My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 93
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 93
* * *
After being interrupted, the play finally resumes.
Although it takes quite a bit of time and preparation before the actors can get back on stage.
"During the play, an egg flew in the direction of His Highness the Crown Prince. Due to safety concerns, we will confiscate all fake eggs."
The theatre staff collects all the fake eggs from the audience. I sit still in my seat and watch them do so.
As I stare, I remember the old lady who greeted me when I first arrived at the booth.
She had a lot of eggs, I thought, she may be sad to see them go….
With that thought in mind, I stand up and cast my gaze towards the old lady's seat.
But to my surprise, her basket was empty. Surely the theatre staff hadn't taken the eggs from the booths yet?
Did they just throw all those eggs in the meantime? But don't they usually think about when they're going to throw next and throw them in moderation?
Ah.
When my thoughts reached that point, I realised something. I have a vague idea of who the Crown Prince bribed.
Just then, the old lady makes eye contact with me winks.
Shuddering, I give her a quick bow and return to my seat.
"Her Majesty's former nanny." The Crown Prince whispers to me.
"...."
I ask no more questions.
Meanwhile, the audience seems to be unhappy the play has been interrupted as they can no longer throw eggs.
"You're breaking the mood when pause the play like that!"
"Plus, we can't throw eggs! We came to see this theatre instead of another one just to throw eggs!"
The owner of the theatre announces to the audience, "I will refund you all the money you paid for the tickets and the eggs."
No one complained anymore.
After a brief back-and-forth, the play resumed.
"Enjoy the second act." Hubert bows to the Crown Prince and me.
Across from him, Carberry was speechless. I could see that he was chewing on his lip, thinking about how to handle this situation.
Even though this is beyond repair.
Carberry was about to be kicked out for the most outrageous act of dereliction of duty in the history of the Imperial Knights.
Well, it's none of my business anyway.
I don't feel pity for the man who can't do his job.
"Would you like some?" Phoebe offers me a drink. It was a refreshing Meron Mint Ade with ice cubes.
"Thanks." Taking the drink from her, I relax to watch the rest of the play.
The rest of the story goes like this.
The main character, Asilia, reappears as a ghost and seeks revenge on the Duke of Desirune and Serena for betraying her.
In the end, Duke Desirune misses her for the rest of his life and dies of regret, while Serena dies of illness and a broken heart.
As someone who hadn't read the original novel, this ending was quite a shock.
So… everyone dies? What the hell is this? What kind of ending is this?
The curtain call and the applause of the audience members fill the theatre. Everyone seems to be pleased with Asilia's successful revenge.
"Is this how the story ends in the novel?" I asked Phoebe when the applause died down. People are already leaving the theatre.
"Yes. It's exactly the same as the original novel."
"I feel sorry for the main characters."
Phoebe pauses. "The main characters...?"
‘The main ‘characters’? There's only one main character, Asilia.’
Hmm?
I can only scratch my head in disbelief. Aren't there two main characters?
"Asilia, Duke Desirune, and Lady Serena. Aren't they the main characters?"
Phoebe disagrees. "I don't think so. Duke Desirune and Serena are the villains."
"Even if they're villains, they're still the main characters. And Duke Desirune and Serena were in love with each other."
"But they were having an affair."
"I'm not saying that Duke Desirune and Serena were good, but they had their own stories...."
I'm just about to explain my point of view when the Crown Prince leans over and speaks to me.
"It's just the two of you talking about the play, so I feel lonely. What do you think, Kayla, did you like it?"
"I didn't like the end very much." I blurt out.
I cringed. Even if Asilia had succeeded in her revenge, it was a bleak ending with no one happy in the end.
"I agree. I didn't like the ending either."
The Crown Prince runs a hand through his hair. Under the bright lights of the theatre, every strand of his fine hair glistened.
"She was so dumb she couldn't see it at all."
"She...?"
As I stare in bewilderment, the Crown Prince begins to explain.
"Asilia must have been in love with Duke Desirune, so shouldn't she have tried to keep him and Lady Serena apart by any means necessary from the beginning?"
"That's true… but Duke Desirune and Lady Serena have been close since childhood, so it would have been impossible to separate them."
The Crown Prince chuckles at my reply. "Asilia should have taken that into account and sabotaged their relationship."
"How?"
"There are many ways, such as paying someone to leak a scandalous story about the Duke of Desirune so that Serena would be forced to distance herself from him, or travelling with the Duke of Desirune to a faraway place where Serena is not present."
"...."
Hearing the words slip from the Crown Prince's mouth, I feel a strange sensation. Perhaps it's because I've overheard his thoughts about pushing Lancer and Artberry together. I can't take his words lightly.
'After all, you're the one who offered me a contractual engagement first….'
I have to face it: The Crown Prince, despite his good and innocent appearance, was a man full of schemes and tricks.
Now that he's in a contractual relationship with me, he will be good to me, but what if he becomes my enemy?
I don't even want to think about it. I must never make him hate me.
I slowly rise from my seat, vowing to never make a mistake once the contract is over.
"Shall we go now?"
"Yes. The play ended later than planned. You must be tired. We better get home."
‘Please tell me you're not tired.’
I'm puzzled by his attitude. How am I supposed to understand these contradictory words and thoughts?
I'm at a loss as to how to answer him.
"I suggest you return to the Kaerun Duchy before it's too late," Phoebe says after checking the time.
Coming from no one else but my handmaiden, I can't ignore her advice. "I'm sure you have plans for tomorrow as well, Ryan. I suggest you retire to the palace to rest."
"Yes. I will do as you say." Even though he says that, he looks disappointed.
I wonder why he's doing this.
No way.
Does he like me?
I'm not dense. It's not hard to wonder at this point. He wanted to spend more time with me, and even suggested we go to the theatre together.
And then there's the fact that he's secretly keeping Lancer in check.
Doesn't this mean that the Crown Prince is somewhat interested in me?
But…
We've proposed a fake engagement.
I still remember what the Crown Prince has said to me.
He declared that he was not interested in romance and he had no intention of falling in love with me.
I can't believe that someone who has spoken about that so casually now has taken a liking to me.
He must be trying to use me somehow. Could it be that he intends to use my position as the next Duke of Kaerun?
Having witnessed the Crown Prince's mind working so calculatingly, I can't help but suspect him.
It's a reasonable suspicion.
* * *
I part with the Crown Prince. Before I got into the carriage, I turned around, just in case.
I want to tell the Lancer that I'm sorry for what happened. If I can't apologise to him, at least I want to say goodbye.
But Lancer is nowhere in sight.
"Let's go, my lady."
"...Yes."
Eventually, I climb into the carriage and head for home with Phoebe.
When I arrive at the Kaerun Duchy, my parents are waiting for me.
"It's late, aren't you supposed to be asleep?" I ask. I've never seen any of my parents awake at this hour.
"There's something I wanted to talk to my daughter about."
"It's late, why don't we do it tomorrow?"
"No, we need to do it now." My mother tugs on my hand.
I don't understand, but I follow her lead anyway.
We arrived at my parents' office.
"Skyla, why don't you explain to me what the hell this is all about?"
As soon as I sit down, my mother thrusts a book at me. The title makes me widen my eyes.
‘The Magician's Third Leg.’
...Why is that in my mother's hand?
