A/N: Wilhelm is going to tell about his past life in other world, but is going to fine tune to this world, hearing this, you may feel like a bit confused, but for it to make sense, think of a school setting, and from there fine tune the character.
I will write what some words used here actually were.
**********************************
Later that day, Wilhelm came back to the Black Bull base with bags carrying food and clothes. As expected, his homecoming was celebrated in a Black Bulls fashion.
By partying.
And the party went all night up until morning, and this time, Wilhelm too had to attend it. Though he did not drink any alcohol, he had to busy himself by gorging on chicken and sweets.
On the next day, Wilhelm woke up on a couch, where he had dozed off, hugging a watermelon. Why was he hugging a watermelon? No one knows.
'Hmm…where am I?
What am I holding…'
"OWWW!!!"
Wilhelm groggily woke up and, in his daze, dropped the watermelon that he was holding right on top of Magna's head, who was woken up in the most unpleasant manner, howling at the top of his lungs.
"Shop showting…" Wilhelm said with a noticeable slur of his tongue because he was still tired from all of the partying, and this shout caused other members to wince more than him because they had drunk and were about to have an unpleasant hangover.
It affected Vanessa the most, who just hugged Noelle, face in her…goods, while she buried hers in Noelle's, as they were sleeping in opposite directions.
'Hmm…soft. Nice…' Noelle dreamed as if she were hugging a marshmallow.
While Wilhelm lazily pushed himself off to a sitting posture and thought.
'Too lazy to move…need coffee…' Wilhelm managed to form a coherent thought as he absentmindedly walked from the couch to the kitchen, stepping on his squadmates in the process.
"Ow!"
"Ungya!"
"Maa!...rie"
"Sista…"
'We have a black person in our squad?'
Eyes closed, he reached the kitchen and started to move around solely based on his muscle memory of the place. His movements, though a bit shaky, were accurate as if he had been living here his whole life, which can be true in a sense because he is a caffeine addict and spends most of his time in the kitchen at headquarters.
Soon, he boiled milk with water, added coffee powder to it, and let it stay as is. After what seemed like a couple of minutes with Wilhelm's head dozing off for quite a while, the cup of coffee was finally finished. The refreshing smell that wafted from the cup of coffee energized Wilhelm a bit, and made his body move unconsciously and place the cup of coffee to his lips.
Taking small sips from it, he walked outside of the base to his favorite spot. A stump of a tree that has a small artificial lake created by Noelle when she lost control of her magic, and trees that were thinner in the front because Wilhelm had cut them down during his sword training.
With beady eyes that resembled Yami's, he kept on staring into thin air and sipping on his cup of coffee in peace. Then with a flutter of wings, Nero came down and sat beside him on the log, with a small cap in her mouth.
Without turning to her, Wilhelm took the small cap and poured a bit of coffee from his cup into it and placed it in front of the anti-bird, who started to take small sips from it.
This anti-bird had become a drinking buddy of sorts with him, since she was the only one in the whole squad who liked coffee.
Then, when everything was peaceful and the pair were enjoying coffee in fresh, cold air peacefully…
"Oh…so here you are, Mr. Creepy. You are looking creepier than usual."
…Yami came and pooped all over that peace.
"…"
"No reply, huh? Seems like last night's party really did a number on you." Yami said once more, but Wilhelm's mind deleted his presence by itself and kept his focus on coffee and air.
'It is nice…'
"…Well then, I will sit here too. Basking in fresh air after taking a solid dump is something else." Saying that, Yami too sat on the stump beside Wilhelm's and started to smoke.
The direction of the wind made the smoke go in Wilhelm's direction, but using Wind Magic, he made it flow in the opposite direction. Yami saw it but ignored it completely.
This soothing and peaceful smiling kept on going on even after Wilhelm drank all the coffee, until finally he said, "Good morning."
"Debatable. So, how are you feeling?" Yami asked as he puffed out a cloud of smoke.
"Fine. How about you? Heard about the Diamond Kingdom invasion." Wilhelm asked, taking Nero in his palm, and started to caress the bird, who remained still as a pudding that jiggled a bit with touch.
"Eh, it was nothing. Just a bunch of idiots causing a ruckus." Yami dismissed it with a shake of his hand.
Hearing this, Wilhelm turned to another topic that had been in his mind since he woke up after the battle with Rhya.
"Hmm…I wanted to talk about something."
"Ask away." Yami said, dusting off the ash from the cigarette bud.
"I want to know if Captain Vangeance had a run-in with Rhya that was kept secret by the top brass." Wilhelm said, trying to get the feel of the situation.
"No, why do you ask?" Yami asked as he felt this had something to do with something that he had been feeling about Vangeance for a while, so he listened intently without betraying his posture.
