Obviously, the handsome youth found the other distasteful, partly influenced by their families' rivalry and general dislike of each other, and continued to throw mud onto Allister McGowan's name and reputation. Though the subject had changed from its original point, Xander could tell that the other was sincerely concerned about Edward's well being. His expression softened, briefly turning his scarlet eyes to gaze onto his best friend's confident back before giving the wealthy heir a grateful smile.

Though Edward's and Felix's personalities tend to conflict more times than not, it wouldn't be a stretch to call them friends. All four of them attended classes together since they were about ten, brought together by the status they were born into and their parents. Their personalities were like East and West, North and South; no one could imagine how well they had gotten along with each other.

"McGowan didn't even get within reaching distance before Edward froze his feet to the ground," Xander partly boasted with a prideful tint in his smile. He remembered how difficult it was for Edward to even cool the air when they were but six-years-old but now, his magic could create a limited imitation of Kaltsblut's terrible, icy wastelands, much to his mother's approval.

Felix, delighted by Allister's misery, brightened, his good-looking features becoming more prominent with his good mood. "Ha! If there's one thing a gentleman could count on, it would be little Eddie's cold temperament! That dullard McGowan has been spoiled dumb by his grandfather's favor and doesn't believe in consequences. His lack of common sense astounds me!"

Xander gave a chuckle but didn't refute the other's statement. Rather than lacking common sense, Allister McGowan took after his grandfather's paranoid personality. But while Marquis McGowan handled his paranoia with calmness and clarity, his grandson panicked and ended up making too many excessive choices.

The Marquis had always been a careful man. Rarely did he allow loose ends or irreparable mistakes to be made and had a ruthlessness that made his enemies and his acquaintances tremble in fear. His grandson seemed to follow this ruthless trait and once he perceived the Rosetta Heir encroaching on his business, his first reaction was to cut the other off completely. It was a careless and hasty judgment, one that added a lot more white hairs to his grandfather's head.

"McGowan should've just stuck to the Marquis' coattails," the Bergmann heir continued as he looked at the backs of his childhood friend and the Ice Prince. "Obviously he's incapable of managing his own affairs."

The Crown Prince had a vague smile with many different meanings. "That's only because Edward is too competent."

The Justice Bureau was created by the (unwilling) collaboration and (reluctant) approval of several noble families in order to minimize corruption and abuse of power with the Royal Family, the Rosetta's, the Bergmann's, and the Einion's being in the forefront of the project. While the King was kind and benevolent, he was also strict and authoritarian when it came to the matters of the country. The first few years of his rule were considered the most unspeakable time for many officials and noble families. While His Majesty did not have the heart to give out death penalties, he left no stone unturned and imprisoned a good amount of Astria's nobility with charges of treason, embezzlement, murder, and other heinous acts. The trial was public and those who were implicated lost much of their reputation and status. One of the few noble families that came out relatively unscathed was the McGowan Family, most due to the efforts of the current Marquis.

Because the Marquis kept his business separate from the messy affairs of the Mad King, his illegal activities remained out of sight. By the time the Justice Bureau investigated his circumstances, the evidence had burned to ashes, disappeared, or was already ten-feet underground. Since they could not implicate the Marquis with anything, the investigation team had no choice but to leave the case cold and the McGowan's free.

A couple of decades later, Marquis McGowan continued to evade scrutiny and it was thought that as long as the elder was alive, no one would be able to uncover his past and ongoing misdeeds. Then the meticulous eldest son of the Rosetta's, who had started interning in several different government departments earlier this year, had considered investigating the marquis through different means.

If Marquis McGowan was an impenetrable steel wall, layered and layered with reinforcement and pitfalls, his grandson was a brick wall built by an amateur, full of holes and cracks. As the only heir acknowledged by the elder man, it was expected that the marquis would be teaching Allister the in's and out's of the family business. Probably nothing too substantial until he graduated from Evadne, enough for a foundation of sorts.

