NOVEL NEXT Chapter 201: The Pitiful Assassins
Merlin shifted his gaze forward and saw Charlotte holding two dresses, one blue and one green.
The green dress in her left hand looked beautiful. It was light green, with a floral pattern that matched its soft, airy feel.
The skirt had ruffled seams, giving it a wavy shape that made it resemble a royal dress.
Even so, it remained casual, suitable for everyday wear or outings such as dates.
Meanwhile, the blue dress in Charlotte's right hand was no less appealing. It was light blue, reminiscent of the midday sky.
Unlike the green dress, however, it had no striking patterns. Instead, a ribbon at the back gave it a feminine and elegant touch.
"Is that the one you chose?" Merlin asked as he approached.
"Um!" Charlotte nodded repeatedly. "Do you think it's nice?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if waiting for his praise.
Merlin smiled and replied, "Yes, both are very nice. Why don't you choose both?"
"Choose both?" Charlotte looked surprised.
"Yeah. They both suit you. Instead of choosing one, why not get both?"
Finding his suggestion reasonable, Charlotte smiled sweetly and nodded.
"Then I'll choose both!"
Merlin chuckled and suggested that she buy a few more dresses.
Actually, that wasn't necessary. Charlotte already had plenty of dresses in her wardrobe.
But the dresses she was about to buy would become mementos of their date today.
Even if Merlin wasn't by her side, they would remind her of him.
Charlotte didn't refuse and began picking out a few more dresses.
Meanwhile, Merlin didn't wait around like before. Instead, he headed to the adult women's clothing section to choose clothes for Lyserra.
Half an hour later, the two met again at the cashier and paid for their purchases.
"The total is twenty gold coins, young master," said the staff member who had previously escorted them.
"Twenty gold coins?" Charlotte was shocked.
She naturally understood the value of money. The average monthly salary of the capital's residents was five to seven gold coins, which meant their purchase was worth three to four times that amount.
Even so, she didn't panic. She was a princess and had plenty of money. Twenty gold coins were nothing to her.
As she was about to take out her savings card, Merlin stopped her and took out a gold card engraved with a black ship emblem and five stars beneath it.
The staff member accepted the card and looked at it curiously. In the next second, her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat.
"A five-star card?" she exclaimed in a trembling voice.
The five-star card was an exclusive item owned only by the Beethoven family.
In her entire life, she had never seen one—let alone held it.
Now, the card appeared right before her eyes, causing her body to tremble with shock.
"W-Wait a moment, young master. I need to report this to my superior!"
With that, she turned and hurried toward a room not far from the cashier.
Charlotte was confused and looked at Merlin with suspicion.
"A five-star card? How did you get it, Merlin?"
The five-star card was the highest tier among the special cards issued by the Beethoven family.
She herself had never seen one and had only heard rumors about it.
It was said that the card was owned only by the head of the Beethoven family and his daughter, Margaret Beethoven.
Even her own father, the king, possessed only a four-star card, which had been gifted by the Blue Sky Trading House after they obtained permission to trade in the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria.
Yet Merlin held a five-star card, which clearly didn't make sense.
"Ahem!" Merlin coughed lightly and explained in a calm tone. "You know I helped Margaret Beethoven before, right? Well, maybe out of gratitude, she gave me the card."
"Geez..." Charlotte didn't believe him right away and stared at him with a sharp, probing gaze.
Merlin sighed helplessly. Fortunately, Charlotte wasn't a yandere heroine like Luna or Catrine, so he wasn't worried she would stab him in the back.
Soon after, the staff member returned with a young man wearing glasses at her side.
The man looked at Merlin with respect and bowed.
"Welcome to our store, young master. Thank you for coming, and please accept my apologies for the delay in greeting you."
His gestures were extremely careful, as if he feared offending Merlin in any way.
"It's fine." Merlin waved his right hand. "By the way, please charge everything I bought to that card. Is that possible?"
"Of course, young master." The man smiled politely.
Right after that, he and the staff member began packing Merlin and Charlotte's purchases into the prepared shopping bags.
When they were done, the man returned the five-star card to Merlin and said, "We will deliver both your purchases and the young lady's. May I have your address, young master?"
Merlin felt a surge of relief. Going on a date while carrying shopping bags would definitely be inconvenient.
"Just send them to the royal palace. Say they belong to Princess Charlotte."
With that, he took Charlotte's hand and led her out of the store.
"Princess Charlotte?" The man and the staff beside him were stunned.
"Don't tell me that young lady is Princess Charlotte. How could I not have realized it?" The man muttered in a trembling voice.
***
"Merlin, earlier they didn't realize my status as a princess. Was that your doing?" Charlotte asked curiously.
Merlin nodded. "Yeah, I did it. I asked Lyserra for help disguising our appearances so we'd look like ordinary people."
He caressed Lyserra affectionately in his arms.
Thankfully, Lyserra had suggested using disguise magic to avoid the risk of being recognized by the people around them.
Still, she had already informed the guards so they wouldn't lose track of the two of them.
Charlotte glanced at Lyserra with an admiring look.
"So, where else are we going?"
"Hmm..." Merlin rubbed his chin, then replied, "How about we just take a walk? If there's somewhere you want to visit, just tell me."
"Okay!" Charlotte smiled as she tightened her grip on Merlin's hand.
However, suddenly—
"[Ding! Congratulations to the master for completing the hidden mission of saving the heroine, Charlotte Solayne, from the assassins! Reward: 20,000 system points and 1x Eye of Destruction (Mythical) have been awarded!]"
Merlin: "…"
He hadn't even done anything, yet the mission was completed just like that.
Could it be that the assassins never launched their attack?
"System, what happened?"
"[Master, the assassins who were about to attack the heroine, Charlotte Solayne, were defeated by the knights guarding the two of you.]"
Merlin chuckled softly and shook his head.
'What pitiful assassins,' he muttered.
"Merlin, what are you laughing at?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"Nothing. Anyway, let's go."
With that, he continued his date with Charlotte until nightfall before finally returning safely.