Chapter 38   – The Noble Lady in a Simple Frock (1)

Alexcent got up before her as usual. As soon as he woke up, he felt something tickling his nose. He rubbed at it sleepily and looked down to see what it was. He was surprised to see that he had been lying on top of Amethyst’s pillow with her. He slowly sat up as to not wake her up and put on his gown without a sound before getting up from the bed.

CLANG!

Alexcent came to a sudden halt at the sound of his foot hitting something on the floor and quickly glanced behind at Amethyst lying on the bed.

“Mmm…Alec?”

He had tried to be cautious but her sleep still had been disturbed. Alexcent clicked his tongue and approached her side of the bed, sat beside her and stroked her hair.

“Go back to sleep.”

“What about…you?”

“It is time for me to get up.”

“Then I will too.” Amethyst sat up barely able to open her eyes and lifted her arms to stretch. A groan left her when air popped from her joints and her muscles ached.

“Ugh….”

Alexcent carefully massaged her shoulder.

“Sleep a little more. You can’t even open your eyes.”

“I wanted to do something more productive today.”

“Productive?”

“Yes, For example…. shopping.”

At the words shopping, the hand massaging Amethyst’s shoulder stopped. Recalling the experience from the previous shopping trip for the wedding dress, he quickly shot up from the bed.

“Well then it’s getting late. I should start getting ready for work.”“Alec.”

“Hmm?” He distractedly asked while his eyes flitted from side to side.

“Are you trying to run away from here?” She tilted her head and gazed at him.

“Of course not.”

As Alexcent tried to avoid her eyes, Amethyst’s eyes glimmered.

“Alec, do you want to go shopping with me?”

“No.” He replied bluntly.

“But why? Let’s go together, it’ll be so much fun. Just like old—”

Alexcent stopped her from talking with his mouth. Unlike the rough kisses like yesterday, it was a warm and gentle kiss. Amethyst instinctively closed her eyes.

“I’ll send Lunia with you. Enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later.”

He then left the bedroom hurriedly before she could even reply. He couldn’t believe he had actually considered her request for a minute. He let out a sigh of relief and ordered the maid who was standing in front of the door.

“Clean up the room.”

“Yes, sir.”

Then he spoke to Pon who was trailing behind him.

“Get rid of all male staff wherever Amethyst is. Rather, only allow female staff in the inner house.”

“Sir?” He looked taken aback by the unusual order from his master.

“Including yourself.”

“Including m—” he cut himself off at a sharp glance from the prince. “Understood sir.”

This was a necessary precaution for Amethyst who didn’t like to wear ‘uncomfortable undergarments’, but Pon could only understand the reason after hearing the gossip from the maids serving Amethyst.

“Also, Amethystwants to go out today. Send Lunia to escort her.”

“Yes sir.”

With those orders he strode into his private bedroom to prepare for the day.

*A soft knock sounded on the door.

“Ma’am, it’s Lunia. I’ve come to escort you for the day.”

“Oh! Come in Miss Lunia. long time no see.”

“Please call me Lunia, Ma’am.”

“Alright then.”

Lunia, the second secretary of the Prince greeted her respectfully. She seemed to have been appointed as Amethyst’s personal secretary for the day. Amethyst smiled and with the help of her maids, started getting ready.

“Mmm, I don’t like anything heavy. I prefer something lighter and simple that would be easy to move around in while shopping.” She looked at her dresses but when she didn’t find anything resembling what she wanted, she turned around to look at what they were wearing. “Aha! Something like what Lunia is wearing.”

“Ma’am?!” All the ladies around her gasped indignantly.

“It’s neat and simple, just what I’m looking for.”

“But, Ma’am, noble ladies do not wear attires like these. This kind of dress is only worn by commoners or employees like mysel,.” Lunia calmly explained.

“Well, that’s not an issue for me and why care about what others say. Please prepare one for me.” She said in a tone that left no room for argument.

“Yes Ma’am, understood.”

The maids went back into the dressing room and came back with a simple dress, much to Amethyst’s satisfaction. She quickly changed into the dress they had brought. After Lunia boarded the carriage Pon had prepared for them, it left the estate and began to speed up. They passed through the inner part of the city and across the park, a new road unfolded, as if it had just been constructed.

As the carriage came to a stop, Amethyst got off it and exclaimed excitedly, taking in her surroundings. “Oh my! Where are we? This place is different from where we went before, isn’t it?”

“Yes Ma’am. This is Newhenfield. His Highness designed this place himself.”

“Alexcent? Alec did himself?”

“Yes. The reason why he was so busy recently is because of this city. The capital is vintage and most of its buildings are old, so it wasn’t able to expand much in the tourism sector. Turns out people prefer luxurious and fancy places as compared to vintage ones. So, he had this section developed from his designs.”

“Wow, he must be the god of buildings.”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing.”

They started walking and Amethyst couldn’t help her gaze flitting around from building to building. Each and every building had its own unique character and style and looked like a piece of art. The streets were well-organized and clean. She couldn’t close her mouth that was hanging open in awe of his talent.

She silently laughed at her own musings.