"You….. You want me as your assistant?"
After waking up around 2 P.M and having lunch, Euphemia uttered those words with a confused expression.
"It has come to my attention that you have a lot of free time. Therefore, since you aren't doing anything productive, this should be a good opportunity for you. And your work shall be well endorsed. The money will be yours to do as you please."
She should be able to start working for me next week.
If that Alphonse followed my instructions, those students should have cultivated a good amount of resentment towards Euphemia by then.
'But there's something I need to consider….'
Should I lower her self-esteem by criticizing her work?
Or should I make her reliant on me by taking responsibility for her mistakes?
Regardless, now I have countless opportunities to bend Euphemia to my will.
As Euphemia realizes her shortcomings, she will become more reliant on me, and so I will become an irreplaceable part of her life.
"That….. Can I even do it?"
"You will only be my assistant, so there is no need to be anxious. Your work won't be anything difficult."
I have to control what type of work she will receive thoroughly.
"Explain to me what I will do."
"As the assistant professor, you will handle the attendance list, help me prepare the material for my lectures, and deliver my reports to the administrative committee."
"..."
Even though this might seem a lot, her work consists mainly of miscellaneous things.
After some time, Euphemia looked at me and nodded.
Truly, she is a naïve little thing. Nevertheless, her agreement with my proposal made me smile as we finished our meal.
"Did you have your fill?"
"Yes….."
"Then get ready. We are going out."
"Going out?….. Where?"
"It is of great shame to me that my wife doesn't know the Imperial Capital, so I am going to take you on a tour."
A peaceful date.
Yes, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take her out like a normal couple would do.
She may hate my presence, but I think her boredom must be eating her alive by now.
"..."
"I take your silence as a yes. Since the nights at the capital tend to get rather cold, remember to wear a coat."
"Night? It's only 3 P.M."
"Do you think we would be able to enjoy our tour of the Imperial Capital in just one or two hours?"
Rising from my seat, I informed the maids to help Euphemia as I left the room.
"I shall wait for you at the main hall."
There is no clear definition of the concept of memories, but for me, a memory is a moment in your life that you remember, no matter how long it happened.
Because most humans live on fixated routines, they won't remember the events that transpired every day of the year.
So if you ask someone what they were doing 21 days ago, many won't even remember it.
But if there is a significant event in their lives, then this event will be engraved in their memories.
It doesn't matter if this event was something traumatic or not.
Click-clack.
Click-clack.
The distinct sound of Euphemia's steps awakened me from my musings, and as I turned around, I saw her wearing a white robe over the yellow dress.
While simplistic in its design, the robe was made of the most luxurious fabric.
"Why….?"
Is there a reason for a man to not look at a beautiful woman?
"Let's go."
I reached out my hand to Euphemia.
"..."
Euphemia looked at my hand, then my face, before hesitantly clasping my hand.
Good, there were no refusals this time.
It seems like my 'training' is yielding results.
"I won't let go of your hand…. so you can ease your grip a little…."
Euphemia tapped my forearm, indicating her pain.
"I apologize."
"What…..?"
"Why are you so surprised?"
Like a blooming sunflower. Her eyes widened at my words.
"You never apologized to me before…."
"Is that so…."
As we approached the carriage, Euphemia appeared hesitant.
"Are you planning on staying there?"
"Sorry."
"….."
Euphemia quickly entered the carriage, perhaps realizing that there was no point in arguing anymore.
"This is….."
We stopped by the 'Grand Theater' in the Capital.
Like a curious cat, Euphemia carefully examined the grand theater.
As Euphemia continued to scan the surroundings, I bought two tickets, and as a prank, I rushed towards the entrance alone.
"Ah, Wait…. Don't leave me here!"
Running as fast as her heels allowed her, Euphemia quickly came by my side and held my hand.
Since she is in an unfamiliar place, perhaps she felt secure by my side.
Like a child playing on a playground who occasionally checks to see if his mother is still sitting on the bench.
Nonetheless, whether she likes it or not, it's true that I'm the only one she can rely on. I'm her lighthouse on the most tempestuous nights.
"Is this your first time at a theater?"
"I've never watched a play before…."
"Good. Then enjoy this experience."
In this theater, those who wanted to watch a play would have to make a reservation in advance. But since I bought tickets for the VIP area, which was ridiculously expensive, there was no need for that.
"It should begin soon."
The subtle lights in the auditorium were turned off.
Unlike the seats below us that were crowded with people, the VIP area where we were seated was private and spacious, so Euphemia and I could enjoy the show without problems.
'Isn't this more of a musical than a traditional play?'
The silky red curtain that covered the stage opened as the actor's voices resonated in harmony with the music, creating a pleasant mood.
