Raphael clenched his chest at the heavy sensation he felt after listening to the piece Pier had performed.

He was not an enthusiast like the other individuals inside the room but he clearly knows what he felt. It was a mixture of loneliness, sadness, and a little bit of hope and aspiration. He did not know that the young master everyone knew to be extremely bad at playing instruments could actually perform like a well-known professional

'So why did the young master ruin all of those performances he did before in the previous Royal Banquets?' It did not make sense for Raphael, as to why the young master would purposely make his performance bad when in the first place, he could play this well that even the well-respected Royal Instructor, Bart, praised him to no end for such talents.

'If that did not make any sense then maybe he learned it recently?' It had been a year since the young master performed in the Royal Banquet and the chances of him improving in his performance were big

'But it would still be unbelievable that a person who played even worse than children suddenly learned how to play like a genius.' What Raphael heard just now was breathtakingly beautiful. He only knows things about music moderately but he could tell that it was his first time hearing that piece and feeling extreme burden from the young master who was playing it.

'So how?' He wondered. He was visiting the second prince because the latter told him that he wanted to meet Raphael and so granting the sickly child's wishes, he did visit Nicholas. But as they were wandering around the Royal Palace, the young prince saw the king get inside the music room and immediately got off Raphael's arms and followed the king inside the music room.

After following the young prince who hurried after his father, Raphael then saw that it was the time that Pier would practice his performance along with the royal instructor and the king. Even he did not expect that Pier would play that well.

'It even made the young prince and the instructor cry.' He thought. He felt his heart tighten after remembering how Pier's face looked while playing. It was solemn but it showed numerous emotions that he probably must have been keeping.

Raphael felt bad about the conclusions he came up with within his head.

The young master had been chasing after the crown prince for years now, even to the point of breaking off the engagement with a powerful household that is close to royalty just for the love that will never be reciprocated-

He felt bad, no, he was disappointed with himself. He thought that Pier was doing good on his own with how he did not stop bothering the crown prince but what Raphael did not see was the things Pier had to experience while going after Asher.

He was ridiculed by many, even to the point where his name was used as an insult to others. He even had to handle all of the backlashes he got when breaking off his engagement with Raphael all alone. Raphael wanted to cry but he could not. He was not the type to even cry but right now all he wanted to do was help the young master who played the most beautiful piece he had heard

He composed himself and took deep breaths. He needs to show himself because everyone would wonder anyway as to why the young prince came into the music room all by himself.

When he was neat once more, Raphael clenched his fists and knocked on the slightly ajar door. Four pairs of eyes found him and Raphael gulped. He was not nervous with the other three gazes but he was conscious of the piercing blue eyes.

"Raphael, my child. You must be visiting Nicholas," The King greeted the successor of the Sentinio Duchy

"Greetings, your majesty, greetings Instructor Bart, and greetings, young master," He, in return, mentioned and greeted every person individually.

"Raph! Raph!" The sniffing young prince called out to Raphael while rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his elegant clothes.

"What is it, Prince Nicholas?" Nicholas ran in Raphael's arms and the latter carried him. The king smiled at the sniffing young prince and even the instructor who already stopped crying smiled at the cuteness of Prince Nicholas

"I-I will marry him!" He sniffed as he pointed at Pier. Everyone's eyes widened at the words of the young prince who was hiding his face from everyone.

Raphael looked at the boy in his arms and back onto Pier who was as shocked as him.

"But Prince Nicholas, you cannot marry the young master because you are still young." Raphael calmed the young prince but he retaliated.

"N-No! I will marry him and make him happy!" He said while burying his face in Raphael's chest. Even though he's already eight, he was still small for his age. Even the king who was smiling before had his eyes wide open at the words of his youngest son.

After getting over the surprise from Nicholas' words, Pier smiled warmly at the prince and stood up from the piano stool, and walked over to him.

