The Twelve—the eight who entered—followed the man out of the tavern and started trailing after him as he started to walk away casually, humming a tune under his breath. He didn't look like he cared at all, only focusing on ogling the beautiful, star-studded sky that twinkled beguilingly in his eyes.

"Um, with all due respect, sir." Tamara started.

He stopped and turned to them with a grin. "It's been a long time since I saw you, Tama-dear!" He suddenly exclaimed. "You've grown so much! Your red hair got even redder since the last time I saw you!"

"You—"

"Charles, my son." He turned to the fourth-ranker. "I'm glad to see you've grown into a fine, young man. Rumors say you're quite a schemer. Haha!"

"Hm?" Annoyance creased his features at the man's words. "Well, when it comes to strategies, I doubt anyone could stand in my level . . ."

"You've grown your hair, young lord." He said to Corvan, who remained weakened. "I certainly apologize for a while ago! You always were the reckless one. Don't worry, you'll be fine after a few minutes. Neutralization does leave you in a weakened state, but it won't last longer than five or ten minutes." He patted his head, slightly messing up his hair before looking at Rowe, who carried Corvan's other arm.

He heard the first-ranker say something that went along the lines of 'I know' with an aggravated huff before he grunted. "Get your hands off my hair!"

It was then the lord realized he still had his palm on Corvan's head. He quickly removed his hand with a chuckle.

How fast children grow . . .

"A pleasure, Lord Lienhard." He bowed.

"Ah, as handsome as always, Rowe." He smiled. "You've turned into a lady-killer, haven't you?"

"I'm a perfect gentleman if I must say so, Your Highness." He replied.

"Yeah, right." Aneeka huffed, rolling her eyes.

"My, my, and we have the jealous one." The lord chuckled, turning to the tenth-ranker with a knowing smile. "How have you been, Neeka-dearest?" He asked.

"Please do not call me that." Aneeka sighed. "I'm no longer a child. Aneeka would be much better. I would appreciate it if you would call me properly by my first name."

"Request denied." Lord Lienhard told her before turning to Keelan. "And finally, the chubby-cheeked kid from before. You've grown quite thinner since you were six, my son." He chuckled. "Have you grown out of your abundant appetite, young lad?"

"Nah. He still eats at least fifteen square meals a day." Someone quipped from the background.

"Nice to see you, milord!" Keelan enthusiastically greeted that he ceased assisting Valeriana with Corvan and became the reason for both to fall over.

"Agh! Keelan!"

"Bastard—"

Their struggles went unnoticed.

"That's five times a normal person's. You've only worsened." He laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "But I see that being one of the Twelve keeps you in a good shape. I'm starting to wonder what will happen if you stop attending the academy."

And while Keelan and the king's brother were delightfully engaged in a conversation, Valeriana and Corvan themselves had gotten stuck in quite a situation, initiating another round of debate between them.

"Are you that weak, you wench?" Corvan grumbled. "You're getting my clothes dirtied."

"Shut up, jerk! I'm helping you already! You should be thankful!" The fifth-ranker bit back. "It's not my fault you weigh a lot. What do you eat? You're heavy like a pile of fats!"

"These aren't fats." The first-ranker argued. "These are muscles."

"Ah, whatever! Come on, Keelan you glutton!" Valeriana exclaimed. "Help me over here!"

"Oops. I'm so sorry . . ."

Lienhard then spun to look at the twins, who bowed at him eagerly at the same time. "Your names, my dears?"

"We're the twins, Your Highness. I am called Zevlin and this is my sister, Genevieve." Said the oldest of the two.

"I see." He nodded understandingly. "A pleasure then. You must be the Sabian Twins, correct?"

They nodded feverishly.

"And you are?" He asked Brindon.

The twelfth-ranker looked up at him, boredom shining in his eyes. "Brindon Jintaci."

Lord Leinhard didn't reply to his words immediately, expecting him to add something he wanted—like a greeting for example. However, he was greatly disappointed when the boy simply stared back at him impassively.

"Oh," He said. "Is that all you want to say?"

". . ." Brindon merely eyed the man through his glassy, soulless eyes. "Yes."

"You aren't much of a talker, aren't you?"

