Chapter 10. Shopping as Friends

When school was over for the day, two servants were waiting at the entrance.

Augustine tried his best to look confident. Ever since the great villain (he's unwilling to call him "Young Master") left for school, Augustine was forced to work under Willow's supervision. He'd been dressed up to match a butler's look, been trained to clean clothes, dishes, and furniture... and even been groomed!

He was supposed to be a reincarnator! He knows the fate of this world!

And yet, he'd been forced to become the butler of the great villain, who'll destroy Lydia Kingdom! Just thinking about this had formed a headache for him.

Augustine stood straight. He wore a black and white set of butler uniform, which aligned his handsome and muscular figure. His taut muscles stretched the fabric, making him appear especially prominent under the sunlight. His hair had been combed with neat precision, with his black bangs falling over his forehead.

"Whose butler is that?"

"He's so handsome..."

"I wonder which noble household he belongs to..."

Willow nudged the said-person, "They're all talking about you."

"I know." Augustine remained expressionless. His face was as cold as frost, which only highlighted how handsome he appeared.

Willow sighed. "If I'd known you'd attract so much attention, I would've tried persuading Young Master to give up on the idea of contracting you."

Augustine looked away. He heard the sound of the school bell ringing, which signaled the end of school. After a while of waiting, the doors of S Academy opened. Amongst the crowd of students, Augustine noticed a familiar figure in the distance.

Immediately, Willow's eyes brightened.

She waved eagerly to Lucilline, "Young Master! Over here! This way!"

Out in the distance, Lucilline saw his servants. He walked to them, with his two new friends trailing behind his footsteps. "Willow." Lucilline called, "These are my friends." He introduced them.

Willow studied Azalea and Daphnne. "Huh? These two... were the ones from yesterday?"

Augustine's eyes also landed on the two new friends. He studied them closely. Why do they look so... familiar? Suddenly, a familiar line from he read from the novel had resurfaced in his mind, "The heroine had chestnut brown hair as sliver as a swan's feathers, and a smile as bright as the sun. The male lead's hair was as white as snow, and eyes like an amethyst."

Lucilline smiled, "Their names are Azalea and Daphnne."

Augustine fell to a stop. His eyes widened, and his silver pupils dilated. These two... aren't they the protagonists? How come they are friends with the villain?

Then, he contemplated. Perhaps, my interruption had affected the storyline. This made the villain accidentally friend the protagonists. However, this is still an improvement from the original storyline. Now, this means that there is a less chance that Lucilline will destroy Lydia Kingdom...

"Huh?" Daphnne was puzzled. "Lucilline, last time, wasn't there only one servant? Who's this guy?" She pointed curiously at Augustine.

Sensing that the heroine's eyes were on him, Augustine stiffened.

"Oh, him." Lucilline piped up. "This is Butler Augustine. Just call him August though, he doesn't mind."

Augustine, "..." No, he did mind!

Lucilline remained unfazed to his new butler's strong gaze. "He was broke and didn't want to sleep on the streets anymore. Therefore, he applied for a job yesterday at midnight. We accepted him, and found that he has the capabilities to be a butler. Now, he's here."

Augustine, "..." He didn't sleep on the streets! What was this bullshit!?!

"Ohh." Daphnne accepted everything she heard. She blankly nodded her head.

Lucilline stretched his neck. "Willow, we'll be walking around."

Willow understood. "Yes, Young Master! That son of a b- I mean, Butler Augustine and I will look out for you and your friends' safety."

Augustine, who was almost called a son of a bad word, "..."

*****

The three friends walked down the streets. Behind them trailed the two servants.

"Tell me whatever you guys want to buy." Lucilline patted his chest with confidence. "I have money at the moment, so I'll be paying. Just take anything. Even if you guys want to buy everything in the shop, I'll purchase it for you guys."

Azalea found a bead of sweat sliding down his temple. He felt anxious about spending someone else's money. Daphnne felt the same way.

She couldn't help but squirm nervously.

They were both children at the orphanage, away from the nobility and city. They were raised in the countryside, and had to work in order to earn money. They never had the luxury to spend so much money. This made both of the two protagonists nervous.

"Why are you two hesitating?" Lucilline naturally didn't understand their feelings.

As the third son of Duke Rubius, he'd been spoiled like crazy by his family. This influenced the way he spent money, although there are limitations.

"U-Um... I just don't know which store to purchase from!" Daphnne made up an excuse.

Deep in his mind, Azalea gave his childhood friend a thumbs up.

"Oh, which store?" Lucilline was humble. "If you'd like, we can go to all of them."

Daphnne, "..." Her excuse had been torn down! What should she do?

Azalea came to the rescue and said, "Daphnne and I aren't looking to purchase many items." He took a deep breath, as he continued, "Rather, it'd be best if we spend this time to get to know each other more. Aren't I right, Daphnne?"

"Yes yes! You're right!" Daphnne cheered. You're always right, good sir!

Azalea nodded. "So, Lucilline, which clothing store would you preferably purchase from?"

Lucilline was surprised that the subject had been changed to himself once again. He could only go along with the flow, then picked a random clothing shop down the district.

Entering the clothing store, the air was permeated with the warm smell of coffee and sugar. Inside had many stands, where clothing were piled there on display. Looking around, the walls were painted in chocolate brown, while the ceiling was a colour of birch wood. A chandelier hung from the centre of the ceiling, with its bulb shining a luminous light.

"These clothes look expensive." Azalea was worried for Lucilline's wallet.

