Asher's hands trembled at the sight of the body of the hooded figure turning into ashes once he had successfully killed the person.

It was his first time seeing something so sinister and concerning. The only thing left was the black hooded cloak that the person wore.

He did not waste any more time as he turned his head back and approached the young master who was being carefully held by the knights he had brought with him. The young master's knight was also being supported by his friends.

"Pier!" Asher hurried and kneeled beside the young master who was having a hard time standing up. His pale neck was bruised with the handprints of the person who choked him earlier.

"T-The door..." Pier struggled to breathe as he coughed in between words. Asher's chest tightened at the view of the young master having difficulty in breathing.

"The door! Open it!" Pier spoke as he coughed and pointed at the town mayor's office.

"Open the door" Asher commanded his knights and they immediately followed. They tried unlocking it through the knob and they also tried pushing the door with force but it was by no means an effective manner for them to go through the hard and sturdy wood.

"U-Use... Use your sword!" Pier said and without hesitation, they used their swords to cut down the wooden door into smaller pieces. Once they were able to pass through the mangled door, the knights entered and the scene that greeted them made their bones shiver.

"This is!"

The knights gasped at the sight. Some even puked their guts out after seeing the gruesome scene.

Inside the mayor's office, at the top of the table personally used by the mayor, the body of his secretary was laying cold.

Her stomach was ripped open and her guts were spread all around the place. She had her eyes wide open as if she seemed she had seen something shocking before she got into the situation she was currently in.

Her blood pooled down the table and dripped on the carpeted floor. Her hair was in a mess and her legs were turned in the wrong directions.

Pier, who saw the attendant's lifeless body was even drenched in further confusion.

'They said the mayor will die, not the attendant!' He was so confused and tired to the point that he was having a hard time staying awake.

"What in the world happened" Asher whispered as the familiar scent of death lingered in his nose. He was used to hunting animals along with Raphael and his father in the forests of the kingdom so it was not a new scenario for him to see something like this.

Pier could not help but close his eyes. He had so many things to do in just a single day. From proving Gideon's claims, hunting magical beasts, and helping distribute rations to the boundary's citizens, his energy was completely drained.

Soon, he was lulled into a deep sleep with questions lingering in his mind.

"Your highness, it seems like the young master has fallen unconscious," The knight who was supporting Pier spoke. Asher turned to look at the sleeping young master.

"I'll carry the young master. All knights, clean the area and make sure that you properly take care of the town mayor's attendant's body carefully!" He commanded as he took Pier from the knight's support and carried him in a bridal manner.

Those who could stand the horrible scene did their parts but there were those who could not even step inside the room. Instead, they stood guard with the other knights outside.

Asher carried the unconscious Pier back down to the first floor of the room and saw that Caspian and Elena were there.

"Your Highness! What happened?!" Caspian asked in a worried tone.

His long hair swayed as he observed the young master that was sleeping soundly in Asher's arms.

"The attendant of the town's mayor has been murdered and the young master and his knight were attacked by unknown individuals," Asher said and Elena gasped at the news. She felt her insides turn in an unpleasant way at the mention of murder and her knees weakened.

"My Lady!" Caspian hurried to support the lady who became weak at the news of someone getting murdered.

"Help the lady return to her chambers. We will investigate this matter immediately as soon as we secure the young master's safety," Asher said as he proceeded to step outside the building.

However, he stopped when he heard Caspian's statement.

"May I be the one to instead carry the young master back to his chambers, your highness? The lady needs his highness immediate support right now for she must have felt fear after hearing the news of someone getting murdered," Caspian explained and Asher stopped for a moment.

He observed his attendant that had a calm and solemn expression.

He also observed Pier who was quietly sleeping in his arms. He did not want to admit it but having the young master sleep soundly in his arms was a good feeling but it wasn't the time for him to think about such matters when there is a very alarming issue that just happened.

And he watched Elena who had a pitiful and fragile-looking expression as she shivered at the coldness even though she was already wearing her winter clothes.

Asher was debating to whether let his attendant carry the unconscious young master back to his room and give Elena support first or be the one to carry Pier back.

"Alright, ensure the young master's safety back in his chambers and lock all the windows. I will station knights outside the building where he resides." Asher said as he handed the sleeping Pier to Caspian.

The attendant carefully held Pier's body in his arms.

"Then I shall be on my way, your highness," Caspian said as he bowed. Asher nodded his head and he went to support Elena.

---

Caspian held the young master in his arms tightly.

Pier's warm breath was hitting his neck and he was getting excited at how pleasurable it felt. He looked at the young master and it was just as beautiful as he had etched in his mind.

Pier's unblemished skin was rosy due to the cold and he was not wearing his winter clothes.

Caspian gulped as he watched Pier's full face.

He did not know how, he never knew why, but he had always hated the young master for constantly bothering the Crown Prince.

However, when he saw Pier cry while playing the piano, he felt something inside him awaken. It was the first time he had to awaken in such a feeling. It was the constant urge to take over such a beautiful being and keep it all to himself.

He wanted to deny it but he could, he was getting obsessed with the young master day by day.

He saw Pier fight the beast all alone back in the forest and he felt excitement watching Pier whip the beast on its back. He was aroused by the thought of Pier hurting him.

He wanted to experience it.

He wanted it so bad. He needed it to the point that he was fantasizing about the young master in his dreams.

