Edward rubbed the back of his neck, responding. Louisa smiled awkwardly at his reaction and refocused on the resuming play.

Several characters moved across the stage.

The supporting cast was talented enough to lead other productions if their characters matched. Immersed again in the story, Louisa remembered attending operas with her parents as a child.

Later, due to lack of money and then lack of company, she stopped attending. This rare opera visit deeply moved her.
Lost in her memories, Louisa turned to look at the person sitting next to her.

There, Edward was leaning on the chair with his head tilted to one side, fast asleep.

He must have been really exhausted. Concerned by his head tilting outward, she reached out to gently turn his head inward.

This movement seemed to disturb him, and Edward blinked open his eyes.

“Ah… I fell asleep.”

Stretching his arms forward as if stiff, he yawned and then rotated his neck.

Louisa looked at him with a mix of concern and affection.

“I told you, if you’re tired, it’s okay not to come out and just rest.”

“Should have just said so when I was talking about it.”

Edward mockingly repeated her words.

“If I don’t come out like this, you don’t really enjoy these things, do you?”

“Ed.”

Louisa called his name softly.

“If all this is just to take care of me, really, please don’t. You don’t have to do anything for me.”

It’s the actions you take thinking of me that make it harder for me. Please don’t.

“I’ve said this from the beginning… I don’t want you to be hard on yourself. I just want us both to be happy.”

Edward quietly faced her.

In the darkness, his eyes, surprisingly clear for someone who had just woken up, stared intently at her.

“I appreciate that you care about what I said, but you don’t owe me anything. Don’t try to repay me as if you’re in debt. That’s really not…”

Louisa’s trembling voice eventually faded away.

Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Behind them, the prima donna’s singing began anew.

He exhaled slowly and said in a tense voice,

“Why is this a burden? What’s wrong with going to the opera with you? And even if it is a burden, so what? Can’t a husband do that for his wife?”

“It’s not about the opera. It’s the problem of you being tired and not enjoying it, yet sitting here. That’s a one-sided sacrifice.”

“To call this a sacrifice, what an exaggeration. I plan to gradually enjoy the opera. Or are you saying it’s a burden to indulge in the culture of the nobility?”

His voice, which had been playful, now lost all its jest.

The vibrations from the orchestra’s powerful performance resonated through their bodies. Louisa, trying to contain her trembling, gripped her hands tightly on her lap.

“It’s not that. It’s just―”

“Right. If that’s not what you think, then there’s no problem.”

Edward’s eyes shone as he spoke to her.

“It’s not for you. It’s for me. I’ll get a box seat reserved for the year, so help me enjoy the opera like you do. You like that sort of thing.”

He seemed a bit, no, quite angry. Edward’s voice was tense, as if about to snap.

“Even without you, help me not to be outdone among those noble lords.”

“What are you saying, Ed?”
Louisa, too, angered by his harsh words, retorted.

“Why? Can’t you do the same for me as you do for others, helping with your own hands, cleaning and doing laundry?”

“Edward.”

Louisa called out his name.

Edward, with tension in his whole body and his neck veins standing out, spoke as slowly and clearly as possible.

“Think of it as a charity to me, and take as much pleasure in it as you do in that volunteer work you’re so fond of, doing it for me instead of for Earnest.”