After about two hours of getting ready, the couple was now ready to leave for the guard house, Arthur was already downstairs waiting for Esme who should be coming down any second, but in the meantime, he considered just how many guards he would need.
For the most part as an explorer, he won't be away from home anytime soon meaning he'll be present for quite a long time, so he doesn't technically need guards however when he does get a job and leave he won't be back for full two weeks, sometimes even a month depending on where the job takes him.
So given how long it takes to return it would be smart to higher guards now, establish trust and when he leaves, he leaves his wife in capable hands, rather than just impromptu hiring a guard and then leaving his wife with an unknown person.
"Three or maybe four guards are enough"
He whispered to himself, two guards for the day and two guards for the night, while the house is big it's not so big that two people can't handle it, plus once he's has established trust with his guards he can always hire an extra guard before leaving, that way he at least has four trustworthy guards that he can trust to watch the new guy in his absence.
The thump of Esme's foot walking down the stairs took him out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, sorry. I forgot that I don't have a lot of commoner clothing"
She said apologetically while descending the stairs, she had wanted to change into something fitting for commoner women however the only clothes that looked close to commoner clothes were the blouse and skirt she wore earlier so she just wore those again.
Arthur himself also wore simple clothing, a beige button-up shirt over a white undershirt and dark brown trousers, and leather lace-up shoes.
"Do you know where the guard house is?"
He asked while watching her descend the stairs, her beautiful curly hair bouncing as she took each step down.
"No, but we'll ask around, haven't you been living here for three years, shouldn't you know the guard house?"
"No, I only recently bought this house a month ago, I've been living in the central capital before, and even then, I didn't really need to know where the guard house was, as I'm not the type to need help from guards"
He explained, although his words were true, they were about where he lived before buying the house rather than how long he had lived in this kingdom.
"Central?! That makes sense you did say you have a small fortune after"
Esme responded with a little bit of surprise in her voice. Central capital was as the name suggests the center of the capital, it was where rich merchants and nobles lived. It was an extremely high-end location that most commoners could only dream of living in.
Arthur merely shrugged at her words, he would have bought a house there but honestly, they were expensive, and while he's certain he won't run out of money anytime soon that didn't mean he had to waste it. Plus he already wasted a lot by paying off a corrupt city official.
"I'm certain our neighbors know where it is, so asking around should work"
She stated as she reached down the stairs and made her way towards him. He was closer to the door which was far from the stairs.
"Alright, I guess we'll have to introduce ourselves to our neighbours then."
Just as Arthur said that, there was a light knock on the door, Esme walked past him and went to open it. Arthur thought it a bit strange how she hurried to get the door when he could have done it but chose to ignore it.
Esme opened the door and revealed a woman, who had a chubby roundish body, long black hair tied into a neat bun, with a white headband on her forehead.
The woman had a darker complexion, and honey coloured eyes. Her face showed a bright smile and her eyes conveyed curiosity about the new neighbours.
"Good morning, my name is Catherine Silverspoon, but my friends call me Cathy.
I've brought a gift to welcome you to the neighborhood!"
Catherine introduced herself with a bright and cheerful attitude that surprised both Arthur and Esme, Catherine carried with her a plain brown chocolate cake.
"I didn't know what kind of cake you'd like or even if you like icing or frosting so I brought with me a plain one that you can choose what you want on it"
Esme was a little bewildered at first and struggled to find her words but she eventually managed.
"Thank you Mrs Silverspoon, We appreciate the cake, my name is Esme Bright and this is my husband Arthur Bright"
Esme spoke as she received the cake from Cathy's hand, she introduced herself before opening the door wider and then introducing Arthur.
"Nice to meet you Mrs Silverspoon, I personally love cake so we appreciate the gesture, Thank you"
Arthur voiced, his words were true, although the thought of buying cake had never occurred to him, mostly because he hadn't had the luxury to think about buying cake as his job as an explorer demanded he move around a lot.
"It's no problem, I run a bakery a few houses down, hopefully I can expect you as a customer"
"Oh definitely"
Arthur affirmed more than a little happy, one would never guess but due to the lack of eating anything close to sweets or cakes, Arthur developed a sort of sweet tooth, something he was very eager to satisfy especially now that he was on an extended vacation.
"Please come in Mrs Silverspoon"
"Thank you, but please call me Cathy, Mrs Silverspoon is my mother-in-law and its a little too formal for me"
Cathy stated as she entered, Esme handed Arthur the cake and instructed him to put it away in the kitchen. Arthur obliged and momentarily left the two women to speak.
"This house is quite large even on the inside, I've been wondering who could afford it"
Cathy said while she sat on the couch, looking around by turning her head to get a full view of the entire living room.
"My husband is an Explorer, so he can afford it"
"Oh that's a rare one, I've always thought it was an exciting job, Never seen a monster up close but I imagine slaying one is quite exciting, maybe similar to slaughtering a boar or deer?"
Cathy said, ending her sentence with a question, while also picturing what it looked like to catch and slaughter a boar. Esme on the other hand could only chuckle softly, Cathy seemed to be an energetic kind of person, she's similar to her eldest brother in a way.
"I would think so as well, I'm not really well-versed in the topic as he is, we are newlyweds but I'm sure I'll get to know about the topic as time goes on."
"Oh my Sol! Congratulations on your marriage! Now I wish I could have brought a white cake to celebrate the occasion"
Cathy gave her congratulations, her tone still happy and cheerful. The woman couldn't help but recall her own days as a new bride. Her husband had been quite the dashing figure back then, it was unfortunate that such days were over.
"Thank you, would you like some tea?"
She gave a small bow of thanks before asking that question, before Cathy could answer Arthur returned from the kitchen, making his way back to the two women.
Both noted the small crumb on his cheek and Cathy withheld a chuckle of amusement, it became clear that her new neighbour was going to be a valued customer in her bakery.
It was Esme who pointed it out and Arthur had to remove it while feeling a little embarrassed.
"Thank you for the offer, however I won't be long and my visit was for more than just an introduction"
Cathy informed, her tone changing from cheerful to a more neutral tone, sensing the shift both Arthur and Esme creased their brows.
The couple waited for their guest to continue, Arthur had chosen to sit right next to Esme on the sofa, he was glad he had bought the necessary furniture prior, although there was still plenty of stuff missing it shouldn't be an issue to buy them.
"This is not something I should be saying considering its topic to be discussed by men, but my husband is not the friendly type"
She began and Arthur found himself raising a brow, that was certainly an odd way to phrase things, what did she mean by that?
Esme frowned cautiously.
"What do you mean your husband is not friendly? If this is a topic to be discussed by men, then shouldn't he be here to discuss it with my husband?"
Cathy could only avert Esme's gaze in shame, for a woman to speak on matters meant to only be spoken by men was shameful, it was a sign of disrespect not only towards her own husband but men in general.
...
A/N: Good afternoon( its afternoon where I am) I do hope you liked the chapter, and please share your thoughts. I'll answer any questions you might have.