“I wish to go on a date,” Nadir said suddenly.
I nodded and waved my hand in a “go ahead” gesture. “Okay. Have fun.”
“Have you forgotten what our relationship is?”
“Umm, employer and employee?”
He pinched my cheek lightly. “We are currently pretending to be engaged.”
“Yes? And since I’m not your real fiancée, I’m just saying you can go on however many dates you please.”
He pinched my other cheek too. “What I’m saying is, we should go on a date and make our relationship status public.”
“Wait, you want to go on a date with me?”
“What else could I possibly have meant?” he asked, finally releasing my cheeks.
Wait, so he was actually...? “You’re asking me out on a date!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to— Ugh, just forget about it,” he muttered with a sigh. Which was the least of my concerns.
I’d never gone on a date before! In fact, I’d never even been asked out on a date! Sadly, the men who had pursued me in the past would ignore me once they learned of my family’s debt. The mere memory was making me tear up. But that was then and this was now! I was going on a date! For work, yes, but a date nonetheless!
“A date...” I murmured, savoring the word on my tongue.
I’d dreamed of it for so long. Eating together at food stalls, wearing the perfect outfits, and ending the day with a flower bouquet in my hands. And then being proposed to, right then and there!
I would not allow anyone to tell me I was delusional. A maiden should be allowed her dreams!
“We’re going to a restaurant favored by the upper echelons of nobility,” Nadir explained.
A restaurant. A restaurant frequented by high-class nobles.
“I hope I don’t mess up,” I mused as my earlier excitement over the date instantly shifted to anxiety. I had no confidence in my etiquette—sadly, I was from a lower-class noble background, and couldn’t pull off the perfect-lady act like Leticia.
“You’ll be fine,” Nadir reassured me. “We’ve been eating together daily, and you’ve been making strides, have you not? There won’t be any issues.”
It was true, yes, that since I’d started working here, I took my morning and evening meals with Nadir, and he’d been teaching me how to hold the cutlery and so on. I had wondered why, but when he’d argued that he couldn’t bear the thought of his fiancée—fake or otherwise—being seen as uncultured, I’d had no choice but to comply.
And this was my chance to put all that training to use!
“I’ve got this!” I declared confidently. “I’ll show my perfect table manners!”
Nadir, however, looked concerned. Why?
✦ ✦ ✦
“I-I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine,” I muttered to try and reassure myself.
Though I’d brimmed with confidence earlier, the second I stepped foot inside the restaurant, that had all vanished. Nadir gave me an exasperated glance, but what was I supposed to do?! Everywhere I looked, actual, bona fide high-class nobles were dining with poise and grace!
Appearance wise, I was certain I was fine. After all, Nadir had coordinated my entire outfit, just as he had for the party. The dress, the jewelry, the makeup—he had handpicked them all, and his fashion sense was impeccable. Thanks to him, on the outside, I looked like a proper, fine lady. Strictly on the outside.
Inside, sadly, I lacked substance.
“I-I’m fine,” I chanted to myself again. “I’m fine...” I was not fine.
“Honestly,” Nadir muttered. “You’re always so confident. Why are you faltering now?” Well, that was certainly blunt.
“I have a complex, okay?!” I snapped, glaring at him. Look, I had been a commoner, and an orphan no less. I’d lucked into a noble family, but at my core, I was still a commoner. A commoner!
“Why are you always so self-deprecating when it comes to your own background?” Nadir paused before continuing, his tone firm, “You were raised by your parents to be a proper noble lady.”
I blinked in surprise at his words. “You’re right...”
My adoptive parents had indeed taken me in and raised me with all the love and care they would’ve offered their own child. Nadir was right. I was my parents’ daughter first and a commoner second.
Seeing that I had relaxed, Nadir nodded, just as the food was served. “You’ll be fine. Just eat.”
“Okay,” I said, then took the knife and fork, careful not to make a sound as I cut into the meat. The smell of the overflowing juices tickled my appetite. I could actually eat here without feeling out of place!
I gave Nadir a joyful glance, and he smiled back at me. Suddenly feeling quite bashful, I looked down at my plate, then brought a piece of steak to my lips. “Oh, it’s delicious!” I exclaimed.
“Good to hear,” Nadir replied.
The meals at his home were, of course, excellent, but dining out felt different. I allowed myself to savor this exceptional dish, of the sort seldom afforded to me, and slowly my nerves began to settle.
And then it occurred to me.
“Um,” I said.
“What?” Nadir replied.
“Uh, isn’t that Abel sitting to our left? Diagonally from here?”
“It is.”
For some reason, there was Abel, dining alone. He was a marquis and his demeanor was elegant, but he still stood out among all the patrons dining with company.
And he wasn’t the only one who stood out like a sore thumb.
“And sitting over there, farther to the left from Abel,” I said. “Isn’t that Leticia?”
“Perhaps,” Nadir replied.
There was no way I’d noticed and Nadir hadn’t. Abel was smiling pleasantly, and Leticia was glaring jealously at us. The contrast was unsettling.
“Um. What’s happening?” I asked.
“Most likely a result of Ben opening his big mouth,” Nadir explained. “Just ignore them.”
“Ignore them, you say...”
Well, I could probably ignore Abel, but Leticia was practically murdering us with her gaze.
“Don’t worry,” Nadir said. “Give it a moment, and...there he is.”
I looked toward the entrance, and in walked a figure, captivating with his elegant stride and beautiful features. His outfit was discreet, blending in with the crowd, but there was no mistaking it—that was the crown prince himself.
Upon recognizing him, Leticia began to tremble, but soon recomposed herself, likely remembering that she was in public. Truly, halting one’s shivers on the spot like that was a very impressive skill.
The crown prince took the seat opposite Leticia’s and smiled pleasantly at her. She smiled pleasantly back. Now it just looked like the handsome crown prince and his wife had sneaked out of the palace for a date.
Leticia’s hands still trembled slightly, however. No doubt this was yet another of her escapades, and she had come to this restaurant in secret. I could imagine her heart shrieking at the top of its tiny heart-lungs when she saw the crown prince’s smile.
But she’d brought this upon herself, and now she had to lie in the bed she’d made.
I decided to focus on my meal. It wasn’t often that I got to eat something so delicious, after all! I couldn’t simply let it go to waste. Nadir, too, carried on eating, paying no mind to either Leticia or Abel.
Of course, the crown princess yelled at me for this later, but I didn’t see what I’d done wrong.
This wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t kept trying to run!