152 [152]

"Fruit is on sale! They sell juice, too! I'll give you a discount, so take a drink!”

"You're orange juice, aren't you?" I'll get a glass.”

Nancy quickly asked Karen as she saw a merchant selling fruit on the street. I only drank a dry tea this morning, so I wanted a sweet drink. However, when Nancy paid as much as she had written, the merchant smiled awkwardly.

"Oh dear, you have to buy two."

"I don't need it.”

"It's a cheap two-cup package, you have to pay more to buy one."

"Yeah? Oh, that's good. Are you making some kind of nonsense?”

"What?"

Karen stopped Nancy when Nancy made a quarrel with the merchant by making a nasty gesture. I didn't want to ruin my good mood for the first time in a while.

"Just buy two."

"Lady!"

"That's enough. You can have a drink.”

"You should save money!"

"Just pay that much."

"Oh, thank you. You'll know if you try it once. Money is not a waste."

"If you do that, you'll lose all your money to those merchants!"

"Buy two glasses of juice and what."

Nancy was grumpy, but she didn't want her voice to grow louder over trivial things. The merchant puts the orange in the absorbent and starts squeezing it out. And I gave Karen a glass of juice. Karen walked away, drinking slowly. I felt much better when the sweet pulp soaked my mouth.

When she looked at Nancy with a sidelong glance, she was also concentrating on drinking to see if the taste was good. The next thing that caught my eye was the shoe closet. Nancy asked next to Karen when she stopped walking.

"You want to buy some shoes? You want to give it to Miss Evans?”

"Well, Isela won't fit her shoes in a place like this.”

And it doesn't make sense to give shoes as a gift. Shoes were the most sensitive of women's doubles. How can I present shoes to you when I order every glove through a tailor I like? No matter how well Karen knew Isella, she didn't even remember the exact shape of her foot.

"Then you don't have to be here. Let's go somewhere else soon."

"But I want to buy one."

"Lady… Money…".”

"Wow, welcome! What are you looking for?"

"Do you have any good leather?”

Karen opened the door and went in.

And I bought a pair of shoes made of fine lamb skin and wore them. As a Karen, it was rare to buy off-the-shelf products that had already been made, but rather than waiting to be made, I wanted to adjust my heels and frames a little bit and wear them right away.

"Shall we go see the ornaments next time? Is there anything you want to eat more than that?"

"Lady Karen!"

In the back, Nancy was worried about her light purse, but more than that she was immediately intoxicated with happiness. Karen thought she could win money by gambling if she was in a hurry anyway, so she had no qualms if not the luxury of buying jewelry.

Karen continued to buy things after that. The joy of consumption itself excited Karen. Even if it's not worth much, it's a new item, a new set of merchants talking to themselves, and the spring weather that rarely came.

'Peaceful.'

As Karen walked down the street, she felt her feet lightened by the fresh air. Although the new shoes were not very high-end, they fit Karen's feet perfectly. It was a small piece of luck, but the satisfaction was great.

I've never walked this street with such a light heart. For decades, he ran to death, or gave up everything and locked himself in despair. How small was his world?

But now, at noon when the sun was down, Karen was filled with strangers. Except for Nancy next to him, they were all strangers. Peace came from strange streets and strangers.

***

The last stop was a jeweler.

This is the kind of place that Isela might like. And the jewelry store was also dealing with Berdick. Sometimes I saw Isella and the jeweler talking. Karen took Nancy to the door, and the staff opened the door and bowed politely.

"What did you come to see?"

"I've come to see if I have anything for a girl my age. What would be a good gift for a woman before marriage?"

An old man with old age fixed his glasses and looked at Karen.

"If you're still as young as you, light decoration would be enough.”

"The person I want to present is Icela Evans."

"Oh, excuse me."

As soon as Isella's name came out, the man's face turned into a knowing face. Then he went inside the display case and came out with several boxes.

"If you're Miss Evans, most of the stuff comes first. But the things you've never seen before."

The man opened the boxes one by one.

"Emerald is one of Miss Evans' main uses. The rust goes very well with the blonde."

