4 City thief

Yuki walked next to Lord Seokjin, her foot being careful with every step she took. She couldn't help but stare at the man when he wasn't looking her way but he caught her in time when her eyes wandered back to him. He smiled, making her heart go mellow.

To think that she was out with the man she had admired from afar for so long felt surreal. Thankfully the screen covering her face hid her embarrassed look that passed by.

"The village town isn't too far," he said, making sure that she didn't mind the walk he had just proposed to the young lady. Lord Seokjin had stopped the horse he had come along with her to tie it around a tree so that they could take a peaceful walk before the village town arrived.

He had seen many suitors his mother had arranged for him but this one seemed a little different. Different because most of the women were usually eager to show their face to him in the hope to sway his heart but what they didn't know was that it wasn't just the beauty that would lonely sway him. As gentle as he was, he needed a wife with character. The kind that would support him and could support herself when he wasn't around.

He looked at the girl who stared straight ahead of her. He wondered why she wore a screen, intriguing his interest in him.

Yuki could feel him staring at her. As much as she loved the attention she was getting from Lord Seokjin, she didn't know how long she could handle being a lady in front of him before dissolving under his gaze and the sun which shone above them.

Not realizing a stone that was in front of her she tripped over it to be caught timely by him which added further to her embarrassment. Could she be any more obvious?

"There are a few stones which might hinder your steps. Please be careful," he advised her, his hands which had caught her arms before helping her stand straight.

"Yes, thank you," she murmured.

"Pardon me. Maybe we shouldn't have left the horse there," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed hearing him apologize, "I love to walk," her words fretted, "I prefer to walk than the horses."

"Is that so? I am glad then," he gave her his gentleman smile. It was true though. Yuki had not once sat on a horse to know how to ride one. Her ride with Lord Seokjin on the horse had been a lifetime experience she wouldn't be able to forget for a very long time.

As they had galloped from the palace to the forest, she had sat in front of him with her back pressing back and forth with every hoves of steps of the horse with his hands holding the reins. She felt shy thinking about it. Was this how every lady who came to meet Lord Seokjin was treated? If it was true then the ladies must have been left heartbroken when they found out that the marriage proposal was rejected.

"How do you spend your time back in your province?" Lord Seokjin asked her, his eyes looking at her before it moved to look at the path they had taken.

Yuki was about to talk about her daily chores. Cleaning the hallways, washing the retainers clothes near the river, running small errands when it was needed but to save herself she couldn't make a decent reply. What did young ladies of the family do? The Takeda's had no daughters, therefore making her answer that much slower.

"You don't have to be shy with me, Lady Hana," he encouraged her with a sweet smile.

"I paint," she lied through her teeth, feeling guilty as she said the first lie to him. Giving wrong information to the Lord was considered to be not only rude but also disrespectful.

"What kind?" he asked interested. What kind?

More than answer she asked, "Um, the one with the power which is mixed in the water?" he chuckled, nodding his head.

"Of course. I paint too," Yuki was already aware of that. It was because she was the one who used to bring his painting materials. She was well versed with it, "Maybe if you're interested, once we head back we can go look at some of them I have created but I doubt it would be as wonderful as yours," she couldn't help but smile which was mixed with a blush.

Even though he hadn't seen the false paintings which she had mentioned about, Lord Seokjin was complimenting.

"I doubt that will be true, milord," she answered truthfully after the lie.

"You are being modest. Come, this is the way to the fair that has been set up in the village," he said leading her through the streets where women and men bowed after noticing his gentleman like presence.

It seemed that Lord Seokjin didn't bother about the attraction he created with his mere presence. He was well known here as some of them who made eye contact with him greeted him with a bow without coming too close. Yuki basked in the morning warmth, to have someone whom you had admired to be walked next to him like this was something they normally did, she smiled to herself secretly.

"What do you enjoy in the battle, milord?"

"Nothing at all," he answered, smiling to himself, a smile that was a little sad as if something crossed his mind, "I don't like the wars but it isn't something we can avoid when the nation has been split into different province who are trying to capture the other. But to answer your question, it must be to see the number of people alive after such an unfortunate event."

"Do you come to fairs often?" she asked him curiously.

"I don't. We used to come here when we were little. My brothers and I that is when we were young and had a free thought. How about you?"

"I make sure to visit the fairs every year. It is one of the most beautiful time of spring, especially with the sakura petals in the wind and ground and the colours. There are also these little merchandises that are imported from the ships to the lands they say who...." she trailed her words looking embarrassed now. She had been wanting to go to the fair but with too many guests visiting the palace, there was hardly any time for it and the palace cook wouldn't let her off easily.

It appeared that Lord Seokjin had his eyes, staring at her when she had gone blabbering about her interest in the fair.

"I am glad that I brought you here then," said Lord Seokjin.

Yuki and Lord Seokjin entered the fair area which was crowded with people and their stalls with different items which were being sold. As they walked across a shop, Yuki could smell the warm food which had been prepared, the smell of the food wafting and tingling her sense of smell. She hadn't eaten anything before leaving the palace and now that the food was right in front of her, she couldn't help the saliva that formed in her mouth.

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