21 'Lex?'

Osmea has a progressing economy, supported mainly by agriculture. The vast fertile land and fields were as the eyes could stretch. The first town a few minutes away from the palace gates was called Orhbelle. It's one of the residential areas of Osmea. Most of the institutions that her family supported had lands given to them by the former duke in Orhbelle; family of all classes resides there. Though some nobles and members of the higher class have manors at the town capital of the Osmea, Eblon, where they're closer to stores, entertainment, and other leisurely activities.

Riding past the town, Amelia couldn't help but peek through the thin drapes of her companion's carriage. So much had changed. It's already mid-autumn, and the trees were not shy to change into bolder colors. She had been away from the public's eyes for almost two months, and all she wanted to do was to get into the street and meet with her people. Tell them she's fine and to see how they're doing.

"We'll have a little stopover at my favorite store, then we'd walk from there," Sybil said.

"Walk?"

"Hm-hmm…" her companion smiled at her; she must've understood her need to talk to the townspeople.

Almost an hour on the road, the carriage stopped at a small boutique named Eglaire located at the entrance to Eblon.

Amelia looked at Sybil, confused, but all she received was another broad smile and a light push that had her off the carriage in no time. Not even Esdras was fast enough to assist his duchess.

On the other hand, Sybil waited for their knight escort to attend to her by extending her a hand. Esdras looked at it for a moment as if contemplating if he should take it or not, but not wanting to disappoint Amelia, he let out a short sigh and took Sybil's hand.

The young miss was elated. She was red to her ears!

Amelia shook her head as a smile formed on her lips. She stood near the door, waiting for Sybil to come to her senses and return to what she had formerly planned to do for today.

"He is so gorgeous. I almost fainted," she whispered to the duchess while her arms wrapped around Amelia's.

"Welco—Oh, Madame Sybil!" the lady with old-fashioned braids and thick glasses greeted them. And as a response, Sybil let go of her arm and twirled once, then stroke a pose, which the lady seemed to enjoy as she clapped her hands. "Beautiful!" she said as the two greeted cheek to cheek. "And who is this?" Amelia immediately straightened her posture as the scrutinizing gaze of the lady landed on her.

She didn't look much, but she had fierce eyes.

"Good morning, Miss…." Amelia pulled her velvet hood, and she almost laughed at the lady's eyes and mouth that widened at the same time.

"Goodness!" she exclaimed, "It's the duchess! Oh my goodness, it's the duchess! I apologize for my rudeness." The lady walked to and fro the boutique, and Amelia glanced over to Sybil to ask her to do something, which her companion nodded to.

"We want to see the town," Sybil started. "But I don't want the duchess to be recognized. Can you do something about it?"

"The duchess is lovely. Even if we use fake hair and pick a normal dress, we wouldn't be able to hide her face. But it's a challenge I am willing to take! I am Janina, your grace, and I manage this humble shop." Janina curtsied deep but was up even before the duchess could permit her.

She was such a ball of energy as she walked all over the store, picking garment after garment. She then went behind the counter and opened the glass shelves where assorted styles, color, and size of fake hair was displayed. Picking one of the deeper colors of the earth, Janina came back and asked Amelia to follow her to the fitting room.

The duchess, unsure if she's to trust the lady, grabbed Sybil by the arm and dragged her with them.

"Let's get rid of this for now," Janina muttered as she untied the cloak the Duchess was wearing and placed it in the nearby cloak rack. Next was her dress.

Amelia wore a white satin cuff-sleeved blouse with small black pearl buttons that came up to her neck in a cascading ruffled collar. Her beige-colored full skirt was held in place with a leather belt in a darker hue of brown, which accentuated her figure; Janina couldn't help but admire the raw canvass that would be her masterpiece in a few minutes.

"Can you do it?" Sybil sounded impatient for some reason.

"Oh, please, darling. I'm the best there is in town," the lady laughed but then turned to look at the duchess seriously, "No offense to your very own seamstress, your grace."

"Ah… none taken?" Amelia's brow arched as her head turned for Sybil's comment, but the miss just shrugged her shoulders.

After many trips to the dressing room and a few tries of fake hair, Amelia sat in front of the shop's dresser and stayed still as Janina applied powder and some tint. By the time they were finished, she could hardly recognize herself.

For someone with her beauty to not stand out from the crowd, the shop owner had picked her simpler clothes than she thought. It was a white cuffed sleeve that buttoned up to her neck with a small collar. She was then made to wear several layers of black petticoats that hovered just above her ankles. To finish the look, she wore another layer of asymmetrical skirt on top of it. No accessories, just a small leather bag to hold her valuables in with a thin sling that went across her body. For her hair, Janina chose a brunette-colored fake hair made of processed horsehair that fell just on top of her shoulder—it's the latest trending product of her duchy that's been selling well across duchies and overseas.

"Wow! Just wow…" Sybil stood from where she was seated as soon as Amelia came into sight.

"I'd like to change your eye color too, but that's impossible. Still, you look a whole different without your silver hair," Janina spoke like an expert, which made Amelia laughed.

Well, the silver hair was a sight to see. Amelia got it from her mother, and it's a unique color in Creador. Anyone would immediately think of her once they saw a silver-haired lady walking down the streets.

With a final turn for her companion, Amelia thanked Janina. She told her to send her the notes so the palace can pay her, but Sybil interrupted and said, "It's okay. It's on me today. I support Janina's passion—"

"She owns the place."