A dream filled with pleasure and pain.

He smiled warmly as he watched Pier breathe in slowly and breathe in back out.

He felt himself getting excited at the thought of being with the young master alone in an enclosed room with no one to disturb them.

Caspian carried the young master with a straight and confident posture. The knights who passed them made their way as they are afraid to get on Caspian's bad side.

Some even gave their greetings to the attendant and he greeted them back, but when they eyed the unconscious young master in his arms, he gave them a cold glare that made them divert their eyes somewhere else.

When Caspian finally reached the young master's bedroom, he opened the door before he step foot inside the room and closed the door with his feet.

He felt himself shiver with excitement at the weight that was in his arms. Pier's fragrant scent tingling his nose and making his mouth water at the thoughts he had in his head.

'This is it... I finally have you all for myself!' He thought as he walked towards Pier's bed.

He laid Pier completely and stared at the beautiful young master. His white shirt under his black suit was slightly wet

However, he saw that the window was open.

"You're so careless you even forget closing your window. Cute." Caspian said as he proceeded to close Pier's window as the cold winds were entering.

After closing the window, Caspian turned his head back to Pier's sleeping figure. The sheets were slightly crumpled as Pier's weight was on top of it.

He walked towards Pier. His breath hitched and his heartbeat became faster. When he reached Pier, he started to climb on the bed.

Both of his long legs went beside Pier's unconscious body and his arms found their way in Pier's pale yet reddish face. He was excited to the point he could no longer contain himself and take the young master fully.

"No, let's both enjoy this first..." He whispered as he started to trail kisses from Pier's forehead.

Lower

Lower

It was until he was about to fully connect his lips with the young master that he felt something tug at his sleeves.

Sigh

A voice sighed as it tugged on the Crown Prince's attendant's clothes.

Caspian turned his head to the right. He thought that the window reopened and it was only the wind that came from outside that tugged in his clothes.

However, it was far from what he had expected.

A tall figure that was wearing a black hooded cloak was standing right beside them and the person was staring directly at him.

Caspian's eyes widened as he gasped, but before he could move, the person touched the back of Caspian's neck and pressed his finger there.

Soon, Caspian felt himself stagger and his vision was shrouded in darkness.

Once Caspian was knocked out, the person who was wearing a black hooded cloak looked at the peacefully sleeping young master.

Sigh

He sighed again as he removed Caspian's body and placed it on the floor.

He then turned to look at Pier.

"With a face like that you will surely attract problems like this one," He said and looked at Caspian's motionless body.

"I told you not to come but you still did. What a hard-headed idiot" the hooded person spoke before he turned his back to open the window and flee.

Kraa! Kraa!

He turned to look at the crow that Pier had saved earlier.

"You stay with that idiot over there for the time being"

Kraa! Kraa!

The crow responded as it entered the room and laid on Pier's bed beside him.

---

Pier groaned as he opened his eyes. The room was still shrouded in darkness because the curtains were closed and he estimated it was still snowing outside.

'Huh?' He looked at the thing that was curled up beside him. It was the bird that was almost frozen earlier.

"What happened- oh!" He exclaimed as he immediately got up. His body still felt weak but compared to his tiredness earlier, he was more energized.

He got up from the bed and opened the window, it was completely dark now. Snow had fully covered the town square and it was a snow-filled wonderland.

"How long did I sleep?" Pier asked himself as he turned to look at the time indicator in his room.

The numerals placed on the time indicator said it was past eight and he had slept for three hours since he went to check what happened in the town's mayor.

He stopped for a moment before things started to rush back into his memories.

The letter he read from the crow

The black-hooded figures that he saw when he peeked outside his window

The city mayor's attendants

"Gideon!" He was suddenly overcome with worry as he remembered how Gideon became unconscious when the dark hooded figure appeared behind him and touched the back of his neck.

Hurrying, he wore his fur coat and did not even bother changing the suit he wore since earlier. He wanted to assure that his knight was fine. He did not know what happened and why Gideon became unconscious.

But as he passed the other side of the bed, he stopped for another time.

There, Caspian's unconscious body was laying on the cold, hard floor.

"S-Sir Caspian?!" He asked, baffled. But Pier's mind was running somewhere else, he did not have the time to leisurely check on the attendant when he doesn't even care for Caspian.

He hurriedly passed Caspian's motionless body and went to open the door.

As Pier got outside, he saw multiple knights stationed at the front of his door.

"What-" Pier tried to ask but the knight who was at the nearest of him spoke.

"We have been ordered by his highness to guard the young master's bedroom and guard you if you ever wake up" the knight explained and Pier mentally facepalmed himself.

"Alright, I will go and check on my knight now. Please follow me" He said. He knew it would be difficult if he were to try and escape the knights so he just had them follow him to avoid any conflicts.

The knight bowed before he started to follow Pier who was walking to the knight's quarters.

"Ah, Knight Woodlock has been taken to the infirmary, young master," the knight explained and Pier's ears perked up at the motion of the infirmary.

"Why? Is there something wrong with him?" He asked and the knight shook his head.

"Knight Woodlock was brought there to be checked for any injuries, young master because he was starting to look sickly after being unconscious until now." Pier's eyes widened at the knight's statement.

'Sickly? Gideon?' He hurried faster and walked towards the location of the boundary's infirmary.