6. The Reversal Opening Ceremony (13)
6. The Reversal Opening Ceremony (13)
Even with the singers and dancers gone from the stage, the hall still held plenty of people drunk on the heat of the performance.
Swaying their hips and shoulders, humming the lingering melodies under their breath.
Bwallet was sternly informing a few shameless guests still throwing flirtatious remarks at the dancers that the performance was over.
Among them was a nobleman known for his usual placid demeanor. The Rose Windmill's welcome revel had left an impression strong enough to make even someone like him giddy.
It took a considerable amount of time for the guests to find their seats, and then a considerable amount of time for them to sit still in those seats.
On the other hand, there was one spot that made you wonder if anyone had informed them the memorial had ended.
The farthest edge of the step seats overlooking Hall 1's stage.
The two girls sitting there had shown exemplary form as audience members throughout the entire performance.
They sat quietly, facing the stage in silence so as not to disturb anyone else's enjoyment.
Which, of course, was the proper way to watch an art gallery.
According to cabaret etiquette, they had just been the two most disrespectful people in the room.
Ella was ready at any moment to prove she was the most well-mannered person present. If it hadn't been for their situation, she would have jumped out the window and dashed to the front of the stage.
That was how powerful this performance was—it had the force to make a person's heart pound.
Seeing the show today, she understood why people always affixed the title of "Director" to Yug Maroine.
He wasn't just a stubborn, obstinate old man.
He complained about an industry obsessed only with commercial viability and profitability, true, but his eye for a performance was wide awake.
Otherwise, he could never have produced a stage like this at his age.
A stage the veteran had dedicated his later years to—younger than anything from his own youth.
She wanted to feel that heat firsthand and enjoy it.
But she could not.
They had only been admitted today because theater staff they had grown close to pulled some strings for them. If they were spotted by outsiders, it could spark controversy. Accusations that a particular troupe had received special treatment before the competition even began.
That would damage the troupe, and it would betray the theater people who had extended them that kindness.
She could enjoy the performance well enough from here.
The step seats weren't a space that demanded silence.
She could dance and sing all she wanted.
The problem was, there was no one to enjoy it with.
As soon as the opening ceremony began, the Rose Windmill people had left the room to attend to their respective duties.
The only ones who stayed were Ella and Maya.
And Maya was the last person who would ever surrender to exuberance.
Ella had subtly tried to coax her several times, only to be refused in a cool tone.
Dancing and singing are, by nature, only truly enjoyable when shared.
Making a racket alone in a silent space was nothing more than a farce.
Losing steam, Ella finally gave up and stared blankly out the window.
Just watching and listening to the Rose Windmill's cancan had been a delight.
But the producer's intent was for the audience to sing along and dance together. The whole experience was designed so that the real joy could only be felt that way.
Sitting still like this amounted to only half a show.
'If it was just going to be like this, why did I even come to the opening ceremony?'
When she had seen how devastated Maya was at not being able to attend, she had secretly hoped the girl might have some hidden passion or talent.
But actually being here, did she even enjoy the performance?
She just sat there, completely still....
It was similar to why Ella hated Illusion Magic.
She believed that a true performance meant breathing with the stage, feeling the presence of the moment.
Staring at images prepared by a mage offered her no thrill at all.
'I guess we just don't click.'
Ella didn't think she could ever become friends with Maya—not in two years, not even in twenty.
But as the performance drew to a close.
Ella, who had initially been sulking and ignoring Maya out of frustration at not being able to enjoy the stage, belatedly discovered sadness and anger in the girl's expression.
She had been brimming with anticipation right up until they stepped inside.
And now, suddenly, sadness and anger.
Only one cause came to mind.
'Was it really that much of a shock?'
No matter how she looked at it, Wonderstein and the Viscountess had clearly done something inside that bedroom.
If Maya's observations were accurate, some kind of intense physical contact was certain.
She pictured the Viscountess embracing Wonderstein with tear-wet eyes, and him cornering her with that signature arrogant smirk.
Both would have had their clothes off.
The Viscountess's slender body overlapping with Wonderstein's firm, well-toned frame....
Ella suddenly felt her face flush hot.
She shook her head vigorously.
Jjiksun, perched on her shoulder, looked up at its owner and tilted its head.
What's it to me.
What does any of this have to do with me.
They're both adults.
It's not exactly rare in this industry for a patron and an artist to catch feelings for each other.
That's just how it is.
People with more money than they can spend are thirsty for entertainment, and artists are hungry for money—they're a natural match.
It's a common story.
It's nothing.
Still, when did those two even get to that stage?
They were definitely together a lot....
Did they do that at the hotel too?
If so, then those dating rumors aren't rumors—they're facts.
They're not planning to make it official, are they?
Is that a good thing? My earlier slip of the tongue will get buried, I guess.
Anyway, the guy pretends to be indifferent but he sure doesn't miss a thing!
Hmph. He dumps work on others and runs around rolling with women.
So much for putting all his energy into the Circus Grand Prix.
A real master of the silver tongue, as always.
Wait.
If the damn demon really has gotten a taste for sleeping with humans... could recruiting Maya have been for that purpose too?
She is pretty.
But... no. He doesn't touch the troupe members.
And he wouldn't lay a hand on a kid ten years younger than him, would he?
Just based on the fact that he hasn't touched me so far....
