Taka finally made it back to his Master's room, loaded up with towels. He really didn't want to admit to his failure. He'd been working for Waltorana for about five years now, give or take. He was one of the four assistants who attended to Waltorana. Waltorana rarely took an assistant with him. But on the few times he had taken an assistant, Taka was always the one who was left at home. This was his first time away from the von Bielefeld lands. During all of his time serving Waltorana, he'd met other royalties but no kings and had never met a Maoh, past or present. The only thing he knew about the current Maoh was what he'd heard through the rumors and whatever his Master Waltorana himself had told him. And to be very honest, he wasn't much impressed.

He knocked at the door nimbly, fearing for his master's response towards his failure.

"Enter." Waltorana looked up from the paper he was reading only to find Taka standing in the doorway with an armful of towels. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Sorry for what?"

"I failed in my mission. I couldn't find the Maoh."

Waltorana merely raised his brows in return, showing his confusion.

"You see, sir, a maid caught me and I couldn't carry out my job."

"What did you tell her?" Waltorana asked. His voice was at a dangerous level. If Taka had screwed this up and told her the truth, he wouldn't leave him.

"Well, I am not sure what exactly as I hadn't expected to get caught." He didn't want to admit that he had had the same questioning problem about 'what if he found The Maoh'. "The only thing I could think of saying to her was that I was looking for a laundry room for some towels. She offered to take me there."

"I sent you out hours ago. What were you doing all this time, playing footsie or something with that maid? Was she that pretty?" Waltorana had to admit that although the maids of the blood pledge castle were no beauty contestants, they weren't ugly either. He could easily see how a young man like Taka, who had very limited experience with women, might fall for one.

"Actually, no sir. She was a huge woman, in fact. Not at all my type."

"Huge you say? Mmm…I don't remember seeing anyone like her here before. Are you sure she's a maid here?"

"Yes, sir. You see she said that she was new and had just started working here a short while ago."

"So why are you just now returning? Where were you?"

"Ah, um… well, you see, sir. She was more than new and she was also sort of a ditz. She couldn't seem to remember her way to anywhere in the castle. After getting the towels she insisted on escorting me back. I was lucky though that we came to an intersection. I looked one way and when I looked back, she was gone. I assume she's probably now searching the halls for me. Shall I go back and try to find her?"

"No, leave her. She'll give up eventually. So, are you saying that you've been wandering in this castle with that stupid fat maid for hours instead of searching for the Maoh?"

Taka winced, "I'm truly sorry sir. But what could I do? It's not as if I could have just lost her and continued on searching. What if she had found it suspicious and called the guards to find me?"

Waltorana sighed. He hated to admit it but there wasn't a lot that Taka could have done different. He was right, had he slipped away from the maid, even if she was as ditzy as Taka claimed the maid to be, she might have told someone else and they might perceive Taka as a threat and then all of his future plans to take down the Maoh would have gone down the drain. Reluctantly, Waltorana had to, finally, agree with his aid. "Fine, I understand. Just retire to your room for now. I'll let you know if I need you for anything else before tomorrow morning."

Taka bowed and quickly left. He knew that he had disappointed his master but he couldn't think of anything that he could do to correct his failure. If he tried to go out searching again and got caught, he won't be able to make the same excuse. So, since everything seemed to be against the mission for the moment, he did the only thing he could. He went to his room to rest.

x-x-x-x-x

After his failure, Waltorana dismissed Taka and sent him to his room for the night. He would just have to see what the morning would bring to him. He hated it but he knew that he'd have to try to get to know more about Geika and, well, worthy or not he'd have to live with it. Perhaps he could whip him into shape and make him more worthy of his nephew. Soon after he had dismissed Taka, he answered a knock at his door. He was hoping it not to be a maid and was somewhat relieved as well as surprised to see Wolfram at the late hour.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"I'm sorry uncle, but I wanted to tell you that tomorrow I plan to leave the castle in order to collect the special crystals."

"What's so special about these crystals that have you so desperate to go out hunting for them yourself instead of sending some guards or servants to find them?"

"With the help of these crystals, a blood and fire ceremony can be done safely with no risk involved."

Waltorana smiled, "That's wonderful. When do you plan to do the ceremony?"

"Ah, well, you see Ken claims that he doesn't know where any crystals are. So it'll have to wait till I can fine some."

"Ken?" Waltorana asked confused.

"Uh…yes…Geika's first name is Ken. I'm taking him with me so that we can go and look for these crystals."

"Are you sure he's telling you the truth about these crystals' existence?"

Wolfram nodded, "Gunter confirmed it with the help of an old document that he found recently. It even tells the names of some of the villages. The names on the paper didn't sound familiar to me but then Gunter explained how a lot of the names had been changed over the years and that he knew the new names…"

Wolfram then proceeded to tell him about the location of the crystals.

