CHAPTER 376: THE MARKET RUN-II

"So the reason we’re here is to track down your long lost brothe— I mean, imposter?" Arabella asked, her tone hovering somewhere between curiosity and disbelief as she stood at the center of the bustling town square.

For the first time in what felt like ages, she was dressed plainly, a simple dress, her hair bound back with a white headband. A light coat hung over her shoulders, though the air was already warm enough to make the fabric unnecessary. She had protested, insisting the weather didn’t warrant it, but Cassius had been immovable on the matter, brushing off her complaints with his usual dramatics about how "cold could kill."

At this rate, people will think I’m terminally ill with how obsessively he guards my health, Arabella thought with a huff.

To the onlookers, she might have appeared like any other young woman in the square. But Arabella knew the coat wasn’t about warmth. It was Cassius’s silent way of laying claim, a shield against gazes that lingered too long on what was his.

Standing opposite her was Cassius himself, though altered. His hair had been dyed a dirty shade of blonde, his clothes deliberately plain, the kind any peasant might wear. It should have made him unremarkable. It should have helped him blend into the crowd.

But it didn’t.

His beauty was a curse of its own. Every turn of his head, every careless glance drew eyes. Whispers rippled, and before long a small circle of curious townsfolk had gathered at a polite but insistent distance, staring at him with undisguised awe.

Arabella pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, marvelous disguise. Truly. No one will suspect a thing. Except perhaps everyone within a five mile radius."

Cassius smirked faintly, as if her exasperation were the very compliment he’d been waiting for.

"No one here has had the honor of seeing the King’s face. I doubt they’d recognize me for anything other than my striking beauty," Cassius said with a careless shrug, his hand closing around hers as though it belonged there. The ease of it made Arabella chuckle despite herself.

"Yes, Your Majesty, your striking beauty does seem to gather admiration from every corner," she teased, rolling her green eyes. His answering chuckle made her frown, suspicious of the amusement in his tone.

"Jealous now?"

Her cheeks warmed instantly, and she huffed, "Dream on. I don’t mean to brag, but I daresay half of those glances might be meant for me."

Cassius’s crimson eyes swept over the crowd, lingering far too long on the young men daring to sneak a look at her. His lips curved into that deliberate grin of his. "Which ones? Point them out. Do you suppose their families would weep if those men returned home blind?"

Arabella’s gasp turned into laughter, though she shook her head firmly. "Don’t jest," she scolded, giving his side a quick pinch. He only arched a brow, as though uncertain which part of his words she imagined was a joke.

She lowered her voice, leaning closer. "But who would have expected there to be a festival toda—"

Before she could finish, Cassius tugged her firmly in the opposite direction, threading through the crowd with purposeful strides. He stopped at a stall where the smoke curled invitingly, the scent of charred meat clinging to the night air.

"Five of them," he declared, flicking a coin with a casual flourish. The gold piece landed in the stunned stall owner’s palm.

"A G–Go–" the stall owner stuttered upon seeing the coin, nearly dropping the skewer he held. His hands trembled as though he had been offered the crown itself.

Cassius was unbothered by the reaction, seeing that nothing was wrong with the coin he had given and demanded, "I’ll take five. Quickly."

The man scrambled, snatching skewers from the grill and wrapping them in a brown parchment. The savory scent of spiced meat wafted into the air, drawing curious looks from those nearby. Arabella bit back a laugh at the way Cassius’s nonchalance made the vendor look as though he had been struck by divine presence from Heaven.

"You could have just paid with silver," she advised, folding her arms. "Or copper. No one in this market would ever lay their hands on a gold, you know. It’s almost similar to a family heirloom and most of them would better keep it inside their house, under the bed or the floors. You will make a terrible spy with the way you spend everything like a royal."

"Of course I know that gold is hard to come by, darling. It’s almost a dream for them to have a gold for a mere five skewer of meat." Cassius plucked one skewer and handed it to her as if he hadn’t heard a word.

"So you knew?" Arabella tilted her head, at first guessing that he didn’t know this because he spend most of his time in the battlefield.

"Of course but do you know what peasants remember most vividly?"

She gave him a wary glance, already bracing for another one of his maddening remarks. "What?"

He took a bite, eyes narrowing in satisfaction. "When they strike gold given by an angel as gorgeous as I am. Therefore to them today, I am their miracle."

Arabella’s jaw dropped, and then she laughed so hard she nearly dropped her food. "All this just so you can be seen as an angel?"

"Not really but I thought if I’m kind and loving to the peasants you would be happy and praise me, unless that’s not the case?"

"Oh dear... where did you buy your confidence from?"

"It’s innate. My mother has it worse, you know. She believes that the world revolves around her," Cassius smirked, offering her the second skewer as he took another for himself. The onlookers murmured, whispering about the strange but dazzling couple who stood out even among the festival crowd.

"Let them look," he said lightly, glancing at her sidelong. "The more they stare, the more I’ll have reason to blind them later."

"Don’t you dare," she hissed, elbowing him in the ribs. But his grin only widened, wolfish and content as the festival drums began to beat in the distance.

Just then, a couple of children came barreling through the square, too caught up in their games to notice Cassius’s long legs in their path. They collided with him, tumbling to the cobblestones with a frightened squeal.

For a heartbeat, his crimson eyes darkened, shadows flickering across his gaze as he bent slightly to meet theirs. The children froze, sensing the sudden, predatory weight in his stare.

Arabella, ever attuned to Cassius’s moods, quickly gripped his hand. "Cas—"

"Don’t run around like fools," he said, the corners of his lips curling into an almost playful smile. Meeting her gaze, his expression shifted, incredulous as if surprised by her presence. "I don’t kill children, darling. Not... yet."

"’Yet’ is a rather frightening addition to that sentence," she murmured, exhaling with a mix of exasperation and amusement. The two kids quickly scrambled to their feet, stammered apologies spilling from their lips, and scuttled behind her.

Arabella shook her head softly, a small smile tugging at her own lips. "How utterly adorable children are," she whispered, her voice threaded with fondness, and Cassius’s gaze locked to hers could see the admiration and dreamy look on her eyes.

He softly tightened his hands towards her and feeling his grasp, she smiled demurely.

"Honestly, I was curious," Arabella muttered, "You didn’t even allow Renard to come here with us. Are you really planning to find the imposter or are you... perhaps wanting a small retreat together?"

"A date, dear, a date with my beloved."