Finally, the day of the Wolfheart Love Story arrived.
Just as a glimmer of light appeared outside the window, Victor was awakened by a rustling sound beside his ear. He opened his eyes and found that the pillow next to him was empty, leaving only a few strands of hair and the girl's faint fragrance.
"Linglong?" he said in a slightly dry voice.
"M-Master, you're awake?" the reply seemed a little flustered, "Did I disturb you by moving too much?"
The jewelry merchant turned over and sat up in bed, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.
He saw the maid fumbling with how to put on the gown, the long skirt only half on, her smooth back completely exposed, coupled with the half-covered chest, creating a particularly endearing charm.
"Can... Can you not look at me like that?" Linglong said, her face flushed.
This was the feeling that those noble young ladies would never bring, Victor chuckled, "Alright, alright, I won't look. But there's one thing you need to know, you can't put it on by yourself without someone else's help."
"Eh..." she immediately looked a little lost.
"Come here, I'll help you." He spread his hands, "But first, let me have some water, I'm parched."
...
After tying the laces, Victor casually patted the maid's waist, "Done, it suits you quite well—don't let the lightness of the gown fool you, before elastic bands were invented, the servants responsible for dressing young ladies had to be burly, otherwise, there was really no way to close it."
"So that's how it is," the girl stuck out her tongue, "It's the first time I've heard of it..."
"Many things about the nobility are like that, they look good, but they're troublesome to use, simply put, all style and no substance." He laughed, "What, can't wait to wear it out?"
"N-No, I just wanted to get up early and prepare, so as not to delay your trip—" Linglong waved her hands repeatedly, "I'll go get you water to wash up and prepare breakfast now."
Wearing this to do chores? Victor looked at the maid, who was clearly in an excited state, but didn't expose her, "Go ahead, toasted bread with fried eggs would be good, and don't forget to get one for yourself too."
"Yes, thank you, Master," she bowed respectfully before leaving, "And thank you for the clothes you gave me... and this opportunity to see the show."
After the door closed, Victor got out of bed and poured himself a glass of red wine.
This was another good thing about women of this kind, they would return a great deal of gratitude for just a little favor. If the gift was given to a young lady from a large family, you might not even get a smile.
Ten gold dragons were nothing to him, and it was naturally more interesting to enjoy the drama with two people than alone. This had nothing to do with generosity or affection, it was just a matter of each getting what they wanted.
The only thing he was curious about now was, just how wonderful would the magic shadow worth forty gold dragons be?
...
"Teacher, are you really going?" Röntgen looked at Kakin.Firth, who was dressed neatly, with a worried expression, "Although Mei said she would recommend your new play to His Majesty the King, that might just be a front—if she wants to use your fame to build momentum for herself, wouldn't going play right into her hands?"
"I think so too... she's not credible at all these days." Eggpo muttered, "What recommendation for a new play, does she really think she can see His Majesty?"
"But Mei's husband is the Chief Knight... even if she can't see him, she can always pass on a message, right?" Bernice said cautiously.
"Are you going to speak well of her again?" Röntgen glared at her, "Don't forget how she treated us!"
"Uh... didn't Teacher say that she didn't interfere with the city hall?"
"Who knows if she was lying—"
"Alright!" Kakin interrupted, "I'm not going for this so-called recommendation opportunity at all, if she's arrogant, that's her business, but we can't be like that—even if we don't agree with her views, I have to see it first before I can say anything." He huffed
a sound, "A group of fledglings who have just come into contact with drama can perform a perfect story? How could she say such a thing! If I don't go and see, I'll be intimidated by her instead. Only after seeing it can I better expose her pretense, right?"
After speaking, he slapped four exquisite tickets on the table. "So what she sent isn't viewing tickets, but a challenge! Whether you go or not is your freedom, but remember, don't criticize rashly without watching! Those who want to accept the challenge, follow me."
...
By ten o'clock in the morning, the entrance of the new theater was already bustling with noise.
Obviously, everyone was eagerly anticipating this long-promoted magic shadow, and even if they couldn't afford the high-priced tickets for the premiere, many townspeople still hoped to catch a glimpse through clever means.
However, they were surprised to find that this theater was completely different from those they had seen before. It didn't even have a window, and the whole structure looked like an overturned bowl. Not to mention peeking through the cracks in the windows, even if you pressed your face against the wall, it was difficult to hear any movement inside. At the same time, its volume was very "small," about a quarter of the size of the central square, only fifteen meters across and one story high, plus its unadorned, gray cement exterior, making it hard to believe that a groundbreaking drama was about to be performed here.
At this moment, Victor, with the same doubts, walked into the theater entrance with Linglong.
The aisle, which only allowed one person to pass through, had multiple inspection checkpoints. After handing over the God's Punishment Stone and protective dagger that he was carrying, he was finally able to enter.
The moment they pushed open the door, a bright light shone before their eyes.
"Wow..." Linglong couldn't help but exclaim.
Even Victor was quite surprised, the theater used magic stones for lighting!
He had only seen such valuable things in "Black Money."
Using it in this kind of public place in itself demonstrated the owner's strength.
Unlike its simple exterior, the interior of the theater was luxurious—four clusters of glowing magic stones hung from the arched dome, illuminating the windowless interior, and warm air flowed from underfoot, keeping the room in a warm and pleasant state. Rows of recliners were arranged around the center, spaced about an arm's length apart, so the whole hall felt particularly spacious, without any sense of crampedness.
Victor had vaguely realized that this might be the reason why the theater charged high prices—the spacious space brought a comfortable viewing experience, but it also resulted in a very low seating rate. According to the number of chairs, one performance could probably accommodate fifty to sixty people, which was far less than any formal performance. If the ticket price wasn't raised, it probably wouldn't even break even.
But the next question followed closely.
He looked around and couldn't find the stage anywhere.
In the center of the hall was a thick stone pillar, directly connected to the roof, and apart from that, there were only seats, leaving no space for any performance.
Did the Star Flower Troupe plan to dance around this pillar?