69 – In fact, I
How long has it been since I have had such a tense moment like this?
Serena, no, Seri Rabione took a deep breath.
Even after being confidently selected as the most promising actor in Empire Magazine, she always felt like a beginner in front of him.
-Lord Ariendel will be at today’s performance.
She believed that he would come.
Given his love for art and the alias ‘Knight of the Night’, undoubtedly.
‘I will show him my perfection this time.’
Seri Rabione was confident.
Acting, appearance, charisma.
Even now, after receiving vocal training from Siren, she was an invincible actor.
‘And when this performance is over, I’ll retire from acting and confess to him confidently.’
And so, Seri walked onto the stage, as the Princess of the Night on stage.
“Coo-ohh…”
“Wow, she’s spectacular. She’s like an ajumma.”
There are some people who can’t seem to fall asleep at home but sleep soundly whenever they’re at a theater or someone else’s house.
Ascal happened to be one of those people.
Moreover, Seri’s acting, which had always been a form of sleep aid, had evolved and brought on a deeper slumber.
The moment his eardrums filled with her voice, the fuse in his brain instantly blew.
So, Ascal ended up dozing off while still seated.
Seeing this, Shushia who was feeling mischievous, pulled a feather pen from her bag,
And she gently tickled Ascal’s face with the feather.
“Tickle, tickle.”
But he didn’t wake up.
Sighing, Shushia decided to watch the play by herself.
“Look over there. The Empire’s Sleeping Dragon is watching the play.”
“But his eyes are closed. Could he be sleeping?”
“That can’t be. Among some theater fans, there’s a method of blocking visual elements on purpose and enjoying the play solely through auditory senses.”
“That’s indeed the Sleeping Dragon of the Empire.”
This is not an absurd delusion absent of reason.
The higher the status and reputation of a person, the more they tend to be overestimated.
Behavior gets automatically corrected in our brains due to the image we hold of the person.
For instance, if a beggar suddenly defecates on the street, people think the beggar must’ve been really desperate.
But what if a famous artist does the same?
“I should also close my eyes and watch the play like him.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Oh, the voices do seem clearer this way.”
So the next day, the street overflows with feces.
The poor sanitation workers are the ones who suffer.
Thus, in the Golden Theater, the number of people closing their eyes to enjoy the play unexpectedly began to increase.
Eventually, as if a contagious disease had spread, most people were watching the play with their eyes shut.
The theater owner, who had been watching from the official seats, was utterly shocked.
“What the hell, what’s going on? Why are all the spectators closing their eyes?”
“If you watch with your eyes closed, your other senses are enhanced.”
“What kind of nonsensical talk…”
“It’s a method that Earl of Erindale started.”
“Close your eyes!”
In the end, even the theater owner closed his eyes.
After the play, the audience raved about ‘The Prince of the Night’. They justified the fact that they couldn’t see well because the setting of the play was at night.
So the production of ‘The Prince of the Night’ gradually stopped using lighting until it became a tradition to perform in complete darkness.
-This is true art.
The audience was satisfied.
“Today was absolutely perfect.”
Seri sat in the dressing room, swinging her legs with a satisfied expression.
After the play, the backstage was in high spirits.
Because of the favorable reviews from the audience.
Seri glanced at her surroundings. Not only actors and staff, there were other people in the dressing room.
People like lovers, or sponsors.
“Your acting was really wonderful!”
“Thank you, Lord Viscount.”
The aristocrat who just handed a bouquet to the supporting actor was Viscount Whale.
Ever since he fell for a supporting actress, he would visit after-show parties and give her gifts.
At first, Viscount Whale tried to approach Seri, but she rebuffed him from the start.
-I already have a partner.
Despite being the most popular actress, Seri turned down all the gifts.
She only had one person to sponsor her.
Aschall Erindale, the real Prince of the Night.
‘It’s a script I wrote for you. You must have been moved.’
It was the after-show party.
The starring actors, of course, were flustered by the countless bouquets they received, and even the supporting actors had one or two bouquets each.
Seri didn’t have any.
‘Hmph. The bouquet given by our prince must be worth a hundred times more than that cheap bunch of flowers.’
With that, Seri stared at the entrance of the waiting room.
Askal will come.
Because he certainly understood her art.
‘He’s a little late.’
Seri tapped the floor with her toe.
Soon, the actors were disappearing with the patrons.
Only Seri remained in the waiting room.
“…Darling? Why aren’t you coming?”
“Ah. I’ve had a good sleep.”
