Chapter 8

When she reached the church door, Opesa saw Sindriel standing beside the horse.

Just standing there, he was a beautiful sight, and passersby whispered admiringly at his beauty. Some were so loud that even Opesa could hear them, but Sinderel ignored them all and just silently stroked the horse's head.

As if he heard her approaching footsteps, he stopped and glanced at her and her empty hands with his blue eyes, but there was no trace of questioning in his eyes.

Since no one asked, Opesa didn't want to cause any more trouble. It was already lunchtime, and after running around for so long and throwing a tantrum, she had almost finished her breakfast. So she said, "Let's go, it's time to eat. I'll give you a chance to eat with me."

Sinderel pursed his lips and walked behind her, leading the horse. Opesha was unfamiliar with the place, so she headed for the restaurant. However, before she even entered, the waiter at the door reached out and blocked her way: "Sorry, ma'am, you can't go in."

Opesha frowned, "Why?"

The waiter glanced at her in disbelief. "Madam, everyone in Furland knows that you are heavily in debt and can no longer afford any services. I remember that you were on credit at the cloth shop in the next market. Excuse me, but I heard the lady boss talk about this too."

Opesha: ...

I guess I've already been put on the credit list as a deadbeat.

The onlookers around her laughed, and Opesa could only walk down the stairs in disappointment.

Xindrell led the horse and watched her walk back to him, putting on a helpless expression: "Go to another place, this one is full."

Liar.

He could hear it, and he heard it clearly.

He remained silent and just followed the woman, wondering what tricks she would play next.

So he watched Opesha walk into the second store, and then watched her come back speechlessly, and then he said stubbornly: "This one doesn't smell good, let's go to another one."

Then the third and fourth:

"This place has a bad style and is not worthy of me."

"There are too few people in this place, so the reviews must be bad."

In fact, in his ears:

"No, we can't let a liar into the dining room."

"Yes, ma'am, we really can't accommodate you here. Perhaps the slums are more suitable for your needs."

Finally she gave up the restaurant and chose an inconspicuous bakery.

As soon as she walked in, the proprietress chased her out with a baguette in her hand: "Go away! Go away! Don't buy anything on credit from me. Just take the things and leave! God, I don't owe you anything!"

The proprietress threw the baguette at her and quickly closed the door.

From what I could see, the woman was not angry. Instead, she slowly combed her hair and walked back with the bag of baguettes.

He was about to leave when a bag of bread stopped him.

"It's given to you. Thank you very much, but don't be so hungry that you feel dizzy and leave me without a groom." Opesa said in a high voice, covering up the discomfort in her stomach.

Although she was extremely hungry, she still let Sinderel eat first. After all, he was the one riding the horse, and she would have to use him again when she returned. If people were unwilling to throw her into the wilderness, she would be like a piece of bread in the hands of a beast.

Sinderel saw through her disguise at a glance. Her disguise was full of loopholes. She didn't even take her hands off her abdomen when she lied, and her heartbeat was so unsteady. In short, he was very confused.

He seldom went out, because Opesa never gave him the chance to go out, and it had been so long since he last went into the city that he could hardly remember it—but it wasn't a very good memory, every time he went into the city.

Almost no one in the city had ever seen him, nor did they know that he was connected to Opesa. In fact, Opesa could have asked him to buy lunch.

Also, her strange defense in church just now.

He saw it all and heard it all.

Words can lie, but micro-expressions can't. From the moment Opesa raised her hand to slap him, he began to pay attention to her expression and behavior. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he squinted, he couldn't find a trace of falsehood.

How could she defend him?

She wouldn't. She would just think that the price the man offered was not enough, not enough for her to be able to move into the city and live freely after paying off her debts.

Sinderel stared at the two baguettes, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Was she toying with him?

Opesa thought he was worried that she would poison him, so she took back the baguette, broke it in two, bit one piece herself, and stuffed the other piece wrapped in a paper bag back into his hand. "I'll just starve you to death. You deserve to be hungry anyway."

Sinderel held half a baguette in a paper bag, not eating it. He wasn't particularly hungry; he had long been accustomed to only having one meal a day. Sometimes, when he was punished, he might not even have a full meal all day, and could only drink plain water to fill his stomach.

His animal friends would bring him food, but he would always refuse it because he wanted to remember the torture so that he could return all the humiliation he had suffered in the past when the day came when he could no longer bear it.

Very strange.

Doubts always lingered in his mind.

Could it be a new way to humiliate him, first giving him a piece of candy and then giving him a slap?

He doesn't know.

He continued to follow Opesha with the paper bag, observing her behavior.

Opesa walked forward, eating the dry baguette in her mouth. Her stomach finally felt a little better, but only a little.

Although she sometimes ate baguettes to satisfy her hunger when she was in school, as they did help with hunger, those baguettes had been improved, not so dry and difficult to swallow. Without jam or other condiments, she swallowed the mouthful with great pain, wondering how she could change her current situation.

The original owner owed debts and refused to pay them back, and her bad reputation spread throughout the city. With her current reputation, it was impossible for her to find out any news about the royal family.

Still have to make money first.

At least I have to pay back some of the small amount of money first, and then get some more money to discuss the delay before the trading house comes to collect the debt, otherwise I will be really finished.

But what can be done? Opesha thought hard. She majored in management in college, a major that was only a title but actually useless. It was completely useless in the seventeenth century.

