~The String of Fate~

Chapter 5:

I entered the store with Ardeat right behind me and was immediately struck with awe at the huge selves of magic gems before me. They were all placed carefully and well organized. They even had this thing board of wood floating in front of them with magic that stated their names and abilities along with their prices.

"Good evening ladies. How may I attend to you?" A voice called out from behind us instantly earning my attention.

An elderly, friendly-looking man appeared behind us dressed in graceful formal attire and bowing with his right hand placed on his chest and his left placed behind his back which led me to the conclusion that he must be the one who ran this whole thing. He had beautiful light blue eyes which shone brightly in the light, and white hair slicked back which glistened from all the gel in it. But... Why would he personally come here to assist us himself?

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you again, my lady." The man gave a knowing smile that immediately caused my eyebrows to knit together in confusion.

'The game never mentioned Sovine coming to any other store other than gowns and jewelry...' My lips pressed into a thin line as I stared down at the mysterious man with a friendly appearance that hardly matched the look in his eyes.

'So how the hell does he know me?' I had already had magic done on me from the seal that Ardeat and I shared to change my hair and eye color to the same as hers beforehand so even if he had heard about me due to all those previous scandals and drama Sovine had brewed he shouldn't be able to recognize me from just that much.

"No need to be so wary my lady." He let out a hearty laugh as he watched my expression closely.

"Wary? Oh my, what reason could I possibly have to be wary?" I gave him a confused look.

"Is there a reason?" I looked down at him observingly in an attempt to read his friendly expression and body language to my words.

'Am I being too obvious? I didn't smile while saying that though most people usually would since I'm sure Sovine would scowl instead- Oh, shit... I wasn't supposed to act how Sovine usually would...' I immediately began internally panicking realizing that I had been trying to act like Sovine so much to not seem suspicious for so long that now I even forgot that I wasn't supposed to act like her.

"..." Both the old man and I remained silent as I continued looking down at him expressionlessly trying to not show him any emotions and make this situation worse as he suddenly let out a soft yet amused chuckle.

"Of course not. What possible reason could a lady such as herself have to be wary of this humble shop of mine?" He finally arose from his bow.

"But I'm afraid that this place might be a little too shabby for your liking. After all, I doubt any ordinary commoner could afford such delicate material for their attire..." The elderly man continued with a gentle smile as his brows furrowed a big in a disappointed manor which I didn't wuite understand.

"Or do you mean to tell me that is somehow possible?" The elder added a moment later with a sweet smile which completely contradicted the hateful look in his eyes.

'He knows exactly who I am...' I looked down at him observingly watching his every move.

'But how?' I immediately began imitating his sweet close-eyed smile as I debated whether to leave right now and go to some other store or continue with the original plan and just get over with it.

"Of course, not. It seems you have a good eye for these types of things." I replied while closely watching his body language to my response.

"Haha. How flattering it is to hear that from such a lady as yourself." The elderly man immediately replied with a hearty laugh faker than the amount of gel in his slicked-back white hair.