~•|•~
"It seems Ille Town's popularity is greater than I thought," Dante said as he watched the people line up to ride the tram.
"Ille is indeed a suitable place to take a short break, Captain," Inez replied, swallowing saliva nervously. She glanced at their gripped hands again. 'Is it okay like this?' she thought, turning to Anne. The maid looks a little awkward. She sighs softly.
The tram approached and stopped at the stop. Fortunately, the tram doors were right in front of Dante, so the man intercepted the entrance first.
"Come on in, Lady," Dante said, helping Inez up.
"Thank you, Captain." Inez nodded briefly. Even so, she avoided looking directly at Dante.
After Inez, Anne entered, and Dante entered last among the three of them. Thereafter, the passengers boarded in crowds.
Anne immediately ran to secure a seat for Inez at the back, the most favorite part of the tram. Inez also caught up with Anne, and Dante stepped casually in with a small smile.
"Lady, sit here! Hurry up!" Anne slightly shouted while placing the seat for Inez.
"Yes." Inez stepped faster and managed to sit on the chair guarded by Anne. "Thank you, Anne." There was one more empty seat. She looks at her maid. "Anne, sit down here," she pleaded.
Anne gave a small shake of her head. She looked at Dante, who stepped up to them.
Inez furrowed her brow. "He's a man. You go in first. Sit down," she pleaded once again.
"No, My Lady." Anne shook her head and stuck to her decision until Dante reached them.
"What are you doing? Please sit down," Dante said, looking at Anne. He knew what they were talking about as they stared at him. "I don't mind standing at all," he added.
"No, Captain. Please take a seat." Anne offered the empty seat beside Inez to the man.
"Anne," snapped Inez, looking straight at her maid.
"Sit down," insisted Dante once again, holding on to the metal pole in the tram.
Anne glanced silently at Inez, and the girl nodded reassuringly. Only then did Anne sit down next to Inez, but with a feeling as if a pin had been driven through her ass.
One minute later, the tram left the Beetheaven shopping center for Ille Town.
"Wow," Inez muttered because she didn't feel the shock of riding in a carriage or a car.
"This is absolutely great," praised Anne, who was leaning back quietly on the seat. She turns to Inez and grins. "I wish I could ride the tram every day!"
Inez chuckles. "So do I, Anne." Her gaze shifted to Dante, who was looking out the window. Dante, who felt stared at, turned his head and looked back at Inez. The man smiled slightly.
"Have you ever been to Ille Town?" asked Dante.
"Yes." Inez nodded. "Once," she replied. "And you?"
"It's my first time to Ille," Dante said in an even tone.
"Really?" replied Inez, a little surprised.
"After Ille became as popular as it is now," Dante continued, He looked straight at Inez. "I used to come to Ille when it was still a slum town," he added.
"Ah..." Inez felt embarrassed that she was too excited to cut off Dante's explanation. She lowered her gaze to the tram floor, which was covered with red carpet. "I've heard that from Anthony."
"Count of Buford? Your brother," Dante said, even though he already knew.
"Yes." Inez gave a small nod and avoided Dante's gaze again.
"When I was at the academy, I was assigned to the Ille," Dante suddenly said, making Inez look back at him. The man smiled. "I don't know how Ille is now, but back then... there were a lot of thieves and drunks at Ille. It wasn't a safe place for a woman to walk alone, even if it was in the morning."
"Really?" Inez seemed interested in Ille City in previous years. "I only know that Ille is a slum town." She glanced at Anne, who was a true listener to their conversation. "I didn't think it would be that bad when I saw Ille the last time I came there."
Dante gave a small nod at Inez's words. "That means Ille has changed a lot." He stared out the window with a faint smile. "I'm curious. Is that store still there?" he mumbled.
Inez was stunned. "What store are you talking about, Captain?"
Dante chuckles. He looks at Inez. "It's just a small store where the young military from the academy go to rest after a shift."
"There's a store like that?"
"Yes. There is," Dante replied with a nod.
Inez paused to observe Dante's expression. The man seemed lost in nostalgia, and he looked a bit happy. So, Inez smiled too.
~•|•~
In less than thirty minutes, the tram stopped at Ille Town Station. The small town was still bustling, even more so than the last time Inez came here.
The girl covered her face with a hat to protect her face from the sun at half past nine in the morning.
"Where are you going first, Lady?" asked Anne, looking at the girl.
"Is the circus or the opera open this early?" asked Inez.
"Is there a circus and an opera here too?" asked Dante, who was standing next to Inez.
The girl turned her head to that man. "There is, Captain. Ah, do you have an appointment here?"
"Hm?" Dante shook his head slowly. "No, I don't. I just wanted to hang out."
