Chương 98: Escort Date (2)
"So, are you going to explain anything to me?"
"Ara? What's the matter?"
"What's all this crown princess business and how did you manage to trick everyone?"
Wisteria folded her fan and forced a shocked expression.
"My, could it be that I never told you? I'm a princess of Typhonia, it's just that I wanted to go on an adventure and shirked my duties."
"..."
Then, what about all those stories of you begging on the streets? Sebastian wanted to ask but somehow, he could already figure out the answer. He was completely fooled, he didn't even think to suspect her story at all.
"Haa… Well, Your Highness, where do we go now?"
"That's too stiff! Call me Wisteria like you always do."
"Y.O.U.R.H.I.G.H.N.E.S.S. Where do we go?"
Wisteria chuckled once more and then looked out the window.
"It's best to go to a populated area first. That way, they'll be aware of my location. Once they've seen us, we'll slowly go to a more isolated location where you're going to put on your little play."
Sebastian nodded after silently listening. By his side was Mile's spear and under his clothes were his armor and collapsible bow. With Pine's help, he was able to create a small storage to hold arrows though there were only around ten of them.
The carriage headed straight for the shopping district while Wisteria opened the window to the carriage and waved her hands at the citizens who came to watch the show.
Even though they were already quite far from the gate, there was still great attention placed on the carriage. It stopped right in front of a dress shop. Sebastian stepped out and held out his hand to Wisteria who took it and gracefully got down from the carriage.
"You seem used to this."
"Amy cares a lot about etiquette, though she doesn't force me to do so."
Though Amy did things according to etiquette, she had never once made Sebastian do so. The only reason he learned is because he didn't want to embarrass her. Besides, as the second son of a major household, he still has to uphold his dignity or else he'd never hear the end of it from his aunt.
Once the two of them went inside the shop, Wisteria began looking around for dresses. Sebastian just held his spear and waited by the entrance once he got inside.
"Mmm… Sebastian, can you get that one for me?"
"...?"
Sebastian knit his brows but he couldn't just ignore her, he was acting as an escort at the moment, after all.
He took the dress and handed it over to Wisteria.
"Would you help me put it on?"
"No thank you."
"Wow. You aren't even flustered. Is anyone besides your fiancée even a woman in your eyes?"
Wisteria sighed. Her attempts to tease him ended up failing. She went inside the dressing room to try them on with the help of the attendant. Sebastian didn't go back to his spot, he just waited a little ways away from the dressing room.
After a few minutes, the door to the dressing room opened and Wisteria stepped out.
"Sebastian, does this look good?"
Sebastian looked at Wisteria's dress. It was a perfect fit for her. The dress was tight, it accented the curves of her body perfectly. The red silk dress was a match for her fiery red-orange hair and eyes. If she just put on a necklace, then it'd be like a match made in heaven.
"Yes, it looks very good."
"Hmmm…"
Wisteria pondered over Sebastian's reaction and then looked around for more dresses. For at least two hours, Sebastian continued to give various compliments to Wisteria while she chose a variety of dresses all with different colors and material.
Once they were finished, Sebastian carried around five bags of clothes and put them inside the carriage.
"We'll be walking from here, it'd be tiring to ride and get off over and over."
Though Wisteria's current dress should be hard to move in along with her heels, she didn't act like it at all. Sebastian continued to accompany her to various shops for hours. He wasn't physically tired but it was mentally draining.
'If this was Amy, I'd be able to put up with it…'
"Thinking of other women while you're on a date with one is rude, you know?"
"..."
Why could everyone around him read minds?
They were currently eating at a dessert shop. They were sitting under an umbrella at one of the seats outside and despite the fact that barely anyone knew either of their faces, they still seemed to attract a great deal of attention.
Sebastian's face should be well-known in the upper classes but save for when he has dates with Amy, none of the general populace should be able to recognize him very well. It had been a while since the incident with his posters and he had been out of the country for a few months.
"So, have you sensed any presences?"
Wisteria asked while taking a spoonful of the ice cream in front of her.
"While I've found many people watching us, none of them have any ill-intent. Are you sure someone is planning to kidnap you?"
The two of them kept their voices low and coupled with noise from people talking and the distance between them and others, nobody could hear them. Wisteria was as nonchalant as ever as she talked about secret matters.
"You know, you really need to work on sensing presences."
