Maria's eyes sparkled.
“This is my first time sitting in a reserved family seat. Where should I enter?”
“That would be over there...”
While explaining, I could feel Rick glancing this way.
For some reason, it seemed like he wasn’t looking at Maria but at me.
When I looked his way, his gaze immediately met mine, and he quickly turned his head away.
What’s his deal?
Is he starting to loathe me in earnest?
‘He has a grudge against the Redfield family, so hearing something like “Redfield family’s reserved seat” must feel like bad luck.’
Still, direct that grudge toward the decision-makers above me, not at someone innocent like me, you idiot.
With a deliberately bright smile, I addressed him.
“I hope you enjoy the performance too, Rick.”
“...Sure. I hope you enjoy it as well.”
Despite being polite and relaxed earlier, Rick responded somewhat stiffly, lowered the brim of his hat to cover his face, and headed into the theater.
I handed a little pocket money to the maid accompanying me.
“There seem to be available seats in the open section. If you’re interested, feel free to watch as well. We might stop by a tea house later, so take your time.”
“Thank you, Miss!”
After sending off the maid, we entered the theater.
It was my first time sitting in a box seat as well.
But Maria was so tense that I pretended to be accustomed to such outings and led the way confidently.
Maria, whose shoulders had been rigid with tension, finally sighed in relief once seated.
“Doris, do you come to the opera often?”
“Not really. But this time, the situation left me with no choice.”
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“What situation?”
“Well...”
I explained the circumstances surrounding the concert. Of course, I skipped the messy parts involving Percival and his lover, sticking to the fact that Her Highness the Crown Princess had shown her grace by intervening when everyone was struggling due to an overly difficult selection.
Maria nodded as she listened, her expression softening with understanding.
“I’ll help with the music part too. At the Meyer estate chapel, I used to assist the choir, so I know a bit about music.”
“Thank you! That’d be a great help.”
“But why didn’t my uncle’s household receive the charity concert invitation? If I’d known, I would’ve participated too.”
Because you’re too beautiful.
I recalled Percival and his lover treating her as a natural disaster-level beauty and smirked bitterly.
“It seems the invitations got mixed up when the responsibility shifted from Her Highness the Crown Princess to His Highness the Second Prince. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“That’s possible. Thank you.”
Soon, the lights dimmed, signaling that the performance was about to start.
The play was a modern drama by this era’s standards.
The story revolved around a womanizing count who mocked true love but ended up entangled in all sorts of trouble while helping with a friend’s wedding. Eventually, he discovered the value of pure love and returned to the woman who had secretly loved him all along.
A really cliché plot, and it was a bit annoying how the male lead essentially got to live as he pleased.
But...
‘It’s fun.’
The cheerful melody, the simple moral of rewarding virtue and punishing vice, and the portrayal of everyday joys and happiness had a charm even for someone from the 21st century.
...For a moment, I even thought, ‘Love really is a wonderful thing.’
The audience erupted in applause as the play ended, waves of clapping echoing through the hall. Maria even stood up in excitement, clapping fervently.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, really!”
Her response, delivered without even looking back, was filled with sincerity.
It wasn’t even an opera I had created, yet I felt oddly proud.
We stayed seated until the curtain call ended, and as we left the theater, Maria spoke.
“Shall we have tea before heading back?”
“Of course, I was planning to. By the way, what about Rick?”
“He must’ve left already. He said he just wanted to suddenly watch the opera and nothing more.”
“Hm...”
Rick Ray. He wasn’t supposed to be the kind of character to act foolish, but why does he lose his composure in front of his unrequited love?
Luckily—or unluckily—Maria was currently so absorbed in the early joys of her romance that she neither had the intention nor the insight to analyze another man’s behavior.
“Recently, Arthur... Ah, Lord Arthur sent me a letter! I’ve been wanting to share this fluttering feeling with someone.”
“Imagining the young duke carefully writing a letter with those large hands is hard to picture.”
“Right? Haha, and he seems so unused to writing; the letter was full of faint pencil marks where he’d erased and rewritten!”
“He’s certainly putting in a lot of effort... Hm?”