It was a box with emerald earrings and necklaces. Even though the green emerald was a mineral, it seemed to be full of vitality. It was decorated with gold and silver, but the unique cutting of emerald looked a little dull for Karen. I didn't wear much emerald when I was with Karen, but did Isela also change her taste after meeting Karen?

"What else do you have besides emeralds?"

"She also loves sapphires. And Ruby likes it."

"Did you like Ruby?”

"Your favorite jewel."

"…you liked Ruby."

Karen picked up the merchant's ruby ring. It was red, transparent, and beautiful. It was the highest quality of the blood of the mouth. The sun-burning jewel eggs were large and brilliant, with transparent and small diamonds next to them emphasizing the red light more.

"Would you like to try it on?"

"Yes."

It hit Karen's finger as if it had hit her. Karen looked down at the ring and thought it really suited her. But this time it wasn't his thing to buy it. And while Isela may have liked Ruby until now, Isela, whom Karen knows, hated Ruby.

And the reason for that was that Karen felt strange. Isela really hated herself. I even hated my favorite red jewelry.

"What else do you have?"

"We have a new diamond necklace."

"Show me."

The merchant's necklace was a necklace Karen knew.

"…it's."

"It's made up of only the finest diamonds. It's too luxurious, but there's nothing better to give as a gift.”

It was a familiar thing.

It was a gift from Raymond to Isela.

Karen looked at the necklace, which was brightly decorated with small diamonds, and lifted it with her hand. Nancy's eyes are wide open next to her. Karen laughed because she remembered how Nancy hung the necklace before.

"Don't covet it. You'll die."

"Yes... by the way, it's incredible."

"Before it's fancy, it's pretty tough.”

"But if it's something like this, it's good to cash it later....”

"The goods in our store are not just goods. Each piece of work has a master's mind. I'm sure it will create a special relationship with you."

The owner cut Nancy's horse coldly and hung it on Karen's neck. And I gave Karen a mirror. It was still a beautiful necklace and looked good to hang. Karen thought of countless hours of time looking at the necklace around her neck. This necklace is hanging on you this time.

And I saw another hand in the mirror. Someone put their hand on the shoulder.

"That necklace doesn't look good on you."

Familiar voice and familiar hand appearance. And there was a familiar smell. the smell of gunpowder Karen could tell who she was without looking back. And the person in the back will know as much as possible without looking at Karen's face.

"I'm going to give it to you as a gift, not mine.

a familiar voice a familiar smell But it was a meeting in an unfamiliar place. It was a little surprising and welcoming. Karen looked up and saw the man's face.

a knight of gold, his hero

"It's been so long, hasn't it?"

"Yes, but I'd be happier to say it's been a while.”

It was an unexpected meeting, but it was not an unexpected one. So, welcome and joy were ahead of surprise. When Karen looked into her eyes, one of Raymond's eyes bent gently.

"Long time no see, Lord Raymond."

"Long time no see, Karen."

Raymond's hand smoothed Karen's face.

Then he hugged Karen from behind.

It was a meeting that started again in a new place.

The scent of the flowers seemed to vibrate.

"…By the way, Lord Raymond."

After a short hug, Karen saw Nancy and the owner of the jewelry store with her eyes wide open and pulled herself away from Raymond. And I got angry at Raymond. I had no choice but to be angry.

"What the hell? What's wrong with your eyes?"

The first meeting was so nice that I didn't have to say anything, but the next thing I saw was Raymond's face. Because one of Raymond's eyes was covered by an eye patch.

"I made a mistake."

Raymond said, avoiding Karen's eyes. The black eye patch covered Raymond's right eye. And I saw a long scar that the eye patch could not cover. Karen whispered quickly as she saw that image of Raymond.

"Should I kill myself and start over?”

"It's not that uncomfortable."

"It would be too inconvenient if it were permanent."

It would be better for Raymond to die early and restart again than to start with an injury now. And now that we met in the beginning of the play, it is easy to make the next appointment. But Raymond didn't fall for Karen's suggestion.

"We still have to wait and see. And Karen, as I said before, it's for you that I'm trying... You should try."

If you keep trying to kill yourself like that, wouldn't I lose some energy? Raymond said, scratching by his eye patch. I can't help but sighing at the sight. He told me not to die, but he hurt his eyes in the beginning.