NOVEL NEXT Chapter 170
Chapter 170. Beggar Siblings – Accident
Bustling yet quiet dressing room.
Behind the stage, everyone in the dressing room was communicating with gestures to avoid being discovered by the crowd gathered like clouds.
In the suffocating darkness, only the dazzling spotlight and the sound of the dry wooden floor under the actors’ feet moved.
“Hoo. Ha. Hoo. Ha.”
A tense Lena took a deep breath.
On stage, she listened to Saint Azra scolding the demon Seares by the Lodhran River and loosened her stiff limbs.
Soon it would be her turn to go on stage.
After defeating the fourth evil on the ‘Anatolea’ plains, she appeared at the moment when a despairing and twisted Saint Azra threw a brass goblet while cursing God.
“A- um. Ahem. Aah.”
It was no use. Lena thought as she backed away. If this continued, her voice seemed likely to crack.
Treading carefully and silently, she entered her private dressing room and gulped down water to loosen her throat.
She was scared. The fear of making a mistake in front of the concentrated audience at the moment the first saint stepped on stage.
And to top it off, her appearance was the last of the second act of [Demonius]. The curtain fell at the moment Saint Azra met the mountain village girl.
How nice it would have been if her brother was here.
Her hands and feet trembled with nervousness. She wanted comfort from anyone, but Xenia was not there. She was on stage, playing Seares, the demon advising Saint Azra.
– Knock knock.
Then, someone knocked on the door. Without waiting for permission, in came Breten, the theater owner.
“Lena, are you alright?”
“Yes, I… I’m alright.”
Breten came closer and turned her around. Massaging Lena’s small shoulders, he advised,
“You can do it. But it’s okay if you make a mistake. Who’s perfect from the start? Everyone can make mistakes… I’m not saying you should, but if you do, do it confidently and magnificently.”
“…Should I make a mistake or not?”
“It depends on how you take it, Lena.”
Pfft. Smiling, Lena turned around.
She said, “Alright. Then I’ll make a brilliant mistake.” and boldly left the dressing room.
Breten stayed there for a moment. The sight of the small, fragile girl walking barefoot out the door reminded him briefly of Cassia’s back.
A girl who ran barefoot asking to bring her father down. After the funeral, he feared she’d kill herself, but the thin yet bold young prostitute returned with sharp words stabbing Breten’s chest.
– “Don’t hold on too tight to the past.”
But how could one not be tied to it? The moment he woke in a bloodied bed and the moment his mother, who used to caress him to sleep, disappeared, his past lingered there.
However,
– “I’m going to live my own life now.”
Cassia’s words left him feeling unable to work. The life of comforting prostitutes and pushing them into men’s groins suddenly filled him with regret.
What had he done for that girl, Cassia? Feeling nothing but shame for the gold coins she harshly refused, which seemed now like worthless pieces of metal.
He went to his ‘master.’
Breten, born of a concubine, was an illegitimate child. He approached his half-brother, Baron Bria Sauer, the legitimate son from the Sauer viscount’s line in Asran Kingdom, and said,
“I want to quit. Please allow it.”
Baron Bria, the ruler of all brothels in Orville, looked at his half-brother in surprise. Wiggling his unusually many wrinkles, he asked,
“Why do you want to quit? Am I not paying you enough?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Are you lacking women? I kept sending you girls from my place. Ah, I guess you were upset because they were old. You let them into your bed but never had relations with them.”
Grit.
Breten Sauer clenched his teeth. He couldn’t stand Brian mocking him for not being able to sleep without a woman.
“You bastard.”
The curse exploded, and Breten, shaking violently, spoke.
“Still, I’m the elder brother. Even if not by blood, still I’m the elder brother.”
“…!”
“Yes. I knew it. I knew you weren’t Father’s son.”
Their father loved his mother. Though a concubine, thanks to his father’s love, Breten received a quality education and threatened the position of the main wife who couldn’t bear children.
But the main wife suddenly had a son. Exactly one year after Viscount Brina, her eldest brother, visited the Sauer house.
Their father died. The day the son was born, their father suffered a mysterious accident, and the young Breten, who also lost his mother, could do nothing. He could only pretend not to know anything to survive and became a dog for the viscount’s family.
