It was the fog.

Yuuri could understand cursed lands and blessed objects but he'd never heard of something as transitory as weather being a vehicle for concern the likes of which Gunter spoke. The miasma of fog rolled through from the high mountains once every century or so, and the devastation it left in its wake was legendary. It didn't carry monsters like something out of a Steven King novel or somehow melt ones' skin off. It was much, much worse than that, his adviser warned. The fog made people speak the truth.

Yuuri, for all his faults, didn't get it.

Perhaps he was too idealistic. It wouldn't be the first time someone had made such a point. But really, what harm was there in honesty? Too often people spoke around a subject and points were left misunderstood. Pride made men silent when there was no better resource to end conflict than conversation. Yuuri rather liked the idea of people speaking the truth for once. Granted, little lies like telling the cook the meal was delicious when in fact it was a bit over salted would be missed-but even so, they'd both benefit in some small way to letting the little niceties go for a moment. Yuuri was nearly always honest and so he had no real concerns as to what might come out of his mouth while the fog settled over Blood Pledge Castle and the surrounding lands. Those who did seem nervous made Yuuri wary. What truths were they trying to hide?

Gwendal was the worst in hiding his anxiety. The entire time they sat in conference listening to Gunter's concerns, the noble had rolled his fingers through imaginary stitches, his left brow twitching with every fifteen or so. Yuuri had stopped paying attention to the silver-haired mazoku's words completely as his mind instead filled with all sorts of wild possibilities that might be lurking behind the stoic lips. The oldest brother was surprisingly sensitive-would he make a love confession to someone he'd been trying to deny for years?! Perhaps he had a dark secret which he feared might come out? A love child, or an elopement, or maybe some secret desire? Even Conrad, who stood silently but with a crease of worry on his brow, seemed to be dreading the power of the fog. It made him wonder if he even really knew any of his friends with the way in which they seemed to quietly panic as Gunter gave what was really nothing more than a weather forecast.

Only Wolfram seemed to feel as Yuuri did. He just looked bored. He glanced at Yuuri, his fingers curling under his pouting lips as he rested his chin against his palm. They shared a light shrug. He supposed they were both too young to really have any interesting secrets worth keeping. Ah, the wisdom and worry of age.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter implored, regaining Yuuri's attention with a start. "Please do pay attention; this is very important."

"Na, Gunter, everything will be fine. The fog only lasts about a day before it shifts out of the kingdom, right?" Yuuri clarified. He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "In that case, we just avoid any political actions until we can choose our words more carefully. We don't have to shut down the whole kingdom but if people prefer to stay indoors and wait it out, that's fine."

"Your Majesty." Gunter frowned, shaking his head with his chin dropped to his chest.

Conrad smiled stiffly. "He's not entirely wrong, Gunter. The fog will come regardless of what we do. Perhaps an optimistic outlook will serve us better than fear."

"The only reasonable course of action is to quarantine everyone until the fog has moved on."

"Because of a truth serum?" Yuuri asked, surly he must have missed something if it was really that big of a deal.

Gwendal pinched at the space between his brows. "There is no private housing in the barracks. Soldiers would be exposed to the fog within their ranks under such pretenses."

Yuuri sighed louder. "Well, what did they do the last time the fog came in?"

"The Maou took a cruise and those who stayed behind vowed never to speak of what had transpired."

Okay, well that wasn't exactly a surprise. Yuuri wasn't about to share in that particular plan of action, though. "I'm not going anywhere. I hear almost daily for Wolfram about how much of a wimp I am. I can take honesty-especially if it's not said to be mean."

"I wouldn't have to call you a wimp if you didn't act like one."

"I just said I'm not going anywhere! What more do you want!?"

"Hmph." Wolfram looked away, his chin raised haughtily. "It doesn't do any good to praise you for something you should be doing anyway."

Yuuri shook his head, casting his fiancé a dirty glare. "If I can survive Wolfram on a daily basis, I'm sure everyone can manage one day of honesty."

Gunter opened his mouth to begin again with his insistence then stopped, head sinking, his whole demeanor mirroring his defeat. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said, looking sideways at the anxious Gwendal whose fingers stilled then hastily rolled several more stitches through the air with a disproving scowl.