If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 99

[Relics of the Old Era, Let Slavery Disappear!]

[Down with the Evil Plantation Owners!]

A demonstration calling for the abolition of slavery was blocking the road, making it impossible for carriages to reach the theater entrance.

Georgiana informed the coachman of the performance’s ending time before promptly jumping out of the carriage.

“Excuse me. I’ll pass through first.”

Pushing her way through the crowd, her urgency grew.

If Locke had already entered the theater, she wouldn’t be able to follow without a ticket.

She didn’t want to think too deeply about why she was so affected by him. The more she tried to understand her emotions, the more afraid she became of them.

Gripping her bonnet tightly to keep it from flying off, she gasped for breath as she reached the theater entrance. The doors were beginning to close halfway, and she frantically looked around.

Among the people passing through the entrance, she didn’t see Locke anywhere.

For someone who struggled to walk, he was surprisingly fast.

She hadn’t expected him to actually go in alone.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, she turned to leave—only to bump her head into the chest of the man standing behind her.

As she looked up, she was met with a familiar scent. Locke was smiling down at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Did you come to see me?”

Her dazed expression was reflected in his deep blue eyes like a mirror.

She nearly nodded unconsciously but quickly bit her lip and answered curtly, “I came to watch the play, not to see you, Locke Rivern. It would be a waste not to use an expensive ticket.”

“That’s true. It would be a shame.”

“Besides, I can’t make the coachman work twice.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Even though she had spoken in a cold, clipped tone, his eyes remained filled with joy.

“T-then let’s go inside. The performance is about to start.”

Trying to hide her embarrassment, she hurried toward the entrance. Since most people had already found their seats, the theater hallway was nearly empty.

“Where did you go?”

“I heard there were scalpers…”

Mumbling awkwardly, he pulled out a different-colored ticket from before.

“What? But you already had a ticket.”

“I exchanged it—it wasn’t in the front row.”

“What? You paid extra to switch seats?”

Unlike opera theaters in the Empire, which had expensive balcony seats, this theater was structured so that front-row seats were the most difficult to obtain.

She had heard of people buying front-row tickets only to resell them at exorbitant prices, and she had always wondered who actually bought them—now she had her answer.

Once again, Georgiana realized just how different their perspectives on money were.

Well, nobles didn’t exactly need to live frugally.

But was it really necessary to spend so much on a play?

Just as she was about to question it, Locke answered her unspoken thought.

“It’s your first play. I just wanted you to have the best experience.”

Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“Because you’d rather read a script at home than watch a play. You don’t like crowds. And until recently, you were a wanted fugitive, so you wouldn’t have dared visit a place like this.”

His insight left her stunned.

Even on the ship, they hadn’t spoken enough for him to know her this well.

They had spent far more time apart than together.

And yet, he had switched seats just for her.

A strange uneasiness welled up inside her.

“What if I hadn’t come?”

“Then I would’ve let the tickets go to waste.”

“Why would you do something so wasteful?”

“Georgiana, when it comes to you, I don’t calculate things that way.”

“……”

She had no response to that. Heat spread across her entire body.

“It’s about to start. Let’s go.”

Locke carefully escorted her to their seats.

Though they were at the front, there was enough distance from the stage that her neck didn’t strain at all.

The only discomfort was how close their seats were, with their shoulders nearly touching.

And since she had leaned on his shoulder in the carriage earlier, she worried that her scent lingered on him. Her face burned at the thought, but luckily, the dim lighting of the theater hid her flustered expression.

Soon, however, the play captivated her completely, making her forget Locke’s presence.

She wiped away tears at the heartbreaking separation of the two lovers, sighed in frustration at the misunderstandings that followed their reunion, and lost herself in the performance entirely.

It was only during the intermission, when Locke offered her tea, that Georgiana belatedly remembered she was attending the play with him.

