“Prince Roland. Have you invited your brother?”

The man would never admit to it. He feigned surprise and stood to welcome his brother in. Despite being ignored, Sol followed him from behind. Though she might take liberties and break moral etiquette with Prince Roland, it was only because the man’s personality allowed for it.

Prince Elric on the other hand was strict and traditional. There were few courtesies he would break while in public and any broken against him were punished as needed. As she wasn’t out to cause trouble, Sol took a proper courtesy after the Prince came within her view.

“Brother, this Prince never expected to see you here. Were you skipping out of the banquet for a romantic getaway?” Prince Roland attempted to banter with his brother.

“No worries brother, this Prince was looking for Lady Reviarra and was told you absconded with her. Be wary of tarnishing the Lady’s reputation. Neither of you would benefit from such distasteful rumors.”

It was clear the Prince was displeased and issued a warning yet the two recipients appeared to gloss over the matter. Prince Elric was rather irked by the dismissive attitude of his brother, however he felt threatened by Sol’s response. The young girl would be his in the future. Her dismissive attitude had to be corrected.

“Lady Reviarra, has this Prince displeased you?”

“Not at all. This Lady appreciates the Prince’s sentiments and will take the guidance to heart. However, if this Lady may be so bold to speak forthrightly, the Prince need not concern himself with this Lady’s affairs. This Lady has long since come to terms with her future and has little desire to be chained by excessive decorum or courtesies.”

How does one respond to such a statement? Should he thank her for accepting his advice or admonish her for speaking beyond her position? The girl was only 9 years old. Should the mighty Prince Elric lambast such a young girl for such a minor offense, the rumors would eat away at his image.

Sol kept a clever smile attached to her petite face. She was no paper tiger, however she knew enough to wear gloves before slapping someone of authority. Before Prince Elric could reassert himself, Sol pushed the agenda forward. She had already accomplished what she wanted and she had questions that needed to be answered.

She curtseyed once more before saying her farewell. “This Lady thanks Prince Roland for his gracious invite and tour of the capital. Should this Lady be free and the Prince visit Arcgate, this Lady will return the favor at that time. Prince Elric, please enjoy your afterparty and pass this Lady’s words of congratulations to the special other. This Lady will retire for the night.”

Prince Elric felt insulted. He had come all this way for the girl, explicitly stated so, and yet the girl ignored him. He felt his inhibitions slip somewhat and he reached out to grab Sol’s arm in passing. The moment before his hand reached her, he was surprised to find a maid gripping his wrist tightly.

The two maintained eye contact and although there was no obvious threat in the maid’s gaze, Prince Elric felt a chill travel down his spine.

“Prince Elric, please respect the boundaries between men and women. This servant’s Master is a respectable woman despite her young age.” With those departing words, An lightly flung the Prince’s arm to the side and moved to catch up to the escaping girl down stairs.

The two scouted a carriage and bought a ride back to the Imperial villa. Watching the retreating carriage from the 7th floor, Prince Elric lost what little patience he had. Somehow, the day’s events and his mother’s scolding had already diminished what reluctance he had to take advantage of Sol.

Now that the girl even tried to play tricks on him and disrespect him, what was left of that guilt was wiped out cleanly. Fine. Very good. It’d appear some training is in order. Prince Elric’s thoughts twisted around the girl and sought to bring her under his control.

Prince Roland was completely ignored during this whole process. Initially, he expected to see a good show, however reality was stranger than fiction. Not only had the girl actually left the venue unharmed, his prodigal brother even appeared helpless for a moment there. Was he imagining things?

“Follow her. Prepare the medicine. Take care of the maid.” The ruthless order surprised Prince Roland. Was he and his brother the same in the end? Such an unimportant thought flickered across his mind for a moment before he realized something far more important. He was still present!

Cold sweat soaked his back as Prince Roland realized he might have pushed his brother too far. He only wanted to use him to test the waters of the maid. How could he have known the degree of stress and frustrations he and Sol’s fight had caused his brother up to this point? Had he known, he never would have provoked him.

