Chapter 47 - 047: Belly belly

The first man who tried the soap came back a few minutes later, running his hands over his arms "This actually works."

Anaria raised an eyebrow. "I told you it would."

He looked at the others. "My skin feels different."

That was enough to make another villager step forward "I’ll try it too."

Soon, more people began taking the soap. Some used it on their hands, others on their clothes, and a few women tested it on their hair after watching the young girl.

The reactions slowly changed.

"This makes the dirt come off easily."

"My clothes are cleaner."

"My skin feels smooth."

Anaria stood beside the table, trying not to look too pleased.

Then an older woman looked at her freshly washed hands and smiled "The witch healer has made our bodies smooth."

Someone behind her laughed.

"All hail the witch healer!"

A few others joined in.

"All hail the witch healer!"

Anaria stared at them "So now she was getting praised because the soap worked?" She couldn’t help smiling, at least all that stress wasn’t completely wasted.

A familiar chime sounded in her mind.

[Host’s favourability among the villagers is increasing.]

Her smile widened "that’s good". That was exactly what she needed but before she could enjoy the feeling for too long, she remembered the second item sitting beside the soap.

The perfume.

Anaria’s smile faded slightly, she picked up one of the small containers and held it up.

"There’s one more thing."

The villagers immediately looked at her. Anaria opened the container and applied a little perfume to her wrist.

"This is perfume."

A man frowned.

"What does it do?"

"It makes you smell good."

He looked at her as if she had just said something ridiculous "Why would I need to smell different?"

Anaria almost rolled her eyes "Because smelling like sweat and dirt isn’t exactly pleasant."

Several women laughed.

The man looked offended.

Anaria ignored him and held out her wrist "Smell it."

One of the nearby servants cautiously leaned forward and took a sniff. His eyes widened "This smells good."

Anaria smiled. "Exactly."

Another villager stepped closer "What did you make it from?"

"Herbs and flowers," Anaria explained. "There are plenty of things around Ravenfall that can be used to make different scents."

The women immediately became more interested "Different scents?"

Anaria nodded. "Yes. Some can be light, some sweet, some stronger. You can choose what you like."

One woman looked at the little container curiously "Can it make someone smell attractive?"

Anaria’s eyes lit up "Now you’re asking the right question."

The women laughed.

Anaria explained that certain scents could make them smell pleasant around their mates, families, or anyone they wanted to impress. The men who had been dismissing the perfume suddenly began listening too.

One of them muttered, "So it’s not completely useless."

Anaria looked at him "I heard that."

He quickly looked away. Anaria smiled to herself.

The villagers were still cautious, but they were no longer keeping their distance.

They were asking questions now.

That was progress.

She glanced around the market square and noticed a few people whispering while looking at her stomach.

Her pregnancy was becoming harder to hide.

One villager’s nose twitched slightly. He looked confused, as though he could sense something around her but couldn’t figure out what it was.

Anaria noticed but said nothing, They didn’t need to know yet. She returned her attention to the perfume while more women gathered around her table.

The witch healer.... The strange female... Kenai’s prisoner

Maybe, with enough time, they would simply see her as the woman who made useful things.

Another chime sounded.

[Host’s favourability is approaching a moderate level.]

Anaria smiled.

[Continue.]

Her smile disappeared, Of course... She still had work to do.

One of them leaned closer as Anaria uncorked another small bottle.

"What did you put in this one?"

"Flowers," Anaria replied. "And a few herbs."

The woman sniffed carefully before her eyes brightened "This one smells better."

Anaria smiled. "Then you have good taste."

A few of the other women laughed, and the tension around the table eased further. They were no longer staring at her like she might suddenly curse them. They were now asking and bantering over the products.

Anaria was beginning to enjoy herself, then she felt a small tug at her leg, she looked down.

The little girl from the crowds was standing beside her, her hands still carrying traces of dirt from playing. She stared up at her for a moment before her gaze dropped to her stomach.

She little hand reached out and touched it "Your belly is big."

Anaria froze, the women around her went quiet.

The girl rubbed her stomach again, completely unaware of the sudden silence. "Bigger than my mummy’s own."

Anaria looked down at him, then at the crowd "Oh, no"

She had known this would happen eventually, but she hadn’t expected it to happen like this.

The murmurs started almost immediately.

"Is she pregnant?"

"Wait, that explains her scent."

"I noticed something different about her."

"Who is the father?"

Anaria’s fingers tightened around the perfume bottle "Of course, Now everyone had suddenly become interested"

She could hear more questions coming from different parts of the crowd. Some sounded curious while others suspicious. They couldn’t identify the child’s scent yet, not when it was still developing inside her, so all they could do was guess.

Anaria glanced toward Rylan and Kai.

Rylan was already looking at her. He moved closer, his expression tightening as the murmuring continued. "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine."

His eyes moved over the crowd. "Do you want to go back?"

Kai came closer as well, watching the villagers carefully.

Anaria shook her head. "No."

"Anaria," Rylan said quietly, "you don’t have to stay here."

She looked at him. "They’re going to find out sooner or later."

Rylan frowned.

"So there’s no point running away now," she added.

The murmuring grew louder. Anaria could feel everyone’s attention on her, and for once, she didn’t know what to say to make them stop.

Then a deep roar tore through the marketplace "For beast sake, shut up!"

The entire crowd fell silent, Kenai stepped forward, his expression dark as he looked over the villagers.