Chapter 25

She put the down the utensil, dabbed the napkin on her mouth, and declared, "Lord Vladimir, let's go out!" Aretha cleared her throat. "Apologize. I meant to ask My Lord whether you would be able to spare some time with me today?"

"Where would you like to go?" he said, curiously.

"I had came to know that Sir Nicolas was the best in the industry. Hence, I thought, it would be great if I could choose the suit My Lord would be wearing on the day of the banquet."

Vladimir smirked. "Sure. When would you like to go?"

Her heart was relieved, for she had almost thought she might get rejected. The man in front of her was not any ordinary wealthy noble man, but second most respected and honorable after the emperor. He could just called for the tailor and they would came rushing to his feet. He do not need the efforts of going out his way to the store just for a suit.

"Would you be free for today?" she said.

He was silent for a few second, the replied, "I am."

"Then, that would be great! I need to change my outfit before we go."

Aretha rose up and make her way to her room. Vladimir grinned as he watched the young lady excitedly exit the door.

The bystander Lev bit his lips as trickle of tears went down on his cheeks. He was devastated. 'However, My Lord… there were still heaps of work that needed your approval…' Lev thought. His mind flashed with the image of the pile of documents stacked on Vladimir and his desk.

***

The man pulled the rein and clopping stopped. Mark who sat beside the man step down and opened the carriage door. Vladimir went out first followed by Aretha. They walked into the store with a big signboard 'Nicole Tailor', on top of the wide glass window.

"Welcome, Your Excellency." An old man in black suit greeted them. Despite his old age, his hair and mustache was kept neat and tidy. His straight posture make him look younger and agile. His black suit fit flawlessly to his silhouette. Not too loose and not too fit. Although there was wrinkled on his face, anyone could see, he was and still a good looking gentleman. His smile was welcoming and sincere with no pretense.

"Nicolas, you looked as healthy as usual," Vladimir said, smile plastered on his face.

"Well, the older I get, the more I concern with my health. After all, this body of mine had aged and was not vigorous as it used to be." The old man eyes stumbled on the figure next to Vladimir. "Welcome, My Lady. It must be a hard day for you to accompany such a bland character as His Excellency."

"How could that be. In fact, it was me who had taken up Lord Vladimir's time for today. It was truly a delight for me."

Nicolas escorted the two to a private room. "Please have a seat."

The pair spent some time choosing the suit for Vladimir. Vladimir was not sure why, despite the arduous act for something that he could have done by calling people to his mansion instead of going out, his heart was tingling with excitement. The cheery and bright face of the young lady brought a smile to his face.

In the fitting room, Nicolas put on the 6-button double-breasted, shawl lapel with jetted pockets suit jacket on Vladimir while sneakily glancing on the mirror to check the measurement accuracy.

"It was definitely unusual to see Your Excellency went out for a date," he said while adjusting the suit jacket.

"A date?" Vladimir lifted his eyebrow, confused and unable to understand what Nicolas trying to convey.

"Yes, a date. When an unmarried man and woman going out together not for the purpose of any official business, what else could it be?"

"We might be only friend."

Nicolas chuckled. "Your Excellency. Although my eyes was old, it was not blind. Friend do not act intimately and crossing a certain boundaries with each other be it in public occasion nor private occasion. If they crossed that boundaries, could they be called friend? That would be an insult to the pure friendship out there, would it not?"

"Does it seem like we were on a date in your eyes?"

"Extremely so, Your Excellency. Perhaps I would hear some good news soon."

Aretha on the other hand, was waiting outside with cookies and several snacks on the table. She looked through the catalog and thought, 'Peter and Cole would look good in these. I should looked for some dresses for the girls.'

After some few taxing hours, they had finally done with the choosing and fitting of the suits. Once the adjustment was made, the suits would be sent to the duke castle. Vladimir reminded by the question he asked Nicolas earlier on the things that people usually does during their date. He was about to open his mouth but Aretha managed to speak first.

"My Lord, should we have our meals outside today? I knew few restaurants that would definitely not disappoint your taste buds," she said.

He nodded, but then he looked at her with wrinkle on his forehead. "How do you knew about that? Who had you been with?"

She laughed. "My Lord, who else could I be with? It was Nika and Yua who had been showing me places since the week I first arrived. There were so much I have to thank them for, you see."

Vladimir cleared his throat. The tip of his ears flushed. "Is that so. You must had familiarize yourself with the duchy then?"

"Unfortunately, that was not yet the case. I had only been to few store in the city. Never had I travel through the duchy. That would take more time than just a few month, would it not?"

"I see…" he glanced at her side, "… I do not mind if we were to go for more date in the future." His jaw tighten and the tip of his ears turned crimson.

Aretha blinked her eyes in amazement and chuckled. She thought for a second that even a big guy like him could be cute. There was never a person like him in her life. No, actually there was. The way he was embarrassed but refused to admit it, was almost similar to Cole. 'He was like a young boy falling in love for the first time,' she thought.

They went to the theater after finishing their meal. The performance they saw that day was about a man of noble birth falling in love with a girl from a humble background. Aretha chuckled watching how the ending developed, while Vladimir squinted his eyes in annoyance. In the end of the story, the girl died and the noble man married another fellow noble woman.

When the daylight had almost gone but the sky had not yet turned completely dark, Aretha saw reluctance in Vladimir's face. She suggested for them to have some light meal before going back. Her suggestion somehow bring a little smile on his face.

"Lord Vladimir, what would you said about the performance just now?" she said while her hand that holding the fork fed her mouth a bite of spongy and creamy cake.

"It was disappointing considering it was performed by the best performers in the duchy," he replied as he took a sip of wine.

"In my personal opinion, it was a beautiful narrative. The way the actors presented their characters were beautiful indeed. From their voices, their movements, and their expressions, it was obvious they were, for sure, the best performers in the duchy."

"What was the use of being the best performers if their story were complete nonsense with not an ounce of truth but deception instead?"

"My Lord, while it was indeed true there were stories that depicting the truth but a performance were more than that. To show the audience the most beautiful performance, there was an exaggeration that would be used not to all but some part of the play. A performance is beautiful not because it portrayed truth nor lies, but the combination of the two that make it much more realistic, for true life does not only revolved around either one but both."

"However so, how could a noble unable to protect his own people and fell into the clutch of others. To be manipulated and in the end fell into the grasp of those below him was such an embarrassment to a man with power. If that noble man was such weakling, he should had never be in that position of his."

Aretha suddenly realized something. She grinned. "It was only a made up story, My Lord. The plot was to make the story became more dramatic and incited various emotion from the audience. There was no need to take it seriously. Trivial matter as such would never hurt any of us."

Vladimir sighed. They both turned their focus to their meal instead. 'If it were me, I would never let any harm ever reached her. Not even a strand of her hair.' After they finished with the meal, they went back. Vladimir's face was beaming with refreshing energy, satisfied with spending time with the young lady. Lev, welcomed them at entrance with haggard and lifeless face.

______________________

*Little Theater*

Lev : "Please come back quickly, My Lord… There were still a lot of work that need your attention…"

C.Udon : "Poor guy… Unfortunately, they won't be back early…"