Chapter 131 – This Is My First Time Coming Here With You

After their meal, Evelyn and Axion stepped outside and made their way toward the opera house for the next part of their evening. With nearly an hour to spare before the performance, they decided to stroll through the surrounding streets.

‘What am I even doing right now…?’

For some reason, she found herself playing along with her fiancé’s ridiculous game.

“Oh, that mansion over there is beautiful!”
“At the very least, it should have three floors.”
“The chairs at the restaurant earlier were so plush.”
“Hm. So fabric is better than leather, then.”

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have paid any attention even if she had chattered away beside him. But now, unable to bear his attitude of responding to every little thing she said, she whipped her head around to glare at him.

“What’s really going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think I don’t know you?”

It was obvious he was up to something, trying to mess with her. There was no other reason for him to be meticulously noting every little preference of his fiancée.

When Evelyn stared at him with open suspicion, Axion’s lips curved into a smooth, practiced smile.

“I’m glad to hear you know me so well.”

Her fiancé’s shameless evasions only deepened the scowl on her face.

Why was he being so infuriating on purpose!

After climbing countless steps, the opera house rose before them, its grandeur framed by towering columns. The elegant structure exuded an air of old-world majesty. Once they showed their tickets to the attendant and stepped inside, an interior no less magnificent than the façade revealed itself.

‘You could almost believe this was a royal palace.’

Walls and ceilings gleamed with gilded ornamentation and intricate carvings, each detail a testament to painstaking artistry. Indeed, it was no wonder the place was lauded as a temple of the arts.

“Aren’t you going in?”

“Ah, right. Let’s go in!”

Evelyn, who found herself momentarily spellbound every time she visited, overwhelmed by the sheer splendor of the sight, soon followed her fiancé into the auditorium. They settled in the highest tier, and before long, the overture began.

The Temple of the Moon was an opera inspired by ancient mythology. A tale, she recalled, of a mortal’s ceaseless torment after falling in love with a goddess. True to its famous reputation, the sumptuous staging drew the audience into the heart of the story with irresistible force. However, by the time the performance reached its middle act, Evelyn couldn’t help but frown slightly. Perhaps finding this strange, Axion leaned toward her during the intermission and asked in a low voice.

“You don’t like the performance?”

“No, it’s interesting. It is, but…”

Her voice trailed off as she recalled the unease that had lingered throughout the opera. In her studies of mythology, she had grown familiar with the tales that formed its backdrop.

And yet, the content of this play was almost as if…

For a moment she hesitated, wondering if she should confide her thoughts to her fiancé. But simply brooding on them would solve nothing.

Resolute, Evelyn turned to him with a steady gaze.

“Axion, do you remember when I spoke of the Moon Goddess?”

“I do. You said they had saddled you with some strange goddess.”

Fortunately, he seemed to remember the masquerade well. Evelyn gave a slight nod, then began to explain her concern calmly.

“This opera… it feels less like myth and more like sorcery.”

Even though the names of the gods and their powers might be different, their convictions were laid bare with unsettling clarity, as though designed to imprint certain beliefs upon the audience without their realizing it.

Could this really just be a coincidence…

Having researched the lore surrounding the Moon Goddess in detail, she couldn’t shake a growing sense of unease. Maybe it would be a good idea to seek out the playwright or director of this opera.

‘What if the sorcerers really meant to make me their target…?’

As an inexplicable dread washed over her, Evelyn instinctively drew her shoulders in. At that moment, his firm hand closed gently around hers.

“I’ll look into this.”

The warmth of his touch spread into her hand, which had gone cold from tension, and with it came a fragile sense of relief. She gave the smallest of nods, a faint smile softening her lips.

“Thank you, Axion.”