Even though she gave them a proper explanation, for some reason, the men wore thin smiles. “The rules are the rules. If you don’t have money, other methods will do. There are ways for a young lady like you to reel in more money.”
Ways to earn more money? Amelia was a little interested in that.
The next thing she knew, the man before her eyes reached out toward her.
However, a moment later, a shadowy silhouette appeared out of nowhere and shoved the man’s hand away. The silhouette stood before her like a shield. “What nonsense are you saying to a girl who was only watching over the shop? If there’s someone you ought to punish, it should be the shopkeeper. Before anything else, do you lot even have the authority to do this?”
After that, the young man with ashen hair glanced at Amelia over his shoulder and gave her a smile. His eyes were a most beautiful shade of gold.
A voice cut into the exchange. “What’re all of you doing?” It was the shopkeeper carrying an armful of bags against her chest. After putting down her baggage, she stood next to the young man and glared daggers at the men.
The young man explained, “They claimed that it’s against the rules for anyone other than the shopkeeper to trade here and pressed her to pay a fine. They also hinted at other ways for her to earn more money.”
The shopkeeper creased her forehead. With a single movement of her gaze and hands, the shopkeepers of the surrounding stalls gathered round. She narrowed her eyes. “Finding fault with my adorable little helper and trying to squeeze money out of her? Unforgivable.”
Another shopkeeper chimed in, “I thought she was explaining things to customers, but if that’s what they were here for… There’s no need to go easy on these three.”
The shopkeepers surrounded the men and dragged them away in a no-nonsense manner.
It had all happened in a split second. Amelia could only blink blankly at the sudden series of events.
The female shopkeeper sighed. “Sorry about that. I thought you’d be fine because it was only for a while, and other people are around, but well… Sure enough, cute girls like you stand out quite a bit.”
She sounded apologetic, but Amelia’s focus was elsewhere. People had been using the words “cute” and “adorable”—were they possibly referring to Amelia? The male customer earlier had said the same thing, which meant she probably wasn’t too unbearable to look at. Even if she removed apologetic sentiments and flattery from the equation, she probably counted as relatively easy on the eyes.
If that’s true… Then maybe even Luke might think I’m at least a little cute.
At this unexpected discovery, she almost cracked a merry smile, but she caught herself and hurriedly covered her mouth. The shopkeeper was apologizing to her—grinning herself silly in reply would be unimaginably rude.
Trying to gloss over things, she cleared her throat and smiled gently at the shopkeeper. “It’s all right, ma’am. This person saved me before anything could happen.” Her gaze shifted to the young man with ashen hair. If she wasn’t imagining things, a tint of red seemed to appear on his cheeks.
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “Are you this young miss’s boyfriend?”
“Ah, no, I’m…” Looking awkward, he shook his head. His silky, ashen locks waved with the movement.
Now that she took a good look at him, Amelia noted that he had rather well-defined features and a relatively dignified attire. Perhaps he was from an affluent merchant family.
“In any case, you were a great help, thanks.” The shopkeeper grinned. “I haven’t got much around, but here’s a token of my gratitude.” She placed bags with aromatic bread into Amelia’s and the young man’s hands, respectively. “Well then, come again anytime.”
The shopkeeper waved before walking away, but for some reason, the young man trailed after Amelia.
Oh, right. Belatedly realizing she hadn’t thanked him directly yet, Amelia stopped in her tracks in front of a fountain with few people around before fixing her gaze on him. “Thank you very much for saving me earlier.” She bowed.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “It was nothing. More importantly, let’s take a seat.”
Under his ushering, Amelia was about to settle on a bench before she recalled the bag of bread in her hand. She held it out to him. To be honest… I want to eat it. Soft, fluffy bread with such a delectable aroma and plenty of butter was a rare treat for her. Now that she knew she could also summon strawberry products, she should also be able to summon jam without having to use up precious sugar.
As Amelia imagined bread with sweet strawberry jam, drool threatened to spill from the corner of her mouth. She hurriedly wiped it with her hand. “I want to thank you in some way, but I haven’t got anything—no, I mean, I’m afraid I don’t have anything else on me, sorry.”
“It’s okay. You being safe and sound is more than enough for me. Don’t worry about talking formally to me either. More importantly, there’s one thing I want to ask.” He pushed the bag of bread back into her hand, and she felt a little relieved. He then gazed at her with a serious look in his eyes. “I…want to know your name.”
“My name? I’m Amelia.” Just as those words left her lips, she realized it would have been safer to use an alias. Alas, there was no use crying over spilled milk.
It wasn’t a particularly rare name. Plus, in her current get-up, there was no chance anyone would discover that she was a princess.
However, when she looked at the boy, his eyes widened for some reason, and he froze.
Amelia blinked. “Umm… If you don’t need bread, then have this.” She summoned a strawberry while hiding her hand behind her back before offering it to him. “I guarantee it’s sweet, and I’m sure that it’ll cheer you up.”
He stared unblinkingly at the large, glossy strawberry. Ever so slowly, he reached out and accepted it. He carefully admired his prize as if it were a precious gem. If she wasn’t imagining things, his golden eyes seemed somewhat moist—did he like strawberries that much?
After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Would you…be willing to see me again?”
“Huh? I mean, I plan on delivering sweets to that shop again, so we might bump into each other.”
“Okay, thanks.” He nodded. “Oh, do you want this?” He held out his bag of bread as an offering, and Amelia’s strawberry eyes lit up like the sun.
Her silent cheer of delight must have reached him even without her voicing it, because he smiled and placed the bag in Amelia’s hand. “…See you again.”
Amelia saw the young man off while waving. For a while, she basked in the heavenly fragrance of bread until suddenly, she realized something. “Oh. I forgot to ask for his name. Oh well…” She could simply ask him if she saw him again. “That aside, his eyes were such a pretty shade of gold.”
Well-defined features, beautiful eyes, as well as refined clothing. He must be from a household of a relatively high standing. Which meant he must be, of course, popular with the ladies.
“Speaking of which, Lord Luke’s eyes were gold too, I think,” she muttered. “Maybe he’s a ladykiller after all.”
She couldn’t recall his face or the color of his hair, but she had the impression that he had fine looks, too. On top of that, he was the son of a ducal house, which meant that, naturally, women should flock to him like bees to honey.
“Maybe that’s why he won’t write replies to my letters. Am I…just a nuisance to him?”
Amelia was a princess at the end of the day—even if it was just in name—so calling off the betrothal from House Klein’s side was a challenge. Was that why he wouldn’t respond to her, even though she was still his fiancée? Maybe he wanted Amelia to voluntarily dissolve the betrothal and say that she’d gotten fed up with him.
A touch of loneliness made Amelia’s heart sink. She opened one bag of bread, shoved her face into it, and breathed in as hard as she could. The rich aroma of butter filled her lungs and gently enveloped her slightly aching heart.
She’d lost her composure because of her hunger. Her emotions would calm down if she enjoyed bread on her way back home.
Satisfied, Amelia raised her face, took out one bread, then shoved the rest into her bag. She climbed to her feet and took a step forward.
Amelia loved Luke to bits.
Even if this sentiment was a mere obsession, it didn’t change the fact that his existence had given her hope to live on when she had nothing else. Her wish was to protect his free will from Prisca and for him to find happiness.
So if it’s his wish… I’ll even gladly accept calling off our betrothal.
“It’s okay,” Amelia told herself. “You can do anything if you have strawberries.” As she muttered under her breath, she nibbled on her bread—it tasted notably salty.
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