"Is that so? Then it is interesting because when I got magic from Rhya, I got all the magic that he had copied, other than the Imitation Magic, for some reason. And somehow, I got World Tree Magic.
I thought if he had encountered Rhya before, I would assume that Captain Vangeance would tell you or other Captains about it if he were not willing to tell other magic knights."
And this rang all the wrong bells in Yami's mind.
With a more focused tone, though he acted normally as he would, he asked, "Hmm…what do you think?"
"What you think. Captain Vangeance was not there during the Capital attack when every captain was. His squad, till now, did not have any more run-ins with Eye of Midnight Sun, but still, somehow, his magic was copied with Rhya.
If he did not meet him, why was his magic along with a spell with Rhya? World Tree Magic is not exactly common, and having the same spells with Rhya is proof enough that he copied it from Captain Vangeance.
If he met Rhya, why don't you know about it?
Either it is just a series of big coincidences, or it is something else. You be the judge of that. You know that guy more than I do. I have only seen him once."
Hearing this, Yami did not reply, but kept on smoking and started to superimpose the thing that he knew with what Wilhelm told him.
This silence kept on going on until Yami said, changing the subject, "You know that today is Star Festival?"
"Mmmhmm…" Wilhelm hummed in agreement.
"You're going?" Yami followed up.
"Nah. Our squad ranks last each year as well. No time to waste there. Better to start to train with the new magic I got. I need to excel in them and integrate them properly.
The only reason Rhya lost despite having Beast Magic because he just hoarded multiple magic and did not improve upon them. I need to get used to that magic that knocked me out as well." Wilhelm said, at which Yami sighed and shook his head in dejection.
"Nonsense. Attend the festival. It only happens once a year." Yami said with a tone of finality.
"What am I supposed to do there. Eat? Charmy makes better food than anyone." Wilhelm said with a drawl.
"Well…Julius asked for you to be present there."
"Why?" Wilhelm asked with a quirk of his brow.
"Attend and find out for yourself." Yami said, trying to be mysterious, but it seemed to just annoy me.
"Fine…" Wilhelm said with a sigh.
"See you there." Yami said with a small grin, which only increased the annoyance.
***
Soon, the sky started to darken, and Wilhelm, with the rest of the Black Bulls, reached the festival. Reaching there, the group divided into smaller groups, with Asta and Magna helping Yami with his stall. Finral and Vanessa went with Luck to a drinking place. Well, Luck and Finral were kidnapped by Vanessa.
Charmy went to sample everything that the stalls here had to offer, and Gauche went to buy something for his little sister. Gordon and Grey…were left to their own devices.
This left Wilhelm and Noelle alone, the latter of whom was not able to look at Vanessa the same entire day after waking up with their head in each other's cleavages.
"Pfft…"
"It is not funny."
"It actually is, you know. Seeing the way you were…together, I thought I would get some scandalous blackmail material against you. Just imagine the title of the newspaper the next day, 'Royalty about to Rumble' but some other day perhaps…"
"There will be no such 'other' day!" Noelle said the last part with her face as red as a tomato in a higher pitch, at which Wilhelm just looked at her with a deadpan, before he started to speak.
"Is that so? I guess I need to remind you of the chronology.
In the beginning, Vanessa just hugged your face in her 'O' valley of plenty', then she smushed your face in hers and slept that way. Now, she has done the same with you. Seeing the way things are escalating, I think we will need to prepare for the most unconventional wedding of a Royal this kingdom has ever seen.
And this is after the fact that the Royals have done the deed with members of their family." Wilhelm said as easily as he breathed while Noelle looked aghast.
"Wh-what d-Do you even know what you are saying?"
At this, Wilhelm just gave Noelle a once-over and in an artificial manner said, "Heh~"
"What was that 'heh'? Tell me?"
"Heh~"
"Wilhelm!"
"You can call me if you both want a child. I would be more than happy to 'participate'."
…
"Try this one, it tastes nice." Wilhelm said as he passed the cone of ice cream that he was eating to Noelle, who blushed seeing it.
"B-but you just licked it!" Noelle said with blood rushing to her cheeks.
"So what? You went down on Vanessa, but you don't see may complaining."
"Eehheee!!"
"Mama-"
"No, don't look at them."
A mother said as she took her child by the hand away from the pair, which caused Noelle to feel light-headed with embarrassment, while Wilhelm, who was thick-skinned, remained unfazed.
Since he was forced to come here, he had decided to do something productive.
Tease Noelle.
Doing that was akin to therapy for Wilhelm, who absolutely pulled no punches here.
…
The pair walked away from the ice-cream shop with Noelle eating the same ice-cream that was the cause of her embarrassment a few moments before.
