“I cannot believe you thought a golden broche on your black coat would make it match my dress,” I pushed the door with force as we exited the shop. Fang followed me with two bags in his hand and the door almost slammed back into his face if he hadn’t put his foot forward to stop it. 

“No need to kill me for what I liked,” Fang replied before he pushed out of the store, “Maybe we could search some other shop. You can choose for me.”

I rolled my eyes as I walked alongside him. It had taken me some time to adjust to not knowing the reasons behind his past but then I stopped myself from going there. The present mattered and it wasn’t even like knowing about Fang was going to change things in the future. “Your suit is double the price my dress was. Where do you even get that kind of money?” I asked him.

As we walked past several shops, the eyes started becoming evident on us. More specifically, Fang. 

“You do business, little one,” Fang replied in a smug tone. 

I turned to face him and stopped, “What business? I am sure you tricked someone into giving their share of the business to you.” 

Fang let out a hearty chuckle, “that is exactly what I did. Now, are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” I replied. It had been such a long time that I had roamed around this freely and I wasn’t going to let anyone take it away from me. Although I did not have money on me, Fang had already given me a card. It was supposed to hold cash in it and he claimed that just by swiping it on a small machine, the shop will get the cash. How ridiculous was that? 

There was no such thing in my childhood. Even if there was, my father would carry cash with him all the time. Technology was something he utterly hated. 

Fang showed me the way to a restaurant and as usual, he booked a VIP room. I settled in while he had gone out for some work. Unlike the previous restaurant, this room had a window facing the street. I sat by the window pane staring at the people as they walked by. It was such a lovely day. A smile formed on my lips without me knowing it. How great it would be to stay back. Just for once, get to something for myself, not because I was born with duties.

The door clicked and Fang entered, followed by a waitress. I sitting at the corner so she found it tough to spot me. 

Her face had an odd blush as she tried to maintain close distance with Fang, “minister Fang, you seem to be dining alone today? You can always let me know if you need any company.” There was an expectant look in her eyes as she gently rubbed her thighs in a shy manner. 

Fang turned to look at me and smiled, “Do we need company, darling?” 

The waitress looked at me and her face turned beet red. I wasn’t even sure how to react to that. “Up to you, ‘minister’ Fang,” I taunted him while saying minister in a sluggish tone. 

Fang grinned as he turned to the waitress, “isn’t she flexible enough?” 

The poor woman must have served Fang before, or at least had heard about him, “Y-yes Minister Fang, your partner is quite beautiful.” 

“That she is,” Fang locked his eyes with mine. 

I cleared my throat quickly as I got up from my seat and walked to the dining table in the center of the room. I took a seat right opposite Fang and then looked at the waitress, “Do you have fish?” 

“Yes, of course,” the waitress felt awkward talking to me. She handed me the menu, “I will be back in a few minutes. Have a look at everything we have.” 

“Sure,” I accepted the menu card and the waitress bowed lightly before leaving the room in haste. As I flipped through the pages, there were too many things, especially things which I did not understand at all. I looked around for more time before I flipped the menu to Fang, “You choose. I don’t understand anything written in this.” 

Fang did not move his eyes away from me as he flipped two pages back and then looked down, “Would you like to try lobster?” 

I shrugged, “Sure, you are the expert here.” 

That’s right, I am not letting anyone and anything take away my freedom today. I might as well empty Fang’s pockets for that sake. It wasn’t like it was his hard-earned money. He already said he was taking it from other businesses. 

The waitress returned after some time and Fang gave her the order. 

Something Lobster Frittata and some juice which, no matter how I tried to hear, sounded like it was some kind of jungle or carnival drink. When the waitress went away, I immediately remarked, “Wow, you look like you are the one who grew up in the castle. Must be so lucky to have everything at your fingertip.” 

“Even you do,” Fang replied. 

“Pfft,” I rolled my eyes, “I don’t even get a pennyworth of monthly allowance.” 

Fang leaned back in his chair and it resulted in his knee brushing past mine, over my inner thigh. I gasp and sat straight up. A smirk curled up on his lips as he said, “then this will all be yours one day.” I felt his toe trace circles as his leg moved upwards on mine, “how unfortunate it is that you are choosing another fate for yourself. When you can have all of it here, with me as an added bonus.” 

Before his leg could travel any further, I slapped it away with my hand, “When I told you to keep your hands away, I meant for you to stay in your lane. You can always go for the waitress if you are feeling desperate.” 

Right then, the door opened with the waitress standing there. 

I cursed under my breath. What if she had heard? I did not mean to put it out in the wrong way. The awkwardness was shifted from being her factor to being mine in seconds. She silently placed the starter on the table before she left. 

“Now you made her feel bad,” Fang twisted my heart further. 

A vein popped in my head on hearing him, “Whose fault is that?” But Fang shamelessly picked up the barbequed fish with a fork and placed it into his mouth. How unbothered one can be. I pulled my leg back and threw it ahead to hit him but instead, I hit the leg of his chair. The chair he was sitting on made a sound as it slid under his weight, but not as much as I did, “ow, damn it, Fang.” 

He smiled at me and laughed like the true deviled he was. “How is it always my fault, little one?” 

“Because you are the shepherd in the wolf and the shepherd story,” I said as I clanged the fork on the plate right through the soft and juicy fish meat. I had not expected it to be this soft. My mouth watered as if on command and the moment I ate it, an approving moan escaped my lips. I ate two more before I realized Fang wasn’t eating at all. Rather, he was busy staring at me, “Is there something on my face?” I started clearing around my mouth. 

Fang shook his head, “nothing, just my head running wild with that voice you just made.” 

“Shut up and eat, you pervert!”