ALL NOVEL Chapter 106
“Why, would you like to learn a thing or two as well?”
“Never mind.”
“Hey, I once played a lead role in a movie about a terminally ill patient. Unfortunately, it got discontinued. What a real shame.” Even thinking about it now, it’s quite regrettable. The movie had crossed ten million viewers within a week of its release. “Why do you think that happened?”
“Why?”
“The audience was so engrossed in my acting that they cried themselves into fainting. Nearly ten to twenty people a day were being carried out half-exhausted. That’s why it got discontinued within a week.”
“Wow.”
“What can you do when you’re a genius? I couldn’t deliberately act poorly.” I lay down on the bed, feeling a bit proud of myself. “Ah, today was good.”
By the way, I haven’t seen Lillia since the beginning of the ball. I wonder what happened to her.
Just as I was wondering, there was a loud noise from a room across the corridor.
“Aaaah!”
That was Lillia’s voice, screaming in a way that couldn’t be ignored.
“Heh.” I closed my eyes, satisfied.
Looks like I can sleep happily tonight.
***
Romeo and Juliet—a story of two young protagonists from rival families who, consumed by an impossible love, ultimately meet a tragic fate. The theater troupe “Roland” had been preparing this new production for the coming autumn.
“Oh, Romeo, Romeo!”
In the underground rehearsal room of the Roland Theater Company, Sarah Hugo, the actress playing the role of Juliet Capulet, was diligently rehearsing even today, two weeks before the premiere.
“Why must your name be Romeo of all things?”
All the colleagues who were watching Sarah’s heartfelt lines held their breath.
“Rid yourself of that name. What’s in a name? Even if we were to call a rose by another name, would its fragrance not remain the same?”
The balcony soliloquy scene of Juliet Capulet, a woman who had fallen in love with a man she should not have was a famous scene that required the most effort.
“Romeo, cast aside your name and take me instead!”
After delivering her lines, Sarah’s gaze turned toward the “Romeo” below the balcony.
‘Oh.’
As the face of Romeo, with a short blond wig, came into view, Sarah fell silent. There she saw moist, golden eyes and an excessively beautiful face with an expression mixed with desire and poignant sorrow directed toward Juliet.
“Juliet, I willingly forsake the name Romeo for you.” He, who had been squirming in agony with his eyes tightly shut, finally gazed earnestly at Sarah standing on the balcony and pleaded, “Please, call me your lover.”
“…”
Sarah just stared down at Romeo, dazed.
Thump, thump, thump.
It was all just acting, but… Romeo’s heartfelt confession felt so real, Sarah’s heart raced.
There was a moment of silence.
“…”
Romeo, who had broken into a bright smile, tilted his head and gestured, “Sarah?”
“Ah!”
She had to deliver her next line, but…
Flustered, Sarah bowed slightly. “I’m sorry, Princess.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Let’s take a short break.”
Sarah quickly descended from the second-floor stage and once again bowed her head. “I’m truly sorry. You made time to rehearse with me, and I’m falling short.”
“Oh, come on. If Sarah falls short, what will the other actors do to survive?”
Romeo, or rather Rubette, flashed a bright smile, and Sarah hesitated once more.
“By the way, I even used a wig to enhance your emotional immersion, but it seems like it’s not quite working when we’re doing lines together. Don’t you think?”
“Well, it’s not exactly…”
At that moment, a confident young man with brown hair interjected, “Sarah, is the issue that you immerse yourself too well?” He was Heron, Sarah’s colleague, who played the role of Romeo Montague. As Sarah admitted her embarrassment, Heron looked at Rubette as he continued, “When the princess performed Juliet to help me practice, I stumbled over my lines like ten times in a row.”
“Isn’t it because you couldn’t memorize the lines?”
“Hey, do you think I’m such a disappointment? I’ve been in this business for eight years now. I memorize my lines the day I get a script, and I’ve never stuttered once when matching lines with Sarah.”
“So how did that happen?”
“Well… I don’t know how to put it.” As if unable to express it in words, Heron gestured frantically and fidgeted. “…Maybe I’ve truly fallen for Juliet.”
“What?”
“Exactly! Romeo loves Juliet, but to act it out, you shouldn’t actually be in love, but, uh, how do I explain this?”
