The sun had just begun to set when Gwendal dismounted from his horse. He had just returned from a day long trip from the von Spitzweg territory. The invitation to this sudden visit reached him two days ago.
He remembered that he was working quietly with Yuri when all of a sudden; his younger brother barged into the room and dragged the Maoh away giving some strange hurried reasons for doing so. Barely half an hour later, he'd received an urgent message from the Von Spitzweg territory. He had been very confused over the sudden request for his visit under the very urgent heading. The noble, his uncle, had refused to disclose any exact answers except that the Maoh's life was in danger and that he needed to visit him immediately. Gwendal didn't know what to think of it then but he'd hurriedly made all of the preparations and left immediately.
Now that the visit was over, he had all of his answers and a very foul mood. Apparently, the opportunist noble had felt it compulsory for the chief of states to personally interrogate a dangerous suspect whom he'd caught red-handed with the charges of planning the Maoh's
assassination.
Gwendal, of course, hadn't been able to ignore such an invitation, even if he had his own doubts. Just as he predicted, the suspect turned out to be nothing more than an unimportant bankrupt drunk, who happened to be impersonating the villain while playing 'Knights and Thieves' with some local orphans at the time Stoffel pounced on him (literally). Needless to say, Gwendal was far from being pleased. Stoffel's schemes to gain favor were only getting worse with the passage of time, he knew, but this one set a new low.
The entire incident had not only wasted most of his precious time of two days in journey alone, but had also caused him to postpone an important meeting with one of the foreign dignitaries for later; in addition to redeploying the forces in the Blood Pledge Castle in advance, for the Maoh's safety. To top it off, the actual interrogation had lasted hardly 5 minutes. And an additional hour was wasted in making sure that his good-for-nothing uncle didn't repeat similar tactics before he could, peacefully but in a spoiled mood, leave for the Blood Pledge Castle.
Doubtlessly, it had put a great pressure on him. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to bearing pressure alongside of his comrades but to go through all of this alone and maintain it as a secret was an entirely different matter. Yes, he hadn't informed anyone about this sudden and unexpected visit in advance other than Gunter, not even to his second brother (whom he couldn't find in his hurry at the time), and that too only in the passing without disclosing any significant details because of the sole reason of not wanting to worry anyone unnecessarily before he could verify his uncle's claims. Usually he would never leave on such a mission before informing anyone about it, someone who could take care of their ever reckless demon Maoh and prevent him from unnecessarily butting into the matter and play detective or leave the castle until the case has been solved while simultaneously protecting him at the time (he wondered where and if he could ever find such an accomplishing someone considering how, at times, even Conrad – the closest person to the above description, couldn't keep the young Maoh from having his way).
This time, however, Gwendal had taken a chance by deviating from his usual ways…a very dangerous and risky chance. But three factors might have helped him in making this risky decision. One, the information was sent by none other than Stoffel and Gwendal was almost absolutely sure that he wouldn't get much if any important information if he actually believed and investigated his always-the-favor-seeking-uncle's claims (as was proved right later on); two, the Kingdom was as peaceful currently as it could ever get and three, the aforementioned reckless Maoh had been really quiet recently i.e., ever since the end of his engagement with Wolfram, and didn't seem to be in much of a mood to be a nuisance at the time he had left. Gwendal wondered what could have happened to make such an impossible task possible. Yuri couldn't really be that upset over the end of his engagement to his brother considering how he himself had planned to end it.
Gwendal didn't know how to react to that particular fact. He, of course, wasn't happy to hear how the boy had tricked his youngest brother into the entire incident, and thereby breaking his fragile heart so cruelly in addition to getting him married to Geika against his will. Well alright, even if it was a mistake and the boy hadn't actually planned for getting Wolfram married, he still couldn't tell what he should feel about the entire thing. On one hand, the Maoh was forcibly trapped into this long farce of an engagement that he hadn't wanted and on the other, his younger brother's heart was broken. On one hand, he was extremely loyal and supportive (in a hidden manner) to his new Maoh and on the other, he loved his brothers dearly and wanted their protection. Should he hate the Maoh now or not?