And unlike Euphemia, who eagerly watched the play, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the music.
Since some of the stage's compositions and backgrounds were out of symmetry, this sight would only be something painful for me.
'But the quality of the play is not bad…..'
Since I closed my eyes, I couldn't see what was happening on the stage, but the actors' lines were delivered with confidence and charisma.
The emotions behind their lines were conveyed masterfully.
The theme of the play was a cliché love story...
"What a sick bastard…."
"..."
Euphemia cursed as the Villain abused the Heroine after being forcibly married to him.
"I wasn't talking about you…."
"I didn't say anything."
"Hm….good thing you know that."
I would never abuse Euphemia.
Perhaps to gather the audience's disgust, the villain was portrayed as the typical ugly bastard, a fat ugly character with a pig-like face.
I was momentarily displeased with the thought that Euphemia must have compared me with that pig, but I swallowed my anger.
Because I've never seen her having so much fun as I do now.
And seeing her reaction to the various scenarios of the play, I was momentarily lost in my thoughts.
This play was something quite popular — a classic, to be exact.
Then, like so many characters in those transmigration novels, could I earn a decent income by providing scripts for plays like Romeo and Juliet?
Even if it's not Romeo and Juliet, I could use something like Hamlet and Macbeth…..
Although I don't remember those works in detail, those scripts have been adapted to various media platforms and were clearly popular in Seo-jin's memory.
'Well, it's a good idea for a future project….'
If something happens to Jeremiah – the head of Brutein – then it would be wise to have a source of income that is not connected to Brutein.
While thinking of such things with my eyes closed, I continued to listen to the play.
After a while…..
'A predictable happy ending….'
As the curtain falls down, the audience explodes with thunderous applause.
"Let's go."
We left the theater, and Euphemia seemed quite pleased with this experience as she smiled brightly.
Although for someone like me who has Seo-jin's memories, this play seemed like a B-class corny romance movie for her…..
There's a reason why such plays are such lucrative endeavors.
So it was no wonder such a play was presented at the 'Grand Theater.'
Because there's no way the ones responsible for the theater would allow something that didn't make money.
"Did you enjoy the play?"
Euphemia nodded her head excitedly.
"It's just that…. it would be cooler if there had been some aristocratic characters in the play too, but I could see why they didn't put any."
"There exists an Imperial law that forbids the representation of any aristocrats in plays, as such things could become demoralizing caricatures of some aristocrats, which wouldn't bode well for the theater."
It was also for this reason that there weren't many comedy plays.
Because the honor of the aristocracy had to be upheld at all costs, as their authority was absolute.
"….. That's a relief."
Is she being considerate towards me now?
I wonder what reaction I would have…. had if an aristocrat was portrayed as a Villain.
It seems that she was worried about that too.
"..."
Twist.
As I speculated on such things, I turned around, and Euphemia followed my lead.
"….. Where are we going now?"
Unlike when we left the mansion, her voice now contained traces of anticipation.
5:20 P.M.
"We are having dinner."
"..."
My initial plan was to get on the ferry and watch the sunset while navigating the Thisbe River.
"There is no need to look so sullen. After we dine, we will visit another attraction. If you were so eager to see the Capital, why didn't you go out with your maids?"
"I don't have money…."
"Euphemia, I won't ask you to pay back the money you spent."
"You…. Did you forget that 74 years ago, Brutein waged war on Louerg because the head of my family couldn't pay the money your family lent to him?"
"..."
I forgot.
Since the merge between Seo-jin and Ferzen, some trivial memories have been discarded.
'I knew that Brutein had waged war on Louerg for some trivial cause, but to think that was the reason…..'
I didn't know she was aware of what transpired 74 years ago. Well, it did involve her family, so it's not surprising. That must be the reason why she is so sensitive about using my money.
"It would be nice if you could pay that debt."
"Even someone like you can make jokes about something, huh..."
I was a little annoyed by Euphemia's snarky remark, which seemed a bit rude to me, so I rushed ahead.
"Hey…. Wait for me….. I can't walk fast because of these heels….!"
Since we were holding hands, I reduced my pace so that Euphemia wouldn't trip or fall.
"..."
Then as I strolled, holding Euphemia's hand, we went into a suitable restaurant.
By the time we finished eating, it was already 7:00 P.M.
Since I decided to enjoy a fine bottle of wine with her, we ended up staying longer than I had planned.
"So…. Where are you taking me now?"
As the night came, the temperature dropped. But since we drank the wine, our body temperature was slightly warmer, so the cold wasn't uncomfortable.
"You will find out when we get there."
Because it's not far away from where we are.
So the couple moved through the cold streets of the capital, where the luminous stones glowed brightly, driving away the darkness of the night.