Hi guys, thanks for favoriting/following and reviewing! Reading to them makes me gung-ho for writing more hahahaha

J-Ninja421: perhaps the faint line below his eyes are meant to denote that he's older than the rest of the bachelors? But, yes, agree, he doesn't appear to be very old. There are estimates, of course, but I never see any canon statement on his age hahaha. For the purpose of the story, though, I made them to be 15 years apart.

fantasyanimegirl283: aww thanks for the compliment! I'm glad if this made your day ^^ and tbh I was shocked when I found out Marian is a guy.

and yeah, I felt the same way too guys: Klaus is definitely NOT TOO OLD DAMNNN but oh well... that's him being... too self-conscious?

This would be her second time, first while she was still training with Madam Eda, going to town. Her turnips had ripened just at the right time to be sold—Asche was in town.

I hope I can build a coop… soon.

Before she went, however, she dropped by Eda's place. "Madam Eda!" she called out as she knocked on her door.

The elderly woman appeared a few moments later. "Yes, dearie?"

"I'm going to town now," she told her, beaming. "Anything I can get you? Or do you want me to ship things for you?"

"That's very sweet of you," she smiled gratefully. "But, I'm good."

"Oh, okay," Raelyn said. "Bye, Madam Eda!"

"Have fun, Raelyn," she said. "Just enjoy your time in the town."

Raelyn gave her a smile before turning back to the road leading to the town. Truth to be told, she was grateful that her farm was far away in the mountain trail; the air was so much fresher up here than in the town (although the scent of the town itself was much better than the city). Then, she didn't need to be afraid of people swarming into her lot. It had gotten better with constant practice throughout the years, but Raelyn still valued her 'alone time' very much; in that respect, she was just like her father, just like her eyes mirrored his, except for their shape.

She hauled her harvest and started her trail to the town. The first time she did that, she ended up with sore muscles throughout the body and Madam Eda had kindly eased her sufferings with some light massage and ointments. However, things were getting easier as she did it more often. Of course, upgrading her tools (after soooo much efforts) helped, too.

Once she reached the Trade Depot, the pinkette walked towards Jonas. "Hi, Mr. Jonas!" she greeted. "So… can you show me what's on demand?"

"Yes, sure, Miss Raelyn," the man pulled out his paper.

Seems like turnip isn't on the high demand side… well, this is spring, she thought rather despondently.

Despite that, Raelyn found soon enough that she pocketed quite an amount of cash ever since her move into the farm after selling all of her turnips to Asche; fresh crops fetched higher price, no brainer.

Raelyn Forrester hummed with her steps much lighter after she finished her business in the Trade Depot and she closed her eyes, trying to familiarize herself with the scent of this town. It sounded a little bit creepy, or freak, but if she closed her eyes and focused her attention enough when wind passed, she could smell the scent of people nearby her. She learned early in her life, people's scent didn't change much: her mother always smelled of fresh grass and cherry blossoms, while her father's more like hays and mint… then, there were her brothers whose scent reminded her of wet ground after the rain.

A particularly strong wind blew across her and a foreign scent stuck in her nose. Raelyn immediately covered her nose and mouth with her hand while pressing her other hand against her skirt.

"Are you all right?" a voice asked gently.

The young woman opened her eyes and looked up slowly. "Mr. Klaus…?" she murmured in confusion. She had caught a glimpse of his scent when they first met and she remembered the impression of that scent left on her—a good one, to be honest. Then… why his scent was different this time?

"Miss Raelyn…?"

His voice snapped her out from her trance. "Ah, yes!" she said, while another thought furiously rammed her head:

OMG this is like the second time we met and I'm always spacing out he must think I'm weird!

Raelyn took a deep breath and gave him a mild bow. Somehow, something in Klaus prompted her to be… polite—and that's not her mother's rather strict upbringing. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

The older man relaxed into a smile. "It is quite all right, I just thought you had a dizzy spell back then."

Dizzy spell? she thought. I'm not technically dizzy…

"I rarely see you in town."

Raelyn blinked a few times before finally saying out her response: "Oh, well, you see… my farm is on the mountain side."