Oh! It was all so confusing for him. For someone who wasn't much good at the tedious job of understanding sentiments or showing his own, he didn't like the situation he had found himself recently. He wanted to say a lot both to Wolfram as well as the Maoh and also Geika. But he didn't know what or how to say it. So, he had decided to let the things be as they are and keep himself away from them. Surely, things will resolve with time even without his interference and he could always count on Conrad to take care of Wolfram as well as Yuri, just as he'd always done till now. Whatever be the case, he vowed to himself that he'll not let any of his brothers go through something like that again. As much as he loved his Maoh, his brothers meant more to him than anything else. Only this once, he'd ignore the complex and tangled situation but never again.
Well in any case, pushing away the unwanted thoughts and returning back to what he was good at, Gwendal signed quietly and mentally summarized what he'd achieved today so that he could plan his schedule for tomorrow. That brought his foul mood back. He'd gone through so much trouble with nothing worthwhile to show for it. It was embarrassing, not to mention extremely frustrating. He could've completed so much of his paperwork in the aforementioned wasted time, which is sure to have been piled up to the roof by now along with the Maoh's own work who, Gwendal is sure would have taken the most advantage out of his absence. He wondered if the boy managed to sign even a single document from the stack that he had left on his desk before leaving. An image of an extremely cheerful and reckless Maoh throwing a grand party to the entire Kingdom over Gwendal's absence flashed through his inner eye. His eyebrows twitched. Gwendal was very furious with his uncle's recent actions and, currently, wanted nothing more than to lock himself up in his room and cuddle with his precious and fluffy Loki-chan. Everything else could be dealt with later; right now he needed rest and peace.
Scowling, frowning and cursing on his way to his room, Gwendal was just passing in front of the barracks when those fateful words reached his ears that acted as the cherry to the icing of his already bad day.
In the beginning, it looked innocent with the way some of the soldiers were chatting among themselves, probably enjoying their break together. He wasn't planning on eavesdropping but the words just reached his ears that made him falter and ultimately stop dead in his tracks.
"Did you hear what rumors are floating around?" one of the soldiers from Conrad's troops said to all present in general.
"You mean regarding the one surrounding the Maoh and Sir Weller?" the other one from his own troops replied with an amused tone as if knowing some deep secret.
Gwendal stopped and wondered what could have happened to fuel a gossip between the soldiers. Everyone in the castle knew how much the Maoh and his brother loved to spent time with each other; playing, chatting and spreading mischief together and often finding themselves in pretty hilarious and most embarrassing situations together. Obviously, it couldn't come as much surprise to anyone if they'd found the two in one of the similar kind of situations, due to all of the practice everyone's had by their past experiences with the two troublemakers.
Obviously, it couldn't be anything serious. And what's with the amused kind of tone they were referring the so-called-incidence with? Gwendal started walking.
"Yeah, exactly the one; I never could've guessed that Sir Weller was such a smooth operator, if you know what I mean."
Gwendal kept walking.
The other soldiers chuckled. "Yeah, I knew he was very courageous but to kiss the Maoh and in full public view, no less…, he's my personal hero now."
"Mine too," the other replied. "And all this when everyone thought that he's so courteous and caring and he loved his younger brother so much. But I guess it was only needed for the cancellation of the royal engagement to encourage him to make his first move. He's such a sneaky bastard."
Everyone present guffawed while shock was clearly registered on Gwendal's face. Impossible! How could something like this be possible? Gwendal couldn't understand what to do with this new information.
"I wonder how long he had been housing such intimate feelings towards the sexy and innocent young Maoh." One soldier, a new comer, suddenly said.
"And he'd been able to fool us all with his father-figure role so well as well, when the entire time all he wanted to do was consume him." the other replied back.
"I wish he could teach us all that secret talent of his too. Even I would want to have a piece of that gorgeous creature called Yuri all to myself."
Another round of laughter followed.
