9. Black and Gold (18)
9. Black and Gold (18)
A week had passed since Wonderstein put Reina in charge of the troupe's training.
It had been an inspired decision.
At first, the members bristled at the idea of being taught by her.
Even Ella, who was gentle by nature, drove them mercilessly once training began, with no regard for sympathy or circumstance. By comparison, Reina looked like someone who would push even harder, and with not a shred of leniency.
But once practice actually started, her approach turned out to be nothing like what they had expected.
Her tone and expression stayed cold.
The words that came out of her mouth, though, were thoughtful and considerate.
She always thought from the learner's perspective.
She caught on quickly to what was frustrating them, what was tripping them up, and instead of handing them the solutions, she spelled things out in terms that made sense from where they stood.
That was the exact opposite of Ella's way.
Ella was lively, cracking jokes and keeping the mood buoyant, but the instructions that left her mouth were ruthlessly mechanical demands.
Ella could see exactly where a member's limit was.
And she instructed them to exactly that point.
No less, no more.
Her teaching was correct from the vantage point of someone overseeing everything, but for the person receiving it, there was no room to understand or reason through anything — you just had to follow along blindly.
If her directions had been wrong even once, there might have been grounds to push back, but her commands were always precise. That only made the learning process unavoidably grueling and exhausting.
Reina, on the other hand, focused first on cultivating the right mindset to tackle a problem before she issued any direct instructions.
Ella, who genuinely loved the circus and found training fun, never quite grasped what made the others miserable.
"Why can't you just do it?"
Reina, who had hated the circus and dreaded training and constantly had to coax herself through it, had learned to prioritize that kind of emotional care.
"Let me explain why this has to be done this way."
Both were prodigies born with immense talent, but that very difference produced a stark contrast in their teaching styles.
As for which training left the troupe more motivated and content — there was no contest. Before long, they genuinely enjoyed being taught by Reina.
A gift for teaching.
It was an ability even Reina herself hadn't known she possessed.
Wonderstein knew that in TT3 she would become an instructor at a circus school. Since the story said the school became famous not long after it was founded, he had simply thought — why not see what she could do now.
But he hadn't expected her to be this good.
Under her guidance, the members worked through their practice sessions — sometimes puzzling things out on their own, sometimes trying one thing after another. Reina only stepped in to help when it was truly necessary.
She understood how grating it was for a learner to have every minor mistake pointed out.
That approach sparked a much keener interest in acrobatics among the troupe.
By the time her first week of training was up, the members were chattering about how they wished Reina would just stay on and keep teaching them.
When Yurakne relayed their opinion to Wonderstein, he shook his head with a laugh.
"Ella remains the Deputy Leader. Fufu, I imagine Miss Ella will be pleased to have less work. But what about the trade, then?"
"I'm told we'll hand over Old Man Gaston instead."
That made him laugh harder.
From his standpoint, nothing could have been better — it meant he could shed a headache.
Gaston's winding up in the circus troupe on the day of the entrance exam had been a blunder on his part.
While Gaston was a guest, Wonderstein couldn't dictate his comings and goings, but once Gaston became a member, things changed. Under the competition rules, if a trade sent him elsewhere, he had no choice but to go.
Unfortunately, two reasons prevented that.
First, Gaston was necessary for Ella's treatment, and even at the earliest, it didn't look like it would conclude within two weeks.
Second, there was Reina's own wishes.
"Under this draft's rules, once a selected individual wishes to leave, you can't stop them. Just as Miss Ella can leave that side and come to ours, if Miss Reina wants to leave us and return to them, we can't prevent it. Fufu, I suspect the trade will end up proceeding as originally planned."
At that, Yurakne only offered a faint smile and said nothing.
The man truly seemed obtuse at moments like this. Could he really not see it? That Reina was wavering?
The morning instruction by Reina concluded. After lunch, the members moved on to individual practice for the afternoon.
Wonderstein assisted Reina with her own practice. In terms of skill, there was nobody else who could match her as a partner.
"Fufu, you did splendidly again today. It seems the troupe has all but mastered trampoline breakfalls thanks to you."
"Thank you."
At his praise, she clamped her teeth together tight — to hold back a smile.
After training alongside Wonderstein for over a week, she had gotten a solid measure of his abilities. Underneath the genial exterior, he was a rigorously tempered man of iron.
The first time she saw him, she'd wondered why someone this clean-cut was leading a circus. Now she understood. He had the skill to keep Ella as his deputy.
His technique was flawless. So flawless she'd wonder if even her father could match it.
And wasn't he only twenty-seven? To stand on equal footing with her father, the pinnacle of the field, at that age?
Until now, countless acrobats had showered her with admiration, but none had moved her heart — they were all inferior to her father.
But Wonderstein was different. He was plainly a practitioner of the same caliber as her father.
And that person was praising her. Multiple times a day, for even her smallest successes.
She felt her chest fill with a satisfaction that no one but her father had ever given her.
The joy she felt wasn't just from being acknowledged by him. The work itself had become enjoyable.
