𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 - Wriothesley x Neuvillette

Tempus fugit (Chapter 6)

Neuvillette had insisted on accompanying Wriothesley back to the Fortress of Meropide to hear what happened. Wriothesley explained how he had gone to Marlon, hoping he knew who was plotting against him. But Marlon had taken it as an offense and attacked the Duke. Neuvillette couldn't help but feel frustrated that Marlon hadn't given them any information. 

That was until Wriothesley told him that Marlon had heard about an uprising between some of the guards in the fortress. Apparently, someone was planning to get rid of Wriothesley and place someone else in his position as Duke, but who? 

As they entered the Fortress, Sigewinne, a Melusine, and the Fortress's nurse rushed over to them. She was first happy to see them, but when she saw that Wriothesley had been a little injured, she immediately began scolding him for being reckless. Neuvillette watched in amusement as Sigewinne dragged the Duke to the infirmary.

He was about to walk back to the reception area and go back to the surface, but Sigewinne came out of nowhere and dragged Neuvillette to the infirmary as well, scolding him the entire way for not protecting the Duke. It was absurd. Why should he protect him? Wriothesley is a grown man and fully capable of defending himself. 

But Neuvillette couldn't get himself to open his mouth and disagree with her. So he smiled at her and apologized while letting her drag him off. After all, he had always had a soft spot for Melusines.

In the infirmary, he was sat down beside Wriothesley. They looked at each other for a moment, but none said anything. Neuvillette had never been in the Fortress's infirmary before and took this chance to look around. Just like the rest of the fortress, the infirmary was marked by erosion, and the walls were coated in rust. Nonetheless, this was probably the most cozy part of the Fortress.

Sigewinne forced Wriothesley to eat a dish that both looked ominous and, judging by the poor Duke's expression, also tasted... interesting. His face got all scrunched up and he looked like he was about to vomit. Neuvillette found this incredibly amusing. That was until Sigewinne gave him his very own plate of her mystery dish too. 

He did not want to eat it. He didn't. At that moment, Neuvillette genuinely considered making a run for it. But he couldn't disappoint Sigewinne, and he certainly didn't want to look like a fool in front of Wriothesley. If the Duke could eat it, so could he.

He hesitantly put a bite into his mouth. Afraid to touch the piece with his tongue and taste it. The first bite he swallowed without tasting it. But eventually, he ate it. He tasted it. And God it was awful! It tasted almost as bad as it looked.

Sigewinne looked up at him with big eyes, clearly excited to see how he would react to her cooking. He couldn't hurt her feelings, not when she looked so happy. He managed a smile and a nod as he ate up. While he ate, he couldn't help but wonder if this would be his death. He may be immortal, but the more he ate, the more sure he was that whatever this was, it had some sort of power that would undoubtedly be the end of him. 

"How does it taste, monsieur Neuvillette?"

Fuck.

Neuvillette was not one to lie but...

"It's delicious, Sigewinne." He managed to get out. He feared the entire meal was about to get out too..

"Really!" 

Sigewinne's eyes lit up with excitement and Neuvillette almost considered asking for another portion just to make her happy but quickly dismissed the idea. He didn't feel like dying today.

"Yes, it was quite delicious. Monsieur Neuvillette is right." 

Wriothesley said and looked at Neuvillette. He gave him a quick smile as a thank you, relieved the Duke didn't burst the Melusine's happy bubble.

Neuvillette hadn't noticed, but hours had gone by quickly while he was with Wriothesley. But it wasn't too bad. He found himself enjoying this little adventure. And getting to smash Marlon into the ground was also quite enjoyable. 

Though he would never say that. That would be very a unprofessional thing to say. Yet he still found himself having the thought. He liked his job, he liked being the Iudex, and he liked sitting in his office doing paperwork. But he also liked letting time fly by in the company of the Duke. 

Perhaps Wriothesley wasn't as annoying as he originally thought.His snarky comments, his loud voice. God. Even his whole past criminal life didn't bother Neuvillette anymore. 

This mortal, this man beside him. He looked at him with both so much respect and so much resentment. He looked at him like he would drown him and then save him. He looked at him in a way no one had before. Or no one had dared to openly look at him like that. It confused Neuvillette. 

What did it mean when Wriothesley looked at him like that? Did he hate him?

"Do you hate me?" He didn't mean to ask the question, but it slipped out.

Wriothesley looked surprised and confused before he chuckled and asked, 

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, I remember you criticizing my work just a few days ago when you first came to get your papers. It seemed like you despise me for what I did five years ago."

"..I don't hate you for sentencing me, Monsieur Neuvillette. I don't think anyone in the Fortress actually holds a grudge against you." Wriothesley said, taking a more soft tone.

Hearing that Neuvillette felt some sense of relief go through him and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"I see.."

"You were just doing your job. I'm sorry I let my frustrations out on you."

"Please don't apologize, it's completely fine. I understand why you're frustrated and i get it if you do blame me." Neuvillette said, looking away from Wriothesley. He looked at the time, noticing he had been away for hours. He stood up and turned to leave but Wriothesley grabbed his hand.

"Wait."