Mysteriously, the contents were the embodiment of the book Anne had brought when she left Libelois. The book she had read to completion several times. The play resembled the plot of the book, but they adapted the sad ending in the book to a happy ending.
I liked the original ending better…
It was regrettable, but Anne decided to just watch it. As soon as she sat down, the bright lights turned off at once, and stronger lights illuminated the stage. After being seated, the agitated audience also fell silent as the performance announced the start.
The acting by the actors was excellent and the stage setting was also magnificent. Anne, who was indifferent perhaps because she knew the contents, quickly became immersed in the play.
– Don’t abandon me.
A young woman’s voice resounded in the tight, breathless space.
The female lead’s life was a mess and a series of suffering. In the play, the male lead was cruel to the woman, and the woman shed tears every time. The reason was not special. It was now commonplace for him to say that he loved another woman.
The woman wasted her young life in tears over the shock of being betrayed. The song mixed with tears was sad as if it would weigh down people’s hearts even though they knew that it was just a play and not real.
– You’ll be better with time!
The woman’s family and friends comforted her by saying so. Still, her sorrow did not go away.
Anne became more and more focused and immersed into the play. The stereotypical saying that sadness dulled over time and disappeared one day was all nonsense. Anne’s heart was too dry and desolate to believe that. Before she knew it, she was projecting herself onto the female lead of the play.
One day the woman made a wish to God, and her weeping made God come.
– It’s so painful, I think I’m going to die. Please… I’d rather my heart freeze.
God gently patted her on the back.
– It is you who is holding on to the pain and sadness. Let it go now.
– Huuuhh… I can’t do that. It’s too painful.
– Pain and sadness will disappear someday.
– When will that be . . .?
At that time, the actor who played the benevolent God with all his might turned his head to the audience. He held his breath and opened his mouth in front of the onlookers.
– The method is very simple. You don’t have to dwell on it.
With those words, a faint exclamation flowed from the audience.
You can’t turn back time, but you can bury it. It was a simple enough solution that anyone could easily come up with, but it was a plan that required a lot of courage on its own to overcome.
And with the actor’s words, Anne felt herself being slapped. It was no different that she held onto everything.
She doesn’t know how the play went after that.
While Anne was lost in thought, the light suddenly turned on and the surroundings became bright. The play came to an end, and people responded with great applause to the actors who performed passionately.
People who finished watching were shedding tears with handkerchiefs, moved by the image of the female lead giving up on the male lead and moving on to a new life. Among them, Anne was the only one with a bewildered face.
“Was it not fun?”
The Grand Duke looked at Anne’s gaze with a guilty expression.
Anne didn’t say anything and just shook her head. She was so caught up in the aftermath of the small shock that she didn’t even have the energy to answer. At some point, all the spectators were leaving. The lights started to go out one by one.
Anne left the place with the Grand Duke. Outside, each shop was glistening with hanging lanterns, and dusk was already setting behind the far bank of the river.
The setting sun rippling over the green fields dyed the white flowers of Abelsis red. Every time the flowers swayed, the flashbacks of seeing the Grand Duke standing on the burning plain on the day she came to the north overlapped.
Anne turned her head to look at the Grand Duke’s profile. He was watching the sun go down.
It was strange. His features, which were always reminiscent of winter, shone like a warm sunset with the shadows of autumn. The sky, dyed with a red sunset, was exactly the color of Daymond’s eyes.
As she looked at that face, his heart skipped a beat.
It was like this back then.
Countless years ago, she used to wrap her hands around his waist in the Grand Duke’s castle and watch the sun go down like this every day. Listening to each other’s heartbeat.
The vague feelings of that time resonated in her stomach.
“I will prepare a carriage.”
The knight next to her spoke, but Anne shook her head. She felt that she would feel uncomfortable in the carriage now. It would be better to get some fresh air from the riverside.
“Now that I’ve come out, I want to walk a little longer.”
“Let’s do that.”
The Grand Duke slightly waved his hand and dismissed the knight.
“Would you like to hold onto my arm?”
He stretched out his arm to support Anne. Anne pretended not to see the hand and looked straight ahead.
Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 4 chapters in advance!
