"Want to go on a walk with me...?" asked the princess. Something was bugging her after she saw Leonhart staring at that painting she drew long ago.

".... Sure." said James awkwardly.

As the duo walked through the garden, both said nothing to each other at first, but soon the silence was broken by James, who was getting more and more nervous with each passing minute. Walking side by side with the most beautiful girl in the entire empire was a dream of every man, but for James, it was like a punishment, who was terrible at communications.

"So... I am sorry for not joining in that ceremony....I...."

"Like I said, it's okay. You don't have to say sorry for little things like that." said the princess with a casual smile. Though she was angry but now her interest was elsewhere.

"Yeah... Thank you for forgiving me." said Leonhart with an awkward smile, which totally deviated from his image inside Elizabeth's mind.

"No worries... So, Leon, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah... Sure..."

"Why were looking at that painting for that long?"

"Which... painting...?" James clearly knew what she was acting about, but still acted like he didn't understand.

"The painting of that bird inside the cage...you saw yesterday... in my room..."

"That one....I was...I was just looking...you know...it's beautiful...." said Leon in a very unconvincing tone, scratching his neck, which was his habitual activity when he was nervous. But that didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"Really..." said the princess, directly looking into Leonhart's eyes.

"Yes... It... was nice... You know... It was pretty..." with every word, James' voice was getting more and more slow. He really wanted to hide inside some cave, as his anxiety was taking over him.

"Well... If you say so... but tell me why you were looking at that painting, as if trying to understand something..."

James was trying to avoid that portrait because he was also not sure about what it meant. Was it meant that the bird was locked up inside that cage and wanted to fly away or was it meant to show that the people were appreciating the beauty of the bird and nature? If he said something and the meaning was totally something else, then again, it would hurt the princess.

"I...I..."

"Say it Leon..." She knew Leon had some idea about the painting and was trying to hide it.

"I just..."

"Yes..."

"It's just felt... different. It was beautiful, but...at the same time...it was sad." said James in a serious tone, without meeting Elizabeth's gaze.

"..." Elizabeth couldn't believe what she heard. Was this man in front of her even real?

Hearing no words from the princess, James continued speaking.

"It's like... the bird wants to fly away but is shackled by the cage. People are praising it, but is it what the bird wants...? Does someone even care to ask what it wishes? It's sad..." said James, finally turning around facing Elizabeth, who had carried a dumbfounded expression on her face.

Her brain was not working. Leonhart, the most infamous man in the entire empire, would precisely understand the meaning behind a piece of art. It's impossible. It had to be a dream.

"Leon, can you pinch me...?"

"Whaaaa... Why?" hearing the words, James was shocked. Why the princess wanted to get pinched ?

"Just pinch me." said Elizabeth in a firm voice.

Leonhart pinched Elizabeth's left arm and the pain she felt realised her that it was not a dream.

"Aaaaau.... I didn't tell you to squeeze that hard."

"I... I am sorry," said Leonhart, bowing down in a nervous tone.

"No... No, it's okay."

"So... why you wanted to get pinched ?"

"It just... I can't believe you understood what that piece of paper wanted to convey."

Staring at Elizabeth, James opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Stuttering, he shook his head.

"Wha... What?"

"What...? What?"

"I mean, what I said was right." How in the world he even guessed the perfect meaning behind that picture. But if he was right, then why the princess would draw something like that?

"Yes."

"But why?"

"You know... the story of that bird and mine are too similar." Elizabeth had never thought about telling her story to someone else, but seeing Leonhart, who understood the accurate meaning behind the image she drew herself, she decided to tell him at least a little of her story. Or you could say she just needed someone who would hear her without asking so many questions.

"How..." He could understand that she hated the marriage proposal by her father, but what did she mean by her story being the same as the bird locked up inside a cage? She was the only princess in the entire empire, born with a golden spoon, so why did she feel locked up.

"Well... It's a little long story, you know..." said the princess with a smile. A glint of sadness could be seen in her eyes, which didn't go unseen by James.

"Tell me..." James wanted to know why the princess was sad.

"I will... but not today." Elizabeth wanted to tell him, but didn't because she had not confirmed that the man in front of her really was Leonhart.

Leonhart would never understand the meaning behind any art or would say anything meaningful with that much seriousness, more like he would never even try. But the man in front of her was able to understand what the painting exactly meant. And it was impossible for someone who had never tried to understand something would understand and who never got serious with anything would speak something meaningful.

This was his habit, and habits couldn't be changed overnight or in few days. It takes an abundant amount of time and effort, but Leonhart, whom she met just a few days ago, was now a completely different person altogether. He had now a different vibe. And that's what she doubted. She just couldn't wrap her head around the whole situation.

"Yes..." said James. He couldn't pressure the princess for telling him what she didn't want to say.

Soon, their walk came to an end, as the princess departed saying she had something to do and she would send another letter to him in upcoming days and he agreed to respond to her. And just like that, Leonhart's trip for forgiveness ended, without figuring out why the princess was sad.

***

Inside a spacious office, Five old-looking men were conversing something with Duke Esper. They were the advisors who helped him in managing the realm, and now they had a pressing issue to discuss.

The topic, or what you might say, the reason for this entire ordeal was the Duke's own son, Leonhart, whose constant work had made him the star of this empire with the lowest rating possible. His past actions and his obnoxious attitude had made the situation even worse. Being the only son of the most powerful Duke and the one to inherit the title soon, he had access to an abundant amount of money and freedom.

And he did exactly the things that anyone would expect from a rich, spoiled brat. Wasted money on gambling, drinking, got into regular fights with other nobles and so on, which pushed his reputation into utter chaos. Every day, the duke would hear complaints about his son from all the nobles around his realm, but what he could do. And today was also a day, but something was different.

"So what are you saying is I would order him to manage that small barony?" asked the Duke in a distinct voice.

"Yes, milord." said a short man with brown hair and the other nodded in unison.

"Do you really think he could do that...?"

"The best we can do is hope," said another tall man.

"Yes, or what choice do we have?"

"Yes."

"Yes. " Again, the five individual nodded. Everything was going according to their plan, which was not some dubious plan to coup against the duke. They were just thinking about the future of this duchy.

Their plan was to convince the duke to order his son to manage a small barony in the west named Esvet. By which he would be able to gain some much needed experience for his own future and if he did well, it would increase his reputation a bit, which would also help him get some upper hand in the whole marriage fiasco currently going on.

It was a perilous gamble to begin with and the chance of Leonhart being successful in achieving anything in their plan was slim to none. That's why the Duke was hesitant about it. He didn't want that barony or the people to suffer the consequences of his son's actions. Being the ruler of this entire realm, he was solely responsible for the growth and well-being of the people and had a tremendous responsibility to carry.

His dream was that, one day, his son would grow up into a competent man who could inherit his title and lead this duchy into new heights which he was never able to achieve. But as the days went by, his dreams became nothing but a glint of hope.

As a father, it was his responsibility to teach and guide his children for a better future, which he had failed to do and saw Leonhart's every action as his own mistake. Because of the mental stress, his health was deteriorating slowly with each passing day.

And now his advisers had presented a very uncertain plan, which would not only involve his son but a whole barony which housed over tens of thousands of people and if it failed, he would have to experience the consequences but if it worked, his son would be able to understand and gain some experiences which he couldn't teach.