BXBX NOVEL Chapter 23 My Dearest Wife, I Am Here!
"Pardon?" Raising her eyebrows in an intimidating manner, Eli turned her head towards the source of the voice.
The source of the voice came from a lady clad in forest green woolen cloak with her inner wear, a fine luxurious purple dress. Her plum colored long hair was stylishly draped on her cloak, portions of her hair were braided to make a crown, making her look like a fair noble lady. Except for her arrogance and coldness from her dark amethyst eyes, everything about her speaks of elegance and grace in appearance.
The noble lady didn't bother looking at Eli, as if she treated her as air. Instead, she took a few more steps towards the young lady selling the violin and demanded with annoyance and hurry, "How much should I pay for it?"
The young lady was startled by the intimidation of the noble looking lady. However, she still replied with a calm and polite manner, "I apologize Milady, but, there was already a customer ahead of you who would buy this violin."
The noble lady was taken aback, it was then that she noticed Eli's existence. With a lofty expression she looked at Eli from head to toe, taking a note on her appearance especially with the way she dressed. She especially raised her eyebrows in ridicule when she saw Eli's baby bump. With an unmasked trace of contempt in her eyes, she then replied,
"Oh, is it? May I know if she already paid for that thing? Hah! Can she even afford it?" Letting out a light chuckle, she held her waist and looked towards Eli and the young lady as if waiting for a show to happen.
"This.. this.. She hasn't.. We are just about to discuss the price.." The young lady meekly said. She looked towards Eli with an embarrassed expression, waiting for her decision.
Although Eli was annoyed at the noble lady's antics, she stayed calm and decided not to bother with the shades thrown at her. This was due to Wisey's thoughtful reminder that she should not put herself into trouble, especially as a pregnant woman.
She then looked towards the young lady and asked again in a kind manner, "How much does it cost? Do not bother about the price, tell me its real value.." Then she gave the young lady an encouraging smile.
"Hah! Pretending to be someone wealthy won't take you anywhere!" The noble lady ridiculed Eli's response. She firmly believed that Eli couldn't afford paying for the violin.
The young lady, seeing Eli's unbothered and assuring smile, did not bother the noble lady's comments and said, "Milady.. This violin is the greatest of my father's works. As much as I don't want to sell it in this lowly manner, I need money for my father's cure and medical expenses…"
Sadness filled her being at the moment she remembered her father's predicament, with tears threatening to fall from her hazel eyes, she weakly continued,
"It may be too high for a lowly seller like me.. In this flea market.. But I know that its value is around seventy thousand Shinies.."
As she said this, her head drooped lower and lower, bracing for any comment of ridicule from Eli, her first and only sincere buyer.
"More than seventy thousand Shinies? Are you hallucinating? This isn't capital! You aren't even an artisan nor a renowned luthier! How dare you rob me, Illia Vesala, in broad daylight?!"
It was the noble lady who threw the ridicule at her instead. She shouted so loudly that she was able to gather the attention of the nearby market goers.
"Illia Vesala? Is she connected to the Grand Duke of Vesala" The nearby crowd murmured in shock.
"She is the niece of the grand duke! The youngest lady to become an apprentice to an Imperial Doctor!"
"An apprentice to an Imperial Doctor?!"
"My heavens! So young!"
Hearing that the crowd knew of her renowned identity, Illia held her head up and continued her ridicules towards the young lady. Hearing the price, she had decided that Eli would not be able to buy the violin, making her the next and only buyer.
"Give me a reasonable price for this item! It is not even signed by a renowned maker! How could you say that it's worth nearly a hundred thousand Shinies?" She continued to demand.
Eli on the other hand, was almost out of patience towards all the shouting and intervening done by Illia. However, knowing that it would put stress on her body and Little Han. She took a deep breath and calmly looked towards the crestfallen young lady,
"Young lady, I want to buy this violin. I think your price is just right for the violin's value." She said with reassurance.
The violin's quality can be compared to the modern day high quality professional violin in the modern earth. What's more, just a mere seventy thousand Shinies wouldn't make a dent on her twenty four million Shinies in reserve!
Surprised that there was someone who was willing to buy his father's violin, she blankly looked at Eli for a good few seconds. That was seventy thousand Shinies!
"Milady! Did I truly hear it right? Are you willing to buy it at my price?" She said with her eyes almost crying.
Eli gave a nod, but before she could give a response, Illia once again interrupted the transaction
"Ridiculous! How could a vulgar pregnant woman out here, alone in broad daylight have any capacity to buy this at that crazy price?!" She exclaimed in ridicule while rudely pointing at Eli's baby bump.
Hearing this, murmurs started to be heard from the crowd.
In truth, being pregnant was not vulgar at all in Silvertown, as common folk were not really bothered by women who went out to town alone to buy and do their daily things.
It was only considered vulgar in the noble society, where etiquette applied. In the noble society, a pregnant woman should stay home, preparing her body to deliver the infant. Should they need to go outside, they must be accompanied by their husband. Should an expecting mom go out in public alone, it was referred to as a woman being pregnant out of wedlock or that the father of the child does not support her pregnancy at all.