As she walked forward while chewing on a baguette, Opesa saw a crowded crowd of people.

It was a perfume and powder shop, and the door was crowded with people, who seemed to be rushing to buy something.

Opesa wanted to take a detour, after all, she didn't have the money to buy powder in a good mood. Just as she was about to pass by, she heard something:

"Prince Henry's favorite powder is almost sold out! Only three bottles left!"

Prince Henry?

She hadn't expected that even with such bad luck, she could still find some information about the protagonist. She blinked, pulled her hat down, and moved to the back of the crowd.

There were many women and even a few men lined up in front, pushing forward frantically with eager expressions on their faces.

"Did you hear that? It's almost gone!"

"I've been waiting in line for an hour, don't compete with me!"

"Why are you cutting in line? I was originally in line here!"

"Ah!" A man held up a handkerchief, tears streaming down his face. "Do you think Prince Henry will be attracted to you just like this? No, the first person he saw during the last parade was me. I'm the one who can buy perfume and become the prince's consort!"

The women became even more angry when they heard this, and they united as one, ostracizing the man: "Get out!"

The man was pushed out of the crowd and bumped into Opesa. Opesa raised her hands and barely caught the man.

The man was startled. Opesa straightened him up and was about to say hello, but the man jumped away in shock as if he had touched rat shit, crying as he ran away: "I am unclean, unclean, I was touched by a woman other than Prince Henry. Please forgive me, Prince Henry!"

Opesha: ...

She felt as if there were no normal people in this world.

But she still had to find out the news. It was a rare opportunity, so she had to seize it.

She suddenly had an idea. If she could sneak in and work there, she might be able to easily get information about Prince Henry.

And considering how prosperous this store is, there may not be any worries about salary.

…All that remains is to see whether Opesha’s notoriety has spread here.

She didn't forget that there was Sinderel behind her, so she reluctantly handed the purse to Sinderel and said, "Go buy some bread and vegetables. Don't forget to buy the freshest ones. Don't let me get sick."

The blond boy took the purse wordlessly and walked in the opposite direction, leading the horse.

After sending Sinderel away, Opesa lowered the brim of her hat again and walked back to the outside of the crowd, pretending to be one of those crazy customers rushing in.

While she was still carefully trying to decipher what those people were saying, a hunched figure quietly approached her and pulled the hem of the clothes of a woman next to Opesa.

A hoarse voice sounded: "Hello, I also have perfume here, do you need it?"

The woman was extremely impatient: "Don't touch me with your dirty hands, get out of here, you damn beggar."

The man didn't get angry, but just changed someone else to continue asking. After getting an even worse reply, he continued to change someone else to sell the perfume in his basket.

Opesa glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was an old man in a black robe. Her gender was unclear. He was short and looked very pitiful among a group of beautifully dressed young people.

After hitting the wall several times, the old man walked to Opesha's side.

He asked politely as usual: "Madam, do you need perfume?"

Opesa's sympathy overflowed, but her purse was empty after being given to Sinderel, so she could only politely respond: "I'm so sorry... I don't have enough money."

"It doesn't matter." The old man stretched out his dry fingers and pointed at the crystal earrings on her ears. "This is enough."

Opesa took off her earring and held it out: "This?"

The crystals on the earrings are very pure and look very expensive, but after all, they are not hers, so Opesa is not that distressed.

"Yes." The old man nodded, accepted the earrings, and handed over the entire basket. "These are yours, kind lady. God bless you."

Opesa was a little stunned: "Are these all mine?"

"Yes." The old man seemed to be worried that she would think it was cheap and not good quality, so he said, "The smell of the powder is exactly the same as the one sold in the store. You can smell it and see."

The old man was very sincere, so Opesha could only tell the truth: "I'm sorry, I'm not here to buy perfume, and I don't know what perfume smells like. I'm just here to find a job."

The old man exclaimed, "Aren't you here to buy perfume?" He looked at Opesha again and said, "You don't look like you need to go out to work. Has your family fallen on hard times? Even so, ma'am, outsiders will gossip."

Indeed, Opesa's dress looked decent, but if you looked closely, you would find that it was a style from many years ago. However, she took good care of her clothes, and with her temperament, no one would think that she was old-fashioned. They would just think that she was an old-fashioned aristocrat who didn't like the latest trends.

The nobles of this era were indeed ridiculed by outsiders because of their family's decline, so some nobles with conservative ideas would rather live and die with their reputation than go out to work and become commoners.

Wasn’t the original body such a noble?

Opesa chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Besides, I don't think it's shameful to earn a living with my own hands. Those merchants can earn a status equal to that of the nobles through hard work, so why can't I? I think those who don't work hard but instead complain about the unfairness of reality are the ones who should be gossiped about."

The old man was stunned. After a long moment, he slowly replied, "Ma'am, you are truly extraordinary." The old man made no move to leave, but instead pointed to another perfume and powder shop across the street. "Do you see that perfume and powder shop?"

If the old man hadn't pointed it out, she really wouldn't have noticed the pitiful shop on the corner that was squeezed to the point where only one door remained. There wasn't even a sign on the door, making it difficult to tell it was a perfume shop.

"Yes, I saw it."

"I am the owner of that store. If you don't mind, I need an acting store manager. You can consider it," said the old man.