Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden ❯ 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Yuuri returned from an exhausting bout of play with Greta that night. Though he loved his daughter wholeheartedly, he was in no state to keep up with her endless bouts of energy. Unaware of the three demons watching him, he slowly pulled out a barrel to brew his customary leatherback tea.

 

“I think I'm either getting immune or addicted to this stuff,” Yuuri muttered half-heartedly as he gulped it all down. He didn't as much as wince at the bitter taste that normally overpower his senses. “Whatever it is, I think my taste buds have been killed by its bitterness.”

 

Picking up a grape, Yuuri bit into the tart skin. “Just like I thought. It tastes just like ash. This grape and everything else I eat.”

 

Flicking his wrist, Yuuri threw the half eaten grape into the fire. He slumped down on the couch beside the fireplace, burying his head in his hands. It had been getting harder to live normally in general. All food, even though they looked scrumptious failed to whet his vanishing appetite and had the unfortunate habit of turning to ash in his mouth.

 

The three figures in the shadows started to fidget. What did Yuuri mean that all the food he ate tasted like ash?

 

Wolfram was suddenly overcome by worry and started to rush out the spell they used to keep Yuuri from sensing their presence.

 

Gwendal quickly grabbed Wolfram before he burst free for the barrier.

 

“If you go out now, Yuuri will only deny and give a pathetic excuse for what he said just now. Then we'll never find out what's wrong,” Conrad explained quietly as he helped to calm the hot heated blonde now. He knew it was like standing in front of a raging bull but he had to at least try,

 

Wolfram bit until his lip bled as he reined his emotions in. He knew every thing that Conrad said was true but it was not in his nature to stand by the sidelines and watch those he cared about suffer silently.

 

What if by the time we find out what's wrong, it's already too late. This dreadful thought flashed through Wolfram's mind.

 

“Don't scare yourself Wolfram. We don't know anything yet. You can start worrying once we know what is going on,” Gwendal stamped down the thought as soon as he saw it appear on Wolfram's delicate features. The blonde was not one to hide his feelings.

 

Wolfram no longer struggled against Gwendal's hold even though it never loosened. It would not do for Yuuri to notice their presence; they didn't go through all the trouble only to fail.

 

Because the grape did not go down really well, Yuuri started to cough violently. He bent over as his body shook like a leaf in a violent storm. The flames flickering at the fireplace only served to emphasis his pallor.

 

“I don't really need this now,” Yuuri groaned as he rushed to the sink to puke; His knees almost gave up a few times on the way.

 

Out came the grape, the dinner he shared with Greta as well as a large amount of blood. Yuuri was so blinded by his discomfort that he did not notice the arms that came around him to support and pat his back.

 

Judging from the stars I'm seeing, I'm about to faint, Yuuri thought and he did.

 

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“What is wrong with him?” Wolfram demanded as Gisela as she gave Yuuri a check-up. The others including Gunter were crowding around his bed. All of them were showing varying degrees of anxiety and worry. They were almost on their own island siege by worry, surrounded by the palace which was blessedly unaware of the situation.

 

“Honestly, I don't know. Other than the fact that his chest is in pain, his body is perfectly healthy,” Gisela answered, her eyebrows knotted in a frown. She had been rushed, rather dragged by a breathless Conrad who had burst to her room uninvited.

 

“But he can't possibly be healthy, he just emptied about a pint of blood into the sink,” Gwendal exploded, his forehead were wrinkled with more frowns than the optimal capacity.

 

“That is what worries me. If it is an ordinary illness, his Majesty's demon powers would have kicked in and cured it.”

 

“But since that it hasn't,” Conrad probed.

 

“I don't think he is capable of curing himself.” Gisela said honestly. “The fact that he has gotten so thin means that it is quite severe.”

 

“Could there be any way to look for clues as to what it is?” Gunter asked desperately.

 

“I think Heika already knows something about it if he is drinking leatherback tea. It is superb pain killer that only very skilled doctors know how to prescribe it because it does not always work. My guess is he looked it up in the library,” Gisela postulated.

 

“That's not possible, Yuuri has the literacy of a five year old,” Wolfram cut in bluntly.

 

“That's why I think that he has the advice of someone else, someone who knows enough about his condition to prescribe this painkiller. Heika may very well know what is wrong with himself.”

 

“But why wouldn't he tell us?” Wolfram demanded to k now.

 

“Because he knows we will worry,” Conrad whispered. “If his condition is as bad as we think, he would want to hide it from us. He would rather suffer in silence than make us fret.”

 

The room fell into a thoughtful silence. For one more time, they wished their king would care less of others and more about himself.