░4░ Surprise Encounter

'Not again?!'

Iris thought frustratingly while she's trying to arrange her hair upward. Again without the cloth that was covering it earlier, she barely can hide it.

"You must be thinking that I'm a noble in disguise because of my appearance but trust me, I'm just a commoner mister so there's no used stealing anything from me' Iris truthfully said while looking for a way to escape her situation and buy the ingredients Selby asked him earlier. But to no avail, she couldn't find any spot to escape. He blocked all possible routes for her to escape. Considering he's way faster than those bad guys earlier

Calming herself, she only sighed on her current situation while looking at the mysterious guy in front of him.

Damon was surprised to know about the young woman he saved. But he didn't make it obvious enough to let her know. Instead, he removed his brown coat and handed it to her body covering her whole being

Iris was surprised by the sudden gesture and looked at the mysterious guy who was now appearing to her like a noble but with commoner's clothes. She observed how he looked and saw how red his hair was, pale skin, red lips, and tall figure.

'He looked gorgeous but his figure seemed familiar, where did I see them again?'

Iris thought shrugging them afterward while gripping tightly at the coat that he gave her

"Use that to cover your appearance. Otherwise people in here will know you're a noble because of your looks," Damon seriously said looking at her yet not showing any concerns at all

'So he's not a bad guy, after all. Seeing how he gave his coat to me but why is he in disguise? Is he a real noble?'

Iris thought asking herself surprised at what she realized at her current situation. But as if the guy in front of her red her thoughts, he explained why he was in disguise

"Just to be clear, I was in disguise because I was avoiding the person I've borrowed money with. He’s always bothering me to pay him back, sheeeesh" Damon said pretending to be one of the commoner's with a commoner's voice as well as commoner’s tone of speaking

Iris felt suspicious about the guy who was disguised for avoiding paying his loan. She paused for a moment to process everything, but that doesn't make any sense at all. The way he acted, the way he talked like he's forced to sound like a commoner, and the way he ran fast earlier. Those puzzled Iris but she just shrugged the thought thinking what gain it might give her to know his identity, after all he’s also a human being like her

Instead, she introduced herself knowing he's a good guy

"I'm Iris and you are?" Iris introduced herself while smiling at the guy in front of her

Damon looked at the gorgeous young woman in front of her the moment he knew her name

'Iris is her name, such a beautiful name'

He thought looking around to find some names to call his own. Trying to pretend like a commoner, he saw a name from the far end using it as his own

"I'm El, call me El, may I call you Iris from now on?" Damon asked her if it's alright to call her by her name. that unexpected request from him made Iris smile brightly at - who she knew was – El.

"Yes why not? Then I should also call you El," with that being said, Iris took his pale long hands to feel how callous it was

'Must have been the part-time jobs he's doing'

She thought while smiling at him

"From now on, we'll be friends. I'm grateful for you on saving me from those guys earlier," Iris said honestly

"If you need help to pay your loan I could suggest you some other part-time jobs as well," Iris said

That surprised Damon. Looking at her hands touching his hand brought an electric current run through him. He thought 'Must be the callous from my sword training that she thought was from my part-time jobs for paying a non-existent loan' with that he shrugged the feeling he's having

He gently removes his hands that were being hold by her. He holds her hand in return

‘Pretending might not be a good thing but because I still want to know more about this young woman then I'll keep this up. Besides, being with her made me feel light and not annoyed after all’

Damon thought looking seriously at the young woman – whom he knows was called Iris - in front of him beaming towards him

'Let's not spoil the fun, shall we?' with that he chuckled while still looking at her

"Yeah, I badly needed some money to pay my loan, do you have any part-time jobs you could offer me?" Damon pleadingly asked pretending to be a poor commoner who's holding her hands tightly

Iris was surprised for a minute but regained her posture after feeling a bit hurt from his tight grip

"Oh sorry, my bad. Got to be excited with what you’ll be offering" Damon said immediately removing his hands from hers

Iris in return only smiled brightly at him. Considering that he's respectful even if he's poor just like her