"Hey! Why are you dumping all the blame on poor Sir Weller." another soldier piqued in. "It's not his fault that he like the young Maoh. After all, Yuri-Heika is so cute and extremely sexy. Anybody would fall for him. It isn't easy to find such a cute virgin now-a-days. Don't all of you yourselves lust after him?"
"Yeah, you're right. I'd love to jump him. If only he wasn't the Maoh..." The soldier trailed longingly. "But I'd have to give it to Sir Weller for making his move on none other than the Maoh himself."
"I don't know." another interrupted. "I agree with Tekato. That boy, too, definitely had some role in all this. I even heard that actually he was the one who broke off his engagement to Lord Wolfram and later asked Sir Weller to a date too. One of the maids told me how he used to often, look at Sir Weller with such longing in his eyes. Makes me wonder if had housed such intimate feelings for his servant too."
"Yeah, you're right. That boy is more than he seems. I wonder if he wasn't the one to initiate that kiss too. That would be a real scandal, wouldn't it? I wonder if the two had done something else as well, something more intimate and private, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah. Yeah. We got you alright."
"Now that would be really exciting. It could as well be a first in a really long time for a Maoh to love his servant like that too, and a half-human at that." A new soldier replied. It looked as if the small gathering was becoming larger and larger with time.
"Don't say it like that. You know his majesty doesn't think in that manner regarding half-humans. Besides, Sir Weller is very nice. I wish one of them would kiss me one of these days as well."
Laughter broke out yet again.
"Yeah, and maybe some more." Someone injected.
Everyone gave in to the uncontrollable hysterics again.
"I wonder if it is actually as it seems or if the Maoh is just playing with him to satisfy his certain urges. What do you say, huh?
"Absolutely not. Yuri-Heika is too kind to do something like that to anyone, let alone Lord Weller, whom he admires and cherishes above anyone else. I myself had witnessed their closeness to each other and the purity of their relationship myself at certain fortunate occasions." Dorcas said.
'When did he get here?' Gwendal thought.
"Well, of course, after all you're the Maoh's favorite, who lets you be near him all the time, aren't you? He even shares with you his personal opinions sometimes too, right?" One soldier teased him.
Dorcas went bright red. "Of course not." he stammered.
"Their relationship won't go far as lovers if that's what they're thinking, unless…" he trailed off thoughtfully.
"Unless?" Another soldier asked.
"Unless Yuri-Heika takes Sir Weller as his concubine." he replied calmly.
"What do you think? Will the Maoh do it?" Another soldier asked Dorcas.
"I…I don't know." Dorcas admitted.
Gwendal tuned out the rest of the conversation. He was shocked at what he was hearing. Unable to bear hearing anything more, he quickly left the scene with his mind full of many unwanted but necessary questions. He'd go and see Conrad first thing now and later pay a visit to the Maoh as well.
xxxxx
That afternoon, he called for Conrad into his office.
He'd wanted to have this conversation earlier but he couldn't find the source of his current worries anywhere. He'd no other option but to wait which was slowly taking its toll upon him.
Gwendal was upset with the entire incident. First Wolfram and now Conrad, he was furious. How dare that boy play with his brothers like that? He'd so much wanted to just dig out that so-called-Maoh and throttle him. But before he could do so, he'd like to have some actual facts from Conrad first and also give him a piece of his mind.
A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Come in."
A brown haired, brown eyed figure wrapped in brown uniform entered.
"You wanted to see me, Gwendal?" Conrad asked.
"Yes, come in and shut the door."
Conrad wondered why Gwendal called him, though he had his own suspicions. Gwendal was working at his desk not paying him the least bit of attention. Conrad stood silently and absolutely still. Although he looked calm from the outside, inside his thoughts were in a complicated turmoil.
After a while, Gwendal finished and looked up from his desk at his younger brother.
Conrad smiled calmly and asked, "How was your trip?"
Gwendal raised an eyebrow but replied nonetheless. "I could have been better."
Conrad chuckled. "I noticed your absence." he replied the silent question. "So what did you want to see me about?"
Gwendal gave him a long inspecting glare. Conrad felt like a lamb at auction under scrutiny.
"Have a seat." Conrad did as was told. "I heard some strange rumors." Gwendal started very gravely.
