Furina, Please Let Me Steal Your Heart!

Name?

"Luna."

Gender?

"Female. Do you really need to ask?"

"Some people are always trying to stir up trouble. If we don't handle this delicately, who knows what kind of attention it might draw from those nosy reporters."

Luna sympathized deeply. 

At that moment, she was attending an audition for the Dark Moon Troupe.

Only three people were in the room: her, the theater company's director, and their playwright.

Romi brushed his hand over his gaunt face. "Why do you want to join our theater company?"

Luna pondered for a moment.

Should I tell them the truth or just say something pleasant to get by?

Generally, she would choose the latter, but now this theater company had lost its core actor. A newcomer without experience but with exceptional acting skills had arrived—this made gaining even the most basic trust difficult.

She hadn't thought about staying permanently in this theater company, but if she didn't have even a tiny bit of trust, it could be quite troublesome.

Luna decided to calmly say, "I want to become famous. First, your theater lacks necessary lead actors, and second, your stage can bring me to the opera house."

"Quite a big mouth you have," Judith, the playwright, said coldly.

"Because I have the skills to back it up."

Romi, the director, put down Luna's resume with interest.

How can someone who was once an adventurer be so confident about musicals? He wanted to take a good look at whether her confidence and skills were actually as good as she claimed.

He picked up the script on the table and handed it to Luna.

"Please try out the role of the elder sister in act two, scene three."

Luna took the script, reading it over.

The heartbroken girl who lost her lover... Luna closed the script and stood up.

Without any warning, she slipped into character.

Her eyes flickered with unbearable anguish, tears welling and spilling over as she gasped for air, wrenching the hearts of all who watched.

Pain, excruciating pain.

Romi's hands rested on his chin, his glasses gleaming with an inscrutable light. Even Judith, the cold-hearted playwright, showed a hint of change in her expression.

"Don't leave me, Mio! Without you, I..."

Luna stumbled forward as if her soul had fled her body, her legs buckling as she fell to her knees, as though confronted by a truly beautiful yet lifeless corpse before her eyes.

Her gaze shifted from pain to despair, each movement stirring within Romi the cry: This is exactly what I wanted to see!

Right, absolutely right. This is precisely what I was hoping for!

Is she truly a newcomer? Romi hastily glanced back at her resume.

Indeed, she's completely new to the stage.

But then, doesn't that make her... a natural-born performer?

What divine luck for Darkmoon Troupe!

Still, it wasn't time to make a decision just yet.

Luna rose and smiled. "What do you think?"

"...It was outstanding, but acting alone isn't enough to be the lead in a musical. Can you sing?" Mr. Wang inquired anxiously.

"Captain, surely you're not seriously considering her?" asked Judith fretfully. "What about Mary? If she comes back—"

"Worry about that later."

Judith's face darkened, and she fell silent.

It seemed her dislike for me was because she thought I had stolen the original lead's role, and in fact, that was indeed the case. Luna nodded to herself; she could understand.

But understanding was one thing, and backing down was another.

"I can sing," Luna asserted.

"Then give us a taste," Romi urged, impatiently handing her a sheet music.

Luna took the score, and with a deep breath, she began to sing.

The high notes... Romi sucked in a breath. As an adventurer, her vocal control was remarkably steady. Luna's voice, already enchanting, now burst forth with such power that it nearly brought tears to Romi's eyes.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Compared to her acting, her singing was truly exceptional—a crucial asset for both musicals and operas without a doubt.

Is she really a newcomer?

Romi had a gut feeling that if he could just put Luna on stage, a new star would shine in Fontaine! His theater troupe could then break free from its current struggles and soar to success.

"You're hired!"

-

The Dark Moon Troupe, as its name suggests, specialized in productions that were:

Dark.

Profound.

Fantastical.

The reason for this distinctive style lay with their playwright—Judith, who had a penchant for tragic, macabre stories. Though this preference limited their audience, their ability was undeniable, as evidenced by their booking at the prestigious Opera Epiclese.

But then Mary Bessimia, their star actress, vanished without a trace.

Romi sighed. "It's been ten days since she disappeared."

"What about the Court of Justice?"

"They haven't found any leads on her whereabouts. As you know, we're scheduled to perform at the opera house at the end of the month—just ten days from now."

Romi rubbed his temples. "If we find her, it'll be fine. But if we don't, we'll miss this opportunity. The investors will be furious, and if they pull their funding, it's anyone's guess whether the troupe will survive..."

"Moreover, the opera house will also assess our situation. They'll determine whether we're still capable of staging performances on their stage..."

It was truly a delicate situation.

Luna nodded. "So, you want to find a new lead actress to fill her role?"

"Indeed, logically, we should promote a supporting actor, but they're not attractive enough, and the sponsors won't have it."

"I thought, why not give it a try and recruit someone new? But to be honest, I didn't hold much hope. You see," Romi said, pulling out a few newspapers.

They weren't from The Steam Bird, but rather some small, obscure publications.

The pages were filled with articles about the "confirmed" situation of the Dark Moon Troupe.

"Some say the lead actor left after an affair," Romi explained. "Others claim our troupe mistreated or even abused her... Several sponsors have pulled their funding because of this. If we don't turn things around, the troupe is finished."

No need for a second thought, Luna mused. Someone else is definitely vying to drag the Dark Moon Troupe off the Opera Epiclese stage—everywhere has open or hidden competition, it's not unusual.

Understanding at once, Luna asked, "And the other members of the troupe...?"

"Most accepted it, after all... it's about work. However, our playwright, Miss Judith, couldn't bear it, since she had a close relationship with Mary."

"That is indeed unacceptable."

Romi nodded. "Indeed. I'm also deeply concerned about Mary's disappearance, but all we can do is continue rehearsing. The show must go on; otherwise, we'll lose everything."

"What a difficult decision," Luna murmured.

"Thank you for understanding. Anyway, please don't blame Judith too much. Come, let's begin rehearsing."

Upon entering the rehearsal space, Romi introduced Luna to the rest of the troupe.

"In summary, Miss Luna will be our new leading lady. Her acting skills and singing voice are truly exceptional."

Luna pressed her hand to her chest, smiling. "Please teach me much, everyone."