Chapter 8 - My First Date

—“Amaria... that wolf, Roco. I don’t think he’s what Rick says he is.”

—“Then what should I do, Yuuki? I will meet Rick in half an hour now. Should I cancel? Should we leave?”

—“No, you should go as planned. I don’t think they are dangerous, but I need to check something. While you’re on your date, I’ll investigate from my side. Don’t worry.”

—“All right, but don’t put yourself in danger, Yuuki. You are my family now, and my only one.”

Some part of me wanted to ask him to stay, to skip the date entirely until we knew more. But he had already made up his mind, and it felt wrong to make my fear his problem too. So I said nothing, and got ready instead.

Yuuki came close to me in his real form as a panther. He rubbed his face against my arm, and I hugged him strongly and stroked his head.

His fur was so soft that I could have slept against him.

After that, Yuuki jumped through the window in his cat form and left.

For my part, I had to prepare myself for the festival tonight with Rick.

I tried to put on the yukata but couldn’t manage to fasten it.

I had never imagined it would be this hard to wear a dress. I tried to fasten it five times, and I failed five times.

Embarrassed, I went downstairs and asked the front desk for some help attaching my yukata.

A woman offered, with great enthusiasm. She also asked if she could do my makeup and hair.

I agreed, even though I had originally planned to go as I usually looked.

We went back to my room, and the woman helped me attach my yukata.

She asked me to sit on a chair while she took all the makeup, she was about to use on me out of her bag.

Once the makeup was done, she styled my hair. Since I had long hair, she said, she had plenty of options for a hairstyle.

My hair had originally been a bit wavy and straight.

She decided to curl it, pinning back part of it and leaving the rest loose to create what she called a “princess effect.”

She also placed the hair accessory Rick had given me on one side of my hair.

When she finished, I looked in the mirror and was stunned by the result.

The makeup was natural but still highlighted my face, and the hairstyle was truly beautiful. It really did look like the kind of style a princess or royal would wear.

I finally understood why she called it the “princess effect.”

I thanked her again and again. She told me she loved doing makeup and hairstyling but rarely got the chance to practice.

So she had been genuinely excited when I made the request.

After she left, it was almost time for my appointment with Rick.

I went downstairs and came outside. Rick was already there.

When he saw me approaching, he froze for a moment and stared at me with great attention.

—“You look truly gorgeous tonight, Yuli. And the yukata suits you so well.”

With a red face and feeling embarrassed, I thanked him.

—“I didn’t know yukatas existed for men too.”

Rick was also wearing a beautiful black yukata.

I could see through it the outline of his impressive musculature, made all the more striking by his height.

The black color made a striking contrast with his red hair.

Our clothes actually matched, his and mine, as if we were a married couple.

I suddenly felt a bit awkward at the thought.

Rick offered me his arm, since it wasn’t easy to walk in a yukata for the first time.

He was very attentive and considerate toward me. It was new for me.

I took his arm, and we walked toward the festival. It was only a two-minute walk from the hotel.

As we walked, Rick was surprisingly quiet, he who was usually so straightforward.

—“You must be wondering why I’m so quiet, right? It’s because I’m not used to this kind of outing, to be honest. It’s my first time. Normally I’m more at home on a training ground, sparring with partners.”

When he told me it was his first time, I don’t know why, but I felt relieved. At the same time, it was hard to believe, given how handsome he was.

—“I didn’t know. With a face like yours, I would have guessed you already had a fiancée.”

Oh my god, I must be crazy. Why did I say that? I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

—“Oh, really? Thank you. Usually, with my hot temper and my bluntness, I’m not exactly considered attractive. Women are more drawn to my face and appearance than to anything else. Only my appearance... I hate that. It’s so superficial, isn’t it?”

—“Yes, that’s true. Before getting married, you need to know the person, at least a little. For my part, I need to get to know a person and look at three things: their life goals, their personality, and their physical appearance. I could never marry someone without considering all three.”

—“That’s very interesting. If only everyone thought that way.”

As we made our way through the market, there were many food stalls.

—“Here, Yuli, try this. Apparently it’s delicious. I’ve never tried it myself, but a friend told me about it once.”

Rick handed me a meat skewer bathed in sauce. It was indeed delicious.

As we continued through the stalls, Rick kept offering me food and drinks to try.

At one point, Rick leaned toward my face and, with his finger, wiped away a food stain on my cheek.

Then he licked his finger clean.

I froze, unsure what to say or even think. I felt my face grow hot.

I didn’t know if he acted that way with everyone, but I found his behavior rather reckless.

We had visited nearly all the stalls when I noticed a jewelry stand, though I was too shy to stop.

—“Let’s look at this stand. They have beautiful pieces.”

Rick had guessed I wanted to stop and suggested it himself.

Once in front of the stand, I spotted a small bracelet with a shining ruby that reminded me of the color of Rick’s hair.

There was no way I could buy it in front of him. I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.

After we had gone through nearly every stall, we came upon a beautiful park with a lake just beside the festival grounds.

We walked over and sat on a bench facing the lake.

As we sat there, the fireworks began. It was truly beautiful. We could see their reflection shimmering across the surface of the lake.

Rick handed me a skewer of fruit to eat as we watched the fireworks.

—“Thank you, Rick. I had a really lovely time. To be honest, this was my first time too, and my first festival. I really enjoyed it. Thank you again.”

—“Tomorrow we leave together for Olbi. It’ll be quite a long journey, about six hours to reach our destination. I’m glad it will be with you, Yuli.”

I wondered how tomorrow would be, and whether everything would be all right.

—“Can I tell you a bit about my story, Yuli? You told me yours, and I’d like to do the same.”

—“Of course, go ahead.”

—“I grew up in a family of knights. Almost everyone in my family became a knight. Even my mother was a knight, she’s retired now, but she was a knight her whole life. It’s as if it’s in our blood. My family is known for it.

My parents loved fighting so much that they founded a knight school to train the best knights in the country. We also organize tournaments, we take it very seriously.

I am a knight too. I serve the royal family in Olbi. And since keeping pets as slaves has been banned almost everywhere, only a few cities still allow it, we’re working to end that trade in the ones that remain.

Calgara was one of those cities, that’s why I was there. It’s actually a good thing, since it’s how I met you. It was fate.

Once we arrive in Olbi, if you’d like, I can show you around the city sometime, take you to the best spots.

Now that you know I’m a knight, if you ever have any trouble, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll help you.”

—“Thank you very much, Rick.”

We walked back to the hotel. Once we arrived, Rick took a lock of my hair, kissed it, and said:

—“I really enjoyed spending time with you, Yuli, to not forget this day, please accept this.”

Then he gave me a small box in my hand and left.

I went inside the hotel and hurried up to my room, still not quite understanding what had just happened between Rick and me.

I couldn’t believe what he had just done.

I was starting to believe he had feelings for me, given everything he had done for me so far.

But that was just wishful thinking. Someone like him would never fall for someone like me. And that was fine. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d mistaken kindness for something it wasn’t.

Then I stopped in front of my door and I opened the small box before coming in my room, and saw the bracelet with the small ruby I wanted to buy earlier.

I put the box in my pocket and suddenly remembered what Yuuki had told me earlier.

I went into the room and said:

—“Yuuki, did you find anything on your side?”

—“Amaria, I think you should sit down first. For what I’m about to tell you.”

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