The Royal Capital Eldora

“Wake up, Annette! Let’s go to the market!”

Miss Cynthia pulled the curtain open and the morning sunlight came through the window. A distant sound of the bustling street could be heard from outside the house.

The royal capital, Eldora, was the busiest city in the whole Kingdom. One could find almost anything they sought here, with streets filled with various shops, restaurants, and people. Unlike Athenya, people woke up earlier to start their day, especially now that the Evernight festival was around the corner.

Evernight was celebrated on the winter solstice, beneath the longest night of the year. The celebrations then continued throughout the following week, ending with the arrival of a new year.

“Come on, rise and shine! If we’re not in a hurry, the good ones might be sold out!”

Miss Cynthia pulled the blanket that covered Annette, who was still half-awake in her bed. Annette then sluggishly sat up in her bed and finally greeted her adviser.

“Good morning… Miss Cynthia…” Her voice sounded dry.

“I’m going to wake our little dragon up, so go and wash your face and get ready!” said Miss Cynthia as she left Annette’s room.

Miss Cynthia’s house was located in an alleyway not far from the street market. And today, her priority was to get Annette new winter clothing.

After some time had passed, both Annette and Esmeraldo followed Miss Cynthia outside the house and headed towards the street market area. It wasn’t long after the sun had completely risen, yet the street was already alive with people. Even so, according to Miss Cynthia, it was nothing compared to the crowd later in the day.

Annette braced herself before she followed Miss Cynthia and joined the stream of people on the street, with Esmeraldo gripping onto her clothes behind her. As she remembered, the street was as bustling as it had been last summer. It was filled with shouts from the merchants offering their wares to everyone passing by their stores.

It was absolutely not the best place for poor little Annette’s hamster heart, as she flinched every time the sellers shouted something.

“The latest winter design of magic accessories here! Come, come, take a look!”

“Evernight decorations and props, everyone! We have the best deal here!”

“Candles, candles! Get your Evernight special candles!”

“Oh, young lady! What about our special Evernight cookies? You can’t find them anywhere else but here!”

“Hieekk!! I-I’m sorry. Thank you for the offer!” Annette ran towards Miss Cynthia, half-dragging Esmeraldo as she left the seller behind.

“Let’s check that store and get you your winter clothes!” Miss Cynthia cheerfully pointed at the shop across from them as she saw Annette coming.

“Yes, ma’am!” answered Annette loudly, trying to compete with her surroundings.

The shop sold a lot of warm outerwear such as coats, winter robes, and jackets.

“Oh my!! Look at this, and this, and that too! I bet they’ll look cute on you, Annette! Come, try all of these on!”

“Um, t-that’s too many, ma’am.”

“Why, yes! You have no proper winter clothing after all! Do you not like these?”

Annette stared at them before she hesitantly said, “Um, may I just have the robes and cardigans, ma’am?”

“Alright, sure! Oh! What about this for you, young boy?” Miss Cynthia turned to Esmeraldo who stood next to Annette.

He stared at the clothes Miss Cynthia held and asked, “Are those supposed to make humans feel warmer?”

“That is correct! Aren’t you cold in those clothes?”

“Hm, I see. I would like those if that is okay with you.”

“Alright! I’ll buy all of these and we can continue on to the next shop! We still need to get some gloves, earmuffs, socks, and shoes! Oh! Wait, let me get those scarves too for you two!”

Miss Cynthia enthusiastically dragged the two of them to several different clothing shops and bought everything that would cover them from head to toe. She bought so much that Annette had shopping bags occupying both of her hands.

“Ah!! Let’s check that one!” Miss Cynthia exclaimed as she headed towards yet another shop.

Before Annette could follow her adviser, the nearby merchants came and surrounded her. While Esmeraldo quietly stood behind Annette, she panicked internally at the sudden approach of a group of them.

“Hey, young lady!! Won’t you get this earpiece? This looks great on you!”

“What about a hat, young lady? This one is popular now! Look, look! You will definitely like it!”

“We have some perfumes for a cute young lady like you, come and pick one, won’t you? What about the rose one?”

