?

　　By the looks of the crowd, I was starting to get worried if we won’t make it in time to purchase the tickets to the show but surprisingly, Cassian had two tickets ready for us. The inside of the tent was more spacious than I expected but I was thankful for that fact since I did not have to be squeezed up against the people around me.

　　“Let’s sit over there.” Cassian said as he pointed at a few empty seats at the back.

　　I nodded, ready to follow him but a few children ran in front of me, causing me to stumble backwards so I would not slam into them. A few more people walked in front of me until I was a good distance away from Cassian. I waited patiently for the people in front of me to go to their seats but that was a bad idea as more and more people started to enter and obstruct my view of Cassian.

　　A hand suddenly took hold of mine, causing me to flinch from shock but the person did not let go of my hand. I looked up only to find lovely brown eyes staring back at me. “Hold on tight.” Cassian said as he pulled me along until we made our way to the empty seats. I quickly pulled my hand free from his grasp which made him turn to me.

　　“D-Don’t act too familiar, Duke.” I muttered as I unconsciously tugged my hood lower to cover my face.

　　Cassian shrugged as he sat down. “I apologise, but if I did not do what I did, you would probably be at the other side of the tent by now.” he said with a smirk.

　　I sighed and sat down next to him, putting my focus on the small stage at the centre of the tent instead of entertaining Cassian’s quips. But no amount of distractions could get rid of the warmth emitting from his hand, the exact spots where his hand was just a second ago.

　　Once everyone was settled in, the lanterns in the tent were dimmed until there were only lights coming from the stage. A cloud of smoke was slowly forming at the centre and in the blink of an eye, a masked figure appeared once the smoke had dispersed. I frowned, unsure how that was even possible. I glanced at Cassian who looked amused by the performance.

　　“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Midnight Pavilion.” The masked figure greeted as he removed his top hat and bowed dramatically to the guests. He then pulled the hat close to his chest. He reached into it and pulled out what seemed to be a wand. “Let the show begin!” he said with a wide flick of the wand. A loud sound could be heard before a flight of doves appeared out of nowhere and flew into the crowd.

　　The people cheered happily as they were amazed by the first trick. The show then continued with more tricks and I found myself getting incredibly engrossed in the show as I could not even look away from him. Praises were given to the masked figure by the audience members, girls fawned over the mysterious man, kids excitedly cheered and throughout everything, all I wanted to do was figure out at least one of his many tricks.

　　“Now then my esteemed guests, for my last trick I would need a brave volunteer from the audience.” The masked man said. In an instant, a sea of hands shot up in hopes to be chosen.

　　My curiosity on how he was performing these tricks made me realise that it would be easier to determine if I was up close. Before I could decide whether or not to raise my hand, the light from the stage shone directly in my direction. I instinctively looked away to shield my eyes from the harsh light only to realise that the light was pointing directly at Cassian who had his hand raised lazily.

　　“Oh, looks like I got chosen.” He chuckled.

　　“Would you please head towards the stage, sir?”

　　Cassian looked at me before standing up. “Make sure you keep your eyes on me, princess.” He whispered as he paced over to the stage. I scooted to the edge of my seat, curious to see where this was going to lead. The masked man bowed his head at Cassian as he stood next to him.

　　“Now, I know many of you do not believe in magic but I am here to prove otherwise with this last trick. I am going to make this fine gentleman disappear before your very eyes.” He announced boldly. Gasps and words of disbelief filled the crowd, even Cassian let out a playful laugh at the man’s words.

　　The masked man then unfastened his cape from his neck and gestured Cassian to stand at the centre. The masked man then held his cape in front of Cassian, obstructing our view of him but I could still see the top of Cassian’s hooded head to know that he was indeed still there.

　　“My esteemed and precious guests, keep your eyes on him.” the man said, causing me to let out a gasp as I remembered how Cassian had said something similar earlier.

　　A loud sound caused the crowd to flinch in shock while smoke accumulated on the stage as it did earlier. The mask figure then dropped the cape to the ground and gawked at the spot where Cassian was standing now completely empty.

　　The crowd went wild with loud cheers and louder claps. I found myself unable to move nor react for a long moment as my eyes tried to scan around the stage for Cassian or even for some sort of machinery to assist in the trick but I found nothing.

　　The masked man bowed deeply, basking in the applause but when he looked up, I was pretty sure he was looking directly at me with a smirk plastered on his lips. He then walked off stage and slowly everyone was getting off their seat to leave. I sat there for a moment longer, wondering if Cassian was going to emerge suddenly to startle me. But that never happened as he seemingly vanished through thin air.

　　I got up and rushed for the exit, wondering if I should call out for Rodrick to help me look for Cassian. Just as I left the tent, I felt someone pulling me by the arm and dragging me towards the back of the tent where there were no signs of people. I wanted to shout or cry for help but held my tongue when I realised who it was. It was the masked man.

　　We stopped walking, now completely isolated from anyone else. “Not going to cry for help?” he asked me as he casually continued to hold onto my arm.

　　“Where’s my companion?” I asked instead, knowing that only the magician himself would know where Cassian was.

　　“Didn’t I tell you to keep your eyes on him?”

　　“I would advise you to bring him to me this instant unless you want to be arrested for kidnapping,” I frowned.

　　The masked man stared at me for a long moment before bursting out laughing and immediately I recognised the laugh. I tugged my arm free from his grasp and reached out to pull off his mask. All I could do was gasp when I saw the face behind the mask.

　　“Cassian?!” I called out in utter shock.

　　“Oops, guess my identity is revealed. But could it be that you were worried about me, princess?” He grinned.

　　“What is the meaning of this? Why are you dressed like the masked magician?” I frowned as I ignored his latter statement. I was unable to wrap my head around how Cassian could be the masked magician when he was seated by my side the entirety of the performance.

　　“I merely switched places with him at the end,”

　　“How?!” I pressed.

　　“Magic, of course.” He shrugged as he started to remove the costume of the magician to reveal his normal clothes underneath. “Were you surprised?” he asked.

　　“Tell me the truth.”

　　“You know I can’t do that. I just wanted to have some fun and surprise you.”?

　　“You succeeded in that. Now tell me how you did it.” I was letting my curiosity over the matter get the better of me.

　　“Hm…oh? Could it be that you are interested in becoming a magician, princess?”

　　“Duke!” I huffed, getting annoyed with his ability to avoid the main topic.

　　He raised his hand in defeat. “I really can’t say.” He muttered as he averted my gaze. His eyes were lingering on something for a long moment that I naturally followed his eyes only to spot a tall stack of boxes and crates. There was a symbol on the boxes so I narrowed my eyes slightly to get a proper view only for my face to drop when I recognised it.

　　“The Midnight Pavilion is run by the Hollows?” I asked in awe.

　　“Hush now, we don’t want the magic to be revealed to everyone.” Cassian playfully said with a wink.

　　I let out a loud sigh of defeat as I turned around to walk back to where Cordell was. I was starting to ponder if I should call Rodrick and ride back to the palace with him instead of spending a second longer with Cassian.

　　“You are infuriating.” I called out to him.

　　“Aw, don’t be so mean. I just wanted you to experience the joys of an exciting date.”?

　　If this was going to be a recurring thing with Cassian then I must avoid being alone with him at all cost.