Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

1st PERSON: Pelomina Lorenzo-Capiz

He and I continued to search for the perfect necklace, no matter if it was as is or if it was part of a set. However, for all the ones he chose, I respectfully declined. Although he was visibly upset that I kept saying no and explaining why. He was also doubtful of his choice right from the start. It’s almost like nothing made it up to his standards. His choices were always grand, bright, eye-catching, and most of them were, if not in purple, in deep blue, as I thought deep blue must be the castle colors.

“Am I bad at choosing necklaces?” he mumbled, asking particularly no one, his face serious as he stared down at the few choices that we still haven’t judged, I think this constant refusal is wearing down on his confidence in his knowledge and preferences when it comes accessories.

He also wears earrings, yes, but not a necklace. And these were all geared towards women, so I doubt he’ll have a grasp on the concept that quickly.

I shook my head at him and placed my hand on his arm to offer some comfort, “Of course not, my lord, I see your sentiments in your choices but wouldn’t such a big piece of jewelry be straining to wear for a long time?” I reasoned, and he clenched his jaw with a nod.

“Indeed, I forgot we must put your constitution into consideration,” he agreed and I nodded with a hum as I walked further around the place and my eyes finally landed on the perfect set. It was a splatter of very small deep blue gems held together by thin and finely linked golden chains, it seemed like a starry night sky, it's subtle, thin, and light. Checks out all the boxes.

It came in a set with earrings where in this case the blue gems were made to look like grapes as they hung from the hook, and a set of three rings, one with the same blue gem encrusted on the center and two rings, with no gem, but are engraved with designs.

“My lord?” I called out,

He walked over to me with a brooding smile and I motioned to the necklace I saw and turned to me, “Well?” he asked, and I breathed out,

“What do you think about that, my lord?” I asked, and he shrugged,

“It’s rather… weak,” he noted,

“Perfect, that’s just like me,” I noted and he whipped his head to me with an expression that looks like he didn’t mean it like that, I couldn’t help but giggle at his face, I tried to hide it with my hand but he caught onto to it instantly,

“That’s not what I mean,” he said in a firm tone,

“Yes, I know my lord…but isn’t this good enough?” I asked and he glared at it and leaned closer, looking at me up and down and back on the necklace. Is he trying to visualize it on me? That’s awfully meticulous of him. That or he’s judging if it’s enough to flaunt his wealth, which sounds like a more probable reason.

“Are you certain you want this one?” he asked again,

I squinted as I nodded at him. Still, he hummed like he wasn’t certain until he just gave up and nodded, “Fine, we’re taking this, where are the others?” he asked, looking around the shop.

I frowned, “What others?” trying to look around to see what he was looking around for,

“The others, wife, we’re not taking just one…are we?” he asked and my lips formed into a thin line as I realized what he meant,

I cleared my throat as I shrugged to this one necklace that I’ve been drawn to like a pyromaniac to a fire, “It’s…It’s just that one, my lord,” I replied, and he blinked twice at me before nodding once e was hit with the realization,

“Ah…” He began, sounding it out,

“Yeah~” I added on as I nodded with him,

“You mean to get it in every color!” he said,

“No~ my lord, that’s not what I meant, I would just like this piece in particular,” I explained the confusion coursing over his face all over again, and he shook his head as he traced his thumb over his lower lip,

“You don’t mean to say that we’re getting just this one? We’ve gone all the way here, we should just take what we can,” he reasoned, and if he outs it like that he sure does have a point. I don’t think we’ll be shopping regularly or we would shop at all if it weren’t for the coronation.

I hummed, biting the inside of my cheek as I thought of how to make it seems like we bought a lot without doing so, “Well, the rest would be your decision, my lord,” I replied and he scoffed, crossing his arms with a huff,

“None of my choices were to your liking,” He muttered, almost like he was sulking about it. I guess now it’s my job to keep his mood as light as before, it’s not that I hated his picks but those things probably weigh more than this body does.

‘That’s an exaggeration, of course,’ But still, it’s bulky!

“Well…my lord, it’s because you choose such grand and large gems—”

“Yes, because—”

“—But I won’t be able to wear them all the time, wouldn’t a smaller and lighter piece be easier to wear every day, I’d be more than happy to wear whatever the lord gifts me as much as I could,” I reasoned, I know that I’m just sucking up to him at this point but still it’s my preferences that I’m trying to work for.

Besides, bargaining is one of my biggest skills. I’m from the Philippines, we make cheap things cheaper through bargaining.

He hummed as he saw the point I was trying to make, “I suppose…” he said as he cleared his throat, raising his hand and gesturing for me to stay at my spot, as he left and did another round through the whole shop and came back with three things.

A golden cuff earring, a ring that had tiny gems throughout its whole circumference instead of a big one in the middle, and a necklace with a very long lace and a penny-sized red sphere gem. It was definitely a big change. He was quick to understand what I mean.

“what about these?” he asked,

I nodded vigorously with a big smile, “It’s perfect, my lord,” I replied and when I tell you his face lit up—I meant he became three hundred times more attractive, his eyes completely shut like they were smiling too and this man—HAS DIMPLES ON BOTH SIDES OF HIS FACE.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“Finally, do you want anything else?” he asked, his smile still on his face. That it's hard to even maintain eye contact. He’s so damn bright when he gets like this. This has to be a joke, I thought earlier, was a fluke, but no. This man has some stunning visuals.

“… Wife?” he called again, and I gulped, too loudly that he even reacted when he heard me gulp, “Is everything—”

“Y-Yes, yes… I mean no, everything is fine and no, I won’t be getting anything else other than this and what you got me,” I replied, pointing to the necklace that we agreed on and the accessories on his hands. He nodded and looked around the place for the two merchants earlier.

They noticed Lykus looking at them, which isn’t hard because he’s towering over everyone apart from that, his whole appearance sticks out like a sore thumb. You would know when he’s looking at you.

“Are you done choosing, my lord and lady?” the man asked as he approached us with fidgety fingers,

Lykus nodded and handed him all that he held and pointed to the necklace I chose, the man furrowed his brows at us, “Only this… my lord?” he asked and Lykus nodded, the merchant scratched the back of his neck and turned to me instead, “Have you seen our other selections, my lady? There’s plenty of—”

“No, no, this is all we’re getting,” Lykus interrupted, he didn’t do it rudely, he even raised his hand like he was trying to ask for permission to interrupt, and with that, the merchant bowed as he left and with our chosen goods, probably to pack them up, as that happened I couldn’t but have my eyes trailing off to Lykus’ smug and satisfied expression, he sure seem proud of himself with today’s achievements.

“What will we be doing after this, my lord?” I asked,

He huffed and furrowed his brows, “I suppose we should head back to the castle,” he replied with a shrug, watching as the man packs our stuff,

“Well…can’t we walk around time for a little more?” I asked. Maybe this is my chance to talk with a few about things with him. Who knows, we might even come to an agreement beneficial for the both of us.

He nodded at me first in a dismissive manner, but once he understood what I just said, he whipped his face to me with a bewildered expression.

“you’d want to walk around?” he asked,

“Yes,”

“With me?”

“Yes, my lord,”

“… why?” he followed with a frown and I shrugged, he cleared his throat for the nth time and sighed as he nodded sternly, “very well,” he affirmed, linking his hands on his back as we both waited for the merchant to come back with our stuff.

And I couldn’t help but smile at this uncalled-for, sudden, and surprising development.