Simon - TCF

1.3 : Books, Tea, & Walks

They spent the rest of the day reading at the tea shop. This time, Cale didn't try to leave Simon behind. After living those memories, it was like Cale was chained to Simon. Of course, those chains are made of fondness and joy, but they were chains nonetheless. Even the thought of being away from Simon made Cale frown.

So, they read books on the second floor of The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry. It was an oddly long name, but the aura inside was worth it.

When Simon arrived with Cale, it seemed like the entire shop let out a breath of relief. Simon was about to pay the regular price for staying when Cale pulled him back. Cale glanced at the shop owner, "He's with me."

"Yes, Young Master Cale. Would you two like tea?" The owner smiled politely.

"Definitely," Simon grinned. He was holding Cale's hand on his shoulder.

"Yes," Cale nodded, grabbing Simon's hand and pulling him up the stairs. According to his memories, the old Cale didn't mind doing stuff like this in public.

Granted, whether or not he is in a relationship with Simon, no one will say anything. The reason why is because Simon is sly enough to distract Cale from doing anything overboard. He doesn't stop Cale from causing a scene, but if Cale tries to use violence, Simon steps in.

Cale continued to read the top seller. It's a novel about a duke's son living life to enjoy the world and see people for who they are. The main character makes a deal with a lower ranking noble family and becomes the third unruly son of Baron Fiker.

While the noble world finds him both appalling and entertaining, the character goes on an adventure that reveals shady deals, twisted personalities, and schemes that endanger the crown. The story transforms from a wild journey to understanding responsibility and taking chances.

The story is quite enthralling.

Meanwhile, Simon grabbed a romance book between the crown prince and a Baron's daughter (So many Baron characters~). It is from the daughter's point of view, but Simon mostly enjoys the surprising twisted nature of the heroine.

Normally the yandere is the love interest. In this one, she manipulates the crown prince to fall in love with her until he cannot rely on anyone but her. If he tries to rely on another woman or befriends a girl, she immediately starts scheming to get rid of them.

"What are you reading? I've got a yandere in mine," Simon snickered, leaning over to rest his chin on Cale's shoulder.

Cale closed the book, pointing to the title, "A Future Duke's Deception. It's about a Duke's son hiding in a Baron's family as the third son. As someone from a lower rank, he has more freedom to move about, or so the story says. Anyway, he acts however he wants and lets his curiosity take over. As he does that, he stumbles upon grand schemes and learns the true personalities of the upper echelon."

Simon subtly paled. He chuckled awkwardly and lifted his chin off of Cale's shoulder, "That sounds weirdly familiar. Do you know when it came out? Who's it by?"

Cale flipped through the front of the book, "It says... it was printed seven years ago on the 5th of the ninth month. The author goes by the name Frances Law... Never heard of them before."

"Same... that's strange," Simon's smile grew thin. He started tapping the table, staring at the wood deep in thought.

Inspecting Simon's body language, Cale frowned and closed the book. He lightly rubbed his hand on Simon's forearm, "What about you? What are you reading?"

Snapping out of his daze, Simon smiled again, holding up the book with a mischievous grin, "It's a romance between a crown prince and a Baron's daughter. The thing is, she's obsessed with him. From the moment they met, she planned new ways for him to fall for her.