Consequences of the Maou\'s Heart

Rated M for foul language, alcohol usage, dark themes, and homosexual sex. If you are not mature enough to deal with these please turn back now.

Chapter 18

Gunter watched Wolfram stumble in the hall with a sense of unease. It wasn’t like the blond to allow such a display of weakness in a public place, but then again the loss of his fiancé could be putting him out of sorts. Perhaps the Maryoku passing between the boys was more prominent than Gunter had suspected. He was sure he’d read an account of a Mazoku woman having fainting spells for years after her husband died due to the missing supplement of energy.

If Wolfram was having this kind of reaction both he and the Maou would have to be monitored for their own good. Either way, Gunter resolved to have Gisela examine Wolfram to see if the side effects of the loss of connection could be alleviated. He’d never been particularly fond of the boy but he knew Wolfram’s pain would upset Gwendal, and an upset Gwendal was not one he cared to deal with if he could avoid it.

Setting aside such thoughts, Gunter hurried towards the Maou’s office. He’d just gotten word that Yuri had returned to his office and the lavender haired man wanted to see if the double black was available for a lesson. Now that the Maou was single there were a host of topics that needed to be addressed. It hadn’t been essential to inform Yuri about all the subtleties of courting while he was already involved in what was considered a serious relationship. Especially since Wolfram had been so diligent in keeping Yuri from unintentionally flirting with others. Of course, Gunter thought, it would have been better if Wolfram had actually explained why he was accusing Yuri of cheating. The adviser wasn’t looking forward to explaining that many of the friendly young man’s natural behaviors could be considered flirting and out right propositions. After all he enjoyed flirting with the young ruler himself.

It didn’t take long for Gunter to reach Yuri’s office and fling open the doors with his usual flair. However, the wail of Heika was cut off abruptly as he took in his beloved Maou’s countenance. Yuri’s profile was visible as the young Maou stared out from the window. Normally wide eyes were narrowed and a dour scowl graced his lips. It took a moment for Gunter to collect himself enough to speak.

“Heika?” the word was whispered without any of the usual intensity accompanying it. Gunter nearly cringed when those narrowed eyes turned gradually towards him. Yuri didn’t seem to actually be looking at Gunter, but rather through him. The only word Gunter could come up with to describe the look on Yuri’s face was malevolent. Instincts honed from battle were telling the older man to retreat until the threat passed, but Gunter’s duty required him to stay and assist the Maou in anyway necessary. He was working up the gumption to call out again when Yuri shook his head sharply. When the Maou’s gaze returned to Gunter, his eyes were once again wide and his mouth made a perfect O of surprise.

“Oh! Gunter sorry I was kind of out of it. Did you need something?” Yuri couldn’t help but blink innocently at Gunter’s wary looks. The adviser remained silent, still a bit shocked at the sudden mood swing. “Ah hello, Shin Makoku to Gunter. Gunter can you hear me?” Yuri barely resisted the urge to wave a hand in front of Gunter’s face to garner a reaction.

“Ah,” Gunter collected himself as he began, “I was simply coming to see if Heika had time for a bit of a lesson.” It didn’t take long for Gunter to recover, especially with Yuri’s familiar groan of annoyance ringing in his ears.

“Gunter is this really necessary? I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”

“Of course Heika, but there are a few lessons that had been put off as they weren’t pertinent to your situation that may now be more needed than ever.”

“Eh, what?” Yuri’s eyes blinked innocently once again and Gunter had to refrain from gathering the Maou up in his arms and committing wicked acts on his unstained body.

“Ahem,” Gunter cleared his throat and the dirty thoughts from his mind, “Courting traditions Heika.”

“Oh. OH! Wait Gunter, I don’t… I’m not going to… I’m not ready… GUNTER I have no intention of courting anybody!!” Red flushed up Yuri’s face instantly as his arms flailed about.

“As… relieving as that is,” Gunter restrained a laugh, “Others will have quite the intention of courting you Heika. And it’s best you know what to look for so you can discourage or… encourage possible suitors.” Thoughts of the men and women who would be vying for his beloved Maou’s heart nearly sent Gunter into a faint.

“Oh… cause I’m the Maou right, they won’t care that I’m Yuri too?” Yuri seemed to deflate from his previously flustered state.

“Nonsense Heika, I’m sure a great many people would love to be your partner, Maou or not.” Gunter was quick to reassure Yuri, even though he knew the Maou’s assumption wasn’t all that far from the truth.

