Memoirs of the Returnee

The Play (3)

[Act 1]

On stage, Elise spoke.

─Have you been waiting?

Her voice was soft. It flowed smoothly into the ears.

─I am The Bard. Sometimes I cross the line at the tavern…

She didn’t say much, but the audience was already drawn. There was even a celebrity with a sullen expression, envious for no reason. Jade silently rested his fingers against his jaw.

─Would you like to hear my story? But you must listen to the Bard’s story with one ear and let it flow out the other. You shouldn’t dwell on it too much.

She recited her wordplay-like song lyrics as if she was having a conversation with the audience. She approached the front row directly and asked questions, even making eye contact with Jade.

At her audacious demeanor, Jade chuckled.

─Stop!

However, a man appeared, interrupting her words. The Bard looked surprised and turned to him.

─Are you the famous Bard?

─…Famous, you say? I’m the only Bard around here with that name attached.

─I am the Viscount of Zolang. His Majesty wishes to see your performance. It’s a great honor for you, so prepare to leave…

The scene on the stage then changed to a royal palace, and the white-haired king greeted the Bard.

─Bard, welcome to the palace. I heard your melodies have spread to the outskirts of the kingdom, so I called for you. Can you perform a delightful show here as well?

Characters appeared beside the king. The chamberlain, the interior minister, the Viscount of Zolang, the prince, the queen.

The Bard carefully examined each of their faces, reciting slowly.

─The gods have given me seven bundles of stories. If you allow me to unravel one story a day, I will finish all the songs here and then leave.

─Very well. Stay.

Jade quietly watched the play.

He had no particular thoughts.

Of course, the quality of the magic school play was somewhat high, but the story itself was plain and would continue to be flat. After all, the Latinel play [The Bard], which is this play’s original, is like that.

Jade looked at his wristwatch again.

It was the fourth minute.

He had told the press he would stay for 30 minutes, but it would be acceptable to leave earlier.

─Then, I will start the first song…

The Bard sang a song. It was a rhythm similar to a musical. Jade’s ears almost perked up, but it seemed to be a teaser, and the stage changed as the curtain fell.

It was a dark corridor.

The next character to appear was the maidservant. She held a note in her hand.

─Who on earth…

The maidservant walked down the corridor with an anxious face.

─…Who is spreading the story of that day? I must inform the queen quickly.

Although Layla’s tone slightly came through at the end, she continued the serious drama.

───Tap tap tap!

Suddenly, from the back of the audience, there was a sound like a beating in the theater through the surround sound.

The audience was surprised, and the maidservant turned to look there.

Her eyes widened in horror.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa──!

A vivid scream shook the stage. It was a shriek that made the back of the neck stand up, but what followed was more imminent.

Thud! Suddenly, someone appeared and stabbed the maidservant in the heart. A dagger protruded from behind her chest.

─Gurgle, choke…

The assailant pulled out the dagger. The maidservant, frothing at the mouth, staggered and fell. Holding the blade in reverse, the attacker forcefully struck down on the maidservant’s neck.

Zzzzzzuck—! The sound of a neck being severed.

Drip, drip, drip, drip… The sound of blood flowing.

The blatant murder scene and the blood covering the stage completely changed the play’s atmosphere. It was overwhelming.

“……”

The theater fell silent. The audience, including Jade, was momentarily stunned.

After a short while, the entire stage was enveloped in darkness.

Could it be a real murder? The audience began to worry one by one due to the overly realistic sequence.

BOOOM───!

With the sound of thunder, the lights came back on.

This time, it was a dark window with heavy rain pouring down.

It was the palace corridor. The maidservant’s neck had been severed, and there was some writing in blood on the corridor floor.

─…Tsk.

All the characters, including the prince, the young nobleman, and Bard, gathered beside the Minister of Internal Affairs, who was investigating the murder.

─What on earth… What does this writing by the murderer mean?

The young nobleman asked.

─Hmm… I’m not sure.

The Minister of Internal Affairs dodged the question, and Bard stepped forward to answer.

─Cardious. In Latinel, it means ‘revenge’.

─Revenge? Bard, how do you know that?

─I learned Latinel a while ago.

─Hmm. You’re learned for a jester. But if it’s revenge, is it the act of an outsider?

The young nobleman narrowed his eyes. The Minister of Internal Affairs nodded.

─…It seems highly likely.

─No.

Again, the Bard stepped forward. The other characters looked at her with displeased faces.

─There’s a storm outside right now. If there had been an intrusion from outside, there would have been some traces of moisture.

─So what, the culprit is inside the palace?! Among us?! No way. Bard, since you came, a murder has occurred, so you are the most likely suspect.

The young nobleman made a fuss. The prince’s expression was not good either.

─I’m just a Bard. Where would I have a reason for revenge?

─…That’s true.

The young nobleman licked his lips.

The Minister of Internal Affairs spoke.

─…It’s late. I’ll call the soldiers to guard the scene, so please wait until dawn. His Majesty is resting.

It was a suggestion to resume the investigation when the day broke.

Everyone nodded.

One by one, they left the stage, leaving only the Minister of Internal Affairs alone, gently looking at the murdered maidservant.

─Revenge…

He murmured softly, staring at the Latinel word written in blood on the floor, when suddenly,

Thud- something fell.

The Minister of the Interior turned to look.