"What kind of rumors?" Conrad, too, was all sport.
"I heard that you were seen on a date with Yuri-Heika. I wanted to know if any of this is true."
Conrad signed heavily. If Gwendal knew about the date then he must know about the kissing part as well, after all it was no secret after that spectacular public display of lip-locking. He knew this was coming sometime soon. He had been preparing himself for this confrontation with Gwendal ever since he returned from the restaurant. However, now that he's finally sitting on that interrogation chair, he didn't feel so sure of himself anymore.
"Gwendal, you must know this first…"
"First answer my question." Gwendal cut his speech off. "Is it true or not?"
Conrad sighed again. There's no way out. "Yes. It's true."
Gwendal looked like he'd been hit on the head with a bag full of bricks.
"Do you even know what you're saying? Are you crazy? What possessed you? How could you asked Yuri-Heikaeikihhhh for a date? And so soon after his calling off of his engagement with Wolfram? Didn't you even think about your own younger brother? How will he feel if he finds out, huh?"
Conrad winced at that. That was already an aching spot in his heart even without scratching it like that. And although Wolfram's support did eased some of the guilt in his heart, he couldn't help but feel bad for being the one to snatch (one might say) his ex-fiancé away and so soon.
Conrad sighed, "I don't know what you heard Gwendal, but trust me I didn't ask Yuri on a date. It was a set up by both Yozak and, believe it or not, Wolfram himself."
Gwendal looked skeptical. "What? Wolfram?"
"Yes. I don't know why but he was there yelling and screaming at both of us, but also at the same time encouraging me to take a chance on Yuri and officially start going out with him."
Gwendal raised an eyebrow at that but calmed down a bit. "We are talking about the same Wolfram here as I know, aren't we? His engagement to Yuri-Heika wasn't even 24 hours old and you're saying he willingly went along with a plan to hook you and Yuri-Heika together?"
"Yes, he gave some vague kind of reason to his actions, claiming that he's doing it because he's stuck with Geika now and that although he loves Yuri, he doesn't want him to get stuck with some stranger in a marriage and get exploited. Hence, he chose me. Honestly, had I known then it was a set up sooner, I'd have never gone to that place with Yozak."
He was speaking the truth, Gwendal knew. He could see it in his eyes.
"You kissed him?" Gwendal cautiously but politely asked. "In public no less?"
Conrad kind of paled. He quickly averted his eyes and kept silent.
"Conrad? Conrad look at me." Gwendal commanded gently. When Conrad complied, he continued, "Answer my question."
"I…" And Conrad dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to continue.
"Conrad?" Gwendal asked sternly.
"Gwendal." the younger brother said in a small voice. He wanted to be stronger, to be in more control of his rapidly emerging emotions; he was even trying very hard but was failing at it nonetheless. The Wheel of Time seemed to have taken a reverse spin, taking both of them to their childhood where the older brother was demanding an explanation from his younger brother for having done something wrong and the younger one not wanting to admit, chocked on his emotions.
"Gwendal, I didn't plan it, I swear. It just happened." He sounded so very tired and weak. "I've loved him for so long and was never able to show it either because of Wolfram or my own doubts. But when Wolfram himself encouraged me and Yuri returned my feelings, I couldn't hold myself." And then Conrad raised his eyes to meet the royal blue ones. "Please don't say anything to Yuri. Please Gwendal, I'm telling you it wasn't his fault. He didn't know of their plans either."
Gwendal's insides jolted with what he saw in his younger brother's eyes. The ever vibrant and beautifully alive cinnamon eyes were now dull with the extreme pain and fear of his impending future that Conrad carried, as if waiting for his older brother to snatch his only happiness away but praying to for him to do otherwise. It was the same resigned expression that Gwendal had seen in his younger brother's eyes several times before during their mother's reign, whenever he was reminded of his rank and the inappropriateness of his closeness to Julia and that he could never have what he'd wanted the most at the time.