“Yeah who can resist a double black?” The melancholy nature of Yuri’s words worried Gunter. It was uncommon for the young man to express anything other than grating optimism.

“Heika, looks and title aside, it is your pure and loving heart that will draw your true love to you.” Gunter was rewarded with a small grin from Yuri.

“Thanks Gunter,” Yuri sighed lightly, “I guess I have time for a lesson before I start my paperwork.”

“Oh you won’t regret this!!” Despite Gunter’s words Yuri was pretty sure he would regret it, especially given the near psychotic look in his advisor’s eyes.

Nearly an hour later Yuri sat at his desk, staring blankly at Gunter as the man continued to rant about the varied and down right weird courting customs of Shin Makoku. He wasn’t sure if he was more disturbed that the people of his nation considered such bizarre things romantic or that Wolfram hadn’t been completely imagining things when he accused him of cheating. Not all of the times Wolfram yelled at him were necessary, but Yuri could recall a disquieting number of incidents where in his naturally friendly actions could have been interpreted as flirting or worse.

“And of course presenting ones beloved with a fresh fish anointed in syrup communicates the desire to include a temporary partner in marital relations. But I’m sure Heika will never have a need to use such a scandalous tradition. Oh dear, listen to me prattle on. If there is anything that you have questions on please feel free to ask me about it,” Yuri shook his head in response and Gunter continued, “Well I’ll take my leave then Heika, but if you have any questions later I’m always available.” With those parting words, Gunter slipped out the door. As he left the Maou to go about his daily duties, he was sure that there was something that he was forgetting. He dismissed the feeling lightly, sure that he would remember it if it were important.

Once again alone, Yuri let his thoughts stray back to Wolfram. He’d told the blond that he would inform him once the details were settled for the so called exploration mission. Very little of the planning was done by Yuri and the Maou only realized afterwards that the Sage had railroaded him into doing whatever he wanted. Murata had even asked that Wolfram be allowed to pick a few soldiers to accompany them as an added measure of security. The thought that there might be a need for such precautions was troubling for the young king. Still, Yuri thought, Wolfram should be able to take care of himself.

Either way he still needed to figure out how he was going to pass the information on to Wolfram. It was clear the blond wasn’t thrilled with Yuri’s presence, so he disregarded the idea of telling him in person. After a bit more thought, he gave up on any hope of looking like anything other than a coward and started penning a note to send to Wolfram. It contained a brief description of the trip and other details Murata had decided earlier. Once he finished, Yuri summoned a servant to carry the note to Wolfram. Of course, Yuri being Yuri, he never noticed the fanatical way the young servant stared at the note once he was informed of the recipient. So it was with complete disregard to his less than astute role in the rumor mill that Yuri returned to the pile of paperwork Gunter had distracted him from.

*****

Hours later Yozak watched Yuri drag himself along toward the Royal Chambers. The kiddo had been acting very strangely. He’d taken all his meals in his office, and those who delivered the food to him said Yuri had seemed highly nervous upon first seeing them. It was almost as though he was avoiding someone. Yozak contained a snort as he pondered who Yuri wouldn’t want to avoid right now. The Maou might not always know why someone was mad at him but he could sure as heck tell that they were mad at him. The trip to Yuri’s rooms seemed to take an abnormally long time, the double black moved as thought someone had tied boulders to his legs. Finally, he disappeared behind the grand doors. Yozak waited a few more minutes, to be sure that the Maou wasn’t coming back out, before heading off to report to his captain.

It wasn’t hard to find Conrart, or at least it wasn’t hard for Yozak to find him. Celi’s second son was out on the training ground, running though sword drills, despite the late hour. Yozak couldn’t help but admire the way Conrart handled his weapon. Each move was carefully controlled, yet somehow natural at the same time. It was no wonder Conrart was often referred to as Shin Makoku’s best swordsman. Technically, Gunter’s form outclassed Conrart’s. However, were as Gunter danced fluidly with a blade in his hand, Conrart came off as a man set to kill anything that crossed him when his hand wrapped around the hilt of a sword. Even bravest man would think twice about locking blades with him in a fair fight.

Conrart sheathed his sword and turned to face Yozak, infuriating smile already set into place. Seconds of silence passed between the men. With a tiny sigh, Conrart let the smile drop from his face and allowed his oldest companion to see the unease that had been plaguing him.

“Yozak reporting in sir!” the burly spy adopted a perfect military salute, which clashed horribly with his usual rough appearance. The act achieved its goal when Conrart quirked an eyebrow up with far more humor than his earlier smiles.

