"Then I'll take my leave, your highness. It was my pleasure to have spent the time planning for the journey with you," Pier then stood up.

"Wait, young master!" Asher hurriedly said as he stood up from his seat as well.

Pier turned to look at him and Asher stopped for a moment. The tired look Pier gave him somehow made the Crown Prince hesitant to speak with his words.

"A-Ah, it's nothing. It's my pleasure as well to have talked with you as well. Be safe on your journey back." Pier only nodded his head and went to head outside the door of the Crown Prince's study. He was mentally and physically drained after planning things mostly by himself.

'All that prince did was watch me.' He rolled his eyes before knocking on the door twice and the knights stationed outside opened the door.

"Ah, hold the door for a moment. I have forgotten something." He said and immediately turned back inside the study. Asher who was watching Pier's back flinched in surprise when Pier suddenly turned.

"What is it, young master?" Pier looked around the room until he found a bunch of violet flowers that were comfortably sitting on one of the couches. He hurriedly approached the flowers that were not even arranged properly and grabbed them.

"I only forgot the flowers, your highness. I shall go now," Pier spoke and marched towards the door once more. Once he got out and the door was shut, Asher sighed as he rested his head on the table with his arms supporting his head.

"What's happening?" He was astonished at how smart Pier had suddenly become.

Even if people tried to cover it with flowers and rainbows, the Pier before was a dense and empty-headed person. Even though how much he studied and read books, he never had the talent to apply them in any sort of situation.

Pier had such a hard time comprehending lessons that even though he was the perfect noble when it comes to social standings, he was considered a half-witted individual in different academic fields such as literature and mathematics.

"Did he purposely hide his genius?" No, it did not make sense for Asher as to why a person would even hide his brilliantness and suffer from the degradation of others.

The Pier that Asher saw during their meeting was someone who's completely different from the Pier he had known.

He could easily become one of the kingdom's most respected individuals with such a mind if he wanted to. So why?

Asher felt his headache coming back again after all of the things that happened.

He got up from his seat and started heading out of his study. He caught a whiff of the lingering light scent of roses on his way to the door. He sighed as his thoughts were mixed up.

When he got out of the study, he immediately started to walk toward the throne room to report his preparations to the king. However, when he passed by a window, he saw another scenario happening.

It was Pier, in front of him was a middle-aged man who was smiling as if he were talking to a child.

"Earl Cornell..."

---

Pier was walking back to his carriage along with the knights who accompanied him. His light blue suit complemented his white pale skin beautifully and the servants they passed continued to oogle the young master.

"Young master, how did your meeting with the Crown Prince go?" Pier turned to look at the man who called him. He had dark-brown hair and he had an ugly mustache to pair it with his old-looking face.

'Ah, so this is Earl Cornell they have been talking about.' He thought as he looked at the Earl.

'How did he know I was meeting with the Crown Prince?' Pier was surprised to hear the old man's statement.

'And to top it off he's speaking informally towards someone who has a higher position than him.' He was not just surprised but also amazed that the noble-looking man talked to him

"Did his highness make you wait outside for his study again? Please do not worry, we will create a better suit for the young master!" The Earl said and Pier only stared at the noble. Earl Cornell felt awkward after Pier only stared at him and did not respond.

The look was scrutinizing and condescending.

"Young master? I-It must have been tiring for you to wait outside his highness' study all day. He must have not liked the suit you are wearing right now, it's really plain and it lacked any of the embroideries his highness likes!" The Earl proceeded to talk with Pier.

However, Pier was laughing internally with the Earl's antics.

'Seriously, Pier, I have expected you to be gullible up to some degree but I did not know you were this stupid to even believe such words.' He had found it funny that Pier was easily swayed with topics that included the Crown Prince.

"Earl Cornell, please do talk formally. It seems that the Earl sees me as someone not worthy of respect." Pier smiled at the old man and he stopped fretting over the suit Pier was wearing.

"Huh...?" Earl Cornell hesitated for a moment as a gleam from Pier's deep blue eyes could be seen for a split second.

"Y-Young master what in the world are you talking about?" He hesitantly said as he grabbed a handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped down the sweat that formed in his wrinkled forehead.

"I said, talk to me formally," Pier repeated but the Earl seemed to have not listened as he continued to ramble about the reason why Pier was told to stay outside the prince's study and wait.

"Y-young master, why are you talking about formality now, aren't we close already since we have been partners? Look, the suit you have ordered from the Morata household is not even that good, maybe that's the reason why his highness did not allow you to go inside his room!"

Pier raised his eyebrows at the Earl's words.

'The suit I ordered is not even that good, he says.' Pier was unable to hold back the chuckle that had been lingering on his throat at how the words were so irritating and annoying at the same time.

He proceeded to grab his handkerchief from his own chest pocket and the Earl looked at it curiously.

However, he did not expect what the young master was about to do.

He purposely dropped it. The finely woven material plopped to the ground and became dirty in an instant.

Earl Cornell stopped talking as he saw the handkerchief drop to the ground.

"Y-Young Master?" Earl Cornell trailed his words for a second. His nervousness suddenly skyrocketed as he saw Pier's uninterested gaze towards him.

"Pick it up."

"W-What?"

"If you don't pick that up in three seconds, I will behead you," Pier warned and the Earl was frozen in place.

"One"

However, Earl Cornell still did not move. He was flabbergasted with how things unfolded in his mind.

