The Rochefort House?
The duke's family?
Lucian looked up to find a girl standing in front of him with her nose up in the air. Curly pig tails hung from either side of her dark blue hair. She was a bit shorter than him but still looked down at him somehow, as if the air itself was giving her a pedestal.
The most beautiful girl Lucian had ever seen in his entire life was trying to make a deal with him. He was careful not to offend her by staring too long, but in his mind, a pair of blue eyes were burned into his memory.
What the hell was the duke's daughter doing in this part of town, and what the hell was she doing talking to a commoner like him?! She didn't even need to introduce herself.
Some people were just too famous, and you could recognize them on sight. The superior blood in their veins made them stand out from the rest of the crowd.
"Are you listening?" the girl asked, "...Two silver coins each. If any don't sell, though I can't imagine why anyone would refuse a painting made by a Rochefort, I'll buy them back myself. That way, you don't lose a thing."
'Forty silver coins for all, enough for a modest horse. Six coins profit. I'll need to sell them fast or for more coins, otherwise the effort won't be worth it.' Lucian calculated in his head.
Gods, how he loved the nobles' brats. Their money, of course, not the snobbishness that accompanied their presence.
Lucian went through the papers with cute flowers and animals, assessing their value. "I don't have enough money to buy all these paintings. I'll pay you after they sell and we split the profit."
The girl didn't seem to like the offer, frowning at his proposal. "I'm not loaning Rochefort's art without a deposit," she said, grabbing the paintings to take them back. "I will sell them myself if you are not interested in our cooperation. Your loss."
Lucian quickly stopped her, "I will need to show proof to the customers that these paintings are from a noble house, and not a scam, otherwise no one will buy them for such a high price."
The girl pointed at herself as if she was the proof, "I can show up to prove their authenticity, but I don't have all day, you know? I'm a busy Lady."
"I understand," Lucian said. "A schedule would be appreciated so I can adjust my own."
She nodded, "Next Monday then."
"Wait." Lucian picked up her paintings and handed them back to her, "Bring the paintings with you. I will gather potential buyers and spread word of their sale on Monday. We can turn it into an auction and have the paintings sold by the afternoon."
She was taken aback, then an amazed smile spread over her lips, "You are good, commoner. What's your name?"
"Lucian Arclight," the boy replied, "And yours, My Lady?"
"Celine, Celine Rochefort," she replied, "See you on Monday."
"Monday," Lucian agreed.
The girl turned around to walk away, taking her paintings with her.
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One week later…
Two children, huddled in the corner of a less frequent alleyway, covered their mouths to silence their laughter. Barely eight years old, yet their laughter was filled with a sinister undertone that didn't belong to the innocent.
"Fufufu...hahahaha!" The girl couldn't hold her laughter anymore and her childish voice echoed in the empty space around them. "SOLD. OUT!" She laughed, pointing a finger at her accomplice and teasing him, "You've outdone yourself with the last one."
"Sush, you. Someone will hear you." Lucian warned, pointing to his mouth with his index finger. He couldn't say much as his own shoulders shook with the effort to suppress his laughter as well.
"It's not a crime to laugh!" the girl said, "If you are so afraid, then I'm going to laugh alone, I don't care!"
"Okay, okay. Fine. Go ahead," Lucian couldn't argue with that and they both crouched there, letting their laughter subside as they split their profits.
She should only have 40 silver coins, but the profit was higher than they had expected. One gold coin! Which equaled 5000 thousand silver coins!
It was a small fortune, one they hadn't planned for. Lucian gave her five large silver coins (worth hundred small silver coins) and kept the rest.
She scooped up her share and hid it inside her pockets without any protest. "It was a good business transaction, good sir. See you next time. I'll come when I have new stock."
"Next time," Lucian echoed, grinning at the idea of making even more money with her in the future, "Can't wait."
Celine grinned in return, nodding her head in agreement.
Their joy, however, was short lived as the sound of loud footsteps approached the kids from behind.
"Here she is! Lady Celine!" The guards came running and captured the girl, lifting her in the air and Lucian felt fear grip his heart.
'RUN AWAY!' The voice in his head screamed, 'Don't let them capture you!'
Lucian quicly backed away, clutching his bag to his chest and fleeing the scene, hearing the girl's shouts as she demanded the guards to unhand her.
'Leave her behind, she is a noble, and will be fine. Don't risk your life for someone like her.'
His mind was screaming at him to keep running, but his heart was aching, begging him to turn back, to go back and save his partner. They were friends, right?
He didn't have a chance to find out, as she no longer appeared again after that.
Lucian hid the money in a safe place and tried to move on, to forget the girl who would most likely end up living a luxurious life and forgetting all about him.
He had his own life to take care of, and he couldn't afford to think of others. But his memories were not so easily erased, and as the days passed, his mind was often occupied with thoughts of her.