Asher stared at the young master who was in front of him.

"Pier..." He called out after Pier had finished his performance. Pier only sat there. He was unmoving except for his shoulders which were slightly shaking.

Caspian immediately turned the devices off after he saw Asher become visible in the projection.

"Pier..." He tried to approach and hold Pier's shoulder but the young master moved away from his touch.

"Please do not touch me, your highness," Pier said as he looked up. His eyes were wet with tears as he spoke the words.

"I-I'm sorry." Asher removed his hand that was reaching out to Pier.

"Are you happy, your highness?" Pier asked him. Asher was silent for a few seconds before answering.

"What kind of question is that, young master?" Pier laughed at the response.

"Nothing, your highness." Pier then stood up and walked past the Crown Prince towards the door of the music room.

---

"Young master that was a spectacular performance!"

"Young master your performance is worthy of a diamond mine!"

Pier made his way through the grand halls of the palace and comments about his performance kept on sprouting every second may it be from nobles and the servants alike.

"Young Master, please wait!" Asher ran after Pier who was walking back to the room that they have gathered in. When he reached Pier, he tried to touch his shoulder once more and when they made contact, Pier flinched and stopped in his tracks.

"Your highness!" Caspian said as he followed them.

"Caspian..." Asher immediately removed his hand from Pier's shoulder.

"Accompany the young master back to the spare bedroom chambers of the palace." Caspian turned to look at Pier who was simply standing there after being stopped by the Crown Prince.

"I understand, your highness." Caspian then started to lead Pier towards the spare bedroom chambers.

"Please follow me, young master," Caspian said as he held Pier's hand, they both started to walk through the halls. Asher observed Pier's reaction.

'He does not look uncomfortable with Caspian's touch...' He noticed that the young master did not flinch nor show any signs of uncomfortableness when his attendant had touched his hand.

---

Pier felt as if the energy from his body has been drained. He did not know the reason why but he simply felt tired.

"Young master, I did not know you could play so well." Caspian started to speak when they got far from the Crown Prince.

"Thanks," Pier replied. Not wanting to talk any further as he was too tired to even converse with the attendant.

Caspian turned to look at Pier and saw his pale face slightly reddened.

When they reached the spare bedroom chambers of the palace, Caspian opened the door for Pier and the young master trudged inside weakly.

"Do I need to bring you water, young master?" Caspian asked and Pier shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. I'll simply rest up for a bit. Please do wake me up when it is the time for us to depart on the journey, Sir Caspian." Pier then lay on the king-sized bed that was in the middle of the room.

"You can leave now, Sir Caspian. Thank you again." Pier said and closed his eyes. The tiredness immediately consumed him and soon he was in a deep sleep.

Silence then soon reigned over the room with only two individuals present.

Caspian stared at the young master for a few moments before he started to walk closer.

Step

Caspian's gaze was directed at the noble who was lying on the bed.

Step

Caspian felt his heart beat wildly at the sight of Pier's defenseless and unconscious body

Step

He remembered the tears that trickled down Pier's eyes as he pressed the keys of the piano.

Step

He felt himself get excited as he remembered how delicate Pier looked while playing. It was his first time seeing something so beautiful yet so fragile that he felt something arise deep beneath him.

"Just one touch..." He said as his fingers shook in nervousness and anticipation.

Trembling, he reached his hand out. His nervous state grew as he neared Pier's face.

Caspian gulped as his touch slowly descended to the young master's unblemished appearance.

Pier's straight pointed nose was appealing to look at and his red lips released small warm breaths that made his fingers tingle at the contact.

Tension was building up inside him as his fingers grazed over Pier's smooth and fine cheeks. Caspian caressed the side of Pier's face and he felt himself getting more and more excited at how warm Pier's body was.

"I've never realized you were this beautiful..." He murmured as he felt his heartbeat become faster every time he glided his calloused hands on Pier's soft skin.

A set of knocks came crashing inside the room and that alerted the man inside.

Shocked by the knocks that came from the door, Caspian immediately removed his touch from Pier's face.

He went to open the door and outside stood the Crown Prince who had a glass of water in his hands.

"How is the young master, Caspian?" Asher asked as he peeked inside the door. He found Pier lying and peacefully slumbering in the bed.

"The young master might have been exhausted, Your Highness. He showed signs of fatigue and tiredness as we walked towards the spare chambers."

"I see. Thank you for watching over Pier. You can now leave." Asher said as he entered the door carrying the glass of water.

However, Caspian stayed there for a moment as he stared at Pier once more. Asher noticed Caspian did not leave yet and proceeded to ask him.

"What's wrong? You can leave now. I'll tend to the young master's needs." Caspian nodded his head and bowed before he closed the door and walked into the palace halls.

Asher sighed as he placed the glass of water on the wooden shelf beside the bed.

He sat on the stool and watched Pier's face.

"Are you happy, your highness?" He recalled Pier's words.

Is he happy? He did not know.

He was unsure of what to feel. Pier's crying face exuded pain and happiness.

"Am I happy?" He asked and stared outside the window. He then recalled the plans he had before everything started to go awry.

