~Chapter 63~
“Shall we go watch the circus?” Ruby suggested first.
The children, who had been hesitating, immediately nodded in agreement.
“I’ve never seen a circus before,” Sennis said.
“Me neither,” Barker added, showing his curiosity.
“Ahem,” Ivan cleared his throat, signaling that he agreed with the idea.
Ruby, seeing that everyone was on board, led them to the circus tent, where she bought tickets for them.
“Four children’s tickets, please.”
“Are you all here to watch the show together? Be careful, don’t move around too much during the performance.”
“Yes, we’ll be careful,” Ruby replied with a smile as she received the four tickets from the circus member who kindly gave them a reminder.
The circus was popular, so most of the seats were already taken, and the children ended up sitting in the back rows. Luckily, they still had a clear view of the performance.
“I’m nervous,” Sennis said, placing her hand on her chest, her voice full of excitement.
“You’re not performing in the circus, Sennis,” Barker teased her immediately.
Sennis glared at Barker with a pout.
“It’s possible. Isn’t that right, Ruby?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s okay to feel nervous when you’re excited,” Ruby supported Sennis.
Barker sighed and, trying to involve Ivan, asked, “Prince Ivan, are you nervous?”
“Me? Why would I be nervous?” Ivan responded, his tone calm.
“See? Prince Ivan doesn’t seem nervous at all,” Sennis said, her eyes sparkling.
“I’m sure you’ve seen many performances at the palace, Your Highness. There’s no reason for you to be excited about this one,” she added with a smile.
Ivan remained silent, unwilling to mention that he had never attended a circus before. He had seen various performances at the palace, but this was his first time watching a real circus.
Ruby smiled at the conversation. She could see Ivan was trying to maintain his usual composed demeanor.
“Even if you’ve seen others, this circus will be special. You should look forward to it,” Ruby said encouragingly.
“Well, I’ll look forward to it,” Ivan said, folding his arms and pretending to be unimpressed, but it was clear he was curious.
Ruby smiled, amused by Ivan’s typical behavior. She couldn’t help but think how tiresome it must be for him to always maintain such a rigid stance, even at a simple performance.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the performance will begin now!” the ringmaster announced as the lights on the stage suddenly flared.
“It’s starting,” Sennis said, leaning forward eagerly, almost as if she was about to dive into the stage.
“Sit back and relax, Sennis. Leaning forward won’t make it better,” Barker said, gently correcting her posture.
Sennis pouted but eventually sat back properly, though she still seemed excited.
The first act was juggling. The circus performer began tossing three round apples in the air, keeping them in motion without dropping them. It was impressive, but not too extraordinary at first.
As the number of apples increased, the crowd’s enthusiasm grew. Then the performer switched to juggling knives, spinning them with incredible skill, only catching the handles.
“How can they do that?” Sennis gasped in awe.
“They must have trained for years,” Barker said, equally impressed.
Ivan stroked his chin, nodding. “He could be a swordsman. His skills are impressive.”
Ruby smiled, watching the reactions of the others. She had noticed Ivan’s admiration for the performer’s swordplay.
As the performer juggled the knives, a large disc appeared on the stage. A person was tied to the disc, and it began spinning wildly.
At the same time, the performer began throwing the knives at the spinning disc, aiming for the gaps. It was a tense moment—would the knives hit the person, or would they land safely in the empty spaces?
“What if that person gets hurt?” Sennis asked, her voice filled with concern.
“Don’t worry,” Ruby assured her.
Just as Ruby spoke, the spinning stopped, and the person on the disc had avoided all the knives, which had landed in the empty spaces. The crowd cheered loudly.
“Wow!” the audience erupted in applause.
The performer, who had been tied to the disc, landed safely on the stage without a scratch.
“Look, there’s not a single injury!” the ringmaster shouted, as the performer stood up unharmed.
“That’s amazing,” Sennis said, clapping her hands so hard that her palms were red.
“What kind of trick was that?” Barker wondered aloud, genuinely impressed.
“I would want to recruit this person to the palace,” Ivan said, clearly admiring the performer’s skills.
“Next up, we have aerial acrobatics!” the ringmaster announced, shifting the spotlight to the tall pillars at the back of the stage.
Two circus performers appeared, holding onto cylindrical swings made of wood. They waved to the audience, greeting them cheerfully.
Without hesitation, they leaped into the air, swinging gracefully on the ropes, performing daring stunts high above the ground.
The two swings almost collided in midair, but the performers skillfully coordinated, crossing their paths and making a perfect timing match. One of the female performers did a somersault in the air, grabbing the male performer’s hand just in time.
“Wow, they have great strength,” Sennis exclaimed.
“Maintaining that kind of balance must be difficult,” Barker added.
For the first time, Barker didn’t suspect any trickery in this performance.
Ivan watched in awe, his gaze following the movements of the acrobats. Ruby, seeing his attention, smiled. Ivan had become so focused on the performance that he stopped pretending to be indifferent.
Ruby glanced over at him and noticed his smile, the first one she had seen from him during the circus.
“Shall we go on?” Ruby asked, leading the group forward as they moved through the festival grounds.
The crowd was thick, but Ruby expertly guided them through the festival. She pointed out various attractions, like the best restaurant in the area, a fabric shop with traditional local patterns, and a weapons store with many rare items.
“The circus was just the beginning. There’s so much more to see,” Ruby said confidently.
The excitement in the air was palpable. Everyone, including Sennis and Barker, was eager to explore what the festival had to offer.
When they reached the center of the festival grounds, a performer dressed as a clown came forward. Unlike the other performances, this one invited the audience to participate.
“If you can make this plate spin successfully, you will receive a very special gift!” the clown announced.
The clown pointed to a child in the crowd, and to everyone’s surprise, he pointed directly at Ivan.
Ivan looked at Ruby with a puzzled expression.
“Why don’t you try it?” Ruby suggested with a smile.
Without thinking, Ivan stood up and made his way to the stage.
The clown handed him the sticks and plates, showing him how to spin them. Ivan carefully observed, then placed the plate on the stick and began spinning it.
The crowd gasped in surprise.
Ivan spun the plate so skillfully, as if he had been doing it for years. He even followed the clown’s suggestion to bounce the plate off the stick into the air and caught it perfectly.
“Looks like circus skills might be a good fit for you,” Barker said, startled by Ivan’s unexpected talent.
Ivan turned to Ruby with an expression of mild disbelief, but Ruby simply gave him a thumbs-up.
Ivan’s face lit up with a wide smile, finally letting go of his usual composed exterior.
