Crow’s eyes widened in disbelief when Penelope explained that even jewelry that had been made in Brerra was at least twenty gold pieces. He felt like his head was swimming. He hadn’t known there was that much gold floating around the market in the first place. Even though he’d always understood to some degree that the nobles were wealthier than the peasants could ever hope to be, it was jarring to find out the men and women in the inner kingdom were able to spend a lifetime’s worth of farming wages on a piece of crafted metal without batting an eye. The gap in their quality of life astounded him.

As the knight went on to tell him that clothing was even more expensive, the former thief gawked at her. “[i]Five hundred?[/i]” he squawked before clamping his mouth shut. With so many other people around, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. Still, it was hard for him to imagine an article of tailored fabric could be so expensive. He couldn’t even count that high. Just trying to fathom it made him feel dizzy, and he ran a hand through his hair to stay grounded. Even after living in the castle for two weeks, this was the first time he had tangibly felt the kind of world he had stepped into. He glanced down at his own clothes, suddenly morbidly curious to know just how much money adorned his body. Everything he was wearing had come directly out of the king’s wardrobe, after all.

“My gods,” Crow muttered, speaking quietly enough that only Penelope would hear him. “I had no idea everything costs so much here.” He glanced at a few of the other nearby stands. Even though he was a noble now, would [i]he[/i] be able to purchase anything at a marketplace like this? As far as he knew, he’d only been given some new clothes and the gold in the coin purse his father had given him for his trip to the outer villages. Unless Albin had gifted him some secret trove of wealth he didn’t yet know about, he was still almost as poor as he’d been as a thief. He wondered how he was expected to function in a society like this when he barely had enough money to buy himself a few meals. Perhaps he wouldn’t be abandoning his stealing habits as quickly as he’d thought.

Letting out a sigh, he turned back to Penelope. As mind-blowing as it was to discover how nobles lived, he couldn’t do anything to change it. There was no reason for him to waste his energy fretting over what he’d learned. “Even if you were the only one who was willing to help, I’m sure you would make an enormous difference,” he casted her a fond smile. “The villagers have no idea how fortunate they’re about to be.”

Glancing at the stand she was walking toward, he slowed his pace slightly. “Go ahead and find what you want,” he said, brushing his hand playfully against hers. “I can’t say I’m very interested in dresses, so I’ll meet up with you here when you’re done.”