Gwendal lost all of his will to say anything further.
xxxxx
Gwendal hadn't accepted nor denied Conrad's request regarding Yuri. He had held his talk with the boy for some time dutifully but didn't altogether discard the idea. He so much had wanted to grant that one request his brother had made to him, to let him enjoy his newfound happiness freely. But he couldn't take that chance, not before testing the waters himself.
He hated to see his brothers in pain. And after how Yuri had left Wolfram, he didn't want him to do the same to Conrad as well. Not after it was so painfully obvious how much that man loved him. Conrad had spent all of his energy and strength in recovering from Julia's loss. If the same thing as Wolfram happened to Conrad as well at Yuri's hands, he wouldn't survive. And Gwendal had no intentions on letting that come to pass. He had pledged to protect his brothers and he'll keep his pledge.
It was obvious, after his little talk with Conrad, that he couldn't ask him to stay away from Yuri which means that he couldn't put a stop to their secret (or not so secret) meetings and dates with each other. That, however, didn't weaken his will to interrogate Yuri and assure himself of the truthfulness and strength of his Maoh's feelings for his brother as well. Now the question was how to go about doing that. He, sure as hell, couldn't just go straight to Yuri and ask him bluntly. Not to mention that Conrad, on his part, was doing his best in not giving him any chance to be alone with his liege. Gwendal didn't know what to do.
He was just walking down the hallways, pondering upon the same when one afternoon, he came across Geika and finally got a nice opportunity to have a long talk with him over the switching ceremony incidence.
"Ah! Lord von Voltaire, nice to see you." Murata greeted.
"Good afternoon to you too." Gwendal replied.
"I just came to meet Shibuya. Have a little friendly chat, you know. I was getting bored at the temple."
Although he said that, Gwendal really doubted if that alone was his sole reason. But he let it slip as no one could find out what was going through his mind anyway. Not wanting to let this opportunity skip, he quickly threw his card.
"Actually, if you don't mind, I myself wanted to talk to you as well." Gwendal said.
Murata looked thoughtful a moment but then nodded. "Alright."
"Then, let's have a walk through the garden, shall we?"
"Sure."
Murata knew exactly what Gwendal wanted to talk about. He'd been able to hold off on this meeting up until now, but he knew that he'd be forced to answer for what happened sooner or later.
Soon they reached in the center of the garden, where a few benches were laid out to sit.
"Please have a seat." When Murata did so, Gwendal, too, followed the norm before saying, "I'd like to know why you told Heika about that switching ceremony?"
Murata seemed to be expecting the question. He spoke calmly.
"Ah, well you see…Shibuya was in distress about the possibility of falling in love but being unable to pursue it due to his farce of an engagement to Lord von Bielefeld, which he was unable to break from his end. So, instead of continuing to listen to him whine and complain for hours on end, I chose to help him."
Gwendal sighed and asked, "Did either of you ever stop to think about telling Wolfram this rather than doing something as dangerous as a switching ceremony?" Then more slowly and to the side, he said, "He was very hurt."
Murata's glasses glared as he replied, "Really now Lord von Voltaire, you of all people should know Lord von Bielefeld better than that. What do you think would have happened if Shibuya had gone to Lord von Bielefeld and explained that he was in love with someone?"
When Gwendal didn't answer immediately Murata continued and said, "I personally believe that he'd first of all assume that Shibuya meant that he loved him and would want to rush and get married. And then when Shibuya would deny him, saying that he meant he was in love with someone else, he'd start to accuse him of cheating and threaten him, if not (literally) start throwing fireballs at him. And hence, injuring him in the process."
Gwendal simply sighed and pinched his nose bridge, 'Oh yeah! He knew his hot-tempered little brother all too well.'
"Did you have anything to do with that strange date last night?" Gwendal asked.
"Ahh! Yes, I heard about that. But I'm afraid that I had nothing to do with that. I'm sure you, just like most of the castle, have known of Shibuya's feelings for Sir Weller for quite some time, right? I suppose it should come as no surprise to you that without the engagement they'd eventually start dating, or do you not approve?"