"I guess so. I haven't sensed that spy sent to watch me even after all this time, after all."
"Well, there are two things you really need to watch out for."
Wisteria ate the spoonful of ice cream and then raised up two of her fingers.
"The first and most important one is, don't search for killing intent. You are searching for presences and gazes directed at you. It doesn't matter if they're hostile or not. If you can feel it, then that means they're watching you."
Sebastian understood what she was saying and nodded. True, if he kept on focusing on trying to detect any killing intent, then someone watching him just to scope him out would be completely out of his search.
"The second one is that you should remember this: while people do look at other people when they walk by, they don't stare at them. You have to learn how to understand human emotions and actions."
Wisteria pointed at a couple of people walking by.
"Those two are in a relationship, but not openly. You can tell by the distance between the two of them and the way they walk."
"Huh?"
Sebastian was confused.
"You mean, you figured all that out just from how they move?"
"The subconscious reveals more about a person than you think. For example, you. Right now, you're wary of anyone staring at us for more than a few seconds but once you give them a single glance, you turn your attention back to me."
"..."
Sebastian took a look back at his actions and realized it as well.
"I see…"
"Well, you can't always be right in these things. In the end, they're just guesses."
Though Wisteria was giving him a lesson, she couldn't be more relaxed. Is that the face of someone who's going to get kidnapped?
"However, let's say you do master reading another person's subtle expressions and subconscious movement, how would that help you?"
Wisteria threw him a question. Sebastian looked at the people on the street for a few moments before answering, "in negotiations and other deals, you'd be able to ascertain the other party's intentions."
Wisteria waved her index finger in front of Sebastian. "Tut tut tut. You're thinking too shallowly. Let's say, you've managed to master this skill, then what do you think you'd be able to do in a fight?"
"..,I'd be able to read most of my opponent's moves without having to carefully watch theiir movements."
"Nn. You'd be able to predict what your opponent is about to do before they can even think of doing it."
"But, wouldn't that be a bit too difficult? It's not like I'd have time to watch each and every enemy I come across."
"That's why I said 'master' not 'learn'. A true master at observation can do it after just a few exchanges. Even I wouldn't say I've mastered it, but I have confidence in being able to read you easily."
"Mmm…"
Sebastian thought back to the beatdown he received in the name of training. He had thought Wisteria just read through his movements because he was too slow, could it be that she managed to observe his habits and thoughts and use them against his own?
"What if… two masters of observation were to fight each other? Not only that, the two of them would be on equal grounds with neither one having a bigger advantage over the other?"
"Well…"
Wisteria tapped her lip with her spoon cutely. Her eyes looked around for a bit.
"That's a bit difficult to answer as I haven't actually seen anyone become a master of observation. However, hypothetically, just hypothetically, that this scenario were to happen, then you'd have a fight above the realm of humans."
"That much?"
"You're underestimating the skill a little too much. Having keen observation in battle is like seeing through the future. What would you do against an opponent who can see ten seconds into the future and have the same level of power as you? You wouldn't be able to do anything other than last for as long as you can. Though, it would be a different story if the one holding the power is weaker, you can just blast them with your flames in a wide area."
Wisteria made silly gestures with her hands for a bit before finishing the rest of her ice cream.
"Well, I guesst that's it for today. Looks like I got the wrong information."
"Ehh…"
"I'll still pay you, don't worry."
"Mm… Okay then. Do you need anything else?"
"I'm fine from here. Even if they do kidnap me after we're separated, then I can deal with them myself without you having to act out a play."
"If you say so."
Wisteria wasn't an Inheritor, but she might as well be. Sebastian is an Apprentice yet he stands no chance against her when it comes to combat. Whether it be hand-to-hand combat or combat from afar, she would find ways to defeat him without breaking a sweat.
"By the way, have you informed your fiancée about today?"
"Yeah. It would be bad if I kept it a secret after all. I just told her that I coincidentally met you at Argenti prior to all this."
"Wow. That was the most unbelievable lie I've heard today. You should really learn how to make better excuses."
"I'll keep it in mind."
Sebastian escorted Wisteria to the carriage and watched her leave. Once the carriage was out of sight, he began walking back to his house but he stopped partway. It was only afternoon, there was plenty of time to do what he wanted.
Sebastian looked at his spear and began to walk to the royal palace.
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