Uh, I'm pretty too, for the record.
That's a fact, isn't it?
Ahem.
Or could it be....
That my face just isn't his type.
And now thinking that makes me irrationally angry again.
She recalled Wonderstein smiling at her with playful mischief.
The man was disgustingly handsome, that was certain.
With a face like that, he's definitely within my dating league....
......?
......?
"Hyaaah!"
Ella screamed and shot up from her seat.
The mouse on her shoulder slipped in alarm.
Jjiksun managed to grab onto the epaulet on her shoulder just in time and avoided falling to the floor, but it let out an angry 'Squeak-squeak!' in protest of its owner's sudden outburst.
Maya looked up at her, brows slightly furrowed.
"What's wrong?"
"No! It's nothing! Don't ask! Don't ask me! Hyaaah...."
Ella, clutching her head and groaning, suddenly snapped her head up and drew five daggers from her coat.
She began flinging them at the wall, one after the other.
Maybe because it was a wooden wall, the daggers stuck in easily.
The second dagger lodged into the handle of the first. The third then lodged into the handle of the second.
They were designed for "stacked sticking" to begin with, so they fit together as naturally as puzzle pieces.
Having thrown the five daggers in succession and linked them into one long chain, Ella exhaled in sharp huffs.
Then she spread both arms wide and smiled at her sole audience member.
"Ta-da! A feat of dagger throwing! What do you think?"
Watching her, Maya thought to herself.
She's not just ordinarily crazy about the circus.
Was she that desperate?
"I'm sorry. For not being able to enjoy it together."
She had no intention of adopting someone else's way of doing magic or living her life.
But she understood that in a performance hall where it was good manners to laugh, chatter, and have fun together, a block of wood like herself could come across as rude.
She knew how much the Deputy Leader loved performances.
And she had been the one to tag along and dampen the atmosphere for her.
She felt a little sorry.
Ella blinked, caught off guard by the sudden apology.
"Wha—? I-it's fine. You don't have to be sorry about that... some people just don't like standing out. It wasn't like I'd have been able to enjoy it even if I'd come alone..."
Ella quickly scrambled for a new topic.
The awkward silence was bad enough, but she also really didn't want to dwell any longer on the reason for her outburst.
"More than that, you seemed kind of upset."
"...Was it that obvious?"
"Yeah. It's only been a few days, but I've gotten pretty good at reading your expressions."
Maya was a little surprised.
Hardly any of her friends from the academy, people she'd known for years, had ever reached that level of perception.
"It's because of what happened earlier, right?"
"Yes."
She's quick.
Maya revised her assessment of the Deputy Leader upward by a notch.
"That man is on your mind?"
"Correct."
Ella felt a little thrown off by Maya's frank admission.
Was this girl the type to express her feelings so directly?
To openly confess she liked Wonderstein...
"The Black Magician."
But what came out of Maya's mouth was a completely different name.
Only then did Ella realize she had briefly been mistaken.
"My mother was an illusion mage too. Do you know the Silver Screen Circus?"
"I do."
The troupe led by Eunmak Arno, the master of Illusion Magic.
It wasn't a circus Ella favored, but its skill was renowned as the best.
"That was where my mother and father were. I heard they both made it to the finals of the very first Circus Grand Prix."
"That's impressive..."
Ella had been about to voice her admiration, then quickly shut her mouth.
The Black Magician.
If she had mentioned that, there was a story behind it.
The tragedy that occurred at the Second Circus Grand Prix.
"Not long after my mother gave birth to me, she got an urgent summons and went to the Hippodrome. And there... she had an accident."
"I see..."
Maya drew from her coat a small, doughnut-shaped metal disk, about the size of an infant's palm.
Ella knew what it was.
It was a Memory Disk, used by illusion mages to store their images.
"My mother's body was found at the accident site, holding this tight in her hand."
Maya flipped the Memory Disk over and showed the writing inscribed on it.
'To my beloved daughter.'
"I want to see the message my mother left for me. To replay it with my own Illusion Magic. But regular Illusion Magic was difficult for me to master. That was when Troupe Leader helped me."
"Ah."
Ella felt a pang of guilt for the way she had been acting these past several days.
To think she had taken her for some fool who simply followed Wonderstein here because she had a crush on him.
"That's why I wanted to take part in the Grand Prix. Why I wanted to see the opening ceremony too. I'm sorry we couldn't enjoy the show together."
"No, I said it's fine..."
Ella gave an embarrassed smile and scratched the back of her head.
"Is that why you threw the daggers? Because your body was itching and you couldn't take it?"
"Don't make me out to be some kind of circus pervert."
Maya cocked her head.
"Then why did you scream?"
"Please, don't ask me that either..."
Ella clutched her head and groaned again.
Maya shook her head faintly, as if she couldn't understand, and turned to look out the window.
Right at that moment, the person she had been waiting for was descending the stairs.
"It's the Troupe Leader."
"Looks like they're about to do the pledge ceremony and sponsor introductions now."
Ella didn't lift her head.
She had a feeling that if she saw his face, those earlier thoughts would come rushing back.
But then Maya's voice changed.
It took on a more serious edge.
"Ella."
"Hm?"
"Police."
Ella raised her head.
Wonderstein and Viscountess Bergson were coming down the stairs.
Sir Porshu, the musketeer, followed behind them.
They were surrounded by officers in blue uniforms.