"Y-Young Master!" The knight immediately rushed to the unconscious Pier who was lying beside the beast's corpse.
"H-Hold on, I'll carry you back to the clearing!" The knight rushed, panicking as he picked Pier up and carried the blood-soaked young master on his back.
---
Asher was checking the condition of the carriage and the horses along with his men. For others, it would be weird to see the prince of a kingdom do the chores with them but that's what made the citizens of the Taron Kingdom admire their current Crown Prince.
They see Asher Lumiere as a kind, compassionate, and upright prince.
"Your Highness, please leave the work to us and rest for the time being." A knight said as they inspected the carriage.
"It would be fine to lend a helping hand to the people I will rule in the future." He said and everyone who heard the statement felt their hearts warm up. Truly, Asher is fitting for the position of a prince.
"Your highness-" a priest tried to approach Asher but was cut off by the sound of a sweet voice.
"Your Highness!" Asher's eyes widened when he heard the voice and turned his head in the direction where it came from.
"Lady Elena!" Elena gracefully walked toward the Crown Prince's direction and bowed when he reached him.
"Why is my lady here?" He was surprised at Elena showing up in the middle of the clearing along with many servants behind her.
"I came to accompany his highness in the Boundary!" She replied joyfully. Her silky-smooth hair and her elegant dress made her stand out from the rest of the people who were present in the clearing.
"I'm glad you're here, my lady but -"
"Please do not worry, your highness, I have already asked for my father's permission and he said yes if it is for the betterment of our kingdom." Elena softly said and the knights around her turned their heads away as if they would get beheaded from staring at the beautiful lady of the Scotch Household.
"I see. It's my greatest pleasure to be accompanied by my Lady in my journey." Asher said as he lifted Elena's gloved hand and kissed the back of it. He was still baffled by the sudden appearance of Elena but he decided to not think about it too much.
"It's also my honor to be with his highness' company." the priests, clerks, and knights who saw the scenario smiled at how the future of the kingdom will definitely look bright with the two leading them.
Elena scanned her eyes around the people present and there are those that met her gaze shied away in embarrassment for meeting the beautiful lady's eyes.
"Is there something you are worried about, Lady Elena?" Asher asked and Elena smiled.
"Ah, it is my first time to venture into these kinds of places, your highness. I am curious about the environment and different flowers I can see here!" She said as she cutely talked about flowers and the environment.
Asher chuckled at Elena's action and offered his hand to the lady.
"Then may I accompany the lady to look around the place? Some areas around the clearing have beautiful flowers and sights that the lady might like" Elena beamed widely and nodded her head in response.
"Please do, your highness-" But before she could grab Asher's hand, a shout echoed around the clearing.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Everyone's eyes turned to the voice's source and when Asher saw who it was, his eyes widened in even greater surprise.
It was the knight he had ordered to protect Pier.
And on top of his back was the young master himself. Pier's clothes were covered in blood and he was unconscious too.
Asher's hands trembled as he watched the seemingly lifeless body of the bloodied young master. His heartbeat increased multiple times at the sight.
Elena who had also seen the scenario gasped in shock at the gruesome state Pier was in.
"W-WHAT HAPPENED?!" Asher's panicked voice was heard by everyone and immediately, people started to make way for the knight carrying the young master's body.
"The...the young master...!" The knight said with his eyes wide open as if he was having a hard time processing everything that he had seen.
Asher did not wait for the knight's response and immediately went to carefully lift the young master from the knight's back. A knight rushed to get a new set of cloth and laid it on the ground.
Asher's arms shook as he placed Pier's body down on the clothes laid by the knight.
A healer and a priest immediately went to work and checked Pier's condition.
"How is he?!" Asher asked. Fear and panic were evident in his voice as he was seemingly shaking from the sight of Pier covered with blood.
After a few more minutes of inspection, both the healer and the priest sighed in relief.
"The young master is simply unconscious, your highness." Asher felt his nervousness slightly lessen at the words.
"Then why- why is Pier covered with blood?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"The young master has no wounds, your highness. The blood covering him is not his own but from another creature." The prince gave off a huge sigh of relief after hearing the priest's words.
"It seems the young master has passed out from using most of his magic and mana to the limit." The healer explained and Asher was once more bewildered.
"Mana and magic?" His shaking voice asked the healer and he had his heart pounding at the words.
"Yes, your highness. The young master reached the exhaustion point of his abilities."
Asher turned to look at the knight who was kneeling beside Pier's unconscious body.
His face was blank and empty as if he had seen something otherworldly for the first time.
"Explain what happened," Asher commanded and the knight who seems to have calmed down slightly gulped.
"When his h-highness ordered me to follow the young master..." He breathed multiple times before continuing his explanation.
"I went deeper and deeper inside the forest to look for Young Master Pier but I could not find him. Instead, I was able to encounter an adult m-magic beast..." Gasps resonated around the clearing.
"An adult magic beast?"
"Impossible! We have checked the surroundings but we found none!"
"Silence!" Asher commanded everyone who was shocked to hear about the appearance of a magic beast.
Magic beasts are creatures of the forest that are able to grow and evolve into an entirely new form by slowly intaking the condensed mana in the deeper parts of the forest.
Seeing one directly would be an unfortunate encounter because magic beasts are known to be ruthless and monstrous enough to kill someone with only their pure strength.
