The journey to the center of the capital was brief. The cobblestone streets were filled with merchants and passersby; the scent of freshly baked bread drifted through the air, mixing with the echoes of vendors calling out their wares. Lusian could not help but look around with curiosity, like someone discovering a world that had always existed beyond the screen of a game.
When the carriage stopped, Lusian stepped down first and offered his hand to Emily. Immediately, every gaze in the plaza turned toward them. With the knights, maids, and escort surrounding them, it looked more like a procession than a simple couple taking a walk.
Emily looked nervous; Lusian looked uncomfortable.
—This is drawing too much attention —he murmured.
She smiled, trying to hide her own discomfort.
—I suppose everyone wants to see the newly engaged couple.
To escape the attention, Lusian decided to enter the first shop he saw: a magical artifact store.
The interior was fascinating. Glass shelves displayed artifacts glowing with shades of mana: rings, bracelets, floating spheres, and delicately enchanted weapons. It felt like stepping into a fantasy laboratory. Lusian felt his heart beat faster. He had played worlds like this before, but he had never actually been inside one. For the first time, he understood the scale of everyday magic: lamps that turned on by themselves, brushes that cleaned dust as they passed over surfaces, mirrors that adjusted their reflection depending on the time of day.
The shopkeeper, a young woman with brown hair and a kind gaze, patiently answered all his questions while Lusian listened in fascination. There was a necklace that allowed the wearer to float a few meters above the ground, a wand containing a level-six fire spell that could only be used once, and a small windmill that generated an actual magical breeze. He even saw an earring that amplified the user's voice through a resonance spell. The shop felt like a place where time itself had stopped.
But when Lusian reached for his money, he realized he had nothing with him. Before he could react, one of the duchy's maids stepped forward, paid for the items, and discreetly stored them away. Lusian sighed, surprised.
So this was what being a noble felt like.
Protected...
And dependent.
When they left the store, Emily glanced at him.
—You look like a child in a candy shop.
Lusian allowed a faint smile.
—It is the first time I have seen how this world uses magic up close. At my home... there are not many things like this.
—The Douglas estate does not need decorations —Emily replied, a hint of shyness in her voice that Lusian immediately noticed.
They continued walking until they reached a jewelry store, its displays shining with enchanted gems and rings covered in intricate magical engravings. Lusian stopped, looking at the pieces with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
He had no intention of entering, but the duchy's maid gently bowed.
—Young master, it would be appropriate for you to choose a gift for Miss Carter —she said quietly. —It is customary to offer a present when visiting this type of establishment with a lady.
Lusian blinked, confused.
—Ah... it is?
The maid nodded elegantly.
—It would be considered rude to leave empty-handed, my lord.
Emily looked at him with amusement, clearly enjoying his awkward reaction. Lusian sighed inwardly.
"So there are rules for this too..."
He entered the store with resignation.
The maid tilted her head.
—It would be appropriate for you to choose something for Miss Carter.
Lusian blinked.
—Something?
—A gift.
—Why?
The maid looked at him with genuine confusion.
—Because you are together.
Silence.
To Lusian, that answer was far too simple.
A gift.
A gesture of consideration.
A small act that could carry far more meaning to another person than it appeared to.
In his previous life, he had seen scenes like this hundreds of times in games and novels.
The protagonist bought a gift.
The girl smiled.
The music changed.
The relationship progressed.
Just another mechanic within the story.
But now he was not looking at a screen.
The person receiving that gift was not a character created to follow a route.
It was Emily Carter.
The same person who, according to his memories, would one day raise a sword against him.
Lusian lowered his gaze.
That was exactly what he could not understand.
The Emily standing before him did not seem like someone capable of becoming his executioner.
Behind the counter, an elderly jeweler greeted him with a bow.
—How may I assist you, young lord?
His eyes moved across the displayed pieces with the experience of someone who had spent an entire lifetime working with them.
Rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces rested beneath enchanted glass, each reflecting small lights of mana.
Lusian observed them for several seconds.
He had no idea what he was supposed to choose.
A sword was simple.
An armor had a clear purpose.
But this...
It was merely an object.
