"I'm glad." replied Conrad simply.
He then, gave the boy a dazzling smile and wished him good-night before leaning in to capture his lips in a nice long kiss. There were no guards posted here today, Conrad having relieved them on Wolfram's mysterious polite request earlier. He would just go and post two of them now, after he was done.
The kiss was hot and it felt really good. Conrad was so turned on and content at that moment. However, it still didn't ease the slight embarrassment he felt in the situation, in spite of himself being the one who initiated the kiss in public. His thoughts were turning traitorous on him.
'What'd happen if someone saw us like this? It'd be quite a scandal.' He shuddered to think of Gwendel's reaction if he found out something. If...no, when he finds out about the scene at the restaurant first, to be precise and then, the fact that his younger brother was spending his free time kissing a certain young boy, who happened to be his king and his yet younger brother's ex-fiancé of a day, right at his door inside his very castle and in public for everyone to see. He shivered again.
Feeling some of the slight tremors traveling through Conrad's body, Yuri ended to the delicious moment and asked in concern, "Are you feeling cold?"
"No." Conrad flashed his disarming smile. "I should go now. And it's getting late so don't stay up too late. Your good health is still the most important thing to me. Ok? Goodnight Yuri." he said when the boy simply nodded in approval. Then, he leaned in and whispered secretly, "I love you." And with that, he turned and walked away.
Yuri blushed and mumbled a 'Goodnight, I love you too', before closing the door and marching to his bed, all the while wondering if he'd be able to get some sleep that night at all.
x-x-x-x
After Yuri shut his door, Conrad walked to the corner ahead before stopping and said, "It's not nice to spy on people like this you know."
Yozak appeared and replied, "Well, I just wanted to make sure that you got your date back home at a decent hour. Though I still wonder if this is what could be called a decent hour, I was still happy to see the customary kiss." He grinned cheekily, which flared his best friend instantly.
No matter how many times he did that, it still had the same effect on Conrad, even after all these years since their childhood. It was his most successful weapon in sending his dear captain's frizzled nerves overboard. Well, most successful other than his 'batting-the-eye-lashes' trick or his most favorite 'double-meaning suggestive phrases towards his captain's and his young king's relationship' trick, phrases that almost always suggested bed and certain tangled positions and loads of skin and wetness and...never mind that. What's important is that that certain trick always yielded the best results without a doubt, and Yozak knew it all very well and used it even better. And although it aggravated the other to no end and sometimes caused severe damage to himself as well, but that alone was no reason to stop. Besides, it was too much fun to watch his normally cool and collected captain catch flames. Just one word or gesture indicating something foul towards his young king and BOOM there he goes. Yozak grinned outwards and grinned even larger mentally inwards as he watched his own prediction come true once again, thoroughly basking in the feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment it afforded him.
"It's also customary for people to mind their own business instead of unethically spying onto other people's private matters." Conrad snapped heatedly. "Besides, Yuri and I would have done just fine and worked ourselves up to our first date even without your rude interruption."
"So rude, just like always. I wish bocchan could see you right about now like this." Conrad's face contoured and his eyes almost instantly blazed fire.
"Yeah, just like that. Hold that face I'd just go and call him." Yozak was mentally dancing with joy. Oh, how much he loved to irritate his dear friend like this and the exciting feeling it gave him. Just to bother him a little more, he started marching towards the king's royal chambers when a rough hand, suddenly, grabbed his neck from behind and yanked him back and a threatening voice growled into his ears. "Yoooozaaaak!" 'Yeah that's it. That's the feeling.' Yozak thought. However, Conrad was almost seething now and if he hadn't been so happy with the earlier events of the day, Yozak suspected that he'd be a dead man by now.
Deciding not to push his luck too far, he quickly abandoned his antiques and seriously asked, "Yeah, when? In the next century?"
Conrad looked perplexed at that but soon recalled his earlier statement and its relevance to this question. "It doesn't matter." said Conrad sighing. "Look, I appreciate the help. However, you shouldn't have forced Wolfram into helping."
