Episode 10
Contrary to the notice that the results would be announced within two hours, the judging was being delayed.
“There isn’t a single participant who sang better than Miss Dees.”
It was Logan, the viscount and one of the theatre’s investors, who spoke. He seemed unable to understand why the discussion had dragged on for so long.
At his words, the other judges all turned their attention to Gilbert Klein, who had remained silent the whole time. With his arms crossed, he was glaring down at the evaluation sheet in front of him.
When he still didn’t respond, Nick Delgado, the head of the Delgado Troupe, spoke up instead.
“What do you think, Lady Delia?”
She had been observing the situation with her chin rested on her hand. Without hesitation, she replied,
“If someone is to succeed me, I don’t think anyone is more suitable than Caroline Dees.”
She lightly spun the pen in her fingers and set it down.
“She was the best singer among the contestants, regardless of the fact that she’s inexperienced. There was nothing to criticize. She just needs a bit more refining.”
Encouraged by opinions aligning with his own, Viscount Logan spoke again.
“Isn’t Miss Dees already well-known as the top graduate of the Royal Academy? We should consider it our good fortune that she came to our theatre while still unaffiliated, yet we are wasting time debating the winner.”
“If fame were all it took to choose a lead, we would’ve done a casting, not held an audition.”
Maestro Osven cut in with a dry laugh. Logan raised his voice further.
“It’s not fame—she is objectively the most skilled!”
From the very beginning of this meeting, everyone except one person had been in agreement about the winner. In that atmosphere, Nick turned his head toward Gilbert Klein once more.
“It seems like the theatre director should give us a conclusion now, don’t you think?”
As he spoke, Nick glanced at Gilbert’s score sheet. Gilbert had also given Caroline Dees a perfect score in every category.
However, right below that, there was a circled name: Contestant No. 167.
Noticing this, Nick looked between his friend’s face and the paper, then let out a faint smile. Straightening his posture, he addressed the other judges.
“I thought No. 167 was quite good as well. What do you all think?”
At that unexpected statement, the unmoving Gilbert finally sat upright.
“No. 167? Ah, the one who suddenly sang a hymn?”
Viscount Logan was the first to respond.
“The song choice was wrong to begin with. Religious music at an opera audition?”
“It was a free-choice piece. It still falls under classical vocal repertoire. I think it was more than enough to demonstrate skill.”
Maestro Osven rebutted Logan again, and Logan openly grimaced.
“Even so, her score is significantly lower than Miss Dees’. She’s not even in consideration.”
“I also found her performance quite impressive, but I wouldn’t say she surpassed Caroline Dees. And we couldn’t assess her understanding of the operatic genre.”
“You see?”
At Lady Delia’s words, Logan looked triumphant. But she looked him straight in the eye and continued,
“That was me speaking objectively. I’m not taking your side. She does have talent, but she isn’t refined enough to be chosen for this audition. We aren’t selecting students here—the audition is to choose a completed lead performer, isn’t it?”
Her concise words silenced the room for a moment.
After a pause, Gilbert Klein finally spoke.
“In that case, it means we’ve discovered a very promising rough gemstone.”
One thought had consumed him:
*‘Can someone improve this much in just one month?’*
He remembered Contestant No. 167 clearly.
She wore no glamorous stage dress, just a simple monochrome one-piece. Without any heavy makeup, he had recognized her the moment she lifted her hands.
*‘Is she really going to sing a pop song?’*
He had already heard several disastrous performances, so the expectations he had at the beginning of the auditions had almost completely faded.
But he wasn’t disappointed. This was exactly what he had anticipated.
Even while the nation’s attention was on his theatre, he had chosen to hold an unofficial audition that granted maximum freedom to the participants—for one reason only: to find a new voice.
Not another singer from the Deana Conservatory, all producing identical sounds, but someone new—someone worth taking a risk on.
The music world knew vaguely that he was attempting something different, but no one knew he was actively searching for a standard beyond Deana.
Only Nick Delgado knew that.
In that regard, Caroline Dees was indeed an excellent soprano, but she did not perfectly fit the criteria he was seeking.
Of course, her singing was overwhelmingly superior, and the audience would undoubtedly cheer for her.
*‘Should I settle for this?’*
He was thinking exactly that when Ember’s voice reached his ears.
She was the one who had sung pop songs at a tavern. Yet now, she was singing sacred music with an entirely different voice.
She was a completely different person. Nick’s joking voice overlapped in his mind—asking what he thought of her face in the tavern.
There was no way her old singing style would have ever worked. Especially if she’d been singing professionally for years. It was an entirely different vocal technique, a different genre.