But now that embarrassment, though it was still there, shared its space with a new feeling. A feeling that made Noelle feel the opposite of what she felt in her own house. A feeling completely unknown to her…until now.
Noelle had long realized something regarding Wilhelm. Though he seemed to always try to make fun of her, it was different from the way her siblings did. Solid did what he did to humiliate her in front of everyone, but Wilhelm did it just for fun in private.
He would not humiliate her or bring her to tears like her siblings. The vivid image of him going against her siblings, standing and looking Nozel in the eye, was still clear as day to her, and the day of the start of that feeling that she didn't want to let go of.
…
"Haaah…I am full." Wilhelm said as he stretched his legs on a bench with Noelle by his side, who was feeling a bit drowsy after eating.
"Don't get too comfortable here. We have to go to the main event." Noelle chided, at which Wilhelm said with a meaningful look.
"Why? Main event is right here." Following his eyes, she saw what the 'main event' was.
Fashion contest between Vanessa and the Captain of Blue Rose, Charlotte.
This caused Noelle to look at Wilhelm with a blank stare.
"What? Don't be jealous of people who have what you don't."
This tone pissed Noelle off at which she said in a haughty tone.
"What do they have that I don't, huh?"
"2 things that you were hugging and saying, 'Tho~Thopht~'(So soft~)"
Immediately, Noelle could not handle the blush coming to her face and pinched Wilhelm's side, but found that…
"Hahahaha-HA! I am pinch-proof, princess."
…he was wearing his armor underneath a layer of illusion.
"You are wearing your armor now?" Noelle gave him a weird look, and in response, Wilhelm replied immediately, "Because I am ticklish."
"Wha-"
"Shush, the show is about to begin."
Wilhelm said as he silenced Noelle.
With his finger.
On her lips.
(⸝⸝⸝0﹏0⸝⸝⸝)
Wilhelm did not look at Noelle…directly. His gaze remained on stage, where both Vanessa and Charlotte were giving 'tough' competition.
*ZZZT*
Such an image with a minor flash came every time they both appeared in different clothes.
At this, Noelle could not help but ask, "What is that sound?"
Instead of answering, Wilhelm placed several sheets of diamond on her lap, over which images of Vanessa and Charlotte were embedded using mosaic art, giving it an unseen artistic flair.
"…Why?" Of all the words Noelle could say, this was the one she could mutter.
"Do you know who I was before I became a magic knight?" Wilhelm asked as if talking to a child.
"A scammer."
"A respectable merchant."
Then it clicked in Noelle's head, and she looked at Wilhelm in disgust, "You are going to sell their images to perverts?"
"No, I am going to auction it to perverts. Though female perverts, to be precise, so you will feel less problem with them suddenly, you Targaryen."
"What?"
"Hahh…Noelle, don't you know, the ones who worship the ground that Captain Charlotte walks upon are none other than the members of her squad. I am going to auction it to them.
And as for Vanessa's image, I will just gift it to her."
At this, Noelle looked at Wilhelm with a conflicted gaze. While she was happy that Vanessa would not suffer any harm, and Charlotte's picture would remain in her squad and most probably be worshipped, she could not help but be tired of Wilhelm's greed.
She thought that even though she was richer than all of the villages combined in the Clover Kingdom.
But she still had something in her mind that she could not help but ask, "What is a Targaryen?"
At this question, Wilhelm looked at Noelle from top to down and said with a hand on her shoulder, "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to."
Then, without saying anything, he got up, and Noelle followed unconsciously and started to walk with him shoulder to shoulder.
"Where are we going now?"
"I am feeling a bit parched, so I want to get a cup of cold coffee."
"What is with you and coffee? What is so good about that bitter thing?" Noelle said as she knew about Wilhelm's sweet tooth, but still is addicted to something as bitter as coffee.
At this, Wilhelm's eyes glazed, and taking a complicated look at Noelle, he started to talk.
"When I was around twelve," Wilhelm said quietly, "there was a girl I liked."
Noelle paused. Something about his tone made her uneasy.
'He's talking about his past... he never talks about his past.'
Wilhelm didn't look at her. "But I used to be fat. And I didn't have the confidence to say a word to her. I was terrified that if I did, she'd laugh. Or worse, tell someone else and they'd all laugh."
"So," he continued, "I started working out. Stopped eating anything I liked. Every day, I starved and pushed myself harder than before. I hated every second of it, but eventually... I lost thirty-five kilos. I wasn't jacked like Asta, but I was finally fit. I thought that was enough."
"I asked her out. She said yes."
He paused for a moment, letting that silence sit.