"Whether his feelings for Conrad are genuine or not, I will have to see for myself. If they are then I have no objections. You, on the other hand, are a mystery. Of all the ways to get Heika out of his engagement why a switching ceremony that would have left you bound to Wolfram in an unbreakable engagement?"
"Well…unbreakable isn't the word I'd have used, just a temporary inconvenience. I know of lots of ways we could have, if necessary, to get out of a switching ceremony engagement."
"You ended up married."
"Yes, a slight miscalculation on that. I never expected him to lose his footing after stepping on the water glass. It was so small I wouldn't have thought it'd caused a problem. But after he fell, I didn't realize at first that he had cut his hand but after I did, I chose to accept the responsibility of choosing this ceremony and accepted his hand, thus binding us in marriage. Had I not done so, Shibuya would have most likely ended up getting permanently married. Neither he, nor I wanted that. This ceremony was my idea and I chose not to reveal its consequences to Shibuya until Shinou forced me to. I felt it was better that Shibuya remained unaware."
"Why didn't you just send for Lady Elizabeth and do a Reclaiming Ceremony?"
"Ah, well I doubt that Shibuya would have gone for such an idea. Just getting him on board with the switching ceremony without the fear of being found out somehow was one thing. However, he was already jumpy enough. The time it would have taken to bring her to the temple without her being discovered would have been too great a risk." He, conveniently, chose not to tell Gwendal about Shinou's claims that he wanted Wolfram because of their resemblance. Not that Gwendal could do much about his and Wolfram's relationship since there's no way out of it. But he could make it harder for Yuri and Conrad's budding relationship to take hold. Gwendal seemed to be planning his next move. Not wanting to answer anything anymore, he stood up to leave even before Gwendal could ask his next question.
"I guess you got all the answers you needed from me. I'd take my leave now. I have to return to the temple soon." With that Murata disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
Gwendal looked at his retreating back with a suspicious glare. He was sure that there was something more that Murata was hiding. He had wanted to know his true intentions and motives in this entire incident. Murata, however, had very cunningly avoided the question even before he could voice it. Gwendal wasn't pleased with the outcome of this little talk but he couldn't openly question Daikenja after all.
It looks like he'd have to wait for getting his answers from this particular source, but he could wait. He was a very patient man.
xxxxx
The next week seemed to go by slower than what Yuri was hoping for. It was very difficult for him to wait till Friday for his first official date with Conrad. The week had seemed to go on forever. Finally, it was Thursday today and strangely enough, all of a sudden, it looked like as if his wrist watch from earth had started ticking twice as slow. He barely slept at all that night, too busy thing about what their date would be like. When Conrad woke him up he was still sleepy
due to the lack of sleep.
"Good Morning, Heika." Was the cheerful call.
Yuri sat up and yawned and said, "Conrad….what should I do to you. If you're going to be my boyfriend now, the least you could do is remember my name."
Conrad chuckled, "Of course, Yuri. However I'm afraid our morning run as well as, I'm afraid, our date has to be cancelled."
Yuri was shocked; he'd waited all week for this. He'd barely slept dreaming of this. He was about to open his mouth and question why, when he heard a loud clap of thunder that felt like it rocked the castle. Yuri got up and walked over to the window and opened the curtain to look outside.
What he saw was that it was literally pelting outside and from the looks of things, had been so for a while now. Yuri tried not to show that he was depressed. But the truth was that he was, but not so much because of the rain than the feeling creeping inside him that perhaps Conrad wasn't serious about wanting to go on a date. Otherwise why did he say that their date was canceled rather than postponed? He didn't even think of something else that they could do together in the castle itself while away from prying eyes to make up for it. Hell he'd have been content just sitting in the library together, despite the fact that he still had trouble reading their language.
His mood was rotten. And knowing Conrad, he would try to do something to uplift his mood. And so, at the moment, he didn't want Conrad to see him depressed, only to suddenly decide that he should do something about it and suggest that they do some activity together. It's not that he didn't want them to do something together, he just didn't want to guilt Conrad into doing it.