But now, she sounded like someone who had spent her entire life singing in a cathedral.
Gilbert Klein set down his pen.
It was a strangely unfamiliar sensation—almost unsettling.
For the first time ever, his mind was completely blank. The calculations that always ran nonstop simply stopped.
All he could see was Ember’s slender fingertips trembling in the air.
It was pure, instinctive beauty.
Technique, pitch—none of that mattered. His mind was filled only with a single, simple sense of awe.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
In his eyes, Ember was the very image of the soprano he had vaguely envisioned for years.
“How about this, then?”
After the long meeting, he finally spoke.
—
The atmosphere in the waiting room was suffocatingly heavy.
I clasped my hands together on my lap as if in prayer. Even though a long time had passed since I sang, my heart was still racing and my hands were trembling.
The sensation of being on stage refused to fade. The scene replayed itself endlessly in my mind.
*‘What now…?’*
I lowered my head slowly until my forehead rested on my hands.
I had achieved everything I came here for. I had heard Caroline Dees sing. I had sung on the stage of the Klein Theatre—the place of my dreams. I had sung once more before Gilbert Klein.
I thought that would bring me closure.
*‘He definitely smiled.’*
He smiled. At first, I thought he was sneering—mocking my meager performance.
But once our eyes met, he didn’t look away for even a moment. Overwhelmed by that raw intensity, I found myself singing directly to him.
I thought I’d feel relieved once I stepped off the stage. I thought I’d feel satisfied just knowing he had listened to me properly.
But his face kept circling endlessly in my mind.
I grew anxious, wondering what he thought of me.
*‘Well… he’s Gilbert Klein.’*
But so what? The winner was already obvious.
I suppressed the foolish, painful hope that kept making me feel pathetic. My chest felt hollow. Regret swelled within me.
Could I have sung better? If I had been trained—truly trained—could I have satisfied every judge?
I glanced at Caroline Dees, sitting like a painting not far away. Then I shook my head slightly to dispel my thoughts.
My chance was already over. Now I had to return to my everyday life and prepare to tell Miya and Madam Sierra the news.
They had expected this result and would have comforting words ready. Then I would go back to sewing at the dress shop by day and singing at the tavern by night.
And if I really couldn’t let go of today… I would have to find another path.
That was simply the natural order of things. Even so, I wanted to cry a little. Expected or not, failure was still failure.
Just then, the anxious murmuring in the room abruptly died down. The same stern attendant who had guided us before now stood in the doorway.
“Thank you for waiting. The results of the Klein Theatre audition will now be announced. All participants, please follow me.”
All the participants from the past five days had gathered on stage again. The five judges stood before us.
It was Gilbert Klein who opened his mouth amidst the solemn atmosphere.
“Welcome. I am Gilbert Klein, the host of this audition. Before announcing the results, I would like to thank all participants for your hard work.”
After a brief introduction, he proceeded to introduce the judges. Only then did I recognize the director of the Delgado Troupe.
*‘He was the one with Gilbert Klein at the tavern…’*
Back then, he had worn casual clothes. Now, in a proper suit with his unruly hair neatly combed back, he looked like an entirely different person.
*‘So he was a troupe director…’*
As I unintentionally stared at him, he suddenly raised his head. Before I could look away, our eyes met directly.
Flustered, I tried to turn my head, but Nick gave me a small, warm smile and a discreet wave.
It was so natural that instead of averting my eyes, I found myself dipping my head slightly.
*‘What…?’*
He looked away at once, and I too shifted my gaze, tilting my head slightly in confusion.
Meanwhile, Gilbert took out a sheet of paper from his inner pocket.
“Now, I will announce the winner.”
The hall fell utterly silent. Even breathing seemed loud.
He slowly unfolded the paper and read the name without hesitation.
“Caroline Dees.”
There was no miracle. Everything proceeded exactly as expected.
Amid sighs of disappointment, applause erupted. I clapped as well, looking at Caroline Dees standing not far away.
She was finally smiling. It was the smile of a perfect victor.
Always calm as a sculpted statue, she now smiled radiantly, releasing all the emotions she had held back.
Who could suit this stage better than her?
I acknowledged it quietly. Hers was the voice that belonged here. She was the one who deserved the spotlight.
Even the frustration I’d felt in the waiting room seemed foolish now. Even if I went back in time, nothing would change.
I watched as she approached the judges and shook each of their hands. And when all was over, I turned away without hesitation.
I was ready to leave the Klein Theatre—the palace of my dreams.
And then—
“Miss Ember.”
Someone called out to me.
“May I have a moment of your time?”
I turned my head to find Nick Delgado standing there, wearing the same expression he had earlier when our eyes had met.