"My Prince, you're still too young for me and there are other beautiful young ladies around your age that you will be able to love soon!" He said with a cheerful voice but Nicholas simply pouted. It was so cute that Pier was dying to squish his cheeks to no end.

"No! I will marry the young master and make him happy! He sounds so sad while playing!" Nicholas said with a tone of finality before hiding his reddening face from Pier. Pier patted Nicholas' head and smiled warmly at the embarrassed kid.

"If that's what his prince wants then he should decide again after he turns eighteen!" He playfully said while gently coaxing the child in Raphael's arms. Raphael stared at Pier who was patting the prince's head with care. Pier's face had a smile on it and Raphael could not help but stare at the smooth skin on the young master's face. He felt his chest tighten but this time, it was not like the time he listened to the young master's performance but in a more pleasant way.

Pier suddenly looked at him and he avoided the young master's gaze immediately.

"Will you promise after I become an adult you will marry me?" The young prince asked while pouting and holding his pinky finger out. Pier laughed at the actions of the small child before nodding.

"I promise, Prince Nicholas," he said before tying his pinky finger with Nicholas. The young child will forget that in the days to come anyway.

Raphael who suddenly became anxious after Pier stared at him looked back and felt his face heat

'What's wrong with me?' He thought before dismissing the thought. He did not want to assume nor think of anything unnecessary right now.

"My youngest now has his soon-to-be engaged!" The king laughed jokingly before patting the young prince's head and taking him from Raphael's arms. He looked at Raphael and stared at the young noble. It was an opportunity for him.

Raphael stared back at the king who was switching his gaze from Pier, who was playing with Prince Nicholas and him

'It's my chance to talk with him,' He thought before nodding his head

"That was indeed a wonderful performance, young master! I never knew that the young master had such a hidden talent! You are a genius! Can you p-" The instructor was excited to hear another piece from Pier but froze when he saw the piercing gaze of the king behind Pier.

"Ah, I forgot, young master. Since I have already seen your dazzling performance then I do not need to see the young master practice anymore because I know you will do well in the Royal Banquet," He said after shortly cutting his speech earlier. Bart wanted to hear more from the young master but he understood what the king's gaze meant and so he did not dare prolong his time with the young master.

"I still have matters to attend, Pier, Raphael. The instructor and I along with Nicholas will go for now," King Henry spoke with a smile on his face. Pier found the smile concerning but did not comment on it nevertheless.

"Please escort the young master, Sir Raphael," The King ushered the young duke before going out of the music room with both Nicholas and the Instructor. After leaving, Pier was left alone with Raphael.

"Will you return now, young master?" He asked Pier who was just standing there and looking at the door where the king had left. He suddenly felt nervous after being left alone with Pier

"No, I will be staying here to practice a little bit more, Sir Raphael. You can go ahead first if Sir Raphael desires." Pier then walked back to sit on the stool once more. His fingers grazed the keys again and decided what to play next.

"T-Then can I listen while the young master plays? I will still escort you because the king said so..." Raphael said with a shaky voice. He did not know why he was even nervous, to begin with. Pier simply nodded his head without replying

'So annoying.' Pier thought as he finally decided on a song to play

"Does Sir Raphael have any songs that he wanted me to play?" He asked out of courtesy but Raphael simply said "Just any song that the young master desires would do"

Pier nodded his head and pressed the key to the song.

Pier closed his eyes and played the song. He was a fan of Disney movies back in his previous life and Cinderella was one of the classics he always loved. He then was introduced to this song that caught his heart.

He smiled as he lightly pressed each key. He loved playing this on occasions when he simply wanted to unwind and not think of anything but happiness.

Raphael simply sat there and watched the young master play. Pier was closing his eyes and a smile was cast on his lips. Raphael could not help but stare at the beautiful young master in front of him

'Beautiful.' The way Pier played the piano was so elegant and beautiful. Each key resonated in Raphael's ears as if they were small fairies who were singing. Raphael held his breath back as he continued to gaze at Pier.

