10 9th Dawn - Glimpses of the Future Pt. One

It's impossible for me to fall any more than this.

After learning about my Herculean strength and skit of bravery, Sol just praised me with a sunny smile. I was afraid that he'd start seeing me in a different light, but I forgot that he isn't like everybody else.

He's an understanding and considerate person who likes looking out for others. He also doesn't judge people with a mere glance on the surface alone.

"Really, Lillian's an odd one," Felicity mused out loud with amusement while I only giggled in reply.

From here on out, the three of us walk around the town square, eating snacks from time to time before resuming our window shopping.

I decided to take this time to see what kind of people these two are and deepen our friendship.

I find Felicity as an endearingly sweet girl, in particular. The way she strides is as graceful as the fluttering petals of a flower, and her poise is as still as water.

She doesn't munch or chomp on foods, but eat it as quietly as possible, unlike me who's practically wolfing down everything I put my hands on. She's also good at keeping a conversation going, but not to the point of being loud and nosy.

I think I just found my exact opposite, but even then, I'm glad I can be friends with her.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"The duke's son is here."

"Huh?! You mean, Duke Cielo?!"

"Idiot, I said his son."

The townspeople are nosier than me, at least.

We can actually hear their entire conversation. While I fail to feel the gravity of what they're talking about, Sol and Felicity look astonished at this. They probably know this person since they have a high status in society.

Scrutinizing their expressions, I sense that I'm still missing out on something important here, though. Perhaps, this guy is of nobility or something.

"What kind of business does someone from the royal palace have here?" Sol wondered out loud.

"Royal palace?!" I repeated, flummoxed.

This Cielo dude isn't just a noble, but of royal blood to boot.

Now, I understand why people will fuss about this. After all, this part of the city isn't frequented by noblemen for this is technically the uptown. People of nobility often send their retainers or servants when they have something to do here.

Ellicht may be surrounded by a single mass of walls, but it has three major divisions.

The first is the downtown and uptown which are followed by the temple ground at the middle as the second division. Beyond the enormous temple ground is a forest that leads to the noble's area. Past through these noble houses stands the royal palace in all its blinding glory.

In other words, this significant figure travelled all the way from there for some reason. Then again, it has nothing to do with me.

The three of us just proceeded with our escapade after that. We happen to pass by a few stores that catch our eyes, but since my current budget is initially allotted for my necessities, only Felicity gets to buy something.

It's a shame, though. I did find tons of trinkets that I fancied.

"So pretty…"

Right now, I found another gem.

My eyes glisten with awe as I stare at a flower hairpin that looks ancient at first glance but is actually very fascinating. The vendor of this small store notices me and asks if I truly see it beautiful to which I only nod in reply.

Our conversation gets cut off when someone stands beside me all of the sudden. A bit taken aback by their arrival, I take a glimpse only to find them already looking at me.

"You…" the man started.

"Me?"

"Do you want to buy that?"

I then blink at him in surprise before reluctantly answering that I do want to but I can't.

I left out the reason that I'm currently financially low since I don't want to say something that personal to a stranger. He doesn't look fishy, but it's still better to be on guard all the time.

Eyeing him closely, I realized that this person is downright good-looking.

He's taller than me, has platinum blonde shoulder-length hair and emerald green eyes, and wears a brown vest over a plain white long sleeves polo and dark brown pants. His attire may look simple, but I can discern that he has the air of someone far from average.

"Excuse me, I'd like to buy that, Sir."

Caught off guard, I swerve around and find Sol already handing out three bronze coins to the vendor. He then beams and gives me the hairpin.

I can only gawk at him in puzzlement, torn between freaking out and questioning him. I can't even think straight for I'm too confounded by how sudden this is.

It seems like he just bought me the ornament.

"Phew, it's a good thing that shooed him away," he added all of the sudden, much to my bafflement.

I then notice that the guy from before is no longer there.

That's when I realized the meaning behind his gesture. He probably thinks that he's sketchy or something, so he went all the way to buy me this. I feel a bit disappointed that it's not out of his own will, though.

"I think that looks good on you, Lillian. You really want to buy something, don't you? But since you're trying to save money for now, you held it in."

At that, I can no longer keep myself from heating up like a teakettle.

My heart instantly leaps in joy, knowing that he's sincere after all. I also can't believe he noticed that I'd been holding back.

Then again, Sol always has a sharp eye for everything. He understands me well, comes to help even when I didn't ask him to, and is very reliable.

In that moment, I try to pore over these ascending emotions within me. I then get swallowed by the desire to express them to him as much as I can.