Chapter 52
The audience was silent. Anna looked visibly flustered, and my own heart felt like it dropped. But Leuke was smiling.
“Everyone, are you worried about me? It’s not like that, I’m fine.”
It was a vague remark, but sighs of relief rippled throughout the audience.
“Did I keep you waiting long?”
At Leuke’s words, a chorus of responses burst out. His skill at handling fans was no ordinary thing. The tense atmosphere instantly loosened. He already knew exactly what kind of people his fans were, and what they might be thinking.
“Yes!”
“We missed you so much!”
Even though more seats were empty than expected, the sudden lift in energy made that irrelevant. If anything, because people still came despite last night’s scandal, the mood was one of even stronger solidarity.
“How do you feel, seeing the actor here in front of you!”
Anna, regaining her composure in the loosened atmosphere, smoothly resumed the event.
“Great!”
“How much?”
“A lot!”
The orchestra began playing a soft tune, and Leuke moved to the center of the stage. All eyes focused on him.
“Whether at a salon or a tea party, music is something that can’t be left out. This song—I’ll be showing you for the very first time.”
Leuke’s gaze swept slowly across the audience. Even I, watching from behind, felt my heart pound. To think he could command the mood on his own like this now.
“Normally, in our troupe, there isn’t much singing. But this time, I’ll give you a little sneak peek of a scene from our next performance.”
It wasn’t quite a musical, but Sion’s new play included quite a lot of songs. The main character was a bard, and because Sion had insisted on writing lyrics, everyone had been practicing singing.
This fan meeting for Leuke was also a way to test how people might react to those songs.
“The lyrics are a bit connected to the story, so you might listen and think, ‘What on earth is this?’ But for now, just listen, okay?”
After teasing the audience with a playful smile, Leuke began to sing in his beautiful voice.
“Beneath the dim light sits a single table.
On the table, a card.
On the card, a paper.
On the paper, a pen.
A bird perched, using the pen as a torch.”
The lyrics were, frankly, strange. Of course, they were meant to fit into the narrative of the play. That’s why we had chosen this particular song—it worked as a teaser without spoiling anything.
Even though the words made little sense on their own, the audience was drawn into the way Leuke sang them. Somehow, his voice carried sorrow, like he had a story to tell, making the lyrics feel deeper, as if there were hidden meaning not yet revealed.
“So, what do you think? Doesn’t the play this song belongs to sound interesting?”
As soon as the song ended, Leuke engaged with the crowd again. They responded with enthusiastic applause.
“Sion’s been working really hard on it. He said he’s always wanted to write a play with songs in it. You’ll come watch it, right?”
“Yes!”
“And I’ll be in it too. This time, we’ll fight like crazy.”
When Anna chimed in from the side, gasps of excitement came from the audience. In the new play, Anna and Leuke’s characters would be inseparable partners, facing hardships together—a dynamic that had gained unexpected popularity. Sion, thrilled by this response, had decided to pair them up for the entire production.
“We also collected questions you’ve always wanted to ask, as well as requests for things you hoped Actor Leuke might do. Later, we’ll even have a Forest Troupe quiz and some special prizes prepared!”
The “meeting with the audience” ended far more smoothly and peacefully than expected. Apart from the fact that Leuke was showered with local specialties from his family’s territory as gifts, it wasn’t much different from the fan meetings I’d had in my previous life. The interaction between actor and fans, the sharing of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, or mentioning other actors—people found it all fascinating and fun.
But it was impossible not to notice that the feverish passion for Leuke had cooled slightly compared to before. Though he remained upbeat, telling me not to worry, even the Forest Troupe had lost some audience members.
“Boss, what should we do? Should we release some sort of explanation in the newsletter…?”
Polly asked cautiously, her brows furrowed. I shook my head.
“No. That would only amplify the negativity. Let’s search for something good we can do instead.”
“Like donating to an orphanage…”
“That’s good, but something more direct would be better. If we actually go out and do good deeds ourselves, that’ll have a stronger impact. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt me to do something positive too.”
Polly nodded. Showing cheerful, uplifting moments with the troupe might also work. In any case, no one listens when you spell out excuses like, ‘We didn’t do it. Here’s the real story.’ Even if we told people that Katia had sent assassins after us, they’d just dismiss it as, ‘Well, that’s their internal feud.’ That wasn’t what I wanted.