"I didn't force him. I just told him, in all minor details, about all the people who would love to have bocchan at their expense, to use and abuse." Then almost in a whisper, "And how exactly they may do so." Yozak grinned again. Ah! Old habits don't die easily.
"That equals forcing." Conrad fumed. "And how could you even think of your king in such a deteriorate manner?" Conrad was red with rage, his hold quickly turning into a death grip around his neck. Yozak, watching his last chance to keep in organs to himself, slip quickly rushed to controlled the situation and placated his enraged captain.
"Hey calm down. I was just kidding. Do you really think I'd do something like that?" Yozak batted his eye-lashed in a feminine manner. But somehow that managed to make situation even worse. So grimacing inwardly he quickly, calmly and very seriously said, "I just told him that being a bachelor is not very safe for bocchan in a court, considering how he's the king and representative of all things powerful and absolute authority, and so very naive and trusting for his own good. And that at least with you, he'd be happy, considering how he's been looking at you and acting around you recently. Actually, it really didn't take much for me to convince him. He saw everything right through. He's pretty clever in these sort of things, you know."
Still keeping his hold around Yozak's neck, Conrad tried to calm down. After a little while, he released the red-head and said with much more control of himself, "I see. Still you could have done so in a less than public place and not possibly caused a major scandal."
"Ah, but then one or both of you could have taken off and we'd have never gotten the same results. This way you were trapped." Yozak was quick to retort.
"This could have backfired on you, you know. Especially with the way Wolfram acted. What if Yuri had run outside and run away instead of going to the restroom? What would you have done then?"
Yozak seemed to search for an answer, and for the first time didn't seem to be having one. He hadn't really thought of it like that. Now looking back and remembering the over dramatics Wolfram had put up, it was a thousand wonders that the boy hadn't run away from the place all together. Finally he replied, defeated, "Well...I'd have caught up with him and eventually brought him back."
Conrad couldn't believe that Yozak hadn't fully thought through all the consequences of his plan. But decided not to dwell on it too much. After all, he had the best of intentions and everything worked out just fine in the end. That reminded him.
"Thank you, Yozak! And Goodnight." With that he started to move away.
The red-head just smiled at the warm and genuine complement. It faded quickly though. And his smug evil face also returned back just as quickly.
"What?" Yozak looked incredulous. "You mean you're going to leave? You're not going to spend the night?"
Within an instant and even before he could blink an eye, Yozak found himself tightly pressed against the cold stone wall, with a pair of hands clutching tightly around his throat and shaking him wildly. "That's it, You're dead." Conrad screamed.
Just as Yozak was preparing himself to fight back, a faint feminine voice was heard saying something like 'Hello! Someone help me. I think I am lost.' Must be one of the new maids. However, both of them being too busy with all their scuffling, paid no attention.
Soon a shrill scream tore through the air somewhere near them. They quickly turned their necks towards the source of the noise, only to find an overly fed huge maid in her skimpy bikini-like night gown, carrying a bunch of clothes standing at the far end of the hallway, shivering in terror. Momentarily perplexed, both Conrad and Yozak (still locked in their struggling position) could do nothing but to watch as the maid said something like 'He's gonna kill him. A murderer! Oh, Shinou save us all, save my beauty, save my virginity." before falling lifelessly onto the dusty floor, dramatically scattering the once-clean-clothes everywhere around her.
The other two perplexed occupants of the corridor watched the entire scene as if in a slow motion. Long after the small distraction was over and the night had once again fallen silent, Conrad and Yozak's only reaction was to stare, then look at each other and simply blink once, thoroughly perplexed.
Slowly both recovered and eased out of their now-uncomfortable fight-pose. Yozak looked over at the fallen maid once again before casually asking, "So, are you going to spend the night or not?"
"Yozak!" Conrad growled, the maid easily forgotten, "One more word out of you and I will forget that I forgave you for everything, seeing how it worked out. Stop trying my patience or else you'll regret one of these days."