Edward's investigation over Allister McGowan's activities was an informal one. It could barely be considered important over all the other things that took up most of his attention, but it was still the best lead they had on the cunning, old marquis.

The 'Help' that the eldest son of the Rosetta's had hired to follow Allister probably underestimated the teenager because at one point, their classmate had noticed the tails observing his every move. They were not sure how he tied it in with Edward, but before they were aware of their classmate's malice, the McGowan heir had already contracted a hit against the Prime Minister's son.

Of course, Edward was more offended by the sloppiness of the decision than the fact that his classmate of 6+ years tried to have him kidnapped outside of the city. Since Allister was the infamous Marquis McGowan's grandson and heir apparent, he probably expected to confront someone more... calculative. And mature. Someone who could lead the investigators and tacticians in circles and not a young teenage boy who was just playing around with illegal businesses.

Felix snorted with a gleeful tint in his dark-blue eyes. "Goddess forbid that the Crown Prince's right-hand man is incompetent," he declared with a boyish grin, tilting his head slightly as his long bangs slightly brushed over his eyelashes."What are we going to do with McGowan by the way? Just let Eddie freeze him to death and be done with it?"

Xander paused in mid-walk for a couple of seconds, his crimson eyes glancing at the bright, golden hair at the back of his best friend's head, before continuing with a small grimace. "The Marquis won't allow his heir to be harmed. And we have no concrete proof that young McGowan is involved. The men we had arrested were hired by a third-party. That third-party somehow mysteriously disappeared."

"What about the Gullfaxi horses? Certainly they can be traced back to their owner! Those horses are not something any noble can have!"

The Prince sighed while touching his forehead in a resigned manner. "Oh, they belong to the McGowan's. But the Marquis somehow pulled out an official larceny report with the Royal Knights stating that his horses had been stolen weeks ago."

"Tch! How sly!" Felix grumbled. How sly indeed. To think that the Marquis could turn things around even with all the mistakes that his grandson had made. "Wait, how the every loving goddess was he able to procure--"

"Yes. More than likely, there's someone under the Marquis' thumb hidden within the Military Department," Xander admitted with a pinched expression. "While it's a headache for my father and the Justice Department, the Investigation Department is looking forward to weeding them out." After all, the Marquis had slipped through their fingers more than once without even leaving a piece of crumb to follow his trail. To compare them to bloodhounds catching a whiff of an injured prey would be an understatement of their eagerness. At this point, it was a matter of pride rather than justice to the majority of the old investigators that had been working on McGowan's criminal ring for decades.

"And Eddie's going to be in the middle of it," Felix uttered with certainty, because as long as the matter involved the nobility and the Royal Family's reputation, then of course the Rosetta Heir had to be in the thick of it.

"No. Absolutely not," the red-haired prince immediately denied with a deep frown, his voice lowering into a hush so that his best friend wouldn't be able to hear his words over his conversation with Einion's young heir. "Edward has done enough. The Investigation Department would be more than happy to take over where he had left off."

"...Yes. I know you're completely whipped by our dear Eddie," the Bergmann heir drawled, pressing down the urge to laugh when the Crown Prince of one of the most powerful kingdoms on the continent tripped over a protruding root on the ground and almost proceeded to faceplant into the nearest tree. "But Eddie's the type that hates to leave things halfway. No matter how much he adores you, he's pretty stubborn on these types of things."

Xander was still sputtering by the time he straightened himself up, and while he wanted to address the first comment, he decided that it would be better to feign ignorance. "My father agreed that Edward is still too inexperienced to try to confront Marquis McGowan." Though... his mother thought differently but that was not something others needed to know. The Queen was the type of person that considered violence to be the solution to every problem anyway and his mother had more than once suggested giving the Marquis a 'nice punch in the gut' to straighten the other's behavior. "After classes, I'll take Edward to the palace so that we could discuss our concerns towards his involvement... Wait, adores me?"

