Archive of Our Own

It was a strange feeling, waking up in a place you didn’t know. In a space that wasn’t yours. In a body that didn’t belong to you.

Or it should have been.

But if that kind of thing happened hundreds of times before, would anyone really be surprised?

Looking up, into the grey ceiling, Merold couldn’t even pretend to feel anything, bar apathy. Just a simple acknowledgment of, ah, it happened again. His skin felt itchy. Kurode must have just fallen asleep after training, forgetting to take a shower. Again.

He was still in his normal clothes.

His tongue passed over his teeth, his expression not changing. Clean. That was at least something.

The sun was just rising. The curtains were open. Kurode never closed them to begin with, waking up with the sun. The tablet on the bedside table was flashing in warning, the battery was almost dead. He plucked the cable in on autopilot.

The screen lit up with his usual screensaver, the one he had for ages; a photo of fireworks he took during one of the festivals back in Melody’s kingdom. He remembered that one - still had a keychain Kurode picked out for him.

Merold closed his eyes, his palms settling over them as he laid back into the bed. Kurode was tired. Well, he was, too, so it wasn’t much of a difference.

He felt empty.

After three years, he was back in a body that wasn’t his. And it fucking sucked.

Most of the time, Kurode at least had the advantage of being able to function like a normal human being, but it seemed like becoming a knight, or, well, a squire, really messed him up. His brother, tired enough for his body not to want to stand up, feeling genuine hunger; something like that wouldn’t have happened if he were still back home. 

Merold was the one who was supposed to feel sick all the time, not him. He always calculated it perfectly.

Kurode always had enough food in the kitchen, instant or good enough to cook. Was always assigned training with others who’d drag him to lunch, even without Merold there. Always had enough money on him in case they went to eat out, was always kicked out of the training grounds when dinner time arrived - always perfectly calculated, stitched into his brother’s schedule neatly enough for him to think it was all his own doing.

And now, Kurode fucked it all up.

His body wouldn’t feel so nauseous if he had eight hours of sleep. His stomach wouldn’t be growling so loudly if he just had a proper dinner. His hair wouldn’t be so matted, and his body wouldn’t feel so sticky if he had just-

Oh well, it was not like Merold could do much about it.

Kurode had blocked him.

Didn’t want him in his life anymore. And Merold didn’t get any say in that, so he also wasn’t allowed to criticize him. 

When he finally stood up, it wasn’t because Kurode would. It was just because he physically couldn’t bear to stay in that body as it were.

When he took off the clothing, not bothering to fold it like he had done in the past, and jumped into the shower, it wasn’t because his brother would have done it. It was just because he didn’t know how long he would be occupying said body, and he felt repulsed by the state it had been in before.

When he took the tablet into his hands, inputting the password he had known since forever and Kurode somehow never found out, it wasn’t because he was worried for him. It was simply because he rather liked to know what kind of battlefield he was stepping into.

And what kind of mess it was.

Everyone is here because of that. I want to be happy, but-

And another. Older one.

Myunna taught me how to make banana bread today. I burnt it by accident, but he didn’t seem angry. He never does.

And another.

Louter is helping me with magic. He kept on smiling, even when I messed up. Klark, on the other hand-

And another.

-Always preaching about getting along, how dare he? Kuromi never wanted to be part of the alliance to begin with. It is keeping her safe, but how am I supposed to believe him like that? And the creation of Blue Buquet? You’ve got to be kidding me.

And another.

How could he? I thought- I can’t look at him. I don’t want to. If that makes me weak, then so be it.

Kurode always liked journaling so very much. Merold never understood. It was just another incident waiting to happen, just another way for others to get unwanted information. Like he did, just now.

Still- he narrowed his eyes.

How annoying.

He knew these names, who wouldn’t? When Kurode ended up on the Blue Continent, he researched them to a fault, every and any piece of information, none of them escaped him. Not because he was worried. It was just good to know. For the future.

Like now.

As he stood there, tablet in hand, watching the sunrise, he couldn’t force himself to care all that much.

He should act like Kurode. He really should, if only to keep peace.

He was already failing. Kurode wouldn’t just be standing in the middle of his room naked, contemplating life. Kurode wouldn’t do a lot of things, because he was a good person. A decent human being.

Just like Hallritt.

Naive, weak, but also with strong will and goals - the little contradictions that fell together like puzzle pieces. Short-tempered, but patient. Lively but controlled. The kind of chaos one couldn’t help but adore, deep, deep down. One that just begged to be protected, but wouldn’t let himself be protected. Adored.

Kurode wouldn’t sit still, would say he wasn’t just a doll to be put on a shelf. Would do what he wanted and how he wanted. And for that, Merold put him in a gilded cage where he could do so without consequences.

Wanted to be a knight? He could be Melody’s when Merod wasn’t around. Wanted to go to school? Sure, as long as Merold could come visit him whenever. Wanted to train? Nobody wanted Merold to be angry, so they would never hurt him too much. Wanted to date? The same thing. Nobody would ever hurt Kurode too much, not in Melody’s kingdom, because Melody’s kingdom was Merold’s to care for, to protect, and the single most important thing there, other than Melody, was always Kurode.

Kurode could do what he wanted there. Had freedom to do anything at all. And he chose to leave and to get hurt.

How selfish.

Kurode was a good person, and for that, he was supposed to stay put somewhere where Merold could keep an eye on him.

But he didn’t, and now, here they were. 

Kurode with his broken heart, and Merold, feeling absolutely nothing. How absurd was that?

Not that any of that was new. Kurode’s heart got broken many times before. He’d get better. Probably. Eventually. And Merold, well- 

He was always like that.

It was better than rage, wasn’t it? Better to feel blank than the anger he knew he’d feel otherwise.

And he would. He was angry, in his own body, when he read the reports. Was too far away to act upon that feeling. For the better, too.

But now, he wasn’t, and Kurode wouldn’t want-

No. It would be illogical to start a fight on another continent. That was all.

Picking a fight, even in Kurode’s body, was a bad idea. Melody wouldn’t approve. And so, Merold wouldn’t.

He took out Kurode’s spare clothes and put them on, as he had always done. His harness, his hoodie, headphones, shoes- boots Merold helped match to his style. All the same way Kurode himself would have done. To perfection. 

Took his half-charged tablet. Combed through his hair with one hand. Put on the concealer, covered up the eyebags. Checked up on his nail polish.

Fixed his usual expression in place and tried some more of them. Annoyance. Surprise. Anger.

Kurode’s face reacted as it always did. Easy. Hopefully, nobody would notice those feelings not reaching his eyes, for once.

He tried to remember all the details he could about Lord Cinnamon’s kingdom. All the little things people wouldn’t normally know, unless they were specifically looking for them - the Lord’s schedule, the guard change, castle layout - the things that shouldn’t be made public. That never was.

But that’s never been an issue before.

Everyone could be bought for the right price.

The sun was already up. Did Merold spend too long thinking? Oh well, nothing to be done about that.

When he walked out, there was confidence in his steps and a serious expression on his face.

It was always like that. Them, switching at random. It just happened once, and continued happening after.

Kurode was too young to remember the time when something like that didn’t happen, so it was that much easier to cover up the incident with Seeds.

They were new then. Nobody knew what they did and how. When Merold got hit, it was an accident, and the circumstances were a bit different, so when they switched for the first time, he just accepted it as it was. Never tried to fix it, not too much. If he did, Kurode would have been asking questions, and at the time, that wasn’t something Merold could have explained.

Back then, Kurode still believed him to be the best, the strongest - admitting weakness would ruin that, and by the time Kurode learned the truth, them switching just became a part of life.

The sky was blue, the grass was green, Merold just sometimes woke up in his brother’s body and vice-versa.

It used to be awkward. Especially when Kurode became old enough to do things on his own. That time Merold woke up in his naked body beside a stranger was… interesting. Painful, for the stranger. Kurode couldn’t look him in the eyes for days.

Merold was forced to let him catch him in bed with Romarriche, even if there was nothing serious between them. They were just friends who had demanding lives and no time for relationships, so, once in a while, blowing off steam was fine, right? Friends with benefits, as the kids called it these days.

Kurode stopped avoiding him after that, at least.

And then he did, again, for a completely different reason.

Oh well. Nothing to be done about that.

When he walked into the kitchen, there was a child. Not really, but at least as much of a child as Rimicha was. Which was a lot.

He was baking, blond curls jumping around as he sprinkled something on top of the fresh… whatever that was. Smelled sweet.

“Ah! Kurode, good morning!” he turned, spotting him in the doorway and Kurode’s face brightened with a genuine smile. Or, at least as genuine as Merold could make it.

“Morning, Myunna,” he greeted back, stepping a bit closer, just to peer into the pan and let out a weak oh, “It smells great.”

“Thank you! Myunna thought something sweet would be a nice change of pace, and since we are in Lord Cinnamon’s care, it seemed appropriate. Oh, but if you don’t want to, Myunna made sourdough bread like usual!” how cute. Kurode wasn’t much for headpats, though.

He still smiled in appreciation, but shook his head, “It’s alright. If Myunna made it, I’m sure it will be delicious.”

And like hell would Merold eat plain bread when there were cinnamon rolls right in front of him. They even had glaze with sprinkles on top!

“Thank you very much! Would you mind helping Myunna make the table? Everyone said they would come, but Myunna also saw Cielomort walking around in the middle of the night, so-”

What Myunna was doing in the middle of the night awake would, unfortunately for Merold’s curiosity, stay a secret. Still, he narrowed his eyes at the name, “Don’t worry. If he said he’ll come, he’ll come one way or another. Otherwise you would have made so much without a reason.”

“That’s alright, Myunna enjoyed it!” how adorable. The child even started floating as he said it.

Merold really couldn’t help it then, “Oh, sorry,” he said as he raised his hand to the curls and rubbed his head as one would to an especially cuddly cat, “You had flour in your hair.”

“Is that so?!” Myunna squeaked, placing his hands on his head and dusting it off in mild panic, “Myunna didn’t even notice!”

“It’s alright, it wasn’t even that visible,” his hair was exceedingly soft. Incredibly so. When he was younger, Merold would have killed for that kind of hair quality, “So, table for six?”

“That’s right! The plates are still on the rack though, so you might need to dry them off by hand,” he agreed and Merold nodded, Kurode’s face spilling back into its usual passive state as he did as he was told.

It was an easy find, even for things he didn’t know, the shelves see through and easy to navigate. Not to mention the similar layout to Melody’s own kingdom. The table, mahogany and sturdy, already had two occupants behind it, one of them looking rather lively, while the other mostly unaffected as the plates were set in front of them.

“That’s unusual,” said the one with blue hair, Klark, was it? “You woke up late.”

So he noticed. Kurode’s face didn’t change much as Merold answered, “It would seem that way. I went to bed late and didn’t sleep well.”

“Oh, is that so?” asked the other, and Merold forced himself to nod, even though he himself wouldn’t dignify that with an answer. Louter, though, looked nothing but concerned, “Maybe you shouldn’t go train today and have snacks with us instead. I’m sure Myunna would love to have you around, Kurode.”

That didn’t sound half bad. Nevertheless, he shook his head, “Thanks, Louter, but I think I’ll just stick to my schedule for the day. I’ll just feel bad if I don’t.”

Because that was who Kurode was. Unfortunately. Louter just nodded in understanding.

Another person came in, and Merold didn’t even look at him. There was nobody of consequence missing that Kurode would feel the need to look at, anyway. And when he helped Myunna take everything out, the sweet smell so inviting, all of them were already there.

Cielomort, all pale and regal, had a bright smile on his face, as if he wasn’t so sleep deprived his eyes were closing on his own. Merold noticed. He was sure that if Kurode had already woken up, his own body was doing the same thing on autopilot.

Willmesh, probably the biggest mystery on account of Merold having no spies in his kingdom, was sitting next to him, looking into the table. Blank. How annoying.

Kurode’s type was always annoying, on the account that, while Merold could read them like a book, they rarely acted as he expected them to. If you are a coward, you should run, don’t stand there, fighting back with teeth and nails. If you want to give up, just do that instead of giving Merold a headache, it was that simple.

Only, Kurode liked those kinds of people.

Merold told him he was going to regret that one day, and look at how that turned out.

“Good morning, Kurode, Myunna! Are you well?” asked the second biggest headache around, and Merold just hummed back, taking Kurode’s seat without so much as looking in Cielomort’s direction. Myunna somehow shone brighter.

“Yes! Myunna is well, though, Kurode seemed to have slept badly,” so he noticed as well. How fun.

“It’s fine, Myunna. I just went to sleep later than usual,” he smiled at him and Myunna did the same. Out of the corner of his eye, Cielomort and Willmesh both looked concerned. Annoying.

“Oh, is that so? Maybe a coffee would help to wake you up,” Cielomort suggested, and Merold unconsciously made a face. A bitter thing like that- as if he could. 

Cielomort’s face made a strange expression as Merold replied.

“No thanks. I’ll figure it out,” just enough politeness for Kurode to not seem ungrateful, but with enough annoyance to keep him at a distance. It wouldn’t do to tip anyone off, Cielomort especially.

…No matter how much fun Merold could have in the process…

Melody wouldn’t approve.

So, he just kept his head down as he reached for the roll, biting into it with gusto. Yummy. So sweet. Myunna deserved all the headpats in the world, just for that. He still liked Romarriche’s baking better, but it was a close thing.

He ignored Cielomort and Willmesh, and talked with others just fine. Ate properly. Smiled at the right times. Didn’t look at the tablet when it blinked to life with a notification from a familiar number, only locking it back up with a press of a button. 

Only later, on the way to his room, did he glance at the locked screen to see:

The password is 01191101

It has been that way since Kurode was six. But it was cute Kurode thought he didn’t somehow figure it out already.

Unblock yourself

Asking Romarriche for his phone is just weird

Yeah, Romarriche still had buttons on his phone. Refused to upgrade. Funny, in a way.

Still, Merold did as he was told, if only to not have that kind of conversation on a device that Romarriche himself forgot he even had, most of the time.

~~

The next text that came was from his own number.

Please, for the love of your Lord, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

How cute.

y tho~ Im having so much fun

Kurode was, of course, quick to reply.

Don’t

I’ll tell the other knight everything about you, likes, dislikes, and embarrassing stories. Everything

At least he learned how blackmail worked. That was fun. No need to worry about his brother getting caught up in a scheme or two.

that threat can go both ways

Merold, at least, definitely had more embarrassing stories about him than Kurode ever could.

Yeah, but you care. I don’t

He had a point.

not promising anything, but Ill do my best~

And he would. At least try, that is.

