Chapter 80 - Evening in Valebrand

Chapter 80: 80 - Evening in Valebrand

The moment Adrien and Amelia passed beyond the castle walls, the capital felt like an entirely different place.

Technically, Adrien should have been familiar with Valebrand. The body he had inherited had lived in this kingdom for eighteen years, and there should have been memories of visiting the capital somewhere inside his head. He simply couldn’t find them.

There were gaps like that in the previous Adrien’s memories. Some things came easily, while others felt as though somebody had cut entire sections away. Adrien had wondered more than once whether trauma had something to do with it, especially after everything surrounding Alaric’s death, but he had never found a real answer.

For now, it meant the city beyond the castle was completely new to him.

The district closest to the royal grounds was exactly as wealthy as Adrien expected. Expensive mana carriages moved constantly along a massive road divided into six lanes, three running in each direction. Some were decorated with family crests, others belonged to merchants wealthy enough to make ordinary nobles look poor, and mana lamps lined the streets despite there still being plenty of daylight left.

"This place is ridiculous," Adrien said as another polished carriage passed them.

Amelia looked toward it. "I thought Greymoor was supposed to belong to a Great House."

"It does. That doesn’t mean we have six lanes of people trying to run each other over."

Amelia laughed softly as they continued toward a broad bridge leading away from the castle district. With millions of people living in the capital, the traffic made sense, but Adrien still wasn’t used to seeing so many people packed into one place.

The other side of the bridge was much better.

Most of the streets there were designed for pedestrians, with stores occupying the lower floors of tall buildings and signs hanging above restaurants, bakeries, taverns and shops Adrien couldn’t immediately identify. Conversations blended together around them, mixed with music coming from somewhere farther down the street.

They also attracted attention.

Adrien noticed the looks almost immediately. Other races weren’t completely unusual in Valebrand; merchants and travelers came through the capital constantly. Amelia, however, wasn’t exactly easy to overlook.

Her pale blue hair and pointed ears already made her stand out among the humans around them, but there was more to it than that. She carried herself differently, and today she was dressed for a meeting between kings rather than a trip through Elyndor.

Adrien hadn’t really had time to look at her properly while they were surrounded by guards and royalty.

Now that it was only the two of them, he did.

Amelia caught him.

"You’ve been very quiet," she said, turning her head slightly toward him. "Is something wrong?"

Adrien looked away from her before the staring became too obvious. "Nothing’s wrong. It just feels strange being in the capital like this. Especially with only the two of us."

Amelia’s expression changed into something much more amused. "Is going on a date really that strange? I thought you’d have more experience."

Adrien looked at her properly this time.

Some experience, certainly.

A lot depended on what counted.

In his previous life, people had tried getting close to him more than once. Most stopped after a week or two. Adrien had spent too much of his life hiding things, disappearing without explanations and refusing to let anyone know what he was actually doing.

It wasn’t exactly a good foundation for relationships.

"What made you think that?" Adrien asked.

Amelia shrugged lightly. "A feeling. You usually act like very little surprises you." She waited a moment before adding, "And you seem to know Princess Margaret fairly well."

Adrien almost laughed. "That’s what this is about?"

"I’m asking."

"We met during Oathday. It’s a human event where the important families gather, make alliances, show off their children and pretend everyone likes each other." Adrien glanced toward her. "Margaret and I talked there. That’s about it."

Amelia considered his answer before nodding. "That sounds exhausting."

"It was."

They kept walking, and the subject faded naturally as the streets became busier. Amelia stopped more often than Adrien did, usually because something in a window caught her attention. She seemed especially interested in how much human stores differed from those around Elyndor, while Adrien mostly enjoyed not having someone handing him reports every five minutes.

Eventually they found a small stand selling frozen desserts beside one of the squares.

Amelia looked at the selection. "Is that ice cream?"

"You’ve had it before?"

"Of course I’ve had ice cream, Adrien. Elves haven’t been living under rocks for the last thousand years."

"I wasn’t implying that."

Amelia gave him a look that made it obvious she didn’t believe him, and Adrien bought two anyway.

They ate while walking through the square, slowing near a fountain where several children were throwing coins into the water. Adrien had expected the outing to feel more awkward after Amelia had openly called it a date.

Instead, it didn’t.

They talked about nothing particularly important. Amelia told him about places around Elyndor he still hadn’t seen, while Adrien admitted that most of his recent knowledge of Valebrand came from maps.

By the time they finished the ice cream, the sun had started dropping behind the taller buildings.

Adrien looked along the street and noticed a large building ahead of them. Most of its lower floors were enclosed, but the upper level opened into a wide terrace overlooking the surrounding district. Tables were visible along the edge, already being prepared for the evening.

He pointed toward it. "Want to get dinner?"

Amelia followed his gaze upward. "Up there?"

"Unless you’re secretly afraid of heights."

They crossed the street and entered through a polished set of doors. The interior was considerably more expensive than Adrien had expected, with dark wood, soft lighting and staff dressed far too well for a casual restaurant.

A man approached them almost immediately.

"Good evening." His eyes moved briefly between Adrien and Amelia before returning to Adrien. "Do you have a reservation?"

Adrien paused. "No."

The man gave an apologetic smile. "I’m afraid we don’t accept guests without one this evening. May I have your name, sir?"