Chapter 40
“What is it? Tell me in detail.”
“No, I can’t. She’s a real rival, so I can’t tell you. But it’s true that Katia doesn’t underestimate you or Forest.”
“Hm… alright.”
There was no point in asking Leuké more. If he knew something critical about me, he would have told me already. But since he didn’t seem uneasy, it was clear that Katia was hiding her true intentions even from him.
Besides, the real problem wasn’t what Leuké knew—it was how to use the controversy that had ignited. We would definitely gain supporters, but emotional support had to translate into actual action.
The next day, as I went to work at the theater, the atmosphere felt noticeably different. Forest’s troupe had a loyal fanbase, so the audience numbers hadn’t dropped, but there was a subtle tension between the noble and commoner attendees.
“The play is about to start! Please take your seats!”
As if following a new rule, the nobles and commoners sat apart from each other. Nobles to the left, commoners to the right.
“Someone said bad things about us, so we had to respond. And responding sparked controversy… but I don’t want our audience fighting each other…”
Losing fans within our fandom would be a serious setback. To end the controversy, we had to win quickly. That meant we needed a card that could turn public opinion instantly.
It might feel a little underhanded, but we could exploit their mistakes. And this was exactly the time money and power would come in handy.
That evening, after finishing work and returning home as usual, I locked the door and took out the pendant. I was about to contact Leon. But then, the pendant spoke first.
“Busy?”
“Ah, no! Actually, I had something to tell you.”
“I have something to tell you too. If it’s alright, I’ll come now.”
“Huh?”
Before I could even respond properly, Leon appeared right in front of me.
“Do we really have to meet in person? The pendant works for calls…”
“Isn’t that frustrating? Besides, when I call you, you waste time coughing.”
Well, I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for his thoughtfulness or just stunned by his sheer decisiveness. I consider myself decisive too, but this was over the top.
“No, but barging into a woman’s room like this without asking! What if I’m… undressed?”
“Do people really walk around naked at home?”
I couldn’t even argue with that logic. His brazenness left me speechless.
“Get to the point. Right now, isn’t this all about justifying our actions?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We couldn’t lose before the fight, so we provoked one first.”
“That’s true too… why? What is it?”
“If the opponent clearly loses legitimacy, don’t we win?”
“Yes, that too…”
Leon handed me a bundle of papers.
“Check these.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
They were proof that Katia had deliberately published articles in newsletters disparaging other troupes. These were letters she had sent to the newsletter. Promoting her own troupe’s play might be forgivable even if the articles were fake, but this was different.
“This is exactly what I wanted to ask you… how did you get your hands on this?”
“Simple. Find the newsletter publisher. Grab it. It’s not like we’re storming the Schacht estate.”
Once you know what needs to be done, apparently anything is possible. I just stared at Leon with wide eyes.
“Since you make the newsletter yourself, we can publish it there.”
“Of course!”
Leon then glanced around my room.
“Not much luggage, huh?”
“Huh?”
“Since the Schachts are intimidating, newsletter publishers won’t report to Katia for now. But once you publish the article, she’ll go after you. So once the newsletter is done, pack your things immediately and come to the estate.”
The Duke vanished immediately after saying that.
“Really… he doesn’t even give you a chance to respond…”
I had no time to react or ask questions. I had to sort out my chaotic thoughts alone. Katia was after my life, and suddenly I was being told to go to my own house. What should I tell Leuké?
That night, I barely slept. It would take at least a week to gather people, explain the situation, and produce the newsletter. And before we could defeat Katia by exposing her wrongdoing, we had to show something first.
The magical stone lights purchased with the Duke’s money finally arrived at the troupe. This was what we needed to show: better production, better spectacle. Not just moral superiority, but skill superiority.
“Do we hang them all here?”
“Yes, in a straight line across the ceiling!”
The workers installed the lights above the stage. No longer would someone have to manually light and extinguish candles during scene changes, making it far more convenient.
“And this… I made it as you instructed.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I had ordered elongated magical stone lights with lenses to extend the light. It had taken a while to convey the design, but it looked pretty close to what I envisioned—a sort of spotlight.