And try he did. He did things exactly as Kurode would have done. Went according to his schedule exactly to a minute, the body’s state notwithstanding. 

Klark and Louter didn’t notice, both more than alright with fixing Kurode’s stances and spells. Myunna didn’t notice, so, so happy Kurode found time to help him with lunch, even if he only made tea and stood to the side, just to not mess everything up. Willmesh didn’t notice, couldn’t even look into Kurode’s eyes properly.

So why was it that there was a forearm against Merold’s neck, pushing him into the wall, the other hand too close to his chest to be taken as anything but a threat, a command to stay still? There was magic playing on Cielomort’s fingertips, covered in gloves, and Merold raised his hands, showing they were empty. His deep blue eyes were glaring, intense and focused, and Merold could feel the corners of his lips twitch up in amusement, something Kurode would definitely not do in that kind of situation.

He could see Cielomort’s face tensing, coming to the conclusion that, no, he really wasn’t wrong in suspecting that something was wrong.

Or something like that. It wasn’t like Merold could read his mind.

“Who are you?” he asked, and Merold just raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” he answered, feigning ignorance, concern even, “Are you alright? It’s you who forced me to be here.”

There was a glint of danger in Cielomort’s eyes, and Merold would be lying if he said it didn’t make him just a bit excited, “Don’t play dumb. You aren’t Kurode, so who are you?”

“Aren’t I? I could have sworn I was, though, see?” he shrugged, pushing his own pointer finger into his cheek, before pulling it back, stretching the skin until it hurt, “All Kurode, through and through. So, why shouldn’t I be Kurode?”

There was a threat in his own words, one Cielomort caught on pretty quickly, if the way his hand pulled back for a moment was any indication, though his expression didn’t change a bit, “Your expressions are overexaggerated in comparison to his. You make less noise when you move, and your fighting stance was intentionally wrong. And at breakfast, you locked Kurode’s tablet with his right hand. He always reaches for it with his left.”

All surprisingly good points, except one, “He’s ambidextrous, he just prefers his left, so that’s a moot point.”

“Not if you refer to Kurode as he, instead of I. Where is he?” also a fair point. Merold just smiled back, his own smile upon Kurode’s lips feeling stretched and unnatural. Banishment magic, cool and sublime, and somehow sweetly-spicy in taste, washed over him like a cold shower, and the smile sharpened, just a bit.

Cielomort didn’t look all that surprised by the lack of results.

“I already said, this is him. His body, at least, and I’m guessing he wouldn’t appreciate having it damaged, so, if you may?” Cielomort didn’t lower his hand, but, eh, it was worth a shot. When his own closed around Cielomort’s wrist and pulled him to the side, making him lose balance and stumble, Cielomort even had the audacity to look surprised. As if it never even crossed his mind that Merold would fight back, especially without magic. Unfortunately for him, one did not spend years around Romarriche without learning at least a bit of self-defence.

When his chest hit the same wall he held Merold against, his hand twisted painfully behind his back, he made a weak sound, but otherwise stayed silent.

“I did ask politely,” Merold felt the need to point out, and Cielomort twisted his head to glare at him properly, “But you should probably know that Kurode is fine, since you are hosting him and all. Just not currently available, is all, so for the time being, you’ll just have to be satisfied with the little old me~”

“Where is he?” Cielomort continued with his questions, voice almost a growl despite their positions being reversed, and Merold could almost respect that. Almost.

“You aren’t in any position to ask questions like that. Sure, your magic will protect you against Kurode’s, but it will not protect your neck from being broken.” Cielomort’s hand twitched in his grip, and in response, Merold pushed it just a bit higher, forcing Cielomort onto his tiptoes, “But I wouldn’t do that, don’t worry. Hiding your body seems like a pain anyway, and Kurode wouldn’t be happy with me for that when he returned.”

“Could have fooled me,” the knight growled back, and Merold let out an unexpected giggle, sounding low and dangerous in Kurode’s voice. No wonder Cielomort tensed up again, body stiff and cold against Merold’s chest. It did not stop him from talking, “Who are you to Kurode, then?”

“...Nobody, probably. That seems like something he’d say, no? Well, unless you are planning on killing him or telling people I’m not him, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He should be back in a few days, and it's not worth it for me to make a mess of things for him,” he shrugged, before letting go of Cielomort and taking a few steps back, still showing his empty hands as Lord Cinnamonroll’s knight turned to him, frown etched on his face, “So, Cielomort, let’s get along for a while. For ‘everyone’s sake’, right?~”

“...I’m not letting you out of my sight,” sounded like an agreement if Merold ever heard one. He blinked his eyes back, innocent, pure, in a way only Kurode could do without even realizing.

“Oh? Is that an invitation?” he asked, and Cielomort narrowed his eyes back, “I’ll warn you, though, it's been a while since I had a sleepover and I won’t fall asleep on anything but the softest bed around~ You might have to give me yours~!”

Not true. Merold could fall asleep anywhere, anytime, but that person didn’t need to know that. He also meant it only as a way to tease him. He kind of did not expect for Cielomort’s eyes to light up. 

“What a splendid idea! Yes, let us do that!” What a performance. How fun. There was something mean reflected in his eyes, cautious and sharp, but also so very clear, and Merold found himself wanting to laugh. Somewhere behind him, Merold’s ears caught onto a pair of footsteps coming closer before they stopped. Intentionally. And so close to nighttime… A spy, then? A curious servant? No matter, “You don’t mind sharing, do you, Kurode?”

Oh well, Merold could work with that anyway.

He schooled his expression back into Kurode’s annoyed frown as he replied, “Hah? Of course I do! Just because I agreed doesn’t mean-!”

“Then it’s decided! Come, we need to get your sleeping clothes!” his forearm wrapped around Merold’s, dragging him away with dedication of a true knight. Merold let out an annoyed groan, a worthy performance, as he was dragged along through the hallways, mapping the place in his head. Cielomort even had the nerve to lean into him, bony shoulder under a soft cape digging into his arm, only to whisper into his ear, “Very well, as long as nobody gets hurt, let’s get along, Mr. Imposter.”

“Sure, sure~ Since you just can’t seem to get along with Kurode, I’m sure the two of us will get along just fine, Cielo~” Merold could feel him glaring, but it only made him want to smile back mockingly, “Oh? Anything wrong?”

“Nothing at all. Let us continue,” nevermind that they were already walking the way Cielomort was indicating.

“Ah, right. I should probably warn you, just in case~” Merold added, as if he just remembered, Kurode’s face grinning as he leaned back into Cielomort’s personal space, “I’ve been told I kick a lot in my sleep, so do what you want with that.”

And bite. And scratch. And roll around.

One thing he didn’t do, though, was talk or make sounds in general. No matter what kind of nightmare made its way into his head that day, he wouldn’t scream. Ever.

“Duly noted. Shall we?” He motioned to the closed door of Kurode’s room with his hand and Merold pulled the keys out of Kurode’s pocket, inserting them into the lock. It clicked open to reveal a mostly tidy room, with only Kurode’s dirty clothes still all over the ground. At the questioning look, Merold just shrugged.

“If he wanted to have them neatly folded, he should have changed out of them before falling asleep,” Cielomort continued looking at him as he walked in, following after him and closing the door behind them as he examined his surroundings. Merold couldn’t help but smirk, “Right, you probably weren’t allowed in since he moved here~ So much for getting along with him~”

Cielomort glared right back, looking tired, before his expression got replaced with a polite smile, “Well, that is to be expected, isn’t it? Kurode is quite the private person, after all. Not even Myunna got invited inside yet, not to mention him never even mentioning you before, either.”

Merold just pouted, “Eh? Isn’t that normal? That kind of situation… you wouldn’t say anything either, no?” He picked up the sleeping clothes Kurode kept under his pillow, unplugged his charger, and took some clean clothes from a shelf to the side, before turning back with crossed arms, “I wonder how many people would respect you if you did~ Would your Lord and friends even accept you like that? Would they trust you?”

Cielomort didn’t look away. A shame, “What about Lord Kuromi, then? Is she okay with it?”

Melody was, Kurode was someone she trusted wholeheartedly, but as far as Lord Kuromi went- “No idea. Kurode is the one responsible for that, but then again, this kind of thing is somewhat rare now that we are older, so he probably didn’t see a point. Ask him when he gets back.”

“Is that so?” Lord Cinnamon’s knight made a thoughtful noise at the back of his throat, “Is that everything?”

Merold smirked, “Unless you are planning to invite me to your bed permanently-”

“Let’s go, then,” Cielomort interrupted, already turning to the door, and Merold’s grin only grew.

“Oh? Having doubts? And I was so looking forward to sharing a bed with someone again~”

“Not at all, I still expect to keep you in my sight at all times. It is the duration of your stay that is the issue. I am not so free as to be able to spend the whole day in bed, I’m sure you understand,” ah, that Merold understood perfectly well. Thank the Lord, Merold left capable people in charge while he went off with the rest of the knights. Hopefully, they wouldn’t freak out and Kurode would figure things out, because there was no way in hell he could successfully pretend to be Merold in front of the rest of them.

“Too bad, I am a night owl. I don’t plan to wake up before 10 AM, so feel free to stick around,” he added, walking out with hands full of Kurode’s stuff, Cielomort immediately by his side to lead the way.

It wasn’t even that far. Honestly, a waste of time. Merold could have happily spent the night in Kurode’s own bed, and Cielomort would still be more than capable of keeping an eye on him.

At least the bed was big. And soft. And unmade.

It looked like Lord Cinnamon’s knight had just rolled out of it in the morning and didn’t bother doing anything else. With how tired he was looking, that was most likely what happened.

Not that Merold was any better.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he said, and Merold took it literally, immediately falling onto the plush mattress face first to test its softness. Bleh. It smelled like coffee, not even the good kind. Just a black one, without milk or sugar. He probably drank it in his bed and spilled some, or it was just so ingrained in his life he just couldn’t get rid of the stench anymore.

“Bathroom?” he asked, as soon as he pulled himself up and dropped most of Kurode’s things on the bedside table, and Cielomort, already by the coffee table, clearing it up, pointed to the doors to his right. He was still watching, eyes following him a bit too closely, just a bit too focused, but Merold didn’t care all that much, already pulling Kurode’s jacket off and leaving it behind, before pulling off his shirt and closing the door behind him.

He cleaned himself up as well as he could with everything smelling like he had just walked into a coffee shop instead of a shower, with things that seemed to have no scent at all, using the sweetest products he could find. Most of them looked like gifts, still in their packaging with bows and ribbons, but Merold didn’t care for that. The shampoo smelled like strawberries, so like hell was he not using it.

And by the time he walked out, a good hour later, because like hell was Kurode skipping skincare, in Kurode’s shorts and shirt, surrounded by hot steam, he actually felt like a person again. The tired kind of person who would have just loved to pass out, if the light wasn’t still on, and Cielomort wasn’t by the table, bent over a pile of documents that weren’t there before. From his office, likely. Even from afar, Merold could recognize financial reports and permits that had signatures in the wrong place.

A classic mistake. Merold didn’t play about those, sent them back to be rewritten properly. But Cielomort clearly did, copying them himself before putting them onto another, slightly higher pile of papers.

…Was he seriously planning to do all of that before bed? 

Merold did the same, sure, but he was used to it for years, and Cielomort already looked halfway passed out.

Merold wouldn’t care if it was only him suffering, but Merold could also definitely feel the pull of exhaustion at Kurode’s bones and didn’t plan on keeping the body awake for longer than he needed to, which was going to be difficult with lights on. Merold’s body didn’t care for such things anymore. Kurode’s did.

And so, with a sigh of suffering, he sat next to the knight, peeking over his shoulder, only to be turned to with a glare.

Merold didn’t care and pointed to each of them in rapid succession, “They used the wrong date in this one. That one has spendings in the wrong column. This is just a scam.”

It was easy, really. Just the kind of thing that came with years of doing the same thing over and over again, fixing and rewriting things, looking for the smallest inconsistencies. One of the easier kinds of work, as far as knights wentCielomort just frowned.

“It looks correct,” he waved the paper, a fake business report in the air, and Merold snatched it out of his hand, only to point to the top right corner.

“They used the wrong seal. Lord Pekkle’s kingdom has a white wing on the left and a black one on the right, for one, but I guess you’d have noticed it around the third time they wrote the company name with a v instead of y,” he yawned. Kurode really must not have slept well. “Let’s get this done before I pass out.”

“Those are private. I could have you arrested,” Merold just looked at him, unimpressed.

“Or you could be in bed before two. It’s not like it's the kingdom’s internal documents, those would have your seal instead, and it's not like there is anything that could surprise me in there.” There really wasn’t. Merold had his network in all the kingdoms, and as little as it helped him to know how much Lord Cinnamon’s kingdom spent on the import of sweet beans, he did have that information somewhere in his folders.

Cielomort still looked unsatisfied. Merold just sighed, “How much damage do you think I’ll be able to do with-” he grabbed at another, random paper, raising an eyebrow, “-the report of reconstruction cost of Lila’s coffee shop?”

To the kingdom? Little. To the said coffee shop, well- Merold was not going to mention that. The other knight probably knew anyway.

Cielomort sighed, massaging his temple with one hand, while looking at his pile of documents with barely concealed helplessness.

“Alright, just- don’t sign anything,” yeah, because Merold’s handwriting was good enough to copy whatever the hell Cielomort counted as a signature.

“Look, I’ll sort, you do what you want with them. Mistakes go here, I’ll circle them with a pencil, fake ones here, and good ones there. Got it?”

He did. Maybe he was just too sleep-deprived to argue.

And so, Merold grabbed a handful of documents and started sorting, while Cielomort narrowed his eyes at another paper that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. It was quick. Almost effortless on Merold’s part. Just the same old work he did for decades, wrong number here, incorrect name there- 

By the time Cielomort’s head hit his shoulder, only to slide down his side without ever waking up, he was almost done, even.

Not that he finished it. Why would he? This was all just to get Kurode into bed as soon as possible, and with the main reason for his inability to sleep knocked out, he wasn’t going to bother.

He almost left him there, too. The sofa was comfy enough to sleep on, the room warm enough to not need a blanket, but-

Merold sighed to himself. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, his ass.

Kurode was a good person, after all, would help even the person he hated with his whole heart, and Cielomort was nowhere near that point yet. And so, he stood up, looked at the sleeping figure, his long eyelashes, small nose, and narrowly open mouth, and before he could rethink his decision, put his arm around his back and the other under his legs and lifted him up.

Cielomort was light, was the first thing he noticed. Like a doll, with how relaxed his limbs were, and how pretty pink his cheeks turned while mumbling something incoherent into Merold’s chest. It suited him. The pink blush. Made him look almost as if he was alive, instead of the deathly paleness he had most other times.