Prince Elric’s gaze landed on his brother. “Brother, This Prince can see you’re looking unwell. No worries. This Prince’s men will take good care of you for the time being. This Prince will pray for a quick recovery.”

Without waiting for Prince Roland’s reply, Prince Elric waved his hand. Multiple men appeared beside Prince Roland and subdued him on the spot. From the edge of his sight, Prince Roland saw his hidden guards dead where they stood. Their eyes were hollow and they remained standing as if they were still alive and yet Prince Roland could tell. They had long since died.

Fear crept through him and he soon lost consciousness after a pill slipped into his mouth. Prince Elric watched the events unfurl without emotion. Had his father not prohibited the Princes from killing each other, he would have long since killed this ambitious brother of his.

Needless to say, his brother would have to sit the rest of this banquet out. The Prince’s thoughts turned deep and moments later, he descended the floors and boarded a luxury carriage back to the villa. Seen from his carriage, multiple shadows flitted from roof to roof chasing after Sol’s carriage.

While Prince Roland was returning to the villa, Sol and An were relaxing in their carriage. Sol had long since asked An about the situation earlier. Despite his normally laissez-faire approach to danger, An kept a solemn look on this time around.

“Sol, from now on, keep your spiritual awareness hidden. Only use it passively until you become stronger.” His tone was strict, like a teacher scolding a child, however he knew he too, was at fault this time. There shouldn’t be anyone of that skill in this plane, and yet… An could only continue.

“What you felt was another Assembler’s spiritual awareness. Typically, it’s not a problem for you to explore, however you’re being hunted right now. Had I not shielded your spiritual awareness in time, that other awareness could have attacked you and inflicted serious damage to your soul. Remember Sol, damage to the soul is the hardest type of damage to heal at your current stage. Until you’ve refined your soul another two or three times, don’t send it out wantonly.”

The warning was delivered solemnly enough. Sol took the words to heart. Subtle chill ran down her spine after realizing she was proding a sleeping bear. Her expression became taunt right after. “Did they notice my existence? I felt the awareness react…”

“Likely. Lucky for you, I’m here to cover your mistakes. Once we return to the villa, I’ll go out and see if I can hunt down who that spiritual awareness belonged to. It’s rare to find someone so skilled on this plane.”

Sol only listened to An’s rant. She could easily read between the lines. It was clear An felt threatened by that other existence. What drew her attention even more was how An referred to ‘on this plane.’ Her heart beat furiously after extrapolating the implications of such a statement and yet she withheld her questions this time.

She knew the information would only distract her at this stage. She had to become stronger and survive past her 16th birthday first. Everything else is an unattainable dream until that sword of damocles is erased. Such thoughts calmed Sol’s heart and with it, her mind.

Moments after, she felt a series of individuals trailing their carriage. Her face twisted. Who was it this time? Sol had yet to realize her assessment of the first Prince’s personality was flawed. Nor had she seen the interaction between An and the Prince after passing him by. As such, Sol’s face remained a mixture of exasperation and unwillingness despite the encroaching danger.

“Hahaha! Looking at your face, I bet you don’t even know what you’ve done!” An burst out laughing at her clueless response. The girl really had no idea the depths which she could frustrate others sometimes.

“Who are they with?” She asked in curiosity. “They’re the Prince’s men. That man’s ego is surprisingly fragil.”

“He’s making a move? Now? Why?” Sol tilted her head in confusion. An laughed once more and patted her hair. He couldn’t help but find the girl lovable despite the infuriating remarks and petty grudges. Without answering her question, An lifted himself from the carriage seat and slid open the carriage door.

His spiritual awareness locked onto each of the members tracking them and his figure flickered from view moments later. The clueless Sol remained seated with imaginary question marks floating over her head. She was slowly piecing the situation together and by the time she extrapolated to her mistake, An returned to the carriage. Though not covered, he was stained with blood and Sol found a noticeable lack of signatures within her spiritual awareness’ range.