Pretending To Be Gilead's Prince and Master Wizard

By the time we arrived at Central Town, it was quite the opposite of what Alex said a while ago. The whole place is literally packed with more shop-goers than it had been during the regular days.

I tried to tease the lad by simply looking at him and raised one eyebrow.

"What? Don't look at me like that. I never said I was right in the first place!" Alex cried out which made me chuckle. No matter how intimidating he may seem on the outside, this guy is just pure childish on the inside.

Pursing my lips together to stop myself from further laughing, I replied, "Alright then. No need to be so spiteful about it."

Alex only clicked his tongue in irritation before his grip slightly tightened on my hand.

He looked at me expectantly and smiled."Let's go?"

From his hand, my head tilted up to meet his gaze. Sure enough, even in his disguise, this guy's presence is still outstanding among the rest… or maybe I am just being biased here.

"Let's go." I smiled back and nodded my head.

After that, we started walking towards our main agenda as to why we are here in the first place. Along the way, Alex is saying something about the tradition of putting up the Christmas Carnival every twentieth of December and that he hasn't been into one since he was a child.

"Wait, what?" I stopped him right there. "Don't tell me you and Lady Margaret haven't tried going to the Christmas Carnival!"

Alex must have sensed my innate jealousy for that woman and because of that, he tried to tease me the way I teased him earlier.

"What's with the jealousy? I'm telling you the truth."

As quick as the wind, I turned away and folded my arms in irritation.

"Who says I'm jealous? To tell you frankly, I am not jealous of that woman."

I only heard him chuckle and point a finger in my face. "It's written all over your face."

"No, it's not!" This is not good. I could feel my face being beet red at this point. "Stop teasing me--"

The dumbfounded look on my face must be so hard to miss when Alex suddenly leans in, pressing his lips against mine for a brief moment before peeling away eventually.

"Forget about the past. I adore you. And when I think about you, I think about nothing else. And that's what matters most in the end."

I was only joking about it earlier but I think he might have sensed that I half meant it. However, he's right. How could we move forward if I keep thinking about the past? What's more important right now is the present… and our future--together.

"Yes, you're right," I admitted wholeheartedly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."Alex smiled an adorable kind of smile that I seldom see. "It's our first date after all, so let's make it memorable, alright?"

I bobbed my head up and down as my response and then smiled back at him. 

Once we arrived at the carnival, I saw different kinds of rides that I was able to see back in the Bartholomew square during our field trip. Aside from that, numerous food stalls are all lined up in a corner, and food carts are placed randomly. The smell of deliciously cooked food from these food stalls fills my nostrils right here and then.

What makes it a bit different is the fact that at the center of this carnival is where a mini stage was set where its viewers were comfortably seated on those monoblock chairs placed across from it. The stage was filled with performers in their holiday attire, singing and dancing merrily in the intention to create some jolly vibes for everyone, especially with the little ones.

Speaking of which, there goes our favorite Santa on his fake reindeer giving random gifts to random children that happen to pass by. Oh, what a lovely sight it is seeing the happy smiles of those kids who received such presents from their favorite figure.

Back in my home village, there is no such thing as a carnival, and our parents have never let us go out by ourselves even if we wanted to explore our place. Seeing this kind of scenery, together with the one I loved, warms my heart right now.

My thoughts have ended right there when I felt Alex's hand squishing into mine that caught my attention right away.

"You seemed lost in your own thoughts," Alex pointed out. "Care to share what seems to be bothering you?"

"It's nothing." I brushed him off and pointed to a random ride to prevent him from asking further questions. "Can we ride that thing?"

"That?"Alex seemed to be in shock so I took a closer look at what I've pointed and immediately regretted it afterward. It was a huge Ferris wheel that is usually used for sightseeing.

Mockingly, Alex then voiced out his thoughts. "You surprised me. I thought you're afraid of heights?"

I am, actually. But I won't give him the satisfaction of showing him my weakness anytime he wants and dragged him to the ticketing booth.

"Come on now. Just quit your yapping and let's buy a ticket before it's completely sold out."

I heard him chuckle right beside me but I tried to ignore it and continued dragging him there. 

Still chuckling, Alex said, "Alright, alright. No need to be feisty about it."

While we are lining up for the ticketing booth, I can't help but sneak a nervous glance at the gigantic ride on our left side. How high could it be? I suddenly wondered.

Alex must have seen me sneaking glances at the Ferris Wheel and gladly teased me once more. "Seems to me, you're really scared about riding it."

I sighed an annoyed sigh and shifted my gaze back at him. "Yes, I'm scared… But having you by my side motivates me to conquer my fears just by knowing you're there. Happy?"

"Oh…" I surprisingly saw Alex now scratched the back of his head and looked shy to make an eye contact with me all of a sudden. 

"If that's the case, then…" He pursed his lips together but still won't look at me directly.

"Let's conquer our fears-- together."