The second was that, despite the fact that everything in his room smelled like coffee, he did not. It was a frustrating revelation on a level Merold did not know was possible.

Because he smelled just like his magic, like cinnamon. Warm, sweet, and spicy. A nice scent, so unlike the cold skin under his monstrously soft coat, because of course he had that. If he had a free hand, Merold would probably put it on his forehead, wondering if he had somehow managed to fall asleep without realizing. 

Maybe it was sleep deprivation on his part. It had to be.

With a deep breath, he walked up to his bed, placing the knight down with as much care as he cared to show, as much care as Romarriche showed to him. As much as he cared to use with Kurode, when he was looking in the other direction. Which was to say, quite a bit.

Even made sure his stupidly huge cape wasn’t going to strangle him in the middle of the night before turning off the lights, pulling the curtains shut, and laying down on the opposite side of the bed. He even wrote a couple of sentences into Kurode’s journal for him, too!

Thankfully, he never had any issues falling asleep. Even when he woke up after a nightmare, his heart beating as if trying to escape the confines of his chest, he just had to breathe through it, convince himself that it wasn’t real, and he could sleep on, undisturbed.

Not that day.

Because of course Cielomort would have his friend trying to wake him up at a reasonable time. That by itself was a nightmare. Worse, Cielomort forgot to lock his door, and so, when Willmesh finally came in, unable to wake him up just by the persistent knocking, he immediately froze in the doorway.

Blinked, as if unsure if he was seeing right, before coming a bit closer. Merold didn’t grace him with Kurode’s attention, turning towards still sleeping Cielomort, stretching his leg, and kicking him right out of the bed.

There was a yelp, followed by a loud thud. Then, a groan.

When he got off the floor, there was a smile on his face, but there was also a faraway look in his eyes that gave off the feeling that he hadn’t quite managed to wake up yet, “Good morning, Will. Did you sleep well?”

Willmesh, tellingly, didn’t give him an answer to that question, “...Umm…what-”

“Mandatory sleepover,” answered Merold as he pulled a blanket over his head, fully intending to go back to sleep as soon as the room was empty. Of course, some people did not like that idea.

“That’s right! Kurode and I decided to have a sleepover for a couple of days to help us understand each other better!” he was loud. So early in the morning, too, “Ah, is it already the time for breakfast?”

Willmesh didn’t answer, but from the thoughtful noise Cielomort let out, he must have at least nodded.

“Right! We shouldn’t keep the others waiting!” please no, “Well, Kurode, let’s go!”

Merold groaned, burrowing deeper into the blanket, “This is what I get after doing your work into the night?”

“Of course! You volunteered, after all,” he could see that annoying face at the back of his head so clearly it almost hurt, “And we always eat breakfast together.”

A horrible arrangement. Merold just wanted to sleep. This was not the lifestyle he, nor anyone at all should have ever chosen.

Only psychopaths leave their bed before seven without a single good reason.

And then, the blanket was mercilessly pulled from his hands, from his body, and his skin was immediately hit with the morning air, making him shudder. When he actually opened his eyes, things became even worse.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned as he stared at Cielomort with an unfiltered annoyance. The man didn’t even change his clothes, only put on his fluffy cape and called it a day, “You, shower, now.”

He even had the gall to pout, “I can do that after breakfast.”

“Are you a child?” he asked, pulling himself up, only to stiffen a yawn while Willmesh stood awkwardly in the background, “First you fall asleep on the sofa, and now you don’t even change your clothes before leaving, what is wrong with you?”

“You still have pajamas on,” was what Cielomort said back, shrugging. Merold glared back.

“Yeah. I intend to go to sleep again. What do you plan to do, looking like that?”

“...Should I tell the others you are going to be late?” Willmesh looked incredibly uncomfortable as both of them turned to him and answered him at the same time.

“Yes.” “No.”

Merold glared, but Cielomort just smiled wider, “The sooner we go, the sooner you can go back to sleep.”

He had a point, but like hell was Merold going to admit that, “If you changed your clothes like a normal person, we could have already been gone.”

He stood up regardless, because it was starting to sound suspiciously like a few of the arguments Merold had with Kurode when he was still a child, and he was not going to be caught having an argument with someone with a mental age of an eight-year-old. Just pulled out slippers from amongst Kurode’s things, not bothering with anything else, and started walking. 

They were the good kind, too. Fluffy, warm, and light purple, in fairly good condition. One of those he got when he was still living at home.

The others were following closely behind him, and Merold didn’t pay attention to their conversation, or its lack of, any mind. It wasn’t a priority. The priority was Kurode’s body, that didn’t get proper rest for two days now, and Merold was feeling just a bit homicidal because of it.

Not enough to make him unable to perform.

“Morning Myunna. Louter, Klark,” he greeted politely, sliding into Kurode’s seat with an annoyed expression as Myunna let out a yelp of surprise.

“Kurode! Good morning. Did you not sleep well today, too?” he asked as Cielomort and Willmesh joined them, and Merold could only grumble, glaring at Cielomort, still in yesterday’s clothes.

“ Someone decided that a normal sleep schedule is a weakness and had lights on for most of the night,” he answered, annoyance seeping into his words, but Lord Cinnamon’s knight just kept on smiling. There was just a bit of mischief glinting in his eyes, and Merold instinctively narrowed his eyes.

“Kurode and I spent the night together, but it seems like he had some issues falling asleep in my presence,” the absolute bastard-

If it wasn’t about him, maybe he would have even laughed, but with things as they were-

“As if I could ever sink that low,” he growled back, before turning back to the twins and Myunna, looking, well, quite shocked at the exchange, “The whole ‘everyone getting along’ thing just makes him unable to comprehend that not everyone wants to spend time with him.”

“Uhm!” Cielomort agreed as he took a sip of his coffee, “Indeed, it was just a friendly sleepover. Kurode even carried me to the bed without asking!”

Someone was going to die today, and it wasn’t going to be Merold, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to leave you to sleep in the bathtub next time. Maybe you’ll eventually figure out how to use it.”

And that was about how Merold’s morning went. With him mildly irritable, Cielomort smiling, Willmesh unable to look at him, still, Klark getting a headache, Louter smiling awkwardly at him, and Myunna just staring at them with wide eyes.

So, just excellent. Kurode was going to be so pleased.

Going back was just as much torture, too, with the servants moving out of his way as soon as he appeared, already somehow avare of his, less-than-happy mood. As they passed by a maid, she didn’t look at him, but he could still feel eyes on him, his own narrowing as he turned back, but by then, she was already gone. How annoying. Of course the kingdom had spies on every possible corner. Something to look into later, maybe, if he had time.

When he, eventually, got back into Cielomort’s bed, it was straight under the covers and with a glare that could kill a man. Cielomort didn’t even try to reach for the lightswitch. 

“Thank you for the help yesterday,” he said, but Merold was not in the mood for a heart-to-heart with the man. He just reached for the tablet, wrote a mention of the disastrous breakfast and turned to the side, away from the knight.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Change your clothes and let me sleep,” he did.

Merold, as it was, fell asleep as soon as he slipped under the covers.

Cielomort didn’t know what he was supposed to do in that kind of situation. Even with the person in question soundly asleep in the next room, and him locked in the bathroom, standing under the current of warm water, he wasn’t quite sure what a person in his situation was supposed to be doing.

Because figuring out how Kurode worked was one thing. Figuring out how his unexpected secondary personality worked was another.

Kurode was a kind person. Good man, a good knight, a good friend. Sometimes he said too much without even realizing it, and sometimes he said too little, but he was open and easy to get along with.

This other person, though, was not. But they were, at least as far he could tell, good at what they were supposed to be doing.

Cielomort did not know how any of the secondary personality things were supposed to work, but the consensus of information he found seemed to indicate that something like that mostly happened as a result of trauma. That another personality would form as a means of protection. And Kurode’s other personality seemed to fit that to a tee.

At first, they pretended to be Kurode. Were cautious but open, just watching for threats, an almost perfect replica. Their eyes were always focused and calculating, but they themself didn’t do a thing as long as nothing proved to be a threat to Kurode.

Only when Cielomort confronted them, did they retaliate. 

Protective and strong, but not unfeeling. As soon as they confirmed Cielomort didn’t want to fight them either, they let him go, were quick to agree to his demands with little to no issues, and did what they could to arrange for Kurode to be taken care of. Took his clothes, cleaned him up, and tried to get him to bed on time. Of course, that did not work out, because of CIelomort’s own work, but they worked around that.

Forced themself into his presence and work.

And it was easy, with them. Because they clearly knew what they were doing, as if they were doing it for as long as they were alive.

He wondered, then, if Kurode was really the one doing Lord Kuromi’s work, but it didn’t really matter all that much. 

When he decided to test them, it was calculated. Cautious. Because back then, he still wasn’t sure if they were as tame as they appeared.

And so, he closed his eyes, and pretended to fall asleep.

They could have done a lot of things, then. Could have run, could have gone to sleep in Kurode’s bed, could have taken their time to search through Cielomort’s things, could have tried to curse him, or even kill him- they did none of those. Instead, they sighed and picked him up.

Carried him to his bed as if he weighed nothing and just put him there. Took off his heaviest layer, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

Nothing nefarious happened, no, they didn’t even try.

Kurode needed sleep, and for that, they went to sleep.

Just a protector that seemingly shared a body with a person they were protecting. Cielomort didn’t see a reason to be so cautious after that. They had the perfect chance to hurt him, and they just let it go- it was unlikely they would try something after missing that kind of opportunity. Their ability to act as Kurode seemed to degrade a bit with the lack of sleep, but that too, did not make them lash out.

If only they were as easy to read as Kurode was, Cielomort would be content. Let them be in peace until Kurode returned, and they’d all continue as if nothing happened.

But, it was also interesting. Painfully so. And Cielomort always so liked those kinds of things.

Kurode and his other personality had a lot of things in common - the way they walked, the way their words flowed, captivating, the way their eyes would get sharper when something interesting happened; and yet, there were other things that couldn’t be different. Kurode was blunt. The other was teasing and knew how to direct the conversation the other way. Morning bird to a night owl. Natural expressiveness to a neutral mask and made-up feelings. Quick shower to an hour-long one. Different preferred hands, different favorite foods, different ways of styling their hair.

Kurode’s inability to stay away from training, while the other seemingly already had all of it mastered. They knew how to move, acted defenceless until he couldn’t. Seemed assured of themself, while Kurode was not. 

How did two people of such wildly different proportions share a body like that? Was Kurode even aware of it?

The other person seemed to be aware of the things happening even while not being in control, knew their names, the way Kurode acted with the other knights with complete accuracy, was Kurode the same in that regard?

Or was that the point of his journal? To be able to tell the passage of time when he wasn’t in control?

Cielomort never met a person in the same circumstances as him, and he had questions. Many questions. Ones that seemed like they wouldn’t be answered even if he asked.

It felt unwise; to ask them, anyway. Just another way of attracting attention to his curiosity.

Kurode was still unwilling to talk to him normally, and the other person seemed like the type to take it as an attack. So, at least for now, he’d let it go. He’d let Kurode’s second personality do as he pleased, let them do what they felt was necessary while doing his own research, and, one day, when they could trust him a little bit more, he would ask, no matter the result.

For now, he just slipped away from the darkened room, closing the door behind him softly as Kurode’s sleeping figure was momentarily visible in the light from the gap, and made his way to the library, finding even more books on, what was likely one of Kurode’s best-kept secrets.

When Merold woke up again, he was alone. It was a bit after lunch, and there was a meal on his bedside table, wishing him a quick recovery- something Cielomort either made up himself to excuse his absence, or something Myunna suspected and acted upon. It was welcome, too, because Merold did not want to do a thing that day.

Kurode would. Kurode would drag himself to training even if it killed him. Unfortunately for him, Kurode was not there at the moment. Let tomorrow be the day when he upheld Kurode’s schedule again, if he even had the chance, for today, Merold just wanted to be left to rest on his own terms.

…But that too, was not in the cards for him.

The nightmare he woke himself from was the first strike to his peaceful day, dull and stupid and so, so familiar, leaving his heart beating so quickly it almost hurt. They always came for him eventually, so why would that day be different? 

The second was Kurode’s body, unused to resting in the afternoon, unable to sleep despite the softness of the mattress underneath his body.

The third was, to his never-ending annoyance, his own fault. Because leaving work unfinished in the middle of the night when you needed sleep was one thing. Leaving it like that, all over his desk in the middle of the day, was not.

It ticked on him, even if it wasn’t his work. On his brain, his palms, the need to fix it so it wouldn’t bug him anymore.

So, he did. Got up from the bed, the body he occupied a bit nauseous to just be his messed up sleep schedule at fault and sat himself onto the same place Cielomort occupied just last night and… read. One of the most important things for a knight to know, to gather information with- and he did. It took all of ten minutes to figure out exactly how Cielomort sorted his work, what he did with what… In the end, that, too, was a child’s play.

Financial statement here, a court order there, leaving a blank space only for a signature, didn’t even learn anything useful, which, kind of annoying, but what could he do really?

Just a repetition, familiar movements, filling windows here, filling blank space with notes that he tried to make readable, a job he used to do daily for years calming him down exponentially. How annoying. If he were in his own body, he would have already been calm since the beginning. He’d just turn on his side and sleep more.

When a weight sat next to him, he almost didn’t notice.

When Cielomort tilted the documents in his own direction, coming into Merold’s personal space to read through them properly, he didn’t react. 

When he whistled, Merold just rolled his eyes at that.

“Your handwriting is awful,” was his companion’s easy start to the conversation, leaning even closer, and Merold almost smiled at that. With Kurode’s incredibly expressive face, it was almost too easy.

“One would think that such a perfect knight as yourself would know that that is not the kind of thing you comment on with someone you barely know,” Merold added, placing another document onto the ‘sign and send’ pile he created. It was the tallest one, an incredible feat for such a big kingdom. Merold’s biggest one was usually a ‘burn in a fireplace’ pile.

“I would have thought we got to know each other quite well when you almost broke my arm yesterday,” was Cielomort’s innocent quip, and Merold didn’t react.

“An incident in no way related to you threatening me just a few minutes before,” he retorted, and Cielomort actually laughed, picking up his own pen and starting to sign the documents.

“To be honest, I expected you to still be asleep by now,” he prompted, head on Merold’s shoulder, reading over the text only partially, as if he already made up his mind about trusting Merold with his paperwork. If he was anyone else, Merold would have called him insane. 