Teaching others was a first for her.
Her father had always told her never to reveal her stock-in-trade to anyone else. Maintain an icy demeanor at all times. Spare your words.
She had lived by his commands. But here, she had broken them for the first time.
Because he's the troupe leader where I am now.
Under his orders, she had given instruction to the members and passed on her skills, and now she wanted to keep doing it even without an order. She'd had no idea that teaching someone could feel so fulfilling.
She, who had always lived under rebuke and scrutiny, crushed by a sense of helplessness, was now the one helping others.
- You worthless girl.
Her father's reproach, raining down on her with every failure. She had often spiraled into depression, wondering if she really was a useless human being.
But no. She could be a source of strength for someone, and that brought her more joy than anything.
"This afternoon's training... fufu, board-breaking again."
Wonderstein hauled an armload of boards from the storage room — the same training she had failed on the first day.
Before she knew it, the troupe members had gathered around the two of them to watch.
By now, they too understood why she had avoided them on that first day. She was Ella's rival.
"Miss Reina, you can do it!"
"Show us a brilliant success!"
Sven figured he should stoke her competitive spirit toward Ella.
"Miss Ella slept with your boyfriend!"
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Yurakne scolded him.
Reina settled into her stance.
Her father wasn't here. The crushing weight on her shoulders had vanished. Someone who believed in her was assisting her practice, and strength surged through her whole body. People rooting for her were watching, and an unshakeable confidence — I will not fail — rooted itself inside her.
And so the training began.
Just like the first day, her movements were flawless. Every board met its end in her hand, splintered.
The air about her was different from that first day. The members sensed it, even if they couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.
It was something only Reina herself could feel as she moved.
Before, she had executed straight, no-frills motions with her eyes fixed solely on the immediate target. Fearful of the rebuke that would come at the slightest misstep or failure, she had instinctively suppressed her own capacity to think for herself.
It was like watching a once-eager new hire who thought things through and tried different approaches gradually wither under constant harsh criticism until they could barely manage exactly what they were told.
But Reina had now cast off that victim mentality that had held her captive for ten years.
She executed each movement with precision while already thinking about what came next. Her body began to trace smooth, fluid curves.
Now she understood the free-flowing movement she had seen in Ella.
What lived in her heart now wasn't the confidence that she wouldn't fail — it was the confidence that she was allowed to fail, and that confidence let her commit to bold forms.
"Oh! She smiled!"
At Umon's shout, every member's gaze snapped to her, and none of them could hide their surprise.
In over a week together, she hadn't smiled once. Yet now, a brilliantly bright smile hung on her lips — a smile that looked every bit as dazzling as her gleaming golden hair.
"Hot-hot, the two of you smiling side by side like that... don't you look just like father and daughter?"
The moment Sven said it, Yurakne beside him urgently smacked his shoulder. She had since learned about Reina's situation from Wonderstein and worried his careless remark might provoke her again.
The words did, in fact, affect Reina. Every ounce of her attention focused itself on Wonderstein as he tossed the boards.
She watched the final board leave his hand and sail toward her.
It was the same angle and speed as a week ago, as perfectly replicated as if pulled straight from memory. He clearly had the ability to control even the faintest tremor at his fingertips.
He possessed outstanding skill, and yet he had the insight and consideration that seemed to peer straight into the hearts of those below him.
When he first suggested she teach the members, she had suspected he was merely offloading a bothersome chore onto her. But now she knew for certain.
He had seen right through to the fact that teaching others would do her immense good, and he hadn't hesitated to grant her that — even knowing she was certain to become his enemy.
She envied Ella. Envied her for being able to stand under someone like him.
Then, abruptly, a sticky desire lifted its head from a corner of her heart.
What if this could continue?
When she was first rejected in the draft, she had been terrified that her father had abandoned her completely. She had wished for the two weeks to hurry by so she could return.
Now, her thinking had changed.
- Troupe Leader Frank Wonderstein and Deputy Leader Reina Magier!
A man and woman walking side by side through an alleyway, laughing warmly together. What if the woman in that picture weren't Ella — but herself?
She let out a sharp kiai, a surge of heat boiling up from her core, and thrust her fist forward.
Stance, motion, timing, point of impact — every element flowed together in flawless concert.
Wham! The board went flying backward.
The members stirred and murmured at the sight. Yurakne's expression turned worried.
Until now, every split board had dropped straight to the ground — but this one had flown backward. Just like her failure on the first day.
Yurakne approached the board where it had fallen and examined it.
"Ah!"
She let out a cry of wonder at what she saw.
The board had a hole punched clean through it. The size of a fist.
Wonderstein laughed aloud and clapped his hands together.
"Well done! Magnificent! That last movement in particular was art. Fufu, even Miss Ella only pulled 'that' off once..."
It was the highest possible praise. In that moment, she had produced a result worthy of standing at his side as Deputy Leader.
"It's thanks to you, Troupe Leader."
Reina inclined her head slightly. The smile on her lips was even brighter than before.