The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 68
“I’m going out for a bit of fresh air,” Hydrangea quietly told Violette and left the special balcony seating area.
“Okay.”
Once he was at the other side of the door, he ordered the male attendant to guide him to the shop.
“If you could tell me which items you need then I could have it prepared for you.”
“No, thank you.”
“But to get to the shop, you would need to go outside and go around to the main entrance.”
“If that’s the case, then I could just teleport there.”
“Pardon?”
Hydrangea teleported together with the attendant to the entrance of the Étoile Theater.
“Th-this is!?”
The attendant who experienced teleportation for the first time was wide-eyed with shock.
“I never thought I’d get to experience transfer magic!”
“Just bring me there, man.”
“O-of course. This way, please.”
The roundabout in front of the theater was congested, and the area in front of the entrance was crowded with ladies waiting to meet their companions, and couples walking together.
Hydrangea refrained from talking to people and put on his silk hat to avoid getting recognized by people who might know him.
The shop was on the second floor, but the crowd making their way inside the theater made it difficult to get there. He could not just teleport anywhere since it only works in places that he has been to before.
He had been to the Étoile Theater once as part of his extracurricular lessons when he was still studying at the magic academy. However, he was not interested in any of the items sold at the store, so he never visited it.
If he had, then he wouldn’t have had to climb the winding marble staircase to get to his destination.
On the way up, someone had stepped on his foot, but the person who had stepped on him pretended not to notice even though they could have felt the difference between stepping on marble and stepping on someone else’s foot.
He felt frustrated in the unfamiliar environment, but he endured it.
When he managed to get to the shop, there was a long line of people waiting.
“We’re here.”
“….”
Products were laid out in a cramped space on a table that looked like a counter.
Meanwhile, piles of crates filled with merchandise were placed behind the attendants in charge of sales.
“Erm, if you want, we could tell one of the store clerks what you want to buy and I could bring it to you.”
“It’s fine, I’ll line up.”
He flipped open his pocket watch. Even though they teleported, it still took them ten minutes to get to the store.
There’s only twenty minutes till the performance starts. I have to hurry.
He stood at the end of the line and waited for his turn.
While waiting, he could feel the people around looking in his direction. It was rare for elves to come live in the city, so their reaction was not surprising.
However, his “don’t talk to me” aura was at its maximum intensity, so nobody went to bother him. While holding his pocket watch with his left hand and his right foot tapping the floor, Hydrangea tried to suppress his irritation.
He realized that standing in line was such a waste of time and was boring him.
“Look, that person looks like His Excellency, Duke Laudense.”
He flinched when he heard the person behind him. Although he did not remember their voice, he suspected that they were probably someone from the Magic Division.
“But why would he line up to buy things?”
“Are you daft? The head of the Magic Division who is a Stoicheia Mage and is the head of the Laudense House would never be in a place like this.”
“But his ears are pointed.”
“Maybe you’re just seeing a demon.”
“Hmmmm…”
But unbeknownst to them, His Excellency Hydrangea von Laudense, was waiting in that very line to buy merchandise for his wife.
Should I be thanking the demons today? Hydrangea vowed to himself never to turn in the direction of those voices.
Fifteen minutes passed, and it was finally Hydrangea’s turn. His patience was at its limit, so he ended up rapidly blurting out his orders.
“Give me three each of the 20th anniversary edition postcard set of the past female lead actresses, the limited edition figurine of Rossa the cat, and the new collection of short stories exclusive to this theater.”
He thought the items were rare since it was limited edition, so he ordered three of each to appreciate, preserve, and give away.
“Would that be all?”
Among the items prepared was a lovely cat figurine. It was a red cat made of ceramic.
He found it cute, and it soothed his frayed mind.
“On second thought, give me six of those limited edition cat figurines.”
Three of those were for Violette, while the other three were for Hydrangea to appreciate, preserve, and give away.
“This is the short story collection.”
He looked at the cover of the book that the attendant showed him and was taken aback. It was a sort of forbidden book that could only be read by adults over the age of 18.
I guess I understand now why Violette was embarrassed.
“If that is all, then that would be two silver coins please.”
He breathed a sigh of relief after paying. All the items he wanted were still available and he was able to buy everything.
But the moment he received the paper bag, the shop attendant shouted,
“The postcard set, figurines of Rossa the cat, and short story collection are sold out!”
That was close. If I had decided one second later, then I might have failed my mission.
Hydrangea had safely completed his first errand.
He took out the cat figurines he bought for himself and stored them in the magical space where he always stored his staff.
There’s only five minutes until the show starts. I have to hurry. Hydrangea asked the attendant to guide him to the audience aisle and returned to the door of the special seating area via teleportation.
“Good job out there, sir.”
“That was nothing.”
He entered the balcony room after tipping the attendant and the doorman.
Violette rushed Hydrangea as soon as he returned.
“Dear, there’s only three minutes until the performance.”
“Yes, I know.”
Violette patted the chair and told him to sit down quickly.
However, he didn’t sit immediately and put down the items he had bought there.
“My, what’s this?”
“It’s the goods you wanted.”
“Oh!”
After checking the bag’s contents, Violette blinked and stood up at the same time.
“C-could it be that you…?”
“Who else is there?”
“What a surprise. Thank you for these, I’m so, so happy.”
The same time Violette thanked him, the bell signaling the start of the show rang.
The lights were dimmed and it became dark.
“The show’s starting.”
“Yes…!”
Violette was thus able to watch the long-awaited performance.
The story, ‘The Duchess’ struggle to find a groom’, is about a duchess who was the only daughter of a ducal family. She succeeded the title after the death of her parents and pretended to be a maid to sneak into the castle to determine what kind of husband she should choose to establish her family.
Violette seemed to sympathize with the heroine, and smiled during the happy scenes, cried during the sad scenes, and joined in the indignation during the infuriating ones.
But for Hydrangea, it was more entertaining to watch Violette’s facial expressions change from one moment to the next than to watch the performance.
Thus, the one and a half hour performance came to an end in a flash.
“Was it fun?”
Violette responded to his question with an exquisite smile.
“Yes, it was very enjoyable. Thank you so much, Dear.”
When Violette smiled, he felt as if someone had grabbed his heart.
His heart was pounding and beating fast, and he felt restless.
However, it was a common occurrence lately, so he tried not to dwell on it.
◇◇◇
They could have gone home instantly had they used transfer magic, but since the carriage ws waiting and Violette enjoyed the scenery, they also rode the carriage to get home.
Although they had gotten off at the entrance of the mansion, Hydrangea beckoned to Violette and led her to the garden.
“Dear?”
“Just come with me.”
After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the rose garden where the Scarlet roses bloomed.
“Oh!”
“You said you wanted to see it, didn’t you?”
Bathed in the magic-rich moonlight, the Scarlet roses bloomed in full, and diamond-like evening dew adorned the petals.
“What fragrant and beautiful flowers…!”
Violette’s cheeks were flushed as she gazed at the roses.
As he looked at her profile, Hydrangea thought that she looked more beautiful than anything else in the world.