But what she didn't know was, he's only pretending to be one for the sake of refreshing his mind from - the over strict household he lives in - and from the annoying princess he's engaged with. He just wanted to experience the outside world and how to be like a commoner for once before he was officially announced as the fiancé of Princess Monique. Before his friends could teased him again

Thinking about those thoughts made him sigh. He’s not kidding to break the engagement if it weren't for the Duke's blackmail. Damon looked serious observing Iris who was smiling at him while thinking where she'll suggest for him to work

"Wait do you know flour?" Iris asked eyeing Damon seriously. Putting her hands to her chin examining the gorgeous guy in front of her

"Yes of course" Damon confidently said while looking at her. Though, he was unbothered by her actions

"Then do you know, dough?"

"Yes"

"Then do you know what's a baker is?"

"Of course" with that she decided one part-time job he'll be taking on

"You know what? Screw others! I just have the right one for you!" with that she immediately grabbed his hands and ran outside the alley. They run while she’s covering herself by the brown coat he gave her

Iris pulled him towards her while running until they stopped in front of a bakery. They entered it and seconds later, Selby the son's owner of the bakery greeted the two only to find that Iris was the one who was covered in a brown coat smiling shyly holding Damon's arms

'What in the world? I asked her to buy ingredients for the bakery instead she brought a gorgeous guy? Oh boy, she's in a lot of trouble'

Selby thought, shaking his head looking seriously at Iris making her explain what's going on

"Okay, hear me out, Selby. This young guy beside me saved me earlier from being bumped into a noble's carriage. Out of respect, I wanted to say thank you but he asked if I know some part-time jobs and I did suggest here because you know, you also need another baker in the shop. Besides he said he knows everything about baking" Iris said persuading Selby to help the guy get a job at his family's bakery

As he eyed the guy from head to toe Damon suddenly gulped from the sudden tension. Afterward, Selby turned his body to them as Iris just winked at Damon

"Go on, you can do it!" She whispered near him only to be called by Selby to proceed to the baker's area

Damon has his infamous wide-eyed expression towards Iris. Signifying that he's surprised by what she just said earlier

'Yes, I did save her but not from the carriage but from the guys cornering her earlier. So she's also a good liar. She must've lied considering I badly needed a part-time job' Damon sighed inwardly turning his head towards the place following Selby

Iris, on the other hand, followed them. Because she's too good to be staying outside while abandoning the guy she recommended earlier

"For me to evaluate your skills, you should make a dough first, right now. I'll be the one to judge if you have passed my expectations. By the way, these were the remaining ingredients for today. Iris wasn't able to buy because of you, so hurry up and let me test you," Selby said, commanding him not just requesting him to bake anyways

'As I thought life of a commoner is like this and I'm thrilled to experience such things for once. Rather than the one commanding, I'm now the one who was being commanded at, cool'

Damon thought, instead of ignoring Selby or walking out of the place, he continued the fun he's having. He smiled at Selby for a second then at Iris and proceeded to make a dough. Iris and Selby were shocked for a moment at how fast and how delicate his moves were at making a dough, until he made a perfect one.

‘That being great of baking was my joke but he took it seriously, besides I didn't know he could bake in the first place!’

Iris thought as she continued watching Damon create magnificent dough

While Selby, on the other hand, was too focused on the moves Damon was making and the measuring and all he's putting to create a dough. A few seconds later, a perfect dough was presented to both of them

That made Selby walk near to where he was and looked at the magnificent dough he thought he couldn't create. For a moment, he was astounded at the skills of the great baker in front of him. Gulping with a wide eye looking surprised

"If I thought about your expression, then I guess I really will consider myself passed already," Damon said teasing Selby that only cough looking at Iris who was surprised as well

"Hmmm, not bad. You've done a great job, Mister?" Selby said asking his name forgetting how Iris should introduce the talented baker first

But knowing Selby, he doesn't need to know the names until they were talented, professional or people that will give benefits to him or the bakery shop

And because Damon exemplify such talent and skills that he badly needed at the shop, he needed to know his name

With what he told Iris earlier about his name, he smiled at Selby and said "I'm El, nice to meet you"