Somebody ought to call the princess out for being naive. Kazuya's gaze fell on the hand Lyn tugged along, people can easily misunderstand when a grown man and woman of sixteen are holding hands like this. He understood that she lacked specific knowledge because of her upbringing. But there should be a limit. Well, it's not like this situation is too bad. Kazuya doesn't remember the last time somebody held his hand like this.
"Kazuya, look look! There are so many beautiful dresses," Lyn happily exclaimed. The girl pointed to various stalls lined up on the side. For a Princess, this reaction should be standard.
But now that he thought about it, the princess seldom owned any fancy clothing. The clothes Lyn wore are made of the finest silk, yes, but the designs are dull and bland like someone made them to disguise her beauty.
"Should we get you some?" Kazuya asked. He wouldn't mind seeing her wear brighter colors than those bland colors she usually wears. They would look nice on her.
Lyn's cheeks reddened, "Oh, I'm just satisfied with looking," She seemed surprised with his request, but Kazuya noticed her looking at the dresses with bright eyes. She's still a young girl. She has the right to get excited about these things, whether or not she lived in exile. Kazuya squeezed her hands.
"I'll buy you some so that you won't be wasting money or anything."
"Ah, thank you." Lyn thanked him. Kazuya nodded, and they went to the nearest stands.
....
It's not written in his job details for him to get along with her; he merely had to seduce her. There's plenty of other ways to do that. But his gaze fell on the happy Princess who browsed through the various clothes. He wanted to show her life as a regular girl. If she can't live as a proper Princess, then Kazuya could at least show her how ordinary people lived. It's unfair for those people to deprive her of even that much.
Honestly, he's surprised when he saw her room, he figured out it was small from the outside but what was with that? Even his place in the Sound Kingdom is larger than the girl's area. Queen Orthez is the one who made this decision, at least according to the reports. What made her feel the need to lock her daughter away like that?
Maybe Queen Orthez knew more about the cursed marks than they did. Unfortunately there was no chance to ask her directly. Even Kazuya knew to be wary of Queen Orthez. The fact that she had never greeted him showed she had something in mind. He should tread carefully with her.
"Kazuya?"
Kazuya looked up when he heard her call his name, "What is--" he paused in mid-sentence, eyes go wide. The girl had changed into one of the garments she had in her hands earlier; it was a western style peach color off flowery shoulder dress. The color complimented the girl's porcelain white skin well. Kazuya's cheeks turned red at Lyn's sudden transformation. Hiding her beauty indeed; who knew clothes would transform her so much? This is bad, Kazuya noted that some men in the store gazes drifted onto Lyn.
He frowned and turned to the shopkeeper, "Excuse me, do you have a jacket? A cloak?"
The woman giggled knowingly, "Sir, this dress does come with one."
Kazuya averted his gaze, "Thanks, we will take that one too." he mumbled. Kazuya found Lyn watching him, a puzzled look on her face.
"Aren't you going to tell me whether you find me pretty or not?"
Kazuya almost dropped the pouch where his money was, what's with this girl. There has to be a limit to her being clueless. No wait, she doesn't understand, does she? Lyn isn't feigning ignorance or anything like that. Kazuya bends down and whispered in the girl's ear, "I find you more beautiful than anyone I've ever laid eyes on."
He thought she would brush it off like she usually would, but the girl's cheeks turned a rosy red. Huh?
Lyn pulled away, "Um, I want to keep looking."
"We still have more dresses that suit you. Oh, why don't you try some eastern dresses too?"
"Pupillam, um follow me."
The female aide who followed behind silently emerged and nodded, "Yes Lady," Pupillam sad.
At that comment, the eyes of the female shop keepers changed, and they dropped the casual tone with Lyn. Kazuya rolled his eyes at their sudden change of behavior. So much for showing her what a normal girl life is like.
It wouldn't surprise him if the people leaving the shop spread the word that there's a noble in town. While Kazuya understood why Pupillam did it, it frustrated him. By calling Lyn 'Lady,' it reminds everyone not to treat her with such a casual attitude. Lyn may live that isolated lifestyle, but in the end, she is still a Princess.
.....
The next few clothes shops heard about Lyn's noble identity since they received such good hospitality the moment they walked inside. But that didn't phase Lyn at all, the entire time Lyn acted in the same manner as earlier. Eyes bright like a child as she looked at the various garments and accessories lined up on the shelves.
On the other hand, Kazuya watched over her carefully. He instructed Fukami and Lyn's guard Pupillam to remain out of sight this time. If people found out that guards were so close by, they'd be wary. So Kazuya had them wait outside the store.
He doubts anybody would attack her, but just in case. He needed to be ready. Still, Kazuya looked at Lyn with a gentle expression when he noticed Lyn picking out cheap items, "You don't have to hold back. I have a lot of money." Or rather the Sound Kingdom doesn't lack wealth. The reason why they live such an isolated lifestyle is because they all focus on improving the strength of their military.
Lyn turned around and looked at him questioningly, "Kazuya you don't mind spending a lot of money on me?" she asked.
"I don't mind," Kazuya trailed off when he saw her look at him suspiciously, "What's wrong with buying a pretty girl pretty things?" He added.
Laughter escaped the girl's lips, "You really do know how to flatter people Kazuya."
Does he? He looked at her dumbly. Most people tell him that he can't read the mood or atmosphere, and tend to say the wrong things, "I think you're the same," Kazuya murmured. Then again on her side, Lyn does it unconsciously. This is what he likes about her, she's natural. There's nothing fake or sugar-coated about her words or actions, "Do you want some accessories?" He asked.
Lyn nodded, "Ah-huh, there're loads of pretty ones though. I'm not sure what to choose."
"I'll help you look," Kazuya offered.
Though this is the first time for Kazuya, going out shopping like this with a girl his age. Back home he often helped his brothers and relatives shop, but not for someone of the opposite gender. Despite how calm he was, Kazuya was nervous. He honestly doesn't know the first thing about what girls liked; he didn't know how to treat them either since he lived in an all-male household. But those people still gave him this mission; they quote told him, ' Your naive smiling face will make her let her guard down.' Kazuya rolled his eyes and sighed as he recalled how they picked him for this job.
So yeah, this is a first for him. But Lyn called him a natural, "You know, I'm not good with this stuff either, "Kazuya murmured as he walked over to her side.
The girl didn't respond right away, and he thought she didn't hear when Lyn laughed softly, "Ah-huh I figured, but I can tell you mean the words you tell me. Thank you, Kazuya."
Kazuya stared at her speechless and looked away when he saw how bright her smile was. Make a note; don't stare at her for a long time when she's smiling. She's cute. Kazuya never thought such words would ever escape his lips. But this girl made him experience new things.
The woman named 'Lyn' is shrouded in mystery. But he wanted to learn more about her.