Atropa Belladonna

~~~一~~~

To some it might look strange, but the woman figured it would be a suitable choice even if the metals did not match so she would reduce the chance of losing the crest while she was working.

It was quiet as the two young adults began their journey to the coastal city on horseback, but it was a welcomed silence as the Bai Estate could get extremely hectic with the broad mix of personalities.

Normally, Kōngtóu and Lǎohǔ would have joined the pair since they were all well acquainted with each other, but they had to stay behind due to prior arrangements that involved their own families.

The trip from the Bai Estate to Dulaman would usually take a full day, but since the two were using horses accompanied with the fact that roads were mostly empty, they arrived much earlier than expected.

While Dulaman looked like a normal city to the uninformed individual, those who have actually been there know that it is all a farce.

The trade center was riddled with crime and full of suspiscious characters at every corner, almost always hiding behind an innocent mask.

It was for these reasons that the female was so adamant on coming with the royal for as soon as they entered the city she could feel the hungry stares on them and she was disgusted.

She had been to the city many times for jobs, mostly to kill those who had passed off her employers or owed them money, but she could never get rid of the unease she felt upon entering.

"Young Lady Bai," the male called, snapping her out of her thoughts as he rode up next to her, "We should get rooms at the inn first."

"Yeah, you're right," the woman chuckled with a bright smile as she flicked her hair over her shoulder, "you're not meeting with the envoy until tomorrow."

"And you can just call me by my name, you know?" she continued while steering her black mare in the direction of the inn, "We've known each other for over a decade, I would've thought you could guess that I don't really care for formalities with my friends."

The male only gave a hum for a response, but the ravenette knew he would take her words into consideration for their future interactions so she didn't comment on it.

The stares on them only became more obvious as they dismounted in front of the two story building that was identified as the inn and entered to see multiple patrons enjoying their meals and drinks on the ground floor.

"Ah, who do we have here? The Crown Prince and Lady Diān Qié?" mused a smooth voice as a woman wearing a blue hanfu made her way to the guests.

"Welcome to my humble establishment," she greeted with a small bow, looking up at the taller male through her eyelashes for a moment before turning to the other, "How can I help you today?"

"We need a table and two rooms for tonight," the ravenette stated, narrowing her eyes slightly at the chuckle that left the innkeeper's painted lips.

"Are you sure you need two rooms?" she questioned, earning a glare from the male that she completely ignored in favor of watching the female's unchanging expression, "You two are together, right?"

"We're not married yet, just engaged," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she shifted her weight to her right leg.

"Oh, you could have fooled anyone with the way you're proudly wearing the Imperial Crest," the woman in blue mused before leading the pair to a free table by one of the windows.

Shortly after the pair stated their orders, the female left to deliver it to the chef before returning with the pot of tea they ordered along with another cup.