Chapter 10 - Sneaking Out.

"What are you doing here? Our Lady Rei said that she doesn't want to see you!" said the younger maid of Rei.

Ben glimpsed at the young girl without saying anything.

"Xi Er. Mind your manner." said An Er as she walked out of the room.

Then, An Er turned to Ben and bowed to him a bit.

"Good evening, Dr Ben, are you here for the daily body check-up of Lady Rei? But I'm afraid I might not be able to let you in for now, our Lady said that she is not in the mood for any visitor at this moment." said An Er, in a polite tone.

Hearing the words from An Er, Ben is slightly surprised for a short while, then, he nodded and hands over the candied fruit to An Er.

"Please give this to Miss Rei, I promised her last night," said Ben without further asking for the reason behaviour Rei's unusual behaviour.

An Er politely took the jars with candied fruit from Ben. As soon as he passed the candied fruits to An Er, Ben walked away without saying anything.

***

A short while later, Rei was seated at a table while staring at the jars with different types of colourful candied fruit on the table, she become more and more confused. She can't help but wonder what's the intention of that doctor for being so friendly to her, at the same time, she is curious of the identity of that doctor. If he was just an ordinary royal doctor, why did he seem to be so close to the King while acting quite disrespectfully as if he and the King were at the same level?

Then, Rei reached her hand on one of the jars and opened the lid of that jar. As soon the lid has been opened, a sweet citrusy fragrant filled her nostrils. The shiny flattened mini tangerines that are coated by a thick layer of runny golden syrup look really appetizing especially when the syrup dripped out as she took one piece of the candied tangerine out of the jar.

She stared at the candied tangerine in her hand, she wondered if she should continue to trust that doctor again. After a short thought, she slowly put the candied fruit into her mouth and is amazed by the taste.

Yes, trusting a person or not would never affect a delicious snack...

***

Meanwhile, the King's reading room.

The King is playing chess with Ben again, this time, there is a small plate of candied fruit on the table.

"Hmm… Seriously, it is such a waste that you became a doctor, with such amazing candy-making skills, you have the potential to become the world's greatest candy maker." said the King in a casual tone.

"Shut up," said Ben, in a slightly annoyed tone.

"You seem to be in a bad mood, did someone get your nerves again?" the King asked, he sounds slightly teasing.

"No, thanks for your concern," said Ben.

"I see. Anyway… I got a report from a patrolman saying that some suspicious party had been spotted in the town, I heard that you are going to restock your medical supplies tomorrow. Please stay cautious and be careful." said the King, a bit concerned.

Ben nodded without saying anything.

***

The next morning, Rei woke up quite early and was currently reading some books the King sent to her through Satoshi while An Er helped her tidy up her black silky long hair.

As An Er was tidying hair for her lady, she noticed that Rei is in a down mood.

"My Lady, you haven't smiled since last night, would you let me know what had been bothering you?" An Er asked, in a caring tone.

Rei shook her head, refusing to tell An Er anything.

Worried about her lady, An Er decided that she would need to do something to cheer her up, then, all of a sudden, An Er remembered some random conversation she had with some palace maids about two days ago.

"My Lady, do you have any plans today? Like maybe pay a visit to His Majesty again?" An Er asked, she sounds slightly sneaky.

Once again, Rei shook her head.

"I heard from a palace maid, there is a great marketplace in the town near this castle, do you want to try to sneak out to the town like we used to do in the Imperial City?" An Er suggested, which obviously doesn't sound like a good idea.

Surprisingly, Rei thought for a short while and nodded, agreeing with this absurd suggestion from An Er.

"But how are we going to communicate with the townspeople?" Xi Er asked, a bit concerned.

"Xi Er, you don't need to worry about the language barrier, I have pretty much learned this country's language from the palace maid, I will be the translator for you two." said An Er, who sounds a bit proud of herself.

"Mmm… Your Sister An Er is a language expert, she is capable of learning any language in three days." said Rei who has been quite untalkative since the beginning of the day.

Both An Er and Xi Er were relieved to see their lady finally cheered up…

***

Although it was rather reckless and unbelievable, the three ladies successfully snuck out from the palace through a special path for the palace guards. They disguised themselves as palace guards and mixed into a line of guards that were switching shifts.

After they got out of the castle, they went to a small tavern and changed into a more casual men's outfit.

"Young master, it's really been a while since we last see you in this kind of outfit, you certainly look very handsome." said An Er who is obviously just flattering Rei who still looks quite pretty and feminine despite being in a men's outfit.

"An, stop flattering me, where is that marketplace you mentioned earlier?" said Rei, who is pressing down her voice to a deeper tone, and addressing An Er as 'An' which sounds less feminine.

"Young master, I believe it is near that area." said An Er as she pointed to her southeast.

"Mmm… Let's head over there," said Rei.

And so, they started heading in the direction of the said marketplace…

However, at that moment, there are a few pairs of eyes that locked on them…