The play, Leon and Julia, which had been on the verge of cancellation, resumed with me stepping into the role of Julia.
If I had to summarize the story, it was at least 80% similar to Romeo and Juliet. Although, considering the audience was mainly aristocrats and academy students, a few changes had been made, especially regarding the ending.
Originally, this play had nothing to do with me, and I could have ignored it, but Penelope's sincere love for one man stirred something within me. The intensity of her feelings struck a chord, something I hadn’t seen from any extras in the original game.
‘And then there was... Princess Rainey.’
Bo’s injury wasn’t part of the original game, which made me suspect that Lydia or Princess Rainey’s presence triggered this event. If that was the case, Princess Rainey was likely feeling a certain level of guilt. Just because her expression didn’t change much or she didn’t speak often didn’t mean she lacked emotions.
As I mentioned before, it wouldn’t hurt to build some rapport with Princess Rainey. Even though she would only be at the academy for about a year after her curse was lifted, that was enough time to benefit from her luck.
‘Maybe the wealth Rizy spoke of in her fortune is connected to becoming closer with Princess Rainey.’
While I didn’t fully believe Rizy’s fortune, she had gained witch powers, so there was likely some truth to it.
In any case, all these factors led me to take over the role of Julia. Of course, with me in the role, Ethan had no choice but to step in as Leon. Not that I minded—like Penelope, I couldn’t imagine pretending to be in love with anyone other than Ethan.
“So, the girl you met is the eldest daughter of the McCoy family?”
“That’s right, young master Leon.”
“Sigh, fate truly has a twisted sense of humor.”
Despite being thrust into the role of Leon at the last minute, Ethan smoothly read through his lines with the other actors, showing no signs of reluctance.
Given his intelligence, I wasn’t too worried. After all, achieving second place in the swordsmanship club wasn’t something you could accomplish just by swinging a sword.
...If anything, the real challenge would be on my end.
“Oh fiery steed with burning hooves, hurry and run before the night fades. Let no stable boy or anyone else discover that I have left the McCoy estate before the night is through. The night is a stage for love, and if I can but meet Leon beneath the light of the moon for even a moment, I...”
"......."
“I, I...that is...”
"'Offer the throbbing heart of pure love upon the altar and be saved,’ Lady Lilith.”
“...I’m sorry.”
As the main heroine, Julia had long and complicated monologues that I had to somehow cram into my brain. Penelope, having not given up on the play, helped me practice the lines, and they slowly began to stick, but it was still a challenge.
Even though I’d impressed the theater members with Julia’s most famous lines when I volunteered to take over, memorizing the entire script in under an hour was an impossible feat.
“Julia’s lines are a bit long, aren’t they? Don’t worry about following it too perfectly—just take your time, Lady Lilith.”
“...Thank you, Penelope.”
“When I first learned this play, I made a lot of mistakes too. It took me over a month to memorize all the lines for Leon and Julia. No one expects you to memorize everything in an hour.”
"......."
...Now I feel a bit guilty.
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I had volunteered to help Penelope by taking on the role of Julia, but now I worried I was just being a burden. Leon and Julia wasn’t just being performed today—it would continue for the next two days. If I ruined today’s performance, it could affect the rest of the festival.
But Penelope, rather than being upset, reassured me whenever I stumbled over my lines.
“Confidence is key in theater, Lady Lilith. Even if you make a mistake, it doesn’t matter. As long as you convey the emotion, no one will care if the words are slightly different.”
“Yes...”
“Everyone else in the play has been rehearsing for a long time. If you mess up a line or miss your cue, they’ll cover for you. The only thing you really need to avoid is freezing up and doing nothing. As long as you act, everything will be fine.”
“...Thank you, Penelope.”
...She’s right. I’ll make it work.
I had already committed to taking on this role, so all I could do was give it my best. And if there’s one thing I was confident in, it was charging forward with determination.
With that mindset, I continued rehearsing with Ethan until the very last moment.
“Leon, will you grant me one last favor?”
“Of course, Julia. Anything you ask.”
“My underskirt, the second pocket on the left, inside that pocket, there’s a small vial—”
“No, Lady Lilith. It’s ‘smaller than a finger but larger than a fingernail.’”
“...I’m sorry.”
Sigh. I could only pray that everything would go smoothly without too many mistakes.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
After an hour of rehearsing, the audience began to fill the seats.
The atmosphere in the auditorium created an air of tension, and I could feel my heart starting to race.
“...Breathe, just breathe...”
Calm down, calm down. All I had to do was perform as I normally would.
I’d memorized most of the lines, so as long as I didn’t mess up—or even if I did—Penelope had reassured me that it would be fine as long as I kept going. The other actors would help cover for any minor mistakes.
I just needed to stay in the flow of the performance.
“Filthy creatures disrupting the peace of the city. Must neighbors truly spill each other’s blood on a day like today, Hatfield?”
“If you hadn’t harassed Balsario at the banquet, we wouldn’t have drawn our swords! How long will you cling to the ancient grudges of the dead, McCoy?”
“Grudge? I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Hatfield. Was that friend’s name Balsario? I merely informed him that our Julia was far too high a flower on a cliff for someone like him to touch.”
“That base-born wench must have been out flaunting her charms again! You should have kept a better watch over her. I hear the local courtesans rank themselves against her, always claiming she holds first place for her efforts!”
“You damned Hatfields! How dare you mock Julia like that?! Today, I will wipe your clan from the face of the earth and plant your heads on pikes at every corner of the village!”
—Clang! Clang! Clang!
The actors on stage were now fully engaged in a heated verbal sparring session that quickly escalated into swordplay.
Rather than simply pretending to clash swords, they were actually performing a choreographed fight. Since all the actors were students of Luminor Academy, they seamlessly incorporated their combat training into the staged fight.
‘At least I don’t have any combat scenes to worry about.’
If I’d had to learn choreographed combat in such a short amount of time, it would have been impossible to memorize the script.
As the fight began to slow, signaling the end of the conflict, Ethan’s entrance was next.
“I’ll go ahead, ...Julia.”
“...Yes, Leon.”
To make sure we didn’t accidentally call each other by the wrong names, Ethan and I took a moment to address each other in character before he stepped onto the stage.
Ethan entered the scene, placing himself between the Hatfields and the McCoys to mediate the conflict.
“Stop this at once! What kind of shameful display is this in broad daylight?!”
“Leon! I told you not to get involved!”
“Are you really dragging all the adults out here to shed pointless blood, Uncle Beast? How long are we going to keep spilling blood like this?!”
“Stay out of this, you Hatfield whelp! If you don’t back away, I’ll have your head mounted at the entrance to the village!”
—Clang! Clang! Clang!
As part of the scene, the character playing the older man lunged at Ethan with his sword. They exchanged a few blows before Ethan expertly disarmed him, resolving the conflict without shedding any blood.
Even though I knew it was just acting, I couldn’t help but admire how good Ethan looked under the spotlight. Seeing him handle both the acting and the choreographed combat with ease only made me appreciate his talents more.
“Lady Lilith, now’s not the time to be daydreaming.”
“...Sorry.”
Snapping out of my trance, I quickly refocused on my lines. The play had already started, and there was no stopping it now. All I could do was give it my all.