Chapter 90

“Hm?”

“…it’s nothing. Mm, well then how do you feel about something like that?”

Kaywhin pointed to something in the distance.

As her gaze was instinctively drawn to the location he had indicated, Yelena’s eyes widened.

“That man is…”

With an appearance that was impossible to forget even if you wanted to, a man stood there wearing a flashy coat and a luxuriously decorated mask, while also flourishing a fake sword in one hand. And, for some reason, he was holding a sign in his other hand.

“A play?”

“If we go in there, I don’t think you’ll have anything to be concerned about, Wife.”

A large tent could be seen behind the man. It looked like a play, whose name was written on the sign, was being shown inside the tent. Although the tent was large for its size, it looked a bit shabby. It definitely didn’t feel like a place that would draw the interest of those nobles who had come out to play.

“Do you like plays?” Kaywhin asked.

Yelena, who had been gazing intently at the tent, nodded her head without even thinking about it.

“I like them.”

Even if she didn’t usually have any interest in plays, right now she couldn’t help but love them.

Yelena took Kaywhin’s offered hand and together they headed over to the tent. The fact that this meant her first date with her husband had yet to end made Yelena’s every step feel lighter.

The inside of the tent appeared more respectable than its exterior. Especially because the stage had a decent arrangement.

Yelena and Kaywhin sat down beside each other at a spot in the middle of the rows, still holding each other’s hands.

Yelena peeked down to see her husband’s large hand wrapped around her own dainty appendage.

“…”

For some reason, just sitting next to each other while holding hands was making her feel self-conscious.

It seemed that the play was about to start soon, as the lights inside the tent dimmed.

Yelena tore her eyes away from their clasped hands and turned towards the dark stage.

‘So what is this play about, anyway?’

Although it was really too late to ask that kind of question. Because she had been so focussed on the fact that their date was able to continue in some fashion, she had actually entered the tent without knowing anything about the play.

She couldn’t even remember what the play’s title was. Even though she had seen that something was written on the sign, she hadn’t taken a close look at it.

‘It feels like there’ll probably be at least one fight scene…”

She had this thought because the man, who was holding a sign up in front of the tent to promote the play, had also had a prop sword on him.

While Yelena was coming up with her own guesses, the curtain covering the stage rose.

“Somebody save me!”

The first scene began with a woman frantically running out onto the center of the stage.

“Please, someone, anyone, help me! It’s a monster! A man-eating mon- Aaargh!”

The actor’s skillful acting kept the audience’s eyes glued to the stage from the very beginning. And the play retained this suspense throughout the length of its showing. Then, in the middle, there were also several of the battle scenes that Yelena had been expecting.

All in all, it was a high-quality play.

Although the play’s surroundings and the quality of its props may have been poor, the stage directions and skills of its actors made up for it.

After the play was over and the stage curtains had been lowered once more, applause erupted from the audience. Even after the lights in the tent came back on, the applause didn’t falter in the slightest.

“…Yelena?”

Right until that final moment, Yelena had been frozen to her seat, staying completely still. Not even the slightest twitch.

It was only when Kaywhin felt that something was strange and called out to her, that Yelena’s lips parted with some difficulty.

“…it seems that I need to meet with the person who wrote this play.”

***

Neither the actors who had directly starred in the play, nor the stage director, knew the identity of the playwright who had written the play’s script. So instead they informed her of who had provided them with the script, and Ylena immediately left to meet with him.

The man in question was the owner of the grounds that the festival was being held on, Baron Anaheim.

“It is a great honour to meet with you, Lord Duke and Lady Duchess.”

While repeatedly wiping away the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, a man who left a weak impression introduced himself.

“This humble one is the lord of this area, Baron Ephraim Anaheim.”

“Baron Anaheim.”

Ylena held out a thin booklet to the Baron. It was the play script that they had obtained, or to be more exact bought, from the stage director. The title of the play was clearly labelled on the first page.

[The Fateful Day.]

“We would like to meet with the person who wrote this, would that be at all possible?”

“Um, that’s….”

Upon seeing the script, the Baron appeared to recall something.

“Ah, yes. It’s definitely possible. However they’re not here at the moment, so if you would like to meet with them, it might take some time.”

“Some time you say, how long would that be?”

“If I send them a messenger immediately… they should arrive here some time close to dawn.”

So this meant that, in any case, they would be forced to stay here tonight. Yelena turned to look at Kaywhin. He nodded to her. Yelena’s gaze turned back again to Baron Anaheim.

“I’m afraid that we will have to inconvenience you.”

“Understood. In that case, may I first guide you to the room where the two of you will be staying tonight?”

The baron personally led the two of them to their quarters. Their accommodations were certainly spacious, and it even had an attached dressing room.