Chapter 21: Assistant Ringmaster Ella (2)
The journey from Aksville went smoothly for four days.
There were no accidents or incidents to speak of.
It was a routine of eating and lazing around, eating and lazing around.
Was there anyone among the crew complaining?
Of course not.
These were the people who used to sleep in the carriage and in tents every day.
Being able to shower with hot water every day and sleep in a bed was already a tremendous luxury for them.
They embraced this comfortable and pleasant cruise journey.
Among them, Yurakne must have been enjoying it the most.
Because there was food provided on the ship.
Thanks to that, she could take a break from her role as the cook for a while.
"Ringmaster, today I tried a different kind of tea than yesterday."
But sitting still didn't suit her temperament.
She needed to keep herself busy with something.
Was it a kind of occupational disease for housewives?
These days, the task Yurakne enjoyed the most was brewing tea.
"Yurakne, do you know how to make tea?"
"Tea?"
"Yes. We use these leaves to make it."
"Why are you suddenly...?"
"Oh, it's just that I felt like having some tea that you made."
If it were in the past, she might have been trembling with anxiety.
Was the ringmaster trying to find fault and start a fight?
But not anymore.
Perhaps it was because she had received a piece of his secret.
His true identity was still a mystery, and his intentions were unfathomable, but she was no longer afraid of him like before.
In fact, it made her happy that he had asked her for something.
She liked being asked for favours by someone.
And she enjoyed fulfilling those requests and seeing the other person smile.
It must be another occupational disease of a housewife.
The tea she made with her own hands.
She even crumbled the tea leaves a bit more with her fingers.
She looked closely at the ringmaster's face as he drank it.
When a smile appeared on his face, her own lips naturally curled up.
"How is it?"
"Well, the aroma is definitely stronger than yesterday's. He He He, thanks to you, Yurakne, I don't think I can live without tea now."
Upon hearing the captain's praise, a "Hehehe" laughter flowed from Yurakne's lips.
Oops, was that laugh too cheerful?
No, no. She was just smiling back at the ringmaster's smile.
She also took a sip of the tea in her hand.
The sweet sensation tingled her tongue.
It was strange.
It was tea without sugar...
There shouldn't be any sweetness to it.
Yurakne realized that this was a sensory transfer.
It was a sweet taste due to the sensory pleasure she felt when looking at that man.
"The variety seems so luxurious, probably because it's the ship the chairman travels on."
Ah, the chairman.
She must be doing well. She had a lot of money.
But what does that have to do with anything?
The ringmaster only drinks the tea I make.
Hoho.
I saw it all on the terrace yesterday.
Even though she recommended a different drink, the ringmater chose to drink what she was holding and said something like this.
"I like this the most."
Too bad, young lady.
Don't you know the meaning behind the ringmaster's smile?
I know, hehe.
Pff, pff, pff...
The ship was two days away from its destination.
On the terrace of the bridge.
Wonderstein, Yurakne, and Ella, the three of them finished their lunch and, as usual, had some tea.
Unfortunately, other crew members couldn't come up to the deck casually.
The sailors were superstitious enough as it was.
If the crew members were seen on the deck, they might receive fierce "complaints."
Besides, there was no other cargo in the hold, and the facilities were very well equipped, so there were no complaints anyway.
"Ella, how does the tea taste?"
"What, it's fine, I guess..."
Ella seemed somewhat distant.
Even when Yurakne tried to engage in a friendly conversation, she just nodded her head dryly.
She had been like this since they boarded the ship.
No, there had been signs even before that.
Something was making her uncomfortable, and the atmosphere had been tense for a while.
Yurakne had a suspicion about the cause, but she didn't feel the need to bring it up.
"Ringmaster, by the way, I haven't seen Lady Anais much since the first day. She is our sponsor, and I wanted to make sure to treat her well."
"Lady Anais has been busy with work and hasn't had much time to come out of her cabin. I only briefly saw her yesterday."
Yurakne smiled at Wonderstein's words.
"Well, she's the head of a major company, so being busy is expected. But it's still strange. Why would someone so busy take a cruise trip like this?"
Yurakne's tone had a subtle edge to it, unlike her usual self.
But Wonderstein didn't seem to notice at all. He simply smiled and replied in a calm voice.
"She has been confined to his mansion for a long time. Maybe she wanted to breathe some fresh air and see the world?"
"That... makes sense, I guess?"
Yurakne chuckled awkwardly and averted her gaze.
Doesn't the Ringmaster know? Or is he pretending not to know? If he just takes my words at face value... he probably doesn't know, right?
She felt a sense of relief for no reason.
As she was suppressing her laughter, Yurakne met eyes with Ella, who was watching her closely.
Yurakne felt guilty, like a child caught misbehaving.
The Ringmaster might not know, but someone as sensitive as Ella could probably sense the hidden meaning behind her questions, her laughter...
Refraining yourself?
Y-yeah, refraining.
Gee, refraining, huh?
She didn't say anything more.
The conversation was all in her imagination.
They were communicating through subtle glances and changes in facial expressions.