‘There’s no way someone as kind, beautiful, cute, and gentle as Leuke could’ve done that. It must all be some misunderstanding.’
That was the thought I wanted people to hold onto.
“I’ll help you search too.”
It was a sad truth, but the world was full of misfortune and people in need. Surely we could find something.
“…But surprisingly, there’s nothing here.”
The newsletters were filled only with gossip—who was having an affair, who was humiliated at court, and so on. The rest were reviews of plays, art, or music. If not that, they were grim reports of murders in back alleys. Hardly anything about accidents or people in need.
Yet just walking from home to the Forest Theater, I would see beggars, pickpockets, street fights. But in the newsletter, the world looked like some sitcom set in the royal court.
“Strange, isn’t it? No bad news at all.”
“What do you mean by bad news?”
“Like an accident somewhere, or reports of thieves.”
“Well, in the old days there would’ve been news of monsters attacking. But since the Archduke slew the dragon, nothing like that happens anymore. Honestly, newsletter readers don’t care about serious matters.”
So if I wanted to find where help was needed, I would have to look for it myself. The thought left me uneasy—what if even this was orchestrated by the Crown Prince and Katia? Were they deliberately shaping things to seem normal?
Maybe even this world’s obsession with theater wasn’t natural. Still, thanks to that obsession, I had saved Leuke and made money…which left me conflicted.
But feelings aside, I needed to find another incident—something that could pull Leuke out of Katia’s schemes. If not, I could always damage Katia’s reputation further to divert attention.
“Boss, where are you going?”
“The newsletter has nothing useful. I need to investigate directly.”
“Oh, then I’ll come too!”
Polly and I left the office. We planned to visit hospitals or orphanages to see if we could lend help there.
Even along the way, though, it was clear how many people needed help. The folks I usually interacted with—those who could afford to attend plays—were exceptions. On the streets, people were visibly exhausted and thin. I saw women who looked utterly worn out, and petty thieves snatching things at the market.
“Ah!”
Lost in thought, I bumped into a boy.
“Ah, sorry.”
He bowed and started to walk off, but Polly suddenly shouted.
“Boss! He’s a pickpocket!”
Sure enough, the pouch at my waist was gone. When I dashed after him, the boy noticed and began to run.
“You thief! Stop right there!”
But chasing him in a dress was nearly impossible.
“What will you become if you keep stealing like this!”
Polly yelled while running after him. Luckily, she was faster than me. Suddenly, the boy stumbled and fell hard.
“Boss! I’ve got him!”
Polly caught him quickly. I hurried up too.
“Must’ve tripped, huh? Do you know what happens to thieves when they’re caught?”
Smirking, I grabbed his arm to pull him up—only to flinch. His skin was burning hot.
“Wait, are you sick?”
“Hah…hah…sorry…”
His face was flushed, his breathing heavy. How could someone this sick be stealing? He bowed again, then swayed on his feet.
“Stay still—you seem dizzy.”
“No, stay away! You might catch it!”
He staggered back.
“Isn’t it just a cold?”
“I don’t know.”
If it was contagious, we couldn’t risk it. But clearly, I couldn’t just leave him.
“Cold? Or some fever? Either way, let’s see a doctor.”
“N-no, I can’t. I don’t have money.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
“Boss, there’s no need to go that far.”
It wasn’t that I was acting out of pure altruism. But after thinking about Katia, I couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
“Where’s your home? I’ll bring the doctor there.”
Supporting him, I followed as he weakly gestured the way.
“Are you sure this isn’t a trap?”
Polly muttered suspiciously. But the boy didn’t seem to be faking it.
After a while, we arrived at a shabby little space walled off with wooden planks. He leaned against the wall, and I asked Polly to fetch a doctor.
When the doctor arrived by carriage and examined the boy, his eyes widened.
“Influenza? How long has this been going on?”
“They said they’d pay me a lot if I delivered a letter up north, so I went…but it was colder than I expected.”
“The north!?”
The doctor recoiled in shock.
“One of my other patients also came back from the north. There’s an epidemic spreading there! I’ll give you medicine, but you two ladies should be careful!”
Then he practically fled the shack.
“An epidemic…in the north?”
Then…how was Leon faring right now?
