He let out a snort as he thought about the fact that he could not escape capitalism even after leaving his old world. Although whether that fact was something sad or not he couldn't say.
Esme gave him a nod, choosing to believe him. When she left the castle she fully expected not to live in the same comforts, she may not have been treated well but she still lived better than most commoners.
She still expects that, however it seems she won't need to live as frugally as she might have thought or maybe Arthur was just really generous.
"Anyway the ring will activate a shield around your body and block against all bladed attacks, it will also protect you against blunt force attacks."
"Oh!"
As he explained she exclaimed, impressed by the ring's effects and it also sparked a curiosity within her and she wanted to know about how it worked and its inner mechanism, like how it does what it does?
Unfortunately, she decided not to ask such things, as a woman she didn't need to concern herself with such things.
"Unfortunately there's a 3-second cooldown, so if you do get attacked, try to avoid consecutive attacks"
He said and a frown marred her face, It seemed like he was preparing her for the battlefield. She did not like that.
"Where will you be in this attack?"
She probed and Arthur was quick to pick up her intentions with such a question.
"I'm not going to be around all the time, not to mention we won't be chained at the hip and we both will have things to do at separate times"
He explained to her and she nodded in understanding. Although as a wife she won't be leaving the house often, and will only do so when going to the market.
She did not believe that the market would be a place where she would be attacked in however it would be foolish to say no when Arthur was simply doing his job as a husband.
"The necklace will help with stamina and speed, should you need to run from something. For a full 5 minutes, you'll be able to run without feeling fatigue and as fast as you can but the cool down is ten minutes meaning in those five minutes you need to either hide or manage to give your assailant the slip and lose them"
She nodded in understanding and received the necklace, which was a golden necklace with the sun as its centerpiece.
She figured the necklace would be useful if she was being chased in a city or crowded area, but she did not put it on, she still needed to bathe first.
"The other ring is for strength, much like the necklace, it will give you double the strength of your opponent but only for 2 minutes so be quick to either knock them out or tie them up before running away, the cool down is 5 minutes"
He explained and she nodded again, this time she couldn't help but feel warmth in her chest, he really thought about this and came up with a way to protect her when he can't, most men would probably have a guard follow her around but then again most men weren't Explorers and didn't have access to the same things explorers had access to.
'He is different from most men that much is clear'
She thought, maybe it was because they had only spent one day together that she didn't realise it but even yesterday it was obvious that Arthur was slightly different from what she expected from her husband.
From what Esme has heard from the maids at the palace, men wanting to put their seed in on the first night was the norm, after all it was important to have a child as quickly as possible, yet Arthur didn't seem to be in that much of a hurry.
"Is there an item without a cool down, having a cool down seems like an inconvenience"
"Unfortunately no, at least not any that I know of, small items like these are bathed in melted mana crystals after being engraved with the necessary enchantment, it's that process that gives them their effects but they eventually become dead items after like maybe ten to twenty uses, if they didn't cool down they probably would run out of magic much faster"
He explained and she hummed, she didn't really get how that worked but magic was already something people lost an understanding of long ago so it's not a problem that she didn't understand.
Although she realized that, if the items become useless after a few uses doesn't that mean he will have to buy more every time he runs out?
"The Enchanter making them must be really wealthy then"
"Yep, although Explorers tend to get a discount since we buy a lot of items at once Hahaha!"
He chuckled after he said so, Once again he found it hilarious that capitalism still reigned supreme, it's almost like he never left Earth
"What about the earrings and the other ring, what do they do?"
Choosing to ignore his chuckle, Esme focused her curiosity on what the other items could do.
A small bit of excitement began to build in her stomach, there was something about walking through the street knowing you are protected and aren't in much danger that brought a sense of feeling special.
A feeling she's never felt when living at the palace, everyone there had been keen, almost eager to tell her that there wasn't anything special about her.
"The earrings, are just earrings normal earrings, a gift from me"
He showed her a pair of beautiful but small diamond earrings that glimmered in the light of the room and she suppressed a smile. Her oldest sister Judith always had earrings that seemed to elevate her beauty.
Despite Judith's attitude towards her, Esme could never deny that her lighter-skinned sister was a feast for the eyes and the earrings she would switch out every day with different ones only elevated that beauty.
'Now I can have earrings too'
She thought inwardly, her mouth breaking into a small smile.
"You like diamonds?"
He asked as he witnessed her eyes being glued to the sight of the earrings. It was like a child being shown the thing they want the most, it was cute and brought a small smile to his face.
"Y-yes. I've just never had them before, in the palace was only clothed, fed but I was never gifted any jewellery by anyone aside from my mother, unfortunately despite being a concubine of the king she wasn't given much to buy things for me"
Arthur noticed the smile on her face fade away as she recalled her life in the castle and he realized her life there must have been less than fun, it made sense why the king had practically thrown her at him, it was an opportunity to get rid of an unwanted princess.
With that realisation he couldn't help but be more determined to find her stolen necklace, once he's gotten the guards, he'll need to start searching for it, although it might take a while by now the thief has probably sold it somewhere.
"Well you can think of those days as over, from today onward any jewellery you want is yours to have"
He reassured her but she shook her head denying his statement.
"You don't have to do that, You said you have a small fortune, I don't want you to deplete it by spending it on frivolous gifts"
He wanted to chuckle at those words but he realized that it made sense why she was not acting like a princess, which explained why she didn't have any jewellery with her, she was probably not treated like a princess should be, that realization made him feel a bit saddened and he couldn't help but feel the need to hug her.
"Don't worry about such things, it's alright"
He reassured her and patted her on the shoulder. She did not argue and nodded to his words.
"What about the ring? You didn't explain what it does"
"Oh! Well, it's a normal ring, like the earrings. Think of it as a symbol of our marriage"
He said with an awkward smile as he handed her the ring.
The ring was made of gold and silver, it was largely gold with thin silver edges that bordered the gold, creating a beautiful blend of both gold and silver.
The ring also had a beautiful polished sheen, causing it to shine brilliantly when exposed to the light. It was a simple yet beautiful ring.
"Thank you Arthur but us living together is already proof of our marriage, why a ring?"
She asked curiously although she was elated to receive the ring, the sparkle in her eyes was apparent and there was a tug at the corners of her lips, a smile threatening to spread open.
"You can think of it as physical proof that you're now married, you said you were dishonored as a woman for being unmarried this long, so I thought this would serve as a physical reminder that you are married"
He said, still feeling a little bit awkward about the moment, the mood had shifted to be a little more sincere than he was used to, as an Explorer he didn't have much experience with moments of sincerity.
Truthfully even in his old world it was rare for him to have such sincere and heartfelt moments with anyone.
Still, he felt giving her a ring was necessary, from what he learned from her yesterday, it was obvious that this kingdom treated women in a much more different way than most places, From what he's seen so far this kingdom seemed to take its regressive ideas bit far so at the very least he thought showing his wife that he valued her was good idea.
Having heard his word, Esme couldn't help but assault him with a sudden hug of appreciation, she squeezed him with all her might.
"Thank you, Arthur!"
She said, her words coming from deep in her heart as she held onto him, her face deep on his chest. Arthur simply gave her a gentle pat on her head and hummed acknowledging her words before speaking.
"Now then let's get ready"