"I'm more curious about you than Lord Anais."
"Me?"
"Yeah, why do you keep pretending to be friendly with that devil?"
"Well... I just... Because he's the Ringmaster. We've been avoiding him for so long..."
"Lies."
"..."
In the past few days, they had exchanged their opinions on this topic.
They never talked about it openly.
They just tested each other's intentions with passing remarks.
Dialogues like the following had never actually occurred:
"Did you like that devil from the beginning?"
"Yeah... but..."
"Why are you getting close to him again?"
"Well, that's... You too, aren't you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah! You were so repulsed and hated him, but recently, you've eaten together a few times, talked all night in the carriage..."
Yurakne had blatantly prodded Ella with this.
She wondered if spending the night with the Ringmaster had made them close. She wondered if that had touched something in Ella.
Ella's eyes, which had glared fiercely, still remained in Yurakne's memory.
"It was because of work! Work! Do you think planning a performance is easy? I had to worry about the stage, costumes, and even write the script! Who would want to be with that devil willingly?"
"Sorry... I was just curious..."
"No, it was nothing. I was just being overly sensitive."
...
...
In truth, there was no need for interrogation or self-reflection. The reason for Yurkane's behaviour was clear.
"Just because... I like him. That's why."
"You like someone who kills and tortures people while smiling?"
"Well, of course, the things he did were a bit extreme... And as for the smiling..."
"The smiling...?"
Yurakne hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
"I can't say. That's a secret between the ringmaster and me."
"Oh, I see. If you tell me, it wouldn't be proper for the one who shared the secret."
"Ah, sorry. Let me be honest. I want to be someone special, the only one who understands ringmaster."
"That... No, anyway, I am not as afraid of the ringmaster as I used to be."
"Sister..."
"He's not your average person. There's something... broken about him. Not valuing human lives... But I've seen another side of him... You may not believe it, but... he was crying."
"He was crying? That man?"
"No, he... wanted to cry. It didn't seem like a lie to me."
"Sigh..."
"I want to believe. That's why I decided to accept his words and actions as they are."
"I see. That's a bit foolish. Maybe you have fallen into the devil's temptation again."
"I am a fool. That's true. Heh."
"Do as you please. I'm not going to tell you what to do with the ringmaster unless he forces you to do something."
"Thank you. And... I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
Ella didn't want to admit it, but she could understand.
Strictly speaking, there was no reason for the members to be hostile towards Wonderstein.
The problem was that his past actions were so cruel and inhumane that it was hard to ignore, not that he had mistreated the members. In fact, he had always treated them with courtesy and refrained from making rude remarks. He took care of basic needs like meals and sleeping arrangements and didn't harm the members despite having control over hundreds of lives. Well, except for one.
There was one member who had turned into a stone.
Nevertheless, for the past month, he hadn't committed any evil deeds. Instead, he seemed to be making more efforts to consider the members. The members were starting to let their guard down around the ringmaster. Yurakne, in particular, had feelings for the ringmaster from the beginning, so it wasn't surprising that her feelings had developed faster than others'.
However, Ella was different. No matter how kind he was, she couldn't bring herself to like him. No, she shouldn't like him.
"Ella... run away... a monster..."
"A man in black clothes..."
"It's a devil! A devil has appeared!"
"Don't go to school..."
The Circus School where they gathered homeless children and taught them skills. It was located along the path frequently taken by travelers in the desert.
Ella had been there since she could remember. It was more like an orphanage than a circus school. It was poor, and the facilities were modest, but she had friends she had trained with since childhood. There was also a strict but kind old master and friendly villagers. There were also merchants passing by who would stop for a while to enjoy their performances. All of them were precious.
But Wonderstein had destroyed everything. Half a year ago, the devil who came to their village had killed most of the villagers and her school friends. Some melted like candle wax, some had their heads split open with tentacles sprouting, and some vomited their insides with their mouths.
"If Ella comes with me, the others can survive."
That was his only goal. That was his way of thinking. Oh, there's someone useful. I should get rid of anything that might be an obstacle. So he killed all the villagers and circus friends. He left some, including the old master, and casually asked if she wanted to go with him. A devil.
But Ella didn't tell the circus members what had happened to her. She was afraid they might treat her with hostility, just like the villagers did. Wonderstein had a contract with only Ella. The rest were expendable. Just look at the member who had angered him and turned into stone. Yurakne might have seemed close to Wonderstein, but it was better to leave her alone. It was better for her too. The same went for the other members. But what about me? What should I do?
"Have you heard of the Circus Grand Prix?"
Of course, I know. I'm a circus school graduate, after all. I'll be upset if your dirty mouth spreads rumours about it.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Ella, a trainer from the Monster Circus!"
Most of the friends who promised to go there together have already left this world... She herself...
"Today's performance was a great success!"
She was enjoying herself. She was excited at the thought of possibly performing on the dream stage. Her life... this journey... she was enjoying it.
She couldn't forgive herself for thinking that there were some good things about Wonderstein while looking at him, for finding her...
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