"Please come in, Prince Faust." The second prince of the Belmaid Empire entered the study of the Taron Kingdom's Crown Prince.

"I give my gratitude for the warm welcome," Faust spoke and Asher nodded his head in response.

Faust was wearing the usual luxury clothes the royalty of the empire wears. The guards stepped aside as to let the Prince in.

"Is the magic device ready?" The second prince asked without even sitting at the guest seats prepared.

Asher clicked his tongue silently at how Faust was acting.

The Belmaid Empire had just gone into war with another Empire on the northern side of the continent and things had been going smoothly for them as of current updates.

It was something that the Belmaid Empire could boast. They, along with the Taron Kingdom are the two territories that are experts in war.

"Yes, please follow me," Asher spoke and the two went directly to the table where Asher had placed the magic device that contained the recordings of Pier's performances.

He grabbed the crystal ball-like magic device and carefully handed it to Faust who had a grateful look on his face.

"Would you like to sit and have a cup of tea first?" He inquired the second prince and Faust nodded his head.

"It would be my pleasure,"

"Alright,"

Asher then instructed the knight guarding his door to tell the Head butler to bring them tea and snacks.

The knight nodded and bowed his head before following the Crown Prince's command and trotting away with prideful steps.

Asher turned his back to head inside the study once more and was about to close the door when a very familiar voice called him.

"Your Highness!"

He turned his head to look in the direction where the voice had just called and there he saw the woman he had completely forgotten about while he was resting and waiting for his arm to heal.

"Lady Elena," The Crown Prince smiled as he greeted the Lady who had copper blonde hair and was wearing a green-colored dress.

Elena loves the color green. It compliments her skin and hair perfectly together.

The lady hurried as she fastened her steps and approached the Crown Prince.

"P-Pardon my manners, I am simply excited to see his highness once more," She spoke as she bowed lightly after showing her hurried steps to the prince.

Asher smiled at her and dismissed the mistake she supposedly did.

"It is fine, Lady Elena. I am glad to have seen you once more too," He spoke in the usual gentle manner and Elena's beautiful smile widened at the response.

"Though I have a guest right now, unfortunately," Asher spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice, and Elena's eyebrows slightly raised at it.

'Is he mad because that guest disturbed our time together?' She thought as she wondered who the guest was.

"Maybe we can spend some time when the guest leaves," Asher proposed and Elena's shoulders slightly lowered as she felt disappointed at the suggestion.

"I-I see. Then I will meet his highness-"

"No, it would be bad to send the lady after she had come personally to meet you, Prince Asher," A voice from inside the study spoke.

The voice was appealing to the ears and Elena's curiosity grew.

The man who just spoke peeked his head through the door and his shining golden hair accompanied by his topaz eyes greeted Elena.

The Lady's eyes widened as she remembered who the person looking through the door was.

"A-Ah, Greetings to the Second Prince of the Belmaid Empire, His Highness Prince Faustino," She stuttered with her first word as she bowed while holding both sides of her expensive dress.

"Please be at ease, my lady," Faust spoke as he fully revealed himself from the door and properly greeted the lady.

Elena's eyes widened and her breath stopped for a moment as she saw the handsome man smiling lightly at her.

"I-I give my gratitude," She spoke before standing properly and clasping both of her hands together.

She looked beautiful while just even standing. Her modest demeanor and innocent face were enough to capture the hearts of every man whom she meets.

However, it was a different case for the second prince.

"I am in awe with the Lady's beauty. Prince Asher sure is very lucky to have you," Faust complimented and Elena blushed at the words.

However, Asher had a small frown on his face as he listened.

"Ah, please do not take my words as a sign of provocation, Prince Asher. I am simply and truly glad that the lady is indeed fitting for the next king of our allied kingdom," Faust spoke with honesty.

"Do not worry, Prince Faust. There is no offense taken," Asher replied and Elena was switching her gaze back and forth between the two princes who seems to have some sort of tension between them.

"I would like to invite the lady over since Prince Asher had already invited me also. It's best if there are plenty of people," Faust suggested and Elena gladly nodded her head.

"It would be my pleasure to spend the time with his highness," Elena bowed gracefully and Faust nodded his head.

The two went inside as Asher instructed the other knights to prepare more food and tea since Elena would be joining them.

Faust sat on the guest seat inside the study and Elena did so to on the other seats.

They were surrounding the table where the nobles once had their meetings in regards to the anti-royalty faction's subjugation plans.

Faust sat on the exact seat where Pier had also been seated before.

Asher's eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance when he saw that the second prince sat at the seat Pier had done so too before but he kept it for himself.

There was no point in lashing out at the prince for sitting at a seat that was prepared for the guests who come to see the Crown Prince anyway.

Elena noticed that Faust was holding a crystal ball in his hands and she proceeded to inquire him.

"May I ask what his highness is holding?" Elena asked out of curiosity and Faust looked at the magic device in his hand.

"Ah, this is a magic device that contains records of certain events," Faust replied with a bright smile on his face and Elena's gaze lingered on the handsome prince.

