“Freshly fried Scotch eggs, hot and ready! Crispy on the outside, with a soft, fresh boiled egg inside!”
“Love fortunes, wealth, health… I can see your future. Didi’s tarot readings, just one penny for today only!”
Amid the lively accordion music, the cries of vendors and the laughter of the crowd blended together. But even in the midst of this commotion, the sight of a burly man being dragged along by a much smaller woman stood out.
“Aiden, hurry up.”
“What if you trip?”
Aiden tried to hold her back with a laugh, but Anje didn’t slow down.
“We dressed up for the occasion, so we should enjoy everything.”
True to her words, Anje had paid special attention to her appearance today. The light green dress, which Jean had meticulously crafted, flowed around her like mist and fit her perfectly. She had even sprinkled lily-of-the-valley perfume all over, giving her a refreshing feeling.
Aiden was also fully dressed in new clothes from the draper’s store. He wore a black suit, a white shirt, and a vest, along with a light green tie that matched her dress. Although the leather braces Anje had gifted him were hidden beneath his vest and jacket, the gleaming brass accents made him feel like they were brand new. Aiden had mentioned that this was his favorite part of today’s outfit.
“Look, Aiden! That must be the circus stage over there!”
Following Anje’s gaze, Aiden turned his head and his eyes lit up. Never having been to a place like this, he was just as excited as Anje.
“Let’s go watch together.”
Instead of holding her hand like earlier, Aiden wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they moved towards the stage.
“We don’t want to bump into people, so let’s go this way.”
Anje shyly nodded and matched her pace to his quick steps. Thanks to Aiden’s large build, which shielded her, it was easier to push through the crowd.
Finally, they reached the stage, where a man was creating flowers out of thin air.
“Wow!”
Seeing her stretch on her toes to get a better view, Aiden chuckled and whispered in her ear.
“Should I give you a piggyback ride?”
“Aiden!”
Anje’s voice carried a note of reproach as she glared at him.
“I’m not a child! I can see just fine from here.”
“Then should I lift you up? You’d see better that way.”
“I said, I’m fine.”
“Or I could lie down on the ground so you can stand on me?”
“People are watching, you fool. Stop joking and focus on the performance.”
Their whispered banter quickly turned into a conversation others could hear.
“Fine.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed and wanting to move away, Anje quietly agreed. They pushed through the crowd to the front row.
Noticing Anje, the magician on stage brightened up and extended his hand toward her.
“To perform this magic successfully, I need the help of a lovely assistant. Would you, dear lady, lend me your strength?”
“Huh? Me?”
Anje pointed to herself, surprised. She was simply thrilled to be chosen as an assistant, but Aiden, beside her, shot the magician a cold glare.
The magician’s slick voice and flirtatious appearance vaguely reminded Aiden of Philip, which irritated him.
Meeting Aiden’s icy stare, the young magician quickly wiped the smug smile off his face.
“Oh, um, sorry. I didn’t mean the young lady, I meant the one next to you.”
The magician had intended to subtly flirt with what he thought was a pretty country girl, but with such a formidable man beside her, it was out of the question.
“Oh, you mean me? You have a good eye, young man!”
Meg, who was nearby watching the show, eagerly jumped onto the stage.
Anje looked up at Aiden with an embarrassed smile.
“How embarrassing. I really thought he was talking to me.”
“I thought so too. That magician clearly has no taste.”
Aiden calmly agreed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.
He nearly let his guard down, but today, Anje looked truly dazzling. He had to stay vigilant to keep anyone with ill intentions from approaching her.
Anje turned her head to ask him why he was acting that way, but quickly looked forward again. Aiden today felt so different from the Aiden she was used to seeing in casual clothes that it felt unfamiliar.
‘Maybe it’s because he’s taller; it feels very different from when Philip does this.’
When her ex-fiancé would put his arm around her shoulder, she’d just think, ‘Oh, his hand is touching me,’ and remain indifferent. Sometimes it even felt uncomfortable, like his hand was coming too close to her chest.
Even in a similar posture, with Aiden, she felt more like she was being protected.
