“Your Highness! Look at this. It’s so pretty.”
“Uh… Oh, ah.”
Asha looked at herself in the mirror with a slightly surprised face.
Today was the day Alexei had promised her to go see the opera. In truth, Asha hadn’t really intended to go see it.
However, ever since Asha returned from the cake shop, Alexei had been closely monitoring her condition. If she were to refuse to go now, it would surely raise suspicion as to what might have happened outside – flipping the whole capital upside down just to find out what had happened. In such a situation, she couldn’t refuse.
But…
“The clothes are really… really fancy…”
“It’s a special dress sent by His Highness the Crown Prince, and it’s very pretty. It suits you as if it were tailored to you, Your Highness!”
The velvet material, which appeared to be a shade of navy or teal, was embellished with gold threads in a beautiful pattern. A lace ribbon was tied around her neck, with a mysterious blue brooch in the center. It was a stunning outfit that would catch anyone’s eye even from afar.
“The shoes are beautiful too.”
Asha said, looking at the shoes Lise carried on the cushion. The round-toed navy shoes matched the dress fabric, and they had a thick ribbon that could be tied loosely. On the instep, pearls and sparkling gems were adorned like stars in the night sky.
“These shoes…”
But Lise’s response was subtle. It was more calm than when she was excited when she saw Asha’s fancy dress.
“It’s from Lord Karnov.”
“…Karnov? Why?”
“Well, I’m not sure… Should you try on the shoes first?”
Though it felt like she was changing the subject, Asha didn’t say anything and slipped her foot into the shoes. The shoes seemed to fit her perfectly.
Just as Asha finished putting on the shoes and was about to tie the ribbon around her neck, there was a knock on the door. It was Alexei, who had come to escort Asha.
“Asha, the outfit suits you really well. You look absolutely beautiful.”
Alexei was also dressed much more elegantly than usual. Until now, he had a cold scholar impression, but now he was definitely like the next successor to the throne.
“I’ll tie it up for you.”
Alexei said, brushing Lise aside with a gesture. He then knelt down on one knee in front of Asha. As Alexei tied the ribbon of the bonnet under Asha’s chin, she caught a glimpse of a faint lilac aura swirling around him.
‘Did it show that much?’
It wasn’t particularly pleasant during the outing, but Asha didn’t think she had revealed anything.
If left alone, Alexei’s light purple airflow seemed to get thicker and thicker. Asha decided to quickly change the subject.
“But speaking of the opera, I’m not sure if it will be enjoyable. What is today’s performance about?”
“Today’s performance is ‘The Princess in the Veil,’ I believe. Yes, that’s right.”
Alexei went out of the room with Asha and continued to talk quietly. Outside, there were two luxurious carriages waiting to go to the concert hall.
“A great general is going to marry a beautiful princess, but in fact, the general has someone in his heart, so he doesn’t even remove the princess’s veil on the wedding day.”
“Then shouldn’t he not have gotten married from the beginning?”
“He couldn’t help it because of adult circumstances. But in fact, the princess was the one the general had a crush on… that’s the story. The content is mediocre, but the aria is beautiful.”
Asha looked serious for a moment, then climbed into the carriage and whispered to Alexei.
“The princess’s veil will be removed before the first act is over, right?”
Alexei didn’t respond with a smile, his expression filled with ambiguity.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Wearing a gorgeous pink dress and covering her face with a half-veil, the actress sang while spinning on the stage decorated like a study.
<It seems the general should start with some reading. Only then will a woman come to like the general!>
Then, she took out books from the bookshelf one by one and said the title. The chorus beside her sang together in tune.
<This is ‘Shadow of Lilacs’!>
<The story of a sweet girl traveling here and there, meeting various men!>
<This is ‘The Owner of the Winter Forest’!>
<A tale of an illegitimate child from a noble family seeking revenge, but also encountering a princess!>
<And this one is ‘A Handful of a Royal Palace’’!>
<A strong-willed girl becomes a maid in the palace and meets the prince!>
Asha and Alexei were seated in a box seat on the second floor of the opera theater, surrounded by curtains that shielded their surroundings. As Asha sank into the sofa, she whispered to Alexei.
“It seems like the chorus sings better than the female lead.”
“The one with the brown hair in the center?”
“According to Alyosha, right? She’s the best, isn’t she?”
Alexei nodded his head. Asha brought the opera glasses up to her eyes.