Not wanting to risk Conrad's wrath by irritating him anymore, Yozak quickly left. Before leaving, he noticed one thing though. Conrad seemed really happy despite his words to the contrary. And that's exactly what he'd wanted. But still there was no sense in riling him up by commenting any further. So, he happily left him alone and went off to report to Wolfram on the success of their mission and to let him know of Conrad and Yuri's future date as well.
But just as he was about to disappear...
"By the way." Conrad called back. Yozak stopped and turned to look at his captain. "Carry that maid back to her room. She might need treatment. She fell hard. It's a wonder no one came looking yet with the scream she sent around. Hmm...I must tighten security."
"WHAT?" Yozak looked at Conrad who was casually sauntering away, then back at the huge bulk of mass in the form of a maid lying limply ahead. "You've got to be kidding me!"
But he got no response as his captain has long since left, leaving him to his newly acquired task. Yozak sighed, he was going to have a broken spine before the end of the night.
x-x-x-x
Later that night a man sat in a dimly lit room sipping wine. Suddenly, another lithe man draped in dark clothes enters the room through a secret passage. He approaches the man from behind, hidden in the shadows and whispers in his ear.
"The rumors are true Master, our spy in the castle confirmed with me that Lord von Bielefeld was tricked into a binding switching ceremony and is now officially married to Daikenja (1)."
"What?" the man exclaimed, putting his glass down. "Are you sure of this?" he asked.
"Yes, Master. However I have more disturbing news to report."
"Go on then! Don't play games with me. Out with it!" He commended.
"Following on our informants lead, I followed the boy Maoh and saw him just a few scant hours ago, he was out on a date with another."
"I see. He didn't even wait a full 24 hours before jumping into bed with another. And do you know the name of this 'date'?"
"Yes, Master. It is the boy's own protector. Lord Conrart Weller."
"What? Is that so? That's very disturbing news indeed. I will have to look into this case further and take care of this problem personally. Have our spy to keep close tabs on them and let me know, the minute anything new arises before I go there."
"Yes, Master."
Sending the messenger away, he growled, "Conrart Weller." The taking a long swing of
his remaining wine he threw the glass across the room shattering the glass. "This is going to be your fate. You can't defeat me." He cursed furiously and his posture stiffened almost painfully, his nerves rippled below his temple. "I won't allow this to go unpunished."
x-x-x-x
A little while later, after the encounter with Yozak, Conrad lay on his bed, unable to sleep and remembering what had transpired that day. He had been trapped into a date with Yuri. It didn't exactly go as he'd expected. He had never expected to be, not only yelled out but also at the same time encouraged by none-other than Wolfram to take a chance and date Yuri.
Unknown to him, his face broke out into a warm smile. His stars were finally playing out for him and he couldn't be more eager to find what the future holds for him.
He laid awake for several hours, replaying the day over and over again in his mind, before the ever undefeated sleep claimed him.
x-x-x-x
The next morning Wolfram went to Shinou's temple. He wanted to yell at Murata for cheating in much the same as he would at Yuri but when he found him, he was repairing tiles in an empty bathing chamber. Now, that was something to see. The great, mighty and the most wise Daikenja, the tile-repairer. Wolfram smirked amusingly.
"There you are Ken, I was looking all over for you." He called out.
Murata looked up surprised at both, to see Wolfram and that he was using his first name. Save his parents, Doctor Rodriguez and Yuri's mother almost no one called him by his first name and no one in this world. "Ah! Lord von Bielefeld, what brings you here? And I wasn't aware we were now on a first name basis."
"Well, we are officially married now, since I'm not willing to risk our lives on a dangerous ceremony to annul it."
"Ah, so cold. You haven't even given us a chance."
"So you really like the idea of being in a permanent marriage with no way out?"
Suddenly a voice behind him sounded and said, "Are you sure there's no way out?"
Wolfram turned around surprised at Shinou's sudden appearance. Then, regaining his senses he said, "Of course. Do you think I'm stupid? I've had Gunter search every book, every scrap of paper to annul this and hasn't found anything. It seems we're stuck." Then he glares at Shinou. "Why? You said so your said yourself it's permanent."
