The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 405: Claimed (1)

"Why are you moving so slowly? We need to hurry," Annalise said, tempted to pull on Rafael’s hand to make him walk faster.

They were behind on the time she wanted to explore Lockwood because she slept in and no one woke her up despite telling them to. Now they were finally out of the mansion though they still needed to unpack and ended up walking around the market.

Rafael wanted to sit around while Annalise hopped around like a little bunny. Seeing her move made him tired, but he continued following her since he promised to walk around with her.

Heidi and Siena also tried their best to keep up with Annalise but they soon gave up as she was moving too fast. No one would be able to keep up with Annalise when she was so excited to explore Lockwood and get her hands on weapons.

Heidi and Siena secretly decided to drift far behind Rafael and Annalise to let the two almost have a day together. Before they had to go to the court, they should get a day alone to enjoy time together in peace without someone criticising where Annalise was from.

As Rafael walked, he started to gather attention though he was not wearing armour. It was hard to forget the face of a famous knight and a man spotted near the king many times.

Rafael paid no mind to the attention he was getting and kept his eyes on Annalise who was distracted by everything she walked by. She occasionally stopped to look at some of the treats and Rafael felt relieved when she walked by them without buying one.

He picked up his pace when someone was getting close to bumping into her or seemed like they were going to approach her. Annalise was getting a bit of attention from curious men who looked her way.

It was her smile that drew them in. She had a curious expression as she looked around and ran to something like a child who spotted a gift. Then there was her clothing choice which was odd to the people in Lockwood. She stood out quite clearly among everyone else.

"I think we’re going to get a lot of gifts today," Logan said, flashing a smile in the direction of a group of young ladies.

It was normal that whenever they went the people in town would give them a few gifts as a thank you or young ladies would bring gifts as it gave them a moment to speak to the knights.

"I hope they bring us food," Michael said, putting his hand under his shirt to feel his belly. He finished all the food he prepared for the ride here and now he was in need of something more.

"For someone who eats a lot, how is it that you are still so small? You are like a child," Christian said, looking down at Michael.

"I don’t know what is happening to the food but I always need more. How long do we need to protect Annalise before I can go out to buy more food? Why do we even need to protect her when she can get rid of anyone who wants to hurt her?" Michael asked.

He wouldn’t try something with Annalise even as a knight because she scared him. She also scared him before he knew who she was.

Anyone who had their eyes on Annalise couldn’t miss the giant man behind her. It should be obvious that Annalise was with Rafael and Rafael was ready for anyone who wanted to try something foolish or send away any man bold enough to try courting her.

"We’re protecting her for the same reason as lover boy," Christian answered, returning his attention to Rafael. "We are here to make sure no one gets near Annalise for her to need to defend herself. If you want to eat again, go quickly before he notices that you are missing."

"Sir Rafael."

Rafael stopped as a young woman he didn’t know blocked his path. He tore his eyes away from Annalise and looked down at the woman before him.

She held a single flower in her hands and because of how close she stood, Rafael got a terrible whiff of something she sprayed her body with. It wasn’t terrible but it smelled as though she had just sprayed her body and it was too much for him to suddenly be smelling.

"I didn’t know that the knights were coming to Lockwood so I wasn’t quick to prepare many gifts for you. Here," the young woman said, handing the flower off to Rafael. She tapped her shoe on the ground because of her excitement.

She was close to being ready for marriage and the knights coming here was good timing. Many of the noblemen were either showing no interest in getting married, married, or had women to pass time with. Rafael was like gold in her eyes because he didn’t have anyone that she knew of.

"Thank you," Rafael said, accepting the flower.

Small gifts like this he didn’t mind taking because there wasn’t any money spent on it. He didn’t like taking big gifts or any money. Rafael didn’t stop the knights from accepting the gifts and being spoiled, but he did warn them to watch what they ate.

Rafael stared at the young woman, wondering what she expected from him now because she was not going away. If she wanted to hear a story about war, she should ask.

Rafael narrowed his eyes as he realised the flower might have a crush attached to it. What he didn’t need now was someone who had feelings for him despite not knowing much about him getting in his way from watching Annalise.

"I must go," Rafael said, stepping to the right to make an attempt to leave. There was no reason for him to be rude when it was a simple crush he could leave here and go to Annalise.

Unfortunately, seeing that he accepted the flower, more women started to gather to give him a gift. Some looked around to see if they could spot a flower on the ground to pass to him.

A man like Rafael would make a fine husband because of his reputation and wealth. He was a way into the palace because of his friendship with the king and a way to get close to the duchess who stayed inside her estate.

Rafael was also one of the few men who didn’t have any scandals about his relationship with women so they believed they would be treated well should they marry him. Just as the duke recently settled down, Rafael must also be looking for a wife to give him many children.

Mothers started to pull their daughters Rafael’s way to have a moment with him to chat and hopefully get his attention.

Rafael looked over the women toward Annalise who was yet to notice the predicament he was in. He intended to be nice and excuse himself to go back by Annalise’s side, but with the crowd of women getting larger and them pushing each other to get closer as if he was sharing out gold, he couldn’t be nice since they wouldn’t listen then.

He quickly remembered why he wasn’t fond of Lockwood and why it wasn’t often that he would walk around the town. He was so focused on making Annalise happy that he forgot about this.

"When will you marry, Sir Rafael?"

"Are you moving to Lockwood?"

"My father would love to have a word with you."

"Please accept my gift-"

"Excuse me!" Annalise spoke loudly to be heard over what the women were saying. "Please move away from him."