Indeed, all the clothes were made of wealthy fabrics; such as silk, leather, velvet, satin, and etc. The design of the clothes appeared like they were designated for noblemen to wear.

"Doesn't matter." Lucilline spoke. "Even if I can't pay for the clothes, we can always steal."

Augustine in the back, "..." He had just persuaded himself that the great villain was a good person! It seems like a villain will always be a villain.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Lucilline noticed the complex gazes of Daphnne and Azalea. "Did you guys take my joke seriously? Come on, it was to make you guys laugh! Do you really think that I would steal clothes that I can buy, even with ten times the price?"

The stiff figures of Daphnne and Azalea had relaxed.

Meanwhile, the clerk who stood behind the counter and overheard everything they said about stealing clothes from her store, "..." She also relaxed.

She didn't want to go bankrupt because of a few teenagers!

"Anyways, go pick whatever you want." Lucilline gestured for them to pick. Seeing that, Daphnne and Azalea wouldn't be polite anymore. They walked forwards and began examining some of the clothes, which many hung on a hanger.

In the back, Augustine watched the two protagonists. However, in the end, his eyes were looking at Lucilline for majority of the time. For some odd reason, he was unknowingly attracted to the great villain.

"Will this look good on me?" Daphnne pulled out a dress. The dress was a one-piece type, spun of a soft cotton fabric and the colour blue iris, which matched the heroine's eyes. A thin flowery design was sewed on the hem of the dress, which gave it a larger appeal. Even the sleeves had the same flowery design.

Daphnne ruffled the fabric on her fingers. "What do you guys think?"

Azalea nodded. He will never say "no" to a girl, much less to his childhood friend.

"Go and try it on." Azalea told her.

Daphnne agreed with him, but she hesitated. As a commoner and an orphan, she'd never had the chance to wear such luxurious outfits. Therefore, she had no idea how to wear a dress...

Lucilline sensed her predicament, then gestured, "Willow, go help Daphnne find a dressing room and help her change."

"Yes, Young Master." Willow obeyed.

She went to Daphnne's side, then went to a spare dressing room, drawing the curtain to block themselves from being seen. When Willow finished helping Daphnne dress, the curtain was drawn open once again, revealing the scenery inside.

"How do I look?" Daphnne was excited.

Indeed, she appeared well-fitting in the dress. It outlined her figure beautifully, with the bottom-half of the dress swaying back and forth due to her movements.

"Be confident, ai." Lucilline sighed. He punched Azalea in the back, "Go and tell her."

Azalea, who was just punched, "..." Was there a need to be so cruel?

He ruffled a hand in his white locks of hair, "You look good." His eyes shifted from side to side, unwilling to look directly at Daphnne.

Daphnne was unconvinced.

"Be more enthusiastic!" Lucilline spat. He shoved Azalea forwards, "When praising a girl, you must look at her directly in the eyes! Then, you must be sincere in your words! Don't touch yourself, don't touch your hair! What, do you think your hair more important than a girl?"

Azalea, who was shoved and repeatedly abused, "..." Where was kindness that humanity has to offer?

"Yeah!" Daphnne felt like Lucilline's words were trustworthy. "Az, is your hair truly more important than me, your childhood friend!?!"

Azalea, "..." He was being wrongfully accused here!

"Forget it." Lucilline sighed. He shook his head, "If Azalea won't praise you, I will." He walked up to Daphnne, then began to closely examine and intensely praise her.

"I really like the colour of these clothes. See? They're a colour of blue iris, which matches your eye colour. Don't you know, when wearing a dress, women should match the colour to their eye colour? Besides, at first, I thought that this dress was too small for your size. However, after dressing up, the dress is already reaching your knees. Your body doesn't appear too big, your waist looks naturally slim, and furthermore, it is able to hide your leg fat. As expected, this dress is made for you!"

Daphnne listened, and her cheeks flushed in excitement. Finally, there was someone who talked freely with her! She'd always wanted to have a "girls talk" session. Who knew that she would have a "girls talk" with not a girl, but actually a nobleman!

"Lucilline, you're a much more reliable friend than Az! How do you know and relate so much to girls!" Daphnne was happy. "Could it be that... you're actually a girl-"

"What are you thinking!" Lucilline huffed. He crossed his arms across his chest. "Don't you see this manly figure of mine! I'm definitely not a girl!"

Daphnne looked at Lucilline's figure, which is more slender than her own, "..." If that was a manly figure, then what about herself?

"Well, the reason as to why I know so much about girls is because of my sister. She's my eldest sister, and often showed off her outfits to me." Lucilline explained. "You can say that my eldest sister trained me to know and understand a lot about girls."

Daphnne's eyes shone with a brilliant light. "Wow! Your eldest sister must be awesome!"

"Of course!" Lucilline found his eldest sister incredible as well. "She won first place of Strongest Military Attendant & Soldier, won first place of Strongest Fighter in Lydia Kingdom, won first place of Most Feared Woman in Lydia Kingdom, and-"

Azalea coughed twice. Even though he'd spent so many years with Daphnne as friends, there was still some awkward moments. However, the instant Lucilline came into their lives, this nobleman got along with Daphnne swimmingly.

This made Azalea feel... kind of at unease. He wasn't sure if he was jealous of Lucilline... or jealous of Daphnne...

Nonetheless, he has to change the subject now!

"What about... my outfit?" Azalea took the nearest clothes from a hangar.

Daphnne, "..." Why does she feel like this childhood friend of hers is being so unreasonable? Lucilline and her were merely having a conversation. For what reason... does Azalea look like he's eating vinegar?