SSS Legendary Knight: I Will Surpass Them All

Chapter 80: Date with Seraphina II

After purchasing several hundred gold taels worth of clothes, the next destination Seraphina choose was a jewellery shop, where she bought matching accessories for the dresses she had just acquired. The shop was smaller than the boutique, yet its glass cases gleamed with precious gems and polished metals.

What shocked Vlad was that she remembered every single dress she had bought, selecting perfectly matching jewellery for each one. Her memory was impeccable, her choices deliberate.

’So she wasn’t just throwing money around randomly,’ he thought inwardly, feeling a bit impressed as she carefully examined the set of earrings in both her hands, turning them this way and that under the warm glow of the shop’s chandeliers.

"Commoner, which one will suit me with the crimson skirt?" she asked, raising both earrings towards Vlad. Her pink eyes looked to him for his opinion.

Vlad carefully looked at the jewellery, standing beside her. They were both of the same style, except that one had a shining red stone embedded in it while the other had a pink one. The gems caught the light, sparkling with inner fire.

"The pink one looks better to me," Vlad said, his gaze thoughtful. "It matches the colour of your eyes."

She turned forward after a brief pause, considering his words. Just as she was about to make her choice, the shopkeeper spoke up, his voice oily and ingratiating, "The servant has an excellent eye, Lady Cendral. The pink ruby set within that earring mirrors the elegance of your eyes beautifully."

She firmly placed both earrings on the table, the metal clicking against the glass surface. "He is not a servant," she said, her tone even, her expression unreadable

"O-oh, I apologise for the offence," the shopkeeper said, immediately flinching as if struck. He turned to Vlad and said with a deep bow, his forehead nearly touching the counter, "Forgive me for jumping to conclusions."

Before Vlad could reply, Seraphina rose from her chair and declared, her voice cold and final, "I do not wish to buy something from a place that does not respect my people."

She grabbed Vlad’s arm and left the shop with quick but graceful steps, leaving behind several hundred gold taels worth of jewellery that she had selected to buy. The pieces lay abandoned on the counter like forgotten treasures.

The shopkeeper kept apologising, following them from behind, his face pale in horror as if he had been sentenced to death. His desperate pleas echoed through the doorway as they stepped out into the street. Well, offending the daughter of the Pyro Tyrant was no less a crime than courting death, after all.

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"You should not have left those jewelleries. You seemed to really like them," Vlad said, walking beside her on the stone path, the cool evening wind swaying their hair. The street was growing quieter as the sun dipped lower. "I did not really mind being thought of as a servant."

"But I do!" Seraphina shot back, her eyes twitching in annoyance. She pulled him closer by the collar of his jacket and muttered, her voice low and fierce, "You are my errand boy. Nobody except me can address you as such. Disrespect of you is disrespect of me. You understand?"

"A-are you even listening to yourself?" Vlad asked, releasing a sigh. His breath misted slightly in the cooling air. "It’s not like I will be your errand boy for life."

Seraphina’s frown deepened at his words, her grip tightening on his collar. "Do not talk back!"

"Alright, alright, calm down, Sera," Vlad said, raising both hands in surrender. His voice was gentle, placating. His eyes darted to a street stall nearby, its colourful canopy fluttering in the evening breeze, selling ice creams in a variety of pastel shades. "Want to eat ice cream?" he offered, trying to change the topic.

She clicked her tongue and removed her hand from his collar, though the irritation still lingered in her eyes.

"It shall be your treat," she declared, moving towards the stall. From the moment she had grabbed his wrist in the jewellery shop, her hand was still firmly holding his wrist.

Vlad had not found the right chance to ask her to release his arm. And now that she finally seemed calm, he did not want to anger her again by making a demand.

"Uncle, two chocolate cones, please," Seraphina said as she reached the stall, her voice bright and cheerful.

"Hey, what about my opinion?" Vlad asked, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Do you not like chocolate?" she asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I do, but I am not in the mood for chocolate currently," Vlad responded with a shrug. It was a clear lie. In truth, he simply did not want to accept the same flavour she had selected without asking him first. He was not really her servant, after all.

"I am in the mood for something rosy," Vlad said, directly addressing the vendor. His voice was casual, unconcerned.

His words made Seraphina’s cheeks bloom crimson. ’H-how bold! He just indirectly said he wants to eat me?’ she screamed inwardly, her hand finally releasing its grip from Vlad’s wrist and moving to her cheek, clasping it between her palms. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

The vendor opened the lid of his fridge, a puff of cold vapour rising into the air, and extended their chosen ice cream flavours to the duo. The chocolate cone was dark and rich, while the rosy one was a delicate shade of pink, dusted with dried rose petals.

"Come back to earth," Vlad said, placing Seraphina’s cone against her cheek after handing the money to the vendor. The cold surface pressed gently against her warm skin.

She was still frozen in place, her face burning crimson, her mind wandering far from the street.

"Ack! So cold," Seraphina gasped, jolting from the sudden icy touch to her skin. She snatched the cone from his hand, giving him a sharp glare for startling her, though the blush remained.

They took a wooden bench placed before the stone wall of a nearby building, the wood worn smooth by years of use.

"Hmm, the flavour is good," Seraphina murmured, licking the cone with her small tongue, her other hand tugging her hair behind her ears, but the strands kept drifting back into her face with the breeze, stubborn and insistent.

Vlad silently noticed her struggle for a few seconds, her each movement growing more aggressive than the last. A few more attempts and she would become furious again. Her jaw was already tightening.

"Hold it for a moment," Vlad said, handing his cone to her as he moved behind the bench. He gathered every strand of her hair behind her and skillfully tied them into a high bun, his fingers working with practiced precision. Only a few wispy strands were left framing her face, completely revealing her long, slender neck. The pale skin caught the golden light of the setting sun.

When Vlad returned to the front, her face was burning even redder than before, completely frozen, still processing what he had just done. Her lips were slightly parted, her pink eyes wide.

"Hey, are you alright?" Vlad asked, waving his hand before her face.

"Y-yes, I am good," she blurted out, quickly licking her cone. The flavour felt different to her now, sweeter somehow. Her eyes drifted down to the cone in her hand. The one she was licking was the rosy one, from the exact same spot where Vlad had already eaten. Her cheeks flared even hotter as the realisation dawned on her.