Pendleton Revolution
Chapter 8

“Amazing. I’ve never seen an alley like this before,” Andrea marveled aloud.

“If you think this amazing, prepare to be even more surprised by the black market,” Alice said with a smile. Then she pulled Andrea deeper into the alley of stalls. After going through a throng of people, the crowd died down a little. Still, streams of people continued to pass on both sides of the two women.

Some vendors sold jewelry in this alley, while others peddled dried herbs or cheap, medicinal plants. Fabric trinkets, cotton strings, and simple leather bands for hair tying hung on various stalls. Andrea could even see homemade cheese and cheap bread on display.

When they turned into another crowded alley, she could occasionally see stalls displaying a mix of coarse yellow and black grains, perhaps crops to be traded for other crops. Some stalls sold fresh produce—perfectly ripe fruits that other merchants avoided selling because they would go bad too quickly. They were so ripe that they would become too soft and bruised by the next day. The number of people in the alley grew bigger because of the numerous food vendors. At some point, Andrea and Alice were jostled around by the crowd as they made their way through.

When Andrea groaned, Alice teased her with a smile.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

Andrea whined and fussed about being pushed around against her will, but she was still having fun. She was slowly moving with the mass of people around her when a man up ahead caught her eye. He was incredibly handsome, and crouching in front of a fruit stall inspecting the goods.

Unlike Cheryl’s reddish brown hair, his was a piercing red that seemed to illuminate his surroundings. His fine hair, the color of blood and wine, was pulled into a fashionable ponytail. Strands of his scarlet bangs danced in the breeze as he leisurely parsed through the fruit before picking up an apple as red as his hair. Though delicate and lovely, his slender ivory face exuded an air of masculinity. As Andrea drew nearer, she noticed his eyes were a rare bright violet.

It wasn’t his outstanding looks that had caught Andrea’s eye. Instead, he looked awfully suspicious. At first glance, he appeared to be digging through the fruit to see what he wanted to buy. However, his gaze was directed quite aggressively at a narrow alleyway just behind the fruit stall. Initially, Andrea glanced at him in passing, but as the crowd pushed her toward him, her gaze flitted over to him a few more times. That was when she realized he wasn’t focusing on the fruit—his eyes were fixed elsewhere.

Andrea Yuriness was great at picking up little details from her surroundings. Thanks to her height, all she had to do was crane her neck to spot the man from the crowd and scrutinize him. The more she studied him, the stranger he seemed.

Despite crouching among the street vendors and pawing through goods, the man’s pale face was dripping with an elegance and grace that simply couldn’t be put into words. His clothes were neat and tidy, appearing to be middle class, yet Andrea couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually an aristocrat. The same peculiar air of snobbery that Jovani and Maria liked to exude also seemed to seep from the man, despite his efforts to hide it. What was he doing, hiding his identity as a noble and leering at the narrow alley? Just as Andrea was about to pass by him, her brow creased into a slight grimace.

At the same time, the man, who had been silently hunched over on the ground, jumped to his feet. The sudden movement sent Alice stumbling. She had already been off balance as she tried to push her way through the crowd just in front of Andrea.

“Alice!”

Falling among a crowd of people would be bad—she could end up being trampled or worse. Horrified, Andrea slid her arm around her waist to help keep her up. At the same time, someone on her other side also extended his long arm to break her fall.

Alice, who had gone pale and squeezed her eyes shut with fear, regained her balance when she felt the two arms prop her up. Slowly, she opened her eyes again. She found herself safely leaning against her friend and the stranger, both holding her closely. Her gaze naturally turned first to the stranger. Andrea also looked at the man who had come to Alice’s rescue. Upon seeing who it was, she blinked her eyes.

It was the red-haired man. His violet eyes twinkled like gems under the afternoon sunshine. Occasionally, gold speckles appeared to be floating in his irises—quite enchanting indeed. She also caught a whiff of fresh fruit and a hint of citrus. Do noblemen use perfume?

Then the strangest thing happened. Andrea had a good reason for vigilantly scrutinizing the suspicious stranger who had grabbed her friend by the waist without warning. For some reason, the man was staring right back at Andrea. He looked flustered, like he had run into someone he hadn’t expected to see. His jewel-like eyes wavered with the slightest tremor, barely noticeable.

A moment later, Andrea realized she was still looking up at him. Thanks to her sturdy build, she was usually just as tall or only a little shorter than her male peers—not this man. He was strapping. He wasn’t such a giant that Andrea had to raise her head to see his face, but she had to look up.

It must be because of all the good food he had growing up. He’s dressed like a commoner, but I’d bet a million cens that he’s an aristocrat. What does he want? Could he be the infamous Noble Arsonist who gets off on burning down commoner homes?

Her imagination was running rampant. She finally snapped out of it, thanks to Alice.

“Th-that was a close call. Thank you, Ed. And you are…?”

“Oh, A-Alice. You scared me. You could’ve been trampled to death,” Andrea muttered.

Alice pulled herself together and straightened up, prompting Andrea to help her smooth out her clothes. Finally, the man came, looking away from Andrea. He looked apologetically at Alice, knowing that in the process of standing up abruptly, he had almost caused her to fall.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry, miss. I was distracted, and I didn’t see you there.”

“I-it’s quite all right. I should also be more cautious with my surroundings. Thank you for stopping my fall,” Alice quickly replied. As she pushed the man’s arm away, she finally got a good look at his face. Her jaw dropped. The man was as dazzling as the chivalrous knights she had read about in her romance novels.