And yet, with the most prosperous kingdom on the continent, Merold was somewhat hesitant to take advantage of that. Melody would be so disappointed once it got back to her, not to mention-.

“That was the plan,” Merold answered, letting out a sigh, “Unfortunately, this body was against that idea. Kurode rarely sleeps after sunrise, and it seems that his internal clock decided to take it to heart.”

“My sincerest condolences, may you have better luck next time,” was Cielomort’s very insincere reply, his warm breath tickling Merold on the cheek, making it turn a bit darker, but Merold just shook his head.

“Best not to mess it up too much, anyway. Kurode should be back tomorrow or the day after at most, so it's whatever,” he answered. It was true, too. It felt weird, Kurode’s body. All floaty and wrong, like his skin didn’t fit as it was supposed to.

It was a familiar feeling—one that came whenever they switched back, the kind of nausea, just like a phantom seasickness. It only served to remind Merold how much he actually hated sea travel.

“Oh? That’s quite soon. I was under the impression I would have a few more days to enjoy your company,” ah, yes, enjoy your company. As if they weren’t on each other’s throats for about half of that time, and yet, his voice held sincere as he talked, “I actually wanted to ask you for a spar. Part of Kurode’s training, of course.”

Merold almost laughed at that, “Hmm~? Pray tell, in which way would that be to Kurode’s benefit?”

Cielomort actually smiled at that, “To figure out what he is capable of. Even with a different skill set, if there is something you can do but he can’t, then the logic dictates that Kurode should be able to do so as well.”

Not unreasonable, and yet- “Oh, he’d hate that! Sure, he could, but he doesn’t like the way I fight. Not too much anyway. The usual spells are no issue, sure, but if it were my way? He won’t do it unless there is no other choice. He is stubborn like that.”

“Oh? Do you not get along, then?” Cielomort continued, and suddenly, Merold didn’t feel like laughing that much.

“It’s not that,” he answered, but his voice, Kurode’s voice, wavered. Immediately, his voice rose, trying to appear nonchalant, and yet, Kurode’s body couldn’t do so quite right, “He just doesn’t want to be like me in any way, see?~ I guess it makes sense, trying to be his own person and all, but it can be so annoying~”

And like an idiot, he continued on without even prompting, “Is it really so bad to be compared to me? I mean, people would line up just to have a chance to learn from me, but the one person who I wanted to teach would just turn his nose on the opportunity~ Saying things like he can do it by himself, and that he can learn everything he needs to at the school~ Even saying he will become the best knight all by himself~ Honestly, if he had just stayed put-”

Ah. He was rambling now. How annoying.

The habit long since didn’t exist in his own body, and yet, in Kurode’s, it clearly still did.

He sighed, “Nevermind~ What’s done is done, now he can do whatever he wants, however he wants it.”

Cielomort just hummed, looking at him with something in his blue eyes. Merold didn’t look back, knowing fully well what he would find there. Damn Kurode’s inability to mask his emotions.

“...As far as I can tell, Kurode has been nothing but responsible ever since he came to the Blue Continent, as a knight and a person. He has strong morals and helps even the people he personally dislikes. He is strong and kind, fulfilling his duties with utmost dedication, never backing down in the face of anything,” yeah, Merold knew that already. Still, it was… nice, that someone else noticed, “The only thing he really lacks is experience… that would be your doing, correct?”

It was, in a way. He rarely let Kurode get into any kind of danger, and even if he did, there were always guards around to take the brunt of the responsibilities off him. He nodded, something quivering in his chest.

If he had let Kurode do things alone like that, would he have been satisfied with that?

He still sighed, nodding, letting the last of the documents fall from his hands, leaning back, Kurode’s body falling into the fluffy backrest, “I wouldn’t have minded if he just relied on me forever, would have been happier if he just chose to be something else and left the fighting to me. He could do a lot of things, cooking, cleaning, sewing- instead, by the time he was seven, he already knew he wanted to be a knight. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Cielomort’s face shifted a little, but Merold didn’t look, “Many children dream of being knights. I know I did. What did you want to be when you were young?”

And Merold laughed. What he wanted to be- “Does that matter? As long as it put a roof over our heads, I wouldn’t have cared at all~”

It was true, too. Back before he got Melody, little mattered to him. Only Kurode, really. Keeping his small, cute brother safe, keeping him fed and happy- But Melody didn’t let it stay that way for long. Melody made him care, made him want- Keeping Kurode happy, while still one of his most important goals, was soon joined by other, different goals.

Many goals, all different in their necessity and difficulty to fulfil, and yet, even when he failed some of them, nobody ever gave him any grief. He still felt like he needed to do better. For Kurode, for Melody, for their people-

For that knight-

He thought he was doing well enough.

…But Kurode left anyway.

Cielomort was looking at him with a small, sad smile: “I’m sorry. The world should have been kinder to you.”

Huh?

When Merold looked back, there was confusion on Kurode’s face: “You are weird.”

The world was already plenty kind. That was why it could have people like Hallritt and Kurode - devoted, single-minded, optimistic.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard that.” Cielomort laughed, somehow worming his way even closer into Merold’s personal space, eyes bright, and Merold let out a snort. Yeah, that was not surprising in the slightest. What was worse, was that he didn’t even feel any annoyance, despite it being exactly the thing that should have happened,, “Even if it wouldn’t do much for Kurode, I would still like to have a spar with you. It could prove a learning opportunity for me as well. Away from any prying eyes, of course.”

“Oh? Think that little old me would be so strong? I’m flattered~” he smiled, just a hint of his lips quirking up, and yet-

“Of course. I have seen it with my own eyes, after all,” Cielomort continued, still looking at him, purely at him with bright blue eyes just under the snowy eyelashes as he flexed his wrist, “Would you be willing?”

Merold glanced at him, at the way he was looking back with eagerness in his gaze, and then to the documents on his desk. Merold had already finished what he could. Cielomort did not, “After you finish signing all of those, sure, why not?”

It has been a while since he sparred with someone he didn’t know personally. Might as well have a bit of fun with that.

…Cielomort, as if possessed, started signing everything in his sight. So quickly, in fact, that Merold kind of doubted he was even reading all of it, if he didn’t see the way his eyes scanned the papers, before placing his pen against it and doing a movement that was almost too quick to catch, leaving behind only an elegant, perfect signature with long, curled tail originating at the tale end of the ‘C’, traveling all the way to the end of his name, doing a loop that also served as a ‘t’, before ending with a swirl.

Merold wouldn’t have bothered. His own signature was what looked like a scribble, if he was honest. Still his name, but the letters were so close together it was impossible to read, no matter how anyone looked at it. It was also near irreplicable, so that was a plus. 

…Only Kurode ever managed, and even that was rare.

When Cielomort finally finished and stood up, he was beaming.

“Follow me,” he said, reaching out, almost as if-

Merold let out an amused chuckle, standing up by himself, “Kurode wouldn’t like that.”

“It is a good thing that Kurode isn’t here at the moment, then,” was his simple response, already almost out of the door, and yet, Merold did not follow. Just looked after him, amused.

When Cielomort turned back, it was with a confused expression, and Merold just crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow, “Don’t you see anything wrong?”

Clearly not, based on another wave of confusion on Cielomort’s face, before it instantly melted into realization: “Oh.”

It was, in fact, the correct reaction to not realizing Merold did not yet even change his clothes. He just shook his head with a sigh, already turning away, “Just give me a minute.”

He did. Exited the room, even, closing the door behind him to give Merold privacy. How needlessly kind. 

Throwing on Kurode’s clothes as if it was second nature, pulling on his boots and- ah, how annoying. Oh well, it wasn’t like he didn’t know how to cast without his wand. Usually, it just helped him to aim and to pace himself, to make sure he wasn’t overdoing it, but it's not like that was too much of a bother in Kurode’s body.

He got used to it, eventually, as he always did.

If the worst came to worst he’d just make one.

When he walked out, Cielomort was bouncing on his heels, still waiting for him, eyes shining as if he were a child as he asked: “Ready?”

Merold just nodded, following after. 

The castle was unusually quiet as they walked past, not a soul in sight, an unusual thing for the hour, but who was Merold to judge another kingdom’s affairs, really? He still looked around, obviously enough for his host to notice. As expected, an explanation was provided without so much as a single word.

“Most people are out. The servants have a bit of free time around now, so they are enjoying the weather, and the others, well-” Cielomort looked up, as if thinking for a moment, “Louter, Klark and Myunna are having tea party in the outer garden, and Will should be at the post office around now. He feels anxious if the letters from his Lord come late, so he took it upon himself to just deliver all of them himself, at least around the castle.”

“How selfless,” was Merold’s answer, though, from the tone of his voice, it was clear he wasn’t impressed. Cielomort just hummed.

“He was always like that. If someone asked for anything, he would do it. If they needed help, he didn’t hesitate,” he admitted easily, and Merold could feel himself sneering.

“Of course he did. No wonder Kurode likes him so much,” and Cielomort just turned to him, face bright, so Merold was forced to correct himself, “Liked. Until about a month ago, who knows why that is~”

“I guess that was to be expected,” was Cielomort’s somber answer, before the smile returned, “Though, I’m sure that in time, we can all get along again!”

Merold just raised an eyebrow, “Really? You don’t know Kurode at all, do you? I’m actually surprised you managed to see through me if you thought it would be that easy with him.”

“Oh? Do tell,” his companion said, leading him down the hall Merold didn’t recognize. Based on the layout, it was leading deeper into the castle, but why? For a moment, his suspicion spiked, but he forced himself not to show even the slightest bit of emotion.

“Kurode doesn’t forget things like that. Never did. Promises kept, promises broken, doesn’t matter, just when you think he let it go, he will bring it up again, as if it happened just yesterday,” Merold shrugged, still remembering all the times when Kurode brought up the one time Merold came home too exhausted to celebrate his birthday. It happened often enough for the memory to still be fresh in his mind, “He can forgive, sure, after you work your ass off to make it up to him, but forget? Never.”

“Personal experience?”

“Several,” he answered, as Cielomort took another suspicious turn. The layout of Lord Cinnamonroll’s castle didn’t show this hall, or at least, Merold had never thought it important enough to remember, “Where are we going?”

“Oh? Are you worried?” Cielomort asked and Merold did not grace that with an answer. His company laughed, “We’ll be there in a moment.”

Which was only raising more red flags, and Merold should have probably already turned around and ran, but he just… didn’t. As they said, curiosity killed the cat.

Not to mention, with how softly Cielomort looked at him the last few hours, Cielomort probably didn’t want to get rid of him all that much.

He felt the same, after all.

The door at the end of the hall was disappointingly normal. Just the same ones as everywhere else in the castle, the same shape, wood, painted with the same coat of pale paint. It wasn’t even locked!

And behind it?

Outside. Green and fresh and so very unexpected Merold actually stopped in his tracks just to stare at one of the overgrown trees and gravel path. It all looked surprisingly unkempt for being part of the castle, though Merold was still very confused as to how it was even there!

“Inner courtyard,” was Cielomort’s cheeky reply, smiling, as he pointed up, to an elongated metal structure, “It used to be a greenhouse but the gardeners always got lost trying to reach it, so we took the glass away. Now it's usually only me and Cinnamon coming here to relax. Will and Lord Mell, if they are around, but that's rare.”

Merold raised an eyebrow at him, “Doesn’t seem all that well-managed if you ask me.”

Cielomort laughed, “I didn’t say we come often. Sometimes I forget it exists at all, but it's away from prying eyes, so-”

“Seems like you have quite an issue with those,” Merold voiced, remembering the small instances in the back of his head. Being watched, being observed, spied on… He himself had some spies around here, but it would seem like he wasn’t the only one, “More than most people I know.”

“Nothing to be done about that,” Cielomort sighed, still smiling, but for once, it looked a bit tired, “There are many small kingdoms that joined the alliance for protection without knowing anything else. It’s natural they are trying to find out as much as they can. It won’t last.”

“Like why does it work? It is interesting, I admit,” it was. It really was. Seeds were a problem for all continents, and yet, the one place that never had any issues with them was using it to build an alliance with everyone around, “I guess everyone has their own theories.”

“Oh? Want to share?” 

“Will you tell me if I’m correct?” there was an awkward smile on Cielomort’s face that spoke volumes, “Didn’t think so. Not what we are here for, either. How are we doing this?”

Cielomort looked at him for a moment, clearly thinking, before answering: “I know Kurode went to school, but-”

“I did. We can do school rules,” Merold replied, already moving towards the open space, raising his arms above his head to stretch. School spars were not difficult, basically a free-for-all until someone gave up, lost consciousness, was lying on the ground for a prolonged period of time or, if worst came to worst, first blood, though that was rare in and of itself.

Cielomort followed after, standing on the opposite side of the grassy field, clearly watching him. 

“What?” Merold finally asked, after his muscles felt somewhat loose, already mentally preparing himself to dodge. Kurode had enough magic to block, sure, but without the help of his wand to aim, it would probably be better to not waste it for something like that.

“Nothing. Ready?” he nodded, and Cielomort’s lips twitched, “On three. One, two-”

Neither of them waited for three.

As soon as Cielomort’s mouth opened with the first syllable, he threw himself forward, magic playing on his fingertips, and his opponent was not a single step behind. Jumping back, one leg bent at the knee, he started floating, turning in the mid-air as Merold let the spell loose.

It missed, no surprise, and by then, Merold was already jumping to the side, dodging the counterattack, his ankles absorbing the impact with a quick pulse of pain. Merold barely felt it.

A scent of cinnamon washed over him. How on point.

Another spell trained straight on his head hit an instinctual barrier, and by then, he was already moving. Step to the left. Jump back. A turn out of the way, letting the spell hit an overgrown bush.

And Cielomort was smiling, even as Merold’s own spell almost hit him in the side.

Another spell flowed through his gloved fingers, almost white, and Merold ducked, sliding behind the tree, just as it was sent flying. His own counter was not far behind, actually hitting his opponent’s cape.

Cielomort’s pearly laughter pierced the silence, and it only took Merold a moment to realize he was smiling back. 

Ah, how annoying. It really was just a bit amusing.

“Are you alright? I am not even moving, but you still didn’t hit me yet,” was the bastard’s smart-ass reply, and Merold narrowed his eyes back, only to force himself back behind the tree as soon as a different spell flew his way. This time, it even left behind scratches, a good few millimeters deep into the wood.

Maybe it was time to get a bit serious.

Magic gathered, glistening softly in his grasp, and when he jumped out, already running to another hiding place and picking up a branch on the way, it started solidifying. Cielomort actually whistled when a few dozen of tiny ice needles almost speared through his torso and thighs, only to shatter against a barrier that covered his entire body.

