Chapter 98
"So, this is Glenn Dudley-kun, who will be Ralph's stand-in."
The stage director, Mabel, introduced Glenn to the actors gathered backstage. He was a friendly-looking young man with golden-brown hair.
(Oh, my, oh, my, oh my?)
Outwardly, Eliane, who played the heroine, demurely tilted her head, while her blue-gray eyes darkened.
(Why isn't Felix-sama the stand-in? Why isn't Felix-sama filling in when I'm the heroine? ... Ah, of course. This man called Glenn Dudley must have made a selfish fuss and thrust himself forward. It must be!)
As Eliane repeated this to herself and tried to calm down, Mabel, who had brought Glenn over, adjusted the rim of her glasses with a stern expression and spoke.
"By the way, this Glenn Dudley-kun... is someone His Highness Felix recommended."
Eliane desperately suppressed the unladylike cry of "Huh!?" that nearly escaped her.
Felix recommended him? Another man for Eliane's husband role?
Could this possibly be allowed? Of course not. Felix was supposed to become Eliane's husband. It was absolutely unacceptable to set her up with another man.
And such a man, too—one who didn't seem to possess a shred of refinement!
"I'm Glenn Dudley! I ain't ever been in a play, but I played Hero Ralph loads when I was a kid, so I'm confident I can do it!"
Everyone there wondered how anyone could be so confident based on childhood make-believe. Eliane included.
The other actors regarded Glenn distrustfully. Eliane wanted to do the same, but instead she deliberately put on a graceful smile befitting a young noblewoman and addressed him.
"I'm Eliane Hyatt, playing Amelia. It's a pleasure to work with you."
"...Playing Amelia?"
Glenn blinked several times, then looked down at Eliane with a puzzled tilt of his head. Up close, his height was even more striking. Petite Eliane had to crane her neck quite a bit to look up at him.
"You don't really match the cool Amelia I pictured."
The actors froze at Glenn's remark. Eliane's soft smile remained in place, but a quiet flame of anger kindled in her blue-gray eyes.
The heroine Amelia was a strong, noble, and intelligent woman. Everyone understood that the gentle, somewhat placid Eliane was ill-suited to the role.
Even so, Eliane had been chosen because she was one of the academy's three great beauties—and because she was Felix Arc Riddil's second cousin.
Duke Clockford was Eliane's great-uncle. In other words, at this academy under Duke Clockford's control, Eliane held a position nearly equal to Felix's. That was why those around her had taken her status into consideration and chosen her as the heroine.
Eliane knew that in the academy's secret preliminary vote for the heroine's role, she had not even placed third.
...In short, Glenn Dudley's innocent remark had touched off Eliane's fury completely.
Of course, Eliane let none of that anger show. She behaved as a gentle, humble noblewoman should.
"Indeed, I am nowhere near the great Queen Amelia. Nevertheless, I shall do my very best, so I hope you will be kind to me."
On the surface, at least, Eliane maintained a graceful demeanor and adorned her lovely face with a beautiful smile.
(Oh, what a foolish man. I shall have to teach you a lesson... To think someone like you could stand beside me—the very idea is absurd.)
All the while, she honed the blade of malice in her heart.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Since we're here, why don't we watch Dudley-kun's heroic performance from the best seat in the house?"
Felix brought Monica to the very best seat in the house—the one where he himself had been sitting during the first half.
"C-can I really sit here? I-I won't get in trouble?"
"You're a student council officer. I don't see a problem."
Lana had moved backstage to make minor adjustments to her costume. Apparently, the work would take right up until the last minute, so she probably wouldn't be able to return to the audience.
In other words, Monica would watch Glenn take the stage from the seat beside Felix. It was bad for her heart in two different ways.
As Monica clutched her stomach, Felix's gaze fell on the white rose corsage at her neckline.
"That flower ornament... Did Cyril give it to you, by any chance?"
"Oh, yes. Apparently, it's supposed to be a charm that will keep me from embarrassing myself today."
When Monica answered with several quick nods, Felix blinked as though surprised for some reason.
"...I see. So that's what Cyril told you. Well, I suppose that is like him... in its own way."
Felix murmured as if to himself, then for some reason stared intently at Monica's neck.
When she saw his eyes narrow just a little—truly, only a little—in apparent displeasure, Monica unconsciously touched her own neck.
"I-I-I, um... Oh, right. Is Glenn-san... going to be... all right...?"
It was hard to deny that she had forced the change of subject, but she really had been worried about Glenn.
Monica's mind went back to the social dancing class where she had first met Glenn.
"I've never done it before, but I'll manage somehow!" Glenn had declared energetically before swinging her around with great gusto. It was a fond memory. Honestly, she had a bad feeling about this play.
Yet Felix did not seem particularly worried. If anything, he even looked as though he was enjoying himself.
"Hmm, I think he'll be fine. Dudley-kun has plenty of nerve. That's what you would expect from a renowned mage's apprentice."
"...Huh?"
Monica had known that Glenn was an apprentice mage, but this was the first she had heard of him being the student of a renowned mage.
(Come to think of it... Glenn-san came to this academy because his master told him to, didn't he...?)
But what sort of person was this mage whom Felix had called renowned?
Monica vaguely ran through the high-ranking mages she knew, but none of them seemed to fit.
(Besides, if Glenn-san is the apprentice of a renowned mage, enrolling at Minerva would be the obvious choice... So why did his master choose Serendia Academy...?)
As she vaguely pondered this, a firework went off with a pop, announcing the beginning of the performance.
At last, the second half of the play was about to begin.
The student playing the narrator explained the story so far, including how the protagonist Ralph had finally reached the Dark Dragon's lair.