"Did I?" Shinou smirked.
"Shinou!" Murata growled.
Wolfram turned on him, "If you know of a way out of this marriage, then spill!"
Murata sighed, "Fine. There is a safe way to do a Blood and Fire Ceremony."
"Liar! No one has ever done one and survived without serious injury." He said as a matter-of-fact.
"Ah! Well, that's not really true. There are lots of people who have walked away unharmed."
"I'd talked with Gunter ever since the incident with Elisabeth, whenever Yuri's not here, and took time to go through the switching ceremonies and other marriage events, just in case the need arose. And I don't remember reading about anyone who survived." Wolfram glared challengingly.
"Well, you can but first you have to have four Aphrodite Crystals, Jakcor Crystals, Allotime Crystals and Icedrops Crystals and it wouldn't hurt to have at least two Adiposed Crystals. Actually, four are recommended but two will suffice."
"Why so many crystals?"
"Well, the Aphrodite Crystals and Jakcor Crystals appease some of the spirits; the Allotime Crystals protect you from harm; the Icedrops Crystals are more to calm the spirits and make them feel at peace. This way they are more likely to listen to your request. Still no guarantee that they'll approve the request but at least they can't hurt you and the risk attached to the ceremony is eliminated."
"And the Adiposed Crystals?" Wolfram didn't look convinced.
"Ah! Those, you smash into the fire. Those will harmonize the spirits and gain instant blessing for anything you ask and then lead them peacefully back to their resting place."
"Do I really look that stupid to you?" Wolfram fumed.
"What do you mean? You asked for a way out and I told you." Ken looked hurt.
"Yes, I did. I thought you were going to be serious!" Wolfram spat back.
"I was serious!"
"Then, why do no records of this exist? On top of that, finding even one of any of those crystals is nearly impossible. That is, if any actually still exist at all!"
"That's probably why no records exist. At one time this was a well known way of performing a Blood and Fire Ceremony. But…"
"But what? Even if what you say is true, where are we going to find the said crystals if they are supposed to be used for this ceremony?"
"Yeah, well a lot of them were destroyed either during or after the ceremony. This was generally caused by being used too many times. Then came the development over the areas where the Jakcor Crystals were naturally formed, and wars raging in areas where the Allotime Crystals were formed, and thus destroying the natural habitat of the crystals and preventing them from forming again. As for the Icedrops Crystals, they were formed, and maybe still are, I don't know for sure, in a mountain near Mount Makadira called Mount Watlese. But a few dare to venture near there, as many fear becoming affected by the miasma seeping from Mount Makadira. Though it's very rare to be infected while on or near Mount Watlese it still can happen, especially during the winter when the wind is at its peak causing some of the affects of the miasma on Mount Makadira to flow over there. The ones that have been collected over the years were all overused which made them harder and harder to find. So people stopped believing that any of these crystals even exist."
At that Wolfram turned to leave.
"Leaving already?" Shinou asked.
"Yes, I need to talk to Gunter about this and see if there's any chance of finding any of these crystals."
After he was out the door, Shinou turned to Murata, staring in a questioning manner, who shrugged it off and went back to replacing the broken tiles.
"When are you going to tell him that you have all the necessary crystals to do the job?"
Murata looked up and glared at Shinou, "What makes you think I have any crystals? There's no way I could have foreseen something like this. I may remember my past lives but that doesn't mean I would think to store those crystals somewhere whenever I found one, for the off-handed chance that I may need it in a future life. Even after learning of Shibuya's secret crush and the fact that it may lead to this, there was no way I could have gotten any of those crystals. Now if you'll excuse me I have things to do." Then he stomped away indignantly.
