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Chapter 958: The Birthday Girl

When Rowena reached out and grasped Raphael's hand, a warm feeling crept through his cheeks as he nodded slowly.

"Alright, I won't let you go as well," Raphael promised her.

"T-that's to be expected unless you want to get separated," Rowena said and then shifted her focus on the performers on stage. She wore a smile and brightened. "How about we watched those first? They're pretty acrobatic aren't they?"

"Yes, it's quite interesting how they're doing all of that." Raphael chuckled as they arrived in the crowd of onlookers.

It was a small show consisting of two partners twisting their bodies in ways that mesmerized other people, their flexibility and even their ability to walk on a bed of nails were impressive and caught the looks of other people.

Rowena briefly smiled as she watched Raphael from the corner of her eyes, he seemed satisfied with the show or perhaps amused. Someone like him probably hadn't seen anything like that.

"At one point, Julian saw a similar performance and said we should do something like this," Rowena explained and couldn't help but grin. "I told him that he might end up breaking his bones—but he was still stubborn."

"Do something like this?"

"We were performers, well, in an act—similar to that man and his assistant over there."

Raphael watched her gesture to another performer that was entertaining crowds via a magical act, he was accompanied by a lovely assistant as they threw confetti and sparks across the crowd, a small light show that entertained kids and adults alike.

"Hmmm… that's not real," Raphael murmured. "Almost believable."

"Of course it isn't," Rowena elbowed him in the side and whispered. "But don't ruin it for the others. If believing in a lie can make a person happy no matter how temporary and fleeting... there's nothing wrong with it, right?"

Raphael stared down at her face and nodded slowly. "I suppose, but I guess it's also up to them to not always be deceived?"

Rowena coughed and averted her gaze. It didn't seem like they were talking about the festival anymore, and this was a conversation she wasn't quite prepared for.

She pointed at a food stall in the distance. "Are you feeling a little hungry, Raphael? Want to buy some candied apple sticks?"

"Candied apple?"

She smiled and threw him a look. "Don't tell me that you don't have anything like that at your place?"

"Well, even the most simple and plain of apples will be quite incredibly sweet and juicy..." Raphael paused from explaining too much about the orchard in Cretea.

Compared to the food here in the earth realm, the Earth Goddess's own garden was filled w

ith a brimming amount of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that were always perfectly ripe for harvest.

"Oh so it never crossed your mind to add sugar," Rowena said. "I think that's all the more reason to try it now. I loved it when I first tried them in Almere."

"Then, of course, let's go buy them—as many as you like." Raphael chuckled. He saw that there was a happy light in her eyes and sought to pursue that.

Luckily for him, when he and Rowena finally purchased the apple and Raphael took a bite, his eyes widened as the flavor burst on his tongue. "This is..."

"Really good, right?" Rowena grinned. "I think I can eat three of these, but I don't want to ruin my appetite. We can try so much more food!"

Raphael chuckled. "Alright, but we're still going to have lunch at a proper restaurant."

"We will?"

"Yeah, I saw one around the entrance of the town... if you don't mind though?"

"I'm happy to go along with where you want to be. I'm kind of relying on you to pay for me after all," Rowena's cheeks turned red. "So sure."

"If there's anything that you want to do though, just say the word—let's not forget that it's your birthday too."

"Then let's explore everywhere to our heart's content." Rowena smiled.

There was a happiness in her chest that she couldn't quite explain, but she was sure that Julian would have been happy if he were here.

Raphael and Rowena both went around the town's festivities and enjoyed the sights. It was a lovely space that was now sprawled with a lot of individuals and the two walked undisturbed by the rest. They even ended up at a small booth that sold a lot of trinkets.

"Get yourself a lovely bracelet for your beautiful friend here!" a merchant beckoned to both Rowena and Raphael. "My wares are the finest things on this side of the continent."

Raphael looked down at hairpins, bracelets, and even things like rings and earrings. "Does the birthday celebrant want anything?"

"O-oh, I'm fine. You don't have to get me anything—"

"I think this will look good on you, Miss." The merchant offered a beautiful bracelet. "I can help you wear this—"

"How about this one, Rowena?" Raphael quickly picked up something else. It was a lovely red hairpin decorated with golden trimmings. "Your hair has grown a bit long so it may be distracting you, you kept pushing it back for a while now. This could help."

Rowena looked at the item, and for some reason, it suddenly reminded her of Lucent due to its color and design. "That looks nice, I could try it on now—"

Raphael gently brushed back her hair behind an ear and then placed the pin.

"There we go. It looks good on you."

Her face turned red when she felt his fingers brush her cheek slightly when he pushed back her hair—he seemed to have done it so quickly without much of a thought.

Rowena presumed it was probably because Raphael took care of her before even while she was sick and asleep that he probably must have taken care of her hair as well.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome..." Raphael said as he procured coins from his money pouch and paid the merchant. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the man before looking back at Rowena. "Are you feeling famished? I think it's a good time to eat and take a break now?"