Prince Faustino Blanch, the second prince of the Belmaid Empire and one of the two faces that represent the territory.

It was a well-known fact that Faust along with his brother, the emperor who is the Crown Prince of the empire, were the two most good-looking individuals.

Together, they are the constant covers of the daily news spread throughout the empire in the form of printed and words alone.

Tales of their dazzling golden hair and deep topaz eyes that were rumored to entice everyone when met with their own gazes were constantly talked about by the noble ladies.

Even at the kingdom, Elena would sometimes hear about the other noble ladies' stories of how handsome the first and second princes were.

It was her first time seeing Faust at the Royal Banquet since the Crown Prince was the one who usually attends and she did not get to talk too much with Faust because the prince was busy dancing with a certain noble.

"I see. If it is not that bold of me may I ask what the records are about?" She inquired further and Faust's bright smile faltered for a split second before it went back up again.

"These are records of the young master's performances, Lady Elena," Immediately, the noble lady's eyebrows furrowed and she felt her good mood dissipating into thin air at the mention of the missing young master.

"T-The young master?" She stuttered as she asked but the person she was talking to seems to have regained his energy and smiled back when the young master was brought up.

Screech!

The chair beside the one Elena was sitting on screeched when Asher pulled it so he can sit as well.

"How were your preparations with the war going, Prince Faust?" He asked as he diverted the topic from the young master to another one.

Elena had a questioning look on her face but Asher did not even spare her a glance as he stared intently at the second prince.

As if he had some sort of grudge or huge dislike to the prince.

"Ah, everything is good, Prince Asher. Though the people of the empire are scared, well war is war, we are trying to ease their panic," Faust spoke as he laughed.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Consecutive knocks resonated inside the room after Faust replied and a voice was heard outside.

"Your Highness, I have brought the tea and pastries for the guest and Lady Elena," It was the head butler whom Asher had instructed.

"Come in,"

The door opened and the head butler walked inside holding a teapot on one hand and a few teacups on his other hand. Following him were multiple servants who brought the luxury pastries inside.

They all served the guests properly and the conversation started to run again.

"I see. Has the princess calmed down too?" Asher asked as he sipped on the warm tea that was on the teacup.

Faust laughed when he heard the question.

It was by no means an open secret that the Belmaid Empire's Crown Prince's fiancé was the cause of the war that they were currently attending on.

The lady had seen Faust's brother dance with another woman who turned out to be the Crown Princess of the Empire from the north and she thought Faust's brother was cheating on her so she poured wine all over the other princess' hair.

She refused to apologize which caused the dispute between the two enormous territories to sink deeper until it resulted in war.

"Haha! The princess had calmed down as you termed it, Prince Asher," Faust spoke as he was laughing in between his words.

Asher's jaw tightened at Faust's carefree attitude.

"I see. If you ever need help you can always inquire our kingdom for assistance," Asher spoke as he also leaned on the chair he was sitting on and crossed his legs underneath.

Of course, if the Belmaid Empire was good at war, so is the Taron Kingdom, especially with the presence of the House of Masters, they were not to scoff at.

"Ah, of course, Prince Asher. However, the contents of this magic device are already of great help for us," Faust explained and Elena's curiosity grew even more since the question she had earlier was not answered with Asher's interruption.

"May I ask why the young master's performances are necessary for helping the empire, your highness?" Elena asked and Faust's grin dropped entirely.

It was instead replaced with a stoic and frightening one.

Seeing the reaction, Elena immediately explained in hurry.

"A-Ah, please do not take any offense with the question. The young master's performance is the best that I have seen. However, I am simply wondering how it would help especially in the situation of the war." She carefully chose her words and she constantly bowed her head in shame.

"I see. There are no offenses taken since you simply asked out of curiosity, my lady," Faust said with a light tone and Elena took a breath of relief secretly.

"I thought it has been taught to the nobles of the kingdom that if a territory is at war, it doesn't entirely focus on the war itself. There are still other things that should be taken into consideration," Faust asked. However, the question was mocking.

"..."

Elena kept her mouth shut as she heard the question.

"Please do not question the system of education we give to the nobles in the kingdom, Prince Faust," Asher spoke with a hard expression but Faust was already up again with his light and carefree attitude.

"Woah, calm down, Prince Asher," Faust spoke as he laughed.

Asher gritted his teeth at Faust's words.

"Pardon my words if it may seem offensive. However, I am simply curious like the lady is. I think she had simply forgotten about it,"

Clang!

The utensils on Elena's plate smashed lightly with the teacup that was sitting quietly in front of her.

Forgetting things that had been considered as a priority of the kingdom was a huge mistake a noble could ever do. It was a sign of how incompetent a noble is when they forget details that are needed to be remembered.

Especially if it was about the Empire whom they had been in partnership with for centuries now.

"I-I have not forgotten the details, Your Highness," Elena spoke as she composed herself.

"I was more focused on the details of the war since it is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed," Elena spoke and Faust had to contain the laughter inside of him.

She was making no sense at all right now. It was true that the war was an urgent matter but it did not clarify her mistake of asking why Pier's performance was needed in the empire in times of war.