Shinou was unconvinced, but let the matter drop. He was almost 100% positive that his Daikenja had hidden or at the very least knew how to get his hands on the said crystals. However, he didn't say anything to anyone at the time the accidental marriage occurred because just like now he only suspects that his Daikenja would never do something that he couldn't get out of, like the marriage, without having a solution of the way out, should the need arise. There was no way, however, to prove or back up his suspicions and claims, if he laid any. If he'd said anything before his Daikenja could've easily denied the fact that he had any crystals with him. Even so, he felt Wolfram deserved to know the truth about a possible or impossible way to get out of the marriage. Since it didn't appeared that his Daikenja was planning on saying anything, he had to take matters into his own hands. He doesn't believe for one moment that his Daikenja doesn't know where the crystals are or how to get some. But has no way to prove it or force the truth out of him. For now, all he can do was wait and see how everything plays out.
x-x-x-x
When Wolfram returned to the castle he saw Conrad and Yuri walking by the garden and chatting animatedly. Wolfram was a little infuriated because even if it looked innocent, he knew the actual truth behind that innocence.
Suddenly, Yuri raised one of his hands and placed it very gently but lovingly on Conrad's cheek. Time seemed to freeze as both continued to stare into each other's bottomless eyes, conveying who-knows-what silent promises of love and happy future.
Just looking at them, several strange feelings of happiness, anger and sorrow arose within Wolfram's chest, all at the same time.
Happiness, because he was happy to see both Yuri and Conrad so happy. Anger, because looking at Yuri made him remember that he never once looked at him even remotely similar to the way he looked at Conrad. Sorrow, as he remembered how he longed to have Yuri look at him like that and now knowing he never would.
Even if Gunter were to appear by his side now proclaiming to have found a way to reverse the switch he couldn't do it. Not after seeing the loving way Conrad and Yuri look at each other and knowing how much they actually cared for the other. Plus, it would only end up hurting both, them and himself. As much as he wants Yuri back, he knew it wouldn't change how Yuri feels for Conrad and might even make Yuri resent him if he forced back into their engagement. Better to retreat with honor and salvage what he still had left.
He, then, turned and went to find Gunter.
x-x-x-x
Wolfram found Gunter in the library, combing through a huge rack of books.
"Found anything yet?"
Gunter sighed, "No, I'm sorry."
"Anything at all about any Crystals?" Wolfram asked slowly.
"Crystals? Why?" Gunter looked perplexed yet curious.
At this, Wolfram told him all that Murata had told him about the crystals and their use in the Blood and Fire Ceremony.
"Ah, the Daikenja is so wise!" Gunter said, he eyes sparkling with marvel.
"Wise? I think he was lying." Wolfram retorted indignantly.
"Wolfram! You shouldn't say things like that." Gunter admonished.
"Why have you found anything to prove him right?"
"Well, I did find this." He held up an old faded scroll that if you looked closely at read 'Switching Ceremony…' But the rest couldn't be made heads or tails out of. From where he stood, Wolfram could read only a few words here and there, but one of the words seen very frequently was 'crystal'. Wolfram's hopes raised, though he kept it hidden.
"Fat lot of good this thing is. You can't even read it."
"I can help with that." Anissina announced throwing the door open. "I heard you were going to be looking into old books and stuff. I figured some of them might not be readable, so I made 'Read-what-can-no-longer-be-read' kun!"
"Anissina, you can't use that on these books." Gunter said pulling as many books and scrolls as he could back and out of the harm's way, and in the process causing an even larger mess than before.
"If they're not readable then where's the problem in trying?" Anissina retorted with her outstanding wits.
"I'll just have to check out some chemistry books and there might be something there that can help us. No need to bring that monstrosity into use over these." Gunter indicated to the precious books, trying to look intimidating. Anissina shot him a murderous glare that instantly and successfully crushed every single ounce of his resolve to protect the ancient treasure.
"Good! Get on with it." Wolfram barked at Gunter helpfully, ignoring Anissina's offer.
"Why go through all the trouble when my new device will…"
"Will probably destroy it and we'll never know what the scroll said." Wolfram finished for her.
"Testy aren't we." She smirked. Everything seemed to have paused for a second while Wolfram glared at the red-haired woman.