Rain poured in through the suspiciously open window, and a wet note seemed to have fallen through the gap, rolling on the floor.

─What…

The Minister of Internal Affairs, while suspicious, slowly approached and picked up the note. He cautiously unfolded it.

─Isabel… Isabel?!

The note bore someone’s name. The Minister of Internal Affairs trembled as he gazed out the window.

Screeeeech!

A crossbow bolt shattered the window, charging in.

Thud!

A thick arrow lodged in his chest. As he clutched it, barely breathing, another bolt struck him.

Cough, cough, cough…

He fell flat on the floor. Blood flowed from his chest and head. Wind and rain poured in through the shattered window, realistically sprinkling the audience watching the play.

The Minister of Internal Affairs and the maidservant. Both died within 10 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, another one died.

The third victim was the Marquis of Zolang, whom Jade thought had an important role, no, had concluded was the ‘culprit’.

Marquis of Zolang!

Under the raging storm.

He lay dead, bloodied, on the palace lawn.

The audience watched with wide eyes. Their mouths moved like goldfish, and they were as quiet as mice.

It had been like this since 20 minutes ago. Everyone was immersed in the play.

“If it’s not Zolang, then who…”

Even Jade was murmuring to himself.

It was even more surprising as someone who had previously experienced “The Bard”. It was 180 degrees different from the play in his memories.

“Jade.”

However, while Jade was deducing the culprit and predicting the story.

The chauffeur approached and whispered.

“30 minutes…”

It was a reminder that the promised 30 minutes had passed. Time had flown by.

Jade glanced at him with an annoyed look.

“I know.”

“What should we do?”

Of course, Jade had said she would only stay for 30 minutes. He really had to go.

If he stayed longer, articles about ‘Jade with nothing to do’ would circulate.

This was not Jade’s delusion. Johanna, or Derek. Knowing their personalities too well, they would create such trivial public opinion to get on his nerves.

So, he couldn’t sit here and watch the entire play.

“It’s too early. It would be rude to leave now.”

However, he was sitting here because it would be impolite.

If he got up right now, not only would it disrupt the play, but it would also disturb the other audience members who were focused on the play.

That, too, would be against the dignity of a noble.

“When Act 1 ends.”

Fortunately, there is an intermission in the play. A break for the actors and audience to catch their breath between Act 1 and Act 2.

“Leave then.”

“Yes. I will prepare so you can leave immediately.”

The chauffeur quietly left the theater.

Marquis of Zolang!

Behind the curtain. While the other actors were performing on stage, Elise was catching her breath, waiting for her turn.

“Elise, you’ve done incredibly well so far.”

Just then, a staff member approached and brushed off the dust on her face and the lint on her clothes.

“The Duke is coming soon.”

The Duke.

A key character who appears in the last five minutes of Act 1.

The most critical moment was approaching the stage that had been perfect so far.

“Don’t panic. Just think of him as Miller and continue. If Miss Elise leads well, Mr. Shion should be able to do a decent job. We’ve made his visuals quite impressive.”

At the staff’s words, Elise nodded her head. She relaxed her body, which had been tense for a moment.

“We’re going up soon. Get ready.”

─The Baron has also died. I can’t stand it anymore. Bring everyone out, excluding His Majesty and the Queen. Right now. It’s the prince’s command!

Just then, the prince delivered his lines.

“Now. Bard is going up!”

With the staff’s signal, Elise went back on stage.

As soon as she took a step, a rainy yard, and a 2,300-seat audience spread out in front of her.

“Look, the Bard is coming.”

Under the rain, the prince, narrowing his sharp eyes, looked at her. Elise, becoming the Bard again, approached him.

“Did you call for me, Your Highness the Prince?”

“Yes. I did. Did you see this?”

The prince pointed at the corpse of Marquis Zolang. The Bard put her trembling hands on her chest. The prince’s lips curled up.

“……The Marquis is also dead. Now, weave your favorite detective tale.”

The prince sneered.

“Your Highness!”

Suddenly, his servant approached urgently and whispered. His whisper was loud enough for the audience to hear.

“The Duke has just arrived.”

“……The Duke?”

At the same time as his line, a chilling background sound echoed loudly throughout the theater.

Boom─!

Unusual darkness descended at the end of the stage, and the audience’s attention was focused.

A nobleman slowly reveals himself for the first time from the dim distance.

“Yes. That Duke bastard was here too……”

The prince, looking at him, paused for a moment. Elise also turned to look and widened her eyes.

It was Shion Ascal. But he was different from before.

His previously messy blonde hair was neatly combed back, and his eyebrows were trimmed, making his overall impression calmer. His golden eyes were more vivid, perhaps due to lenses, and the dark nobleman’s suit fitting his body perfectly created a strange atmosphere.

He didn’t look like Shion Ascal.

Instead, he was eerily similar to the ‘dangerous image’ of the Duke that Elise had unconsciously imagined every time she read the script.

“Duke, Du, Duke. You were here too. No, where have you been this entire time? Where?”

The prince, perhaps surprised, stuttered quite a bit in his lines, but it was forgivable as an ad-lib.

After all, The Duke was a character even the prince feared.

“……”

Without a word, he scanned all the extras on stage, including the Bard and the prince, and then walked to the center of the stage.

He twisted his lips as he looked at the horribly murdered Marquis Zolang.

It was a sneer.