In mid-explanation, Xander suddenly brightened, his ruby-like eyes sparkling as if the other had spoken of world peace and the end of poverty.

Felix: "........." Is that what you're focusing on, Your Highness? And what's with that excited look? Does it look like there's anyone else in this whole continent who could easily pull the Ice Prince of Nobility into braiding their hair as if they're 13-year-old girls?!

"Yes! He adores you!" the handsome young man disclosed maybe a bit too loudly, causing the Prince to take a quick look at his best friend in panic before trying to shush his dramatic companion, which Felix ignored with a mischievous grin on his face. "In actuality, he reveres you! Worships you! Put you on top of a pedestal as if you are a deity of Saint Evadne and had led the country to prosperity under her name--"

Xander scrambled towards the big-mouthed young nobleman, his calloused hands diving towards the other's unrepentant grin, but in his haste, he underestimated his jump and ended up tackling his classmate into the nearby bushes. One of them, maybe both of them, may have released some very unflattering sounds from their throats as they crashed into the foliage. And if Felix had squeaked when a branch poked into a very awkward place, the red-haired teen decided to be gracious enough to ignore it.

"Your Highness?!" Edward called out in concern since their inelegant tumble was rather noisy enough to interrupt their conversation.

Both the Rosetta and the Einion heirs backtracked until they found both of their childhood friends awkwardly tangled together inside of a shrub. And the more they tried to struggle away from each other, the more mishaps they created.

"Your Highness, you're crushing me--!"

"My Apologies Lord Bergmann! I-I'm afraid my hair is caught on one of your jewelry..."

"Don't move so suddenly--" There was a painful groan, probably caused by a limb being pressed in an unfortunate place.

"My--My apologies! I did not mean to lose my grip!"

Edward looked at this pitiful mess and released an exasperated sigh from his lips. "...Your Highness, what are you doing?" He questioned, not expecting an answer considering that said person was busy trying to unravel from the Bergmann heir without making any more casualties on their pride. The blond-haired teen could only step forward to help while Noah did the same as well.

"...Felix," the generally quiet young man called out, causing his childhood friend to squawk indignantly.

"What did I do?!" Recognizing that his larger companion was scolding him, even if the dull-toned Einion had only said his name, the Heir to the richest lineage in the kingdom pouted like a child who was wronged in front of their parents. "The Crown Prince was the one who attacked me out of nowhere!"

"And you probably deserved it too," Edward mocked, helping them both out of the bush while also trying to unravel the piece of red-hair that was caught onto one of Felix's shiny buttons. It seemed that the strands were attached to one of Bergmann's clothes in the most frustrating way possible, and being under the shades of the canopies, even with the brightness of His Royal Highness' hair, it was difficult to see the root of the problem. Coincidentally, in order to observe at a better angle, he leaned down and moved his face only inches apart from the front of Xander's nose.

The Crown Prince of Astria froze, his eyes wide as if the Goddess had descended from her realm, and above the two of them, Felix made an expression full of regrets. Noah, the only one who saw his childhood friend's unsightly face, patted him on the shoulder as if to say 'you reap what you sow' though the Bergmann Heir was quite sure the larger young man was misinterpreting the situation.

Somehow, none of them were late for homeroom.

--------------

Edward wished he followed Xander to the Royal Palace, but the invitation was too sudden and his paperwork was too numerous. Not only did he take on the responsibility for reimbursing the store owners and the people involved in their little chase for damages and medical attention, but he also had to hand over all of his findings on the Marquis to the Investigation Department. Most of his notes on the case were organized but not completed or refined. A famous investigator from the coastal city of Sachiel was invited to peruse over the case against Marquis McGowan, but the eldest son of the Rosetta's knew that everything was circumstantial at this point and even if they do find the mole within the Military Department, it was difficult to say whether they could get anything substantial from them.

