You’re the one covering the costs. That was the meaning she had hidden behind her words, but whether he had taken it differently, his eyes went wide and he bowed his head deeply. Was it guilt and a tangle of other feelings making his ears flush red? No matter how many times she saw it, it was still something.

“We’re here.”

Soon they arrived in front of a grand opera house and he stepped out first. Then he held out his hand to Jeanne, and she took it and stepped down slowly. The area in front of the opera house was already packed with people.

The performance was so well known that the audience was swarming from the theater entrance onward. That’s going to take half the day just to get in, she thought, when Ruhir took her hand and walked with easy familiarity toward a door guarded by a staff member.

“You’re confirmed.”

The moment he presented the tickets, the two of them were let straight through. Unlike the clamor outside, this corridor was quiet, and the only sound was the two of them walking. Jeanne could tell at a glance that this was the VIP corridor.

A VIP corridor. I always wondered what it was like, and here I am seeing it.

“Our seats are in a box, so we’ll be able to enjoy the performance without any disturbance.”

“Oh. Is that so?”

“You must be hungry. There’ll be food to fill up on before it starts.”

She could properly smell the scent of money. So this was why everyone went on and on about it. The box they arrived at was empty, and the interior of the grand opera house spread out right before her eyes.

The view is so much better from here. The last time I came, the seats were so far back I couldn’t even make out the actors’ faces.

When she settled into her seat, an array of food that looked delicious was laid out in front of her. Nothing too heavy on the stomach, just right for eating.

She ate brunch with him, then rinsed her mouth and came back to her seat.

“If anything is hard to see, you can use this glass.”

“Thank you.”

At this distance I think I can see everything fine. The opera glass looked luxurious just to look at. If I drop it and break it, I’d have to pay an enormous amount, wouldn’t I? Well, the floor was thick soft carpet, so it was probably all right.

She had tried not to show it, but the way she had brightened with curiosity and delight was plain for Ruhir to see. Jeanne was taking in her surroundings with a more relaxed air than usual.

It was similar to how she had been when he took her to the bookshop, and he thought he had been right to bring her here.

He understood now why his friends had said that only going to the bookshop wasn’t a proper date and told him to take her somewhere decent.

…… He also thought that if she got absorbed in opera and performances, she would have less time to study. Every time he was reminded of the reason he had become her partner, at Lilian’s request, he felt a tightness in his chest.

Ruhir de Winter. He was the kind of person who toyed with a woman’s heart. He knew that well enough, and in a different sense, he wanted to make it up to her. If he gave her endless experiences she couldn’t have as a commoner, right up until they broke up, wouldn’t that be enough.

While he was rationalizing it all, the entire house went dark. The actors appeared shortly after and the performance began.

This opera started as an ordinary love story but carried on into the story of a mother and daughter. The two actresses playing the mother and daughter roles performed so brilliantly that it sold out every day.

Ruhir had already seen this opera, but he was watching it again for the date. He had enjoyed it very much the first time, and he was curious whether Jeanne would feel the same.

He glanced sideways toward Jeanne, and the moment he did, he froze.

“……”

Jeanne Nova was watching with tears streaming down her face. It was a sad scene where the mother grieved believing her daughter was dead, but he had never thought she would cry, and it felt as though he had glimpsed something inside her, so he turned his head away.

He felt strange, and he placed the handkerchief he had on Jeanne’s knee. She buried her face in it for a moment and cried with her shoulders shaking.

She only stopped crying after the performance ended happily and the lights came back up. Jeanne, her eyes tinged red, said she would step out to the lounge for a moment and left her seat.

When she came back, her eyes were less red, cooled down with cold water it seemed. He thought it might be better to choose something without sad scenes for the next opera they saw.

“Ah. That was really wonderful.”

“Hm?”

“The world of the story and the acting were both so remarkable that I got completely swept up in it.”

“You don’t have a headache or anything?”

