"Hello there, Nice to see you here." Eldric knelt down with one knee as he gently asked Lucas, not knowing who Lucas really was. "Did you get lost? What is your name?"

"I am called Lucas Evandall, Your highness. Second son of Duke Cassius."

'Why is the prince, the main focus of today's party, spending his time here!? Shouldn't he be enjoying the ball right now!?'

Although confused, Lucas self-introduced politely and when he looked up again, Lucas could notice that Price Eldric looked a bit stunned after hearing Lucas's name. It was rather like being stunned by some surprise but it didn't take long as he continued with a laugh.

"Oh Lucas. I believe Edwin is also here. Did you get separated from your brother? Should I guide you?" Eldric gently said, as children of this age would normally be overwhelmed by the atmosphere of such lively banquet and he was afraid Lucas would feel so, too.

"Ah, no… Your Highness. I was just here to feel some breeze…. I will leave immediately, so enjoy your time." As soon as Lucas finished talking he tried to excuse himself but the dull atmosphere around Eldric made him reluctant to do so.

"Oh, wait…."

'What is wrong with him?' Lucas was already on his way to leave the terrace but the voice of Eldric made him look back.

Although the party was intended for Eldric, his eyes seemed to be lifeless contradicting the smile he was making which made Lucas retrace his steps.

"Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

At first, Eldric seemed to be hesitant before he slowly continued his words. "Can you accompany me for a while? Of course, you are free to go if you don't want….."

It surprised Lucas a bit to be asked to accompany him. Certainly, Lucas didn't refuse him as he felt like it was a bit wrong to leave that sad-looking youth alone. Maybe he could help Eldric with something. Even though Lucas might not look like it, he was pretty good with consultation, ... sometimes.

Although they could still hear some noise from the ballroom, the atmosphere from the terrace was pretty tranquil and it also had a cool breeze as the sunset was already over and the moon had started rising.

"Is something bothering you, Your Highness?" Lucas, who couldn't handle the silence and awkward atmosphere anymore, decided to initiate the conversation.

"Do I look like it?"

"Sort of? It seems like you are not enjoying the party. Am I wrong?" Lucas looked at Eldric who was gazing outside beside him. Eldric was still wearing the soft smile like he had always had.

The said prince couldn't believe that such a young child like Lucas could read his mind even when most of his supporting ministers usually couldn't. Normally, Eldric would just slide it off with a smile as he had always done since he was so used to enduring. In a position which was always related with socialization and politics, he always had his guard on while covering all his emotions with just a smile.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel like he needed to be super cautious around Lucas. 'Maybe because he was just a small kid?' He thought as he shifted his gaze towards Lucas.

"I feel like I don't deserve this…." Eldric, himself, really didn't know why he was spilling words. It must be Lucas' appearance that made him feel relaxed.

"Actually, I made a mistake… a big mistake, to be exact…. And it resulted in many deaths of the innocents." Eldric continued, while looking at the night sky, again. "If I was more careful…. It shouldn't have happened…."

'Is he talking about the incident with Eura's tribe?' Lucas immediately understood what Eldric was talking about as he started to sympathize with him. In fact, Eldric was such a soft boy who could feel really burdened a lot once he committed a mistake.

"I don't want to compete anymore…." There was a long lifeless sigh once Eldric finished. It was right. Eldric didn't want to compete for the throne anymore. He couldn't handle it. There were countless times when he thought it was better to let everyone down and run faraway. "I can't. I am always making mistakes…. I am always failing."

Lucas was speechless as he didn't know how to comfort Eldric. 'Should I say that it wasn't his fault?' But he didn't want to state that. 'No…. He should be guilty to a point. He should have taken extra care of the information and identities by himself, not just letting all the ministers do whatever they wanted…. If Albert didn't find out about his plans in the first place, Eura and her family wouldn't suffer. But the culprit is 100% that Albert-bastard so I can't blame him either… since he is also the victim here….'

"I am such a bad one, right Lucas?"

Somehow, Eldric sounded pitiful. Just like an innocent boy who was pressured by many external forces.

"I think it's better if you learn from your mistakes and move on, Your Highness….." Lucas replied to the question of the prince. He knew that it was not something that a 7 years old boy should be saying to a prince but this Eldric was in need of some words that would make him move on.

As he had expected, Eldric was looking at him like he saw an alien.

"I mean…. My father said that one should not falter with failures and should move forward while learning from his past mistakes!" Lucas cracked a nervous smile, not knowing how Eldric would think of him.