Eli, for instance, does not have any male companion. As a noble, it made Illia think that she had gotten pregnant in a vulgar way that was why she bravely pointed it out. Criticizing Eli in such a humiliating manner, even involving the crowd.
"Vulgar?" An intense anger could be heard in Eli's tone.
She could take all the interruptions this conceited noble lady had been doing but not her insulting her motherhood and Little Han! She was trembling all over her body, her fist clenched so hard that her neatly cut nails were still able to pierce the flesh of her palm.
She was about to go towards Illia to give her a nice crispy slap.
As crisp as the sound of a well delivered high note in the violin.
However she was then stopped by a tall figure wearing a brown cloak. The figure held her shoulders with his two reliable arms. It gave Eli a sudden cold sensation when the figure's hand touched her shoulders, even though she was nicely clothed in warm fabric.
Then she heard a deep yet baritone voice from the back of her head, gently saying -
"My dearest wife, I am here. Have you been waiting for me that long?"
She then turned to look at the back of her shoulders and saw the figure's face. The first thing she saw was the man's crystal blue eyes. Then she continued to examine his face, his striking silver hair reflecting the yellowish tinge of the afternoon. His long lashes gently accentuated his crystal blue eyes that felt as if they could see through the depths of one's mind. His chiseled jawline and fair neck… Eli felt a cold chill in her spine.
She knew this man!
It was none other than the silver haired man whom Elise shared a passionate night with.
Little Han's dad.
Panic crept through Eli's whole being, she started to shiver. She wanted to run away from this man as she was not prepared to meet him at any time. She had enough worries in staying away from potential danger and maintaining a good health for Little Han. She did not have any ability to face another trouble coming from this man at the same time.
'Did he see through my cover?' 'How did I even get this man's attention?', So many questions appeared in her mind.
Feeling that the lady was about to resist, the silver haired man whispered in a low calm voice, "Young lady, I mean no harm, I am just trying to get you out of this situation. Think calmly…"
Hearing this Eli was reminded of her current predicament. Although it was nothing compared to the threat this man could give, it was indeed a sticky situation because now, there were many witnesses. Perhaps, this man did not even see through her actual identity and was merely helping her out of chivalry. Finally deciding to handle Illia in a calm manner she painted a stiff smile on her face and said,
"Hu..hubby, Are you finally done with your business? I was just enjoying this little shopping stroll~~~" She tried to say these as lovey dovey as possible.
While this was happening, Wisey and Baobao, the furry companions of Eli ever since her descent to Prasinos, were shocked out of their wits. Wisey was as stiff as a stuffed toy, her yellow parrot disguise and her agape beak looked like the shocked pokemon meme. 'Who the hell is this guy?!' Is what was on her mind.
Baobao was as shocked as Wisey. His teddy paws were lifted up in front of his mouth that was wide open in shock. His brain short circuited, his mind saying, 'Master had a husband?!' 'Oh I have another master?!' 'He looks strong.. and scary!' 'Will he also make beautiful music like master?'
Illia on the other hand, was taken aback. She was sure that this woman was not wealthy nor even able to be married to such a fine handsome man. But how could this woman in front of her do it? She couldn't help but stare intently towards the silver haired man, he was ridiculously handsome! Taking a look at the 'loving' gaze the handsome man gave to Eli, a deep sense of envy suddenly crept out of her heart.
"Hmm," The man replied with a nod and then proceeded to look towards Illia and said in a curt tone, "Do you have any problem towards my dear wife?" His gaze was as sharp as a tip of a sword ready to stab anyone.
"Thiss.. Ah pardon my uncourteous remarks. I was just eager to buy that instrument.." Illia, seeing the hostility of the man she was just admiring a while ago, said in panic.
"I wanted to buy that violin as I am skilled in playing it. I want it to be my practice violin during my stay here, seeing that it was not that badly made. But 'madam' here not only was not able to see through the real quality of the violin but insisted on buying it at a higher price."
Her words were saying that Eli has no skill in violin at all and that she was ignorant of the violin's value, stubbornly insisting on buying it at a ridiculously high price.
"I just wanted to advise the young madam here, not to dab on things she had no knowledge of. So that she would not spend on things that were unnecessary.." She said with concern and indignation.
The man was about to reply in defense, however, Eli beat him to it.
"Young lady, you seem to be assuming a lot of things? It is not good for a well bred noble lady to think like that.." She answered in a chuckle.
"You! You!" Shocked at Eli's sudden word of insult, Illia was caught off guard.
"Assuming that I am ignorant about the violin?" She then looked towards the young lady and gestured to her to handover the violin.
She expertly placed the violin on top of her shoulders and assumed a playing position, holding the bow with a graceful posture. Before she played the first note, she looked towards Illia and said in a dominant manner,
"I'll show you who is ignorant and who is not."