"Are we there yet?" Pier asked for the nth time and Ciaran had to control himself from ramming the carriage into a tree or going off straight off a cliff.

The young master was annoying him and he was amazed that it was even working on a person like him who had so much patience to spare.

'Hehe' Pier laughed in his head as he watched the irritated coachman.

Pier was surprised with how comfortable he was getting with Ciaran.

He had not seen the man's face nor his entire body because all he can see from inside the carriage was Ciaran's cloaked head.

'Ah, they say ignorant people are to die first. I guess I'm going now' He thought in a frustrating manner.

"Are we there-"

"Stop."

Ciaran finally said as he cannot take the young master's repetitive phrase of 'Are we there yet?'.

"Well, what do you want me to say then?" They were treading along a road that has lesser trees now compared to when they were passing the kingdom's borders.

"By the way, where are we?" He asked as he had no clue what are the places outside the kingdom. Heck, the original Pier was confined so much inside the Capital that he did not have any clue what other places in the kingdom looked like.

"South of the Kingdom," Ciaran replied in a monotonous voice and Pier looked around the scenery.

"South? Woah" He said in amazement at the bright sun that was shining down on the carriage.

'Basically, I had been on the North and South parts of the kingdom!' He had a gleam in his eyes as he thought about his adventures back at the Yuko Boundary on the way close to the North and now he had surpassed the Southern parts of the kingdom.

"We're at the place that separates the Heron Kingdom and the Taron Kingdom called Stone City," Ciaran explained and Pier nodded his head like a child listening to some adventures stories.

"Just further ahead, we will arrive in the town center of Stone City." He nodded his head again at the stranger's words. Ciaran kept silent right after saying the necessary info Pier should know.

He was slightly surprised by how easily trusting the person he had just abducted was.

'Life as a well-known noble must have been tough' He thought as he slightly turned his head to look at the young master who was looking at the road they were passing by with wide eyes.

Pier's now white hair was slightly swaying along with the wind and his dazzling blue eyes that seemed to contain a sparkle as he watched the view were widened.

It was like he was seeing the world for the first time.

Soon enough, after a few more minutes of driving, Pier noticed that the buildings and houses they were passing through became more and more frequent.

'City proper, huh,' He thought as there were now many people who can be seen outside.

When the carriage finally arrived at what Pier guessed was the City Proper, he had a small smile on his face. The city proper was not as grand as the Capital but it was better than the town in the Boundary.

It was just like what he had in mind. A place bustling with many people and shops located side by side.

The carriage stopped beside a medium-sized building and the scent of food wafted through the air.

Grumble~

Pier was slightly feeling hungry. After all, he did not get to eat properly back at the Crown Prince's celebration and he did not know how long it has been since he had been taken by the cloaked stranger.

"Get off, you need to eat," Ciaran's deep voice could be heard and Pier nodded his head as he started to open the carriage door.

Creak

The door creaked once more when he opened it and he felt the refreshing air caress his rigid frame when he got out.

Pier stretched a few times as he indulged the warm sun shining down on him.

"Ah, this is nice."

Pier then looked around him. However, he stopped when he saw the person that was just a few steps away from him.

"..." the hooded man stared at him and Pier awkwardly stared Ciaran back.

"You're... huge..." He whispered as he looked at Ciaran's fully revealed self.

It's not that Ciaran was very huge but compared to the people around him, he was standing out because of his well-built body and his tall frame.

The cloaked man was slightly taller than the Crown Prince.

"What are you staring at, Frosty, come inside and eat," Ciaran ordered and Pier also felt slightly intimidated by the man's tall and huge frame.

'Now I can see why the knights were scared to talk with him back at the borders' He sweatdropped as he remembered the nervous voices of the knights when they talked with Ciaran.

"You're very tall and big," Pier said and Ciaran raised his cloak a little bit.

Pier's eyes widened when he saw Ciaran's face.

The man had short brown hair, green eyes, and the most remarkable thing that was etched on Pier's mind was the scar that spanned from Ciaran's upper left eye until his lower right eye.

