4 | The Surprise Encounter

Not again?!

Iris thought frustratingly while she's trying to arrange her hair upward again even without her cloth covering it that must have slipped away after running

"You must be thinking, I'm a noble in disguise because of my appearance but trust me, I'm just a commoner Mister so there's no used stealing away something from me' Iris said truthfully while looking for a way to escape her situation to buy the ingredients Selby asked him earlier

But to no avail, she couldn't find any spot to escape as he well blocked them considering he's way faster than those bad guys earlier

Calming herself, she just sighed while looking at the mysterious guy in front of him

Damon was surprised to know but he didn't make it obvious enough to let her know

Instead, he removed his brown coat and handed it to her body covering her whole being

Iris was surprised by the sudden gesture and looked at the mysterious guy who was now appearing to her like a noble but with commoner's clothes

She observe how he looked and see how red his hair was, pale skin, red lips, and tall figure.

He looked gorgeous but his figure seemed familiar, where did I see them again?

Iris thought shrugging it afterward while gripping tightly at the coat that he gave her

"Use that to cover your appearance. Other's will know you're a noble because of your looks" Damon said seriously looking at her not showing his concern

So he's not a bad guy, after all, seeing how he gave his coat to me but why is he in disguise? Is he a real noble?

Iris thought asking herself surprised at what she knew

But as if the guy in front of her red her thoughts he explained why he was in disguise

"Just to be clear, I was in disguise because I was avoiding the person I've borrowed money with. Always bothering me to pay him back, sheeeesh" Damon said pretending to be one of the commoner's with a commoner's voice

But Iris felt suspicious about the guy who was disguised for avoiding paying his loan

She paused for a moment to process everything but that doesn't make any sense

The way he acted, the way he talked like he's forced to sound like a commoner, and the way he ran fast earlier

Those puzzled Iris but she just shrugged the thought thinking what gain it might give her to know his identity

So instead she introduced herself knowing he's a good guy

"I'm Iris and you are?" Iris said introducing herself smiling at the guy in front of her

Damon looked at the gorgeous lady in front of her to know that she was called Iris

Iris is her name, such a beautiful name

He thought looking around to find some names to call his own

Trying to pretend like a commoner, he saw a name from the far end using it as his own

"I'm El, call me El, may I call you Iris only?" Damon said asking her if it's alright to call her by her name making Iris smile brightly at who she knew was El

"Yes why not then I should also call you El" with that Iris took his pale long hands to feel how callous it was

Must have been the part-time jobs he's doing

She thought while smiling at him

"From now on, we'll be friends. I'm grateful for saving me from those guys earlier" Iris said honestly

"If you need help to pay your loan I could suggest you some other part-time jobs as well," Iris said making Damon surprised at her but after looking at her hands touching his making an electric current run through him

He thought 'Must be the callous from my sword training that she thought was from my part-time jobs for paying a non-existent loan' with that he shrugged the feeling he's having

While gently removing his hands to hers as he holds her hand in return

Pretending might not be a good thing but because I still want to know more about this girl then I'll keep this up besides being with her made me feel light and away from being annoyed

Damon thought looking seriously at the lady in front of him then smiling afterward

Let's not spoil the fun, shall we? with that he chuckled while still looking at her

"Yeah, I badly needed some money to pay my loan, do you have any part-time jobs you could offer me?" Damon pleadingly asked Iris pretending to be a poor commoner who's holding her hands tightly

Iris was surprised for a minute but regained her posture after feeling a bit hurt from his tight grip

"Oh sorry, my bad. Got to be excited with your offer" Damon said immediately removing his hands from hers

Iris in return just smiled brightly at him considering that he's respectful even if he's poor just like us

But what she didn't know was, he's only pretending to be one for the sake of refreshing his mind from the over strict household he lives in and from the annoying princess he's engaged with

He just wanted to experience the outside world and how to be like a commoner for once before he was officially announced as the fiance of Princess Monique

Thinking about those thoughts made him sigh, not kidding to break the engagement if it weren't for the Duke's blackmail

Damon looked serious now observing Iris who was smiling at him while thinking where she'll suggest for him to work

"Wait do you know flour?" Iris asked eyeing Damon seriously while putting her hands to her chin examining the gorgeous guy in front of her

"Yes of course" Damon confidently said while looking at her unbothered by her actions

"Then do you know, dough?"

"Yes"

"Then do you know what's a baker is?"

"Of course" with that she decided one part-time job he'll be taking on

"You know what? Screw others! I just have the right one for you!" with that she immediately grabbed his hands and ran outside the alley while still being covered by the brown coat he gave her

Iris pulled him towards her while running until they stopped in front of a bakery

They entered it and seconds later, Selby the son's owner of the bakery greeted the two only to find that Iris was the one who was covered in a brown coat smiling shyly who was now holding Damon's arms

What in the world? I asked her to buy ingredients for the bakery instead she brought a gorgeous guy? Oh boy, she's in a lot of trouble

Selby thought shaking his head while looking seriously at Iris making her explain what's going on

"Okay, hear me out, Selby. This guy beside me saved me earlier from being bumped into a noble's carriage. Out of respect, I wanted to say thank you but he asked if I know some part-time jobs and I did suggest here because you know, you also need someone as a baker not only you Selby. Besides he said he knows everything about baking" Iris said persuading Selby to help the guy get a job at their family's bakery

As he eyed the guy from head to toe making Damon gulp from the sudden tension

Afterward, Selby turned his body to them as Iris just winked at Damon

"Go on, you can do it!" She whispered near him only to be called by Selby to proceed to the baker's area

Damon just has his infamous wide-eyed expression towards Iris signifying that he's surprised by what she just said earlier

'Yes, I did save her but not from the carriage but the guys cornering her earlier. So she's also a good liar. She must've lied considering I badly needed a part-time job' Damon thought sighing inwardly as he turned his head towards the place following Selby

Iris on the other hand followed them because she's too good to be staying outside while abandoning the guy she recommended earlier

"So you should make a dough, right now. I'll be the one to judge if you passed my expectations. By the way, these were the remaining ingredients for today. Iris wasn't able to buy because of you, so hurry up and let me test you" Selby said commanding him and not just requesting him to bake anyways

As I thought life of a commoner is like this and I'm thrilled to experience such things for once. Rather than the one commanding, I'm now the one who was being commanded at, cool

Damon thought instead of ignoring Selby or walking out of the place he continued the fun he's having

He smiled at Selby for a second then at Iris and proceeded to make a dough

Iris and Selby were shocked for a moment at how fast and how delicate he made the dough

That being great of baking was my joke but he took it seriously, besides I didn't know he could bake in the first place!

Iris thought as she continued watching Damon create a magnificent dough

While Selby on the other hand was too focused on the moves Damon was making as well as the measuring and all he's putting to create a dough

A few seconds later a perfect dough was presented to both of them

Making Selby went near to where he was and looked at the magnificent dough he thought he couldn't create

For a moment he was astounded at the skills of the great baker in front of him gulping with a wide eye looking surprised

"If I thought about your expression, then I guess I really will consider myself passed already," Damon said teasing Selby that only cough while looking at Iris who was surprised as well

"Hmmm, not bad. You've done a great job, Mister?" Selby said asking his name forgetting how Iris should introduce the talented baker first

But knowing Selby, he doesn't need to know the names until they were talented, professional or people that will give benefits to him or the bakery shop

And because Damon exemplify such talent and skills he badly needed at the shop, he needed to know his name

With what he told Iris earlier about his name, he smiled at Selby and said "I'm El, nice to meet you"