“How vicious,” he was still smiling. Whatever. It wasn’t like Merold wasn’t enjoying it.

It really was a while since he sparred with an opponent who knew nothing about him.

A sphere of light hit the place Merold was just standing at, and he couldn’t help but let out a snort, “I could say the same to you.”

In his hand, the small branch, previously crooked, started to straighten, turning pale brown. It wasn’t perfect, no. That would take time, and a body who had done the same type of magic again and again. But it would do.

The next spell he sent, Cielomort actually had to dodge. The blue eyes widened, but not with worry, no. Excitement. Clear and pure, reflecting right at Merold, like a child on Christmas morning.

How thrilling.

Next spells they both cast collided, changing their trajectory completely, one hitting the wall of the castle with a wave of steam, the other the gravel path, the impact sending the rocks flying. Cielomort’s eyes were shining as he looked him over and let the spell flow.

And then, it felt easy. Familiar, even.

Not like with Romarriche, who threw himself into the fight outright.

Not like Puruth, who calculated most of his moves beforehand, only to get lost in them.

Not like Seeds, mostly mindless.

Not like Kurode, who knew his only chance was to close the distance whenever he and Merold fought.

No, this was fun.

Like when he was a kid, fighting over toys with other kids, throwing arguments against each other, each one more ridiculous, just to justify why he should be the one to play with it. In the end, the toy was just an instrument. What Merold enjoyed most in those moments was that fire, the fight to be the winner. 

And here, their spar was just that. An instrument.

Each spell they threw at each other was different. Different types, different execution, just different in some way, each more ridiculous than the last. Water spear became less solid, less rigid, like a live whip, right until it shattered on the floor. The fireball hit another wind spell just right enough to create a fire tunnel that burst into small, firework-like structures. 

Cielomort wasn’t even trying to hit him anymore, just countering with spells that would make the reactions between them better, bigger, grander.

Merold wondered for a moment when he started to do the same.

There were still the half-hearted attempts to keep the spar going, but neither of them were trying anymore. By then, it was just a game. Even as Kurode’s magic slowly thinned out, getting lower and lower with each spell, Merold kept on casting.

The next spell collided, then the next, and then-

Water against water. 

There would be no reaction to that, both of them knew, but Cielomort was smiling, and Merold was probably too, based on how his cheeks hurt. As their spells touched, they didn’t merge. Probably should have. Merold remembered something like that from his classes, the spells making each other stronger, only, neither of them actually cast it with that intention.

And so, they just… bounced back. Merold didn’t even try to defend himself, too busy bursting into laughter at Cielomort’s momentary panic when the ball hit his face, and the liquid splattered all over his body, leaving him completely soaked just moments before the same thing happened to Merold himself.

Ahh, Kurode was seriously going to kill him if he ever found out. Oh well.

He was still laughing when Cielomort came back to the ground, giggling like a teenage girl, dragging his cape and leaving behind him a path of disturbed grass and gravel.

And then, he pushed him.

Merold should have expected it, really. Neither of them lost yet, after all.

Unfortunately for him, Cielomort also did not calculate the consequences of his own actions properly, and with all of the water soaking him to the bone and weighing him down, his balance was completely skewed.

As such, when Merold finally landed on his ass, hissing at the impact, his opponent was not far behind, landing right next to him on his side, his white clothing already covered in mud. 

Merold, still smiling, just looked at him unimpressed, and Cielomort looked back with a cheeky grin, eyes shining brightly. Merold’s breath hitched.

He looked-

…

How… very annoying.

“Tie?” he asked, and Merold, forcefully calming his quick-beating heart and already done with it, just let himself lay down, instantly regretting that choice. It was so, so dirty. 

“I’ll let you have this one,” he admitted, not because he wanted to feel some sort of superiority or from some sort of moral obligation or because he was still feeling lightheaded, Cielomort’s laughing face burned into his brain, just- “Kurode’s magic is almost completely gone anyway. Ahh~ One would have thought I would have been used to it by now, but obviously not~”

“Hm? I thought you’d be more careful with his reserves,” was Cielomort’s reply as he tried to slowly get back up, only to quickly realize what a mess their wet clothes were making out of the dirt as he slipped back to the ground. It almost made Merold laugh again. Almost, “Seems a bit irresponsible.”

“Not used to it~ most of the time I pass out long before there is even a chance of depleting my reserves,” Merold repeated, slowly pulling himself back to his feet, holding his balance with sheer will-power until he planted his legs firmly into the rocky surface. Cielomort just hummed, looking over him with thoughtful eyes.

“Is that so?” he asked, and Merold just raised an eyebrow at him, only for his opponent to get up and almost slip again. Holding back laughter, Merold reached out, holding his hand stretched in front of him, until Cielomort smiled and finally took it, “Thank you. It must be quite uncomfortable, then, with Kurode’s.”

“Guess so. Most of the time I’m in charge, I just don’t use magic. This was a one-off thing,” Merold shrugged, dusting his hand into Kurode’s jacket that he was definitely going to hear about again if Kurode ever found out, “If we meet again, don’t expect a rematch.”

“Never say never~” how cheeky. Somehow, it made him seem younger in that moment, but it might have been the atmosphere that still lingered between them, “It was a nice change of pace. Would be a shame to just leave it as a memory.”

He…. wasn’t wrong. Still, Merold shook his head, glancing around with mild disgust, “With this kind of mess, maybe it should just stay as a memory.”

If the courtyard looked unkempt before, it had nothing to how it looked after their little game. The grass was burnt to the ground in some places, the walls of the castle were singed, the trees were blasted, some in worse state than others, the gravel was all over the place, and every piece of exposed dirt had turned into mud. So, indeed, a huge mess. Cielomort looked half-way between cringing and laughing as he finally took the scene in.

“...Maybe it's time we found a proper gardener for this place after all,” he admitted after a short moment of taking it all in and Merold snorted.

“I think you need a lot more than a gardener for it to ever be presentable again.”

Cielomort just closed his eyes, a strained smile upon his lips showing just how much he wasn’t looking forward to that.

And when they went back, it was peaceful. Quiet. A bit like one of Merold’s dreams where he just walked around Melody’s castle, checking every hall, every corner in silence and the kind of tranquility one didn’t find often, at least until it warped and twisted into another nightmare of his own making.

In the corner of his eye, something moved.

A twitch, just a slight movement, and yet-

His eyes ticked to the side, purple meeting lavender in slow motion. Merold didn’t say a word. Willmesh, standing almost perfectly still behind one of the ornate vases, didn’t answer, just continued looking at them with wide eyes.

Ahh, how annoying. Nobody was supposed to see them, and now, who knew how long Willmesh was really around? 

Still, the best course of action in that scenario was simple.

Cielomort, just a step in front of Merold, didn't even seem to notice even as Merold raised his hand, putting his pointer finger in front of his lips in a shushing gesture.

Acting as if it never happened. Acting as if nothing was wrong. And maybe, after a bit of time, Willmesh would start believing in it too.

Willmesh didn’t say a word, didn’t acknowledge the gesture, just stood there, motionless, his eyes following after them until they turned the corner and out of sight.

It was easy to forget about him after that.

Easy to just submerge himself into a hot bath, making Cielomort wait to use his own bathroom, since the spar was his idea in the first place. Easy to put on the pajamas and write into Kurode’s journal, omitting only few, insignificant details. Easy, to watch Cielomort carry new paperwork into his room and slide next to him, helping him finish it in record time without so much as a question.

Easy, to eat dinner with the others, apologizing for his absence because of sickness. Easy to ask Louter questions about magic he long since knew the answers to. Easy to pat Myunna on the head and thank him for lunch, saying he’d be better tomorrow. Easy to ignore the way Willmesh would sometimes glance at him, uneasy eyes quickly hidden behind the long, pale lashes. 

Easy to stretch, sitting on the blue bed he spent yesterday in, watching Cielomort reading over something that wasn’t even there before dinner, this time with a lamp instead of the big light.

“I really should go back to Kurode’s room,” he said, but was already making himself comfortable in the same bed he was sitting on just moments before. Cielomort let out a thoughtful noise before glancing at him, “If he comes back today, he’ll have a lot of questions and he might not be patient enough to just wait for you to wake up~”

“I did say I would not let you out of my sight for the entire duration of your stay, so I’ll have to refuse the idea,” cheeky bitch. There was amusement in his eyes when he was talking, and it continued shining just as brightly when Merold shrugged back.

“Suit yourself, just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he replied, stifling a yawn while cursing Kurode’s mental clock. Not even ten, and his brother’s body was already falling asleep, what a bother. Oh well, better get it back in a better state than Kurode left it for Merold.

Hopefully, his brother had enough foresight and grace to do the same.

The first thing Kurode noticed when he woke up was a ceiling. A white ceiling. Which just meant that he was no longer in Merold’s body, which he left in the inn made entirely out of wood. It was nice, too, warm and cozy. A bit small since he had to share a room with Romarriche, but otherwise, Kurode couldn’t complain.

Unfortunately, the other thing Kurode realized was that his room also did not look like this. In Kuromi’s, or Lord Cinnamonroll’s castle. So that was fun.

Before he could even wonder about where his brother got them to, though, the question was already answered. Something to his left moved, and when he turned his head, a head of white hair was clearly visible, peeking out from under the covers, curled in a way only one’s person Kurode knew did.

Instantly, he froze.

There was no way, right? No way that Merold would- that he’d- in Kurode’s body-

Quickly, he sat up, looked down- oh, thank god, he was dressed!

Alright, the crisis averted for a moment.

But, the question remained- why was Kurode in Cielomort’s bed to begin with?

He reached out to him, fully intended to wake him up but stopped himself just before he made contact. There was still the slightest of possibilities Cielomort somehow didn’t realize that it wasn’t Kurode, right? So, maybe, the better idea would be to just-

He turned the other way, finding his tablet with full battery, still plugged into the charger, and unlocked it with a quick motion of his hand.

Everything was just as he had left it. His wallpaper, his screen, his apps, the several games he did not even open anymore, just sitting there, untouched. His diary, though, did have two new entries.

Lord cinnamonroll’s knight is qt preceptive. Took him until dinner time to figure me out though. Wants to keep an eye on me so I'm staying in his room for now. Call it a sleepover if you will.

Thank the Lord that Kurode had autocorrect on his tablet, or this would have been a lot worse.

As for the second entry:

Sleeping arrangement got discovered by your crush in the morning, but covered that up. Acted sick for the rest of the day.

Nothing more, nothing less. Which only left Kurode with one single possibility.

Still holding onto his tablet with one hand, the other stretched, shaking Cielomort awake with zero empathy to the dark circles under his eyes. And it worked, kind of. Cielomort did stir, but that was also just about it. And so, Kurode shook him again. And again. And again.

And maybe he was just too gentle before. Maybe he was used to people sleeping less soundly, because when his already nonexistent patience finally withered completely and Cielomort was still laying there, snug as a bug, no more awake than before, he did what any smart, rational person with an annoying elder brother would do in this situation.

He pushed him out of the bed.

Hard.

Cielomort hit the floor with a staggered yelp, and just enough sound for Kurode to determine he was finally awake and still snuggled in the thick covers that cushioned his impact.

He didn’t speak as Cielomort finally pulled himself from the floor, blinking himself back into awareness and rubbing his shoulder, his usual fluffy cape replaced by a blanket covering his shoulders and back. And when he finally came to, his face lit up, and he looked upon Kurode with a wide smile and a joyful, belated expression of realization.

“Kurode! Welcome back!” he said, all happy and cheery, as if Kurode wasn’t currently thinking about strangling at least four people and he wasn’t one of them.

“Yeah. Anything I should know about before getting back to my room and hopefully forgetting about this whole thing forever?” he asked, already turning back to gather his things, and Cielomort just made a thoughtful noise. The mattress dipped when he hauled himself back into his bed, but otherwise, Cielomort didn’t bother him.

“Nothing that comes to mind! You, well, you were pretending to be sick yesterday, but nobody seemed to catch on. Oh, Myunna brought you some lunch, but other than dinner, you didn’t see anyone for the rest of the day,” was his happy little rant, which had somehow more information than Merold’s own report. Not that Kurode expected anything less.

“Got it. I’m going then,” he answered, fully intended to just never mention anything like this again, only-

“Of course! And feel free to come to me the next time it happenes. I’ll do my best to help any way I can,” Kurode would not be doing that, and he doubted Merold would either, so-

He nodded. Like his brother would. Like a liar.

Cielomort just smiled, so wide it almost blinded him.

And Kurode just walked away from him, already hoping that the next switch would not be happening for at least as long as the last one did.

Only, there came another thing. Another issue, another pain in the ass, and this one, Kurode could not get rid of.

Because, clearly, Willmesh was following him like a dog with a tail between his legs.

Always close enough to see, but never close enough to catch.

He first noticed the day he came back in the outer garden, trying, and failing, to figure out how to make a proper protection circle. One of the few theoretical things Merold could do which Kurode was painstakingly average at. 

Once, his teachers used to tell him he was on a good path to a mastery of the craft and the, then, twelve years old Kurode used to light up with pride. Now, he just saw it for what it was - pity.

His circle had edges.

Circles were not supposed to have edges. Even a child knew that.

So, there he was, on his knees, trying to draw a proper circle with a piece of chalk, before once again, watering the bricks with water and erasing the lack of progress he was making. All the while he could see his brother doing that one ballet pirouette move, making a perfect circle with the tip of his foot, and drawing the rest without having to so much as bend down. Always with his head held high, always perfect, until he fell to the heap on the floor, motionless.

Involuntarily, his eyes closed, forcing the image away.

Just a nightmare. Always a nightmare.

And when he opened his eyes back up, there he was - Willmesh, trying to pretend to be reading a letter, if only it wasn’t upside down, and it didn’t have Lord Cinnamonroll’s seal on the front. He ignored him then. It became a lot harder after.

Willmesh was everywhere, just… following after him. Watching him at meals, watching him in the halls, watching him as he was writing several question marks into his journal, wondering just one thing: why?

Merold said nothing about Willmesh in his notes, and neither did Cielomort, and everyone else was acting as normal. So what was with him, all of the sudden?

So, Kurode waited. And waited. And waited. Made sure it was really him Willmesh was following. And then, confronted him.

Clearly, Willmesh was not expecting him to bang on his door at ten in the evening, but, unfortunately, Kurode did not care. Willmesh, thankfully, did not fight him, and just let him in without so much as a frown.

“So, what happened?” Kurode asked, just standing in the middle of the room, already anticipating a confrontation which didn’t seem to be coming. Willmesh was just picking at his sleeves, clearly uncomfortable. And when his mouth finally opened, Kurode could feel his face going pale.

