I Don’t Care About the Story, I Want a Cat ～Transmigrated into an Otome Game～ - Chapter 31

The Concert

The chapel where the musical performance took place was constructed in a way similar to an opera house. The stage was set high and was surrounded by audience seats which slanted upwards the further away they were. There was no spotlight but the magic lamps located around the stage were enough to illuminate the performance perfectly. 

The students of the music class were performing their pieces on the stage, turn by turn. 

Amy had found a good seat in the middle of the front row and waited excitedly for Rosalind’s turn. Leticia sat primly on the seat next to her followed by Jahar, the exchange student from the Kingdom of Bakur, on the next seat. 

Alexander wasn’t with them since he was going to be performing later. But Edward wasn’t there either. Leticia looked up at the second floor and muttered in a soft voice.

“Prince Jahar, you should have sat in one of the box seats. It’s harder for your guards to keep an eye on you like this.”

Jahar’s guards who usually protected him from a distance were currently sitting on the seats next to them. One was sitting beside Jahar while the other sat on Amy’s other side. In that sense, both Amy and Leticia were also protected and the usual gossip and chattering from others that surrounded Amy was also quiet.

“Even if you ask me to, Lettie, I won’t listen. We can finally be together like this. So how can I even think of sitting separately?” 

Saying so, Jahar casually took a hold of Leticia’s hands and brought her fingers to his lips as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

“P-Prince Jahar!”

“Well, if you agree to come with me, sitting up there wouldn’t be bad either.”

“N-no thank you.”

The box seats on the second floor were especially prepared for students of the Academy who belonged to Royalty. Sometimes it would be used to seat members of the Royal family who weren’t students but came to watch the performance. Naturally, it was well equipped to cater to those of a high status and had a clear view of the stage. However, the audience also had a clear view of the box seats. 

At any rate, the box seats today were unoccupied. If she sat up there with this fiance of hers who always had a love struck expression on his face, everyone below would be able to see them. Feeling flustered, Leticia quickly pulled back the hand he was clutching.  

“You both seem to be getting along well.”

“Amy! I’d like to see how you’d act if His Highness was here!”

Leticia, with her cheeks dyed a bright red, turned towards her friend Amy who had uttered the earlier words with a teasing smile. Edward wasn’t here, neither was he in any of the box seats. The Third Prince wanted to avoid the ‘special treatment’ that was bestowed to Royalty, so he had decided to watch from the employee seats in the back which were separated from the rest of the audience. The Royal Family has their own troubles, Amy had thought when Edward went to sit on the other side. 

“By the way, Lettie, which performance did you like so far?”

“Oh, let me think. If I have to pick from all the performances so far, I liked the falsetto singing of the second countertenor.”

“…… I just need some time then I’ll be as tall as him.”

“I-I’m not talking about the person, but the song! I liked the song!”

“Oh? That’s good. I was wondering what to do if that was your type.”

Jahar’s lips were lifted up in a slight smile but his black eyes showed displeasure, contrary to his light hearted tone. 

“Oh, are you jealous?” Amy piped in.

“Amy! Geez, I’m done with you both!” Leticia said. 

Amy’s blunt statement had dispersed the tense feeling around him and Jahar let out a stifled laugh. Amy gazed at the two once again thinking how well they got along. Watching something together and then laughing as they talked about it….. It really was a lot of fun to talk about topics in common, whether it was about animals or music. 

I wonder if Ed was here, would he ask me about my favourite performance as well? Amy thought. 

She was having fun teasing Leticia because Edward wasn’t here to distract her. But, she realised, a part of her wished he was here to watch the performance together with her. 

“What’s wrong, Amy?”

“Ah, nothing. I’m fine.”

Surprised at her own thoughts, Amy quickly shook her head at Leticia’s question. 

“Oh, it’s going to be Rosalind’s turn soon, Lettie.”

“Oh right. I hope Alex pulls it off without doing anything bad.”

“Huh, is he bad at playing the piano?”

“No, he’s good when it comes to playing. That’s not what I meant.”

Alexander was the exact opposite of Rosalind who liked to do everything in a reserved, quiet way. The news about the two of them participating in the musical performance spread like wildfire. Alex would pull Rosalind to practice at every opportunity, and day by day she got more and more exhausted. Looking at her tired body, the girls who had thought of her with envy and jealousy turned to sympathy. 

“Oh and he also gave her a violin from the estate of Duke Coverdale. She turned quite pale when she received something like that.” 

“Well, what about?…. Ah, nevermind.”

Leticia had a knowing expression on her face. Amy wanted to ask her about it but the next performance began so she closed her mouth. The performer was a singer who sang in a beautiful soprano voice, and this was followed by a piano performance. 

＊　＊　＊

The performance of the students before Rosalind’s had begun. The stage was designed to resonate the sounds towards the audience so it was much quieter backstage. 

Rosalind let out a sigh as she listened to the faint voice of her classmate singing on the stage. 

“Relax, don’t be nervous.” Alex said to her.

“……Whose fault do you think it is?” Rosalind retorted with a pointed look.

“Well if it makes you feel better then you can blame me all you want.”

“Ah, is that so? Very well then, as you wish.”

Alexander shrugged in response, making Rosalind laugh out loud. Her face seemed to relax after the exchange.

It had become normal for them to exchange quips and banters after spending the last few days training together, and in fact, Rosalind had started treating Alex like a member of her own family. She tried to not tease him too much but Alex didn’t seem to mind so she didn’t hold herself back.  

“You gave me that expensive violin which is probably worth an entire mansion, and made me wear this dress that I’ve never worn before. Plus, the partner I have to perform with is the only son of Duke Coverdale. How can I not get nervous with all this?”

“Is that so? Don’t worry, the violin was just lying around back at home, no one really used it. And you look good in that dress. You should wear more dresses like this, it suits you.”

Rosalind let out a huge sigh at that while Alexander just smiled happily at her.

“…… I never thought Alex, the man coveted by every young lady out there, was this kind of person.”

“What do you mean by this kind of person? I’m just me, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Hey don’t play word games with me.”

“Well, I also never thought the daughter of Count Knolls would be such a person, so that makes us even.”

While the two were conversing they had inadvertently gotten closer to each other without even noticing. Rosalind realised with a jolt just how close his face had gotten and quickly took a few steps back. It was unthinkable for a man and woman, who weren’t engaged or married, to be so close to each other. Seeing her reaction, Alexander let out another laugh. 

Honestly, neither of them had expected the other one to be such a person.