Published at 2nd of March 2020 06:19:41 AM
Chapter 32
They entered the glasses shop .
Bernard opened the door and let Agnes in first .
The bell on the door rang . Luckily, there were no other customers in the shop too this time .
“Welcome . ”
The gentle looking shopkeeper looked at Agnes and smiled, he looked at Bernard and rejoiced with his visit again .
“We’ve been waiting for you . ”
“Yeah, so the product you said last time,”
“Yes . A pair of glasses for your wife, right . ”
The moment the shopkeeper said “his wife”, Bernard's face turned red . He himself knew it, so he hid his face with his hat and looked away .
Some glasses with stems on it were lined up on top of the glass case .
“These silver-framed glasses are our newest product, it gives a gorgeous look even for women . ”
A showy silver colored rims wouldn’t be a good disguise . Bernard asked for another model .
“Then, this one--”
Various types of glasses were shown .
The items that were popular in other countries were very fashionable with flower patterns on the stems . They were expensive because of that .
He had seen pince-nez and glasses with a handle on it, but since it will be used while working, they decided to buy the glasses with stems .
After looking for a while, they finally chose a pair of glasses with rounded lenses .
Currently, the oval shaped one was trending, so it was an outdated model .
The price was also for disposal price, it cost one gold coin .
The lenses were thick and heavy too, so Agnes thought she would only wear it during activity that requires her eyesight such as cooking and cleaning .
“Then, this one will be good, right?”
“Yes, please . ”
After completing the payment there, the shopkeeper packed the glasses in a wooden box and put it inside a paper bag .
Agnes hugged the glasses she received and thanked Bernard .
“Bernard-sama, thank you very much . ”
“ . . . . . Yeah . ”
The shopkeeper who watched the two said, “You two get along well . ”
Bernard, whose face turned red again, put on his hat and left the shop after saying he will come again . Agnes bowed to the shopkeeper and followed suit .
When they got out, the surrounding was quiet .
Different from when they came, they walked slowly .
Agnes looked at the downtown road for the first time with amazed eyes .
The inn she previously stayed at was behind her, but she never had a chance to look around the shopping district with many artisans .
Suddenly there was one shop which caught her attention .
“Ara, what is that shop?”
Agnes was looking at a three-stories tall and narrow building, in which all people came out with books in their hand . There was only one bookstore at the capital so she tilted her head .
“That’s a rental bookstore . ”
“Rental book?”
“Yeah . Unlike nobles, books are luxury items for commoners, so they rent and read them like that . ”
“I see . ”
Rental bookstore was a store that did business by taking payment for renting some books for a period of time to the registered members . It was popular among commoners who couldn’t afford to buy books, it was said that for a popular book, they had to make a reservation and wait for half a year .
When Bernard was only a junior knight, he had borrowed some books to kill his time .
Since his work had become busier, he often spent his free days in his house, so this was the first time he visited the rental bookstore after several years .
“Do you want to see it?”
“Is that alright?”
“It’s alright . Because nobles and reporters won’t come to this kind of place . ”
“Then, I want to see . ”
Bernard opened the door and gestured to her to go in .
“Thank you . ”
Agnes took a step forward with a nervous feeling into the shop she visited for the first time .
First, she was surprised to see inside the store . The bookshelves were packed with books without leaving a single gap .
“Maa, this many books--”
Agnes was telling her impression and coughed .
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“It’s dusty here, put a handkerchief or something on your mouth . ”
The store wasn’t kept very clean . The books themselves were very old, and many had faded colors .
The display in the store was the same as a few years ago . Bernard walked towards the war history section .
There were continuation of the book he was reading when he was young, so he decided to borrow two books .
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“I think the price is one copper coin per book . ”
“It’s cheap . ”
If you bought a new book, it would cost at least 10 copper coins . You could rent a book for one tenth of the original price in a rental bookstore .
“If you have a book you want to read, you can rent it . ”
“But, I can’t go to return it… . . ”
“I can return it when I go home after work, so don’t mind it . ”
Since he said there’s no need to hesitate, she decided to give it a go .