“...You are Kurode… right?”

Because of course. Of course the two people who would realize something was wrong were the ones watching him for their own games.

He sneered back, but Willmesh, looking into the floor, didn’t seem to notice.

“Who else would it be?” he asked, but Willmesh hesitated for a moment, looking around, as if paranoid. When he finally spoke, he seemed unsure even with himself.

“...The other one. Cielo got along with him… I thought it was odd, so I followed. He doesn’t move like you at all… When they fought, they seemed matched,” Kurode’s blood ran cold.

“They fought ?” he asked, and Willmesh flinched.

“Not fought,  I think… Sparred would be better, but…” he fidgeted more, somehow, as if unable to look up, “...They were laughing. The spells they were using weren’t too dangerous, either… It seemed like they were just having fun… It’s been a long time since I saw Cielo like that.”

Kurode couldn’t even imagine it.

Technically, he knew his brother didn’t have a lot of people he could go out against, but… When was the last time Merold really had fun in a fight? With Romarriche maybe, only Romarriche used his body more than he ever did magic. 

From the way Louther always acted, it always seemed like their conditions were fairly similar, but Louter also was someone who was always getting drained by his own choice and wouldn’t just spar with people without reciprocation and making sure his partner wouldn’t get seriously hurt.

But Cielomort wasn’t like that.

Cielomort was strong. Had no visible weaknesses and seemingly had no drawbacks to his magic, didn’t hold back from using it. Someone, who likely had as many issues finding a proper sparring partner as Merold did, if not more.

Because there was the certainty Merold would eventually faint. Kurode had no idea if Cielomort ever would.

So, technically, it made sense they would do that. The issue was that there was no way in hell Cielomort could know the person he was fighting was Lord Melody’s knight, otherwise, Merold wouldn't forget to mention it… Would he?

Because if he didn’t, how would he know that Merold was powerful enough for them to even have fun?

Was it a plan of some kind? Or did Merold just not care?

“...He saw me. The other one. Told me to stay quiet,” Willmesh continued slowly, now looking just a bit higher, towards Kurode's face, but not meeting his eyes, “I wasn't sure if you knew so…”

What could Kurode even say to that? Should he even say anything at all?

Then again, Willmesh did go out of his way to warn him, at least this time, and, for what it counted, better late than never.

Kurode sighed. In for a penny.

“Yeah, I know him. Didn't know they get along though,” he admitted at last, his shoulders slumping a bit, “or that they spared together.”

“Oh…” Willmesh trailed off, and Kurode could understand, “does he… live inside you or-”

“Oh god no,” was Kurode's instinctive reply, and he continued with wide eyes, “No, there was an accident when I was little. Something or other, never got the details, but my brother and I just switch places sometimes.”

For a moment, Willmesh stayed quiet.

“That’s concerning,” he added at last, and Kurode let out a snort.

“You tell me,” he agreed, shaking his head, before looking at Willmesh again. He was still not looking back, not properly, but at least he was no longer picking on his sleeves, “What I am more curious about is how they became friends so quickly. Mello is… not the most open person in the world.”

“Yeah… Cielo is… If he knew it wasn’t you, he should have been more cautious,” Willmesh agreed, and Kurode just sighed, “But when I found them the morning you were sick, they seemed… close. That person even kicked him out of the bed and bickered with him the entire morning.”

“...” wisely, Kurode stayed silent. What was even the likelihood both of them just did that? “Did nobody else catch on?”

Willmesh shrugged, barely visible: “Cielo told us you were sick, so we just left it. But when I saw them going out…”

It made sense. Kurode wasn’t sick all that much, not ever, and definitely not in the last few years. Nobody knew how he behaved with fewer. Still-

“What would make Cielomort trust him out of nowhere?” that was the question, wasn’t it? What could Merold, the most suspicious person he knew, do to make the most secretive person Kurode knew trust him enough to actually have sparr with him. To have fun with him.

Not to mention vice-versa.

Willmesh had no answers either, “I’ve known him since forever… He is never too cautious with anyone at first glance, but he always keeps an eye on things, just in case.”

Which, in Kurode language, meant he was paranoid as all hell and just knew how to hide it better. The assumption proved to be correct more often than not, according to his own count. Which was also, a lot like Merold who, as far as Kurode knew, took months to properly befriend Romarriche, who was the only one who even tolerated the real him for that long.

So, there were really only two options: either they were both faking it, or they somehow realized that both of them were trustworthy enough to not kill the other even while unsupervised and throwing spells at each other. Which was doing incredible things to Kurode’s sanity.

“Umm… Supposedly, your brother carried Cielo to bed, but… They didn’t really go into details,” Willmesh added, fidgeting in place and Kurode just raised an eyebrow back. Just great. The thing Merold always tried to get out of - carrying heavy things - and yet, there he was, doing so without even a mention. And maybe it was the fact that it wasn’t his body, but Kurode was already done with this.

“Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he,” he just said, hand on his forehead, massaging his head with slow, circular motions, “...Thanks for telling me. Let's just hope this doesn’t happen again too soon.”

“...And if it does?” Willmesh asked the correct question, and instantly, Kurode’s headache got worse.

Because if his brother would appear again-

“...I can keep an eye on them,” his something between friend-and-ex-crush said, and Kurode let out a sigh. It would solve most of his problems at least. And if he just so conveniently forgot to mention it in his journal-

“You know what, sure. If you could,” he answered and Willmesh jerkily nodded, “I can let you know when we switch out. Give me your number.”

And Kurode would have thought that Willmesh would just do that and Kurode could just walk out without a second thought. And yet- “...I don’t have one.”

…Because of course he didn’t. What a nightmare. Kurode should have expected that part wasn’t a performance.

“...Alright, let’s get you a phone,” Kurode said, and Willmesh just looked at him, wide-eyed.

And Kurode did get him a phone.

Old one, one of those that were almost indestructible, with smaller screens and actual buttons that Romarriche used, not because he wanted to or needed to, but because if he had any other, he’d have to replace it every other month. Kurode used to laugh at it, right until his own cracked in the middle after Romarriche had as much as squeezed it a bit harder.

He was appropriately apologetic, but just the fact that he still managed to carry around all his tea equipment without ever cracking the porcelain made him convinced that it was on purpose.

It also didn’t help that it was just after he had started coming over properly, when Kurode was still less than welcoming to him. At the very least, it stopped him from trying to get rid of him by force.

And that should have been that. Kurode with Willmesh’s new number on his tablet and in his head, doing nothing, because nothing was supposed to happen. But did nothing happen?

No! Of course it didn’t!

Because not even a month had passed before he opened his eyes to see-

Clean window. Green hills. Nice music.

Certainly an upgrade to where he last left Merold’s body but still-!

He got up, pink hair in complete chaos, pajamas slipping from his shoulders, and sun long since above the horizon. Merold’s body was strangely rested, too, for some godforsaken reason. For a moment, he wondered why he even woke up, since the time seemed off, only for his thought to be interrupted by impatient knocking. And then the doors opened, and the person stopped right in the door, looking over him with wide eyes.

“Ah! It’s you!” Sanah called out and Kurode just made a face back.

“What gave me away?” he asked anyway, and the man just smiled back.

“Nothing really, just…” he made a gesture towards Merold’s entire body, “It’s off, you know?”

He didn’t. Still, he sighed, “Yeah, I guess. Can you get Romarriche? I kinda need his phone.”

“Though you two already worked things out,” Sanah shrugged, and Kurode let his shoulders sag, “I can get you to him. Lord Pompompurin ordered for us to have breakfast at the castle today, so he should already be there.”

Of course. The day when Kurode got there-

“Oh, he isn’t having breakfast with us! Because of the Seeds, he and Puruth are going around to make sure nothing else is wrong,” Sanah quickly added when he saw Kurode’s less than enthusiastic expression, “I mean, there shouldn’t be, so they probably just want to spend some time together before we get going again. I kinda get it. ’ve been missing Hana for a while myself.”

…Yeah, Kurode got that. Just a bit.

Never had he thought he could start missing the frivolous tasks Kuromi always sent him on, and yet-

“So, wanna stop by somewhere? It’s really nice today, and they won’t be expecting us for a while anyway,” Sanah continued, and Kurode already resolved to just let himself get dragged around like a rag doll.

There was a good chance Merold would buy whatever Sanah recommended anyways, so, he was essentially doing his brother a favor.

“Knock yourself out,” he answered, and Sanah grinned, already by his side, comparing clothes he pulled from who knew where, but were so distinct, they could only be Merold’s anyway.

And Sanah did knock himself out. Kurode got dragged through three clothing shops before he got anywhere near the castle, almost fainting half-way through the trip.

“So? Who are you trying to call anyway?” Sanah asked, as another shirt got compared to his brother’s frame, and Kurode, already out of it, just nodded along like a doll.

“A guy. Need to warn him that we switched again,” he answered, before catching himself and glancing back, “Don’t tell Merold though. He already knows more than he should.”

“Oooh, a guy huh? My lips are sealed,” Kurode just rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like that. No, I mean, he’s pretty and all, but he already betrayed me once. Not gonna bother waiting for the second time,” he answered, and Sanah made a thoughtful noise at the back of his neck as he reached for a scarf that Kurode would never wear, but Merold definitely would.

“Ahh, the one you complained about last time? So its just like Hallritt’s crush on your brother, got it,” Sanah hummed, and Kurode blinked.

“Hallritt’s what?!”  

“Yeah. I mean, he and Puruth are hitting it off really well now, so it might not be as current anymore, but for a while there, I was convinced he was going to confess. Now I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to be me who will stay single!” Sanah shook his head, looking at Kurode with a wide eyes and unchanging smile, “Rimicha spent last few night in Romarriche’s room, and with Merold always complaining about that knight from the Blue continent-”

“Wait, he is still talking about him!?” Kurode felt light-headed. Very light-headed. Sanah looked like he didn’t notice.

“Complains. Just little things about how he smells like cinnamon instead of coffee, and how stupid his cape looks- Are you ok?” Kurode was very much not ok. Kurode was, in fact, very pale, and felt like he was losing his god-damned mind.

Because Merold didn’t just complain about people he had no interest in. Ever. Merold just scrubbed those people from his mind and stopped caring about them as soon as they were out of his sight.

Which meant Merold was interested. And Kurode did not think it was just from a professional standpoint. Or from a friendly standpoint. Which only meant one thing.

“...Can we get to Romarriche now?” he asked after a moment of silence, and Sanah finally agreed.

And when they arrived, and Roarrich finally gave him the phone, Kurode just called the number he remembered without any delay, right there, in front of everyone.

“...Hello?” answered the voice on the other side and Kurode, so relieved to hear Willmesh in that exact second, didn’t hesitate.

“Please make sure my brother and Cielomort don’t make out in my body,” he said with a chipped voice and felt out of breath. Willmesh didn’t answer, and so he continued, “Or anything else. Ever. Please.”

“...Kurode?” Wllmesh asked back and Kurode made a noise of agreement, letting Willmesh continue by himself, “I had a feeling it wasn’t you… but why should Cielo and your brother be making out?”

“Just trust me on this. My brother is interested at least, and in case Cielomort is, I don’t want to risk it,” he added and Willmesh hummed in understanding.

“I’ll keep an eye out,” he agreed, thank the Lord, and Kurode actually felt just a bit safer. He let out a breath.

“Thanks Will, I owe you one,” he said, but Willmesh didn’t answer. Maybe for the better.

And when he hung up the phone, all Kurode could do was pray Willmesh would succeed, or he’d be washing his face with bleach for the next few weeks.

Cielomort had been wrong. He could admit that.

Over the years he had been wrong a lot of times, about a lot of different things. School, his Lord, the work; and of course, Kurode.

Several times about Kurode, in fact.

First time he heard about Kurode, he didn’t think much about him. A good child that somehow caught Lord Kuromi’s eye and nothing more. And yet, Willmesh grew interested, Lord Kuromi didn’t get bored - that was all it took for Cielomort’s interest to light up. Willmesh, after all, wasn’t very good at those kinds of attachments and Lord Kuromi was nefariously difficult about her staff, and yet, Kurode ticked all their boxes.

Then, he was wrong about how long Kurode could stay mad at them. That too, was very much a surprise.

Because he had thought Kurode would see why they did what they did. Would see the benefits, would see the whys - and he did. It just didn’t make him any less mad. He very much saw the positives, saw the good changes the alliance brought, only he also saw how annoyed his Lord was, and mirrored that behavior perfectly.

It has been months, and while Kurode at least seemed a bit closer to Will than before, Cielomort was not yet granted that privilege.

The third thing Cielomort was wrong about Kurode, was thinking Kurode had a split personality.

As it turned out, he didn’t.

That much was hinted at, at least, by the little quips his, until then thought secondary personality, let out almost unconsciously.

What Kurode did have, however, was an older brother he didn’t like talking about. One that lived on another continent, was strong, influential, and who he was always compared to, as Myunna and Louter so helpfully told him.

So, a knight.

It made sense, in the way his brother knew what to do even without Kurode around. How he moved, his magic, his skills - it fit. All of it.

He also used a wand.

Funnily enough, that was one of the major clues that actually helped him find what he was looking for. Because, as surprising as it might have been to him, there were not many knights who used a wand, and even fewer of them who were as strong as Kurode’s brother seemed to be. Only one that had a younger sibling, too.

So, Cielomort somehow had a spar with this, so-called, strongest knight without even realizing. He even did Cielomort’s work!

Not to mention just how fun he was, the amusing expressions on a face they didn’t really fit, the way his nose would scrunch up when he disliked something; the way he used magic, even one that didn’t belong to him. An interesting person, surprising, unreadable in some cases-

Also very pretty as far as school photos went. Cielomort could admit that. He and Kurode had quite a bit of similarities, too, but were also so incredibly different it almost hurt to look at, with Kurode’s purple aesthetics and Merold’s obvious annoyance when being forced to wear anything non-pastel.

And of course, another amazing surprise to boot. Maybe they could talk about the alliance one day- but that was for a later time. The current predicament he found himself in was just a bit more urgent than that.

Because, there was a wild Kurode in his bed. Or, well, not Kurode. Just his body. Making himself comfortable in Cielomort’s sheets as if it wasn’t four in the morning and he didn’t forget to lock his door again. He really should do something about that.

“Welcome back, Merold,” he said, still half asleep, and the person who was probably Merold, because he didn’t even try to correct him, just yawned, looking more disgruntled than Kurode did yesterday. It looked surprisingly cute, but Cielomort did not have the mental strength to deal with that at that moment.

