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chapter 34
When they left the dressing room, Ananta, as if it were the most natural thing, helped Rinka into the carriage.
The carriage passed through the center of the capital and soon stopped in front of a grand, old-fashioned marble building.
Just from the sign, Rinka could tell it was a high-class restaurant.
So this was why he had dragged her out without even letting her eat breakfast!
“Here… are we here to eat?”
“Yeah. You just got a new outfit, now it’s time you were treated properly.”
“You don’t need to go this far for me.”
“Sure, sure. But I want to. So, Miss Maribel, why don’t you step down?”
Before Rinka could get out, Ananta had already descended and was holding out his hand. After a moment of hesitation, she took it.
Now that she thought about it, this felt familiar.
On the ship, whenever she climbed up or down, Ananta or the sailors would always extend a hand to help her. Back then, she thought it was just kindness.
But this… this is escorting.
Of course, Ananta being a noble explained it. But what about the other sailors—why had they done it too?
As she stepped down, the unanswered question flickered through her mind, leaving her confused.
Wait. Isn’t this… a date?
She knew well enough what a date was. And she’d already been on one with Ananta…
“Rinka?”
“Ah—”
She quickly replied “Yes,” and followed him. The restaurant door opened silently, its ivory surface gleaming.
Her gaze was instantly stolen by the interior.
Under delicate chandeliers, silver cutlery and crystal glasses were neatly set upon tables.
A few noble-looking guests sat here and there, but the tables were far enough apart that she couldn’t make out their faces—only hair color at best.
The sound of strings filled the room, played by a musician hidden from view.
“Sit here.”
Ananta guided her to a window seat, smoothly pulling out the chair for her. Having grown somewhat used to such treatment in the capital, she didn’t panic this time and calmly placed the napkin over her lap.
“Um… Captain—”
“Ananta.”
“Yes, Ananta.”
“Mm, Rinka.”
She wanted to scold him for only answering when addressed by name, but it was oddly endearing, and she found herself smiling.
What on earth is cute about that?
Anyway, she had something she needed to ask.
“Is this… like… a date?”
It was cautious, but honest.
She studied his reaction. But Ananta simply took a sip of water, then nodded as if it were obvious.
“You can think of it that way.”
A mesmerizing smile curved across his face. Rinka’s cheeks grew hot.
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Am I?”
With a playful grin, he raised his glass.
“Or maybe I’m serious. That’s up to you to decide.”
Before long, the dishes Ananta had ordered in advance arrived.
Rinka couldn’t even use the knife properly. Most of the food required careful cutting, so Ananta naturally took her plate and, with practiced grace, cut the steak and garnish into bite-sized pieces—just as he had sometimes done on the ship.
As always, he carried the conversation smoothly, with gentle manners, or teased her just enough to draw out her prim little reactions.
Spending time with him… is fun.
Yes, fun—that was the only word for it.
Every time he smiled, she couldn’t help but glance his way. His hands, his eyes, his laughter.
Ananta was always like this—naturally looking at her, drawing closer, shaking her heart.
She wanted to think it was just a meal, but deep down, Rinka knew it wasn’t.
After dinner, as they walked the evening streets, she asked quietly:
“…Ananta.”
“Mm? Do you want something?”
“Stop flashing your wealth around. I don’t need that. I mean… is it really okay for someone like me to wear clothes like this, to eat in a place like this?”
When she was on the pirate ship, she never had to worry about such things.
Even in small port towns, she had never truly been accepted.
A fatherless child, brought by a mother who wasn’t from Kether.
Now she knew who her father was, but back then all kinds of rumors swirled around her.
“Look at that face—her mother must’ve been some noble’s concubine.”
“Concubine? If she was a concubine, would she have ended up in a poor place like this? She had a child and was abandoned.”
“The child’s not at fault, but still…”
Even now, she was just a nameless commoner from nowhere.
She had only wanted to leave the sea for fear of being eaten by sea monsters—never once had she imagined she’d be with someone like this.
“Rinka, you belong here more than anyone.”
Ananta bent down slightly so their eyes met.
“No matter what anyone says, I believe that.”
For a moment, she felt wrapped not in sea breeze, but in something warmer.
His gaze, his words—everything about him gently enfolded her.
And it was no longer an unfamiliar warmth.
Rinka was beginning to realize she could not so easily reject it.
That night was quiet.
Everyone else slept, but Rinka’s heart refused to rest.
The guest room bed in the Duke of Belzert’s mansion was far too big, the sheets so soft she felt she might sink and vanish inside them.
Beside her was a small table inlaid with silver, a crystal decanter, and windows veiled with delicate curtains.
This place doesn’t suit me at all.
The captain’s cabin bed had been narrow and hard, yet it felt warmer.
The ship she had so longed to leave now felt like the place she truly belonged.
Rinka turned over.
It had been a long day—wearing dresses she had never seen before, eating dishes she couldn’t even pronounce, surrounded by people who were polite even to her.
And always, by her side, was Ananta.
“You can think of it that way.”
His words echoed back suddenly. He had left it at that, without answering properly.
So then…
“…It really was a date?”
She buried her face in the blanket, then sat up abruptly, flustered. Covering her face with both hands, she muttered in a small voice:
“How can he say things like that so casually?”
Of course, they had already shared a room on the ship (separate beds, but still!), had gone on something like dates (if they counted as dates!), and even… even spent a night together.
But still, how could he be so unfazed?
Ananta was always composed.
He could shake her heart and then smile as if nothing had happened.
Whether it was kind words or playful suggestions, he always delivered them smoothly, then stepped back and waited.
And she found herself drawn to him again and again.
To cool her burning cheeks, she got up and went to the window.
Parting the curtains, she looked out over the quiet night garden. Moonlight scattered across stone paths and fountains.
Beneath that glow, she suddenly recalled the touch of Ananta’s hand.
Helping her down from the carriage, choosing clothes, pouring wine—every little moment, his hand had brushed against hers so naturally.
Rinka blushed at the realization that simply remembering his eyes and his touch was making her heart race.
“…I’m such an idiot.”
Yet even as she whispered this, she couldn’t stop recalling it all—the restaurant’s corridor they walked together, the night view from the window seat, even the silence in the carriage afterward.
And again, Ananta’s words came back to her, lingering in her ears.
“No matter what anyone says, I believe that.”
The weight and warmth in those words…
As she remembered them, Rinka lay back down, sinking into the bed.
Confused, unfamiliar, but undeniable feelings swirled inside her.
She couldn’t bring herself to answer them yet.
That night, Rinka lay awake for a long time, unable to fall asleep.
