"Open your mouth."
"I can feed myself, Gesine," I smile awkwardly. She's treating me like a small kid who doesn't know how to eat.
"I said, open your mouth!" She was persistent with feeding me that she grabbed my face and pushed the fork into my mouth.
"Mommy, chill," she's really forcing it in, so I just opened my mouth and let my pride go away. There's nothing bad with this, right? In fact, this is really romantic.
"It's good, isn't it?" She smiled really proudly, and I must say her cooking improved. She took the fork that she used to feed me and grabbed her own piece and ate it. I looked as her lips touched the fork, the same fork that went into my mouth.
Isn't that an indirect kiss? "I think you should use another fork, Gesine, since I used that first."
"I know."
"You knew and you're still using it?"
"It's better," she said as she licked the fork clean with her tongue. What the hell is wrong with Gesine these days? She's getting dirtier and hotter at the same time.
"Well, anyways, the festival is approaching. So, what are your plans? You already invited me, so I hope you won't take it back."
"I won't. I still want to go with you, Gesine. Remember the fireworks I promised? We'll see them together!"
She smiled, and we finished eating the rest of the steak. Then, we cleaned up. I washed the dishes, and she cleaned the clothes so that we would be free for the upcoming festival.
I can't wait to taste the foods that they are selling. Yeah, I'm currently broke, but Gesine is coming with me, so I'll just nibble on her cash and eat a ton.
"Cassius! Let's go shopping! I wanna get some new clothes for the festival."
"Shopping? It's not really my thing, though, and you have plenty of clothes in the closet. Why would you wear new things?"
She looked at me, pouting. I can't really resist a cute girl in front of me. "Why can't you understand a woman's heart! A woman must shop! Enjoy things, that's the life!"
"Yeah, and destroy my wallet in the process."
"Dude, you're broke. You ask me for money, so it should be reversed. I'm spending my own money! And I'm treating you so you can buy some decent clothes, not those old, smelly, repeat clothes."
"Ouch, that hurts a lot, lady." I looked at myself and realized my clothes were indeed worn out. The clothes she has in here are mostly for occasions not suited for fighting.
I deeply sighed and nodded, "Since you're buying stuff for me, I should at least come with you."
"Great, hehehe," she ran to her room with a huge smile on her face, "Oh, and prepare immediately since we are going now!"
"What? Now? We just finished eating."
"Shut up! I said we're going now, so prepare to leave and lock the windows!"
1 hour later...
"Alright! I finally got my dress. Wake up, Cassius! Let's go and shop!"
"You said we were leaving now, but that was an hour ago! What took you so long?" I felt drowsy. Did I fall asleep?
"Come on, sleepyhead!" she pulled me out of the house and followed her out. Afterwards, we walked for a couple of minutes until we arrived at the busy main street where the main events for the festival are going to happen.
I looked around, and vendors and sellers were already setting up their stands. It's going to be a busy week. "Over there, Cassius, that's my favorite store to shop in!"
She hurriedly went inside the shop, and just looking at the door itself, it was made for nobility. I don't think Gesine's wallet will last long here.
I entered the place and saw gowns and suits made of really expensive fabric. I could smell some expensive perfume everywhere. I wandered the place, and to be honest, it was really big until I saw Gesine by the counter talking to the saleslady.
I immediately approached them, and the saleslady saw me and bowed slightly, "You must be Lady Gesine's man," she looked at me and smirked.
I looked at Gesine's face, who was flustered; it almost looked like steam was coming out of her head. She waved her hand in denial and said, "Cassius is just a traveling buddy."
She glanced at me, and I just had a nonchalant face. When I looked at her, her eyes widened as if she had done something really horrible.
She turned around and headed to the dressing room, "I'll try some clothes now." Her voice wasn't the joyful kind anymore; it was back to the way it was.
"Come, Cassius, I'll find some clothes for you as well," she called for me, and yet she didn't bother to turn around.
"I want something that doesn't stand out. I want something with the color purple in it, maybe a hair band that has a purple jewel?" Gesine explained what she wanted, and the workers immediately left to find what she wanted.
"And for you, sir?" a worker approached me as well. There are a lot of choices, but since this is a fancy shop, wouldn't you usually order fine gowns and well-made suits for occasions? But that's not me.
"I want something versatile, something I can move around in really well with a lot of pockets too so I can store some stuff in them. Make it durable as well."
"Pffft—hahaha, you're really one of a kind, Cassius," I looked over at Gesine, "if normal people would come here, they'd buy the most expensive items, but you chose something not too extravagant."
Well, I'm not really looking for fancy clothes. I can't fight in some tight clothes, can I?
Gesine called an employee over to her and whispered something into the employee's ear. I didn't hear anything though. "Should we head back?"
"Ah, wait!" She ran towards a section of the store and returned a couple of minutes later holding some sort of fabric or clothing. I couldn't see it clearly since she was covering it.
"Don't look," she glanced at me as she put the item on the counter, so I turned back. I could hear the saleslady laughing slightly. I'm curious now.
Then I felt a slight push behind me. It was Gesine. "Time to leave. They said they'll deliver the items to our house, and since it's a special item, it would take longer than usual."
Hm? Special item? Is it because it's a rich-ass store that it needs to have a longer wait time? Well, it doesn't really matter since I'll be using the clothes that I just ordered every day and not just for the festival.
The Holy empires royal palace.
"Princess?" a maid opened the door to a large yet ordinary room filled with chandeliers, candles, books, and a wide bed.
"Huh? What is it?" the voice came from the corner of the room. A woman dressed in a royal gown was seen sitting in front of the mirror, combing her shining, diamond-like hair. Her face was white as snow; it was almost like a perfect face.
"The Emperor is calling for you since the festival is nearing. He would like you to choose the dress that you would like to wear."
"The festival? Ah, yes, it's almost time." Then her voice changed, and the comb that she was holding snapped just by using her strength.
"I can't wait to see you... My dear Esmond~"