Adelina let out a sharp gasp when another masked man appeared, immediately attempting to scramble away from him. "S- Stay away from me!"

She then hit a wall, and flinched, shutting her eyes when he reached out to her. When nothing happened, she slowly opened them and realized that he was offering for her to take his hand. He then spoke to her in a surprisingly-comforting way, making her believe that he was not there to harm her. Still in shock from her encounter with the Red Robin and her assassins, Adelina did not pick up all of what he said, but a few details stood out for her. Without thinking further, she took his hand and shakily got to her feet with his help, and did not react as he wiped her tears, figuring that it currently was not the best time to be doing anything.

She was about to ask him who he was, when another masked man entered and called the first 'Shadow'. The two exchanged some words about the Red Robin and Mathazar. From what had happened and what they were saying, the noblewoman could probably take a guess at what the situation was like, but she would need some time to piece it all together. She wondered if she should be surprised when Shadow mentioned Eliezer's name to her before he left with his companion. The princes, her friends from childhood... what have they gotten themselves into? Eliezer had quite a bit of explaining to do when he returned. Weary from the ordeal, she decided to get ready for bed and rest early for the night.
[hr]
When Shadow mentioned that he would stay behind to watch Adelina, Eliezer felt rather guilty for not being the first one to consider her safety, and thanked the assassin for offering to keep an eye on the estate and its residents. He realized that it just might have been a mistake to get the Nemes family involved in it all, but what was done had been done, and he could only try to make the best of it.

The festival was everything Eliezer had expected, with the variety of stalls, elaborate decorations, and bustling crowd. It reminded him of the time Raven took him to a previous festival in the village after they had first met each other. As he and Hildebrand made their way past the stalls with the two assassins in their disguises, the prince decided to slip some gold coins into the jars of several of the sellers, imagining that the villagers could always use some extra of it. A woman selling flowers spotted this, and whispered to her daughter while handing her a small bouquet of pink roses. The little girl ran up to Eliezer and tugged at his sleeve to get his attention.

She held the bouquet up to him when he turned to look at her. "My mother says that a man as generous as yourself must already have a lady's heart."

The gesture took Eliezer by surprise, and he did not know what to say in response. This girl and her mother did not know that he was a prince of Dainia with coin to throw, after all. He was also unsure if he should even hope that he would still have a lady's heart by the end of the night. He only nodded to the girl in thanks, and hiding the bouquet under his cloak, he continued on his way. He caught up to his companions in time to hear Andy mention Raven's last date, and he and his knight only gave each other awkward glances as Amy hit him.

Amy and Andy managed to get them to front of the crowd that had gathered to watch Raven's performance, and when it began, Eliezer felt as if he was in many different places inside his head. He enjoyed the performance, admiring her agility, grace, and singing voice. At the same time, his mind raced to figure out what he would say to her once he managed to get hold of her. There was so much he felt he had to say to her, but he was struggling to put it in words. There was even a point at which he questioned if he should even have come.

At the part of the performance when she came close to him, his mind went blank and he instinctively tensed, for a moment afraid that she might recognized him. He was relieved when she returned to the center of the stage, though, he still worried about speaking with her later. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the cheering and clapping began, and he was prompted by the assassins to go after her. As he headed in her direction, however, Hildebrand stopped him.

"Wait, Your Highness," he whispered, before handing Eliezer a folded letter. "I was instructed to give this to you should the circumstances have been different, but because you are about to speak to her, she shall tell you what she will."

Not wanting to spend too much time on this new information, the prince only took the letter with a nod and moved away from the crowd to where Raven was resting. He realized that the guards present to keep order at the festival seemed unusually wary, and wondered if the warden of the village had been tipped off about something suspicious. He only hoped that it did not involve him. Recalling what Raven had said to him the last time they had spoken, he was unsure if he was prepared for the reaction she would have to him, whatever it might be. Keeping this in mind, he decided to approach her as an unknown admirer, thinking that it might give him the opportunity to ease into this situation.

"It is a wonder that nobody else has approached you at this time, Miss Omrea," he began as he walked up to her, before holding the rose bouquet he had been given earlier out to her. "That was a stunning performance from you. Would this lovely lady be willing to take a walk with a stranger whom she has captivated with her beauty and grace?"

Eliezer internally cringed at the words that had just left his lips, but he hoped that they were sufficiently convincing.