“Hiiekkk!!”

The merchants raised their voices at her as the crowd grew busier with each passing hour. This only made Annette shudder right where she stood, gripping the shopping bags in her hands tightly, as she couldn’t make a run from those sellers.

No, please!! They came to me!! They are talking loudly! I want to run!! Spare me!! She hung her head lower as all of them spoke to her at the same time.

As she was lost in panic, a young man in his early twenties suddenly came from nowhere and stood in front of her.

“Will you stop bullying this young lady and the boy? Can’t you see they are troubled by all of you?” he said unpleasantly to the sellers.

The merchants seemed to be surprised by him, and shortly backed down. Annette could see some of them clicking their tongues as their wide smiles faded into disappointed looks. They proceeded to find another target with the exact same lines.

I am safe!! cried Annette silently.

The young man turned around to face Annette. He wore fine clothing and a long coat with a top hat sitting on top of his caramel-blonde hair. However, his expression wasn’t particularly friendly.

Annette quickly bowed and thanked him. “T-thank you, sir!”

He then pulled his top hat lower with one hand, casting a shadow over his brown eyes, before quietly walking away to join the stream of people.

Esmeraldo tugged at her clothing behind her as he pointed towards the store where Miss Cynthia went, signalling Annette to quickly catch up to her adviser.

“Alright… Let’s go quickly.”

Annette sounded very exhausted by this time and wished that she’d be done with it as soon as she could.

***

The young man turned into a narrow alley, leaving the busy street market behind him.

What a bunch of brainless fools, those market folks! he thought.

He then turned into another alley, then another, towards a quiet, isolated area without hesitation, until he arrived in front of a row of buildings with narrow stairs going down.

Once he descended the stairs, he arrived at a passage leading to various underground stores. Thin smoke drifted through that dimly lit passage, carrying the lingering scent of some sort of herb. It had a starkly different atmosphere from the busy street market.

The man pushed the door open to enter a certain bar, jingling a small bell on it.

“Oh, hello, young sir!” welcomed a woman in rather revealing clothes behind the counter.

The young man took off his top hat and said, “Is he here, Dolorez?”

Dolorez smiled and playfully winked at him as she pointed her finger towards the corridor.

The young man walked down the narrow corridor towards the door at the very back of the shop and opened it. In a small room filled with smoke from even stronger herbs, a man sat alone behind his desk, cheerfully counting his money.

“Oh! Hello there, young sir, Rasco!” he greeted him.

The young man took out a bag of gold and placed it on the desk with a serious look. “For the next batch. Just as usual.”

The man with a thin beard immediately checked its contents as he grinned. “Great! The herbs will be safely delivered to you as usual, young sir. Always happy to work with you!”

Rasco silently left the room and walked back to the bar at the front. As he walked down the narrow corridor once more, he could faintly hear laughter from the private rooms he passed by.

“Young sir! Leaving so soon? Won’t you stay for a drink, perhaps?” Dolorez walked towards the young man and stood very close to him.

Rasco glanced at her as he put on his top hat. “Next time.” He pushed the door open and left as Dolorez waved her hand with a playful smile on her face.

***

The young man closed the door and took off his long coat and his top hat.

As he walked in, a door inside the living room opened, and a woman came out of it, her dress slightly dishevelled as she adjusted the front of it. Rasco glanced at her with a scowl on his face, frowning.

“Is Master still sleeping?” he asked.

“He is.”

“You shouldn’t bother him the moment the winter break starts, don’t you think?”

“I’m not bothering him.” She slightly pouted.

He walked to the dining table to get himself a glass of water, ignoring what the woman said. Shortly afterwards, a man came out of the room with his upper shirt unbuttoned.

“My Lord,” Rasco and the woman bowed.

The man walked over and took a seat on the couch, followed by Rasco approaching his side.

“I have arranged for the next batch to be delivered as you ordered, my Lord.”

“Well done. You have grown into exactly the man I wished you to be. I shall reward you soon.”

“Thank you for your kind words. Your satisfaction is my reward, my Lord.” Rasco bowed to him.

“Now, we shall start our winter mission.”