Stepping on the stone floor that"s completely dried out from a few days of sunny weather, Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram stares at the sky.
To be precise, he"s not staring at the sky, but the tightly-shut doors in front of him. That is the entry to s.h.i.+nou"s Shrine, built in the mountains. Since he"s looking upwards, his body is tilted slightly backwards, and his arms are crossed in front of his chest. He is alone.
"You"re here again, Wolfram?"
The voice that he"s been hearing for the past few days comes from behind him.
Turning around, he sees a man so bright it"s blinding. His golden hair is neatly combed and sparkling in the sun, and he"s actually dressed too. More importantly, he has solidly materialised from head to toe.
"That"s right. Anissina lent me her Poison Lady certified maryoku bottle and maryoku enhancer. The only weakness is that I have to keep this water bottle clipped to my waist. It"s not like I"m a child venturing outdoors."
He shakes the little bottle at his thigh lightly, like a child checking what"s inside.
"The Poison Lady"s inventions tend to be dangerous, so please be careful not to trip, "Your Majesty"."
"Who would trip me? Tell me, Wolfram."
The man approaches him and puts a hand on Wolfram"s shoulder warmly. Or perhaps it"s more like a friend hanging over his shoulder, his entire body leaning onto Wolfram"s,
"Not you, right?"
And then he lifts his chin slightly, pointing at the large doors of the s.h.i.+nou Shrine,
"Although it"s a little sad that you can"t be face to face with "that thing" you"re so attached to, the general principle is that no men except me can enter the s.h.i.+nou Shrine."
"How could I possibly be attached to it."
"Is that so? Then that"s great. You have to consider your own safety, this distance is just right. Not too near and not too far, a place just right so you don"t hurt each other. Actually, I think that sometimes, Wolfram. Should people not get too close to each other? Just like between a person and a Box, or a person and a person."
Wolfram doesn"t reply, just staring at the fair arm hanging in front of his chest. There isn"t a single mark on it. That alone is enough to prove that this beautiful body isn"t this man"s original physical body.
It"s a body that was purposely created. The question is, what about the spirit?
No one knows if the man is aware of Wolfram"s suspicions. He pats Wolfram"s shoulder with his supple fingers,
"c.r.a.p, I nearly forgot. I"m here to ask if you want to welcome them together, you can almost see the s.h.i.+p now, y"know. That"s the s.h.i.+p your beloved His Majesty Yuuri is on... Isn"t that right, Lord von Bielefeld?"
His fingers grab a lock of Wolfram"s hair, sliding it down Wolfram"s jaw,
"You"re not foolish enough to speak of this matter. Isn"t that right? You know what will happen to His Majesty Yuuri if you reveal it."
Wolfram frowns slightly, light wrinkles appearing on his brow. Recently, people keep saying he looks like his oldest brother.
"If it"s for your family or that most important person, you"ll do anything. You"ve always been like that."
"There"s no need to talk to me about that."
Wolfram pulls the fingers on his left cheek away, maintaining the minimum level of politeness so as to not be considered impudent,
"I still understand reason."
The Box wasn"t thrown away, but kept in the s.h.i.+nou Shrine instead. But he won"t tell Yuuri that, and he can"t.
"Is that so? Oh, yeah, Günter is looking everywhere for you, asking if you want to go welcome His Majesty Yuuri home. But ignore him, come with me to the port, let"s not go with that noisy man."
"I apologise, Your Majesty s.h.i.+nou. I plan on riding my horse to the port myself. If Your Majesty has any needs, I can immediately arrange for a carriage. Although that"s not my job."
s.h.i.+nou harrumphs twice happily, raising the corners of his beautiful lips into a slight smile. Wolfram turns away without waiting for a reply, walking away without looking at his expression.
I need to go receive Yuuri. And I need to get rid of this emotion before I can comfort his weariness from the trip back.
At the very least, I can"t let it show on the surface.
What a nice and carefree thing it is,
To be able to live without any secrets.