He put his hand to his chin and nodded. "Of course…" his voice was low and soft. A moment later, he showed her his golden eyes again. "Say, have you had a chance to tour the town?"

Raelyn immediately shook her head. Since everything she needed was placed strategically at the central and eastern part of the town, she never bothered to wander to the western side. Even so, she hadn't visited all buildings in the parts of town she visited.

"If so, I'd be happy to give you a tour."

"Now?" she asked almost immediately.

"Well, I don't see why not," he replied kindly.

Actually, Raelyn didn't mean to take on his offer very soon; her response was just rhetoric, so to speak. However, she didn't have the willingness to back down lest she was being seen was indecisive; she had nothing to do after this, anyway.

So, the two people walked together, with Raelyn about two steps behind Klaus, past the Carpenter's shop. Then, they started from the western side of the town, the part of town she never stepped a foot on.

"This is the antique shop, where Mistel and Iris live and work," he told her as they climbed the steps. "The house over there belongs to Miss Agate, but she is currently away for a trip. The next house belongs to Mr. Jonas… perhaps you have been acquainted with Lutz and Mrs. Margot?"

"I've seen Lutz once or twice at the mountain trail," Raelyn replied. "Mrs. Margot… no, I don't think so."

"Well, she is busy with running her household," Klaus admitted before glancing at quite an ostentatious house after Mr. Jonas'. "This house belongs to Dr. Marian," he explained. "He mostly stays home on Sundays, his day off."

Raelyn was in the progress of digesting what Klaus had been saying when she finally realized. "He?" her voice rose almost one full octave higher. "Dr. Marian is a he?"

Unsurprisingly, Klaus was not surprised by her shock. "Yes, Dr. Marian is a man… although he prefers to style himself in such a way that might cause you to construe him as a woman."

Raelyn's face paled. "I refer to her… er, him, as a she all this time…"

"I am sure that wouldn't anger him," Klaus assured her. "In fact, he would be most displeased when he is reminded of him being a man… biologically speaking."

"Er… okay…" it was then Raelyn noticed the last house on the street they were walking on, the one right next to the stairs that would lead her back to the central part of the town. "And whose house would that be?" she asked, pointing at the building she was referring to.

"Ah, that would be my house," Klaus replied.

They walked towards his house while Raelyn noticed that unlike most—if not all—houses she encountered, his house had another strong scent besides bricks and cement: a mixture of flowers and herbs. Finally unable to contain her curiosity, she braved herself to say: "Mr. Klaus, can I ask you something?"

"You have asked me one question, but of course you can ask another."

"What… is your occupation?"

She could see that Klaus' lips twitched slightly to form a smile, a very faint one she wouldn't notice unless she really paid attention to it… but why the heck she did?

"Why the curiosity over it, Miss Raelyn?"

"It's… nothing," she regretted asking him that. "I'm sorry if my question makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no, no, you certainly didn't," he answered back quickly. "I am just slightly amused by what seems to be your curiosity on me."

"Well…"

Finally sensing her undiminishing nervousness, Klaus added. "I am a perfumer."

"Huh?"

"A more accurate term is a 'scenter', though, since I don't just make perfumes. I mix scents for various other purposes such as aromatherapy oils, room freshener… those kind of things."

Another thing Raelyn had inherited from her mother: curiosity that was hard to be sated. Taking his answer as a permission to ask another question, this time she did it with less hesitation. "Are you working on a new scent right now?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I do," he said. "If you are so interested, perhaps next time I would show you my work station?"

Raelyn grinned. She had never met a perfumer—scenter, whatever—in her life, so she was delighted at the thought of looking around his work station.

"Good day, both of you,"

Raelyn turned around. "Hello, Miss Iris,"

Iris eyed them carefully. "Hmm… did I happen to interrupt something?" she asked with a playful, yet still gentle smile.

"No," Klaus replied even without batting an eyelid. "Can I help you, Iris?"

Iris. Raelyn, of course, noticed that Klaus had used honorifics in addressing most of the townspeople… but not Iris. She was simply 'Iris'.

"Yeah," Raelyn joined in, suddenly not feeling to finish the rest of the tour. "It's nothing, Miss Iris… I'll be on my way."

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

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