My eyes which were casually observing the group of youngsters standing in front of a shop from the other side of the streets, slid towards a sign I have seen before. It's the bookshop my friends and I went to last time. And then, I suddenly remembered that I had bought a book from there.
I had completely forgotten about it!
It's because I was too tired when I got home and got lost track of what I did after that so I also forgot where the book went. It's probably placed somewhere in my room, left unread, feeling sad and neglected.
Jeez. I had been grumbling about how I have nothing to do at home and let the boredom get the best of me when I had that one book sitting pretty somewhere!
Hmm... I kinda want to go there again. I was hooked by the words she had said last time, regarding the transmigration trope. It's like the shop is trying to reel me in or something. Heh~
I took a peek at Lukas on my side and saw him staring with an unmistakable frown on his chiseled face. When I followed his line of sight, I was slightly surprised to see that he was looking at the same bookshop as I did.
Is he interested in books too?
Really? Lukas? He doesn't look like he spends time reading shiet but maybe that's just for me. Kinda judgemental, I know, sorry about that.
"Look, a bookshop," and pointed to it.
Well, duh. He's already looking at it, obviously, but I was just trying to see what he's going to do and why he's sporting such a negative expression.
Without another word, for the second time today, Lukas strode off in the direction of the bookshop. I immediately pursued him and spent the whole time pouting and grinding my molars in displeasure.
Why am I still even following him though...
The door creaked, coupled with the chime making a noise when it opened. The smell of books slammed on my face, very pleasing, I tell you.
I just love looove the smell of books...
"Welcome, guests!" A cheery voice greeted.
I waved in reflex, "Hello~"
"Hello~ Welcome~" Another voice joined but it's younger sounding this time.
My gaze slid from the woman on the counter then to the other person present and saw Estelle. Bruh.
"Uhnn? Estelle?"
It wasn't just me who was shocked to see the other.
"Lady Nadia?"
Mmm? Why is she here?
Wait, no. She likes to read books so she's obviously here for that reason but really? I literally see her everywhere... This is just beyond my expectation.
I can't help but sneak a look at Lukas.
Did he know she's going to be here, that's why he came in? I mean, technically, they are both main characters of a novel and they are also lovers there. So you know, maybe he felt a pull? Like the universe conspiring to make them meet or some crap like that.
It's plausible, right?
But wow, it sounds so cliche and romantic even for me. It's giving me goosebumps.
"Hi..." I mumbled, waving at her weakly.
Estelle shuffled in her feet, feeling timid once again.
"Uhmm..."
There was a cricket sound. Crickets were screaming into the void, celebrating the birth of a stagnant atmosphere.
Clearing my throat, I looked at Estelle and tried to open a conversation just to save myself from this freezing mood.
"So... we meet again."
"Yeah... I didn't know Lady Nadia would come here so I was surprised," she replied, thank goodness.
But yeah, same. Even though I was just stalki– I mean, observing her earlier, I didn't think that I would get to see her here again.
A hollow laugh escaped my mouth, "Haha... such a big coincidence huh..."
Is this really a coincidence? Or God is playing with us?
I then noticed that Estelle had kept glancing at Lukas every now as if she's curious about him. And yet, she seemed scared to do something with her curiosity either.
'Ooohhh... Juicy...'
A part of me that had been dormant for a long time was awakened by this sight and she now means business.
"By the way, this guy is Lukas," I stated, gesturing to the statue beside me– "Lukas, this is Estelle."
I purposely left the fact that he is a duke because after all, I have no freaking clue if Lukas wanted to give away his identity. As of now, he's only wearing simple clothes and there are no escorts in sight, so he probably wanted to be as low profile as possible.
Anyway, he can just tell her that himself.
I did the honor of introducing the two of y'all so, do the universe a favor.
Estelle shyly looked up, "Y-your grace..."
Oof– Looks like Estelle already knows.
I was hoping to see some sparks so I glanced at the devil to see his reaction.
He wasn't saying anything, which is understandable for him but I still want to know what he's thinking. Whether he's actually smitten to see her so he couldn't speak or he's just being the same as always...
We're talking about Estelle here, his... you know... lover in the book. Ahem–
I am not fangirling right now. Shut up.
Instead of fangirling... Hmm... It's more like feeling mischievous. Like I wanted to mess around because of my current knowledge about their relationship.
Yeah, so I looked up, and wow.
What the hell is that, Lukas? Why are you looking at her like that?
He was already sporting such a sour expression since earlier but I didn't know it could get any more tragic than this. It's one thing to frown when you see something that displeases you and smile when it does but he's not doing that. He was just there, cold as ice, looking like a marble statue, and not a single fvck was ever given that day.
He only glanced at Estelle for a split second. A split second! Not a minute! Not even a full one!
His eyes just swept past her and then they were glued at the shop owner instead.
Hmm? What is this? Where the hell is the spark? I was waiting for it!
He didn't even acknowledge her!
Don't tell me... Lukas is into the shop owner?!
I gazed at the pretty woman behind the wooden counter. She was smiling throughout the exchange was happening. I studied her discretely, scrutinizing every bit of her appearance, and found myself openly admiring her.
Well, can't blame Lukas then... This woman is lovely.
The silver-bluish hair was tied loosely into a ponytail behind her, giving an illusion that she's some type of elven race. If not for the fact that her ears are not pointed, I would surely think she's one of them.
If I would try and guess her age, she's probably around Lukas's age. How old is Lukas anyway? Did I write it down on the parchment? I can't remember...
The shop owner must have noticed that I was staring at her, so she met my gaze and beamed. I got flustered and turned away at once, slapping both my hands on my cheeks.
Let's just focus on Estelle and Lukas instead.
After a while though, I would find myself looking back at her for some compelling reasons. Lukas was the same, I guess because he was still gazing at the owner but with a frown marring his face.
Due to that, I was even more confused now if he really liked her or not.
Why would you frown when you see someone you fancy, right? That's just stupid.
Why am so invested in this, seriously. Am I this bored? Damn.
My eyes gravitated towards the pretty shop owner again. Now that I am seeing her clearly in daylight, she kind of looked familiar to me.
But I brushed the thought off and turned towards the timid Estelle. I felt a little sorry for her because her greeting was met with silence. And seeing an embarrassed damsel is activating my protective senses.
"So Estelle, you're buying books?"
Here, let big sis console you.
"Not really... I'm only visiting Nine," Estelle replied to me with a cute quirk on her lips.
Aww, look at her. She's so cute! Like a little sister!
My left brow raised, "Nine?"
She seemed to remember something, "That's right! I forgot! Uhm..." she then pointed at the shop owner– "This is Nine, she owns this place and she's my friend."
Oh... A friend.
"And this is Lady Nadia... She had helped me a lot before," she added.
Nine's eyes glinted and her smile widened, "Nice seeing you again, Lady Nadia..."
Her words made me blink, "Yes... It's nice to meet you too..."
I didn't want to think deeply about what she just said because it is true that we already met before. I'm still a little bugged about why she looks familiar but I also swept that away off my mind later on.
The question now is, what are we going to do here, Lukas?