“How do you plan to use it?”
Alex asked.
“Turn off all the lights.”
“All of them?”
The troupe ran to extinguish every candle in the theater. Once the installation was complete, that would no longer be necessary.
“Anyone go stand on the stage!”
“Yes!”
Anna stepped onto the stage.
“Dim the lights a bit more! Darker would be better!”
“Yes!”
I took a magical stone spotlight to the second-floor seats, maximized the brightness, and shone it on Anna. It wasn’t perfect, but it achieved a similar effect to a spotlight.
“Alex! Do you see what this is!?”
“Does it highlight the character?”
“Yes! You can even adjust brightness by controlling the magic stones!”
I then brought the spotlight down to the stage.
“In Katia’s play, they only use lighting to create focus by darkening the stage entirely and then turning on lights gradually. You can use it this way during scene changes or for the protagonist’s monologue. The effect will be different.”
“Fascinating…”
Alex stared at me seriously.
“It’s amazing you think of this. Is it experience?”
It’s partly experience, but not in this world.
“It’s like the right answer suddenly fell from the sky… it feels strange sometimes.”
“What?”
“Suddenly, the young lady appears and I meet her. Luck? Fate?… it’s a very strange feeling.”
“You sure talk about your skills poetically.”
I felt slightly embarrassed under Alex’s gaze. Technically, I came from the modern world. Using cheats to impress others felt a bit shameful.
“If it weren’t for magical stone lights, I wouldn’t have thought of it. Pure luck!”
“Luck alone isn’t enough. I really want to learn… ideas like that.”
The emotions were complex, and I couldn’t articulate more. Embarrassed, I called out to the workers.
“When will you finish?”
“Almost done! Want to come see?”
“I’m coming!”
The workers handed me the switch after finishing the installation.
“This supplies magic when pressed. Press again to stop.”
I tried turning it on and off.
“Whoa—!”
Everyone was amazed.
“This is incredible. I didn’t think our theater would have this.”
“No more lighting candles one by one, that’s great.”
“Let’s try! Turn them all off and on from here!”
I pointed to the scene changes in the script, and the troupe gathered around.
“Alex! That long light suits the prince’s monologue scene!”
“But when the play starts, everyone’s on stage… someone has to hold it, right?”
“I’ll do it.”
And so, the Forest troupe gained lighting. I gained one more job as well.
The very next performance used the lights. The audience wasn’t surprised by the darkened hall at the start. Theatergoers were used to such effects from the Schacht theater.
“Here too…”
“Seems like it’s catching on.”
But when Alex’s monologue began, all the lights went out, and the spotlight focused on him. You could feel the audience subtly reacting. Though no one whispered during the serious scene, the impact was clear.
Despite the minor tension between nobles and commoners, everyone immersed themselves in the play. I also enjoyed participating on stage via lighting.
After the final bow, I rushed to the sales booth. Busy, busy.
“Wasn’t today incredible?”
“I was amazed during the monologue. Even when the monster appeared, the spotlight drew attention naturally. It was amazing.”
“And as always… Alex looked so cool!”
After the performance, the audience mingled and chatted, nobles and commoners alike.
“I’m really glad I came today.”
Ah, this moment is the best. Hearing the audience chatter and knowing they enjoyed it—there’s a reason stories exist of actors hiding in theater bathrooms after movies.
“Portraits for sale! Letter sets too!”
I shouted louder than usual. It would be best if they thought the Forest troupe outdid the Schachts, but it wasn’t necessary. Showing the troupe’s growth was enough.
“Please tell them they enjoyed the play today!”
“Of course! Everyone craves feedback! Please submit to newsletters too!”
“Ah, there’s even a new newsletter just covering plays!”
“Oh, really?”
I acted indifferent, and Anna winked at me.
“Handkerchiefs for sale too!”
I never avoided a challenge, but this moment was the best. I hoped the banquet would end soon. Earning money to support Leuké was my top priority! Now that I debuted on stage, I’d be more popular in the salon too.
But at that time, I had forgotten one thing: the more things go smoothly, the farther rest drifts away.
