The city of Bafeld reminded Eloise so much of the night markets she had seen in city c. she had enjoyed it back then and she was enjoying it now.
her taste buds were exploding with an array of sweet spicy and savory treats she ate at the roadside stalls.
She could occasionally stop by a few shops that would sell trinkets. And every time Raymond offered to buy her the things she liked.
She refused it and moved on to the next stall.
It was a small stall selling beautiful gem rings. They were made up of copper, but the gems encrusted in them seemed so real. 'They didn't have any fakes back then, right? That would only mean they are real... oh these would catch a pretty price in the future.' She curiously picked up a red ruby ring.
The gem was cut in a hexagon shape and was the size of a small sea grape. Not only that, the craftsmanship of the ring was spectacular. Beautiful flower decals and other leafy wines covered the entire circumference of the. the red ruby encrusted in it resembled a small red cheery or a strawberry.
She was fond of it.
Eloise did not know why but the red rub reminded her so much of Raymond.
'It costs a lot... I didn't carry any money... can't shamelessly ask him.' She placed it down.
Eloise was comfortable borrowing money for food as it was just a small amount, but for trinkets like these, she did not wish to ask him.
"miss, look there," Odette tugged at her hand excitedly. "Oh my god, it's a jester!"
Eloise ran along with her to the small crowd that was forming. The main attraction was a man in a fox max performing magic tricks. He took his hat off and pulled a rabbit out of thin air.
The crowd gasped. "Oh, my lord... this is pure magic!"
Even Odette was stunned by this. "Miss! Miss, this man is a genius! We can request him to grow your hair."
Eloise scoffed. 'Grow my hair? Yeah, he can't do that. These are just simple tricks. But since you love it, I won't spoil it for you.' She thought in her head.
Raymond, who was beside her, peered down intensely.
"What?" she gazed up at him.
"I thought you would be impressed."
"I am… but not that much. I would be impressed if you ask me to that…" she lane close. "Club you promised me to."
Raymond blushingly coughed. "I will take you there. But you must wear a disguise. I don't want madam Ayles coming at me with a broom for spoiling her daughter. And I don't want my wife to be talked about in that way,"
For a second, Eloise couldn't hear anything else except the word wife. For a good second, she could not think at all.
This man has already thought of her as his wife. And he was pretending to shower her with kindles and love. if it was true, she would have been overjoyed but it was just pretending.
It somehow hurt her a bit.
Even so, she smiled and nodded. "What kind of disguise?"
"Something that will make sure that we are not noticeable at all."
Eloise grinned. "Can I choose our disguises?"
"Yes, you can…" Raymond peculiarly gazed at her. His little Eloise seemed to have a naughty glint in her eye again. He had a small inkling as to what she was going to do.
Soon they reached the small corner shop selling different clothes from different cultures.
Giggling, Eloise ran in. "oh this is how it feels to dress up a protagonist in a movie. It's so fun~~~" she picked up a long brown poncho and held it out to Raymond. "Try it~"
Raymond did so with an indulging smile on his face.
As for Odette and Fred they stood back watching them.
"Your miss, does she love the duke."
"She does. I've watched her grow up, mister Fred.... for a long time, our miss has shielded her heart from other men worrying about our madam very much. it really is a good thing she found our lord duke. If not, I fear she might have stayed single all her life." Odette gazed up at him.
Fred let out a small sigh. "I'm glad she is with the duke too,"
"Really? I thought you weren't."
Fred raised a brow. "What gave you that impression?"
"Well, you have that glum look on your face right from the moment the duke showed his interest on our miss. It was quite apparent." She said smugly.
Fred leaned against the wall with a frown. "I just wanted to protect my friend from harm,"
Odette chuckled melodiously. "What harm can our little miss do? I'll share a secret. our miss can't even break open a sealed jam jar. She is quite a delicate lady. I can assure you she will never harm your sire," she said with a joking smile.
"Physically no, but mentally she has too much power over him. She can make or break him."
Odette looked up at him with a small smile. "Sir if you are only thinking of breaking things, you can't actually see how new things are created right this moment. Don't you see it. Your duke and my miss are creating a bond that will last a lifetime. and I believe they will be inseparable till death."
"You're so confident?"
"I bet my life they will last so be assured not even death can do them apart~" Odette gazed back at the small stall selling candied apples and licked her lips/
"do you want me to fetch you some?"
She looked up in surprise. "Oh no, mister, I won't ask of you too."
"But what If I want to buy you one?" He held up his hand. "You can choose the flavor you want,"
Odette unsurely gazed back at her miss.
"As you said, they are forming a bond. let's not stay in their way." He shook his stretched-out hand.
Biting her lips, Odette placed her hand in his. "We must not stray far."
"I can assure you we won't." With a small smile, he led her to the stall.
Eloise, who was mid-way dressing up Raymond gazed to the side to see this. she frowned slightly. 'Did Mister Fred get upset? I'm spending too much time with Raymond? oh god, I shouldn't have gotten so excited.'
She tugged at his hand. "Mister Fred seems to be lonely. Why don't you accompany him a bit? I'll select costumes for Odette first."
Raymond raised a brow. "aren't you going to finish mine? I'm only halfway done." he said playfully, pulling up his poncho. "Am I supposed to be wearing only a poncho? Isn't there too much skin showing?"
Eloise looked at him apprehensively. 'Is this guy doing it on purpose? Why is he not going to his lover?' she looked around/
The store was practically abandoned.
'no one is here to witness his act? He doesn't need to pretend. Should I say it out loud? What if he gets offended?'
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She can't tell Raymond outright the truth, nor can she appease Mister Fred out in the open.
"Mister Raymond… why don't you let Mister Fred style you? I think he can do a good job." She wanted to create a small romantic environment for them.
Raymond actually pouted as she said this.
"You won't dress me?"
"You are not a child. You can dress yourself." She said, blushing slightly. 'Why is he so cute? Gods, I bet he is so cute in close quarters... too bad…'
Raymond lowered his head with a pout. "I was actually anticipating the type of disguise you will choose for me. Sigh, I guess you are not willing to style me."
"No! not like that."
"Then?" he raised a brow.
"n-nothing. Let me pick out a few shirts for you." She then gazed up at his jet-black hair. "We must do something about your hair color and your eye color. Do they have wigs and contact lenses?"
"What is a contact lens?" Raymond mumbled softly. "I'm sorry. I'm not as knowledgeable as you are."
Eloise froze. 'Fuck I should be careful not to let out modern terms…'
"I meant wigs! Anything big and flamboyant! Like his one!" she pointed to a huge white-haired wig with a few curls styled into it. the wig actually also had a few feathers and ribbons stuck on it. she picked it up and plopped it on his head. "There, you are in complete disguise."
Raymond gazed at himself in the mirror with a small frown. "won't this make me more noticeable?"
"More noticeable you are, the more people will not believe you are the duke. It's a simple tactic." She said in confidence, but even she was not sure if this will work.
Raymond was a handsome man. Even in ugly clothing and an ugly wig his face still stood out amongst the crowds. It would be quite hard to go incognito like this.
'Maybe I should add a few cosmetic scars n his face. Will that do the trick? I think it will...' she gaze at the shopkeeper who was looking at them continuously.
"Sir, do you have some clay?"