"No." He answered.

If this was another person, he would've snapped at his behavior and lack of respect, but Lienhard merely smiled and ruffled the hair of the boy. "Nice to meet you."

Before he had a chance to look at the sixth-ranker, Raziel himself took the initiative and made his greeting as flamboyant as his personality. "It's a huge honor finally getting to meet you face-to-face, Your Royal Highness. I can't explain the euphoric state I'm currently in right now, seeing as I finally managed to catch a sight of your rumored charismatic and desirable physique."

"Are you greeting him or hitting on him?" Valeriana commented on the sidelines, prompting smiles from her comrades.

"Ah, an honor." Lienhard said, laughing while urging the sixth-ranker to stand from his stylish curtsy. "You have a way with your words, young man. If I was a woman, I would've started swooning. Although, the problem is I'm not. Your name, my son?"

"Raziel Aslan." He answered. "Your Highness."

"Once again, it's a pleasure." He patted him on the back.

"Elfre Baudion." The seventh bobbed her head simply in acknowledgement to the man before her, not bothering to break down into an elegant bow as was done by the rest who came before her. "I don't need your gracious words, the pleasure's all mine."

He chuckled. "Alright, as you wish."

He then turned to the last of the group, eyeing her awestruck form who currently stared at him in wonder. "And being the last of the group, you must be Valeriana Kerrigan."

"What?" She snapped out of her reverie. "Huh?"

"It's an honor of meeting you." He extended a hand for her to shake.

"Oh . . . uh . . . me too." She took his offer and shook his fervently with her good hand. "My name's Valeriana." She said.

Corvan rolled his eyes at her absentmindedness and huffed, muttering something that sounded strikingly similar to the words 'airhead' before looking away. The rest of the Twelve laughed at her display of stupidity, but did not comment on it.

"I know." Lienhard answered.

"Uh . . ." She reluctantly pulled her arm back, letting it rest on her side. "Really?"

"Of course." He nodded. "So I assume you all now know who I am?"

They all bobbed their heads in an upward and downward motion as an answer to his question while someone from the group said 'of course' but no one bothered to see who. They had their eyes trained to the supposedly notorious brother of the current king of Valemnia, who still hid his exotic features under the sanctuary of darkness offered by his cloak.

"Seeing as you were sent out here, what business do you have with this man?" He asked them.

"We need your help, uncle." Charles said. "We are in dire need—"

"This is specifically why I hate giving away where I am." He told them, cutting off his nephew-in-law before he could even finish. "I do not feel obligated to take part in any affairs concerning the kingdom or Celeste Academy."

"But you must hear us out, sire." Rowe told him. "This is a matter of life and death!"

"No." He firmly said.

"But you have to!"

"I already distanced myself from anything related to the kingdom."

"But that's not possible." Valeriana quipped. "I mean, how can you?"

"That is," he glanced at the girl with a smile. "Well, I simply do not want to have to do anything with running the country. I do not want any responsibilities being put on me."

"Cease this pointless behavior, Lord Lienhard." Corvan seemed to have snapped at this point as he slowly regained his strength. "No matter how much you try to escape, you are of noble birth."

He sighed. "You do not understand."

"Our request doesn't have anything to do with political affairs." Tamara informed him. "We're here simply to ask you to lend us your power in fortifying the barrier of the academy. It's weakening and we cannot afford to let the condition worsen."

"Fortify the barrier of the academy, you say?" He sighed as he repeated her words. "I cannot really comprehend why they built such a place in the middle of a nest of demons. It's absurd."

Did he not know that his ancestor's tomb was right underneath the whole castle? And that the great sword of the heavens, Ouranos, laid dormant along with the remains of its first owner, King Friedel? Being a part of the royal family, he must've known.

"Oh, right." He snapped his fingers. "I tend to forget." He chuckled. "So is that all you need of me?"

"Yes. That's all we ask."

They all nodded. Whereas Valeriana and a few others looked hopeful, Corvan and Charles remained poker-faced, especially Brindon.

"Well . . ." Lienhard turned his back from them, his hands flying and lacing together while it rested on his nape. "I may consider it . . ." He trailed off, chuckling. "If you catch me in a game of chase!"

