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After finishing lunch, Ruin and Lilo went back to wandering through the park.

“It’s surprising how many couples there are.”
“Well, I think that’s the case for all big parks in the city.”
“…Hey, Ruin,” Lilo said, as she observed one of the couples. “They all have their finger intertwined.”
“Now that you mention it…”

He looked at her hand. When he saw her face and expression, he knew what he had to do and resolved himself not to miss this chance.

“In that case, should we also hold hands like that?”
“…Yeah, let’s.”

He touched her hand with his fingers. She entwined her own with his.

“Doing stuff like this was so much easier when we were little.”
“It’s because we’re now dating.”
“Exactly, it makes a huge difference.”

While they were left bewildered that merely holding hands would fluster them this much, they did their best of savoring the feeling.

“So, where should we go next?”
“I know the perfect place for a date in this park… Come on, it’s over there.”

Where Ruin was pointing stood a large tent. It was the venue of a theater troupe.

“True enough, I overheard several Maids who have boyfriends mention that this is a great place for a date.”
“Same here. Shall we go in?”
“Alright. Though I have no idea what the play is about or how good it is. I’ve seen lots of couples enter earlier… so we probably won’t feel out of place.”
“That’s fine.”

The two of them paid the entry fee and went into the tent. Ruin paid for both himself and Myuri.

“Thank you. But just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you have to treat me… you already paid for lunch.”
“Well, I keep hearing that it’s expected for the man to pay during dates. It’s our first one, so that’s not a bad thing, right?”
“I guess people do say that… I won’t decline in that case.”

They kept chatting while looking for their seats. In the tent, there were couples wherever they looked, and the number of people who seemed to be by themselves were in the single digits.

“Do you know what kind of play they show?”
“Currently, it’s a love story between a nobleman and a peasant woman living in poverty.”
“Oh, that would explain why there are so many couples here.”
“…Looks like it’ll start soon.”

The play started with the sound of drums.

It was the scene where the supposed nobleman and the supposed destitute woman, who was wearing ragged clothes, met. Ruin and Lilo kept talking, keeping their voices low so they wouldn’t bother the people around them.

“Were there parts of the city where people used to be this poor?”
“At this point, there shouldn’t be anyone living in this country who has to worry whether they’ll be able to eat tomorrow. Father and the king before him worked tirelessly to overhaul the system, Mr. Uruto took care of the slave trade, and thanks to Alim, we managed to eliminate the rampant crime in backstreet alleys and such.”
“That’s true… I suppose it could be based on another country.”

It was exactly because they were a noblewoman and a prince that they couldn’t help but ponder these political issues. The two of them continued watching the play.

“Why? Why should you be different from me?”
“Even though we were born under the same sky! Why us?”

As the middle part of the play came to its end, the two of them watched with teary eyes.

“A-Amazing, I never thought a play could move me this much.”
“J-Just how will it end?”

The play entered its final part. It was a scene where the protagonists met in secret.

“Somehow, if you hold my hand… I feel safe.”

The moment that sentence was spoken, the couples in the audience simultaneously took each other’s hands and the girlfriends nuzzled closer against the boyfriends.

“Eh, what’s this now?”
“This apparently happens all the time.”
“I-I see. In that case…”

Just like the people around them, Lilo took Ruin’s hand and nestled close to him.

(Uh… so soft)
Although Ruin got distracted by his childhood friend’s voluptuous assets pushing against him, he still managed to focus on the play.

“Uhm, how long should we stay like this?”
“Until the people around us stop, I guess?”
“Isn’t it too stifling for you, Ruin?”
“It should be fine, even if we stay like this until the play ends.”
“Are you sure? Alright.”

Lilo also seemed to be fine with their current position, so she stayed close to him, holding his hand. In the end, they kept like this for another 40 minutes.

It was the play’s finale.

“I don’t care who you are! I love you!”
“I also love you!”

The couple was then officially wed, after they managed to coax their parents onto the stage. The two actors hugged and kissed. The moment they did, all the couples in the audience also hugged and went for a kiss.

“Wha- they’re kissing…!?”
“Ha-ha-ha, I didn’t see that coming.”
“…Ruin, what do you want to do?”

He was perplexed for a moment by her question. Before he knew it, he was holding her shoulders, and they were looking at each other.

“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, though it is my first kiss…”
“Same here.”
“Eh-heh-heh, I knew that… mh.”
“Hm.”

TL notes:
Thus end the date side stories of volume 19.

These two dates in parallel could’ve been a good chance to show different approaches. For example, Orgo and Myuri are both rather insecure and thus keeping closer to typical date norms (like the man paying or the question whether to imitate other couples) while Ruin and Lilo are much more relaxed and could put their own spin on things. Sadly, this didn’t happen, and we got pretty much the same on both sides. Again.

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