"It looks like they omitted some of it."
Felix whispered this after listening to the explanation.
"D-did they?"
"They were supposed to show the journey leading up to the Dark Dragon's lair as well, but I imagine they cut it."
When the curtain rose, a dragon prop appeared from stage left. It was made of paper and cloth pasted over a wooden framework, but it was remarkably well crafted. More than anything, it was huge. Several people were inside it, moving it around.
As the Dark Dragon's shrill roar echoed throughout the venue, two figures appeared from stage right.
The protagonist Ralph and the heroine Amelia.
Glenn's Ralph smoothly drew the sword at his waist and pointed its tip at the Dark Dragon.
"'I am the one blessed by the seven Spirit Kings! Dark Dragon, you who taint this land—now face my blade!'"
The audience had been confused by the change in actors from the first half, but the moment they heard that line, they were utterly drawn into the performance.
It wasn't so much Glenn's acting as the power of his resonant voice and crisp movements that captivated the audience.
"Hah!"
Glenn leaped high into the air and brought his sword down on the dragon. The instant he landed, he followed with a horizontal slash.
Felix spoke in a low voice.
"His sword swings are much too broad for actual combat, but they look great onstage."
Glenn's sword was the exact opposite of the elegant style peculiar to nobles: it was rough and unpolished. But the sight of his long limbs moving freely as he slashed at the dragon was captivating.
The hero Ralph borrowed the power of the Spirit Kings and gradually drove the Dark Dragon into a corner. Then, with its back against the wall, the Dark Dragon summoned the last of its strength and unleashed fire magic. The heroine Amelia blocked it with a barrier, and Ralph pierced the Dark Dragon between the eyes to deliver the finishing blow.
Then Amelia would rush to Ralph, kiss him in blessing, and bring the play to its ending... That was the standard sequence of events.
"'You wretched, meddlesome human! I shall burn you to ash with my flames!'"
The Dark Dragon gave its wings a mighty shake, and a sharp bang rang out exactly midway between the dragon and Ralph. It was a pyrotechnic effect.
Ralph took a step backward, and Amelia, standing behind him, raised her voice.
"'Ralph-sama, while I cast a barrier, please pierce the dragon between the eyes!'"
With that cry, Amelia began chanting the spell to cast a barrier. Naturally, the incantation was not real; she was only acting.
But Monica felt something was wrong.
(...Huh? That spell... It's just acting, right?)
Not many people could immediately understand a spell just by hearing its incantation. And since the stage and audience were some distance apart, ordinarily no one would have noticed.
But Monica happened to be watching from the best seat in the house. She heard what was being chanted—and understood it.
What Eliane was saying was neither meaningless dialogue nor an incantation for a barrier.
It was an incantation for a wind spell that attacked an enemy.
＊ ＊ ＊
Eliane was currently standing atop a set resembling a cliff at the far right of the stage from the audience's perspective.
What had been a balcony in the first half had now been transformed with paper and cloth to look like a sheer cliff, and Eliane stood on top of it.
While acting worriedly as she watched Ralph battle the dragon from atop the cliff set, Eliane kept Felix in the audience constantly in mind.
The person beside Felix was not a guest of honor but a female student. And not Bridget Graham, either. It was that plain girl who was also a student council officer—Monica Norton.
(Why is such an unremarkable girl sitting beside Felix-sama? That's where I belong.)
Every time Felix whispered something to Monica, Eliane's heart was thrown into turmoil.
Why did Felix care about a girl like that? Eliane was gazing at him with such aching longing. She loved him. She was the one who deserved to be loved by him.
(I have to make it clear that I am the one Felix-sama will choose.)
The battle between the Dark Dragon and Ralph was finally approaching its climax.
To protect Ralph from the Dark Dragon's attack, Amelia, played by Eliane, would cast a barrier. Of course, Eliane could not use barrier magic, so she would only pretend to do so.
At that point, an especially elaborate firework would be used as a stage effect. It was a special type of pyrotechnic that produced colored smoke along with the flash, and it would explode at the back of the stage.
The Dark Dragon and Ralph were fighting near the front of the stage, so the firework would go off behind them.
While pretending to cast a barrier, Eliane sent a wind spell toward the pyrotechnic charge.
The only wind magic Eliane could use was elementary magic: one spell to create a mass of wind and another to create a blade of wind.
Its power was by no means great, but wind magic was convenient precisely because it was invisible. No one watching the play should notice. No one would realize that Eliane had used real magic onstage.
The pyrotechnic charge struck by the mass of wind rolled to a spot near Glenn just before it exploded. That would draw Glenn into the blast.
(You brought this on yourself by making fun of me.)
The exploding charge would shower Glenn with sparks and smoke. Since it was only a stage effect, it probably would not cause any serious injuries. But he should at least be startled enough to fall on his backside. Perhaps his legs would even give out!
Naturally, if Glenn froze in surprise at the gunpowder, the performance would come to a halt.
Then Eliane would proclaim in a ringing voice:
──Oh, so you really were a fake Ralph! My eyes cannot be deceived!
And with that, Eliane would reach out toward Felix in the audience.
──The real Ralph-sama is right there.
If she did that, Felix would surely come up onto the stage. He would never allow the performance to descend into chaos.
She could pass off the accident with the gunpowder as a servant's blunder. Then, if Eliane's quick thinking were credited with saving a performance that had nearly been ruined by such an unfortunate accident... everyone would recognize her as a talented lady worthy of Felix.
Glenn Dudley could make a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Monica Norton only needed to see Felix take the stage to realize who was truly worthy of Felix.
Eliane wore a dreamy, rapturous smile on her lovely face as she looked down at Glenn from atop the fake cliff.