It was Asher Lumiere, the Crown Prince.

He suddenly remembered his promise to not get in the Crown Prince's way anymore.

"I greet the future sun of the kingdom, His Highness, the Crown Prince." Pier then bowed slightly to show respect.

'Should I act friendly? No, Pier from before would never greet Asher like this though?' He tried to weigh the options but eventually came up with a solution. 'Whatever, I'll just pretend he's not in my world anymore.'

Pier expected at least a proper response but the prince simply nodded his head and did not even spare him a glance. Pier felt his anger inside boiling.

'This arrogant bastard! Just because the original owner of this body used to like you does it mean you get the right to treat him like that!' He seethed quietly. It was a blatant display of disrespect considering the Royal Family's affiliation with the House of Masters.

One thing he continued to overlook about the previous Pier and Asher's situation is that the latter treated Pier badly. Even though Pier was indeed annoying and overbearing, it was still inappropriate for the prince to treat Pier as if he was non-existent.

'Whatever, let's just end things with him and move on. I want to learn magic!' Pier raised his head and hesitated for a moment but Raphael invited him to sit with them.

"Thank you, Sir Raphael." The young master smiled a little bit at the invitation of the young duke.

Raphael Sentinio, the soon-to-be successor of the Sentinio Duchy was the second most influential supporter of the current and future king after the House of Masters.

The reason why Pier found Raphael unpleasant was because of their history together.

He was Pier's supposedly previous soon-to-be husband but things did not work out in the end. There were many problems that got in the way.

Pier during that time was smitten with the Crown Prince and Raphael had a lover as well and they both decided to call it off. However, Pier expected things to go well that time but days after the agreement, a rumor suddenly circulated about how the Belmiunde Household decided to cancel the engagement between Raphael and Pier as the duchy was inferior to the Belmiunde household.

Pier tried to talk with Raphael but all he got that time was 'I do not wish for my beloved to get dragged in all this mess'.

'What a prick.' Pier thought. The funnier thing was that the Sentinio household later found out that Raphael's lover at that time was revealing private information to the Duchy's enemies and she was also the one who started the rumors about the engagement between Raphael and Pier.

'Karma sure works in a lot of ways.' Pier's lips started to curl up but luckily stopped himself from doing so.

'I do not need to get involved with these people in the future if I want to have a peaceful life.' He made another resolution in his mind before sitting down in one of the chairs in the pavilion. Servants were going back and forth preparing the tea and other refreshments the king has ordered.

Pier calmly avoided Raphael's gaze and stared somewhere else. It was a clear sign for Raphael to not talk with Pier.

Raphael then also sat down while still peeking glances at Pier.

'Hmm?' the auburn-haired man thought. It was different from the usual reaction Pier would show when he sees him. It was understandable why Pier did not want to talk with Raphael because of the thing that happened in the past.

He never helped Pier settle the issues after the calling off of their engagement and decided that protecting his lover's image, who turned out to be a spy from the enemies was more important. He understood it all, but he also sent Pier multiple letters on how he wanted to talk about the issue and ask for forgiveness but never got a reply.

He found it even weirder that Pier did not say a word to Asher after greeting him. He recalled the countless times Pier would cling to Asher after they meet but the Pier right now did not even spare the prince a second glance after greeting him.

'Should I talk with him?' Regardless of the weird feeling he had about Pier's sudden turn of actions, he still thought that this was the best timing for them to talk and settle things.

'But he had already drawn the line.' Pier's avoidance of Raphael was a clear representation of the young master being uninterested in the latter.

He carefully observed Pier. His hair was now well-trimmed and he did not wear any clothes that are a mixture of colors that were hurtful to the eyes.

'Were the rumors going around about him true?' He glanced at his friend, Asher, and found him glancing at Pier as well.

Rumors of how Asher rejected Pier in front of many individuals and how Pier looked like he was about to cry were going around the kingdom right now. Many nobles made fun of Pier but Raphael decided not to intervene with the issue because he thought those were all false rumors.

