Chapter 233: A Walk in the Commoners’ Shoes

"Two extra coppers? For this? The grain of this wood is screaming in agony, sir."

"So this is the celebrated art of negotiation? How wonderfully amusing."

"Lady, your oven is a national treasure. We must taste this creation immediately!"

The voice was loud, absolutely feral, and bounced violently across the packed streets of the capital’s central marketplace.

Cherion pinched the bridge of his nose and let out the kind of exhausted sigh that felt spiritually damaging. Slowly, he looked up and locked eyes with Iryna, who was currently looming over a horrified street vendor with both hands on her hips and the energy of someone one minor inconvenience away from starting a revolution.

Back in his world, when Cherion was looking for a job to survive modern capitalism, he had briefly considered applying to be a male nanny. He had seen the listings online, decent pay, reasonable hours, and a chance to just look after a couple of kids. But he had quickly talked himself out of it. He didn’t have any real experience with children, and after careful deliberation, he had concluded that working at a Taco Hell was infinitely more suitable for his specific skillset.

His logic at the time had been flawless.

If a taco fell on the floor and got completely ruined, he could always just throw it away and make a brand-new one. But a baby? Sure, you could technically make a new one, but it definitely wasn’t that easy, and the legal consequences of ruining one were a massive headache.

Who would have thought that after transmigrating into a completely different world, he would somehow end up with the exact job he had desperately avoided in the first place? Except the "child" in question was a grown woman and emotionally unstable.

They were supposed to be keeping a low profile while Zarius was away at the palace. The plan had originally been very simple.

Stay inside the estate, avoid causing disasters, and wait for Zarius to come home.

But Iryna had skipped into the estate, looked at the rest of them, and cheerfully demanded that they accompany her outside for some fresh air.

One minute later, they were all dressed like suspiciously attractive background NPCs. Plain traveler clothes hidden beneath oversized cloaks with giant hoods.

"Your Highness," Cherion groaned, catching up to her as she picked up a painted ceramic whistle. "Didn’t you already come to the capital market yesterday?"

Iryna waved dramatically toward the packed rows of food stalls. "Cherion, I’ve barely experienced anything yet!"

Cherion groaned harder this time and glanced behind them at the rest of the group. Reiner and Ezek looked ridiculous.

Their arms were completely full, their hands busy holding an absurd assortment of things that Iryna had bought over the past two hours, skewers of grilled meat, half-eaten pastries, paper bags filled with local capital sweets, and random little wooden trinkets that served absolutely no practical purpose.

As Cherion watched Reiner awkwardly try to balance a dangling bead bracelet on his massive, leather-gloved thumb while holding a half-empty cup of fruit cider, he couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of self-pity.

Somehow, I’ve fully inherited Philia’s job as the designated babysitter escort, Cherion thought bitterly to himself.

He narrowed his eyes, a sudden wave of suspicion washing over him. Wait... is this his plan all along? Did he intentionally leave me behind with her on purpose just to psychologically torture me?

Cherion immediately shoved the thought away before it could settle. Ugh, whatever, navigating the capital was proving to be a nightmare.

Not to mention the fact that he and the others were all from the far North. None of them actually knew their way around the giant chaotic mess they called the capital. They had already been forced to stop at least five times just to ask terrified locals for basic directions.

Eventually, the sheer exhaustion of carrying a mountain of junk took its toll on the group, and they managed to find a relatively quiet open-air eatery nestled near a bustling plaza.

"Come on, just order whatever you want. Don’t be shy," Iryna said loudly, slapping a heavy hand against the wooden table as they sat down for lunch.

Cherion didn’t need to be told twice. He ordered a simple bowl of local stew and tuned into the loud chaos of the market while Iryna happily rambled about yesterday’s outing with her brother, which apparently couldn’t compete with today’s adventure at all.

After they finished eating and consumed enough protein to sustain a small army, Iryna leaned back in her chair and wiped her mouth with napkin, and scanned the table with sparkling eyes full of extremely suspicious enthusiasm. "Alright," she announced brightly. "What are we doing next?"

Marielle blinked, setting down her glass. "Go home?"

Iryna stared at Marielle like she’d just committed an unforgivable crime against fun itself. "Very well, then."

Marielle merely glared back.

Then, Iryna suddenly perked up, her eyes lighting up as she caught sight of a massive building across the plaza decorated with bright silk banners. "Oh! What about watching a theater play? They have those here, right?"

Without waiting for literally anyone’s approval, Iryna stood up and marched toward the building, her cloak dramatically billowing behind her like she was about to conquer it. Marielle sighed with the exhausted acceptance of someone who’d already lost the argument before it started and hurried after her, leaving Cherion, Reiner, and Ezek scrambling to collect the mountain of bags before running after them too.

Through some miraculous combination of Iryna’s aggressive gold-flashing and the sheer intimidation factor of their cloaked presence, they somehow managed to secure an exclusive, private seat in the upper tier of the grand theater.

The play itself was one of those classic dramatic romance tragedies, huge orchestral music, catastrophic misunderstandings, and actors yelling declarations of eternal love with enough emotion to rupture internal organs.

Cherion sat in the exact middle of the plush velvet bench.

To his right sat Iryna, with Marielle beside her, both completely invested in the play and leaning over the railing with sparkling eyes. On his left sat Reiner, while Ezek occupied the seat beside him, asking endless questions about nearly every movement and line spoken upon the stage. Reiner, with remarkable patience, explained each one in a low voice.

Cherion let out a soft huff, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips as he looked at the seating arrangement.

What an absolute irony, he thought, shaking his head.

According to every rule of logic and romance, a dramatic, sweeping love story like this was exactly the kind of thing a proper couple should be watching together. Yet here he was, the only person in the entire group who was actually in a committed, official relationship, sitting entirely alone in the middle of the bench. Meanwhile, these two pairs of absolute non-couples were sitting together, completely engrossed in the romantic atmosphere.

As the lights on the stage dimmed for the transition into the second act, the rowdy chatter of the theater faded into a soft, ambient murmur.

Cherion leaned forward slightly, resting his chin against one hand as his attention slowly drifted away from the actors on stage to the railing in front of him. The teasing frustration from before had completely worn off, leaving only a sudden stillness settling deep inside him.

He missed Zarius.

It hadn’t even been that long since they separated at the estate, but somehow the Duke’s absence had already taken over the room. Well, he was blaming the atmosphere for it. Cherion released a soft sigh, his thumb idly brushing his jaw while his thoughts drifted toward the dangerous maze that was the imperial palace.

I wonder what he’s doing right now.