Along with those duties, his father had dropped the matter of his Mother's Uncle's Wisteria Estate onto his workload. Including any necessary renovations, work transfers, supplies, and furnishing, he was responsible for its upkeep and household affairs.

Up until recently, he had never heard of Wisteria Estate. He wasn't aware that his mother owned any properties at all; she was the third daughter of a lower nobility and while her dowry was grand because of her marriage to his father, a Duke, her family probably didn't see her fit to manage any real estate. Except, her Uncle, who Anais never mentioned before-- at least, she never mentioned him in front of Edward.

Usually, since it was his mother's affairs, like he had done with every request she had given him, he would oversee the task with a stoic air and an indifferent attitude, but this time...

Blinking out the dryness from his eyes, Edward turned his seat around to look outside of the window behind him, the gardens; a splash of color in his otherwise monotonous room. His personal office was in the East Wing not too far from his father's study. It's from his window that he could see the West Wing and since the glass panes were crystal clear and often wiped clean, he could easily see the maids and butlers bustling about, carrying boxes and items and moving furniture downstairs so that they could be taken to Wisteria Estate.

A migraine made itself as he watched the busy servants and Edward gestured for Mr. Hughes to pour him a cup of coffee. Knowing what he liked, the butler added five cubes of sugar and a dash of cream before placing it on the only spot unoccupied by papers.

He took a small sip, added another cube, and didn't even bother to let it dissolve completely before gulping the whole thing down. Though his mouth was full of sweetness, his mood continued to be irritable.

His younger brother had already developed an independent life away from the rest of the family, their relationship more like distant neighbors than relatives, but his mother still felt uneasy enough to make such a scheme behind his back!

Thomas was a thirteen-year-old boy, a child who was very dependent on the servants to take care of his needs and health. Sending him off to a different estate, one that had been abandoned for years and in a state that required heavy renovations, was obviously an attempt to isolate him from the family affairs. Which was ridiculous because he was pretty sure the current Thomas had no interest in their family affairs. In fact, his younger brother right now was busy recovering from an unknown illness that had him bedridden for weeks, so of course, he had no time, nor energy, to care about their family affairs.

Where his mother had gotten the idea that Thomas had to be sent away, when she herself hadn't seen her husband's youngest son in months, Edward had no clue. The eldest son was well aware that Anais Rosetta tended to be... unreasonable in concern towards the youngest, but somehow throughout the years, she had forgotten that her 'enemy' was a child barely entering puberty.

Edward was not particularly close to his mother. Neither was his sister, though she had a better affinity with Anais. Their father was the one that raised them the most between the two parents and even then, it was more of a joint effort between him and the Royal Family. Maybe it was because of their grandfather that they were so close to His and Her Majesty because the eldest son found it to be quite normal to visit the Royal Palace five days out of the week either to meet with the King, the Queen, or the Crown Prince or to have dinner at their table. The offer was often extended to the rest of his family as well, but Katherine... seemed to actively try to avoid it. His father always declined each time and if his father wouldn't go, his mother didn't have the face to go by herself. Thomas...

He never had a proper conversation with Thomas before to even mention the invitation. He should extend the offer when the other's health was hardy enough to bear the Queen's rowdiness...

Either way, his feelings in concern towards his parents were... disappointment. More so towards his father, because he did not expect much maturity from his mother. What child didn't idolize their parents? And Edward very much looked up to his father no matter his cold face and reticent personality. Kyron was pulled into the office at a very young age, immediately taking over after his father's, Alexander's, death, and though he was criticized and denounced due to his 'inexperience', his efforts brought Astria's administration to new heights.

When King Charles occupied the throne after a short but arduous secession war, he immediately created a foundation for his future policies with the support of several noble families, including the Rosetta's who were at the forefront of implementing the changes to all the governing departments.

Despite the opposition and the difficulties made by other nobles who weren't happy with Charles Windsor's enthronement, Alexander scrubbed the whole palace clean until there was barely anything left from Dominus' reign and then