Wolfram was playing with his bracelet while reading another book. It was a continuation of the one he had finished reading in the morning. Not as engaging as the first part, but he continued reading it because he liked the characters and was curious to see what would happen to them. Another kidnapping. It was getting boring. Can't the heroine do something on her own instead of waiting for the lord to help her? Wolfram would have escaped this place already ten times in the time when she was crying about how miserable she was. That was his only problem with characters in romances – they can't do anything on their own.

He leaned comfortably against the pillow, which may have been quite nice and soft, but its big drawback was that it complained exceptionally much today.

"Maybe it's better if I go with you after all?" Yuuri asked once again, combing Wolfram's hair as he leaned against his chest. This was pleasant. Another plus. Maybe it would somehow outweigh his rambling that was interfering with his reading.

Since Yuuri had already seen what he was reading anyway, Wolfram figured he might as well bring the book to his bedroom. Earlier, he helped Greta pack and, in the process, packed up some of his own things to take to the temple. They decided that it would be best if they both left at the same time, making it easier to organize their escort. But then Yuuri suddenly started complaining about being left alone, making the free time Wolfram had set aside for himself to read atrocious.

"You said yourself that you're behind with your work and need to catch up with it before leaving for Earth," Wolfram said monotonously and flipped the page. Still, nothing was happening. At last, the heroine was funny.

"Why don't I take something with me and take care of it on the spot?"

"Why make life difficult for yourself? Just stay in the castle and focus on your work. I'll be back before you know it."

Yuuri took his hand from Wolfram's head and put it around his waist, squeezing him tighter, but Wolfram was still determinedly trying to focus on the book. He decided to read as much as he could before leaving since he had no intention of taking these books on the trip.

"I'm just worried. People under the influence of these crystals can be anywhere," Yuuri said, burying his head in the hollow of Wolfram's neck.

He sighed, slid a hand into his black hair, combing it slowly with his fingers, and raised the corner of his mouth when Yuuri lifted his head slightly to look at him.

"We'll search the entire temple thoroughly and keep an eye on everyone. I'm taking my entire squad with me, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I'd be more at ease if you hadn't deprived half of it completely of its maryoku."

"They'll be fine. They still have another full day to rest."

"What was that even for? You knew perfectly well that you would need them, so why –"

"Yuuri." Wolfram admonished him as his boyfriend squeezed him tighter and tighter and began his next rant. He didn't need anyone to tell him what to do with his men.

Yuuri shut up and hid his face again. However, he only lasted a few minutes in silence.

"Why don't you take more people with you? Let Conrad go with you."

"We will already have more soldiers than there are priests. There's no need to overdo it like that."

"But you also need soldiers guarding those soldiers! What if one of them is carrying crystals?"

"And who will guard those soldiers then?"

"They can guard each other."

"You're starting to get ridiculous."

"Wanting you to be safe isn't ridiculous."

"If you forget, I'm a soldier too. I can take care of myself."

Yuuri seemed unhappy with this reminder, but Wolfram had no intention of starting this conversation. Previously, when he had problems with his visions, Yuuri sometimes mentioned that he could resign from his service, saying it would be safer that way. Wolfram hoped he had let it go now, although he seemed to still look unhappy about him being solder. However, Wolfram had no intention of giving up. In addition to all the other reasons, he simply liked what he was doing. And even if he did quit, what would he do then? So, he decided to change the subject, slowly reconciling himself to the fact that Yuuri would not remain silent for long.

"Anything interesting coming out of the interrogation?" he asked, noting reluctantly that he didn't understand what was written in the last paragraph and had to read it again.

Yuuri embraced him more firmly, apparently displeased at the mention of it.

"She claims that a man told her that you are controlling me in some way and that she is the only one who can do something about it. The blade was supposed to break the spell of control, and the necklace helped her recognize when the spell was working. She said the voice in her head told her exactly when and how you were influencing me."

"More elaborate than I expected." Wolfram laughed and put the book down in his lap for a moment. "And what about the man?"

"She doesn't want to betray him. Even after taking her crystals, she still believes all this."

Wolfram furrowed his brow. These crystals being able to control people even when they didn't touch them was disturbing. This way, they will have difficulty determining whether someone is under their influence. On top of that, someone made direct contact with Rosalinde, on whom it had a much stronger effect than on previous people who had given them the crystals themselves. Maybe such a great number of them in circulation is just a smokescreen? Maybe they are much weaker than the ones Eckbert and Rosalinde had? He will have to find some way to get to them and compare them with the others.

"That's why I don't want to just let you go with so few guards. At this point, literally everyone can be controlled!"

"And that's why I shouldn't take any more soldiers I don't know with me. I'll notice right away when one of my people behaves differently, so get over it already." Wolfram sighed and went back to reading. This means it's impossible to change the subject. Yuuri will come back to it anyway, so there's no point in bothering with it.