Asher saw Raphael staring at him, no, to be more specific, his friend was glaring daggers at him

'What did you do?' Raphael was questioning him through that gaze and Asher could only sigh in response.

He never meant to do that, he never meant to embarrass Pier in front of the servants and citizens but he wasn't able to control himself. Pier kept sticking himself to Asher which caused Elena to turn away from the both of them. It was a childish reason but he had no other excuse for the action.

'Talk to him!' Raphael urged him. He promised his friend that he would help him rebuild the relationship between the Sentinio Duchy and the Belmiunde Household but everything had already gone down the drain.

Asher sighed once more before returning his gaze to the main topic of their stare-off contest.

Pier was looking around the garden with curious eyes and he found it weird as well as to why the young master was not fawning over him this time.

"Pier–" he tried calling Pier but the blue eyes that responded to the sudden call did not look friendly at all

"Young master, your highness. please call me young master. I do not wish for people to misinterpret his highness' words about our relationship." Those words stopped Asher from talking midway. He felt embarrassed for the sudden interruption but he was more bewildered at the cold response from Pier.

"A-Ah, my apologies, young master," Asher stuttered and Raphael had his eyes wide open at the scene before him. No one in the entirety of the kingdom would have the courage to interrupt the Crown Prince from talking midway nor would anyone correct the prince's speech.

'Yet he did that without hesitation.' Raphael stared at the smiling Pier in awe. He never knew the person who was said to be devoted to his highness would one day correct the prince in the way he addresses him.

However, Pier added another line out of nowhere.

"The relationship we had before was simply my delusion that we had a closer relationship, Prince Asher. Please forgive me for casually addressing his highness's name without care and for my horrendous assumptions at that time as well. I am also delighted that his highness had helped me clear my mind about such trivial matters," Pier said without holding back and drawing a firm line in their relationship.

Surprised by the words, Asher could not believe what he was hearing right now. The sudden attitude Pier had made him furrow his eyebrows. He never thought someone could be this blunt and straightforward in his whole life.

"I see, pardon my carelessness, Young Master Pier," he said as he cleared his throat and looked away. Raphael just watched everything unfold right in front of him.

'Trivial? Did Pier just call his feelings for the prince trivial?' He could not believe the things he just heard. He looked like he was in a daze but still decided to glance at Pier. He found the young master with a calm gaze while observing the surrounding once more after thanking the prince.

Pier was holding back his laughter and pretended to look at the surroundings once more.

'That was enough to draw the line and stop any assumptions anymore, right?' Pier contemplated before picking up a cookie and munching on it. He did not care anymore if he looked like a beggar eating for the first time in a few months but he was hungry after saying those things.

'How can he say those things and elegantly eat cookies after?' Raphael and Asher both kept quiet after Pier's statements. He found it extremely weird but astonishing how Pier had acted.

"Young master..." Raphael tried talking to him but was interrupted.

"The King has entered the garden of the Sun Palace!" everyone focused their attention on the entrance of the Sun Palace's Garden and saw the king arriving with his entourage.

"We greet the sun of the kingdom, his majesty the king." they all said in Unison.

King Henry smiled at them as he approached.

"Have a seat, my children," King Henry said before sitting at the front of the table.

Once everyone was settled, the servants started serving the tea and desserts.

"You must be wondering why I called you here." King Henry looked at each of them and he immediately noticed the tensioned air between the three young nobles.

'Indeed, I was wondering. I nearly had a heart attack after seeing two pricks but thankful enough that I have talked to them as well.' Pier smiled at the thought and everyone who saw the small smile thought he was enjoying the tea and the refreshments.

"I called everyone here to talk about the preparations for your entrance to the academy." The three young nobles stopped doing what they were currently doing and looked at the king.

"But father, us entering the academy would still be two years from now. Isn't it too early to discuss things about the preparation?" Asher asked his father. Both Raphael and Pier agreed to the crown prince's statement.