A symbol.
And that was precisely what made it more complicated.
—What would you recommend for a young noblewoman? —he finally asked.
The old man smiled.
—That depends on what you wish to express, my lord.
Lusian frowned slightly.
That answer did not help him at all.
After a few moments of silence, he pointed at the first thing that caught his attention.
A silver pendant with a blue stone at its center.
It was not extravagant.
It had no unnecessary decorations.
It was simply elegant.
And, for some reason, it reminded him of her.
Her eyes.
When the jeweler wrapped the piece and handed it to him, Lusian remained still for a few seconds, holding the package.
Suddenly, a sword in battle seemed far easier than this.
He took a deep breath and extended the gift toward Emily.
—I suppose... this is what one is supposed to do on occasions like this.
The words came out much less confidently than he had intended.
Emily blinked.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
It was not a mocking smile.
It was something worse.
She seemed to be enjoying seeing him uncomfortable far too much.
—Are you nervous?
Lusian immediately looked away.
—No.
The answer came far too quickly.
Emily had to hold back a laugh.
It was strange.
The Lusian everyone described was a cold, distant Douglas heir who was difficult to read. Someone who seemed to need nothing from anyone.
But now he was standing in front of her, holding a simple gift as if it were a decision capable of changing the outcome of a battle.
And that image was unexpectedly endearing.
—Thank you, Lusian.
Her voice lost its amusement and became sincere.
—It is beautiful.
Emily held the pendant between her fingers. The blue stone reflected the light of the store, illuminating her eyes with the same shade.
Lusian found himself staring at her a moment longer than he should have.
Then he realized.
This was dangerous.
Not because she carried a sword.
Not because she was the Saint of Light from his memories.
But because, for the first time since awakening in this world...
Emily Carter did not look like a character from a story he needed to avoid.
She looked like a person.
—Lusian?
He snapped back to reality and looked away.
—Nothing.
Emily smiled again.
And for some reason, she seemed to enjoy it very much.
Watching the Douglas heir lose his composure.
During the rest of the walk, they spoke little, but the tension between them slowly began to fade.
Lusian watched Emily with growing attention.
The young woman had a natural ease when interacting with others. She spoke with merchants without hesitation, smiled at the maids who approached her, and responded with a warmth that seemed completely genuine.
And then Lusian realized something he had overlooked until now.
Until that moment, he had tried to understand her as a piece of the story.
The Saint of Light.
The future heroine.
The woman destined to cross swords with him.
But none of those words explained who Emily Carter truly was.
Because none of them described the young woman who smiled while receiving a simple pendant. The person behind the title. Someone capable of finding happiness in a small gesture, caring for others, and looking at him without seeing the monster the story had decided to make him.
Emily was not a game character trapped inside his memories.
She was a real person.
A young woman with doubts, dreams, fears, and emotions that had never appeared on a screen.
And that was what confused him the most.
Because the Emily standing before him did not match the woman he remembered.
She did not seem like an enemy.
She did not seem like someone destined to raise a sword against him.
She simply seemed like...
Emily.
Lusian looked away.
This was dangerous.
Every memory he had from the game told him the same thing: Emily would eventually become one of the people who led him to his end.
But then there was that smile.
That gaze.
And the idea of seeing her only as a future enemy began to feel absurd.
Lusian looked away, frustrated.
How was he supposed to act?
Should he keep his distance?
Change the future from the shadows?
Or simply tell her the truth?
"Don't kill me in the future."
The thought was so ridiculous that it almost made him laugh.
How could he possibly explain something like that without sounding completely insane?
As they left the jewelry store, Lusian noticed something he had ignored until then.
More than one merchant lowered their voices upon recognizing the Douglas crest.
The looks directed at them were not those given to a couple taking a peaceful walk through the city.
They were not seeing a young man and woman sharing a quiet moment.
They were seeing two names.
Douglas.
Carter.
An alliance between two of the most important houses in the kingdom.
Every whisper, every cautious glance, reminded him that even the simplest gestures carried a much greater meaning in this world.
To them, this was not a walk.
It was politics walking through the streets of the Capital.