Court of Remorse | • Scaramouche

Chapter 12

The Balladeer

First day of courtship - Scaramouche's guide to courtship.

To say he was nervous would be an overstatement because he isn't. What is the way to court someone properly? That's the question he has been asking himself for awhile now. There was no one he can ask for guidance, and he is not planning on making friends with anyone here either.

His plan was to meet her this evening, but the new change of their relationship is making it hard for him to choose which of his personality should he use? The fake polite one? The exaggerated friendly one? Or his usual self, the unintentionally 'rude' one.

During his time at Snezhnaya, he was used to see most folk giving flowers to their lovers. Perharps he could do that. Yes, Scaramouche has decided, he will do that. Flowers isn't hard to find, and he has the mora needed for it. But where can he find a flower garden at Seirai Island? Needless to say, it won't be an easy journey to find one. If there is one in the first place.

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[Y/N]

It's just another afternoon for her, taking a stroll around the village is definitely refreshing when she haven't been out for awhile. Her mother had told her that her doctor will be visiting her this evening to check on her health.
There are few hours left before that, and there is nothing better to do than taking a breather.

When she reached the end of the path she walked on, she saw him. Why is he here? It's not that she is discontented to see him, but after yesterday's occasion, this meet will be fiddly.

'Should I approach him?'

[Y/N] takes another thorough look at the Balladeer, he seems lost and frustrated. Mostly frustrated. An anguish expression visible on his face, even if there is rarely any time where he isn't angry, she couldn't help but feel bad seeing him distressed about something.

'Perharps it's best for me to approach him.'

She went closer to him and he became aware of her presence. Staring at her as if she committed a crime, a cunning grin appears on his face all of a sudden. As far as she knows of him, she's sure this will be just another one of his shenanigans. [Y/N] didn't want to admit it, but after her adventure with him at the ethereal realm, she felt more comfortable with him than she had in their previous initial encounters.

"Are you spying on me? I know you are a fan, but that's a creepy behaviour." The first thing said by him with his eyebrows raised was a baseless accusations. She can't seem to be annoyed by it anymore, instead little by little she's starting to find it funny.

"I am sure I am the one who should be saying that. What are you doing here?" [Y/N] asked him.

"I am looking for something that's totally not for you." A typical Scaramouche's answer.

"Alright then. I shall go now since you don't look like you want any help from me." When she was about to turn around, The Balladeer called for her almost eagerly. "Wait."

She faced him and tilted her head to show her confusion. Just now, he turned down her attempt at making a conversation with him, now he wants to talk to her? Sometimes she wonders how can she keep up with this attitude of his. It didn't hurt her in any way but most of the time it managed to get on her nerves.

"Do you know if flower garden exist here?" He asked in a low voice as if it was a bad thing to ask.

"No, I don't. I haven't traveled far enough from my village to know if there's any good attractions places here, but I do know where you can buy herbs instead." [Y/N] replied, and slowly without taking any notice to it, she felt a prick of envy. She do knows that flowers are often seen as symbols of joy and pleasure, and red flowers are oftentimes linked with feelings of true love and passion.

'Who is he going to give it to if not me? He is courting me, isn't he?'

Perharps, she overthink it. She convinces herself she does. It could be that he bought as a gift to himself. [Y/N] isn't someone who gets jealous easily and she's proud of that, and he is not going to change that.

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The Balladeer

"Don't bother about it, I have expected that answer. I've been spending the whole day looking for it. I believe this place doesn't have anywhere interesting to go." After seeing a visible pained look on her face, he tried to comfort her. Does she feel guilty about it? Is that the reason for the look on her face?

"I will look for something else instead."

"Who will you give it to?"

"Someone that is the complete opposite of me. She's kind, passionate and tender."

For him, it was clear who he was talking about. The person who asked him "who" was the person he is courting. Perchance, she's just playing coy. He's confident that his assumption is seldom wrong and this time is no different. Gradually, the expression on her face change to a happier one, without saying any farewell to Scaramouche, she left him standing alone in the meadow.

Clueless as before, he wandered to the opposite direction of his beloved. There were no shops in the area he surveyed, he chose to go a little further, and by good fortune he was able to find a stall that sells decorated handmade chocolates. There were three boxes of chocolate left on the seller's table, everything is decorated so beautifully.

"Good afternoon, young man. How can I help you?" The seller asked, offering her assistance.

"I want everything that's on the table, if.. you may?" He tried his best to be polite to the old lady he is speaking with.

"Of course, that will make me very happy. Are you buying this for someone special?"

"No, actually yes." Scaramouche answered, he dislikes small talk but he can keep up with this one.

"Here you go. That will be 500 mora." Handing him over the boxes of chocolates she had just wrapped, he paid for it then left to fulfill his original purpose. Today isn't as bad as he thought it will be, now only one thing left to do before he ends his day. Which is to meet [Y/N] and start his first steps towards courting. Will he succeed though? That will remain as a question for now because for once he himself isn't sure.

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Notes : I haven't proofread this yet (will do soon), so if there's any obvious mistake, I'll try to find time to fix it. Hope you enjoy this chapter and looking forward for more!