"The only one that I'm really concerned about is the Erwiston village. The reputation of that place is really bad."

Wolfram sighed, "As I told Aniue, we'll just tell them the truth that we're only there to collect crystals. That we're not there to arrest anyone."

"Oh…very clever. And then I'll get the word my only nephew was killed because he has been stupid."

"Uncle, it'll be fine. If all else fail, I'll get Ken to think of something when we get there. He's supposed to be extremely smart after all."

Waltorana frowned. Just like Gwendal, he didn't like this plan. "No, we will think of something here and now, otherwise you won't be going."

"What? But uncle…"

"No buts." Waltorana's word was final.

Sensing that Wolfram was about to continue the argument, he said "Let me give you a scenario. You're on your way back from the town and see a guy lurking near the castle. And when you ask him what he's doing, he looks at you keenly. Since you're in your street clothes, he decides to trust you and tell you that he's planning to sneak into the castle to find the treasure room and rob it."

"Why would someone be so stupid as to tell me something like that?"

"Perhaps for the same reasons as of someone who would be stupid enough to tell a town full of thieves that they're searching for some crystals that people would kill for while others are willing to spend big money in order to lay their hands on them. Nothing different from the thief in my scenario. He trusted you and told you what he was planning. Even not knowing you in person, he just blurted out. Naturally you'd have him arrested. Now what do you think a bunch of thieves would do with someone who has or is looking for something very valuable?"

Wolfram opened his mouth to retaliate when he finally understood. 'Uncle's right.' he thought. There were people who would love to get their hands on certain treasures in the treasure room. Most are useless as only the Maoh can use them but there are other items too that anyone can use. And even the ones that only the Maoh can use, there are people who would want those just to have them. The scenario his uncle gave him wasn't a lot different than what he was thinking of doing. People would kill or even pay big money to have the crystals. Thieves and murders might just kill him to get their hands on the crystals.

"Now seeing as you have finally understood, let's think of a plan in case you do run into a thief or someone asking about the crystals. After all Erwiston isn't the only town with thieves and even someone not normally known to be a thief might be desperate enough knowing what the crystals are for and might fight, try to kill you or just knock you in the head for the crystals, steal them and leave you there to die, or just lying in the middle of the road somewhere. You can never be too careful about who you trust with things like this."

x-x-x-x-x

"Well, it's getting late. Shall I escort you back to your room, Heika?"

Yuri was sad to see the date come to an end. But even more upset to hear Conrad revert back to formalities. He glared at him at first but then turned challenging, "Why? Of course, you may Sir Weller. I just got back from a date with my wonderful boyfriend. But it seems he has left me midway."

Conrad laughed, "Okay okay, point taken. Shall we go then, Yuri." Conrad said holding out his hand. Yuri smiled shyly and took it.

They made it to Yuri's door and Conrad didn't hesitate to lean in and kiss him immediately. Conrad knew no guards would be around as they would know that Yuri was with him. He'd have to, after he leave, go and assign a couple of guards in front of the door.

"Goodnight Yuri."

Yuri, still blushing after the kiss, said, "Goodnight." Then he walked into his room and closed the door.

x-x-x-x-x

Conrad spotted a couple of guards who looked sort of raged. "What's wrong with the two of you?" he asked.

"It's nothing sir. We were going to see if it was time to take guard at Heika's door?"

"Yes, I was going to see who was on duty. But there's defiantly something wrong. Tell me."

The guards, like the rest of the castle, knowing of his and Yuri's date hadn't wanted to spoil his evening, but after what they just went through they told him everything.

"You see sir, a couple of the guards slacked off in their duties, each blaming the other for their failure." one of them said.

"The result was that the castle gates were left unattended for a while." the other guard said.

"What?" 'Have I been so out of it lately that it's now starting to affect the guards?' Conrad thought.

"Yes, sir. And to make it worse, Lord von Bielefeld's uncle arrived and no guard was there to greet him or to inform Lord von Voltaire."

"Lord von Bielefeld is here, in the castle now?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Conrad demanded.

"Well sir, you said not to disturb you except in case of an emergency and we didn't feel that this was an emergency."

"I see. But that doesn't explain why you look so worn out."

"That's because Lord von Voltaire was angry over the laziness of the guards and left without a word."

"Everyone was worried what he'd do as punishment. But anything he could have done was nothing compared to what he ended up doing."

"Which was?" Conrad asked.

"He told Lady Gisela to train us."

'Ah!' Now the raged looks made much more sense to Conrad. If they'd spent a few hours training with Gisela, it's understandable that they'd be totally worn out.

"If you'll excuse us sir, we'll be off to our post."