"I was ecstatic. I thought my hard work had paid off. We went on dates, nothing grand, just little taverns or cafés. She always ordered coffee. I didn't want her to think I was some slob who gorged on food, so I followed suit. I'd drink it straight. Hated the taste. Nearly gagged every time. But I kept at it."
He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Eventually, I got used to it. I still don't like it. But now I need it. It's part of me."
He looked down at his hands, as if seeing something from the past.
"Then one day, she invited me somewhere quiet. A field at the edge of town. Said it was a place she liked. I was nervous, but excited. Thought she wanted privacy. Romance."
Noelle could feel something tense winding up inside him, and in her.
"But I waited. The sun set. No one came."
He exhaled through his nose, slow and cold. "I was about to leave when I heard rustling in the bushes. I backed away. Then... the ground collapsed under me."
"What?" Noelle breathed.
"A pit. Three meters deep. I landed on my leg, broke the bone instantly. I screamed. Then the laughter started. I looked up and saw shadows. People. I recognized their voices. Her friends. Some I didn't even know."
Wilhelm's voice grew quieter, but harder.
"They dumped crates of insects into the pit. Beetles. Roaches. Spiders. Something red, sticky was poured in too. I don't know what it was, it reeked, and it clung to my skin like glue. I thrashed, but every movement hurt. Then came the worst."
Noelle's heart was pounding.
"Bees. Wasps. A whole hive. Thrown in like trash. Then they covered the top with boards and walked away."
"I screamed until I lost my voice. Cried until I couldn't feel my face. The bugs stung and crawled, and I couldn't even swat them properly. The red liquid dried like cement. I lay there... for four days."
He wasn't blinking now.
"On the fourth day, it rained. The water loosened the boards. Made the walls muddy enough for me to climb. My leg was still broken. But I pulled myself out. Crawled like an animal through the mud. Found a river and washed what I could."
He touched his arm, as if feeling the phantom of those insects.
"The blood came off. But the red stuff, it stuck. My skin was swollen, bitten, and cut. My reflection looked like a corpse."
"I used my ripped shirt to tie my leg. Then I went home, the orphanage. But the matron slammed the door in my face. Said I looked like trouble. Every door I knocked on after that, same result. Some looked at me with pity. But no one helped."
"So I went behind the hospital, to the garbage heap. Picked out expired medicine. Took what food I could from restaurant scraps. Found an abandoned warehouse and treated my wounds by myself."
Wilhelm's voice went hollow. "It took months. I nearly died twice. But I survived."
He finally turned his gaze to Noelle, and his eyes were cold.
"I found out later who did it. The town head's son. His family dealt in the kind of business people pay to stay quiet about. He liked the girl I liked. After hearing about me, he decided to get rid of me. His older brother bribed her family. They were told to forget I existed. She did that easily."
"I left town that day."
Noelle clenched her fists. "They were criminals. They should've been-"
"Punished?" Wilhelm snapped, eyes like ice. "Let me tell you about punishment."
He leaned forward slightly. "A Magic Knight from Aqua Deer raped a waitress. Nothing happened to him. A noble sold girls into slavery. When caught, his servant took the fall. He still lives in a mansion. A Purple Orca looted villages for years. Nobody cared until the capital was attacked."
He took a breath, slow and deep.
"And you, Noelle. You looked at me and Asta like we were dirt when you first met us, not because of who we were, but because we were commoners. You saw us as beneath you, even though your own family treated you the same way."
Noelle said nothing. She couldn't.
"This world," Wilhelm said, "doesn't reward good people. It rewards the powerful. The rich. The well-born. I learned that in that pit. I learned that when I begged for help and people turned away."
"That's why I changed everything about myself. Why I train until my body gives out. Why do I scam the corrupt without guilt? Why do I chase money and dress like someone untouchable? Because I won't go back to that pit."
"I drink coffee not because I like it... but because it reminds me that I'm not that scared boy anymore. It tastes like pain — and victory. I'll take that over being powerless again."
He looked away.
"I won't be someone people can hurt and forget."
"…"
All Noelle could do was keep her head down, realizing something about herself.
'I…treated others like my siblings treated me…
I am the same as them…'
With this realization, they spent the rest of their time together, though no one spoke a word to each other, and this kept on going on until Julius called Wilhelm's name.
***
Hole he fell in == Locked inside a toilet, insects were poured and slippery thing, the caused him to slip and break his bones all the while screaming in fright of insects, and was filmed and bullied for it
Not given food from anyone == Not given any justice from Cop or teacher
Healed his own wounds == Moved on and became more capable of handling his affairs, moving to big city
Hope this makes it more digestible.
I wanted him to reveal his past without giving away his secret, so speaking in closest analogy was the only thing he could do.
With this, we have surpassed 100k words mark, in mere 39 chapters with no words filler.