Day 16: 1700

[grumpygwen]

Gwendal paced back and forth in his office, glaring at the ashy mess of his desk. He meant to speak with Gunter about helping with all the paperwork. However he hadn't seen him yet, not that he had looked

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[lilac_seneschal]

"Gwendal!" Gunter spotted his longtime friend from the balcony above the main courtyard. "I'll be down in just a moment! Wait for me!" Almost fluttering at the thought of seeing the "real" Gwendal again after days in the company of his odious double, Gunter raced down the stairs and latched onto the handsome prince. "How did Heika bear my absence? It must have been difficult for him, although our separation has doubtless pained me far more than it has him. After all, he is such a noble, magnificent ruler that a mere moment away from him is agony, sheer agony!"

[grumpygwen]

"Indeed," Gwendal agreed, not wanting to disappoint his friend with reality. He had long since discovered it was better to feed the obsession than to try and stop it. He allowed his friend to remain latched on to him, doing his best to remain stoic.

"It is good that you have returned." He gestured towards the castle vaguely. "This place has been a monotonous drone in your absence." He continued to walk in the courtyard, his friend still attached to his arm. "Tell me of your journey." He thought about requesting nicely that Gunter tell him of his trip, but asking wasn't something Gwendal did. Orders just seemed to roll off his tongue with so much more ease.

[lilac_seneschal]

At this stage in their friendship, Gunter doesn't even notice Gwendal's brusqueness. "Our mission was largely successful. Belal-heika refused to withdraw his troops, but the Princess is restored to us. Geika fooled him easily. Such a skilled and wise user of maryoku! But such tragically poor taste in men! He and your double at it the whole way there and back! It was positively scandalous. The man is a disgusting pervert, a warped image of your delightful self. His one redeeming characteristic is the distress he showed when we

[grumpygwen]

Gwendal feels better already hearing Gunter's description of him being delightful. He can't claim to having heard anyone refer to him in such a manner before. He is amused at the obvious disgust his old friend has regarding his double's relationship. He could use some it himself.

All amusement evaporates when Gunter speaks of Conrad's situation. His brother would never stoop so low as to be his Consort. He would choose death before he ever did something so dishonorable. He agreed with Gunter about not worrying the maou with the news. "I would not place much faith in Belal's words," he tried to reassure both himself and Gunter.

"Speaking of doubles, my mother seems to have one." His lip curled slightly, an almost smirk. "It seems she is disgusted by men."

[lilac_seneschal]

Hearing Gwendal voice his own convictions comforts Gunter immensely. The handsome dark-haired Mazoku is so stalwart, so devoted to his Maou and his country, that sometimes Gunter can barely keep himself from swooning at his feet.

When Gwendal looks at him in anticipation of a response, Gunter shakes his head in an attempt to dislodge the sparkles that seem to fill the air between them. What had he said - something about Cheri-sama's double?

"How bizarre," he replied. That should cover more or less all of the doubles, except of course for Hoka-Geika. "Have you spoken to her much in my absence?"

[grumpygwen]

"I only met her early this afternoon." He realizes that he has been wandering aimlessly in the courtyard. "I am slightly worried about when Anissina returns." He and Gunter share a horrified look, both having memories of helping her with experiments running through their minds. "She is going to be angry that a human has been in her laboratory."

[lilac_seneschal]

"A human?" Gunter exclaims in confusion. "How can Cheri-sama's double be a human, and what was she doing in Anissina's lab?" Wouldn't a human Cheri have died centuries ago?