Never in his twenty years of living had Lysander Salvador imagined himself in this situation: nervous, and more self-conscious than his first debut in high society. His stoic face may make him appear calm, but with Penelope Beaufort walking next to him in her simple, yet fitting blue dress, his heart refused to calm down.

“Today's restaurant was rather interesting, Lord Lysander,” Penelope's sweet voice snapped him out of his trance. Glancing towards her, he noted her glistening emerald eyes as she smiled at him. They were beautiful, he thought. “Did your brother recommend this one too?”

“Ah…no,” Lysander dragged on his reply for longer than natural. Penelope didn't seem to notice though, or she thought little of his behavior and didn't react. He shifted his focus to the streets and continued. “Is it odd? I went around looking for places to take you and found that restaurant. It wasn't famous, but I enjoyed their food.”

Penelope remained quiet. Lysander felt his chest tighten for a moment, but he unknowingly let out his breath when she eventually replied with her smile growing wider. “Thank you again, Lord Lysander. You've clearly put in the effort for me, and I appreciate it.”

He'd been scheduling a meeting with Penelope ever since they got to go on their first dinner. Sometimes he wondered if he was bothering her, but he was glad she didn't seem to mind, and even enjoyed their outings.

Before Lysander could respond though, Penelope suddenly gasped and pointed towards something from across the streets. “Oh my! Look at that! It seems Lord Silas also took Lady Ruelle out today as well!”

“Brother did?” Lysander's attention snapped towards them. They walked out of a clothing store, and he recognized it as the place where he used to get his measurements for his academy clothes. “Ah, right, that place's opening back up soon.”

Silas clutched two neatly wrapped paper bags under his armpit while Ruelle happily skipped along the walkway. Lysander had never seen that timid girl look so joyous, and to think it was his ex-troublemaker brother who'd made her smile so genuinely.

“...I wonder if I can do the same for Penelope.”

He'd gotten so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Penelope crossing the streets. She called out to the two of them, not realizing that a carriage was rushing towards her at full speed.

“Lady Penelope!” Lysander's body moved on its own, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her back just in time. The coach pulled on the reins and stopped the horses as well, the old man looked just as startled as the young lady he'd almost ran over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Oh my god…I am so sorry!” Penelope turned to the coachman and bowed apologetically. She also looked at Lysander and began apologizing profusely. “My lord, I shouldn't have crossed the streets without looking! This is all my fault…I'm very sorry!”

“Lady Penelope!” Ruelle's voice rang out as she and Silas rushed over to them. Before she could say anything else though, a person exited the carriage.

“What's all this about?” It was a middle-aged man with a stern face. He wore a pristine, black suit, and a monocle on his left eye. He appeared limp in his right leg since he held a cane when he walked out. “Do you know that you children are delaying important work here? How will you compensate if I am late for my meeting?”

To Lysander's surprise, it was Ruelle who responded. Her voice was calm. “Mister, she already apologized for her mistakes. If you're really going to be late then you should get going.”

Her words ignited a spark of anger in the man's eyes instead. Lysander could see him tightening his grip on his cane. “Young lady, I don't know what house you are from but you should refrain from using that tone with me,” the man pointed at Penelope with the stick, “I am asking her how she will compensate me since she gave me the trouble. You shouldn't be defending her.”

Lysander frowned, “Hey, sir. She's right, if you are late then you should hurry and look over this little mistake just once. No one got injured so I don't see why you, a busy man, should bother with this.”

“My lord, it's alright,” Penelope whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Looking at her expression, she didn't seem to care much about the man's words at all. Penelope turned to him, holding her head high. “If you want compensation, then I will pay you. Is that alright, mister?”

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“Wait.”

All heads turned towards Silas as he held out a piece of paper, handing it over to the old man who took it with a hint of confusion on his face. When he read the contents on the paper, his eyes widened in anger. “What is this!? A fine!? What gives you the right to—”

“Where did he even get that from anyway?”

“You are on Salvador soil,” Silas cut him off coldly, pointing towards the ground as he stared at the man. Lysander had never seen that sort of look on his brother's face. “And as long as you are on this land. You will abide by the marquess’ laws. You were going way over the speed limit for this area, Earl Holston.”

“So what? If you know who I am, you should know my importance!” Holston snapped back.

“Yeah, sure. You own some business that makes you a few bucks. So what?” Silas mirrored his words, yet somehow still maintained a cold tone. “You asked what gave me the right to fine you? Here it is.”

Silas walked over to Lysander and grabbed something from inside his coat. He didn't even have the time to react as Silas flashed the family badge at Earl Holston. Instantly, the man's face turned pale. “This proves that he's a member of the Salvador house, and with the way I'm speaking to you, I'm sure you can guess who I am.”

“You…You are Silas Salvador?”

