RYL Chapter 59

Chapter 59

We left the coffee shop with our partners already decided.

“Then let’s head to the opera,” said Mikael, who had become my partner, naturally walking beside me.

I saw Mathieu’s face stiffen.

That guy didn’t say a single word all day—what’s with the sour face now?

“Have a fun time, Miss Edith,” I said.

Ugh, can someone take care of this second male lead, please?

“Okay! Miss Claire, tell me how the opera was later!”

“I will.”

Mikael reached out his hand like an escort.

“Shall we go?”

I glanced at Edith and Mathieu, then placed my hand on Mikael’s and walked away.

Mathieu couldn’t take his eyes off Claire and Mikael getting into the carriage.

Edith noticed his displeased frown and said,

“Guess I’m not the only one feeling a bit disappointed.”

Mathieu looked at her, confused.

“Claire is quite charming, after all.”

She always seemed like a carefree type, but she was more observant than expected.

“In my opinion, Claire is way too good for either the crown prince or the young duke.”

She said things that would make regular nobles gasp, without a care.

Then she smiled innocently, as if nothing happened.

“Claire is my role model.”

Behind that innocent smile, it felt like a warning.

‘So don’t fall for my sister.’

Mathieu let out a dry laugh.

These days, all sorts of people seem drawn to Claire.

Not just men—even this two-faced woman.

But still, he was the one who knew Claire best and spent the most time with her.

While Mathieu was thinking that, Edith continued bluntly.

“No point wasting time with someone we’re not interested in. Let’s just eat and go.”

With a casual smile, she offered the idea, and Mathieu nodded.

“Agreed.”

When the carriage stopped in front of the opera house, I spoke hesitantly.

“Sorry, but… can I just go back home?”

The crown prince frowned.

“I thought you wanted to see the opera?”

I answered in a small voice,

“Actually… I don’t have tickets.”

I had lied to try to push the female lead and Mathieu together.

The prince paused for a moment, as if realizing something, then smiled.

“Then I’ll buy tickets.”

“Oh, no! You don’t have to do that!”

He looked a little hurt by my strong refusal.

Feeling bad, I smiled awkwardly and said,

“You’re probably very busy. No need to waste time on me.”

He paused, then smiled again.

“It’s not a waste of time. It’s the opposite.”

“Huh?”

I looked at him, confused, and he asked seriously,

“Claire, you want that woman and Mathieu to end up together, right?”

Since we were already pretending to be close to get Mathieu away, I figured it was okay to be honest.

“Yeah, kind of…”

As I answered, Mikael stared at me and continued,

“Then why does it feel like you’re trying to pair me with her?”

“…”

“That’s harsh. I was just helping you as a friend.”

Of course, I appreciated his help. But lately, I was starting to wonder…

“Are you really just helping as a friend?”

He gave a mysterious smile.

“I can’t say there’s no curiosity or interest.”

I swallowed nervously.

I was busy trying to push Mathieu away—I couldn’t have the prince getting interested too.

“If that’s the case… I can’t stay around you anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Because you’re the male lead who’s supposed to end up with the female lead.

I knew the story between Lilianne and the prince. There’s no way I could have romantic feelings for him.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I realized something from what you said.”

“What was it…?”

What had I said to him again?

“That feelings don’t always depend on how long you’ve known someone.”

Oh, right. I did say that.

I’d meant it to push him away from Lilianne, though.

“Sometimes, they come like a lightning strike.”

That was also about the female lead, not me…

“These days, I really understand what you meant.”

Please… tell me you meant Edith…

I stood frozen as the prince smiled and added,

“Let’s just watch the opera and go home. I won’t ask for anything else.”

Still dazed, I let him lead me into the opera house.

He didn’t even need to buy tickets. Just showing his face got us in right away.

It felt silly to have worried about not having a ticket.

“Let’s go in.”

Our seats, of course, were VIP.

A private room on the second floor, with a clear view of the stage through binoculars.

The theater was massive—easily two or three times bigger than the Clina Salon.

Looking at the packed audience made me a bit envious.

The Clina Salon was popular among nobles, but it was still far from reaching this level of public popularity.

This giant theater had multiple opera performances a day, and it was full each time.

The Clina Salon had made a splash among the aristocracy.

But some still felt uncomfortable or resistant toward it.

I blankly watched the performance.

The quiet audience sat in complete silence, completely focused on the stage.

And then, in my mind, I started to imagine something wild—

A theater as big as this, filled with people shouting and dancing in excitement during a show.

If Clina Salon could grow that much, wouldn’t it be amazing?

Right now, I was barely managing to keep it going.

But watching this performance was a good choice.

I had always chased after bold new ideas, but maybe classics weren’t so bad either.

Maybe a fusion of classic and innovation would be fun too.

Nothing specific came to mind yet, but with Sabrina and Lilianne, we’d come up with something eventually.

I believed that now.

After the show, Mikael dropped me off at the Devonshire estate.

It was night now, and the sky had turned dark with a steady drizzle of rain.

I stepped out of the carriage and said to Mikael,

“Thanks for today.”

The performance had given me a lot of inspiration.

I’d need to think about how to use it in future events.

For now, I had to focus on Lilianne’s boutique opening and fashion show.

As I turned to go, Mikael’s voice stopped me.

“Claire.”

I looked back at him curiously.

His face was unusually tense, a bit nervous.

“I figured… if I don’t say this directly, you’ll pretend not to notice forever.”

At that moment, I spotted a familiar figure behind him.

Standing near the wall of the mansion, soaked from the rain, was Mathieu.

I had no idea how long he had been there, but he looked frozen in place, watching us.

Then Mikael spoke.

“I like you, Claire.”

At that moment, I didn’t look at Mikael, but at Mathieu behind him.

Our eyes met—and I felt something strange.

I was the one caught off guard, but why did he look like the one who was hurt?