Alora got herself ready and returned to Nathan's Grocery Shop. The market was already alive. Carriages rolled past one another, workers carried sacks of grains and vegetables, customers bargained loudly, and the fresh scent of fruits, spices, and baked bread filled the morning air
The moment she stepped inside, conversations paused.
Several workers looked up.
Even customers passing the shop stole curious glances at her.
A strange silence settled before everyone returned to what they were doing.
Alora frowned slightly. She walked over to Mr. Nathan and bowed politely.
"Good morning, sir."
"Morning, Alora."
His voice sounded normal, but the expression on his face wasn't. He looked at her for a moment as though he wanted to ask something, then simply walked away.
Alora immediately began arranging vegetables, but the feeling didn't disappear.
People kept looking at her.
A woman whispered to another customer, then two young girls passed by the entrance, turned around, looked at her, and then giggled before walking away.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" she whispered to herself.
By lunchtime, Liam, Elina, and Patricia surrounded her before she could even sit down.
"Sooo..." Liam dragged the word with a mischievous smile. "Is it true?"
Alora looked confused.
He leaned closer, "Lord Duncan saved you."
The others immediately leaned in, waiting for her answer.
"... Yes."
"Oh my God!" Liam shouted.
"I heard Lord Duncan is unbelievably handsome." Patricia clasped her hands together. "Is it true?"
"Did you know him before?" Elina asked quickly.
"Did he carry you?"
"What did he say to you?"
"Were you inside Valcrest Mansion?"
Questions came one after another until Alora felt trapped.
She stood up, "I just want fresh air."
Without waiting for another question, she walked outside.
She found a quiet corner beside the back wall of the shop and sat on an empty crate, finally enjoying a little silence.
"So now everyone suddenly cares?" she sighed.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
Then...
A familiar name drifted through the air.
"Ambrose was a complete fool. I warned him not to make stealing so obvious."
Alora's eyes opened immediately.
The voices came from behind stacked wooden barrels nearby. She slowly stood and peeked through the gap.
Two workers from another nearby shop were talking.
"I told him to calm down after Christopher disappeared."
"Exactly. Ever since Christopher left, Ambrose hasn't been himself."
"It's been almost a year."
"No letter. No message. Nothing."
"I actually feel bad for him."
"Me too. He really misses his brother."
Alora's heart skipped.
Christopher Wilson. She almost stepped closer to hear more, but she stopped herself.
Whatever happened to Ambrose is none of my business. Quietly, she returned inside before anyone noticed she had been listening.
The rest of the afternoon felt unusually lonely. Everyone was busy serving customers. No one joked with her. No one followed her around asking questions anymore.
She suddenly missed Roxana.
Missed their little conversations while arranging vegetables. Missed laughing over nothing.
The silence felt heavier than before.
She spotted Patricia arranging potatoes into wooden crates.
"Patricia... where's Roxana?"
Patricia didn't even look up, "Oh? You ask questions now?"
Alora sighed, "I'm sorry. Earlier... everyone kept asking me too many things."
Patricia finally looked at her, "Hmm. That's better." She continued arranging the potatoes, "Roxana ran away."
Alora's eyes widened, "Ran away?"
"That's what everyone is saying."
"Was someone chasing her?"
Patricia shrugged, "I don't know. Her mother even came looking for her yesterday."
Alora felt a knot form inside her chest.
"Ever since Lord Duncan saved you..." Patricia made quotation marks with her fingers. "Everything became strange."
Alora looked at her.
"People are saying Roxana helped Herbert find you."
Silence.
"I don't know if it's true," Patricia continued. "But that's what people are saying."
Alora lowered her eyes, "I don't believe Roxana would do that."
Patricia sighed, "I hope you're right."
Alora walked away slowly.
Questions flooded her mind. Why would Roxana do something like that? If she didn't... then who told Herbert where to find me?
She forced herself to continue working, but nothing felt the same anymore.
****
Valcrest Mansion was unusually quiet.
Duncan walked into the room Alora had stayed in. He had given the maids one strange instruction.
"Don't wash this room yet."
The maids exchanged confused looks but obeyed.
Now he stood alone inside. He sat on the edge of the bed, and the pillow still carried the faint scent of lavender soap mixed with something softer... Alora's scent.
Without thinking, he picked it up and rested it against his face. He then closed his eyes.
The room suddenly felt less empty.
His mind wandered.
The carriage, her angry face, called him a mannerless creature. The way she folded her hands to apologize.
A smile escaped him.
Then, another memory appeared.
She had fallen directly onto him.
He remembered how startled she looked, how her cheeks turned bright red when their faces were only inches apart.
He laughed quietly to himself.
"God..."
He rubbed a hand across his face. Then remembered seeing her wearing the clothes he bought.
She didn't look like a commoner. She looked like she belonged in Valcrest Mansion.
Like...
Lady Alora Valcrest.
The thought came so naturally that Duncan immediately sat upright.
"What am I thinking?"
He covered his face with one hand, almost embarrassed by himself. He hadn't wanted her to leave.
For the first time in a long while...
The mansion had felt alive.
He sighed deeply and lay back on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself.
"If she wasn't a commoner..." he whispered.
The sentence remained unfinished.
Holding the pillow against his chest once more, Duncan slowly drifted to sleep.