Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Even after finishing the doner sandwich and Dondurma, we still weren’t full. We wandered around the market, sampling all sorts of things. Before we knew it, our stomachs were completely satisfied. Lord Cyrus was probably still not full, but he was considerate of me.

“Getting tired? Shall we find somewhere to sit?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit full…”

“You should rest while you can. From here on, it’s mostly shops for men—there aren’t any stylish cafes or the like.”

Looking around as he said that, it was true—the food stalls became sparse, replaced by shops selling tools, models, and men’s clothing. I see now; the long market was divided by section: women’s goods near the front, food for both genders in the middle, and men’s goods toward the back.

“It’s not due to any official regulation,” he explained. “It’s just that the front is closer to residential areas, and the back is the Artisan District, so naturally the customer base is skewed accordingly.”

“Is your friend’s meeting still a ways off?”

At my question, Lord Cyrus blinked in surprise, then slapped his hand to his forehead.

“Oh, that’s right. Ruifeng called me out, I completely forgot.”

“Eh, won’t they be waiting long?”

“That’s fine. We didn’t set a strict time. Probably just left some goods at the store—he likely hasn’t shown up yet. But Marie, you’re using honorific speech again.”

Ah, no! I quickly clamped my mouth shut. I thought I’d gotten used to it by now… maybe I really was tired after all. We’d walked a lot and eaten quite a bit. Lord Cyrus chuckled softly.

“You look a little sleepy. Let’s rest somewhere.”

He gently pulled my hand and led me to a large shop. There, we stopped, and he called out to a middle-aged woman at the entrance.

“Hey, Naji Lu. Sorry to bother you.”

He spoke in the ips language. The woman’s face lit up when she saw him—black hair, dark skin, green eyes—and she responded rapidly in ips language.

“Well, well! Isn’t this the master of the granado trading company? What’s the occasion today? No need to stock up yet.”

Wow… such thick merchant dialect! Even though it’s the official language of the People of Ipsandros, this had a unique, strong accent. I could understand it but couldn’t imitate it.

Lord Cyrus seemed comfortable enough, speaking to the merchant woman—Naji Lu—in standard ips language.

“I’m here on personal business. My companion looks tired from walking; could we borrow some chairs for a while?”

“Companion? Oh, what a beauty! You really do look exhausted. Let me serve some tea—please, come inside.”

Naji Lu beckoned us in, and together we entered her shop. Near the entrance was a small tea table. After borrowing some chairs, I glanced around.

It seemed to be a men’s fashion and accessory store. The first thing that caught my eye was traditional clothing from Ipsandros—distinctive embroidered tunics, sandals, and accessories all available.

But next to those were the kingdom’s everyday clothes. And beside those were ethnic outfits unlike anything I’d seen—coveralls with unrecognizable ways to wear them, or bundles of fabric that might or might not be clothes.

“We source from all over. It’s a sort of select shop,” Naji Lu explained as she brought over tea—a spiced tea in the eastern style. I gratefully accepted.

“What a great selection. Do people from each country come shop here?”

“That, too. But mostly, kingdom folks buy from us. Apparently, this kind of cultural play has become popular among the wealthy recently.”

“The nobility still insist on kingdom-made goods. But merchants can’t avoid foreign exchange, and they know the quality. Once you experience Ipssilk’s feel, you’d never want to wear hemp underwear again.”

Lord Cyrus said firmly. Haha, I feel like I’ve heard that before.

Yes, Lord Cyrus is unexpectedly stylish—not that it’s a huge surprise. He always wears different clothes every time we meet, and even his simple room wear looks custom-made to his body. It’s not just his profession; he has an innate sense of fashion that probably helped him succeed in business.