Agnes wanted to re-read the Bear Knight’s Adventure series, and found the bookshelf of adventure novels . She squinted her eyes and looked up the bookshelf .
“Oi . ”
“Yes?”
“Use the glasses . ”
“Ah, you are right . ”
Agnes took out the glasses from the box and put it on .
“This . . . . . !”
The world on the other side of the glasses was very surprising .
Her vision became clear now so she didn’t need to squint her eyes anymore .
“How is it?”
“I can see, clearly . I’m very happy . ”
Agnes was deeply moved and gently wiped out something that was floating on her eyes .
As her visibility became clear she resumed searching .
“--Maa . ”
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“What is it?”
“This, this many, the continuation!”
She unusually let out a loud voice and looked at the bookshelf happily .
There were many unread books of her favorite Bear Knight’s Adventure series .
“You didn’t know?”
“Yes! I’ve never been to the bookstore in the capital… . . I only read books that were prepared by my tutor . ”
All the books she borrowed from the sisters were all donated books, so it was not a complete series .
She had read 7 volumes of the Bear Knight series . There were 20 volumes in the rental store .
“Etto, what should I do…”
“The renting period is one week . You can only rent up to ten books once . ”
“Then, I’ll only borrow three . ”
Agnes reached out to the bookshelf, but she couldn’t reach them .
As she was trying to tip on her heels, Bernard took them for her .
“Three volumes from the eighth, right?”
“Yes, thank you very much . ”
Agnes bowed her head and ready to take the book, but Bernard just walked to the receptionist and said, “Let’s go . ”
Bernard was already a member and said he would rent them together with his . Eventually, he also paid the rent fee . Agnes took out three copper coins but he didn’t took them .
“Pay it with working well . ”
“But that… . ”
“It’s okay, just leave it . ”
“T, thank you very much . I will work hard . ”
Bernard also paid the glasses in advance for her, Agnes felt really sorry about it that she could rip her chest out of it, but she was fired up to work harder .
As they left the bookstore, the bell from the clocktower rang, announcing it was already noon .
Bernard walked while holding the five books he had borrowed . Agnes followed after not too long .
Maybe because the nobles were still watching the play, they could hardly see anyone walking around .
On the side road of the roundabout at the central street, there were stalls lined up that were not there when they came .
They were selling sweets or flowers, things that could be used as small souvenirs .
Madeleine, thick grilled galette, apple pie, walnut and chocolate cake, grilled meringue, and cookies with lots of spices .
They didn’t sell elaborate things . They were all affordable and simple sweets that the common people liked .
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“We should buy some souvenirs for Carol and Celia . ”
“Yes . ”
Before the test, they were forbidden to go to the city . They looked dissatisfied, so he bought some souvenirs for them .
He bought madeleine, which the twins like .
He brought the freshly baked one from the store, and the bag he received was slightly warm .
They went to a rest area where the coachmen were waiting, and asked Dominic to prepare the carriage .
Bernard and Agnes were waiting on the wooden couch at the carriage waiting area .
Today was sunny .
Although it was a wonderful day to go out, if Agnes was found out it would be troublesome, so they went home instead .
Bernard got hungry while waiting for the carriage and he took out the madeleine from the bag . The dough was baked in a shell mold and about the size of a palm .
He bought seven in total . If Carol and Celia shared them with their family, there would be one more left .
“If there’s one left, there will be a fight . ”
He must eliminate the seed of conflict before it happened . Bernard said that and split it in half, and gave one part to Agnes .
“Is it alright for me to eat too?”
“That’s for not telling anyone . ”
Bernard said it like he was making Agnes his accomplice and ate the madeleine in one bite .
The cake was sweet and made him feel like drinking a bitter black tea .
“Feels like it’s absorbing all the water from my mouth . ”
Hearing his words, Agnes put the madeleine in her mouth, and she understood what Bernard was saying .
“Madeleine is not a sweet to eat without tea . ”
“I think the same . ”
When they both agreed on it, Dominic’s carriage arrived .
Bernard raised his cane and gave him a signal .
Both of them got on the carriage and returned home