“I suppose I should start securing tickets regularly. I didn’t expect you to be so engrossed.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

Georgiana shook her head, deciding that if she were to watch a play in the future, she would obtain the tickets herself.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to come alone. After my parents passed, I never had the opportunity to watch a play again. I never felt like going with Raymond or Henry. Come to think of it, it’s been over ten years since I last attended one. Before that, I used to go quite often…”

Locke trailed off, gazing toward the stage with a wistful expression.

This man?

Even though Georgiana could see right through his attempts to sound pitiful, she couldn’t deny that his words weren’t entirely false.

“Don’t expect anything. I’m busy.”

“Understood.”

Though he answered obediently, his eyes gleamed with amusement.

Suddenly, she recalled seeing him at a ballet performance long ago. Back then, he had exuded an air of coldness and danger, blending seamlessly with the darkness.

Had it been his injury, or the fact that he was no longer a soldier, that had softened him so much?

He seemed much more human now, much gentler.

And she had to admit, it suited him.

In the end, after the play concluded, she found herself reluctantly having dinner with him. Skipping lunch and enduring the two-hour journey back on an empty stomach would have been unbearable.

“There’s a place I used to frequent. Allow me to take you there.”

The restaurant Locke led her to was luxurious, the kind only nobles or the wealthy would frequent. The floor was paved with elegant gray marble, the tables crafted from rich mahogany, and even the ceiling frescoes appeared to be the work of a renowned artist.

“This way, please. Fortunately, we have one table available by the window.”

As they followed the waiter, Georgiana spotted Raymond seated at a nearby table, just beginning his meal. Across from him sat a man and a young woman with dark brown hair, seemingly father and daughter.

So he had come into town after leaving the estate early.

The moment he saw her, he hastily set down his utensils and shot up from his seat.

“Leo…na?”

His voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Locke standing behind her, widening in shock.

“Brother, you’re here too?”

“Yes.”

“Why are the two of you together?”

Raymond’s usually cheerful face briefly hardened, his gaze narrowing slightly.

“We had errands in town and happened to share a carriage. Since the timing was awkward, we decided to have a meal together.”

Georgiana promptly clarified the situation, hoping to avoid any misunderstandings.

“I see.”

At her explanation, Raymond’s expression immediately brightened.

“Do you really need to explain yourself? Raymond, just focus on your meal.”

Locke, glancing down at his younger brother, took Georgiana’s arm and guided her toward the table where the waiter was waiting. His gesture was so fluid and natural that she barely registered it.

Raymond’s face, however, stiffened once more.

Seated at the innermost part of the dining area, Georgiana couldn’t ignore the peculiar seating arrangement. Through the gap between Locke’s shoulder and the edge of the table, she could clearly see Raymond.

She also noticed that many people around them were casting glances in their direction.

Well, that’s not surprising.

Both brothers stood out wherever they went.

Even before taking a bite, Georgiana felt like she might lose her appetite, so she deliberately chose softer foods.

Meanwhile, Locke, true to his usual preferences, ordered an enormous steak larger than her face. If nothing else, his eating habits hadn’t changed at all, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly at the thought.

Just as she was about to take a bite of sherbet after finishing her main course, a commotion broke out outside.

The police were rounding up demonstrators who had been protesting for the abolition of slavery in front of the theater.

Even after gaining independence from the Empire, the issue of slavery had yet to be resolved due to political instability, resulting in constant delays. In the meantime, the number of runaway slaves had surged.

To recapture them, plantation owners had begun hiring private detectives, and the costs of these efforts were inevitably passed on to the remaining slaves.

Only Raymond’s plantation had avoided these problems, thanks to Locke’s initiative to eliminate slavery there.

The man sitting across from her was remarkable in many ways.

“Slavery needs to be abolished as soon as possible.”

“I completely agree.”

It was Raymond, not Locke, who responded to Georgiana’s words.

Having finished his meal, he approached their table and turned to her.

“If you don’t mind, may I join you?”