“Kurode’s bed is way less comfortable than yours, did you know that?” Funnily enough, Cielomort did know that, actually.

He hummed back, eyes already closing again, as if the interruption of his sleep wasn’t anything worthwhile, “He could have chosen any room. He chose that one.”

Merold just groaned, “Of course he did. Whatever. Goodnight.”

And then, Kurode’s face plopped into the pillow face first, and Merold was gone. Cielomort, too exhausted to care, just decided not to, letting himself drift off who knew where. That was a problem for the morning Cielomort.

Unfortunately, morning actually did come, and with it came the realization that Will had once again caught him in the bed with his crush. He… didn’t look too confused at the situation this time, so that was a plus?

“Good morning, Will!” Cielomort called out to him, voice as cheerful as he could manage despite the apparent situation and lack of any proper, actual sleep, to which, his best friend just nodded at him, watching as, to him, Kurode groaned into the pillow, already glaring at the world as he pushed himself up.

“Bathroom,” he growled, already on the move, suspiciously taking the tablet and his clothes with him, and for a moment, Cielomort had to wonder if it would sound just as feral if it was anyone else’s body instead of Kurode’s. And yet, he still couldn’t help but think just how attractive it sounded.

…it, unfortunately, was not the first time Cielomort happened to think that, against his better judgement.

And just as he was out of sight- “Will, it’s not what it looks like!”

Will… still didn’t seem too bothered? Somehow? He wasn’t that calm last time he found Kurode in Cielomort’s bed at least!

He nodded, “I know… It’s nightmares, he said.”

…Kurode did? That probably meant that Will and Kurode were getting along again, didn’t it?! Cielomort could feel the smile stretching his face wide.

“Yes! That’s right,” he immediately agreed, because why wouldn’t he? Kurode gave him a perfect excuse and like hell was Cielomort letting that pass him by, “I’m glad you are getting along again.”

“I am too… It’s nice,” Will agreed with a slight blush to his cheeks and Cielomort couldn’t help but feel happy for his friend. Finally, things were looking up for him again. Maybe, with a bit of luck, those things could even progress further for them! Now he could only hope Merold wasn’t going to somehow break them up again, but…

How are siblings supposed to react in those situations, actually?

Cielomort never had a sibling himself, so he couldn’t have been sure, but there were a pair of siblings living in the castle at the moment! Maybe he could ask them!

Then again, Klark was still not very welcoming towards his presence, but Louter-

Maybe if he managed to find him alone…

Merold slammed the door to Cielomort’s bathroom wide open, looking less than pleased by whatever he had found in Kurode’s journal, “I was supposed to be helping Myunna make breakfast today.”

Did he? Cielomort didn’t know about that. Still, if he did, then he overslept by a good while, and Myunna was most likely already done anyway.

“...I don’t think you need to worry. He said he saw you yesterday… When you went to Cielo’s room, so he wasn’t expecting you…” Will shrugged, looking into the floor instead of at Kurode, and Cielomort just blinked.

That would be about the fifth time this month someone had spotted a child dressed in all white, floating through Lord Cinnamon’s castle, and he wasn’t so naive to believe it would be the last time. Still, it was a bit suspicious. Just a little. Merold, too, looked like he was scoffing, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Again? Does he just not sleep or something?” oh, how Cielomort wished he knew himself. Will just shrugged, decidedly not looking at either of them as he answered.

“He said he has his duties…” it was clear that Will knew something, though, even as both of them continued to eye him, Will remained stubbornly quiet.

“Breakfast?” Cielomort asked after a while of uncomfortable quiet, and Merold just nodded as Will turned to retreat.

They came last. It wasn’t a surprise. Klark still glowered at them as if they committed some sort of unforgivable sin. Myunna and Louter were smiling at them though, so that was probably just Klark being Klark.

It was right after breakfast when he got a chance to find Louter alone, on the grounds that Klark was taken by Will for something or other, and Merold got dragged off by Myunna to at least help clean out. Merold actually did so with a smile, but whether it was a real one, or just part of his disguise as Kurode, Cielomort couldn’t tell.

“Good morning, Louter,” he said, and Louter just raised an eyebrow at him, still sitting by the table and drinking his morning tea, “How would you react if Klark started dating someone?”

Louter clearly didn’t appreciate the question, by how quickly his gaze turned icy, “Good morning. May I ask what prompted that question?”

What a loaded question. Cielomort just smiled back, searching for a suitable answer, “Well, with Kurode getting so close to Will recently, I thought it would be a good idea to prepare in case his family finds out.”

Louter just kept on looking back, his eyes doubtful, and his face blank: “...Are you sure it’s not the other way around?”

And for a moment, Cielomort’s mind went blank as well: “...Huh?”

Other way around, as in-

Louter looked unperturbed, “From what I’ve seen, you are the one getting closer than anyone to that person, whoever they are.”

There was quiet.

Cielomort didn’t know how to answer that. Maybe he was a bit closer to Merold than he originally planned, but he didn’t think it would be an issue, since Merold wasn’t even around that often? Louter didn’t seem too concerned about the information he revealed just like that, without as much as a warning, looking into the ceiling for a moment.

“The stars,” right. Of course it was the stars. Cielomort really should have known, “If they make Klark happy, I won’t mind.”

That… wouldn’t be bad at all. Cielomort wholeheartedly believed that Will could make Kurode happy if they gave it time, but the more he thought about it, the more Cielomort had the feeling that that might just have been Louter.

Because Merold didn’t seem like a person who’d just let things like that go.

…He really should warn Will about this. Especially if there was a chance for Merold to one day wake up in his bed. Cielomort didn’t think that would have been a pleasant experience for neither him nor Will… But there was time for that. Surely.

Why, Kurode would likely tell him himself, once he felt ready! Yup! Definitely!

And then Merold finally emerged from the kitchen, waving at Myunna with a tight smile, and Cielomort knew it was time to go.

He hurriedly said goodbye to Louter and ran after Merold’s far-away back.

“...Myunna asked me what he should call me,” Merold said, after Cielomort finally caught up to him, only for his smile to freeze a little.

“The stars told Louter you are a different person as well, so it’s quite likely that Klark would know as well,” he admitted, and Merold just sighed.

“Them I get, but Myunna? How?” he asked, and Cielomort didn’t have a good answer for him, “What about Willmesh then?”

“He doesn’t know, to my knowledge, though he and Kurode did get quite close since the last time you were here,” Cielomort shrugged, and Merold looked like he was getting a headache.

“Whatever, it’s not like it wasn’t expected,” He shrugged, and Cielomort chuckled.

“Wasn’t it you who said Kurode doesn’t forget things like that?” he asked, and Merold closed his eyes, almost as if in pain.

“He doesn’t. Doesn’t mean he won’t forgive if given enough incentive,” he said, walking away from Cielomort’s room, for some unknown reason, “With the way he looks, it probably wasn’t even that difficult. Maybe he cried, maybe he apologized on his knees, something more drastic - it’s not like Kurode would write that part into his journal and at this point I don’t think I could be surprised by anything.”

Cielomort’s mood soured just a bit at the insinuation, “Will’s still my best friend, so I’d appreciate you not speaking about him like that.”

Merold made a face, “Sorry, force of habit, can’t help it. If it makes it any better, it would not be the first time I had to deal with that kind of situation.”

It didn’t, not much, but Cielomort would let it slide for once, “Does Kurode often get offered favors from people for them to get on his good side?”

“A few times here and there, though those were more about trying to get closer to me, not him. So annoying~” Merold continued, his eyes narrowed, clearly thinking, still waking who knew where, “Though, he was always very eye-catching. Most people on the Red Continent don’t have his… general appearance. Or an emo phase that lasted after he grew up past seventeen.”

Cielomort just tried not to laugh at the clear fondness in Merold’s voice when he talked about his brother. He was fairly successful, too, “I have been meaning to ask: the hair. Is it natural? Or did it come with the wardrobe change?”

Merold rolled his eyes, “Were like mine, when he was younger. Then he grew up and they darkened naturally. Might have been his magic going haywire during a school year, because it wasn’t that noticeable, until he came back over the holidays one year with completely purple hair.”

And then, his eyes glistened, and he grinned. Cielomort’s breath stalled for a moment, eyes pulled to the clearly amused expression to a degree that he didn’t even manage to consider pulling back, before Merold’s hand reached out and pulled on the curled fringe of his hair, “What about this? Natural or nah?”

The air around him felt suffocating for a single moment, before he swallowed around the rock in his throat. How… strange. And yet, not at all unexpected. Merold just seemed to have that kind of aura around him.

It was still Kurode’s face, and yet, there was not a single drop of doubt in Cielomort’s mind about how much more the expression would fit the body of the one actually in control.

…Maybe he should take a vacation on the Red Continent once the crisis got resolved properly. If nothing else, at least he could confirm his hypothesis. 

“The color or the shape?” he asked, still a bit too breathless for his liking, and Merold’s hand on his hair shook for a single moment as he squeezed it just a bit harder.

“Are the answers different?”

Cielomort shook his head little, just enough to not actually pull on his hair, though he was quite certain Merold would actually release them if that happened, “Not really. They were always white and curly, but that one-” he pulled a bit back, letting the fringe stretch, and Merold actually let go, his gaze a bit too focused, “-happened only after I became Cinnamon’s knight.”

“Huh,” Merold said, voice low, thinking his words over with an unreadable face, “...It looks like his. I guess it makes sense.”

Cielomort chuckled a bit, “I don’t know about others, though Will did get more fond of writing letters to her, after being accepted by Lord Mell. Before that, it was mostly books.”

“Interesting,” Merold said, still looking deep in thought. Cielomort couldn’t help but wonder.

“What about you?” he asked, slowly, maybe a bit too careful in his approach, with the way Merold’s eyes snapped to him in an instance, “Anything changed after you started serving your Lord?”

And Merold frowned. Actually frowned, nose scrunching, and it was just a tad too adorable, in Cielomort’s humble opinion. He wanted to touch it, to pass the wrinkless, to find out if he was actually upset. And a moment passed. Then two. Then-

“I don’t go out without a hood,” he admitted slowly, as if still thinking it over, “My hearing got better around that time, not that it was bad before, but my ears always hurt, so I never went out without something to cover them.”

“That sounds unpleasant,” Cielomort hummed, and Merold let out a chuckle.

“It’s got good points and bad points. For example, I’ll always hear all sorts of interesting things, but dealing with that Seed in Lord Pompompurin’s kingdom? A disaster. I’m considering giving Rimicha some music lessons just so I can avoid one of the issues at hand,” he stretched, hands above his head, eyes closed, and Cielomort had to force himself to look away, reminding himself that it was still Kurode’s body he was looking at. Not that it helped much. Not when most of its actions were so un-Kurode-like, that Cielomort would see through them even blind.

“Oh? Do tell,” he said, just a bit light-headed.

Merold raised an eyebrow, “Hmm? Are we still pretending we are not spying on each other, or did you miss the latest report?”

Cielomort almost laughed. Well, when he put it that way- “Not at all. I just thought it might be more informative, to hear it from someone personally involved.

And Merold smiled, expression just a bit too different from Kurode’s to ever be mistaken for him.

It might have been stupid. Dumb. Idiotic, even. And yet, Merold told him. Didn’t even hesitate all that much before the words started spilling out of him.

Someone once told him that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and, after being back on the Red Continent for a while, he had to admit, they might have had a point.

Because he did miss Romarriche, when they weren’t able to meet for a while. He did miss the rest of the knights, after his impromptu switch. He did miss Melody, whenever he was out- and he loved them just a bit more, whenever he saw them again.

He still missed Kurode quite a bit, but being with him, even only like this, did make his heart beat just a bit more calmly.

And, surprisingly, he also liked Cielomort, and now, just like time and time again, it was biting him in the ass.

Because going on a shopping trip to destress was normal. Expected, even, since clearly, his acting was not fooling anyone anymore, so why even try? Having Cielomort tagging along, explaining to him just how annoying Seeds could be on the Red Continent, while also somehow transitioning to picking new clothes for his crush companion, was not. 

“Hallritt was supposed to know how music worked,” he complained, as he compared two shirts in his hands, holding them in front of Cielomort with a frown as he tossed one to the pile on the table. Too neonish for his skin tone. The shopkeeper in the corner was just looking at them, looking a bit terrified, despite being too far to realistically be able to hear anything. Merold didn’t really understand why. It wasn’t that bad, all things considered, “He plays the piano, and yet-”

“Just knowing how to play one instrument does not guarantee knowing how to play another,” Cielomort made an observation, carefully folding a shirt Merold did not discard, putting into another, much smaller pile of clothing. Merold just rolled his eyes, picking another piece of clothing and discarding it just as quickly.

“It was acordeon, and he should at least know how to hold a tempo,” he added, wondering. The shade of blue was all wrong on that scarf, and the green would clash with his eyes.

Cielomort didn’t seem all that surprised by that, nor interested in Merold’s shopping spree, “With Seed present, I don’t think either of those would be his main priority.”

Merold frowned a little, “Lord, I hope they don’t set off without me, I still needed to figure out something there, but then we switched-”

“I doubt they would do that, especially if your friend just got his Lord back. I, at the very least, would need a few days to put myself together after that,” Cielomort hummed, catching a soft pink scarf that was thrown at him. Because pink was a good, nice, neutral color, and Merold was going to make it fit Cielomort even if it killed him.

For no control related issues that he’d never admit to himself whatsoever, he was sure. None at all.

Merold nodded a bit, already eyeing Cielomort’s gloves, looking over the store- there.

“I guess. If Melody went missing, it wouldn’t be good,” he said, already reaching for another pair, taking Cielomort’s hand into his and comparing sizes.

Even with the gloves, he could feel just how cold his skin really was, his pointer and middle finger sliding down the lower side of his uncovered wrist, over the bluish veins. The pulse under his fingers quickened. Cielomort, unexpectedly, became just a bit redder in the face, his cheeks catching on a pink hue.

It suited him. Pink suited him. Merold’s grip on his wrist became just a bit tighter, but Cielomort didn’t say a word about that.

Maybe with a bit of white and green-

Merold bit into his lower lip. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

“For who? You, or…?” Cielomort asked after a short moment, and Merold had to force himself to remember what they were even talking about.

Then, he smiled sharply, “I guess we would have to see.”

The pulse under his fingertips quickened for just a moment.

Cielomort's expression didn’t show any surprise when he smiled, leaning a little bit closer, invading Merold’s personal space yet again, his own hand on Merold’s closing around it. This… was not good.

For either of them. 

But it was-

“I guess we would,” Cielomort said slowly, his eyes bright, “I’m sure whoever would end up fighting you would end quite badly.”