In front of the theater, in a plaza-like area meant for meetings, I spotted a familiar face. It was Rick Ray.
Of course. There’s no way you’d leave without another glance at Maria’s face.
“Rick, did you enjoy the opera? Maria mentioned you were very eager to watch this particular play.”
“Haha! Yes, I was very eager to watch it.”
Rick forced a laugh. I could see his lips trembling.
But I wasn’t interested in his desperate performance.
“Have you seen my maid? I thought she might have decided to watch the opera too since she was staring at the posters so intently.”
Did she go off right away?
Rick responded.
“If you mean the maid with black hair, she did go to watch the opera. She looked as if she’d woken from a wonderful dream after it ended, her eyes glistening.”
Glad to hear she enjoyed it.
But where did she go afterward?
The theater had emptied out, leaving the lobby desolate except for the staff closing up.
Rick added, “You’re going to have tea with Maria, right? Then don’t worry about your maid.”
That one line made me even more worried. What followed froze my thoughts.
“Some man outside the theater asked her, ‘Pretty lady, care for some tea with me?’ and she immediately followed him. I’m sure she’s having a great time.”
“...What?”
“Why are you so surprised? I didn’t say she was kidnapped.”
Theoretically, that’s true!
“What did this man look like? Was he an adult?”
“Of course, he was. Maybe around thirty?”
“My maid is eighteen!”
“...That’s an adult, isn’t it?”
Legally, maybe! But the age difference makes this a whole other issue!
“Which way did they go?”
“That way, I think. Toward the street with the cheaper tea houses.”
Looking in the direction Rick pointed, I could see the skyline drop as the clean roads near the theater gave way to less polished streets.
“Maria, I’m sorry, but I need to check on my maid.”
I quickened my pace toward the alley. Maria nodded and followed without hesitation, while Rick trudged along, grumbling the whole time.
“I’ve seen plenty of employers meddling in their maids’ affairs, but it’s my first time seeing a lady do it. Won’t your maid end up hating you for this?”
“Everyone is free to pursue love. I wouldn’t interfere with a healthy relationship.”
“How can you judge that man as unhealthy without even seeing him?”
“A decent person wouldn’t ask someone over ten years younger to have tea with them.”
“So, you’re going to storm in and make a scene?”
Rick sneered.
“Well... he did seem a bit shady.”
“And you just let it happen?”
“Her eyes were sparkling so brightly. That opera must’ve taken her mind to dreamland.”
I get it. The opera made me think, I want to experience love too, even if only briefly.
If someone sweet-talked her in that mood, it’d be easy to feel swept away.
Rick continued, “People whose heads are filled with thoughts of romance won’t listen to reason. They’ll only learn by making mistakes.”
“That might be true.”
“But do you really need to chase after her? If you interfere now, she’ll just resent you.”
“...Rick. I might be mistaken, but it doesn’t seem like you’re worried about me.”
“What?”
“It feels like you’re more upset about the possibility of me stopping her before she learns her lesson.”
Rick’s face briefly betrayed shock before he covered it with his hand, almost as if feeling his own expression.
“...No way.”
“That’s how it seems to me. But if you deny it, I have nothing more to say.”
Rick let out a sharp laugh. “Then let me rephrase the question. Don’t you think she’s neglecting her duty to protect her master? A fool who doesn’t even know why she’s here deserves to—”
“People can’t live solely on duty. They shouldn’t. Of course, completely neglecting it isn’t ideal, but—”
The alley grew darker as we continued. The windows of nearby shops revealed people drinking even in broad daylight. Maria gripped my sleeve tightly, and I patted her hand reassuringly as I addressed Rick.
“I just hope that those who muster the courage to be honest about their feelings don’t end up unhappy.”
I said it partly with Maria in mind.
Maria had chosen Arthur despite her fears about their love and had taken a step forward.
You’ll find happiness. I’m sure of it.
Rick didn’t seem to fully grasp the deeper meaning behind my words, but his face twisted slightly.
He seemed ready to argue again.
“People who chase foolish dreams of love when they’re in no position to—”
His frustrated voice was abruptly drowned out by a short scream.
“I-I don’t like this!”
It’s my maid!