Episode 13
“You can go back if you really want to, Miss Joyce. But right now, our family truly needs you.”
“I’m not sure. I do appreciate that you helped me, but…”
“If you agree to keep trying to win over the Duke, I’ll give you the position of director of the Woodville Theatre Company.”
I didn’t know if I should feel betrayed or grateful, but then Luna dropped a shocking offer that left my mouth hanging open. In Coventin, only nobles are allowed to establish theatre companies. And none of them had ever appointed a woman as director. If I accepted this position, I’d be the first female director in the empire.
Plus, most new theatre groups were started by recently risen noble families. If the prestigious Woodville family created a troupe, it would definitely change how people viewed actors.
If I became a director, I could perform my own plays more easily. I wouldn’t have to constantly work to impress others—I could just focus on creating art. And with the Woodville family’s support, I’d never have to worry about money again.
The life of a starving actor is hard. Unless you’re an opera singer, most stage actors in Covent Garden barely get by. No matter how I looked at it, this was an amazing opportunity. The fact that I was already tempted said everything.
But it wasn’t just about what I wanted.
I suddenly found myself hoping that this girl in front of me wouldn’t be sad.
If I left this story and let the plot go back to its original path, it would end in a happy ending for Luna and Duke Peredil. But if she gets involved with him now, she and her family will surely be dragged into political conflict.
That means they’ll become the very center of the chaos they’ve always wanted to avoid…
In the version of The Moon of Coventin that I was rewriting, I didn’t want to include many scenes of Luna and her family crying.
Even when I read the novel before, it hurt to see them suffer. They were the ones who saved me—so I wanted to give them a new story in return.
“There are only about three months left until the deadline we agreed on. I guess I’ll have to work harder if I’m going to win him over and get dumped in time.”
Tears of joy welled up in Luna’s eyes.
“Thank you, Miss Joyce. Really… thank you.”
Oh well. I must’ve already grown too attached to this place to walk away. What choice do I have now? I just have to fully commit to the role.
Unlike before, this is a role I chose for myself.
In their pyjamas, the Count and Countess sat in their bedroom as their precious daughter visited them. They looked just as nervous as when they had first met Joyce.
“What did Miss Joyce say? Did she mention feeling betrayed?”
“She didn’t say anything like that. Actually, she said she was thankful that we protected her career as an actress.”
The Count, who looked anxious, let out a sigh of relief as soon as he heard Luna’s reply.
“It’s a good thing she took it positively. Even though she once said in an interview that she’d like to experience being a noble at least once, trying to adopt her was pushing it, dear.”
“But darling, Joyce isn’t the type to accept favours without reason. If we’d just handed everything to her, she would’ve rejected it for sure.”
“You really do understand her well, Father. She even said she wants to do her best for our family as a way to repay us.”
The Count puffed up with pride, and the Countess looked at him with an amused expression, as if she couldn’t stop him even if she tried. They really were a loving couple.
“By the way, isn’t the emperor’s birthday banquet coming up soon?”
“Yes. It’ll be the first official event we attend with Miss Joyce.”
“Actually, she said she wanted to meet with both of you tomorrow about the banquet.”
“Meet us? Why?”
Luna simply shrugged at her puzzled parents.
“I’m not exactly sure. But she said something about needing to give you both acting lessons.”
The Count and Countess’s faces stiffened immediately.
“What? Acting lessons?”
The next morning, I followed Luna’s lead to the annexe’s auditorium.
“Even the mansion itself is huge, and now there’s an auditorium too?”
“This size is nothing special.”
For a family as powerful as the Woodvilles, she sure is humble. The auditorium had a wide, tall stage with great acoustics. In short, it was the perfect place for acting practice.
“This hall is usually used for staff meetings once every few months. Just like you asked, we’ve cleared out all the chairs on the floor. On stage, we left only a simple table and three chairs.”
“Thank you so much, Luna.”
“No need to thank me. I’ll be heading out to see His Majesty now. See you this evening.”
It wasn’t until long after Luna had left for work that the Count and Countess arrived, dressed in activewear as I’d requested.
That morning, we’d had quite a time convincing the Countess to wear pants. She kept refusing, saying they felt too strange. No matter how much I told her that tight dresses wouldn’t work for lessons, she kept shaking her head. Thankfully, Luna gave her a pointed look on her way out, which finally made the Countess give in. She’d looked so defeated, walking away with the workout clothes in her arms.
Hmm. As for the Count… he looked downright happy to be learning acting from me.
“When you’re nervous, it’s hard to express your emotions freely. Let’s start with some light stretching.”
“Um, I don’t think we ever got a proper explanation for why we have to learn acting…”
The Countess raised her hand nervously, and she had a point.
“That’s because we’ll all be attending the emperor’s birthday banquet together! Of course, I’m not expecting you two to perform anything dramatic. But at the very least, you need to be able to treat me like your real daughter in front of others, don’t you think?”
The Count and Countess were fine when it was just me and Luna around. But the moment a servant entered the room, they stiffened up. Since the staff didn’t know about our contract, the couple had to act like I was really part of the family. But clearly, they felt awkward deceiving people.
Luna and I could carry on conversations naturally, but Count Philip sounded like a stiff robot. The Countess barely spoke at all—her voice was so quiet and shaky it was impossible to understand her.
The staff noticed something was off. Luna just shook her head in disbelief. That’s why we needed this lesson—to make sure the couple could act naturally in front of others.
“Now that I’ve explained everything, let’s continue with the stretching!”
Soon, the room was filled with the sound of them groaning. They couldn’t move as flexibly as I could, of course, but they were truly trying their best. Watching them follow along so sincerely without complaining actually touched me.
“Now that we’ve finished stretching, let’s try some improv acting. From this point on, don’t think of me as an actress—think of me as your real daughter, and let’s have breakfast together.”
“I’d love to practice first, but I’m not sure I’m ready to do it live…”
“Don’t worry, Madam. The only way to get better is to start by being bad.”
“Could I at least write a script beforehand?”
“Count, we’re not doing scripted acting. The goal is to stay in character and respond naturally. So in short…”
“In short?”
“Just act normal!”
With both of them frozen like statues, I gently led them to sit in the chairs on stage. Then I walked around and pretended to open the door to begin the scene.
“Good morning! Father, did you sleep well last night…?”
—
[To Be Continued]