"Lord von Bielefeld, perhaps, you should give Geika a chance. I mean you should feel honored that he chose a switching ceremony and wanted you to be his husband." Anissina said after a little thought.
"Honored?" Wolfram was incredulous.
"Lord von Bielefeld, he was being kind to you." Anissina tried to explain.
"KIND?" Wolfram was seething now. A faint sheen of flame could be seen surrounding his entire body.
"He could have, instead, chosen a dissolving ceremony or a reclaiming ceremony, you know." Anissina stated calmly.
"What are those?" Wolfram asked.
"A dissolving ceremony is where an engagement or marriage can be dissolved but it's a great dishonor to have one performed." Gunter explained. "Yozak said that Heika and Geika were here almost for a week before we all found out about their presence. If that's true then Geika could have found a way to send for Lady Elizabeth. Then have her drink a certain potion and then perform a ceremony something similar to the switching ceremony. Lady Elizabeth would only have to kiss you and you will be once again her fiancé. This is known as a reclaiming ceremony. Of course, it wouldn't be binding unless blood was drawn as well."
"She'd never do it." Wolfram huffed, sounding quite sure of what he said.
Anissina smirked at that. "You shouldn't doubt her resolve, Lord von Bielefeld. She was in love with you for years. And whether you meant it or not, she had and still claims that you slapped her, thereby proposing marriage. It was only the Maoh-Heika's influence that convinced her to relinquish her claim on you."
"I keep telling everyone I don't remember ever slapping her. Why won't anyone listen?" Wolfram was angry at his predicament. Anissina took this opportunity to say something that she'd been wanting to say for years. Smirking evilly, she approached the (emotionally) wounded mazoku and dropped her bomb.
"Yes yes. But do remember Lord von Bielefeld that even Heika didn't know that by slapping you he was proposing you. And then, was bound to the proposal by your acceptance." Anissina said.
Meanwhile, Gunter was lost in some of his random thoughts. It took everyone by surprise when he suddenly screamed out loud. "I don't understand. Why does Yuri-Heika not trust me anymore? Why did he ask Geika for help and not me?" Gunter wailed, his body swaying inhumanly in the air and tears flowing freely as an unbound river.
'I'd say that's why.' Wolfram thought. He, then, only spared a glance in Gunter's direction before going back to thinking, clearly uninterested in his drama.
Wolfram's mind went back to the conversation at hand. He wanted to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, Anissina cut him off.
"Well, I'd say he did ask for your help, Gunter." she said.
Gunter looked up stricken.
"Huh?" Wolfram looked at her.
"Well, it's a rumor that's been going around the castle for a while now. It seems Heika asked a lot of people for how to get out of his engagement to you Lord von Bielefeld. From what I've heard he was always told one of two things: (1) Ask Gunter and, (2) He shouldn't even be thinking about it as you're a very fine catch and he should feel honored that you want to marry him."
"Oh Heika!" Gunter realized now that Yuri was asking for his help all along. But just as Anissina said, he kept pushing him away because he, like others felt that Yuri and Wolfram were a good pair. If he'd known Yuri was so serious and desperate about wanting out of this, he'd have reconsidered and helped him. But he hadn't. Thinking back to it now, he felt ashamed of himself.
"Why didn't he just come and ask me instead of rubbing his nose in everyone else's feet?" Wolfram huffed.
"Would you have answered him? Correctly? Truthfully?" Anissina asked curiously.
"Of course not!" Anissina seemed disappointed at this answer.
"Well, at least now you know how he felt." The cruel woman said as casually as if telling the weather.
Wolfram's eyes widened, "What?"
"Well, he was trapped in an unbreakable engagement with you. And you wouldn't have released him, knowing that it would mean that he'd actually go and find happiness from someone else. I bet you even knew exactly who that someone else was, didn't you? Now, it looks like the roles have reversed and you are facing Yuri-Heika's predicament." Anissina smirked knowingly.