Pier stared at Ciaran's appearance for a few more seconds before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Wow, you're handsome," He blurted out loud without thinking and Ciaran sported a manly grin at the young master's compliment.

"I am?" He said with a low voice and his white teeth displayed themselves in Pier's view.

Pier's eyes enlarged when he realized he spoke without thinking.

His cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

He hurriedly took his stare away from the man who had green eyes.

"Yeah..." Pier said while still avoiding looking at the cloaked man and Ciaran chuckled at Pier's actions.

He straightened his posture back and adjusted the cloak properly to cover his face.

"That's good to hear that I did not disappoint you, Frosty," He said and Pier rolled his eyes at the man's words.

Ciaran started to head inside the building that produced a good smell of food and Pier followed him behind.

As Pier walked inside, he noticed that people were looking at them.

'Hoh, Ciaran sure is a very eye-catching person,' He said as he stared at Ciaran's wide back while they walked towards a vacant spot at the furthest corner of the building.

However, Ciaran was also thinking of something else.

'This Frosty is attracting too much attention.' He gave Pier a side glance and he saw that Pier was also looking at him with innocent and wide eyes.

What Pier did not know was that even though the people around them noticed Ciaran's tall and well-built frame first, their stares all soon landed at him. His white hair was standing out too much and his blue eyes did not help intrigue the curiosity people had.

When they reached a vacant table at the corner, Pier immediately sat obediently at one of the stools and kept his mouth shut.

He was unfamiliar with the place and he did not want to make unnecessary noise.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked Pier and the young master looked at him.

"I can eat anything as long as I can live," Pier stated and Ciaran's eyebrows rose at the words the young master had given.

"You're not picky?" He asked and Pier shook his head.

"That's new, shouldn't nobles like you be picky eaters since you're all used to living a wealthy life?" It was Pier's turn to raise his eyebrows at the brown-haired man.

"Really now, Ciaran? Please stop stereotyping," He said and Ciaran had a confused look on his face.

"What's stereotyping?" He asked and Pier rolled his eyes.

"Haah..." Pier gave Ciaran a long sigh as he averted his eyes somewhere else inside the small building.

"Do not mind my words, I am a noble after all," He mocked and Ciaran only sighed at how childish Pier was.

"Then I will get you whatever comes to mind," Ciaran said without waiting for Pier's response and left the young master all alone at the table.

'Prick!' Pier thought as he watched Ciaran walk to probably order something.

Ciaran had a stunning appearance.

But Pier found the mysterious shrouded person's attitude annoying.

"Well, he should pay for me because I do not have any money with me," He grumbled as he remembered he did not have anything with him. He was only wearing the suit he wore at the Crown Prince's celebration and he needed to change clothes soon too.

When Ciaran got back, he had multiple varieties of food in his hand.

There was roasted meat, there was also a bowl of steaming hot soup, and there were other kinds of bread too.

Pier stared at the food in the man's hands as he was really hungry.

"Help yourself," Ciaran said as he sat on a stool opposite on Pier's direction and he kept silent right after sitting.

Pier nodded his head as he started to eat the bread that Ciaran had brought.

Munch

Munch

Munch

Ciaran watched the young master eat. He focused his green eyes on the young master who was happily munching on a slice of roasted meat.

Pier stopped eating for a moment when he saw Ciaran's gaze at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked but Ciaran did not respond.

"Ah, perhaps do you want to eat too?" He suddenly asked as he forgot to invite Ciaran to eat with him.

'Crap, I was too hungry to even notice him.'

"No, that's all for you," He said and Pier hesitated before he nodded his head and ate again.

He felt bad for forgetting to invite Ciaran but he also was happy that Ciaran did not care.

"Awen't you hungwy?" Pier asked as he stuffed another bread in his mouth and Ciaran had to stop expressing his disbelief in front of Pier.

The young master was talking while his mouth was full. It was general knowledge that all nobles should avoid such disgraceful action but Pier did not even care that there were small crumbs of bread that were falling from his mouth.

Ciaran smirked as he watched the young master eat.