<And this one is… ‘Please, Work on Your Expression’!>
<Well, the title is quite unusual.>
<I’m actually talking about your face right now.>
The faces of the main actors were enlarged and formed on the opera glass lens, and as Asha tilted the direction, the faces of the chorus came in.
‘I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.’
However, the chorus appeared briefly and quickly disappeared off the stage.
“The harpist must be sleepy.”
“Is he not playing well?”
“He keeps making small mistakes, it seems.”
Asha whispered to Alexei, feeling slightly surprised that she could notice such a thing.
However, while she could sense the harpist making mistakes amidst the multitude of instruments, she couldn’t recall where she had seen the brown-haired singer from the chorus. Asha couldn’t shake off the feeling of familiarity even until the opera came to an end and the curtain call began.
‘Something feels familiar, but I can’t quite place it.’
<What are you mumbling about?>
Asha glanced down at one of the buttons on her clothing to see a vivid bird pattern etched into it.
‘What is it, Phoebe? Are you still sleeping?’
<What’s the fun of human theatre?>
‘The songs are nice to listen to.’
<I’d rather you sing. That would be better.>
‘What song am I supposed to sing?’
<As the contractor of this body, how can you say such things? Of course, I can sing better than anyone else!>
Phoebe raised her voice as if she believed in the genius of a firstborn child, just like an unwavering parent. Asha almost burst out laughing, but she held it in and brought the opera glasses close to her eyes again. The chorus was at the edge of the stage, and their heavy makeup made it difficult to recognize even their facial features.
At that moment Phoebe said.
<What is it, what is it! That’s that woman, isn’t it?>
“That woman?”
<The one who caused a commotion in front of your shop! Why is she there?>
Finally, Asha was able to recognize the face of the woman who sang the best among the chorus.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Located slightly off the center of the city, on the banks of the Vichegda River, the old opera theater was a place steeped in history and tradition.
That statement may paint the theater in a positive light, but to be honest, it wasn’t particularly sophisticated. As a result, recently, only about half of the second-floor seats, reserved for the nobility, were occupied. However, today, every seat was sold out.
“I’m really glad we came together…”
“I always came alone and quietly watched before leaving.”
Today, as the nobles who bought the second-floor seats took their places, the first thing they did was hold opera glasses to their eyes and glance at the audience in other sections. Specifically, they focused on the central seats of the second floor.
There, sitting on the sofa, was a little girl who looked around ten years old, though her age was doubtful, and a boy, with a difficult-to-guess expression despite being fifteen. The two of them were none other than Prince Alexei, the crown prince of the empire, and Princess Anastasia, who had not been expelled from the palace ever since the emperor personally left her there not long ago.
“I heard that Her Highness Anastasia was on a short trip to the city a while ago.”
“I heard that Karnov Neustadter escorted her.”
“What? Is that true?”
The chaos that suddenly broke out in the theater was all because the noble audience on the second floor had gathered there from the beginning to admire Princess Anastasia.
“When I heard about it, I was so surprised. His Majesty must value her so much to have the next Duke of Sedvoyer as an escort knight.”
“By the way, it seems that the young princess doesn’t know anything. Was she not afraid of Karnov Neustadter?”
“Haha, well, she’s young. It’s natural not to know yet.”
As the curtain went up and the stage began, the singers moved gracefully and continued singing, but the murmurs of the nobles did not cease.
“But where did she go when she came to town a few days ago?”
“Who was it… Baroness Saratov said she opened a new shop, and she went to see it.”
“Baroness Saratov? You mean the merchant?”
Disdainful expressions appeared on the faces of the other nobles.
“I don’t know if I should admit her to be a noble. I can’t believe the princess went to see her shop.”
“Isn’t the princess from the countryside? She must be curious about anything. And the store has recently become sensationally popular. Have you tried it?”
“Oh… Is it some kind of chocolate cake or something like that? The color was so weird that I didn’t want to.”
“I heard that the Marchioness of Tataricha praised it after eating it.”
“You mean Marchioness Tataricha? She’s known to be strict when it comes to desserts. What was the name again? She heavily criticized the shop set up by either the current head chef or one of his apprentices at the palace.”
“That’s what I’m saying. That’s why I was curious too. I’ve already made plans to try it out tomorrow.”
“Oh, well, I’m a bit wary of the marchioness. They say she killed her husband. I find her quite scary.”
“Isn’t that just a rumor? I heard he died from a fall on the stairs.”
“Well, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