“No. I’m perfectly fine. I’d want to see it again sometime.”

Coming outside and talking, he felt reassured. So she was deeply moved by it.

She had said she wanted to see it again, so he thought it would be nice to see it with a different cast too.

By the time the performance ended and they came out, a good deal of time had passed and it was already the dinner hour.

“You must be hungry. I’ve made a reservation at a restaurant, so we can go eat.”

“Yes. Sounds good.”

“It’s not far, so we don’t need to take a carriage. Would you like to walk there holding hands?”

We might get separated in the crowd. He added that, and she smiled and took his hand. The plaza street bathed in the sunset glow was beautiful enough to draw the eye on its own.

In truth, Jeanne had not wanted to cry. But the sight of the mother searching desperately for her daughter even while believing she was dead had felt like looking at herself.

And the fact that none of those deaths had been real, and that they met again, had genuinely moved her.

She could be like that too, perhaps. She had sobbed so hard that she could feel Ruhir had been flustered, which was a little funny.

When she took his hand and headed to the restaurant, they arrived in front of the most famous place in the plaza.

A place she had once thought she would like to try someday, but had given up on because a single meal cost a full month’s wages. She had cried so much during the opera that she was genuinely hungry.

“We have been expecting you.”

When they stepped inside, a staff member who recognized Ruhir right away led them to a private room. Soft music drifted through the air, and she even had the thought that she might drift off to sleep if she wasn’t careful.

When the staff member left and the two of them were alone, Ruhir asked Jeanne if there was anything she couldn’t eat.

“I eat pretty much everything. No allergies either.”

“Is that so? Any ingredients you prefer?”

“Meat or seafood?”

“Same here. We’re well matched. …… I suppose that’s why we’re a couple.”

It’s nice when tastes align. With that, he called the staff member back in and ordered, and the courses began to arrive one by one. Each dish came out in just the right amount to fill you up, and every one was delicious enough to make her eyes go wide.

The cafeteria food is good too, but so this is what getting what you pay for means. She felt anew just what a happy act it was to put food in your mouth and chew.

What would become of her if she got used to food like this. She had been eating enthusiastically when she looked up and met Ruhir’s eyes.

“Ah. The handkerchief, I’ll wash it and give it back.”

“Really? You can just return it as it is, honestly.”

“I made it wet by crying. It’s only right.”

Returning it soaked through with tears and everything else felt a little off, didn’t it.

With each course that arrived, Ruhir explained things to her calmly and naturally. How to eat it to best enjoy it, which sauce to use.

Following his guidance made everything taste even better, and she felt she could float away. There really was nothing to lose by listening to someone who had been exposed to these things from childhood.

Being a prince, he had surely encountered far more rare things than most. It wasn’t as though Jeanne’s mother or aunt had fed her poorly, but the difference was on another level entirely, and it rankled her slightly.

Still, it was delicious.

“Wow. That was truly delicious.”

“Dessert is coming soon too. The cake here is really something.”

True to his word, the moment she tasted the cake that arrived, her eyes snapped open. The gold leaf covering it alone was impressive, but the moment she ate it, all she could do was marvel at how good it was.

To have an experience like this after just one month. What if I don’t want to break up later. She had a foolish thought to herself and laughed quietly.

“…… I’m glad it suits your palate, Jeanne.”

“It really was delicious. The cooking seems exceptionally skilled.”

“The chef used to work in the imperial palace before going independent, so the quality is guaranteed.”

Watching Jeanne eat well put him at ease. He had thought all this time that she was a light eater, but it turned out she wasn’t a light eater at all. She simply hadn’t bothered.

His past self, who had spent a month eating cafeteria food and going only to the bookshop, seemed like an idiot. If he had known she would eat this well and enjoy it this much, he would have brought her sooner.

He was going through the places he planned to take her in his head when the meal came to an end.

“Shall we walk back to the Academy?”

“Walk? Won’t that be tiring?”