Episode 16
The play ended with a single curtain call. Even after the curtain fell and the theater lights came on, I sat there for a while, lingering in the afterglow.
Because Gilbert silently waited for me, I was able to finish sorting out my thoughts.
“Thank you for bringing me here today.”
I said this sincerely as I rose from my seat. Now I could fully understand why he had brought me here.
What I had been singing with Miya during practice *was* an aria, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t truly one. It wasn’t the same as what the soprano playing Lunia had sung.
One by one, I began to understand the things Gilbert had told me.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.
“I’m glad it was helpful.”
Then he extended a hand and helped me up.
“There’s usually a small reception afterward, but let’s skip it today.”
I nodded silently. For a moment, I thought I’d like to meet Lunia, but the thought passed quickly.
With nothing to regret, I followed as he led me out. Then he spoke again.
“Just so you know, the reason I’m not taking you to the reception is because the time and place aren’t right yet.”
When I turned my head, I saw his profile facing straight ahead.
“When the time comes, you’ll have to attend even if you don’t want to. So don’t worry about it. Including whatever Charlotte said.”
Only then did I understand what he meant.
I was of low status, and not even a proper singer yet. Watching the performance was one thing, but attending the reception was beyond me. He had noticed the thoughts lingering in my subconscious.
“Because I’m someone sponsored by you now?”
So I asked.
In this world, what mattered were a noble’s surname, a conservatory diploma, and the support of others that made those possible.
Gilbert’s gaze slowly shifted toward me. He stopped walking in front of the door leading to the lobby.
“Then will I be able to stand tall someday?”
I recalled the mural in the Klein Theater painted by Jonathan Arcas. From its grandeur and dignity alone, I felt I understood what kind of man Jonathan had become.
Standing on stage wasn’t scary. I could get used to the nerves. But the gazes of the nobles whenever I stood beside Gilbert—that frightened me.
Even dressed in Lady Elinia’s gown and adorned like a noblewoman, I still felt like a maid from Baron Harn’s estate.
He spoke.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
His head tilted a little. The murmur of the audience drifted faintly from afar.
“What makes you stand tall isn’t your status. It’s your skill.”
His face was right in front of mine, yet for some reason, I found it hard to look at him properly.
His brows were faintly drawn together, but he didn’t seem angry. Nor did he seem amused.
“A surname is just something you can tack on. And if appearances matter, that can be arranged too. That’s not what’s important.”
He began walking again. I took a few steps to match his slow pace, and light from the lobby spilled over us.
“A singer only needs to sing well. I’ll take care of everything else, so don’t concern yourself with it. Do I really need to spell out every little thing?”
I wondered if Gilbert had told Jonathan something like this too. Was that why he had been able to rise from the streets all the way to the royal stage?
I opened my mouth, about to respond. As we crossed the lobby toward the exit, a booming voice rang out.
“Well, if it isn’t Sir Gilbert!”
A middle-aged man approached from afar. Immediately, the nobles around him turned their gazes toward us.
By my side, I heard a small mutter, “Damn.” Startled, I looked up at Gilbert. Without even blinking, he said quietly:
“Viscount Logan. You saw him once.”
I looked at the man’s face again and finally remembered—he had sat at the far left during the audition.
“Are you on bad terms with him?”
He had introduced himself at the awards ceremony as one of the Klein Theater’s investors.
“Not exactly my favorite type.”
Our soft conversation stopped when the viscount drew close. Gilbert clasped the suddenly extended hand with a polite smile. Viscount Logan widened his eyes.
“What brings you to a place like this?”
“A place like this? Isn’t it natural for someone who runs a theater to come watch a play?”
“Haha! Quite right.”
The viscount burst into laughter, as though Gilbert had made a delightful joke.
“How’s the premiere preparation going? With Miss Diz joining, Klein Theater’s success is practically guaranteed!”
“We’re preparing slowly.”
“And to think you’d keep it a secret even from me—how disappointing.”
“Rules are rules. I ask for your understanding.”
Viscount Logan whispered conspiratorially, winked, then continued speaking noisily.
In contrast, Gilbert simply maintained a quiet smile as he looked down at him.
Then, suddenly, Viscount Logan’s gaze shifted to me.
“And this young lady is…?”
He didn’t recognize me. At the word *lady*, I panicked for a moment, but Gilbert smoothly gestured toward me.
“A singer I am sponsoring.”
“Sponsoring? But I thought you were focusing solely on the troupe until the new theater was completed?”
“It just turned out that way.”