That’s how… he lived.
“Do you wish to die?”
Baron Bria wrinkled all the lines on his face. Traces left by abruptly losing weight to erase the chubbiness of the Brina viscount’s lineage.
Breten Sauer said nothing. Shivering, he stood as if saying kill me if you dare.
Half-blood, unrelated middle-aged brothers glared at each other. After a long while, Baron Brian Zauer sneered.
“Fine. I’ll treat you like an elder. What do you want?”
“…I’ll take the brothel I managed. That’s all I ask.”
Though it was originally his position, Breten was satisfied with it. He abandoned the surname ‘Zauer’ and converted the brothel into a theater.
For the prostitutes, it was a bolt from the blue. They were at a loss with nowhere to go and nothing to do, but Breten made arrangements for them to live on the third floor of the theater.
Prostitutes, whose ultimate fate was often nothing better than becoming the concubine of a worthless man with lust for their bodies.
Thinking of his mother, Breten sought out Cassia, who had sold his father’s shoe store to start anew in a neighborhood with cheaper rents. With Cassia’s help, he helped the prostitutes become independent, one by one.
One by one… he atoned.
In a dark dressing room. Breten, looking at the closed door after Lena left, shook off his thoughts. He opened the door and whispered “Good luck,” to a girl about to step on stage.
With a concealed smile behind a mask covering half her face, Lena skipped energetically up the stage stairs, injecting life into her small body.
A lively village girl.
I am a cheerful and kind village girl.
Lena took the stage. Shaking a bag full of berries, in the dazzling spotlight, she dramatically removed her mask.
– Wowww!!
The cheers almost sounded like screams. Her blonde hair fluttered, revealing lovely little ears. Her charming nose bridge shone in the light.
But under her delicate jawline was a deep shadow. Her golden eyes, full of liveliness, sparkled so brightly they silenced the noisy audience.
She had made a mistake.
Ignoring her brother’s frequent advice, the exhilarating thrill of the crowd’s gaze consumed her. But in reality, their gaze felt nonchalant to Lena.
If her brother had been there, she would have been severely scolded. But with a mask for a village girl? It had to come off.
“Can’t you hear me?! A person shouldn’t make such an expression! Get up!”
Lena shouted at the despairing Azra, and the play [Demonius] concluded successfully amidst the stellar performance of the newcomer.
Leo did not witness this.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Orville Palace, a ball was in full swing in the silver Liatris Hall.
Named after a flower symbolizing ‘nobility,’ the hall was suitably beautiful.
Chandeliers hung grandly from the ceiling, and thousands of silver candlesticks on capitals illuminated the vast hall. The half-dome mirrored ceiling and white marble floor were adorned with richly embroidered Liatris flowers wrought in silver.
The hall reflected an artisan’s stubbornness, fitting for another meaning of the Liatris flower, ‘obstinacy.’
Leo was on duty.
He replaced the swords of noble guards with blunted ceremonial swords, doing the same for knights from the first, second, and third divisions entering the hall.
Only significant figures like the captain and deputy captain of the knights, palace guards, and royal knights could carry their swords within the palace.
“You look sharp. Enjoying it?”
Katrina approached with a smirk. As a knight of the second division, she wore a fitted uniform.
Though there was a skirted version for lady knights, she wore the same uniform as other knights: navy-striped pants and a cloak-decorated uniform.
“You said you’d treat once you got paid. See? Didn’t I tell you life would be tough as a royal guard?”
“Just hand over your sword.”
“Well, well? This one’s become old-fashioned.”
Katrina exchanged her sword with a playful “There you go,” and followed her colleagues.
Apologetically, Leo had no time to pay attention to Katrina. He was busy checking where the princess might appear, where Gilbert Forte was, and where Prince Arnold de Klaus was.
The ball was progressing without any special events.
It was essentially a pre-reconnaissance, allowing nobles to meet the prince from the Astin Kingdom who came to see the princess.
Thus, nobles uninterested in such affairs and their daughters, Klaus prince’s entourage, and kingdom knights mingled and danced, yet Prince Arnold’s position was clearly visible.