Merold wanted to hit himself. Just a bit. The smile on his face didn’t want to disappear, no matter how much he wanted to force his lips downwards.

“Eh?~ Dunno about that~” ahh, it really was quite fun. Spending time like that, “You were just fine, weren’t you?”

Cielomort was fun.

It kind of hurt his head to admit that.

Cielomort’s gaze lingered on his, holding eye contact, “Can’t seem to remember. We should spar again.”

Half-lidded blue eyes. Pink cheeks. His hand on Merold’s, and a lie upon his lips, smiling back with a light smile.

“Maybe we should,” he answered slowly, measuring every word. The spar was fun, too. Mostly because it wasn’t even a proper one.

The pulse under his fingertips was quick, maybe too quick.

Cielomort’s pupils looked dilated from so up close. Too wide.

Too close.

When did he get so close anyway. Merold couldn’t help but wonder if it was on purpose. If he just-

“Cielo!” someone’s voice broke through, and both of them jumped away from each other as if burned, and Merold’s eyes immediately fell on Willmesh, who looked way too red in the face and out of breath to not have been running. Cielomort, on the other hand, went completely pale. It almost looked funny, if the situation had been different.

Because Merold was still, very clearly in Kurode’s body. And this was the guy Kurode had a crush on, and who more than likely had a crush on Kurode. Who was also Cielomort’s best friend.

A triple bingo. 

Great.

“W-Will! You- You are here,” smooth, very smooth Cielomort. Merold could feel a hysterical laugh trying to escape the confines of his own chest. This could not have been worse. For all of them, “This- We-”

Lord, this was a disaster!

The shopkeeper, still in her corner, was staring at them all with red cheeks and wide eyes. Just incredible.

Thankfully, it was Willmesh himself who saved the day, voice steadier than normal, not even looking at Merold as he said:

“Louter caused an explosion in the kitchen.”

Merold just blinked. Cielomort’s mouth opened, voice not coming out.

“He tried to help Myunna make lunch and the stove exploded,” he continued, still looking just a bit too panicked, “Klark is trying to fix it, but-”

Too late. Cielomort was already floating away towards the castle, quicker than he could run.

For a single moment, Willmesh looked at Merold, opening his mouth to likely say something himself, but Merold was not in the mood to say the least.

It wasn’t even the interruption that made him mad, no. It was probably for the best, really. What made him mad was that he technically almost kissed a guy he only knew about three to four days, and that was if he was being generous, was interrupted, and left behind without so much as a word. Not to mention the clothes were left behind too! And he didn’t even go through everything he wanted to go!

“Will it be possible to send the bill to the castle?” he asked the frozen shopkeeper instead of acknowledging Willmesh in any shape or form, to which she just nodded slowly. Merold could feel a grin appearing on his lips, “Great. You can start packing these, then,” he continued, pointing towards the smaller, but definitely not small pile, as he looked around properly once again, “And I’ll just have to figure out the rest myself.”

He was not leaving until he had an outfit in pink that would work.

The stove was in a perfectly working shape when Merold came back, Louter was still smiling and the lunch was served, so it probably wasn’t a complete disaster. Cielomort did look like he aged a decade by then, though. Klark was sitting by the table, looking as if he was meditating, with closed eyes and all, and Willmesh was staring into his lap, and definitely not at Merold sitting right in front of him.

Myunna was Myunna. A bit panicky, but otherwise completely normal. Which honestly just confused Merold more. He had questions. Many questions, and clearly, he wasn’t the only one, and yet, nobody was asking?

Louter, who wasn’t even looking at him until then, just passed him a cup of tea, and when Merold tried it, it was just as overly sweet as he liked it.

He didn’t ask, either. It was not worth it.

He was still called to help clean up, since clearly, Kurode was not going to help prepare breakfast tomorrow either, and almost got a heart-attack when he finally got into Cielomort’s room to find him passed out on the bags of new clothing on his bed that Merold only just managed to get back to castle on time, and were currently being wrinkled all over. He did not feel bad when he pushed him off, straight onto the cold, hard floor. Cielomort didn’t even react, past a single, pained groan.

“You still need to try them on,” he added, after making sure that everything was still fine, and Cielomort groaned again.

He did not get up. Merold raised an eyebrow, “Was it really that bad?”

“No,” was Cielomort’s short answer.

“Then?”

“It wasn’t even an explosion, just… loud. The entire staff freaked out. I spent an hour looking for all of them just to tell them that, no, nobody was attacking us,” he said, slowly, still laying on the ground, “Not to mention how little I slept, and the fact that I missed my morning coffee-”

“Poor you,” Merold sighed, looking at the clothes and then at Cielomort, before sighing again. He knew how it felt, being forced to wake up early, with so little sleep, and then this- Yeah, just plain annoying.

Still, the clothes-

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Cielomort rolling to his side, curling into a ball, right on the floor, eyes closed.

Well, never mind then. Clothes could wait until the evening.

So, with another sigh, he moved them to the sofa, before standing beside Cielomort’s body, which didn’t quite manage to fall asleep.

“Later,” he murmured as Merold’s shadow fell over his eyes, and Merold let out a huff of laughter, before bending down, pushing his hands under him, and pulling him up. 

Still as light as before, no surprise there. Cielomort made a soft sound in his arms, but otherwise remained as silent as before. Eyes still closed, his breath still even, completely relaxed. It looked like he didn’t even register that Merold had picked him up, and just continued falling asleep without a care.

Merold was almost jealous.

If only Kurode’s body was in favor of an afternoon nap, that would have been great. But, as it often was, Kurode’s body was against him yet again.

Even as he put Cielomort back on the bed, pulling off his cape and gloves in favor of covering him with a blanket, it felt alive. Chipper. Energetic, even.

Annoying.

Slowly, he looked around the room, but unfortunately, no new paperwork was in sight. Not that there wasn’t any, no, there definitely was, just not in the room. Maybe with the Lord? Or Cielomort’s office, maybe even study.

So, it was a choice.

Either he’d go train just like Kurode would definitely want him to, or he’d go through Lord Cinnamnroll’s castle with no permission, do the work of his knight, and get back before he managed to get caught.

…It really wasn’t much of a choice. If it were between physical and mental labor, he knew which he preferred from the get-go.

Patting over the discarded cape, he located the ring of keys rather easily, and then, he was off.

There wasn’t much work, anyway. Like, at all. Cielomort, when outside of the busy season, as it turned out, did his work rather methodically and quite often.

Barely took an hour, really. Other than Willmesh who he met on the way there and who was trying to look like he wasn’t watching him, only he very clearly was, only Lord Cinnamonroll even managed to find him there, something Merold tried to quickly apologize for, but the Lord didn’t care for that at all. Just wanted to know where ‘Ciel’ was.

As it turned out, they were supposed to go out, something they did almost every day, which Merold kind of remembered from his reports, but not really. When he offered to go wake the knight up, though, Lord Cinnamonroll’s smile almost blinded him, with how happy and relieved it seemed.

“I’m glad,” he said, nodding to himself while Merold just stood there, watching him, “He wasn’t sleeping well lately. It was about time for him to catch up!”

And then he was ordered to not wake Cielomort up, unless it was an emergency.

He wished he could have been surprised with the order, but Lord knew Melody did it often enough to him, so he just nodded at the tiny, smiling Lord, before he was back in Cielomort’s room, sorting through the bought clothes with little else in mind. 

A shirt, too thick for summer, pants, too thin for winter, Merold wouldn’t let it bother him, but he did know some people had some issues with that and wouldn’t suffer for the sake of fashion. So, he sorted.

And when Cielomort started waking up, it was with a groan. A twitch of his fingers, an open-mouthed yawn, calm, relaxed- before a full body shudder went over him, and he sat up in the bed with eyes wide open.

“What’s the time?” he asked, looking around, as if he had suddenly forgotten where the clocks in his room were. Merold didn’t bother to answer. When his eyes finally found one, he almost jumped out of his own bed. Merold didn’t bother questioning the reaction. He would probably have had the same one, in his situation.

“Where-”

“Your Lord ordered me to not wake you, so I doubt he is still waiting for you,” he said instead, and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cielomort let out a relieved breath, before falling back into the bed, “Also, your work is done. Only missing the signatures.”

He could hear Cielomort's soft, quiet laughter at that just fine too, and let out a scoff.

Cielomort continued to chuckle, “Were you bored?”

“Not particularly,” he lied as naturally as he breathed, rolling his eyes back at the way Cielomort was watching him. As if he knew. Maybe he did, “It was better than training, especially since everybody already knows I’m not Kurode.”

“Will doesn’t,” yeah, Merold was starting to doubt that too, with how often Willmesh just appeared out of the thin air in his vicinity.

“Maybe he doesn’t, maybe he does,” he acknowledged, and Cielomort rolled his eyes back.

“You wanted me… to try on the clothes?” he asked, hesitantly, and Merold raised an eyebrow at him. With how out of it he was, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he didn’t remember, but still-

“I mean, I did have to buy half of them without your input,” Cielomort visibly cringed at that, but still continued laying in place, “The least you could do is to make sure I didn’t buy something that won’t fit you.”

He didn’t move, just kept on looking at Merold, before a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. No, not danger, not exactly. Merold shuddered anyway, and continued to do so, when Cielomort’s expression turned to a pitiful one, one that just screamed fake. Merold was almost surprised he didn’t add any fake tears to that performance.

“But I’m tired~” he whined, stretching on top of his bed, making himself way too comfortable while looking at Merold like a water-drenched cat. 

Merold just raised an eyebrow. Alright then, if he wanted to play-, “Eh~? But I bought them all just for you~ Can’t you at least stand up?”

And then came the hook . 

Cielomort’s eyes glistened, “I mean, if you really want to, can’t you just put them on me?

Oh.

…Oh?

Merold just blinked, feeling the heat on his cheeks rising as he looked over Cielomort, not moving an inch from his resting place. His arms above his head, hands over the sheets, and mischief gleaming in his eyes. His shirt had loosened itself from his pants, just enough to reveal a sliver of pale skin, rising and falling with each breath, and his legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

It wasn’t a bad sight. Not bad at all. And yet, with the insinuation-

“You laying down would just make my work harder~ Aren’t you just being a bit too lazy?” he settled on, instead, wondering what to even do with that kind of situation. Cielomort’s lips twitched.

“Place them over me, then?” he said, trying to appear innocent, “I know you wouldn't buy anything that’s not my size.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Merold stepped closer.

Line. 

“Don’t even want to look in the mirror to make sure you like it?” he asked, but his company just smiled at him, “To leave yourself so open with someone you knew for such a short time-”

“I trust you,” and wasn’t that a dangerous thought? He likely didn’t mean it as sincerely as it came out, but Merold was still stunned for all of two seconds.

Him, trustworthy. What a joke, and yet-

Sinker.

He picked up a random shirt in one hand and walked closer, closer, too close maybe, standing by Cielomort’s legs, looking down on him, before putting it down, over his chest.

It… wasn’t bad. Merold just had to try very hard not to look at Cielomort’s face, or at least completely ignore the look he was giving him.

“So~ how does it look?” Cielomort asked, eyes half-lidded in a way that made him look way too approachable and unguarded, and Merold had to bite into his tongue to stop himself from saying anything.

He didn’t think that the question was about the shirt, either.

“Just fine,” he eventually said, and reached for the piece, only for it to be pulled from his reach, right over Cielomort’s head. He was smiling, because of course he was. No kind of subtlety in the movement, nor on his face. Oh well, if he wanted to play that way- “Really? If you wanted to get me on top of you, you could have just asked~”

“Oh~? You’d do it, just like that~?”

…Hell. Merold kind of hoped that he would have backed off by then, but clearly, Cielomort was serious. And was probably serious back at the clothing shop, too. Lord.

And it wasn’t as if Merold had never gotten into a relationship that quickly. It wasn’t even close to the quickest he had ever ended up in a bed with someone, but this was just asking for a political nightmare of a kind.

Not to mention if he was somehow actually getting manipulated, that would definitely be the first time he wasn’t able to see through it.

But not even that kind of clarity did actually stop him from leaning over his company, one hand on the taken shirt and the other beside his head, one leg on the ground and the other on the mattress, knee first, not at all. In fact, it almost made him laugh at how quickly Cielomort’s eyes clicked up to his own hands, as if making sure there was always a way to escape his predicament, before settling back on him. Instinctual response, Merold knew. Did it himself a few times without even realizing. Not that it lasted.

“Maybe I would,” he answered, and Cielomort raised an eyebrow, watching him with a small smirk playing on his lips.

“Seems like it,” he answered, letting go of the shirt in his hand in favor of grasping at Merold, his cold, bare fingers against Merold’s wrist, “You know, I realized I never even gave you my thanks for doing my work.”

Merold looked at him with an amused smile, “So I’m actually getting something for it?”

The corner of Cielomort’s mouth twitched up, “Maybe, though I have to admit, I am not sure what you’d like. Any ideas?”

He might have had one. Or two. Possibly three.

Not that he ever got to say them, though, seeing as the door was thrown open, and both of them turned to stare at it in a single instance.

Merold actually had a feeling he should have been more surprised at the fact that Willmesh was just standing there, eyes wide, not looking very surprised at the situation either. Which meant only one thing.

He was listening in.

Something Cielomort did not catch on quite as quickly.

His face, as it was more than once just today, was paper-white.

“W-Will, I-” he started, but Willmesh just held up his hand. Opened his mouth, only to stay silent for a few moments.

And then, once he realized there were probably no excuses he could tell, that wouldn’t be regarded as wildly stupid-

“...Kurode would like you to not use his body like that..?”

Ah. Right. Merold… might have forgotten about that for a moment…

He really shouldn’t have, given that being in Kurode’s body was the only reason he’d even be at the Blue Continent now, and yet, he somehow managed anyway. How very concerning.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Willmesh take out an old phone, fiddling with the buttons as if he didn’t even know what he was doing, before a sound of a sent message sounded across the room. When their eyes turned to him, he went pink, unsurprisingly.

“I just… Um… Should I leave?”

Cielomort was biting into his lower lip so tightly that Merold almost thought he might just bite right through if he wasn’t more careful. It was surprisingly adorable, in its own way-

Right. Not thinking that, actually.

…Maybe sleeping back in Kurode’s bed would do him some good.

Much later, once Kurode got back into his body, he would hug Willmesh so tight he might have actually stopped breathing at one point.

Much, much later, once his brother and Cielomort actually met up properly, he would also have to be physically restrained by Willmesh, while threatening both of them with bodily harm for almost using his body for something he definitely didn’t consent to, but that was a story for another day.