WPVMVA Chapter 78

Daniela’s face flushed even more at his words. She had expected him to scold her for her curt response to his gift, but instead, he offered to buy her another. He even spoke as if it were a foregone conclusion that he would take her to the northern castle after the social season.

‘But you’ll meet Camellia at the debutante ball before that.’

Would Ashid still say such things to her then? Probably not.

As Daniela involuntarily smiled a bitter smile at that thought, Ashid held out his arm to her and said, “Well, shall we go? If we leave now, we should make it to the theater on time.”

“…Yes. All right.”

Daniela carefully placed her hand on his arm.

Daniela then got into the carriage with Ashid’s escort. The carriage raced to the front of Lisander’s troupe. As she got out of the carriage, an employee who was waiting for them greeted the two. He bowed respectfully and said, “The troupe leader has instructed me to personally guide you both, who have reserved the ‘special seats,’ to your places. Please, follow me.”

He respectfully bowed to the two and led them inside the theater. Daniela followed him, leaning in and whispering to Ashid, who was walking beside her, “The special seats are the most expensive ones! You didn’t buy them for full price, did you?”

“I did.”

“Why? You should have told me! Or given Grey a heads-up.”

If he had, she could have gotten the tickets for a very low price—or even for free. As Daniela asked this, Ashid tilted his head toward her, a faint smile on his lips. “I wanted to support your business.”

“…!”

“And this is our first date. I wanted to surprise you, and I didn’t want to be cheap about it.”

Ashid said this and lightly took her hand. Daniela’s eyes widened in surprise, and her shoulders stiffened awkwardly. Ashid interlocked his fingers with hers and led her into the theater.

The special seats the employee guided them to were in a terrace on the left side of the stage, slightly protruding toward the front. Only two chairs were placed there. On the table were fine tea and snacks, and an employee was standing nearby, attending only to them.

Daniela awkwardly looked around. She had designed this section herself to satisfy the vanity of the nobles and royals while earning a fortune, but she had never imagined she would sit there herself.

Ashid let out a small chuckle as if he found this amusing. He pulled out a chair for her and whispered, “It seems you’ve never watched an opera from here before, either.”

“Of course not. This is a section that was made to be sold.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“…Pardon?”

“I honestly wasn’t too pleased at the thought that you might have come here with Baroness Grey already. But knowing that I’m the person you’re sharing this ‘first’ experience with makes me feel a little better.”

Ashid said this and sat down in the seat next to hers. Daniela looked at him, her face slightly red. Feeling her gaze, Ashid chuckled lightly and took her hand again. “The opera is about to begin. Are you going to keep staring at me like that?”

“…!”

Just then, as if on cue, the lights in the theater went out. Daniela quickly turned her head and said a little pointedly, “Of course not!”

“Really?”

“Yes! I’ve only seen the script, but this is the first time I’m seeing it performed live.”

“I see. So this is your first time watching an opera. Then I guess I have yet another one of your ‘firsts.’”

“Gah! …You’ve been saying strange things like that since earlier…!”

“Ah, it looks like they’re about to start now.”

Ashid said this with a playful smile and turned his head toward the stage. As he said, the curtain on the stage was slowly drawing back. Daniela glared at Ashid’s profile for a moment but eventually turned her head as the curtain fully opened and the performance began.

Soon after, the lead actor appeared and spoke his first line. His voice was so loud and majestic that it echoed throughout the large theater. At the sight of this, Daniela became more and more engrossed in the opera. Before she knew it, she was completely absorbed and focused on the content of the opera, unaware that Ashid, sitting next to her, was watching her with an intense gaze, as if he wouldn’t miss a single moment.

The opera had ended. The curtain came down, and cheers erupted from the audience. A moment later, the curtain opened again as the actors began their curtain call.

Daniela clapped and let out a small cheer. The opera’s content was perfect, and it was very entertaining. It was no surprise that it had become a sensation and was earning a lot of money.

‘It’s perfect.’

Daniela felt both joy and pride as she turned to Ashid next to her. “What do you think? Was it fun?”

“…Ah, yes. The scene where the male lead challenges the marquis, his sworn enemy, to a final duel was particularly good.” Ashid said, mentioning the only scene he had seen during the two-and-a-half-hour opera while his gaze was not on Daniela. It was a scene he wouldn’t have even seen if Daniela hadn’t let out a small shriek.

Daniela nodded in agreement with his words and said in an excited voice, “Right? I thought so too! When I first read the script, I saw that scene and was sure it would be a success!”

“I see.”

“Ah, the script was great, but seeing it in person was even more fun! The male lead actor did a wonderful job. Wasn’t he so cool when he sang with his sword pointed at Marquis Ingen’s neck?”

At her words, Ashid’s gentle gaze sharpened.

‘Cool?’

Ashid gave the male lead actor on stage a cold glare. He was a good-looking man, with a costume that exposed his chest, sweat-drenched short blonde hair, and a constant smile as he waved to the audience. Ashid felt a blatant sense of displeasure and jealousy and spoke in a slightly cynical tone.

“Just for that?”

“…Pardon?”

“Come to the training grounds at the mansion next time. I’ll show you swordsmanship that’s even cooler than his.”

He said this and rose from his seat. He no longer wanted to be in the same place as the man Daniela had called cool. He needed to take her somewhere where she could no longer look at the actor.

“Shall we get going now?”

“…Ah, are we leaving already?” Daniela asked with a hint of regret. She was dressed up so beautifully for a change, and it felt a shame to go back already. Ashid let out a small chuckle and shook his head.

“No. It’s our first date, after all. It would be a shame to go back so early.”

“…Oh. Then where are we going now?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

Ashid replied, gently helping Daniela up. Daniela left the theater, which was still holding its curtain call, and stepped outside, receiving a bow from the troupe’s staff member.

Just as they had arrived at the troupe, Daniela rode in the carriage with Ashid’s escort. Soon, the Grand Duke’s carriage with the couple inside passed through the main street and headed toward the city walls. Daniela looked out the window as they moved further away from the capital and asked Ashid, “Are we going outside the capital?”

“Maybe.”

Ashid replied with a shrug. Daniela slightly furrowed her brow at his ambiguous answer.

A little later, the carriage, having left the capital, stopped in front of a mansion. As she got out of the carriage, a building surrounded by a deep forest came into her view. It was a three-story mansion with a gray trapezoidal gable roof and large, wide windows. The vast garden floor, spacious enough to park dozens of carriages, was covered with clean white stones, and various colorful flowers were in full bloom around the mansion. A long staircase led from the garden to the entrance, and there was a wide terrace on the first floor with a temporary roof made of white silk.

Daniela, in awe of the beautiful and grand mansion, asked Ashid, who was standing beside her, “Where is this place?”

“It’s an annex palace that His Majesty gifted when I was born.”

“I see. I had no idea a place like this existed.”

“No one knows about a place like this except for those who have served me since I was a child. Perhaps His Majesty has forgotten about it long ago.”

As Ashid spoke in a somewhat cynical tone and let out a cold laugh, Daniela stared at him intently and said…