‘And somehow, my heart is racing a little…’
Like when she learned something new or ran through a field. Anje chuckled at her own thoughts.
‘What am I thinking?’
She was acting like she was conscious of him as a man…
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Aiden asked with wide eyes at Anje’s sudden exclamation. The circus show on stage had already ended without her noticing.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just wondering if I watered the flowerbeds this morning.”
“You watered them well, so don’t worry. I checked on them myself, just in case.”
As he looked down at her nestled in his embrace and spoke kindly, her heart began to race again. She clutched her stomach and asked in a high-pitched voice.
“Aren’t you starting to get hungry?”
They had just arrived at the fair, but would that make her seem like a glutton? She regretted her random question, but Aiden seemed pleased as he led her along.
“I was wondering when food would come up. I overheard someone saying that the food at a stall over there is particularly delicious.”
“Really? Let’s go check it out together.”
As they got closer to the stall, the savory smell of fried food and fish grew stronger. They sniffed the air like a pair of puppies as they moved forward.
“That must be it.”
The dish being fried in the oil vat and giving off steam was ‘fish and chips,’ the quintessential food of the Empire’s working class.
A street food dish where white fish fillets and thick-cut potatoes are fried and dipped in sauce. It was cheap to make and filling, which made it incredibly popular among the common people.
It was an unfamiliar dish to Anje, but the crispy, golden-brown fried food piqued her curiosity and appetite at the same time.
“Shall we start by ordering just one portion for now? We’ll have to go eat the food prepared by the women’s association later.”
They ordered one portion of fish and chips, wrapped in brown paper, and moved to a nearby bench.
Anje hesitated between the potatoes and the fish, but decided to try the fish first.
“……”
Her eyes widened, and she waved her hands frantically. Her mouth moved rapidly, as if trying to say something.
“I can tell what you mean without words, so take your time eating.”
What if she burns the roof of her mouth like that? Aiden, calming her as she was still awestruck by her first street food experience, dipped both the fish and potatoes in the vinegar sauce and ate them.
The freshly fried, piping hot food satisfactorily filled his empty stomach.
“Indeed, anything fried can’t taste bad.”
“There’s even a saying that you can fry leather shoes and they’ll taste good.”
Seeing Anje’s hearty appetite for fried fish, Aiden decided he should make her fresh fish dishes later.
He thought it would be nice to go fishing together in the stream a little way from their house and cook the fish they caught.
“Hey, Aiden, what’s that line in front of that big wooden barrel over there?”
“I think… they’re selling apple cider. Want to check it out?”
“Yes! I’m thirsty, so that sounds perfect.”
They drank low-alcohol apple cider and, feeling a little tipsy, headed to play some games.
Anje hit all the targets in the shooting game and won a shilling, smiling happily. Aiden also won a shilling after her.
“If we had enough bullets, we could easily earn a pound.”
Anje was a little disappointed at missing out on an easy money-making opportunity, but felt sorry for the shooting range owner who looked like he was about to cry after losing twice in a row to them, so she let it go.
At the women’s association tent they visited next, there was such a variety of food laid out buffet-style that it was hard to decide what to eat first.
Smoked salmon, roasted parsnips and carrots, honey-roasted ham, pickles, gravy, and turkey…
Anje, who wanted to try as many different foods as possible, went around the table, and her plate was so piled high with food that it was about to overflow.
After their delicious meal, they watched a play and a recital prepared by the school, and also observed the spelling bee that the entire town participated in.
“Hello, Mrs. Fitzroy?”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Aiden.”
Every time they met people who recognized them and greeted them, Anje was happy to feel that they were now accepted as part of Leslie town.
At the same time, she was sad because she felt that she had almost finished all she could do for Aiden.
‘It’s a good thing Aiden is making a lot of friends.’
Now that she could leave him with a light heart, why did she feel so uneasy?
“Aiden, let’s go see Pa-Pi-Pu! It’s about time for the contest results to come out.”
she chirped in a forced cheerful voice, running ahead of him.
She didn’t want him—or herself—to notice the feelings that were slowly growing within her.
Before long, the festival was coming to an end.
* * * *
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