"If this isn't enough proof that I can slay a magic beast then I am welcoming duels from any of you who have said so yesterday."
The two elements manifested and Pier's hands and everyone who saw it stood immobile in their spots. The wind on his left palm seemed like it was unstable at how it constantly splurged out gusts of wind towards the surroundings.
Pier's clothes fluttered as the wind set warning signals to the people. The fire magic on his right hand blazed so brightly that everyone thought they would become roasted humans if they even touch the slightest bit of heat.
Pier was indeed showing off his magic powers and it was working pretty effectively. The knights, priests, and clerks started to back off one by one as Pier's elements raged in both of his palms.
"Pier!" Pier turned to look at the person who called him. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Asher looking at him with wide eyes.
"You can use magic..."
'Is that a statement or a question?' Pier thought as he glanced at the prince who had a bewildered look.
He did not bother responding to the prince but instead focused his attention back on the people present in their current location.
"None?" He asked and there was a short moment of silence before a voice answered.
"Then please let me have the honor of having a duel against the young master." Pier looked at the person who talked and he was slightly surprised to see that it was the captain of the royal knights.
Gasp!
People gasped at the knight captain's words. The knight captain was a veteran swordsman that was almost at the level of an expert swordsman, two steps away from becoming a swordmaster himself and he was accepting the duel against the young master who never showed his skills in dueling another person.
"Y-Young Master, let me fight in your stead!" Gideon said behind Pier. It was up against the knight captain and he did not want to see Pier lose against someone who had years of experience in fighting.
"Can you win?" Pier asked and Gideon stopped for a moment.
He had just become a knight. He may have the talent in swordsmanship but he could not easily catch up with the knight captain's skills and experience.
"I-I'm not sure..." he contemplated.
"As I thought so. Let me handle this one." Pier said as his fire magic reformed into a sword. It was the form that he had the most difficulty in manifesting and took him 3 days of not sleeping and concentrating.
The fire sword was directly connected with his palm and unlike the heavy swords made out of physical materials, his fire sword was weightless and easy to move.
"Hoh! I'm amazed to see a sword made from fire!" The Knight Captain announced before stepping in forward. Some cheered the knights' captain and others
However, Asher stopped the knight captains from having a duel with the young master.
"That's enough." He commanded.
"That is already enough proof for the young master to show his magic in front of all of us," Asher said and the people around them also nodded their heads. As if Asher's words were absolute.
The knights' captain backed off and bowed respectfully to Asher before turning towards Pier's direction. He was still amazed at the sword which was made out of fire and he wanted to try dueling with the young master.
"Then I would like to concede, for the time being, young master. I am looking forward to the time when we can partake in an official duel." the knights' captain said before completely backing off.
Pier sighed. He was relieved he did not have to face the knight's captain.
"I understand, Captain. I look forward unto the duel too." Pier said then turned around to walk back.
It was only through his advantages of the surroundings and the huge tree that Pier was able to beat the magical beast. If he were to go against an opponent like the captain and it would be on the plain ground where he cannot do anything but fight head-on, he would surely lose even under a minute.
Pier was simply trying to mask the fact that he can go on head-to-head combat with the captain because he instantly knew that if Gideon was to go up against the captain of the knights with his skills right now, he might only stand for a couple of minutes too.
Gideon was a promising knight and had the talent to pair it with. However, he was just knighted and he lacked the combat experience and overall skills compared with the captain.
'This knight needs to train harder than I thought.' He thought then proceeded to look at Gideon who flinched when he met Pier's eyes.
"Come, Gideon," Pier said and Gideon followed him without a second thought. Asher watched the two interact with an observing gaze before he turned back to Elena.
The lady was slightly shaking as she watched the dead body of the beast in front of her.
"Are you okay, Lady Elena?" Asher asked Elena as he supported her shaking frame.
Elena had her eyes widened because of the shock she had gotten from the sudden appearance of the dead magic beast.
She held Asher's arms as she balanced herself.
'That... that scum of a loser!' She gritted her teeth silently. How could she not when the Young Master from the Belmiunde Household had given her the shock of the day and not just that, Pier had looked down upon her as if he was looking at some sort of a public entertainer!
"Your Highness, I do not feel well. I shall rest in my carriage for now." Elena said weakly and trudged to her carriage with Asher accompanying her.
"Please rest now, Lady Elena." When she was inside the carriage, Asher closed the door quietly and proceeded to look in the direction Pier had gone with the knight.
He started to walk with a lot of things in his mind. As he walked to the spot of the clearing where Pier had gone, he started to hear some noises from a distance. It was the sound of a sword hitting against air.
'Huh?' He asked himself and as he neared the noise, he started to see a scenario unfolding right in front of him.
The knight that swore upon his name and title was charging against the young master who was standing still.
His eyes widened as he saw the frightening scene. He immediately unsheathed his sword and ran to protect Pier.
However, before he could reach Pier, the young master had moved swiftly to another location and the knight missed hitting Pier with his sword.
Pier who noticed the approach of the Crown Prince stopped for a moment and held his hand out in Gideon's direction.
"Stop for a moment." Gideon abruptly stopped and also proceeded to stare at Asher.
"Is there a problem, your highness?" Pier asked. Asher stared at him for a few seconds before opening his mouth. Asher looked back and forth between Pier and Gideon who were staring at him as well.
After a full minute of silence, he spoke
"Why did you scare Lady Elena?" Pier raised his eyebrows at how direct Asher was.