Heron seemed to be saying something that Sarah could understand. She nodded and chimed in, “Princess, you’re just too good at acting. It feels like I’m secretly rendezvousing with Romeo for real. Immersing in the role is great, but one still needs that awareness that one is in a play, and that’s not working so well for me earlier.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just now, it felt like Juliet’s father would burst in any moment to catch Romeo.”
“Well, that’s not good. What if I just observe then?”
As Rubette stroked her chin and thought, Sarah and Heron simultaneously shook their heads.
Heron spoke quickly, “The two of us have matched lines to exhaustion. You wrote the script yourself, Princess, so you should understand the characters’ emotions better. There are only two weeks left, so please watch over us a little more.”
“Well, the script was written by my friend, William, and I’m the adapter. No, I’m just helping without even getting paid…”
“Haha!”
Even though she said that, Rubette had already been assisting with rehearsals for over two weeks. She had also become quite friendly with the Roland Theater crew during that time.
“However, it bothers me that only Sarah plays the role of Juliet. Shouldn’t we have at least one spare actor for the same role?”
“Well, originally, Sarah was the star of our show. As you know, Roland only gained prominence thanks to Sarah; originally, we didn’t even have ten actors. We were a struggling theater troupe,” Heron shrugged.
“Now that we’ve earned quite a bit of money, I told the director to hire more actors. Who knows when something might happen, and we can’t perform without an understudy?”
Seemingly recognizing Rubette’s concerns, Sarah smiled and reassured her. “I’ve scheduled this play with my condition in mind. Don’t worry too much.”
“Then don’t push yourself too hard. Your acting is already perfect, so take it easy on the rehearsals. Get a good night’s sleep.”
“Oh, there’s no such thing as ‘take it easy.’ My lady is not only providing the script but also overseeing the acting rehearsals. I’m really going to pull this off splendidly. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
“No, what… sigh.”
Despite her overflowing enthusiasm, Rubette heaved a sigh as she looked at Sarah’s face, which had become weary from days of late-night rehearsals.
***
At that moment, in Lark’s office. The already busy Crown Prince was in a flurry of preparations for an unexpected visitor.
“I heard His Majesty hasn’t been able to sleep for the past few days.”
In response to Ren’s words, Lark let out a small chuckle. “He must’ve missed her a lot. Father must’ve been over the moon, hearing about Lady Endelturn.”
The guest who would soon visit the imperial palace was Marion Endelturn, the wife of the former 9th emperor and the current Emperor Leonard’s stepmother. Although Emperor Leonard was the product of his late father’s second marriage, Marion had treated him like a beloved son from a young age.
“Unlike other empresses, she’s suffered all her life, so Father can’t help but dote on her even more.”
When the next emperor ascended the throne, the former empresses usually received honorary titles and built mansions near the palace to spend their remaining years. However, Marion was the exception; she had refused and returned to her homeland in the distant north.
“Well, they did say she was a commoner, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, her refusal and return home were also because of the pressure from the court.”
As an uncommon empress from a commoner background, she had faced numerous challenges in her life within the imperial court.
“It might have been the better choice after all. His Majesty takes care of her even from afar. She must have lived a headache-free life in her hometown with good air and clean water.”
The only person exempt from Emperor Leonard’s influence. Lady Endelturn’s visit was like that of the emperor’s own mother. She was truly a distinguished guest, which is why Lark was meticulously planning their schedule.
“Is she fond of theater?”
“Theater?”
“Don’t you know? There’s quite a buzz about it in the court lately.”
“Ah, <Romeo and Juliet>?”
“Yes.”
Lark took out a few tickets from his drawer. They were the ones Rubette had given him for promotion.
“Words aren’t enough to describe the beauty of our prodigy Sarah performs. I’ll even give you complimentary tickets as a privilege, so please help with the promotion in your circles, and do make sure to come, Your Majesty.”
From the Emperor to former empress Marion; with audiences of such stature, Lark was quite pleased with the prospect of the substantial promotional support.
***
As autumn ripened, Hebe Street in the capital bustled with activity.
“Welcome to <Blanc de Ruby>.”
<Blanc de Ruby> already had six branches operating actively, starting with its original flagship store, the Lunten Clothing Store.