He then broke into a run, dirt spraying into the air. The Twelve's eyes widened at the suddenness. They looked at each other before hurriedly shooting off from where they stood, quickly running after the eccentric man who was supposedly the king's brother.

"Seriously?" Corvan grunted in displeasure. "A game of chase? What kind of childishness is this?"

"Are you even sure he's royalty?" Genevieve queried. "He sure is a weird one."

This small village literally became his playground—or was it like that from the beginning? The Circle heard that Lord Lienhard was a strange man. Dealing with him, as was said by plenty of people, was frustrating that one could go crazy. They were naive if they thought asking him would be easy.

The Twelve stopped in their tracks, looking in all directions. They had gotten themselves stuck in the worst place possible—a crowded street.

Dozens of people were walking all over the place and the path was so narrow that there was barely any place to squeeze through. Annoyance painted the faces of Celeste Academy's ranking members as no sign of the Lord came to sight.

"Oh, good lord." Aneeka wheezed. "Go on without me."

Rowe immediately was beside her, arms around her shoulder and encircling her waist. He supported her as her knees gave in, holding her against his chest before eventually picking her up like a bride and walking off.

"We'll have to go to a place less crowded." Rowe told them. "Don't mind us."

"What's wrong?" Valeriana asked.

"Aneeka's claustrophobic." Elfre remarked beside her.

"I never knew . . ." The girl said.

"She tries not to show it." Brindon said. "But it's inevitable."

"It's rare to see you talking more than one or two words." Elfre nodded at him. "I guess this got you excited?"

A crease appeared between the fifth-ranker's brows. "He's excited?" She questioned, eyeing Brindon's expressionless face. "It's not showing . . ."

"Forget looking at his face." Zevlin said. "His emotions don't show physically."

"This is no time for an idle chat!" Charles growled at them. "Split in all directions! We need to catch His Highness!"

"Oh right! Forgot for a moment." Valeriana remarked.

"Idiot." Corvan hissed. "Keep your focus on the task at hand."

"Well, I'm—"

"Forget it. You come with me. I don't want you doing anything idiotic."

"Wait! Why should I come with you?! Everyone's going alone!"

"Just shut your mouth and do as I say!"

"What's your problem?" Valeriana grumbled, watching every member of the Twelve disperse. They ran in all sorts different directions, hoping to cover more ground in attempt to chase Lord Lienhard and defeat him in his little game.

"Be grateful I even bother looking out for you, useless witch." Corvan grumbled back.

"WHAT?!" She screamed. "You call me stupid at first and now you call me useless?! How dare you, Corvan von Vaushna de la Wylden?!" She pointed at him accusingly from behind. "From now on, you're officially Lord Jerk Wad-en!"

"What did you just call me?" He turned to her with deep scowl.

"Jerk Wad-en!" She repeated defiantly.

His lips twisted in anger, his eyes narrowing at the girl. "This is it! I have been tolerating you! First, you call me idiotic devil, and now you call me Jerk Wad-en! I will not allow you to insult me any further!"

"Well, you called me useless! So we're even!"

"Since you're fond of nicknames, how about I call you Zero-iana since you're useless anyway!"

"Agh!" She stomped her feet. "Jerk Wad-en!"

"Zero-iana!"

"Idiot devil!"

"Stupid witch!"

She paused. "Jack-aushna!"

"Useless witch!"

"Arrogant bastard!"

"Impertinent wench!"

"Cold Prince!"

"Roaring Tiger!"

They panted at their breathless exchange of words, letting a few moments pass.

"Roaring Tiger? Seriously?" Valeriana inquiringly eyed the first-ranker.

"You should've said something smarter than Cold Prince." He looked away. "If you're done, let us leave. The more time we waste bickering with this nonsense, the harder it'll be to catch Lord Lienhard." He pointed out.

Although Valeriana wanted to protest again, she decided to keep her mouth shut and followed the young lord instead as he sprinted towards the north. There was no denying he was right. They needed to set their argument aside for later and focus on the current 'activity' Lord Lienhard started.

It was either they win or lose.

It was no exaggeration to say that the fate of the academy's safety rested entirely on the outcome of the so-called 'game'.