Chapter 101: Trivial
"Your Highness," Tarah murmured, recognizing one of the supposed intruders.
"Huh?" Apollo scoffed, but Ezekiel and Atlas both removed their hoodies.
"You!" Ezekiel grunted at Apollo. "Who gave you permission to take her outside?!"
Tarah turned to Apollo and Cora. "Duke Apollo said he already spoke to you about it, so I assud Lady Tarah could go out," Cora explained, but seeing the prince’s grim expression made her turn to Apollo. "You lied?!" Cora exclaid.
Apollo scratched his head and snorted, "Well, these two n were supposed to be very busy today. Knowing Ezekiel, he would simply lock Tarah inside the estate walls, and there’s no fun in that."
Ez rolled her eyes and sighed, "Oh, please, let’s just have lunch first, shall we? Even if
Apollo lied, there’s nothing we can do since we’re already outside. Besides, what harm will befall Tarah when I’m practically here?"
Tarah remained silent, reflecting on how their simple stroll within Ebodia’s royal estate had turned into an unexpected outing. Apollo had assured her of gaining permission from Ezekiel to accompany her outside, but now it seed like that wasn’t the case.
"Please, take your seats, gentlen," Ez broke the awkward silence.
Ezekiel glanced at her and spoke, "We need to leave after you’re done eating. I received a ssage, and my sister requested your presence at Valcrez. I have pending engagents, but Wizard Lurio will accompany you all the way."
Apollo quickly ordered their als. Once the servants had departed, he turned to Ez and remarked, "Next ti, I’ll take you to the black market serving fresh blood."
"No, you won’t," Atlas interjected, his expression dark and frowning, mirroring Ezekiel’s mood.
"Hmm, I understand why Ezekiel is here and in a bad mood, but what about you, Commander?" Apollo inquired. Then, he looked at Ez and back at Atlas, adding, "It’s not like Ez here needs tight security like Tarah does, right?"
Ez playfully raised her arms, resting her elbows on the table, and propped her chin on her knuckles, a smile playing on her lips as she gazed at Atlas with amused eyes. "Care to answer, Apollo, Atlas? Why are you here? Do you sohow miss
already?" she teased.
Atlas simply stared at Ez and said, "Co with ." He then turned to Ezekiel and stated, "We’ll leave first, Your Highness."
Ezekiel simply nodded, and Atlas turned to leave. Ez clicked her tongue but quickly stood up, saying, "Hey, wait for ."
Tarah watched as Ez rushed after Atlas, while Ezekiel took the chair beside her. They ate lunch in silence, with no one daring to speak a word except for Apollo, who sighed once in a while.
When they were done, Ezekiel stood up and told her, "Co with ." He turned to Cora and Apollo and remarked, "You two can stay longer and continue to have fun."
With that, he took Tarah’s hand and led her outside the tavern. "Your High-"
"Call
Kiel outside, Tarah, and please drop the formalities already when we’re alone," he commanded.
"We’re outside, and people might recognize you," she reminded him. Unlike her, she was sure that all Ebodians knew what their future king looked like. She heard Ezekiel chant a spell with his palm over his face. "There, no one will recognize . This spell will last at least two hours at most," he simply said.
She could sense his coldness, so she asked, "Are you upset?"
"I am because you didn’t inform
that you’re going out. We have a bond, Tarah, and you could have easily told ," he answered with a frown. "Also, why can’t I contact you through it?"
"I blocked it the last ti I practiced the teleportation spell. I’m sorry I forgot to activate it back," Tarah explained. She had perfected the teleportation spell but realized she needed to block so of the channel points in her inner energy, like the dragon bond, for the portal to be successful.
"So, did you have fun?" Ezekiel humd. Tarah’s smile widened as she bead, "Yes, it’s been a while since I strolled through the market. Duke Apollo was so generous, paying for whatever caught my attention." ntioning Apollo’s kindness, she hoped to divert Ezekiel’s attention from his earlier displeasure about Apollo sneaking her out of the palace without his knowledge.
Ezekiel didn’t comnt. Tarah frowned when Ezekiel didn’t ask for his horse and instead, they walked towards the market stalls. "I thought we were going back," she asked.
"Let’s stroll a bit more. It’s still early anyway, and the weather is nice. I’m sure you haven’t explored everything yet. Have you been to this part of the market?" he asked.
"Hmm, no, we haven’t," Tarah replied, her gaze drifting over the unfamiliar stands and rchant’s establishnts.
"That’s good then. Let’s see their products and rchandise in this part," he comnted as he led the way, his hand still holding hers firmly.
She couldn’t help but look at Ezekiel and inquire, "Aren’t you needed back? I think we should head back."
"Wait, I have sothing I want to buy for you," Ezekiel said, leading her into a jewelry establishnt.
"This," Tarah murmured, taken aback. "You’re not wearing the family heirloom ring I gave you, so I thought I should get you sothing that I bought myself. I will get you sothing more special after things are settled."
"But you don’t need to," Tarah murmured, her gratitude mingling with reluctance. Though she tried to hide it, Ezekiel’s gesture touched her deeply. She wasn’t one for material possessions, but anything from him held imnse value in her heart.
"I want you to wear sothing that I provided and bought myself, Tarah. Choose whatever catches your eye. I’ll get you sothing from head to toe," he said, his tone firm and sincere.
"But-"
"Don’t turn
down or I’ll be more upset," he interrupted, leaning in closer. Tarah’s breath caught as he gazed intently into her eyes. "You grab whatever catches your eye with Apollo paying, so why not do the sa with ?"
Tarah blinked, surprised by Ezekiel’s sudden seriousness. Was he truly jealous of Apollo, even over sothing so trivial?
"Alright, let’s do that then," she imdiately answered, seeing how Ezekiel’s face was turning sour while waiting for her response. "But don’t complain if I splurge your money," she added with a wry smile.
Ezekiel’s face lit up, and with a wide grin, he declared, "Oh, trust , darling... all I have is yours for the taking already."
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