Conrad simply nodded, allowing them to leave. But he couldn't help but worry. If Waltorana was here then, that obviously means he has already somehow heard about Yuri and Wolfram's broken engagement and most likely Yuri's involvement in said broken engagement. Also if he didn't already know by now he did know of Wolfram's subsequent marriage to Geika and odds were he also knew of his dating Yuri. He sighed there wasn't much that could be done till morning. But decided it is better to see if Gwendal was awake and talk to him. Even if to just apologize for his lazy guards.

x-x-x-x-x

Gwendal was surprised to hear a knock at his door at this late hour. "Enter."

"Gwendal? Umm…I'm here to officially apologize for the laziness of my guards. You have my word that it won't happen again ever."

"I'm surprised that you heard of this already."

"I found two of my guards coming on duty to guard Yuri's door as I was leaving. They looked a little raged and so I asked them to explain why. I'm sorry for you shouldn't have had to deal with this. I'll take care of it the first thing in the morning. I've obviously been neglecting them. For that I am truly sorry."

Gwendal had cooled off since that incident happened and now hearing Conrad talk, he felt a little guilty for even thinking about going to find Conrad and taking him away from his date. He had forgotten how little time his younger brother took for himself. "It's fine. After what Gisela made them go through, I don't think that they'll let it happen again ever."

"Still it was my responsibility."

"You needed time for yourself, something that you don't do often enough. So, it's fine."

"Yes, but I'm sure Yuri would have understood if you had come to tell me."

"Speaking of Heika, how was your date?"

Conrad smiled, "It went great."

"I hate to say this but do you really think he loves you or is this simply a huge heroic crush? After all, he has never dated anyone before." Gwendal couldn't believe that he'd said it. He hadn't planned on it, it just came tumbling out. But with that said, he chose to continue, though a bit embarrassed. "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Conrad smiled genuinely. He was surprised to hear Gwendal say anything like that. "I appreciate the concern Gwendal but whether this is love or simply a crush, it's a chance I am willing to take. Even if it means I get hurt in the end."

Seeing a losing battle, Gwendal moved on. "I'm sure that by now you've heard that Waltorana is here."

"Yes. I'm sure he is quite upset."

"I'm certain he is, but I have yet to see him. He had had the nerve to send his aid here to inform me instead of coming to see me himself."

"That's surprising. Has Wolfram seen him?"

"Yes. His aid informed me that they were talking. That was the initial reason that I didn't go to greet him as I hadn't wanted to be in the middle of their screaming contest."

"Ah! Yes, I'm sure it must have been quite loud."

"Since he didn't feel the need to see me in person, I didn't feel the need to make an effort on my part either."

"Have you talked to Wolfram since then?"

"Yes. He'll be leaving with Geika tomorrow on a long journey."

"A long journey? Now, with his uncle here of all times? But why?"

"Apparently, he and Gunter have found out that there exist certain crystals that would allow a blood and fire ceremony to be performed safely. Wolfram plans to take Geika with him and search for these crystals himself."

"Is it dangerous? Are you planning to let them go alone?"

Gwendal explained what he'd been told about the whereabouts of the crystals. "No. I'm not allowing him to go alone. But I'm being forced to only assign two guards as any more than that will draw way too much attention."

"Perhaps I should go with them?"

"No. Whether or not they find any crystal is irrelevant. This is going to have to be a journey that they take together. Perhaps they'll be lucky and find the crystals. But if you go with them, Wolfram would choose to spend all of his time with you rather than with Geika. Even with two guards, there's no guarantee that he won't chose the guards over Geika, but it's a chance for them to get to know each other better and perhaps by the end of the journey Wolfram will have learned to accept Geika. Besides with Waltorana here, I'm going to need you to look after Heika even more. I'm sure he didn't come all this way for a social call. Keep your eyes open. There's no way to know what is going to happen tomorrow."

"Yes. I understand. Now if you'll excuse me. I have a long day tomorrow."

With that Conrad bowed and left.

x-x-x-x-x

Morning came. Conrad was up earlier than normal. He didn't like what he'd learned about the guards. He felt responsible for their failure. He knew that Gisela will have worked them into the ground in his absence. But he still felt that he should retrain them. So he got them all up, all of them grumbling, as they were still very sore from what Gisela had put them through. And they were grumbling even more all throughout the training when Conrad took them all on a 20 mile long run. And the moment they all returned, he had them doing calisthenics and intense sword training afterwards till breakfast. He instructed his second in command to begin a 30 mile hike and then return for another hour of calisthenics followed by another hour of intense sword training for all to start after breakfast. They were to finish in time for lunch in which case all but those on duty will be allowed an hour downtime. He assigned them to write a mandatory 100 page report on what they did wrong and what they will do differently in the future. With this, Conrad felt quite satisfied with the guards' punishment.

Conrad, after finishing up, went back to his room to be sure that he looked presentable for, both, Yuri and Waltorana.

After he had freshened up, he went to wake Yuri.