Askal stretched himself out.
After watching the play, the weather had cooled down and there was a feeling of clarity.
It was the best condition.
Susi was talking earnestly next to him.
“Isn’t the Prince of the Night really cool?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s why you are ignorant about plays. Even on your day off, you should cultivate your artistic taste by watching plays!”
Susi pouted her lips.
After all, it was impossible to see the embarrassing past that she had mummified and say it was cool unless one was slightly insane.
Askal ignored Susi’s words and walked down the street.
However.
“I, the prince of the night, will punish you!”
Every time he walked, people wearing black cloaks and half masks appeared.
They were impersonating the actor.
There were many other knights of the night, but the most frequent was the Prince of the Night.
-Selling the cape worn by the Prince of the Night.
-Also selling the half mask.
They were even selling Prince of the Night costumes all over the streets. Those don’t even boost defense, but they were selling like hotcakes.
As Askal stared in disbelief, the merchant gave him a stern look.
“If you aren’t going to live, then leave.”
“Aren’t you the one who sold the jewel frog last time?”
“There was such past.”
Even the kids, not just the merchants, were playing “Night’s Prince” by swinging wooden sticks.
“Hey, you take the kingdom role. I’ll be the Night’s Prince.”
“No! You were the Night’s Prince last time! I’m playing it today!”
“Kids, don’t fight. Actually, the Night’s Prince is a lie.”
“He’s a villain! Get him, guys!”
Ascal scurried away.
How did this happen?
Thinking about it, there aren’t many amusements in this era.
Even in the past, an execution of a criminal was deemed the most entertaining spectacle.
In short, the threshold of fun was low.
Thus, the impact of theater was remarkably more profound than imagined.
Here, the Night’s Prince. There, the Night’s Prince.
It felt like the entire world had secretly aimed cameras at him.
“Over here, Minister!”
Soosia waved.
Ascal managed to shake off the kids and run away.
It was a tough fight.
“Where is this?”
“hehehe. Finally, I got to show this to Minister. My secret hideout.”
It was an abandoned building.
It was somewhat ambiguous to demolish, and to let be, but due to its corner placement, none cared.
“When I ran away as a kid, I used to come here.”
“It must have been troublesome.”
Soosia, who had been laughing, brushed off the dust on the stairs and sat down.
She then became silent.
The evening sunlight through the window illuminated Soosia’s face.
Soosia, her face flushed and tense, slowly opened her lips.
“I said, I’m going to tell you my secret.”
“You’ve been dragging it out for quite a while, Sushia. If it will make you feel better, go ahead.”
“But… Ah, it’s not fair for me to be the only one revealing secrets. Please, Minister, tell me one of yours. Let’s do it together.”
“Why should I?”
Sushia pouted her lips.
“Please.”
Because Sushia looked unexpectedly serious, Askal had no choice but to nod.
“We’ll say them simultaneously when I count to three. One.”
A secret, that should be enough.
“Two.”
Sushia said.
“Three. In truth, I can see the future. A dragon is going to attack the empire soon. Please, help me.”
“In truth, I’m the Prince of the Night.”
They looked at each other.
“……?”
“……?”
And then, Sushia mumbled quietly.
“…..Are you insane, perhaps?”
The Western Elber.
From Noble mtl dot com
A cursed land inhabited by monsters.
A place where humans dare not trespass, waiting for the day it will consume human lands.
“Thud.”
Something fell on the ground.
Was it the head of a foolish human, who dared to set foot in the Elber?
No.
It was the head of a huge ogre.
A man, smeared in the blood of an ogre, chuckled lightly.
“That day has finally arrived.”
“Oh. Finally.”
The man wearing a lion’s hide was Badim, the tribal war chief of the lion tribe.
The necklace he wore was adorned with the fangs of monsters. Each one belonged to a monster of repute capable of slaughtering dozens of men.
“Lion tribe! We have punished Elber! We have completed the duty passed down to us by our ancestors!”
“Roar!”
“We have fulfilled our duty. Now only one thing remains!”
“Roar!”
Vadim pounded his spear on the ground.
Thud!
The tribespeople started banging their weapons on the ground. The sound reverberated like an earthquake.
“It’s exactly that!”
Vadim spoke as if overwhelmed with emotion.
“Returning to our god, Mazar.”
“ROOOARR!”
Vadim gazed at the horizon.
Where the empire lay.
“Let’s go back. To our god.”
Ah dang its those jojo villagers who captured their god with paralyzed dart xD