So instead, he flashed his best to smile and tried to act like this cancellation didn't affect him much. "Oh, well that's too bad." He caught himself from saying 'perhaps some other time' as he now wasn't confident anymore if Conrad actually wanted to go on a date with him or was he just forcing him into it for his sake. Despite the fact that Conrad had been the one who had prompted a real date between them, this other fact that Yuri's suggestion of outdoor picnic for said date was rained out and that Conrad hadn't come up with idea to make up for the negative changes, made him think that perhaps Conrad offered the original date only for appearance sake and to entertain him because he was his Maoh.
Yuri's heart felt heavy. But he held his despair back to himself.
xxxxx
That morning, Conrad had been disappointed to find it raining when he woke. He knew Yuri would be disappointed as well. But he couldn't stop the rain. And it didn't look as if it planned to stop by itself anytime soon. Even if it did, it'd be much too wet and muddy for a picnic. He couldn't do anything. Resigning himself to that fact, he finished his morning rituals and went to wake his Maoh and recent boyfriend.
When he went to wake Yuri for breakfast, he found that he was right about Yuri being disappointed. But for some reason that he couldn't discern, he almost felt as if Yuri seemed disappointed about something else as well.
He could see clearly how his young boyfriend was trying to put on a brave face and act like one, but his eyes belied it all. He could have even sworn that Yuri want to say more after commenting on how it was too bad that they couldn't go out, but never completed his sentence.
Conrad wanted to say something anything to put a real smile back on the boy's face, much like the one he had when he first woke up. However, he couldn't think of anything and so he let the matter drop.
He had this feeling that Yuri didn't want him near him right now and he wondered if giving him some space would help.
xxxxx
Everyone could almost feel Yuri's depression despite how hard he tried to hide it. Even Gunter's long lectures seemed to fall short in their wake. Throughout his class with Gunter today, Yuri's mind was always elsewhere.
The fact that Conrad never once appeared to 'save him' from Gunter only cemented in Yuri's mind that Conrad didn't really want to do anything with him. A part of him, right now, wished that Shinou still controlled his travels, so he could, like old days, unexpectedly be on his way back to home. Currently, he wished nothing more than to visit home and to taste his mother's curry. But he couldn't do it, not without telling someone or at the very least telling Murata about it.
After all he did for him, he didn't want to just give up and leave, abandoning him to do whatever he felt like doing and run away, without giving him the option of going with him or staying. He sighed. He knew it was a worthless thought as he couldn't just run away like this no matter what he wanted.
Gunter kept going on with his lecture, casting worried looks at his ruler, and Yuri kept staring at the door as if willing for it to open up any moment with Conrad running in to come and shower him with hugs and kisses, which never came.
xxxxx
After his talk with Conrad and Murata, Gwendal had decided to wait till the time was right to talk to Yuri. He still wasn't sure how to start or what to say. He still, in a lot of ways, saw Yuri as a little kid but in a lot of other ways he also saw him as an adult and his true Maoh. And this, exactly, was his problem. The situation demanded him to see Yuri as either one - a reckless kid or two - a caring adult, and he couldn't seem to be able to choose one this time.
Yuri was with him at the moment, signing the kingdom's documents. He'd wanted to be alone with the Maoh and finally he got that chance. For some reason, Yuri chose his office to work rather than his own. He sighed. He wanted to have that talk now and decided that just saying it would be the best, especially with the boy so depressed over something; he thought that he shouldn't delay it or beat around the bush. He had a feeling that this recent depression might relate to Conrad. Now was as good as time as any to have a little heart to heart.
With Conrad, he could be straight forward, but Yuri he knew was naïve when it came to love. He'd never have believed it if it hadn't been for their time chained together. "Heika?"
Yuri looked up from his paperwork, "Yes, Gwendal?"
"What are your intentions towards my brother?"
Yuri frowned confused, "What do you mean, 'What are my intentions?' In case you haven't heard, I'm not engaged to Wolfram anymore."
Gwendal was trying to keep his temper in check. How could anyone be so clueless? "I was talking about Conrad. I heard a little bit about your date with him the other night." Gwendal raised an eyebrow in silent question.
Yuri sighed, seemingly even more depressed if that was possible. "Oh."