"Two"

When Pier counted to two, Earl Cornell immediately bent down and hurriedly went to grab the handkerchief on the ground.

"Three"

However, before he could reach the handkerchief that was peacefully lying on the ground, Pier had already counted to three. The knights behind Pier immediately moved in an attacking position and charged towards the Earl who was kneeling to the ground with his hand reaching out in the handkerchief's direction.

The Earl's eyes widened as he saw the sharp swords each of the knights carried.

"NO, WAIT-!" The knights' swords were raised up in the air and in one swift motion, the Earl's head would have to come off from his body. The servants who were watching from a distance gasped one by one as they saw the knights charging in the Earl's direction.

"Stop." However, before they could burrow their blades in the Earl's neck, Pier commanded them to stop, and all at once, the knights' movements halted.

Earl Cornell's entire body shook with fear as the pointed blades were only a breath away from his face. He stopped any movements as if he were frozen in place.

"I told you to pick it up but you did not," Pier said, sounding disappointed that the Earl did not pick his handkerchief up. The Earl gulped as he watched a knight gently and carefully pick up Pier's handkerchief before handing it to their young master.

"Now what do I do? My handkerchief has been soiled because of the Earl!" Pier mocked. He imitated the voice the original Pier used to have when he's whining. Pier sighed after acting all annoyed.

"Return to your positions except for you. Remain in your place." He said and pointed at a knight who had the tip of his sword aimed directly at the Earl's neck.

The other knights who had their blades pointed in the Earl's body started to sheathe their swords back except for the knight who continued to point his sword at the Earl.

"Does the earl know how much that handkerchief costs?" Pier asked the Earl. Earl Cornell who was engulfed in fear, panic, and confusion shook his head in response.

"I-I do not know, young master!" His voice quivered as he spoke to Pier. Pier smiled at the old man.

"If I let you know, would you be willing to pay for the price of my soiled handkerchief?" Pier asked innocently and without hesitation, the Earl nodded his head.

How much could a small single handkerchief cost anyway? Even if it's made with silk and other expensive materials, it would not even reach a thousand gold coins.

"Two million gold coins" Pier stated and the Earl who had his eyes widened in disbelief now also had his mouth open in shock.

"T-Two million? Y-Young Master, there is no way that the handkerchief costs two-"

"Then are you trying to imply that I am lying?" Earl Cornell closed his mouth after hearing Pier's words.

What he expected to be another free adventure in the valley of unending money turned into a nightmare that had a monstrous beast in it.

"Is the Earl trying to say that I am lying?" Pier asked and his eyebrows were scrunched up in distaste.

"N-No, young master! The y-young master is not lying!" The panicked Earl said. Pier smiled at the old man and dusted off the handkerchief.

The Cornell Earldom was the main tailor of Pier's suits. The suits were extremely overpriced up to the point that mountains of gold coins would be delivered to them every time Pier ordered a suit from them.

'Two million gold coins would not even be enough to repay for the amount of money you have sold the overpriced suits Pier had ordered before.' As he scanned Pier's memory, he also saw the events where he paid too much for a single suit. A noble's suit that would cost around the hundreds of gold coins was sold to Pier for thousands.

'Just because of the word 'Crown Prince', they scammed Pier so much that it had made a huge impact to the Belmiunde Household's finances.' Pier silently gritted his teeth at the sight of the kneeling Earl.

"You said you will pay for the handkerchief. I shall give you time until tomorrow. If the Earl does not comply with the agreed amount, you and your entire household will be considered as enemies of the House of Masters," Pier warned as he took multiple steps away from the Earl. As if the Earl had some sort of infectious disease.

Becoming an enemy of the Belmiunde Household means signing their own death contract. Even the duke of the north who was feared by many did not associate itself with Pier's household and continued to remain neutral. The only way to escape the Belmiunde Household's power was to hide outside of the kingdom.

It was not even a mutual agreement; it was a contract made out of pressure and panic.

The Earl nodded his head without any further questions.

Satisfied, Pier smiled warmly and looked at the knight.

"Return to your position." the knight nodded his head and retracted his sword from being pointed from the Earl's neck. He placed the sword back in its sheathe and he moved at Pier's back along with the other knights.

Earl Cornell slowly got up as he quivered. The memory of multiple swords pointing at him was so vivid that it would definitely cause him nightmares for the weeks to come.

Pier started to walk again and as he passed the Earl, he stopped for a moment and whispered.

"If only you have followed my request to talk formally with me you would not lose two million gold coins, no?" He laughed slyly and walked again.

Earl Cornell stood there in a daze; he was not sure of what happened but he knew he had to pay Pier two million gold coins by tomorrow.

Pier leisurely walked back to his carriage. The knights who were following him also proceeded to get in their respective horses.

"Two million gold coins? How about taking an entire Earldom for myself?" He asked himself as he sat comfortably in the soft seats of the carriage. Pier looked outside and saw the Earl was still standing in the spot he had been earlier.

However, from a distance, he saw the Crown Prince staring at him. Pier scoffed and closed the blinds of the carriage windows and the carriage started to move.

---

Asher stood there unmoving. His body shivered for an unknown reason as he watched the young master and the Earl interact with each other. He wanted to help Pier and drive the Earl away considering the circumstances he knew in regards to Pier and the Earl's relationship. However, what he just saw was bone-chilling.

Pier had his stare at the Earl as if he were looking down on a bug the entire time and Asher gulped at the memory.

"Pier..."