After explaining to Mira's mother Lisa the events that transpired before she appeared, she fervently apologized for a solid five minutes.
Only after Lailah and Exedra assured her again and again that they quite enjoyed her daughter's company, did she return to some sense of normalcy.
"But I don't believe I've seen you with lady Lailah before sir, if I may ask what is your relationship?" Lisa had been unable to take her eyes off Exedra since she walked in.
She was so enamored by his handsome appearance, she hadn't even noticed he was a dragon.
"I am her husband." Exedra said simply.
"Oh that's good! Lady Lailah always came in here alone so I thought she'd be lonely forever like my mom!" Mira cried.
Lisa naturally couldn't hear the jab her daughter had just taken at her or she would've been incredibly embarrassed.
She was much too horrified by another fact.
Lailah was married to princess Yara's only son.
Even though the man had never been seen among the common people, this fact was widely known.
'T-that means..'
This man was a dragon, and a noble one at that.
She could now clearly notice the four proud horns on his head, and the natural aura that let a dragon know they were near their kin.
'W-why is one here?! I-I've been paying taxes and giving them everything that they ask for!'
"U-umm h-how can I help you today?" She stammered.
Lailah assumed her friend was nervous about being in the presence of royalty so she elected to tell her the purpose for their visit.
"We're on a date today so we came here to buy some books and we're going to go read them at the cafe next door."
"Oh how lovely! P-please let me know if their is anything you need." She bowed deeply before walking away.
As Lailah turned to start browsing bookshelves, only Exedra remained in place gazing at the back of the woman who'd just left.
He could sense it thoroughly, the woman's pure unwavering fear.
This troubled him slightly as he hadn't even done anything to make her afraid of him.
When he remembered that she was a lesser dragon, his mind began to form its own connections.
'She thinks I'm here to harass her?'
Noble dragons famously discriminate against lesser ones and even go as far as to view them as second class citizens.
He was certain that Lisa must have had some hard experiences in her past that had left her thoroughly traumatized.
While he was disappointed she thought of him as some sort of bully and bigot, he realized there was very little that he could do to change her perception of him.
He figured the best thing he could do for her now, was to leave her store quickly so he began looking for titles alongside his wife.
When they finally finished, Exedra had only grabbed two, while Lailah had seven.
After they'd paid they quickly left the store and headed to her favorite bakery, Lailah smiled giddily as she eagerly went to share her two favorite things with her husband.
Lisa watched the backs of Exedra and Lailah completely disappear around the corner before letting out a massive sigh of relief.
While she knew that Lailah was her friend and would never let anything happen to her, that did little to calm the nervousness she felt from that man's presence.
"While that man was undoubtedly handsome, noble dragons are more trouble than they're worth and I already have enough problems..." She muttered before her cheeks suddenly became hot.
'What am I saying.. .as if he'd ever be interested in someone like me'
Lisa continued to sweep up the store as she tried her best to forget Exedra's handsome face and quickly learned that it was an impossible dream.
Not only could she not forget his appearance, but she was also taken aback by his strange aura.
A dragons natural aura is always regal and dominant, but his was also mixed with something darker that she couldn't immediately recognize.
'Could he be a hybrid?' she wondered.
Hybrids among dragons were a very rare occurrence, and she was certain that if princess Yara had a hybrid child the entire continent would know about it.
Soon Lisa remembered how happy Lailah looked on her date with the prince and she felt a small twinge of jealousy within her heart.
She'd certainly never looked that happy with a man... Never been on a date either.
'He looked so gentle with her..'
Mira's father was the exact opposite of gentle, hence the reason why she had to flee from him before she was born.
It was only thanks to luck and the grace of a great friend that she was here now and had been spared from that awful fate.
Snap!
Lisa had unknowingly placed too much strength into her hands and snapped the broom she was using rather easily.
Luckily, Mira went upstairs to nap or she'd make fun of her mommy again.
'I'm much too old to be forgetting to control my strength...'
As Lisa went to find another broom, the sound of the door opening caused her to chuck the broken broom behind the counter and put on a warm smile as if nothing had happened.
"Welco-"
After seeing the three men who had entered, Lisa's friendly expression melted and shifted into one of utter horror.