Emika's impetuous and very spontaneous temperament, as to be sometimes foolhardy, led her to defy those busybody's stares and wagging tongues. And in front of everyone's unbelieving eyes, her provocative hand lingered on Kiyomi's thighs, gently brushing off the remaining leaves.
There were quite a number of mouths gasping at this sight, appalled with her inappropriate behaviour and cringing at her sheer audacity.
Emika knew she'd think about it later and wince with embarrassment, but right now, she didn't care.
Besides Kiyomi was locked in a state of stupor, in the far away land of his mind.
Upon seeing such action and recalling previous similar scenes, the shocked audience expected the inevitable: she would run away with bitter tears, any time soon.
Some onlookers averted their eyes in embarrassment; while the majority, despite not wanting to stare, just could not look away. The more daring she got, the more they wanted to watch.
However, under everyone puzzled gazes, he remained impassive. He didn't seem to dislike this girl being so close to him! "Could it be that these two people know each other?" There was curiosity settling in their eyes; except for a handful of women, who were more annoyed than quizzical. They began to point at them and muttering to each other:
"How shameful! Look at her hand so close to his... his manhood!"
Their faces turned red. Utterly red. A new shade of red.
"This is a public park not a brothel!"
"Is she his fiancée?"
"I deliver groceries to the magistrate's house. This isn't his daughter."
"Of course, his daughter would not behave so inappropriately."
"How dare this woman bring shame upon Lord Kiyomi and his fiancée!"
"Ha! What fiancée?"
All ears eagerly turned to the woman with a fat bosom and overly powdered cheeks. "Well," she pursued, "rumour has it that the young girl is pushing her father into giving her hand in marriage to the young man. But, the magistrate is opposing it."
"Why would a low class official oppose this union? If she marries him she can have his fortune and title. Rumour has it that he is well-born and his family wealthy. "
"Who cares why? What matters is that he is still available!"
Shy giggles all around and flashes of hope in their eyes.
"What about this sluttish woman? We need to find out who this sly fox is and save our Lord from her claws before she ruins his reputation."
"I overheard her introducing herself as his sister."
"He has a sister?"
"Yes, he does, though I have not personally met her," said a woman wearing blue robes. "Has any of you met her?"
They all shook their heads.
A thin girl which a sharp nose turned around and chimed in:
"Please, forgive my lack of manners, but I overheard your conversation. I can tell you that this woman isn't his sister."
"She isn't?"
The thin girl nodding with assurance, repeated: "Yes, she is certainly not his sister. I know his sister very well, she is my mother's physician."
"Why would she introduce herself as his sister?"
"A slut and a liar!"
All agreed with tut-tuts of strong indignation.
"Young miss," said the fat bosom woman, "you should let your physician know that someone is walking around town pretending to be her."
"Absolutely, I will not let this woman tarnish her fine reputation. I shall inform my mother of this right away."
And the murmurings of discontent kept on going.
Kiyomi had a low-key private life, and the more private he was, the more people wanted to unearth informations about him and those sharing his life.
Emika smiled mischievously, reading the gestures and expressions of those gossipers; when Kiyomi's eyes, previously lost in thoughts, collided abruptly with hers in open amazement.
"What are you doing?"
She blinked, swallowing her lips into her mouth.
She could feel his discomfort, almost palpable. She looked down at her hand resting on the upper part of his thigh, and understood his confusion. After all, their relationship was not intimate anymore. She had forgotten that now they were only strangers.
To him she was blatantly flirtatious and overfamiliar—a grave moral misconduct!
Her hand moved away with an exaggerated slowness, somehow believing that the stealth of her pace would make her hand invisible.
Her peach complexion turned fire red and her mouth became dry. 'I could certainly enjoy a cup of white tea!'
Kiyomi had leaned in and scanned her face. "Are you always this straightforward with men?" There were both interest and indignation coming from the tone of his voice. "Do girls these days flirt with men the way you do? Touching them and arousing them?" A snigger.
She quickly shook her head and raised her hands in protest, but she only managed to stammer, "N... nn... no my Lord!"
"So give me a reason as to why you are being promiscuous?"
"You look exactly like a man I loved but who died few years ago. His lips, eyes, voice, and his mannerisms were exactly like yours. My Lord, please forgive me, dazed by such a resemblance I have momentarily lost my mind."
In response, Kiyomi pressed in closer and his fingers brushed her cheek, and Emika felt her blood rushing.
"Is it your strategy to seduce a man by telling a sad story?" He glanced at his fingers, "You forgot to add the tears I should wipe."
Emika leaned back just a bit as he continued to press forward, so that his face was barely a hand's span from her own.
He looked at her curiously for just a moment, then he shifted his body away from her.