"I did?" Pier asked as he faced Asher fully.
He couldn't understand how the Crown Prince's mind works. At one point he was so immersed in making Pier his friend but times like this one would come up where he was questioning Pier's actions because he did something minor such as scaring Elena.
"It was evident with how she was shivering after seeing the corpse of the beast!" Asher said in a slightly angry tone. He does not know what to feel after seeing Elena cower in fear in front of the dead beast.
Pier clicked his tongue at how Asher was starting to act out again.
"Your highness, it was not by any means, my intention to scare the Lady with the lifeless body of the beast I was simply trying to prov-"
"I don't care about what your intentions are!" Asher said with a loud voice. Pier stopped his words and proceeded to stare at Asher.
"Your Highness, please calm-"
"Your opinion is not needed, Knight Woodlock! Stay out of this!"
When he heard the statement, Pier felt something stir inside him.
It was anger. He was starting to get mad at the words Asher had said.
'He did not care about my reasons and he's mad because Elena got scared?'
He had buried his hatred for the Crown Prince because the original Pier had already found peace and he wanted Asher to be happy. But all of those were starting to resurface.
'He really asked why I scared Elena but when I answered he said he did not care.' He rolled his eyes at Asher. He did not even care if Gideon saw his actions toward the future king.
"Your Highness, do you speak out of emotions or rationality?" Pier asked in a calm voice. Asher who was furious stared at Pier after he heard the question.
"We are all subjects under his highness' patronage in the future" Pier started to speak.
"Prince Asher, as I have heard you were present during the time when my knight had carried me back into the clearing. You were also present during the time when the lady had started to question my capabilities." Pier started to talk as he fully stared at Asher.
"I really do not care whether people would question my credibility as an individual who is capable of slaying a magic beast alone nor do I care about even showing my magic to everyone." He was furious as to why does he need to even explain his side with the Crown Prince.
All he wanted was to stay away from him but things kept on happening that interlinked him and Asher.
"However, what would happen to the knight who swore loyalty to me when I do not respond to his claims?"
"Young master..." Gideon lightly called out but Pier did not even bother looking in his direction.
"The life of this knight was on the line if I were to discard his claims upon me. So, what did I do? I went to catch another magic beast to prove my capabilities and I even bothered showing my magic with everyone."
Asher stood still as Pier talked.
"But all you are concerned about is why did I scare the lady with the magic beast's body?" He scoffed and soon lightly laughed at the thought.
"Your Highness, I do not care if you still see me in the better light nor if you still wanted to be acquainted with me once more. But I cannot accept that you were fretting over the fact that the lady got scared because of the beast but did not bat an eye when a knight's life was on the line."
Each sentence was piercing into Asher's mind and was making a huge impact.
Asher then started to open his mouth but Pier was not yet done with his words.
"You got mad over the fact that the lady got scared but you did not even care that a knight was putting his life on the line for someone else." Pier started to walk in Asher's direction.
It felt all too familiar for Asher because it was the same scenario back in his study where he was being irrational with his decisions.
When Pier reached Asher's side, he whispered a set of words that made Asher freeze in his spot
"Your highness, you are still greatly affected by your emotions that you tend to overlook more important matters. A knight is a person who has dedicated his life for the kingdom and the ruler itself is overlooking the situation they are in for a matter that is trivial such as getting scared." Pier said and Asher felt the coldness of Pier's voice seep through his body.
"To think a person like this would soon rule the kingdom. I am disappointed, your highness" Pier said as he started to walk again after leaving another statement.
"I will apologize for scaring the lady only if every person who placed my knight in the situation where he had to swear upon his name and title kneel and beg in front of him for forgiveness," Pier stated and soon departed from talking with the Crown Prince.
Gideon, who saw the interaction between the two was completely dumbfounded. He was amazed to see the young master stand up against the angry Crown Prince without even shaking in fear but he was also scared about what Asher would do considering the well-known relationship between him and Pier.
He immediately followed his young master out and left the Crown Prince standing all alone in the area.
Asher looked down at his palms and clenched them.
'I'm sorry...' He thought as he recalled Pier's cold and disappointed tone when he talked to him.
Why did it always go like this? Asher was constantly acting on his whim without too much thought and Pier was always the person who made him realize his actions.
He became mad after seeing Elena cower in fear in front of the magic beast that he was not able to sort out his decisions and words.
--
When Pier got back to the main clearing, he immediately started to walk toward his carriage.
"Y-Young Master, are you alright?" Gideon asked as he followed Pier from behind. Pier turned to look at the knight that had placed his life on the line just so he could protect Pier's dignity.
"I-It was my fault because I told them the young master had slain the beast..."
"That's alright, Gideon. You do not have to apologize for speaking about the truth. People can think about me all they want but I cannot stand it when others are putting their lives at risk just to assure my credibility." Pier as he reached the spot where his designated carriage was parked.
"Remember, Gideon, people are quick to act upon their emotions, just like you did and the Crown Prince did, but the outcome of those irrational movements also matters." Gideon nodded his head at Pier's words. Even though he was older than the young master he felt like he was a kid being lectured by his guardian.
"I understand, young master," Gideon said and Pier nodded his head in response.
"Let's continue training when we reach the boundary. We were interrupted by some uninvited guests" He then climbed into the carriage and closed the door.
"I will ride my horse beside the young master's carriage!" Gideon exclaimed to himself as he walked back to the area where the horses were stationed.