Pier's hands glided through the keys without making any mistakes

Raphael could not describe what he was feeling right now. Earlier he felt like he was pitying the young master so much but right now what he wanted to do was listen and watch the young master play all day. He closed his eyes and savored the music entering his ears. It felt as if he was in paradise as he listened to the happy music Pier was playing.

'I would definitely pay to watch the young master perform.' He smiled at his own thoughts. He found it odd that the young master could play so well but did not question him himself because he was enjoying the young master's performance as well.

As Pier pressed the last key to the piece, he released a small laugh which made Raphael open his eyes

"What do you think, Sir Raphael?" He asked the young noble who also had a relaxed expression on his face

"That was beautiful, young master!" He commented without any hints of sarcasm or joke. It was indeed beautiful.

"Thanks!" Pier laughed again after playing. He then stood from his seat and grabbed Raphael's hand before sitting back down and pulling the young noble beside him. Raphael was surprised at the sudden action but he did not retaliate. Pier's soft hands were warm and he enjoyed the feeling.

"Shall I be punished for pulling Sir Raphael's hand?" He asked Raphael jokingly and the noble successor scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed.

"N-No..." he said hesitantly. It was indeed punishable for anyone who pulls the hand of the successor of the Sentinio Duchy without permission but it was Pier who pulled his hand and he enjoyed the warm feeling from Pier's hands, and Raphael does not want to say that.

"Then can Sir Raphael play with me to help me practice?" Pier asked as he started pressing one of the keys. This was a piece that he remembered from the original Pier's memory. A piece that was from this land exactly

Raphael sighed internally because he did not want to mess up Pier's practice with his moderate skills but nodded anyway

Pier and Raphael stayed in the music room up until afternoon playing the piano with the songs they both knew.

---

"It was fun playing with you, young master," Raphael said as he watched Pier stand up from the piano stool

"It was fun playing with Sir Raphael as well, it was like we got back into being kids again," Pier said because he once remembered that Pier, Raphael, and Asher used to be childhood friends

Raphael widened his eyes at Pier's words and smiled brightly. His smile was so wide and bright that it was almost as bright as the sunlight piercing through the windows.

"So, you still remember the time when we were kids, young master." He stated as he also was feeling happy. Raphael had never felt this way ever since he entered his teenage years. The most fun years he had was when he was still a child and remembering those moments made him happy once more

"Of course, Sir Raphael. How could I ever forget you being chased around by the farmer's chickens when we visited his farmhouse?" Pier, no, Eliam found those memories to be extremely fun as well. He did not have a good childhood but seeing Pier's memories along with the three of them made him happy and experience childhood even for a short while.

"Please call me by my name once more, young master," Raphael said while looking at Pier with sad eyes. Pier rolled his eyes at the childish actions of Raphael but smiled anyway.

"Then I shall allow you to call me with my name once more, Raphael," He thought that it was not a bad decision to be friends with Raphael again. He might have decided before that he should stay away from Asher and Raphael to live a peaceful life but after seeing Pier's memories, he changed his mind.

He wanted to mend the broken relationship the three had and restore the friendship they once had when they were children. That's what he can at least do for the original Pier, who no longer existed in this world.

"Thank you, Pier." The words felt foreign yet all familiar unto Raphael who called Pier by his first name. It had been such a long time since he had a proper conversation with Pier without any underlying issues or any sort of business. It was simply a conversation between friends.

"Then shall I escort you back to your carriage?" Raphael said as he lent his hand out to Pier who simply stared at him

"I am no lady to be escorted out, Raphael. But I do not wish for the king to behead you after not following his orders so I shall," he said with a look of annoyance and grabbed Raphael's hand. The warm feeling of Pier's hands once more invaded Raphael's body. Raphael laughed at Pier's acting as they both started walking. The servants outside saw this and were surprised to see Raphael and Pier going out of the music room while holding hands.

Smiling, the two walked out of the music room. It was the day that two of the three friends reconciled.