Gunter gasped. "Is that true, Wolfram? You knew that Heika was in love with someone else?"
"No. Of course not. Don't be stupid. How would I have known who that wimpy king was in love with?" Wolfram said stubbornly, although his eyes seemed sad. He didn't know but he had suspected, all right.
Anissina shrugged and said, "So you say. But now you're the one whose trapped and everywhere you turn to for answers, everyone gives you the same answer, 'NO'. Now, you have to live with the consequences of your actions."
Wolfram was startled by this, he had never thought of it like that before. It was true that on so many occasions Yuri would whine about not wanting to be engaged and that he only slapped him rather than hit him because of his pretty face. Same with the reasons why he constantly refused to go through with a marriage. And Wolfram had always disregarded his whining. He felt guilty now. Shaking the bad thoughts out of his mind, he said stubbornly, not wanting to accept defeat yet, "What makes you so sure that Elizabeth would even agree to go through with a plan like that?"
Before Gunter could respond, Anissina said, "Well, if she knew that Heika was looking for a way out of the engagement, and that by doing so could mean dishonoring you in some manner and that she could save your honor by reclaiming you. Don't you think she'd do so?"
Wolfram couldn't say anything. He knew the answer.
When the silence stretched, Gunter said dejectedly, "Yes. And anyway all Geika would need to do is mix up a potion and have her drink it, then have some in her mouth while she kisses and have you swallow it. That would've done the job. Reclaiming ceremonies are different as they are not binding. That is, unless blood is drawn in which case it's really an RS ceremony." Wolfram was soaking every word of this rare wisdom.
"What's an RS ceremony?" Wolfram asked.
"An RS ceremony is a Reclaiming Sealing Ceremony. Switching Ceremonies are in themselves binding until a Blood and Fire Ceremony says different. A Sealing Ceremony prevents you from being allowed to become engaged again for next 50 years at least."
"Fifty years? That's ridiculous."
"Yes. Well, the 8th Maoh had a problem with a woman who constantly either proposed to him or did her best to try. So, he created the sealing ceremony and although Maoh's are exempt from taking advantage of their own laws, he broke that law and sealed her. Sealing ceremonies are usually used to prevent someone from constantly asking someone to marry them when the other doesn't wish to marry. A Sealing-Renouncement Ceremony works to dissolve almost any engagement and some marriages as well. Now that you mentioned it, if Geika had wanted they could have done a sealing or a dissolving ceremony." Gunter was completely immersed in his teacher mode.
Anissina, suddenly, broke in and said, "Ah! But I can't see Lord von Bielefeld wanting a dissolving ceremony. Dishonor is nothing compared to the humiliation. You know as well as I do, Gunter, that after a Dissolving Ceremony is performed, that Lord von Bielefeld would then have to announce it to the entire kingdom and explain about why he thinks the Dissolving Ceremony was performed. Due to this when, later, Heika started dating Sir Weller, everyone would have thought that he knew about them all along but had selfishly refused to let him out of his engagement. Rumors would've started. It would've been too humiliating, especially when it was not true."
Wolfram was furious. He didn't want to hear any more of this but couldn't retaliate the truth. So instead, he stormed off to think alone, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. Gunter felt that Anissina was being harsh. Anissina, on the other hand, felt sorry for the poor boy but thought all that was required to be said. Wolfram deserved to know that truth and needed to take responsibility of his actions towards the young king earlier.
After he left, Anissina turned and smiled making Gunter very nervous. "Now that he's gone, I think you said you had some unreadable items." She, then, held up a flat surface with a light, a helmet and a hand held wheel attached to it. Then, she put the helmet on Gunter and shoved the wheel in his hand. "Now let's test 'Read-what-can-no-longer-be-read' kun!"
A moment later a heart shattering scream filled the entire Blood Pledge Castle and the area surrounding it, announcing a normal day within the castle to the rest of the world.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
(1) Daikenja - The Great Sage.
A/N: For those interested a new poll has been made. Be sure to vote as it will someday decide Wolfram and Murata's marriage fate!