"Indeed, it is still far but I wanted to assure you that things will go smoothly starting from here on," he said before sipping the tea prepared by his servants. The three young nobles in front of him were silent once more.

"In these two years before the entrance to the academy, I would like to ask you individually what you would like to do." The king had a happy expression on his face as he stared at the future pillars of the kingdom in the future.

"I wish to continue learning more from you, father. I will soon take over my father's position and continue the legacy of our family thus I wish to continue learning," Asher answered.

'Wow, at least he's responsible for the duties that are soon to be his,' Pier thought.

"Hmmm... I see that's good, Asher. You're becoming more and more responsible every day just like your father!" The king laughed and the servants that were near them agreed with the king's praise. Asher smiled in response to his father's praise.

"How about you, Raphael?" The king smiled while asking Raphael. He could see himself in Asher and Duke Callisto in Raphael while they lead the kingdom into prosperity.

"I have been continuously learning from my father in the previous years, your majesty. Before entering the academy, I would like to also continue my work in the Duchy and support the prince in the future as well," Raphael responded which made the king happier.

"My, the kingdom's future looks even brighter with you two leading soon!" He heartily laughed and Pier closed his eyes while agreeing. The Kingdom's future looks brighter with these individuals regardless of their personality and attitude.

"How about you, Pier?" Pier opened his eyes at the king's question.

Everyone at the table excluding two individuals have expected an answer of 'I wish to serve the future sun of the kingdom' but what they received was far from what they have expected.

"I wish to train, your majesty." Pier smiled and the king stiffened at the response

"Train? Can you elaborate that further, Pier?" he asked

"Ah, forgive me for the shallow response, your majesty. I wish to explore the world and train myself in the two years before entering the academy." Both Raphael and Asher also stiffened at the answer given by Pier.

"Why do you wish to train, my child?" The king asked in concern

"The House of Masters had always been at the vanguard of the kingdom's forces for generations, your majesty. I wish to train and explore the world for me to properly portray my role as the future pillar of the vanguard and protect the kingdom along with my family's forces," Pier explained happily, but the king was thinking differently.

"Do you not desire to be with Asher anymore, Pier?" The king asked without hesitation.

What Pier said had the clear meaning that he will not become a part of the royal family but instead protect the kingdom as part of its leading forces.

The excited smile on the king's face can no longer be seen and was instead replaced with a small frown, yet Pier did not waver at this.

"Forgive me, your majesty but I no longer wish to be with the prince when we speak with personal interests," Pier calmly stated as he sipped on the warm tea in his cup.

"The prince already has someone he desires to spend the entirety of his life and I am only hindering the growth of their relationship. For the kingdom to become stronger, its ruler must be calm and collected at all times and one way for that to happen is for him to have someone he desires to be with at all times, your majesty." The young master then looked at the steam that was rising from the tea on his cup.

"I realized that I have been ignorant of the prince's feelings and kept pushing myself for him when he held no interest in me in the first place. I was indeed happy when Prince Asher cleared the misunderstandings between us, your majesty," Pier uttered without stopping.

Everybody was silent. The king, Asher, Raphael, and the servants. They all stared at the black-haired young master who was casually sipping on tea. His statements were that of degradation to himself but those who knew what he meant got the chills

'I no longer desire the prince and I wish to go on my path.' Asher widened his eyes at his interpretation of Pier's statement and opened his mouth to respond

"But-"

"I see, Pier. If that is what my child wishes and what he had realized then I no longer hold the capacity to intervene in such matters," The king calmly stated which made Pier smile wider.

"Thank you, your majesty." his sophisticated smile gave everyone the shivers. Raphael glanced at Asher and saw his friend was just as shocked as him.

Asher suddenly felt a cold gaze towards him and immediately knew to whom it belonged. The king's gaze that depicts disappointment could be felt instantly and Asher could not help but lower his head.