Chapter 88
The butler of the Metokan Viscount’s household, Kalsemo, wiped cold sweat throughout the presentation.
Even though it wasn’t summer, it seemed as if all his pores had opened, and by now he was on his fifth handkerchief of the day.
“Will the young lady be able to do this?”
His worry stemmed from the Metokan Viscount’s only daughter, Maybel.
Today was the annual Metokan Viscount’s invention presentation.
Although it was a large-scale event, the Viscount himself did not take it very seriously, so the staff had prepared with a light heart.
Kalsemo had been serving the Viscount’s household for fifteen years, and he could handle an event like this with his eyes closed.
But before him stood a trial in human form: Maybel.
“I want to do the presentation too.”
After recently experiencing a series of unfortunate events, the young lady had become depressed. Her request threw Kalsemo into the dilemma of his life.
It was certain that the Metokan Viscount would refuse Maybel’s wish.
Even if it was an event the Viscount disliked, it was a banquet attended by the influential of the West.
Maybel had not even made her debut yet; there was no chance she could take the stage.
Moreover, Kalsemo knew very well that her inventions were just as bizarre as her mother’s.
Presenting them in front of guests was an extremely risky gamble.
He suggested trying it on another day, but…
“No, I want to do it with Mother. On the same day, at the same time.”
She refused. Maybel’s stubbornness was unyielding.
In the end, it was Kalsemo who gave in first.
He could have reported to the Viscount and ended the matter, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The reason was simple…
“The young lady came out of her room for the first time in a month. And she trusts me!”
Maybel had been locked away in her room, heartbroken, ever since the incident.
The staff had worked hard just to get her out of the room.
Why she suddenly insisted on doing a presentation, no one knew, but whatever the reason, Kalsemo wanted to fulfill her wish.
Even though she was usually cold and distant, the staff agreed: they would do anything for her.
Kalsemo went ahead with an action the head of the family had not approved.
He made excuses that it was for the next head of the household, but in truth, he had already drafted his resignation.
That was how important Maybel was to him.
Maybel had prepared two inventions for the presentation and had already rehearsed them once in the lounge.
Though their operation was somewhat strange, they were manageable as “cute quirks,” he thought.
With that in mind, he prepared the plan in secret… until, on the day of the presentation, Maybel suddenly appeared wearing a bizarre mask.
“Young lady, what’s that?”
“I’m embarrassed… so I’ll wear it.”
“Ah… okay.”
At this point, cancelling the plan was impossible.
Kalsemo hid Maybel, wearing the “Baya-ga” monster mask from a children’s play, behind the stage and wiped his sweat until just before the Viscount left.
Once the first part ended and the Viscount departed without noticing anything, Kalsemo finally led Maybel onto the stage.
“…The Baya-ga presentation will begin.”
Her face burned red, and she looked as if she wanted to run away, but he endured for her sake.
He immediately placed the large canvas he had prepared on stage and waited for Maybel’s invention to activate.
Once that canvas revealed her bizarre but magnificent creation…
“Kyaaaah!”
Contrary to his expectations, what appeared was not a painting, but chaos.
“W-what is that?!”
Kalsemo was horrified to see the canvas filled with blood-red paint.
Originally, the painting should have had sky blue and gold tones, creating a complex beauty, even if somewhat hard to understand.
But now it had turned completely red, turning the intricate artwork into something grotesque.
A massive demon with outstretched wings appeared to glare at the audience.
“No! It wasn’t supposed to look like this…!”
Kalsemo desperately tried to explain, but the confusion had already spread.
A demon! A demon has appeared!
“S-someone call the guards!”
The hall was filled with screams. Kalsemo’s shouts were drowned out.
As he panicked, unsure how to handle the situation, Maybel approached him with her second invention.
By chance, it was placed in a box identical to the first one.
She stumbled toward a man screaming wildly in front of the stage.
And she handed him the box.
“This….”
“Eek! Another demon is coming!”
“No, this isn’t… it’s not that…”
Maybel tried to open the box in front of him. Unlike the first invention, this one was safe and ordinary.
Kalsemo tried to intervene to explain, but…
“Don’t open it! Get it away from me!”
Before he could act, the man, eyes squeezed shut, swung his arms toward Maybel.
The mask’s weight threw the small Maybel to the side.
“Young lady!”
Kalsemo wanted to leap onto the stage to save her, but he was no knight or magician.
No matter how fast he ran, he could not protect her.
Just as he desperately reached out… a woman from the crowd stepped forward.
She gently scooped Maybel into her arms.
Clang!
The box fell to the floor, spilling its contents with a clatter.
“Kyaaaah!”
Someone screamed, fearing another demon might emerge.
But, instead of blood-red paint or demons, what flowed from the box was…
[♪…♪…]
Music.
A delicate, charming tune covered the screams in the hall.
The woman holding Maybel, Wilhelmia, asked with admiration:
“This is the Baya-ga play’s theme music, isn’t it? Little one, do you like Baya-ga?”
“…Yes.”
She noticed the thought and care Maybel had put into her creation—something even the staff had not realized.
That wasn’t all.
“And that painting—is it a trick art?”
“Trick?”
“Ah, don’t you call it that? I mean… doesn’t it look different from the left and the right?”
“…Yes.”
Hearing this, Kalsemo slowly turned his head and examined the painting.
“Now that I think about it…”
He finally realized the painting’s true nature. Moving from stage left to right, he saw that the canvas was divided into two images.
On the left was a large hawk, on the right a wolf. The point where their heads intersected created the illusion of a demon’s face.
It was understandable that the audience had been confused, but why had Kalsemo himself not noticed before?
The reason was simple.
“The rehearsal… was in the lounge.”
In the small rehearsal space, the painting had looked completely different.
“You made this?”
“Yes…”
“And this music box?”
“I drew up the plans and had someone else craft it…”
Maybel whispered to Wilhelmia the lines she had practiced dozens of times before going to bed and before stepping on stage.
Wilhelmia brushed off Maybel’s clothes and added comments of interest.
“Amazing. You arranged the music yourself too. Ah, and the painting comes from a storybook? I see, that’s clever.”
Slowly placing Maybel on the floor and adjusting her crooked mask, Wilhelmia returned the music box into her hands.
Patting her shoulder gently, Wilhelmia smiled warmly.
“You’re a little inventor, just like your mother.”
And she offered the praise Maybel most wanted to hear.
With the tension finally gone, Kalsemo’s legs gave out.
He sat at the edge of the stage, panting, alternately watching Wilhelmia’s smile and Maybel clutching the music box.
In the end, the presentation had been a disaster.
There were men cursing at the “play,” ladies turning away to avoid looking at the stage, and knights standing awkwardly after being summoned. It wasn’t the outcome Kalsemo had wanted, but…
“Even if the mask made it hard to see… the young lady seems to be smiling.”
At least that was achieved.
[♪…]
As the music box gradually quieted, people regained their composure and approached Maybel.
Seizing the opportunity, Kalsemo’s fellow servants went below the stage to tend to her.
The Metokan Viscount also returned, holding a collection of his own inventions.
“What… is happening?”
She dropped her monocular, blinking in confusion.
Given the chaotic scene, no one answered her.
