Chapter 15 Baby face
Lyriel walked behind Eli with a bounce in her steps, almost tripping over herself in excitement. The oversized shirt and trousers she wore kept slipping off her shoulders or bunching awkwardly at her waist. She tugged at them constantly, grumbling under her breath. She couldn’t wait to be free of them. She wanted something beautiful, something that would make her feel like a princess.
Eli glanced back at her once, raising a brow at how she kept trying to adjust the cloth, and she only flashed him an embarrassed smile before hurrying after him.
When they reached the market, the crowd stirred immediately, and Lyriel waved at everybody who greeted her or flashed her a smile.
“Good morning, Lyriel!”
“You’re back, Lyriel?”
“Looking cheerful today!”
Eli looked at her, surprised at how popular she had become in the village. Everybody gazed at her. The men were drawn to her beauty, even the little children ran past her, repeatedly calling her name and laughing happily. He must have missed a lot due to always being absent!
“Did you come to sell fruits again?” an old woman asked. “I loved the apples you sold to me yesterday.”
“No, Mrs. Kate. I did not come to sell fruits. Actually, Mira…” Lyriel paused immediately as she remembered her quarrel with Mira. Just thinking about that name made her frown. she could easily recommend Mira as the fruit supplier, but she wouldn’t. Mira didn’t deserve a good friend like her.
“You like my fruits?” Lyriel smirked as it suddenly dawned on her. It wasn’t just about selling good fruits—it had to do with the seller.
“Of course! Not just me, everybody loves your fruits,” Mrs Kate exclaimed with a hearty nod, like it was simply a fact. “I was hoping to see you today so I could buy more.”
Lyriel glanced at Eli, who appeared lost in their conversation. She smiled widely at him, wondering if he was thinking what she was thinking. She squeezed Mrs. Kate’s hands gently, holding them like a fragile egg.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Kate." She assured sweetly, “I’ll sell fruits again tomorrow. And I’ll make sure they’re the best.” Eli tilted his head slightly, wondering where she would get the fruits to sell.
“Also, I want red apples and cherries. Deliver them to my house. I’ll be expecting you,” the woman added. Lyriel nodded and watched the woman walk away.
Eli blinked, startled. “Since when did you… know everybody? You even sell fruits?”
Lyriel simply shrugged. “I… greet people. They greet me back,” she whispered, like it was the simplest logic in the universe. And maybe it was. For her.
The moment her eyes landed on the first dress shop, her entire body lit up.
“Eli! Eli, look!” She grabbed his arm and tugged him with surprising strength. “This one—this one is so pretty! Can we… please?!”
Eli exhaled, already defeated by the sparkle in her eyes. “Fine. One.”
But “one” turned into two.
Two turned into five.
Five turned into ten.
Then came hair brush at the next store, ribbons, tiny gemstone clips, and a bracelet she refused to put down because “it shines like sunrise!”
Eli lost count after that. He paid for every item with a blank stare that suggested exhaustion, regret, and surrender all at once. The shopkeepers, however, were thrilled. Lyriel could do no wrong in their eyes that morning.
Then Lyriel spotted the Men’s store. “Suits!” she gasped. “Eli, look at that one! It would make you look like a prince! A handsome prince!”
“A what??” Eli yelped, stumbling slightly as she dragged him yet again—this time toward a very expensive tailoring store.
“Hello, Lyriel... and Eli,” the shop keeper greeted. “What would you like to buy?”
“This suit!” Lyriel declared, pointing at a silver-stitched long coat with metallic embroidery that matched perfectly with a gown she had bought earlier.
She chuckled as she imagined them both arriving at the royal ball matching in coordinated splendor... like couples.
“This one is quite costly,” the shopkeeper said carefully. “I sell it mostly to nobles and merchants of high status. But we also carry a more affordable collection… that way—” he pointed to the rear.
Lyriel crossed her arms stubbornly. “No. Tell me the actual price!”. she asked, determined to buy it at any cost… with Eli’s money, of course.
“One thousand silver coins,” the man replied.
She immediately turned to look at Eli, who stood watching quietly near the stacked fabrics. His posture was casual and utterly unreadable.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t tense. Didn’t gasp.
Which could only mean one thing in Lyriel’s mind—He could afford it! Easily!
She wondered if he had been pretending to be poor all this while. The dresses and jewelry he had purchased for her were quite expensive… not something the Eli she knew could afford.
“Six hundred silver coins!” she bargained.
The shopkeeper shook his head in disapproval. “It isn’t worth Six hundred… but I can sell it to you for eight hundred coins.”
“No! Six hundred coins!” Lyriel insisted. One could tell her mind was already made up.
The shopkeeper exhaled through his nose, amused despite himself, then nodded slowly. “Very well then. Six hundred coins.”
Lyriel grinned, immediately shoving the suit into his arms. “Try it. Now!”
Eli blinked. He hadn’t expected she would make him try it on. “I’m not... Lyriel... stop pushing...” But she was already forcing him toward the changing booth. She dragged the curtains closed behind him as he stepped in.
Eli sighed in defeat. She was so stubborn, he just couldn’t say no to her. He looked at the suit—it truly was glittering and beautiful. He smiled.
Lyriel waited for him to change, but he seemed to take longer than expected. She sighed every now and then. There were still many more things she wanted to buy for herself, especially shoes, and today was the perfect chance since Eli seemed to be in a good mood. She wondered where Eli got all his money from… or was he spending his hard-earned savings on her? No! Impossible!
When Eli finally stepped out, Lyriel gasped, as though he had just walked out of a dream. He had always been handsome, but in that moment he looked like a wealthy demigod—someone who belonged to a city of gold.
If Eli had traded places with Farren in Eloria, she would have married him the very first day she saw him.
“You look… perfect.” Her voice was soft, full of awe.
For a moment, Eli felt heat creep up his neck. He cleared his throat, muttered something about the collar being itchy… but he didn’t change out of it until she was done staring.
Lyriel walked beside him the rest of the day, humming, spinning, and dancing to the tune of the music played somewhere around the village square, pointing at everything like a child seeing sunlight for the first time. She didn’t mind holding all the goods he had bought for her.
Eli kept pretending he was annoyed. But every time she pouted and flashed her innocent
baby face at him, his hands would betray him, and more coins would vanish from his pocket.