Chapter 48 Good Start

"So this is the bazaar, yes?" Ethan spoke completely unfazed by the silence around him as he walked forward.

"Indeed, Young Master... It's quite crowded so be careful." Albert said following behind Ethan.

The crowd on both sides continued to watch Ethan curiously as he stepped inside the bazaar.

When he got nearer to them, his face became more visible increasing the volume of murmurs and whispers significantly as people remarked on his demeanor.

"Anicia... You have been here, right? Why don't you guide me along?" Ethan suddenly asked.

"Uh... We didn't go out of the carriage that much when we came here... So I wouldn't know how to guide you." Anicia said regretfully.

"What? Why?" Ethan blurted forgetting momentarily that he wasn't on earth anymore.

"What do you mean why? It's just how it is. We shouldn't be stepping out like this among commoners. Why did you stop the carriage anyways?" Earlene nagged butting into the conversation.

"Young Master, Miss Earlene is right... You shouldn't get too close to the commoners." Albert suggested humbly.

'Ah! Of course, it's like this... Unfortunately, I can't abide by such trashy traditions.' Ethan mused inwardly.

This conversation was happening quietly as Ethan and the others slowly strolled into the bazaar leaving the crowd wondering what was going on.

"Old man... Why is that so?" Ethan stopped in his steps and looked back at Albert as he asked peering into his eyes.

"That's... Because you are a trueborn Noble of an ancient bloodline." Albert explained narrowing his eyes.

"And?" Ethan asked bluntly.

"And... Well... I- it's how all nobles behave, Young Master." Albert answered somehow but he was frankly lost for words.

"Old man! I remember my mother teaching me the Noble Code of Conduct. And nothing like 'You must disdain the ordinary people' is written in it!" Ethan stated calmly and unmovingly.

"No... That's not i-" Albert was startled as this was the first time he saw someone question something so natural and obvious to him.

"That's enough! I shall do as I wish, Anicia... You wanted to explore the bazaar up close... Didn't you?" Ethan asked with a gentle smile. This was his attempt to fix the awkward misunderstanding between them which was caused by Old Gramps White.

Anicia's face bloomed with delight and she nodded enthusiastically as Ethan had hit the nail on its mark perfectly.

Anicia indeed always wished to wander in the city like this without any reservations but her father never allowed it nor did she expect to have the experience in Adenberd.

In this regard, she didn't have freedom even though she was a free-spirited girl. This was common practice in Akarxia, children of Nobility and Royalty were very sheltered and most of the time did not even come in contact with the common people who they ruled over.

Although Earlene wished for certain reforms in society, she still was a lady of noble birth. As a result some traditions, as well as values, had become an irresistible part of her being.

Ethan's unique approach certainly surprised her but she did not say anything. At this point, she had developed a sixth sense as her scalp would tingle whenever Ethan would be up to something. She simply stared at Ethan with a perplexed and doubtful gaze.

"Come with me!" Ethan grabbed Anicia's hand and increased his pace as he looked around for anything interesting.

He soon sighted the middle-aged man that was selling meat skewers on the roadside. Ethan felt hungry anyways so he dragged Anicia along with him to that man.

The poor man and the crowd around him shrank back as they saw Ethan suddenly approaching them with his bodyguards.

'Ma' God! What in the seven hells did I do wrong?!' The skewers seller cried out inwardly as he froze on the spot recalling his entire Life.

The poor man as well as the crowd around him could simply never have thought that the Duke's son liked street food.

As Ethan got to the stall, his three bodyguards had already caught up to him, Fred was covering his left, Willkie was covering his right and Jason was covering his front.

All of them were surprised as well but their priority was always Ethan's safety and so they did not bother to have any unnecessary thoughts. They were indeed Elite as well as completely Loyal.

"Three skewers please!" Ethan said pointing at the stall with a smile on his face.

"Three...S-skewers? P-please?" The man babbled absentmindedly as the words that came out of Ethan's mouth were completely out of his imagination.

The crowd was also taken aback by the turn of events as the gossip intensified.

"Young Master... You mustn't-"

Albert came forward and tried to explain to Ethan against it but was interrupted as Ethan turned around angrily with an annoyed as well as chilling expression on his face and said with a firm voice, "What?! Is there a problem?"

Albert's eyes widened as he momentarily felt threatened by Ethan's gaze. He became silent and simply pondered if what he felt was real or just his misconception.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm hungry!" Ethan turned his head back to the stall and spoke, this time not so softly.

The skewers seller finally jolted out of his reverie and almost like a machine, he hurriedly prepared three salted delicious skewers without even blinking and handed them to Ethan and bowed.

Ethan took the skewers from the man and asked, "How much are these for?"

The man blinked thrice as if he did not fathom the question and after a few seconds of an awkward staredown, he said, "Ah, n-no need Young Master!"

"Hehe, why so afraid? And do you think I'm a robber? Old Man... Give him a gold coin." Ethan chuckled.

"As you wish," Albert sighed inwardly and said as he brought out a shining gold coin from his pocket.

The crowd gasped at this display as they looked at the skewer seller with envy and at Ethan in a complicated light.

"Aiyaa! My Goodness! One of these only costs two bronze, I can't accept this much!" The man blurted moving backward and rejecting the glistening gold coin despite the temptation.

"Take it take it! Don't worry about it! Hehe!" Ethan said merrily as he handed one skewer to Earlene who was looking at him very suspiciously and one to Anicia who was excited to try street food for the first time.

"And y'all... Don't mind me okay? I'm just here to have fun... You all can do your thing. And don't stare at us like that... Okay? My two friends here are quite shy!"

Ethan joked in a teasing manner gesturing at Anicia and Earlene as he looked around at the crowd with a charismatic smile that relieved the tension immediately as one by one everyone started laughing.

The skewer seller felt as if he had won a jackpot as he accepted the gold coin from Albert.

Everyone's image of Ethan changed from mysterious, prestigious, and out of reach to friendly, honorable, and amiable. With smiles on their faces and a joyful mood—everyone went back to whatever they had been doing before Ethan arrived.

Ethan laughed cheerily from outside as he walked further ahead into the bazaar amidst all the gazes directed at him. While inwardly, his lips curled upwards in a smug smile as he thought,

'Good start!'

Meanwhile, Earlene who was observing Ethan intently thought to herself, "I knew it! He's definitely up to something!"