He gave only that brief reply. The viscount nodded once, then looked me over with a mischievous expression.
“For a moment, I thought you were finally branching out from music into romance, Sir Gilbert.”
“Haha, funny.”
His voice was so cold it sent a chill down my spine, and I instinctively glanced at his face.
He was still smiling, but his eyes were icy. Yet Viscount Logan, perhaps already tipsy, simply laughed louder.
“Well, everyone’s curious, you know. Showing up to a performance with such a beautiful lady—one could hardly blame them for thinking that.”
Even after hearing the word *sponsorship*, he still assumed I was a noble family’s daughter.
I felt the nearby nobles quickly turning their attention toward us.
Trying hard to mask my confusion, I looked between Gilbert and the viscount. Then Gilbert spoke.
“I’ve never chosen whom to sponsor by gender, and I didn’t realize such misunderstandings still occur.”
He was no longer smiling. Only then did the viscount’s own smile gradually fade as he sensed the shift.
“Since you now know the truth, I trust you’ll correct any rumors.”
Then he turned to me.
“Let’s go.”
The space, far quieter now than when we had first entered, echoed with the footsteps of the two men’s shoes.
With every noble’s eyes on me, I did my best to walk straight, just as he had said.
After leaving the theater and boarding the waiting carriage, I finally spoke into the awkward silence.
“He didn’t recognize me.”
“He remembers one thing and forgets everything else.”
As soon as we escaped the persistent stares, he grimaced. Then he glanced at me and added:
“Don’t worry too much. It’s not the first time something like this has happened.”
I lowered my eyes.
To him, this whole sequence of events seemed routine—as though everything was part of a familiar pattern. In the flickering lamplight from outside the carriage, his face looked slightly tired.
Half on impulse, I asked:
“Then why do you sponsor someone like me?”
Left alone, someone like me would simply live and disappear. Dragging such people into the world’s view was surely an inconvenient and troublesome task.
Lady Elinia had said no one would lose from this arrangement, but in truth, I was the one who stood to gain the most.
*Because sponsorship is closer to charity,* I thought.
Those touched by his hand would consider meeting him a blessing of a lifetime. I felt the same. Yet he didn’t have to help us.
“You came all the way to the audition and now you ask that?”
A low laugh escaped him. I knew now that he wouldn’t get angry at words that bold.
I was slowly learning who he was—and truthfully, I was always curious about him.
“But I heard you met Jonathan Arcas on the street.”
“Elly told you that?”
He muttered, “That girl says the strangest things.” In the quiet carriage, only the faint sound of wheels on the dirt road could be heard.
“Then why do *you* sing?”
This time, I fell silent.
I had always thought only about wanting to sing. I’d never thought about *why* I had to sing. There hadn’t been time for that.
Singing had simply been a way to escape Harn.
Then a voice rose in my mind.
*‘Your voice is a gift from God. And your singing is a blessing.’*
Guided by Martin’s words echoing in my ears, I answered:
“Someone told me I had to sing.”
Because I was born with a voice, they said I must use it.
He replied:
“Yes. Because that’s what you do best.”
He placed his clasped hands atop his crossed leg and looked at me.
“And I do this because it’s what I’m good at.”
A simple answer, yet somehow it convinced me.
If finding people with talent was also a talent, then he had certainly mastered and proven it.
I felt a laugh threaten to escape and bit my lower lip.
—
Gilbert dropped me off not at the theater, but on a side street near the dress shop.
“Your clothes will be ready to pick up at the theater tomorrow.”
“Yes. Thank you again for everything today, Sir Gilbert.”
I bowed deeply to him. The necklace that had rested at my collarbone chimed softly.
Startled, I quickly began to remove the necklace and earrings, but he stopped me.
“Return those to their owner directly next time.”
“What?”
“If I take them back, Elly will try to kill me.”
Before I could say anything else, he stepped into the carriage lightly.
“See you tomorrow at the theater.”
He said this through the window just as the carriage began moving, then he closed it right away.
Left alone on the street, I quickly tucked the necklace into my clothes.
When I entered the darkened dress shop, Madam Sierra on the first floor gasped loudly.
“Oh my, I thought a princess walked in!”
“Madam Sierra…”
I had intended to ask whether she had a safe for storing jewelry, but the moment I saw her face, my legs gave out beneath me.
The tension drained all at once, and I felt the last bit of strength leave my limbs.
“Oh dear, dear! My goodness!”
Startled, Madam Sierra rushed over. I wrapped my arms around her waist and exhaled a deep breath.
As if a spell had been broken. I leaned into her for a long moment.
