Chapter 20: Nineteen

Ding-ding. A soft chime sounded, and the driver pulled on the reins to stop the horses. “This stop is Charing Square!” 

“Hmm?” Rasputina felt the gaze of someone on her and turned towards Anastasia. “What?” 

“Well, arenʼt you going to give a description and explanation about this interesting place?” she asked, blinking twice. 

“You expect me to become your cicerone?” Rasputina sighed softly and pointed at the large cobblestone square flanked by grandiose colonnaded builidngs. “This is Charing Square, the central square of the capital and also where the annual Festival of Aetherium is held in.”

“Festival of Aetherium?” 

“Itʼs a national holiday held on the first day of Media,” she said and shrugged. “Donʼt ask me for the details, Iʼve never had the chance to participate in the celebrations before.”

“The first of Media, huh...so the calandar in this world is different from Earthʼs,” Anastasia murmured.  

“What are you mumbling to yourself about?” Rasputina gave her a languid smile. “The next stop is Whitechapel, along the eastern end. Iʼve heard itʼs the capitalʼs most infamous rookery, so I would advice against you visiting it especially after nightfall.” 

Anastasiaʼs eyes sparkled with excitement instead. “Woah, then letʼs go and check it out tonight!” 

“Were you listening to me at all...?” She shook her head; although she had never personally entered Whitechapel, Theo did so a couple of times in the past on the pretext of novelty. 

“And look at how he turned out...” She shivered involuntarily and made a mental note to forbid Theo from ever stepping into Whitechapel again. 

The chime of the bell interrupted her train of thought. “Westmynstre High Street! This stop is Westmynstre High!” 

“Hey, Rasputina, why donʼt we alight here?” Anastasia suggested, glancing hungrily at the row of cafes and restaurants along the street. 

Rasputina leaned forward over the railing and saw a familiar-looking store off to the side of the road; pointing it out to her, she smiled. “We can go to that bakery to fill our stomachs first.” 

“Ooh, okaaay!” She shoved her large straw hat on her head and skipped down the steps of the tram, with Rasputina gingerly descending the stairs behind her. They quickly crossed the road and Rasputina pushed open the door to the bakery in question.

“Welcome!” The barista manning the counter said in a standard customer service voice. “Please help yourselves to a table, dear customers.” 

“Wow, this place sure has a nice and cool vibe to it,” Anastasia remarked as she looked around at the cosy interior. “I can totally imagine coming here to relax and listen to Spotify for hours!” 

“...” The barista and the Saintess stared at her weirdly in unison.

“A-ahem, please don’t pay her any heed.” Rasputina pointed at the popular items on the menu and ordered two servings of each. “And last but not least, a cup of homemade coffee blend, please.” 

“Right away, Miss. Please wait here for a short moment.” The barista took out a silver tray from under the counter and went into the kitchen at the back.

“Rasputina, Rasputina, what did you order?” Anastasia glided over to the counter and peeked at the menu. “Oh my, they even sell French toast here? This is so much better than my local Starbucks!” 

“What is a Starbucks…?” She let out a sigh of resignation and pointed at a vacant table next to the entrance. “Just go and sit there first, alright? I’ll bring over the food soon.” 

It almost felt like she was bringing a child along with her around the city, and Rasputina realised wryly that perhaps Maria and the current Anastasia would get along well together. 

“Here you go, Miss.” The barista came back and handed her the tray now loaded with all the usual mouth-watering goodies. “Your coffee will be ready in a minute.” 

“Thank you.” She made a gesture of tipping her top hat—then realised that she no longer had a top hat on her head—so instead, she awkwardly gave the barista a polite bow. 

“Oh my god, they all look so delicious!” Anastasia clapped her hands together in delight and swiftly grabbed a variety of cookies and pastries to pile on her plate. 

You are reading story This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! at novel35.com

“Hey, the food isn’t running anywhere…” Seeing that she was totally being ignored, Rasputina shook her head in defeat and popped a chocolate tart into her mouth. “You’re just like Maria, aren’t you?” 

Anastasia swallowed and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Maria? Is she a friend of yours?” 

“Hmm, she’s more of an accomplice…whatever, please just ignore what I said.” 

“Euugghhh?” She pouted and crossed her arms. “No fair, I want to make friends with everyone!” She unfolded her arms and leaned forward with an ecstatic smile. “You will introduce Maria-chan to me, right? Please, pretty please?” 

As she leaned forward, Rasputina caught a glimpse of a creamy curve of flesh beneath the low neckline of her dress. She froze for a moment, unable to pry her eyes away from Anastasia’s perfectly-shaped breasts, before gulping forcibly. 

“O-okay, okay, I-I got it,” she mumbled in a weak voice. “P-please sit down, princess…” 

“Yesss!” Anastasia plopped back down on her seat and quickly stuffed herself full of the food with renewed vigour. “Done! Let’s find Maria-chan now, can we?” 

“M-my coffee hasn’t arrived yet…” 

“Oh, did you order caffè latte?” She tilted her head to the side in thought while examining Rasputina. “No, someone as beautiful and dignified-looking as you would probably order a classic cup of cappuccino instead…” 

“...” Rasputina was so focused on trying not to stare in her direction that she barely registered her words; her heart was strangely kicking into a rapid tempo just from replaying that scene of Anastasia leaning in front of her in her mind repeatedly. Even if the current Anastasia was a different person from Her Highness, her peerless beauty was still ever so present, and she was nonetheless attracted to the princess’ elegant visage despite being a girl herself.  

“Miss, your order has been prepared.” The barista’s voice snapped her back to her senses, and she quickly thanked the lady for the coffee.

“Huh, this is…” Anastasia stared at the plain brownish liquid in the cup. “...just an Americano? What a plain and simple choice.” 

“You keep on saying all these weird phrases and words that I’ve never heard before—it’s really making my head swim,” Rasputina muttered while she poured the creamer and stirred the cup. The rich aroma of freshly-roasted coffee wafted in the air as she did so; taking in the aroma, she slowly lifted the cup to her lips and tasted a sip of pure bliss.

She placed the cup back on its saucer and caught Anastasia’s wide eyes staring at her resolutely. “...w-w-what are you looking at me like that for?” 

“Eh?” Anastasia’s face flushed in embarrassment and she quickly glanced away. “N-n-no, nothing.” 

“Do you want to try it?” She stretched her fingers and gently pushed the saucer towards her. 

“T-try it? But isn’t that an indirect…” Anastasia hesitated, then picked up the cup before taking a sip. “Woa, what a strong flavour!” 

Rasputina tilted her head to the side. “You don’t like it?” 

“No, it’s just that I rarely drink Americanos.” She placed the cup back down and smiled gratefully. “But now, I think I understand why you would drink this.” 

“Huh?” 

“I mean…it’s subtle, but you have eyebags.” She gave a chuckle. “Did you not sleep well yesterday?” 

“...” Rasputina thought back of what happened at the inn with Theo and sighed as she drank the remaining coffee. “Yeah, probably.” 

“Hmm…oh, I know!” Anastasia exclaimed. “Is there like a hot spring or bathhouse around here?” 

“Hot spring…?” She pursed her lips in thought for a while. “I think there’s a spa hotel that had recently opened nearby, if that’s what you’ve in mind. What about it?” 

“Spa hotel?!” Anastasia jumped from her seat and held her hands excitedly. “Let’s go there now!”

You can find story with these keywords: This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness!, Read This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness!, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! novel, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! book, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! story, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! full, This crossdressing fake Saintess must cure Her Highness! Latest Chapter