"What? You own this?" Amelia was even more amazed. Someone her age managing a business of her own wasn't just a small feat. Well, she's a duchess herself at the same age, but she's inherited the title, so whether she did anything or not, the seat's meant just for her. "That's amazing, Sybil!"

"Oh, it's nothing really," Sybil blushed a little as she played with the ends of her blond hair. "My father wanted me to start getting into business as soon as possible, so he gave me a few gold jeras to spend. I met Janina a while back through our seamstress; she was assisting then. Since I love dressing up, I got in touch with her and offered."

"And I accepted!" Janina's voice was a pitch higher as her hand clapped. "Thanks to dear Sybil here, I can sew and do whatever I want."

Amelia shook her head lightly, smiling, already satisfied for the day.

"Now, you don't want to waste your time in here. Get into town and have some fun. It was great to meet you, your grace. I'm happy to see that you're all well." The shopkeeper curtsied low, but this time she didn't get up as fast as she did earlier until the duchess finished speaking.

"It was great meeting you too, Janina. I had fun, and I hope to revisit your shop soon." Amelia returned her curtsy with one of her own.

Soon enough, they were out of Eglair with one last wave to the wonderful shopkeeper.

"Duchess?" the low voice of their escort made the ladies' heads turn.

"We're going incognito today," Amelia said with a smile before she entered the carriage after Sybil, leaving Esdras with a slightly gapped mouth.

"He's also adorable when he's surprised like that." Sybil giggled before looking back at the knight, who shook his head and was slower to walk back to his horse than usual.

The town bustled more than Amelia remembered it. There were small makeshift shops even in the middle of the town square and small street performances here and there.

"I feel like I've been kept in the palace longer than I thought," Amelia whispered as they looked from one shop to another.

"Business has been going well these days. We've seen an increase in foreigners in town too. That's why so many small businesses have sprouted everywhere. Inns were surprisingly full most of the time. And—that's also why rumors about your engagement—" Sybil leaned in close and said the word engagement as low as possible, "—to House Clement is growing day by day."

"Pardon?" Amelia looked at the lady beside her with a confused look.

"I mean, why would foreigners be interested in a place with only farms and forests and more farms? Sure, Osmea is a great place. We have fresh produce and handmade products. We also have more advanced agricultural machinery than any other duchy, but let's be honest…." Sybil showed an awkward smile, "Our duchy's not as fancy even against Aclador, and they're all muscles and weapons and barracks and fighting! And what's fancier than Thuenia? They have it all! Shops, inns, entertainments, guilds—everything! So, people have been saying that maybe this was part of the engagement deal. Anyway, whatever it is, the people love the attention and the business."

Baffled and speechless, Amelia picked up a small hair ornament from one of the shops to fiddle with as the information tried to sink into her mind.

The borders were opened for traveling to different duchies, and foreigners who came to visit were allowed entrance, given that they have papers to support their identities and purpose. But since Thuenia became a one-stop-shop, the only foreigners that went over the borders were either delegates or businessmen. So, a sudden influx of visiting foreigners was definitely something to cause a rumor to stir up—but looking at it, it's not really a rumor. This was also part of one of the conditions that Alexander presented to her.

But no one knew it.

Amelia placed back the hair ornament and picked up another. She looked back and etched the scenery in front of her. The town's so—alive. Osmea's growing economy was mainly because of the agricultural innovations she implemented over the years—how to have higher yields, plant off-season crops, the benefits of proper irrigation and fertilizers, and cross-pollinating different crops for hybrids that could give them better produce. There were also new tools and several types of machinery introduced. But she only witnessed this kind of atmosphere during festivals.

Tears pricked the back of Amelia's eyes, and she awkwardly laughed by herself. She reached for the side of her eye to dry the impending tears, and as soon as she raised her head, a familiar broad back and ruffled jet-black hair popped at the side of her sight. Immediately, the duchess turned around to confirm it. But there were so many people she could hardly get an unobstructed view of the man even with her height.

Trying not to lose sight of him, she shoved the hair ornament to Sybil, who was busy picking ones for herself.

"I don't have some change, can you buy this for me? I'll pay you when we get back to the palace," she talked fast without even looking at her companion.

"Well, okay, but—hey!" The chattering crowd drowned Sybil's voice.

With quick strides, pausing to stretch her neck so she could see from the waves of people, Amelia instinctively shouted, "Lex!". The man stopped in his tracks, and the duchess excused herself and pushed her way through. "Lex, wait!" she called again, but the man didn't stop this time.

Ahead was another enthusiastic crowd watching magic tricks performed by a man who didn't look like a local. Amelia had a challenging time navigating through them. She was almost called to volunteer for an act which she refused profusely. And by the time she got out, the duchess faced an empty and dark alley. Looking around, there was not even a shadow of the man she was chasing.

Amelia looked around again, calling for him, but nothing. Then she looked back at the alley again. What if Alexander was waiting for her in the alley? That's why he deliberately made her follow him? Or maybe he was looking for her too but didn't recognize her because of how she looked?

The possibilities kept on piling up in the duchess' mind. She made one last look behind her and proceeded to the entrance of the alleyway. Since the sun was out and there were heaps of people outside, Amelia thought it would be safe for her any other way.

"Lex?" the duchess clutched her bag's sling for some comfort. Just as she was almost in the middle, she was startled by the rough hands that encircled her wrist. "Alexan—" Amelia's smile faded as the eyes that met hers were striking green, not the warm amber eyes she was looking forward to.