A few moments passed, and Yuuri was about to speak again, so Wolfram decided to reprimand him a second time.

"You're disturbing me," he said firmly, to which Yuuri looked at him reproachfully.

"You're leaving the day after tomorrow, and you're more interested in a book than spending time with me?"

"I am spending time with you. However, there is no need for you to speak. Silence is sometimes quite pleasant, you know."

"And who says that," he muttered and tucked his head again, muttering something.

Wolfram was only able to feel his voice as a gentle vibration on his skin, but he didn't care. He hoped that he would eventually be able to understand what was written on the page, but he miscalculated. Yuuri's hands began to move, and his palms slid under Wolfram's shirt, circling slowly on his stomach.

He squeezed the edges of the cover tighter, curling his legs slightly. There was no way he could concentrate on reading under such conditions.

"You are a nuisance."

"I am not saying anything," Yuuri protested quietly, and his hand began to move slowly upward, but Wolfram immediately caught it.

"You're putting me off."

"Really?" He sounded more pleased than bothered by this. His other hand, which had been left in place earlier, began to move again, gently kneading the skin on his stomach. "Feels good?"

He hesitated for a moment, putting aside a book he probably wouldn't be able to read anyway. Yuuri demanded his attention too much, but it wasn't something he could be angry about. He closed his eyes and hummed in confirmation.

Yuuri adjusted his position, and both of his hands slowly began to move upward again, causing Wolfram to breathe faster and faster with each millimeter traveled.

Tentatively, he let them do what they wanted. Touching his bare skin was something new, but it felt good, so he didn't mind. In fact, he himself even wanted to continue it.

"Yuuri," he sighed quietly as the hands gripped him tighter, causing him to shiver pleasantly. His voice oddly changed, to which Yuuri murmured contentedly, kissing him behind the ear.

The hands on his body continued to move, massaging and stroking, eliciting a much more pleasant feeling than he would have expected. It was somewhat reminiscent of a massage, but Wolfram remembered very well that it had never before made him feel such heat beating from the place where his skin was touched. In addition, Yuuri's fingers began to touch his nipples more and more often, making him completely lose control of his breathing.

His whole body began to react in strange ways, and he didn't like the fact that someone had such control over him. However, it was so good that he couldn't bring himself to protest. He felt as if he were slightly drunk, sighing heavily every time a wave of pleasure hit his body. It was only his chest; how could this place be so sensitive?

Yuuri's fingers pinched one of his nipples, making him tremble and moan softly.

They both became immobile, and Wolfram felt his cheeks go up in flames. He raised his hands to his face, embarrassed by his reaction.

"Wolf?" Yuuri asked uncertainly, lowering his hands and touching Wolfram's palms carefully.

It was so embarrassing that he felt like sinking under the ground. Who would have guessed that he would make such a sound, and for such a simple touch.

Yuuri turned him on his knees so that he was now sitting sideways to him and put his arm around him. But his other hand slipped under his shirt again and began to continue where it had stopped, making him gasp for air. He leaned forward and tried to escape, but Yuuri caught him and pulled him back so that Wolfram's head now rested on his stomach, then smiled contently, looking down at him. Hands began to touch his sensitive places again.

"Yuuri, let me go," he said quietly, scolding himself for how whimpering his voice sounded. The renewed waves of bliss were in no way helping him articulate himself properly.

"When it looks like you're enjoying it so much."

"It's embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it, there's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, it's just me." He smiled warmly and took one hand to stroke his head.

Wolfram felt like cursing him for treating him this way again, but when he opened his mouth, only another whine came out.

He clenched his knees tighter, feeling the rising heat in his lower body. He didn't like where this was going. He may have had zero experience in these matters, but he knew how it worked. Or at least that's what he thought until he discovered how he reacted when someone caressed his chest. So, now he was afraid of how he would react to something more.

"Yuuri." He gripped his shoulder and took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Stop."

The hands on his body immediately stopped, and Wolfram sighed in relief. Yuuri helped him up and embraced him gently as Wolfram rested his forehead against his shoulder and tried to calm down. His heart was beating so loudly that he could hear it, although as Yuuri hugged him more closely, he wasn't sure if it was his own heart or Yuuri's. Probably their both.

"I'm sorry. I got a little carried away." Yuuri started stroking his back, running his hand in circles. Wolfram put his arms around his neck and shook his head.

"Nothing's wrong. I just don't like not knowing what's happening to me."

Yuuri moved slightly away from him and smiled, then kissed him. Slowly and deeply, which made all thoughts in Wolfram's head suddenly disappear. But, despite his earlier efforts to calm down, the kiss made something in his body start to ignite again, so he had to force himself to break it and move away.

"I have to go to the toilet," he muttered, getting off the bed quickly, not wanting to look Yuuri in the eyes. But he heard his soft giggle anyway, and now he felt like even his ears were burning.

I decided to split the chapter, because this one don't fit with the next. I will post the next one in a moment.