The Hebe branch, established in April of this year, had successfully launched its first leather products and had risen to the status of a flagship store. It was a specialty store that exclusively handled ladies’ handbags and high-end unisex accessories.
‘Let’s do this, Hanna. I’ve always done well, but today, let’s do even better.’
Hanna Gretel, dressed in a neat uniform, was particularly motivated today.
The reason being…
‘The boss herself is visiting the store! If I make a good impression here, maybe I’ll climb the ranks. Who knows, I might even aim for a managerial position.’
It was because the CEO, Madame Ruby, had personally visited the Hebe branch.
‘She really is impressive.’
Madame Ruby, who always wore a mask, lived up to her reputation. However, her dignity and grandeur could still be sensed even without seeing her face.
Madame Ruby entered the store gracefully, her high heels making a distinct clicking sound.
Recalling her presence, Hanna was thrilled.
‘She’s unmistakably an aristocratic lady playing with money.’
Hanna greedily ran her lips, thinking about it.
Clang—
With the chime of the bell, a fellow staff member’s voice greeted the customer, “Welcome to <Blanc de Ruby>.”
“Welcome to-” As Hanna was about to bow in greeting, she hesitated upon seeing the customer.
“Oh my, they said this place is famous in the capital, and it looks like it really is. I’ve been waiting for two hours. Since it’s number 28, it’s my turn, right?”
Wearing shabby clothes and carrying a large, worn-out handbag patched together here and there, the elderly woman with sparse white hair didn’t seem to fit into this high-end establishment that catered to aristocrats. She timidly held up her waiting number, a far cry from the usual clientele.
‘Is she crazy? What’s this old beggar doing here…?’
Hanna was bewildered. While the store had implemented a waiting list system to replace the previous long queues, it didn’t mean anyone could just pick up a number.
Hanna nudged her new colleague in annoyance and whispered in an irritated tone, “Did you give a waiting number to that beggar?”
“Why? Don’t we distribute waiting numbers to everyone?”
Her casual response sent shivers down Hanna’s spine. “Why do you have to say that? Don’t you realize that by entertaining such trash, you’re damaging the shop’s image?”
“I’m sorry…”
“Hmph.”
With a sigh, Hanna, exasperated, approached the elderly woman, “I apologize, ma’am. It seems our employee made a mistake.”
“Pardon?”
“We at <Blanc de Ruby> primarily cater to nobility, specializing in high-end luxury goods. I doubt there’s anything you’re looking for, so please leave.”
In response to Hanna’s composed words, the elderly woman, who had momentarily opened her mouth and blinked, eventually looked down at her appearance. “Oh, if I’ve caused any misunderstanding, I apologize. But don’t worry. I do have money.”
“Ma’am, please leave.”
“It’s true. I do have money.”
The bewildered woman rummaged through her bag. Inside, it was filled with old odds and ends. In her frantic search for her wallet, she accidentally spilled the bag’s contents all over the floor. Old trinkets, small toys that boys might play with, a faded yellow apron…
“Oh my. I’m sorry.”
With an apologetic smile, the woman bent down and began picking up the scattered items.
Seeing her pitiful state, Hanna’s anger boiled over. “Get out right now!”
“…?”
Startled, the woman held her chest, looking up at Hanna.
“We’re a high-end boutique where our image is of utmost importance. Coming here like this is disruptive to our business. If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll report it to the guards.”
“Oh, well…”
The elderly woman hesitated and, it seemed, was overcome with sorrow and embarrassment as tears welled up in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”
“If you’re sorry, then leave.”
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
At that moment, a muffled clicking sound from the second floor could be heard. It appeared that Madame Ruby and the manager were coming downstairs. Hanna wore an expression of impending doom while showing her back.
“Alright. Hire employees according to the criteria I gave you…”
The footsteps of the owner, Rubette, momentarily stopped as she came down to the first floor.
The store was strangely chaotic.
An elderly woman, with scattered belongings on the floor from her pitiable state was picking up the scattered items, and a brown-haired employee was standing before her.
And beyond that, four other employees who were watching the scene, exchanging glances with each other…
Noticing the peculiar atmosphere swiftly, Rubette asked, “What’s going on here?”