“And that's my brother, Lysander Salvador, heir to the march, Earl.” Silas clicked his tongue, “The lady who you just dismissed is my fiancée, Lady Ruelle Peregrine, who, mind you, is still of a higher standing than you,” Silas didn't leave any room for Holston to speak, “And this woman whom you are trying so hard to humiliate, is my brother's lover. So you better fuck off with the fine before I do something I won't regret.”

Even though the earl clearly got intimidated by their higher status, he stood his ground and argued, “Wait, my lord. It is my mistake that I couldn't recognize the both of you—”

“You couldn't recognize the heir to the fucking march?” Silas raised an eyebrow, and Lysander briefly heard Ruelle chuckle softly at his words. “You must be living under a rock, but I guess we are all wearing casual clothes so I can see why a man your age might have trouble seeing. I recommend you go get your monocle checked after this. But go on.”

Although clearly frustrated, the earl continued, “…If I am to receive punishment, shouldn't the lady also? She crossed the road without looking.”

“There are laws for that, yes,” Silas nodded as he crossed his arms. For a moment there, it seemed like Earl Holston had defused the situation, until Silas pointed at the ground again. “But this is the crossroad we are standing on, no? A fine would've been applicable if Lady Penelope had crossed the road in any other place other than here. She will receive warnings as per protocol. But unlike you, speeding dangerously in a densely populated area, you are more than fucked.”

“Oh yeah,” Ruelle suddenly spoke up. She looked at Penelope and asked, “Isn't one of your business partners Earl Holston? Technically, Salvador has more shares and authority than them, so how about we cut them off so they can't do business in your territory?”

Holston's eyes went wide, “Wait…wait…Lady Ruelle, you can't just make that call—”

“Great idea,” Lysander nodded as he glanced at Silas, who by then had a wide grin on his lips, “I will talk to both my father and Baron Beaufort about this. Although I doubt they will agree to cut off Earl Holston entirely, this type of behavior can affect the look of our business…”

“Right. Who would want to buy stuff from a guy who would've run over their child today or their wife tomorrow?” Silas shrugged, and Earl Holston's face only got redder as the onlookers around them began whispering among each other. “Well, we're done here so just fuck off to wherever you wanted to go before all this crap. Don't forget to pay the damn fine on the way there!”

Earl Holston didn't reply, instead silently bowed to all them and quickly got back into his carriage. Soon, he was gone, and they could finally get off the road.

“Thank you everyone,” Penelope smiled awkwardly, “And um…I'm sorry. I would've said something myself but I'd rather not escalate the situation.”

“You were not at fault, my lady,” Lysander's brows slightly arched, he didn't even realize that his hands still held onto her arms. “This could've been avoided if the earl had dismissed the situation as an honest mistake.”

“But this would have also been avoided if I hadn't been so reckless…” Penelope sighed.

Ruelle spoke up, taking the girl's hands into hers, “It's alright, Lady Penelope, it's in the past now. You shouldn't fret over something that has already happened.”

“Right,” Silas nodded, “Oh yeah, here's your warning: look left and right before crossing the road, and make sure any carriages stop or go past you before you start walking.” Silas grinned, crooking his head to the side, “There. Now that pesky earl won't complain that I was being unfair, right?”

Lysander looked at his brother, “I'm…surprised you know traffic laws.”

And in turn, Silas looked at him as if he was insane, “Even a child would know. The traffic laws are as basic as they could get. They just recently implemented speed limits, right?”

“Yeah, and how could you tell he was going too fast?” Lysander tried to read anything on his brother's face, but to no avail. Since when did he get so good at masking his emotions? “Usually, you need a magic tool to measure speed.”

“What? You think the earl wasn't going fast?” Silas rolled his eyes, “You don't need a device to tell you if a carriage is going too fast when all you could see of it is a blurry streak. We're lucky you were there to catch her or else it would've definitely crashed into her. She'd die instantly at that speed, you know?”

“Silas,” Ruelle spoke in a stern voice, glancing at him while still gripping onto Penelope's hands, “Don't scare her. It's fine now.”

“That…wasn't my intention,” Silas gave Penelope a slight bow, “My apologies if I had said something I shouldn't.”

“No no, you were right,” Penelope looked at Lysander, even though her expression remained calm, he noted a hint of terror in her eyes. “Yes, I certainly would not have survived something moving at that speed.”

Ruelle let out a sigh, “Okay, let's stop talking about the possible death routes for now. Since we're already here, how about we go find something to eat?”

“Oh, I'd love that!” Penelope's expression brightened in almost an instant, “I wanted to call the both of you over for this exact reason,” she turned to Silas, “I heard Lord Silas recommended a lot of places for Lord Lysander. Would you happen to have any more places we could go to?”

Silas remained in thought for a moment, “...There is. How about some desserts? I know a place that makes very good cheesecakes.”