"I never thought Duke Cassius would say words like that….." Prince Eldric seemed dumbfounded, recalling his imagination of cold Duke Cassius who always stayed like muted one in the council meetings unless it was necessary.

'Of course, it is not Duke Cassius! It is my other father!' was what Lucas wanted to tell but he endured.

"Anyway, I think Your Highness should not feel too burden but instead learn from what you have wronged! If you feel lost, try to think about what you want to do, personally without listening to others and also why you want to do that."

'This boy seriously needed some root cause analysis for his depressed state.'

"Doing whatever I want….." Eldric was a bit stunned after hearing such words and a few seconds later he bursted out laughing as if he was not expecting, making Lucas shivered in nervousness.

"I...I am sorry Lucas. I am not trying to make fun of you… hahaha" Finally Eldric stopped laughing, feeling satisfied somehow. "Yea, maybe I should just do that."

"Thanks Lucas!" Eldric grinned.

"Good to be of service, Your Highness."

'This boy should at least feel lighter, right?' Lucas also felt satisfied feeling the atmosphere that had just lightened up with Eldric's laugh.

"And I don't think Your Highness is the bad guy." Lucas added. He knew that Prince Eldric was never a villain. He was too good. Too good that Lucas might mis-interpret him as a naive female lead of a romance novel. Seriously, Price Eldric should fix that habit, too. "Your Highness is kind to me, so you are not a bad guy."

"Is that so…." Somehow, Prince Eldric felt that it was sweet to hear that from Lucas. 'Maybe it was the right choice to open up to him. I didn't realize children could be so innocent and understanding at the same time." and so he thought.

"This birthday party is solely for you, Your Highness. You should have fun since you are the spotlight." Lucas continued.

"Yea, I should. Let's go back to the ballroom, Lucas. The first dance is going to start."

"Of course."

As soon as the duo opened up the curtain, they could see that the music for the first dance was in the intro and people were starting to pair up with the partner. As the people were starting to gather around Prince Eldric, Lucas excused himself quickly to step aside at the corner.

Looking at Eldric who was now offered a girl from nowhere and started to enjoy the first dance, making all the ministers shocked as he should be offering his first dance to a lady of marquess for some political reasons, Lucas couldn't help but to crack a smile although he knew that that was one reckless move. But everyone should be able to do whatever they want at least on their birthday, right?

"Now, he looked more sincere." He murmured, and his eyes, looking for the couple of Ryosuke and Stella as he wanted to enjoy seeing the protagonist couple's first dance. As he had originally intended.

"There they are…."

In the couples that were now enjoying the first dance, Lucas could see one where the boy in black was seriously in an awkward face and the girl in purple had an untouchable atmosphere getting the glares by a majority of the audience. In this banquet, it shouldn't be wrong that the couple of Prince Eldric and them were the ones who got the most attention right now.

'That kid won't step on Stella's feet, right?' Somehow Lucas felt worried. But looking at the couple, he thought that either they were doing alright or Stella was seriously enduring Ryosuke.

"Who is the one that was dancing with Lady Stella?"

Lucas's ears were lifted as he heard the mention of Stella and Ryosuke couple. 'Ah, they are the ones who can't even find a girl to dance with. How pitiful…' He couldn't help but to smile.

"I don't know. But he came with the Evandall household but no one knew his identity clearly. Maybe he is a bastard?"

"Then why did Lady Stella choose to dance with a bastard? There are many guys better than him. I might even understand if she chose Lord Edwin instead…."

Lucas could feel the jealousy that was surrounding in the air and he felt that it was like watching the Cinderella movie in the first seat. 'That's why I was eager to see this.' Somehow he felt so satisfied that he hated his mind which loved to see some arrogant people suffering. Boys were jealous with Ryosuke while girls were jealous with the girl who was dancing with Prince Eldric.

'Come to think of it, who was the girl dancing with the Prince?'

Lucas tried to gaze at that Prince's couple once more but before he even could do that, he felt his spine chill without any reason.

"Hello"

As he looked to his side where he could hear a tiny sharp voice, he found a girl who was around his age, greeting him with a smile.

"Ah….. hello"

Lucas returned the greeting that made the girl grin more. Somehow, an unfamiliar yet terrifying aura was surrounding that girl as he saw her smile.

'Who is she?'

Unexpectedly, it was the first time he shuddered seeing a kid, both in his first life and the current one.