Of course, Leo’s interest lay elsewhere. Though related, the prince was not the target to be intercepted.
‘Where are you? You’re bound to appear.’
Leo wandered around the ballroom, searching for the princess.
He spotted Gilbert Forte.
With a displeased expression, he was trailing behind his father, Count Herman Forte, who had arrived with Prince Clyaan de Tatalia.
While the yellow straw-colored hair of the Clyaan prince reminded one of lush granaries, the navy-haired Prince Klaus approached, and Gilbert observed the nearby noble ladies with boredom.
Leo considered another option:
Instead of focusing on the princess, he could perhaps lure Gilbert Forte out of the ballroom.
But that wasn’t the best course of action.
It is easy to lure Gilbert, who has a weakness for women. If the handsome Leo invites him to go seduce young ladies together, Gilbert would be happy to join him, but hadn’t he already seen this in the previous round?
Despite killing Gilbert Forte, the war broke out.
Additionally, it was intimidating to approach as the Sword Master, who was a head taller than others, was glaring at Leo with fierce eyes.
Princess Chloe de Tatalia had to be stopped. To successfully prevent all events, the root cause must be eliminated beforehand.
Leo had a plan to stop the princess.
Pretending to make a mistake. Pouring a drink on her, tearing her dress while falling clumsily, there were many ways.
The goal was just to send that woman away. If the war broke out despite such efforts, it would be fair to deduce that the {war} event could not be prevented.
‘Found her!’
After wandering around the ballroom for a long time, as the tempo of the music picked up and the atmosphere reached its peak, Princess Chloe de Tatalia appeared.
She indeed had the looks that deserved to be called the flower of the Kingdom of Belita.
Her yellow straw-colored hair, like her brother’s, flowed down to her waist and shimmered richly. Her gracefully connected jawline and neckline were enough to weaken a man’s guard.
Her well-shaped eyebrows were perfectly aligned.
Large, dreamy eyes contained sparkling golden pupils. Her flawless white skin, with just the right amount of flesh, supported her soft smile.
Leo thought, Lena is prettier, though.
After confirming his target, Leo hurriedly approached. Seeing the princess heading towards the princes and Gilbert Forte, he quickened his pace, grabbing two glasses of wine from a passing servant.
But then,
“Are you Sir Noel?”
A man dressed in high-quality red balena leather, with a green brooch bearing a tilted scale, called out to Leo.
It was Marquis Bernard Tatian.
He scanned Leo up and down with cold, appraising blue eyes.
“Please spare a moment. I have a proposition for you…”
Suggesting they move, the marquis nodded lightly.
“I’m sorry, I have an urgent matter right now. Can we do this another time?”
Why now!
But he couldn’t afford to be rude to Marquis Tatian. If he upset the marquis, stopping the princess would no longer matter.
Leo bowed courteously. Taking advantage of the marquis’s slight delay in response, he slipped past him.
Damn, I’m going to be late.
Princess Chloe was already walking towards Gilbert Forte. Gilbert, who had been standing idly, noticed her approach and started looking at her.
Right in front of the princes. An unprecedented rudeness was about to occur.
So, my rudeness is nothing.
Pretending to head towards Katrina, Leo held up the wine glasses and shouted, “Sister Katrina! I’m here!”
Feigning obliviousness, he collided with the princess, spilling the wine from both glasses onto her chest.
Drenched in wine, the princess looked down at her ample chest, then raised her head. Her eyes widened…
“Excuse, excuse me… Uh!”
She grabbed Leo by the neck, pulling him close for a kiss.
A dazzling smile spread across the princess’s face before Leo’s startled eyes. Embracing him, she passionately tangled her tongue with his.
The ballroom went silent, watching the astonishing scene.
Marquis Bernard Tatian glanced at Leo with a peculiar look before turning away. The Sword Master glared, Prince Clyaan de Tatalia sighed, holding his forehead.
Prince Arnold de Klaus, with navy blue hair, gave a derisive laugh, while Gilbert Forte whistled appreciatively.
Whistle!
It was a major incident that would immediately cause a commotion in Orville.