[i]After tonight?[/i] Eliezer was stunned by the words of the man who had just spoken to Raven, though, he managed not to show it. He recalled her mentioning that she was going to leave Dainia the last time they had met, but he did not think that it would be so soon. As they began walking to a more secluded area, his mind once again raced to decide on what would be appropriate to say to her. He had chosen to come down to the village to speak to her because he was concerned about her emotional state after the threat she had left at the palace gate, and to perhaps somehow have her stay because he now knew about her bloodline. However, the fact that she just accepted the advance of a stranger led him to believe that she had already moved on from him. Of course, he was not aware that she knew that he was this stranger. Should he simply leave without revealing himself to her so that she can move on and find happiness elsewhere, or do right by Lunar by having its heir take her rightful place on its throne? As he dealt with this dilemma in his head, he decided to continue conversing with her as someone who did not yet know her personally.

"Will you be leaving so soon? It truly is a shame that I only have this one night with you, there could have been something lovely between us. I would assume that you are not the kind of lady who would be persuaded into staying in Dainia by a stranger whom you barely know, no matter how charming he might be, but I believe that is how it is," he commented with a sigh. "Sometimes we have to give things up, no matter how much we want them, because we know what is important for ourselves and those around us. I once had the heart of an amazing lady who desired nothing of me but my love, yet, it was the one thing I could not give her. It still hurts me, but many of us will hurt in life, unfortunately."

Eliezer had mixed feelings about pouring his heart out to Raven. It felt so comforting knowing that it was her whom he was speaking to, yet, he felt so distant from her at the same time. In addition, he still had not decided if he was going to leave that night without revealing himself and attempting to convince her to stay or not.
[hr]
As the crowd that had gathered to watch Raven's performance started to disperse, Hildebrand overheard a conversation between two passing guards.

"The crown prince? Here? How likely do you think that is?" Asked one.

The second one shook his head. "It is wonder that the warden even took it seriously. An anonymous tip? It is likely that somebody is attempting to make fools out of all of us."

"Whoever told the warden about this mentioned the dancer. We had all assumed that Prince Eliezer has stopped seeing her, had we not?"

"Let us just try to locate her and find out if there is any truth to this. Besides, it is not as if there is much to do here."

Hildebrand immediately moved away from the guards after listening to what they had to say, knowing that if any of the guards recognized him, they would know for sure that the prince was at the festival as well. Agitated and worried for Eliezer, the knight then took both his assassin companions aside to speak to them.

"We have to find Prince Eliezer before the guards do and warn him that they are on the lookout for him, unless there is another way of preventing them from finding him," he told them in a hushed but urgent tone, and then sighed. "Regardless, I shall have to ask that you do not harm these guards. Just as you assassins are like siblings to one another, they are as such to me."