Inez looked at Dante's naval military outfit once more. "But you..."
"Oh, there are a lot of army soldiers here," Dante chuckled as he looked at the men, who were mostly in uniform while walking with women, like lovers. Dante paused when he realized Inez and Anne's gazes had been on his uniform all along. He immediately turned to Inez. "I don't have a date."
"Oh Captain..." Inez let out an exasperated sigh. "You don't have to explain that to me," she said.
"But I think you need to know," Dante said, setting the record straight. "I have a job nearby. But later, it'll be a while."
"Alright, alright." Inez objected somewhat to hearing Dante's story. Once again, she looked straight at the man. "So..." She played her fingers in front of her body. "Would you like to join me?"
"Is that okay?" asked Dante, stunned for a moment.
"That's..." Inez broke her gaze. "I think," she sighed softly. 'What am I talking about?" she mused. "If you want," she said, looking at Dante again.
"My pleasure, Lady." Dante smiled and nodded.
Inez stared at the man. She swallowed heavily, then turned her head to the left. "Anne, ah..." She furrowed her brows when she didn't find Anne by her side.
"She went there earlier," Dante said, pointing to a post that only had its backside visible from the station. "Do you want to go there?" he offered.
"Y-yeah... of course," Inez replied with a small nod. She took the first step, and Dante followed behind her.
~•|•~
"Lady!"
Anne waved two tickets in the air while grinning. A second later, she looks surprised to see Dante behind her lady.
"What are you holding, Anne? What are those tickets?" asked Inez as she confronted her maid.
Anne shook her head, shaking off thoughts of Dante. She showed Inez the ticket she had bought from the ticket booth. "These are tickets for the opera theater, My Lady."
Inez stares at the ticket. "The Knight and the Flower Princess?" She furrowed her brow. "Is this the title?"
"Yes, Lady. It is said to be the theater with the most expected story. If I'm not mistaken, the author's name is Galar."
"Galar?" Inez glared in surprise. Afterward, she giggles. "Oh my... thank you for getting these tickets, Anne. I quite like that author's work. But I never heard that he wrote a novel called The Knight and The Flower Princess."
"Hey, that's because it's an exclusive story!" One of the residents at Ille who passed by answered Inez's question.
"Is that so?" Inez was surprised.
The resident nodded confidently. "You must go to the opera theater now, or you will be late, Lady!"
"Ah, the theater starts at nine," said Anne, looking at the ticket. She looks at Inez. "We don't have much time, Lady."
"All right. Let's go!" Inez turned around, and she was surprised to see Dante silent behind her. "Oh God, forgive me, Captain."
"Why should you apologize?" Dante retorted. "Are you guys going to see the theater?"
"Well..." Inez looked at the tickets in Anne's hand. "It's only two tickets, Captain. And I thought you wouldn't like this kind of romance theater?"
Dante was silent for a moment, looking at Inez. Then he turned to stare at a resident who was still watching them. "Hey!" he called out.
"Yes, Sir!" The resident replied with a smile.
"Can you get me a ticket to the theater with the same title?" asked Dante. "I'll give you more money."
"Really?" said the resident happily.
Dante nodded slowly. He looked at Inez, who looked surprised, and Anne, who looked the same. "If you'd like to go first, that's fine, Lady. I'll catch up."
"That's..." Inez stuttered for a moment. She squeezed Anne's arm.
"W-We'll be waiting for you, Captain!" said Anne, which made Inez smile stiffly at Dante.
The man nodded slowly, then pulled out five sena coins from his pocket, which the resident immediately took. "Is this enough?" he asked.
The resident's eyes twinkled. He looked at Dante and nodded energetically. "More than enough, Sir! Just a moment! I'll be back in less than five minutes!" he exclaimed as he ran off in the direction of the ticket booth, leaving Dante with two girls staring at him in confusion.
Dante was aware of the stares. So he looked at both of them with a rather stiff expression. "I also like novels written by Gilar."
"Galar, you mean?" Inez confirmed.
Dante cleared his throat briefly with a straight expression. He broke his gaze from Inez and stuffed both hands into his pants pockets. "Yeah, I mean that. Galar."
Inez smiled at the man.
"Lady," Anne called in a whisper, which made Inez immediately slightly bow.
"It means Captain Dante likes to read romance novels?" asked Anne, who a second later immediately heard the sound of coughing from Dante.
Inez glanced at the man briefly. "Shh! Shut your mouth about this, Anne! The captain probably has his own tastes."
Dante immediately turned his head and looked at Inez with one eyebrow raised. Inez straightened up, and she smiled at him.
"Galar is a good writer, Captain. He's one of the five best romance novelists in Schubert," Inez said, and Dante responded with an awkward nod.
———