"Are you sure you're a noble?" He asked and Pier proceeded to look at him.

"Yesh, pwetty sure I am," Pier answered and continued eating.

It was the first time Ciaran had met a noble that acted like this. One that did not care about noble-like manners, and was even comfortable around strangers like him.

"I could have placed poison in your food" Pier stopped chewing on the food as he turned to stare at Ciaran. He gulped the food he was chewing first before he spoke.

"Then say bye-bye to the ice magic you wanted." Ciaran laughed at Pier's words.

"How can you be so sure that you're that important? We can just find other ice magic users" He said cheekily and Pier stopped before he turned his head to the side.

There weren't many people inside the building and there wasn't anyone near them to hear their conversation.

"You wouldn't bother taking a high-ranking noble like me if you did not need me that much," He stated as he drank water from a wooden container that Ciaran placed on the table along with the food.

"As you've said, my family is known for its war capabilities. Now you took the risk of taking the successor of that family just because he wielded ice magic," Pier concluded and Ciaran was stunned with how Pier was thinking.

It was indeed true that he would not even bother laying his hand on a noble like Pier who had such a high status in the society but because he was desperate enough, he took Pier regardless of the possible consequences.

"Just think of this as a payment for helping me escape the Crown Prince, Ciaran. You needed my ice magic so I am going along with you for now, but when I am finished with helping you, let's go on our own separate journeys," Pier spoke.

The childish and fun attitude he was displaying earlier disappeared when he was talking about his thoughts with the man and Ciaran could not say a word.

What Pier said was correct.

Ice magic was so rare that people who were able to wield it in the past were treated as high to highest ranking mages regardless of proficiency.

Pier knew that too, he did not spend so much time at the libraries of their mansion and the original Pier's reading habit did not go to waste as he was able to obtain this information.

When he knew he was able of using ice magic, he also realized how his worth had skyrocketed. He could use wind, fire, and ice magic.

Three elements that had never manifested on a beginner mage like him in all of history.

Ciaran shivered as he looked at the young master who had lost all of the friendliness in his face. He was slightly wary of the young master that he thought was simply aloof.

Their short conversation made him partially aware of Pier's characteristics.

'This person could fool you with that bright and goofy façade but underneath lies a manipulator that could do anything he wanted' Ciaran thought as he gazed at the white-haired young master who now had a solemn expression on his face while eating.

Pier knew he was a special existence. He knew the moment Ice magic manifested in his hands that he could no longer be ignored and considered useless.

'This person turned the tables immediately.' Ciaran was starting to fear the young master in front of him.

He was amazed and baffled at the same time because he thought Pier was simply that kind of noble who gave little to no importance to what they had but now he knew.

'I had directly fallen right into his hands.'

"Ah, that was good. Thank you for the food, Ciaran. Can I have another request though?" Pier said as he covered his mouth when he burped after eating to his heart's content.

"What is it?" Ciaran answered in a more careful manner.

Pier smiled at the tone Ciaran used.

"Can you make me a cloak like the one you're wearing?" He asked and Ciaran stopped for a moment.

"Why?"

"You don't want me getting so much attention with my white hair, no?" Pier said and Ciaran nodded his head.

---

"Knight Woodlock, rest for a moment!" The knight's captain of the House of Masters called to the young man who was half-naked with only his trousers on.

"He works too hard, don't you think?"

"Agreed, I wish I regained the motivation I had when I was at that age"

Two senior knights that accompanied the captain talked as they watched Gideon train.

Sweat dripped down Gideon's arms, neck, and stomach that sported well-defined abs.

He gripped the sword he had gotten in becoming Pier's official knight. He gritted his teeth as he slashed on the target dummies in the training grounds.

One by one, the dummies fell to the ground as they were sliced into pieces.

'Young Master' He thought and he gripped his sword tighter.

He had failed to protect his young master again.

It was not even sure that the young master had escaped the kingdom.

'What if he was abducted?' He thought as his well-defined jawline trembled in anger.

"Please be safe and when you return, I will never leave your side again," He whispered as he slashed his sword once more.