Gwendal remembered Conrad saying Wolfram was involved. He couldn't believe it could be true. Perhaps after this he should have a talk with Wolfram as well.
"I'll ask again, what are your intentions towards my brother? If this is just a crush then end it now. I won't see Conrad hurt over something like a simple school boy crush."
Yuri really didn't know what to say, he had on some level been in love with Conrad since the moment they met. He was only now really realizing the full extent of it. This recent separation, even if only half a day's long, had almost crushed him. He was sure it was not just because of some crush. With this thought and his recent feelings, the answer came to him easily. Yuri smiled, "I promise Gwendal. I want nothing but the best for Conrad too. I realize I'm still new to the whole love thing but I promise nothing official will be made till we're both ready. Besides, my words won't make much difference as only time can prove to you that my feelings for him are real."
Gwendal peered into Yuri eyes, trying to find even a trace of deceit. Finding nothing, he nodded approvingly. That wasn't exactly what Gwendal had wanted to hear but knew it was the best he was going to get. Plus, it was good enough for now. Yes he was right, only time will tell.
xxxxx
Cheri found Conrad staring out a window. She had been majorly disappointed when she learned of Yuri and Wolfram's broken engagement and then of Wolfram's subsequent marriage to Murata. However, she like the rest of the castle after learning of the broken engagement had waited to see if Conrad or perhaps Yuri himself would take the initiative and get together. There were even bets made on who would fold first. However, all bets had been called off when they heard that Yozak and Wolfram set them up. Besides, no one had heard about any future dates or if one had even been made or not.
Cheri noticed he looked deep in thought and perhaps a bit troubled. "Something wrong Conrart?"
Conrad turned and smiled, "It's nothing Hahaue. I'm fine."
"Mah, you can't lie to me. I'm your mother. I know when something's bothering you. Now, let's sit down and you tell me all about it."
Conrad sighed. He felt that perhaps if he talked it through, he might be able to figure out what depressed Yuri so much or perhaps his mother might be able to figure it out for him. So, he started to tell her all about the set up date prompted by Yozak and Wolfram, what happened on the date and finished by telling her about their planned date and how they'd been forced to cancel it due to the rain. Then, he told her about Yuri's subsequent depression for which he could find no cause.
"I knew that he'd be disappointed when we had to cancel the date but it's more than just disappointment. He's clearly depressed. It's like we can't even reschedule the date for next week."
Cheri smiled and said, "Tell me Conrart, when you told Heika about having to cancel your date, did you ever mention rescheduling with him?"
Conrad frowned, "No, why? I mean it should be obvious. It's rained out so it had to be postponed for another day."
Cheri sighed, "My poor son. I have failed you when it comes to the matters of the heart, haven't I?"
Conrad blinked confused by his mother's babbling.
"Dear sweet Conrart, if you did not tell Heika that you meant you wish to simply wait for another day for your picnic, then how would he know? As you said yourself, your relationship is only barely beginning. Heika has no way of knowing if the word 'canceled' from your mouth means you have no real interest in seeing a date through or if it just means a postponement. It may seem very obvious to you, but for someone as young and inexperienced in love as our Yuri-Heika, it must seem as if your canceling of programs and having nothing planned in its place to make up for it means that you never had any interest in dating him."
"But Hahaue, you know that's not true."
Cheri smiled and said, "Yes, but does he know that?"
That truly startled Conrad. He hadn't thought of it like that. Suddenly, Yuri's depression started making sense to him. Yuri thought he didn't care about him, which wasn't true. He wasn't sure what to do about that. But he knew something needed to be done, and soon.
"Aww, my poor son." Cheri hugged Conrad tighter. "There's so much you need to learn in the love-department. But don't worry; I'll make you a pro." Conrad just leaned into his mother's comforting arms.
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is_sm A/N: Loki-chan is the name of one of Gwendel's stuff toys that I invented. That's, let's just say a kind of stress-reliever for Gwendel. Loki is usually termed as the name of a very mischievous demon god. So, you may visualize the stuff toy as a green colored devil.