"There was a beautiful musician offered a post at court, her beauty capable to ensnare even a deity, but her heart was arrogant and her behaviour unworthy. She was banished because of a grave breach in etiquette while she played the lute to the King. She thought she could bewitch him and topper the Queen. Well, now she travels through the country entertaining riff-raffs from brothel to brothel.
"Why do beautiful women expect to be above both human and heavenly laws? Why are they confident that their great beauty grant them the right to flout the rules of proprieties and act with disregard for others with impunity? Is it because Heaven, or perhaps Hell, granted them their beauty?"
Then his eyes looked from the spot her hand had touched him back to her with a tinge of contempt. "A beautiful reputation beats beautiful looks." He paused. "What are you scheming? In this play of yours... Do I fall in love with you, marry you so you can live the rest of your days in luxury?"
His eyes locked into hers, staring intently. She froze—does he actually expect an answer? Not knowing what to respond, Emika maintained a semblance of calmness and pretended to be unaffected as he pressed on.
"Ah! Is it a melodrama? You are with child, intend to seduce me and bed me to make this bastard child mine and blackmail me for money?"
She had not expected him to say those last words. Her eyes misted over, and she tried to swallow down the sob in her throat, but nausea rose in her. The sun became too bright and her eyes were stinging. She couldn't breathe. How could she tell him that those words were the most painful thing he could ever tell her. How could he understand her pain? To him, she was no more than a stranger.
He noticed that it seemed as though she wanted to say something, but she soon pivoted away, half her back facing him.
"Or are you just seeking pleasure?" Kiyomi had gently pulled her shoulder towards him so that she was facing him again. "Are you a calamitous beauty?"
His face was so close to hers that Emika could feel the warmth of his breath. She was still stunned by his previous words. The original man from her memory was unlike the cynical and hardened man sitting before her.
She wanted to shape shift into being the little kitty he treated so tenderly.
"Because you have such low expectations from women, it will be easy to surprise you." Emika replied merrily, apparently evading the dryness of his tone.
He half smiled amused, the other half was contempt.
"Many have tried to seduce me and have failed. You may try harder, only to add more panache to your failure."
In that moment, a cool breeze blew. Her hair brushing his face smelled sweet. Another gust of wind, and her sweet aroma was even stronger and tantalising.
His mind drifted back to Chunyan River, and to those lazy spring afternoons napping under the cherry tree. But why?
Slowly she saw the image of herself within Kiyomi's pupils. Her hope was that one day he would greet her reflection with kind and forgiving eyes, not with those cold and dissecting eyes. This gaze was a bit too awkward to bear, so Emika turned her head in another direction.
"I would like to discuss further the An—Ana... Anadedelects." She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind to alleviate the tension she was feeling.
Kiyomi leaned back, covered his mouth and clamped his lips together to hide a slightly sarcastic smile while listening to this birdbrained and stubborn woman.
He thought that she was a vixen using all the tricks up her sleeve to enthral him. She had failed with her provocative touch and her sad story. Hence, she now appealed to his intellect and pretended to be a woman with brains.
'Let's see how well can she feign to be knowledgeable.'
"So which part of the A.na.lects of Confucius did you enjoy most?" Kiyomi accentuated every syllable.
She was gritting her teeth. One always wishes to have read more. 'How I wish that I had not read merely romance!' Emika blamed herself. 'I should have studied the books that the prince gave me.'
She was rapidly blinking her eyes leading to a wide-eyed look. "Well, there are many, many interesting points from the An—Analects... I don't know where to begin!" She was shaking her head as she uttered those last words, a wide grin showing a row of teeth, and two small incisors. "Why don't we discuss it over a meal? There is a teahouse on the other side of the river that I hear has delicious food. It would be my pleasure to treat you! How does that sound? I haven't eaten much this morning, I am quite hungry."
Her voice had turned into a shrill while she rattled on. He became fascinated by the way she looked at him, gleaming in the innocence of her blush. 'What an odd expression contrasting with her provocative ways.' Kiyomi believed she was indeed very skilled in adapting the mask she wore.
Her stomach grumbled. He heard it.
"Oh! I am more hungry than I thought." She said as a way to press for an answer.
And once more, that goofy and cute smile was like warmth infusing his body, a contrast to the cold weight crushing his soul. This new emotion he didn't care for nor comprehended was creating havoc in his empty heart. And this bold little fly buzzing aloud in his ears was the cause! This woman exasperated him!
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before exhaling. Then to Emika's dismay, he stood up in quite an imperious manner, flicking his sleeves and his dark green feathered cloak. "Stop babbling. You are making me dizzy." At the end of a long drawn out sigh, he then said: "People who look beautiful spend all their efforts in caring for their face. Therefore, their brains are more often than not... empty."
He had adopted a frosty demeanour so different from the image of the sweet-natured and warm-hearted man she used to know.
Then the prince just left without a word and not even a second glance.
However, as he walked away from her, his rationality did not triumph over his emotions.
He halted his steps.