Pier Belmiunde is indeed different now, just like the young duke from the Sentinio Household had said.

He thought he still knew Pier and hoped for the Pier he knew when they were still kids to be there quietly watching everything.

But Pier was totally different from what he had expected. He recalled how uncomfortable and uneasy Pier looked when he grabbed his shoulders.

'As if he was disgusted with me.'

He knew, he realized how badly he must have hurt the young master but he did not expect it to the extent of him getting disgusted by Asher's touch.

"What can I do for us to become acquainted again, Pier?" He said as he stared at Pier's sleeping appearance.

'He looks so comfortable lying down on the bed.' Asher observed how Pier's chest rose up and down every time he breathes.

"I will come back later, Pier." Asher stood from the stool and walked out the door.

---

"Young Master, please wake up." Pier groaned as he tiredly opened his eyes to look at the person who was shaking his shoulders.

"Sir Caspian," he said and Caspian smiled at him.

'Why's he smiling like that?' Pier wondered while looking weirdly at the attendant's smiling face. It was weird to see his smiling face that he never saw in Pier's memories as the first thing to wake up to.

"We will depart in an hour, young master. As much as I wanted the young master to rest, we need to prepare now." Caspian said before distancing himself from the bed. Pier nodded and rose up. He gave a little yawn as he was still feeling tired.

Once he was all settled and ready to go, Pier rose from the bed completely and started to walk outside.

He got out of the room and proceeded to the assembly area of the individuals who will join the trip.

"Ah, did you have a good rest, young master?" The butler said when Pier entered the assembly hall.

"I did. Thank you for the concern, head butler." The old man chuckled as he guided Pier to his own carriage right outside the palace doors.

"This is the carriage assigned for you, young master. All of the necessities you have brought from your carriage when you arrived have been transferred here." the butler explained and Pier nodded his head.

"Pier!" Pier turned to look at the person who called him. He was in front of the carriage he was about to ride on for their journey when someone called him.

"Raphael!" The young duke from the Duchy approached him with long strides and Pier felt quite envious of Raphael's long legs.

When Raphael reached Pier, he held his hands and wished him a safe trip.

"Please take care when you go to the boundary. You need to be as comfortable as always, okay?" Feeling uneasy with Rapahel's actions, Pier removed his hands from Raphael's own and nodded his head.

"Thank you, Raph. I will." Raphael nodded his head. He observed Pier's features face a little bit more.

When he saw Pier's back tremble while performing, he felt a sense of protectiveness take over him as if he wanted to protect the young master from whatever was bothering him.

Pier climbed on the carriage steps and entered the luxurious doors that were made out of luxury wood.

They will depart towards the boundary in roughly two days and will stay there for another three. In total, a week at most including the time for them to go back to the capital.

"Raphael." Pier and Raphael turned to look at Asher who had just come out of the palace doors wearing a comfortable-looking suit.

"Your Highness, I wish you a safe trip." Raphael bowed and Asher gave him his thanks.

"You handle the matters while I am away. Please do a good job as well." The young duke nodded his head in response and stepped to the side to let Asher pass.

"Are we going to ride in the same carriage, your highness?" Pier asked, a little bit surprised that Asher had gone to his designated Carriage.

The Crown Prince shook his head in response.

"Please do not worry, young master. I will not ride in the same carriage as you to ensure you are comfortable during the trip. I am simply here to wish you a safe journey with me." Confused, Pier raised both of his eyebrows.

"Then I'm grateful, your highness," Pier said before looking away. He was still tired even after sleeping in the palace chambers for a few hours.

Asher turned his body towards the carriage he will ride on.

"I will go now, Raphael. Take good care of Nicholas." Raphael nodded his head and the Crown Prince started to walk to his carriage's location. Before leaving, Raphael turned to look at Pier's carriage which already had its door closed.

'Come back soon...' He silently said and watched as the carriage started to move.

Little by little, the carriage's image became smaller until it was no longer out of sight.

---

Pier stretched as he sat on the comfortable and large seats of the carriage. He was grateful that he did not have to share the space with Asher.

"I wonder what I will see when I go to the Yuko Boundary?" He wondered as he opened his palm and focused a little bit. Soon, a small wind orb had manifested and it bobbed up and down his palm.

It was chant-less magic.

His work for multiple days and nights to achieve chant-less magic had paid off and now he was able to manifest his wind and fire elements freely.

"Though it was really hard to do so at first." He recalled how he almost gave up and cried at the frustration of always chanting his spells to produce them.

The carriage was spacious enough to actually fit multiple people inside but it was Pier alone and no one else was able to disturb him as he continued to reproduce his wind element on his palms. He found the bobbing orb really satisfying.

"Will I get to see monsters there?" The Yuko Boundary was known to be a medium-sized city that encompasses the land and serves as the mark between the forbidden region where magic was said to not exist.

"I want to try fighting some," he said and laid on the seats again. He was still tired and until now he did not have any clue why. After he had played, he felt extreme fatigue befall upon his body which caused him to sleep for a few hours.

"I'll live my life now, Pier. Thank you so much." He whispered as he closed his eyes and slept once more.