“Well what have you got for me?” Sometimes it was hard for Conrart to believe that he and Yozak had managed to keep their friendship so long. It had survived fights, sharp tongued nobles, and even a war that so few came back from whole.

“Heika has turned in for the night. He spent the day tucked away in his office with a visit from both Geika and Lord von Christ. On a curious note he sent out a message with one of the staff. I’d have intercepted it, but the kid took off as though his pants were ablaze. It’s a safe bet we’ll hear the whos and whats of it before breakfast.” It didn’t take a genius to see Conrart was aware of the likely recipient of the letter.

“I see, anything of interest from either of the visits?”

“Well, if you consider Geika irritating Heika of interest, then yes. Otherwise nah.” A raised eyebrow was the only response Yozak received. “Does sir intend to spend the night playing around with his sword,” a pointed look crossed Yozak’s face before he continued, “Or do you want to grab a bottle of something strong and waste some time swapping stories?” The spy turned as he spoke, throwing the last bit over his shoulder. Conrart didn’t respond to his question, but Yozak could feel his captain’s presence following him toward the kitchens and eventually to Conrart’s quarters. The two spent the night talking, and if more than the normal amout of stories focused on the brunette’s younger brother, well Yozak wasn’t going to tell anyone.

*****

Wolfram stared at the letter that had just been placed in his hands. The fine quality of the envelope had been abused from evident handling. A faint red stain marked where the sealing wax had been removed and replaced by nervous hands. The blond turned his gaze to the rapidly retreating back of the messenger and murmured an idle, “Amateur.” Not bothering to open the letter right away, he continued on his way to his temporary sleeping arrangements. He’d managed to get one of the maids to move his things out of Yuri’s chambers, but little else had been accomplished. The day had been tiresomely long, everywhere he went eyes had followed him. Some held pity, others satisfaction, but they all stared. Apparently, a former prince and former Maou's fiancé was something to see.

It didn’t take long for Wolfram to finish his evening routine, minus a soak in the Maou’s bath. It was still earlier than normal for most to be turning in, so Wolfram knew he’d have an hour at least to digest the letter’s content before one of his men returned to the room. With a deep calming breath, he settled down on his bed to read. It wasn’t a particularly long message, written in Yuri’s still shaky handwriting. He and two of his men were to leave the day after tomorrow to track the Double Black Trail in search of any relics or remains that might hint at the fate of those who traversed it so long ago. Wolfram didn’t bother to contain a snort at the mission Murata had managed to concoct. It was impossible to tell if the man was conceited or just ironic in so many of his actions. The blond knew he should be filled with anger, misery, something other than the apathy that was forefront in his mind. He could still feel those emotions but it took so little to contain them. As he settled down to sleep, he couldn’t help but wonder the last time he hadn’t had to fight for every measure of emotional control. It had surely been before Yuri’s arrival hadn’t it? With one last mental shrug Wolfram rolled onto his side and fell into a deep sleep.

*****

The following day passed swiftly. Yozak’s prediction had proved correct and the whole of the castle was aware of Wolfam’s impending trip even as the chefs prepared the morning meal. A sense of unease began to envelope the castle as many of the powerful Mazoku in residence let their dislike of the situation show. Even Anissina refrained from any loud or disruptive experiments.

Wolfram spent the day going through the motions of preparing for a proper mission. His men were informed formally, and Simon and Edward made a show of accepting the offer to come along. The blond made sure to spend a bit of time with Greta, who forced a promise of letters when he could mange them. Each of his brothers found him somewhere along the day. Gwendal presented him with a knitted brown and cream tube, presumably a scarf to match the bear hat that still resided in his possession. Conrart once again alluded to his support of Wolfram and was rewarded with a quick but sincere hug from said blond. Wolfram wrote a letter to his mother explaining what had happened and expressing his love for her, wind holding up a pigeon would deliver it safely to her hands in under a week.

All too soon the preparations were completed and night was settling in. In the morning Wolfram and his men would be setting out. A dark figure sat staring out in to the approaching darkness having made its own preparations as well. Murata contemplated the situation before him. All in all there was a slim chance of any sort of happy ending being accomplished, but he was damn sure going to try and make one.

*****

AN: Peas and rice that was a pain. I support Conrart/Yozak but those boys just wouldn’t play nice. Moving the story along a bit faster, I never intended it to go this long but oh well, stupid little side scenes just begged to be included. Next chapter, Wolfram and crew head out, what will this mean for the residents of Covenant Castle?