Faust simply smiled.

'I'll let this go just this once' He thought as he sipped on the teacup that was served for him.

"I might have also lacked some context to the information and the idea," He started to speak as he brought the teacup down.

"As we all know, the Belmaid Empire also treasures the culture of music. Since the citizens worship the God of Music, we give utmost importance to it as well. Even amidst the war, we should still continue to operate and grow," Faust explained while switching his gazes back and forth at the Crown Prince and his lady.

"The young master's performances have been recognized by the scholars of the Academy of Music as the epitome of perfection. We know that the Academy of Music had been silent for the past century because no genius had been born and was qualified enough to be recognized by them," He continued and Elena's breath was caught in her throat in surprise.

"R-Recognized?" She asked in utter confusion and surprise that Faust could not help but grin at the sight of the Lady.

"Correct. Pier Belmiunde from the House of Masters is currently the latest renowned prodigy in music. He had exceeded the Academy's standards with his performances and pieces to the point that they are willing to allow the young master to enter the Academy in advance," He spoke in joy and enthusiasm.

The Academy of Music was one of the most prestigious places that house famous musicians, composers, and other individuals who had shown great talent in music.

Some of the well-known individuals who studied in the Academy of Music were previous emperors, kings, continental stars, and other significant individuals who are greatly respected and had their names passed down in the world's history.

It is one of the most sought-after academies to study that it even surpassed the Academy of Magic and Academy of Swords.

It is so prestigious that even being allowed to take the entrance examination was worth an entire lineage's pride. It would go down in a noble household's history when one of their members was able to take an entrance examination at the said Academy.

Right now, Pier Belmiunde was acknowledged and given the opportunity to study there in advance.

"Returning to the previous discussion, I assume it is clear as daylight why we requested a copy of the young master's performances, no? The Belmaid Empire wanted to see the genius of the century's performance and admire his existence," Faust said as he crossed his arms and observed the two.

Asher had an expressionless yet tough gaze while Elena had her head bowed slightly.

Strands of her beautiful copper hair were covering her face but she could not afford to think about it right now.

She breathed deep and hard.

The things she had heard from the second prince were truly unexpected that she knew would be comparable to the tales of a dragon's existence if some other person would tell her.

Her hands clenched under the table as she plastered her grin back on her face.

"Isn't admiring the young master's existence be like worshipping a god? Please do not mock the god you are worshipping, your highness," She stated and Faust's grin widened.

"If you put it that way then it can be correlated to the idea. However, the god of music is our ultimate deity, and the geniuses in music born are considered to be of highest importance too," Faust spoke.

"A god is a god and the geniuses of music are considered as his descendants," He continued speaking and Elena's eyes continued to widen each time.

"That means the young master is currently regarded as an individual with similar importance to a royalty, if I may say," he stated.

Clang!

This time, the spoon and fork Elena was holding did not hit the teacup. They all left her hands and fell to the table.

"Royalty...?" She asked herself but Faust took it as a question for him.

Faust nodded his head as he handled the magic device carefully in his hands.

"Correct. How about you, my lady? In which academy are you planning to enter?" Faust spoke nonchalantly as he was simply inquiring the lady about her interests.

Elena stopped doing everything completely as she thought about it.

"I do not have any plans on which Academy I would enter for now, your highness," She answered and Faust had a knowing look on his face.

"I suggest you do, my lady. There is only more than a year until you start learning in your chosen Academy, correct?" Faust asked and Elena nodded her head.

"I do think that the Academy of Business would suit the lady," Faust spoke without thinking too much about his words.

But the statements he left made a huge impact on the Lady who was listening.

The Academy of Business is the most common Academy that every noble would go into if they cannot go towards the other academies. It was considered as the place of the common by the general public.

Everyone saw the Academy of Business as dying wild grass compared to the Academy of Magic and Academy of swords which were seen as a healthy and well-taken care garden.

However, it was even considered as blasphemy and a grave sin to compare the Academy of Business and Academy of Music. The two are at the opposite edges of a ladder with the Academy of Business at the lowest and the Academy of Music at the peak.

If the Academy of Business was a dying wild grass, the Academy of Music was an entire glasshouse perched on top of an Empire's Palace.

Elena could not help but compare herself with the young master's achievement.

True, she would go to the Academy of Business since her family focuses on businesses and mines. However, when people would try and look at it, she was now a speck of dust compared to the person revered as a direct descendant of a god.

What would people say if they knew which Academy they would respectively go to?

'I see. The Crown Prince had rejected the prodigy from the Academy of Music for Lady Elena who went to the Academy of Business?'

'Fufufu~ what a shame'

'Even if I do not love the young master I would devote my whole life just to have him'

'Correct. I simply cannot argue with that'

Shame.

She was feeling so much shame at the thought she had.

What would people say now if Pier's admission to the Academy of Music gets known by everyone? Would she be compared? What would happen to her reputation?

She gritted her teeth silently as she thought about the possible results.

"Then I am guessing Prince Asher would go to the Academy of Swords?" He spoke and the prince who had been quiet since earlier nodded in response.