Help! I Became A Guy In A BL Novel!-Chapter 146: My Favourite Lover

The market was bustling by the time they reached. Vendors showing off their wares, people singing for some money, and people looking for work. It looked pretty harmonious. The air was rich with smells: roasted meats, sweet tarts, spices from the southern coast, and the sharp bite of fresh-cut herbs.

And in the middle of it all, Riven stood, arms raised, face turned to the sun like a flower finally unshackled from shade.

"Freedom," he sighed.

Troy, a half step behind him, muttered, "This was a mistake."

Riven turned, already walking backwards into the crowd with a grin. "You say that like you don’t love being seen with me."

Two knights followed closely, hands on hilts, eyes sweeping. They wore plain clothes to avoid attention, but next to Riven, who was wrapped in blue silk and had his hair pinned with golden clamps... And the most eyecatching of it all, his golden collar, they couldn’t help but draw attention.

The group moved slowly at first, pressed between merchant stalls and gossiping nobles. Riven drifted from one booth to the next like a child at a festival, barely stopping before his attention was caught by the next shimmer of colour or tempting scent.

Some of the nobles still looked at him like he was an insect because he was a half-breed. But the rumours of him being the Alpha’s kept man already circulated. They could only gossip but not confront him.

At a skewer stand, he paused, nose twitching.

"Meat," he declared.

Troy blinked. "We ate before we left."

"That was hours ago."

"It was one hour."

Riven ignored him. "Three of those. And that one with the chilli rub."

The vendor handed over the skewers with shaking hands. "M-My Lord."

"Oh, no titles today," Riven said with a wink. "Just your friendly neighbourhood half-wolf.

He handed two to the knights, took one for himself, and passed the last to Troy.

Troy hesitated, then took it. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome. You’re a dog if you betray me after this." Riven casually remarked.

Troy choked. He did not expect Riven would say that.

Riven was already walking again, nibbling at the meat with exaggerated delight. "Mmm, spicy. Reminds me of that time in the southern barrens when someone tried to poison me. Good times."

Troy paused. When did that happen?!

By the time they passed the halfway point through the market, Riven had sampled pickled plums, bought a carved wooden comb shaped like a fox, and accidentally caused a minor disturbance by complimenting a noblewoman’s scarf a little too enthusiastically.

Troy was beginning to twitch.

"Riven," he said, low. "Can we please go to the perfumery now?"

Riven, mid-sip of some kind of honey-sweet herbal tea, blinked at him. "But we haven’t even seen the crystal shop yet—"

"We said two hours. You’ve had two and a half. Ronan will kill me."

"I thought you said he trusted you."

"He does. That’s why he’ll kill me."

Riven pouted.

It was a dangerous look. Troy looked away immediately, pretending to be very interested in a nearby spice vendor.

Riven sighed, long and dramatic. "Fine. To the perfumery."

They arrived at the perfumery nestled between a bookbinder’s and a fortune teller’s tent, its door flanked by glass jars filled with flower petals and dried herbs. The inside was quiet, cool, and smelled like heaven.

Riven wrinkled his nose. "It smells very expensive in here."

Troy gave a sigh of relief that was far too audible.

The shopkeeper looked up from a glass counter and froze. "Oh. My Lord. It’s an honour—"

"Shhh," Riven said, finger to his lips. "Incognito. Pretend I’m just an ordinary guy, I’m just a chill guy."

The shopkeeper blinked twice. "...Of course."

Riven sauntered in, hands tucked behind his back. His eyes drifted over shelves lined with delicate glass bottles, each one labelled with curling script: Amberrose, Stormwood, Dew of Myrrh, Wolf’s Musk,

He picked one up, sniffed, and made a face.

"Too floral. I’d smell like a love letter."

Troy stood to the side with the knights, hovering like a worried shadow. One of them laughed, as if mocking the situation, the honourable assistant was now a glorified babysitter.

Riven tried another. Then another. He narrowed his eyes.

"I need one that says mysterious but soft. Something... Seductive with a hint of danger."

"Do you mean for yourself?" Troy asked. freewebnσvel.cѳm

"For Soren," Riven said without missing a beat. "He likes scents that linger. Something woodsy, I think. Maybe a hint of leather."

"You’re buying perfume for the Snow Leopard?" Troy asked. He did not know what went down back then, so he was not aware of the arrangement.

"Of course! He is my favourite lover." Riven was too casual when talking about his situation.

The sentence alone made Troy, the shopkeeper and the knights stay rooted in place with their mouths open in surprise.

What- did he just say?

"And Ronan?" Troy asked before he could stop himself.

Riven tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hmm. Sandalwood. Dark spice. Definitely something with bite. Like that first inhale before a thunderstorm."

His poor, poor master. Ronan was being cheated on by this... Half-wolf! And he couldn’t do anything right now! His plan was set in motion, he needed to get over his shock and deal with the present situation.

Riven picked up a deep violet bottle and sprayed it on a piece of parchment.

He sniffed it and then held it out for Troy to sample.

Troy hesitated.

"Go on," Riven said. "It won’t bite."

He tried to take the piece of parchment from Riven, but Riven refused to let go. He stood still, holding it between his fingers with a snarky smile.

Troy leaned forward, sniffed—and immediately went red.

Riven grinned. "Perfect."

He ended up buying three bottles—one for Soren, one for Ronan, and one unnamed vial that he said was "for emergencies," though he didn’t clarify what those were. The shopkeeper packed them carefully, clearly trying not to faint.

He turned to Troy and asked, "So when is this happening? It’s taking too long! I’m getting bored!"

"Oh- It sh-"

BANG!!!