He didn’t seem particularly bewildered by her reaction. If anything, he seemed used to it. As if by habit, his lips curled up into a seductive smile. Then, he took Alice’s hand like a gentleman and escorted her to the fruit stall. Andrea narrowed her eyes and followed, alarmed by the unexpected gesture. However, the man carried himself courteously.

“It doesn’t change that I still shouldn’t have startled you,” he said. With a cheery smile, the man gestured to the fruit vendor. “As a token of my apology, please allow me to buy you and your friend some fruit.”

“Pardon? Oh, no! It’s quite all right!” Alice hastily declined, but the fruit vendor must have guessed that the man was a big spender. Before the man could retract his offer, he immediately began filling a large basket with fruit. While Andrea watched wide-eyed in confusion, heaps of fruit piled up in the basket.

Alice fidgeted and turned to her friend for help, but what was done was done. There wasn’t much Andrea could do. She didn’t want to disappoint the fruit vendor, who was delighted to sell so much, and had also deduced that the man was wealthy enough to afford splurging.

As if to prove her right, the man flashed a nonchalant smile and then turned to the vendor.

“Give me all the fruit you can sell today.”

It was music to the vendor’s ears.

“I-it’s really all right,” Andrea stepped in, unable to hold back any longer.

However, the vendor had already filled two baskets to the brim and received payment.

“If you won’t take them, what will I do with all this delicious goodness?” the man said artfully with a big smile.

Ed and Alice had no more excuses. Flustered, Alice thanked him multiple times before finally accepting. Andrea grabbed the baskets from Alice and thanked the man as well.

“Then, I must be off. I have business to take care of. Please forgive me again for earlier and enjoy the fruit,” the man said brazenly.

Only moments ago, he was leisurely poring over the fruit as if he had all the time in the world. Before Andrea and Alice could even say anything, he disappeared into a narrow alley. Strangely enough, he looked like he had an urgent matter to take care of.

On closer inspection, the alley he disappeared into was the same one he had been looking at so intensely. The sudden baskets of fruit had caught Andrea off guard. Finally snapping out of her daze, she remembered why she had kept an eye on him.

What is he after? Could he be the arsonist? No, she had not smelled any gunpowder or oil that would have lingered on his body had that been the case. It was also possible that he took a bath every day and spritzed himself with perfume because he could afford to. Even so, there had to be some traces still left on his body.

Andrea knew not to judge a book by its cover, but she also believed that appearances told her what she needed to know to a certain degree. The way Andrea saw it, the man simply didn’t look like a sadist who would set houses on fire to watch those lower than him writhe in misery. He was certainly not a man with a deteriorating moral compass, who masked his insecurities by exerting his superiority over the weak.

“He looked like an aristocrat, didn’t he?” Alice asked, sounding very sure.

“Huh?” Andrea jolted, snapping out of her thoughts.

Alice tried to sneak a fruit basket from her to lighten the load.

“Commoner men, no matter how well-off they are, don’t use perfume. On the other hand, the practice of spraying perfume came from noblemen. It’s considered good manners according to the rules of high society. Apparently, a perfume’s rarity, uniqueness, and quality reveal where one’s social standing.”

“Oh, that’s what you’re talking about. Yeah, I agree. I knew something was off about him from the start.”

“From the start?” Alice stared round-eyed as she asked, “Andrea, how long have you been watching him?”

“Since we were back over there.” Andrea pointed at where they were earlier among the crowd. “He was acting very strange.”

“My goodness, that’s incredible. You have a very keen eye for this type of thing. No wonder you’re the top student in Military Studies.”

“Don’t flatter me,” she muttered awkwardly.

Alice lightly patted her shoulder to reassure her that she meant every word. In the end, Andrea yanked the fruit basket back from her. She couldn’t let her hold such a heavy basket.

“Being a woman is hard,” Andrea said with a shrug, “Since I’m stronger and bigger than most women, let me help you while I still can. Life is tough enough, and I’m already ‘unladylike’ anyway. When I get old and weak, I won’t be able to help you anymore.”

“I think you’ll still be climbing up walls as an old lady,” Alice said. She stepped back from the endless mass of people before quickly jumping in again. Pulling Andrea along, she continued cheerfully. “Who dares call you unladylike, anyway? You’re sweet and considerate, and you surprise your friends with flowers. It’s society that determines what is ladylike and what isn’t. It might sound rich coming from someone who was taught the mannerisms of an aristocrat, but all that matters is you being yourself, Ed.”

It was just like Alice to impart yet another piece of wisdom. For a moment, Andrea wondered if she shouldn’t have used the silly word at all. However, as Alice had pointed out, as long as she was herself, that was all that mattered.

“Well, you have a point. What I mean to say is… you’re right. And I don’t mean the opposite of left,” Andrea said jokingly, grateful for her friend’s kindness and consideration.

Alice smiled again.

“Come to think of it, we just got another surprise gift. It’s already the third of the day.”

“Yeah. Should we get dinner and save the fruit to share with our roommates later? Oh, but the fruit belongs to you, so it’s your call, of course.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. Since carrying all this fruit around will be tiring, please don’t object to me treating you to a fancy meal.”

“I can’t say no when you put it that way.” Andrea grinned.

Before she and Alice escaped the bustling alley, Andrea glanced again at the narrow alleyway where the man disappeared. On the way to the restaurant, they chatted about all the surprise gifts they had received.