Chapter 56
Agnes eventually let out a sigh as she arrived in front of the Bel-Air townhouse.
Because Lucian had been left behind at the trading company due to the mountain of new documents Adrian had dumped on her, Agnes was alone today.
However, she was fine even without a companion.
Since she already knew that this was the residence of the owner of the Grand Theater, finding her way here was not difficult.
The Bel-Air townhouse was modest yet dignified.
The gleaming white walls, symmetrical pillars, and stairs flowing in elegant curves resembled a stage set of a theater.
Agnes looked at the panoramic view of the townhouse as if enchanted, then dropped her gaze to the ground near the doorway.
Faint traces remained on top of the dry fallen leaves.
They were wheel tracks from a wheelchair, identical to the one she was using.
Beside them, marks poked by the tip of a cane continued at regular intervals.
Agnes’s gaze moved further down.
Next to the threshold was a small raised pattern that could be felt with the fingertips—a Braille marking was engraved there.
‘……Are they someone who has lost their sight?’
Just then, the sound of an amiable conversation reached her from behind.
“That’s what I’m saying. People look down on me because I can’t see. Do they think I can’t hear either!”
It was the voice of an elderly woman.
“What did the people at the market say this time?”
“They said things like I can’t even watch a performance properly anymore, or that I’ll put just any dancer on the stage. They were whispering away without knowing a thing!”
“My grandmother is truly angry.”
“Those Bardo trading company people are the same. Trying to shove that Floris or whatever into my theater by pushing bribe money.”
A young man’s refined laughter blended with the elderly anger. He seemed to be the old woman’s grandson.
“The Bardo trading company has changed too. It wasn’t like this back when the previous master was in charge. How sad she would be if she saw this.”
“You said the previous master was your friend, right, Grandma?”
“Yes, she was a very bold and spirited girl. Hmph, anyway, I just ruined my mood by going out for nothing!”
“Still, you shouldn’t stay home every day. You should take a walk once in a while.”
“Do you think I don’t know just because I’m blind? When I go out, everyone whispers behind my back. Honestly, humans are so anxious to ostracize anyone who is even a little different from them!”
The old woman’s voice was tinged with resentment toward those with narrow perspectives.
Agnes listened to those words in silence.
And she had an intuition.
The owner of that angry voice was indeed the owner of the Grand Theater, Sercadia.
A moment later, the owners of the voices revealed themselves.
And Agnes could not help but be quite surprised when she faced the person who appeared to be Sercadia’s grandson.
It was because the fresh green eyes that grew wide upon recognizing her were familiar.
It was Kain.
“Oh?”
Sercadia raised her head at the small sound that leaked out from Kain.
“What is it, Kain? Did someone come?”
Agnes shook her head slowly.
It was a sign for him not to reveal that she had come.
“……It’s nothing. It must be a cat.”
Kain quickly made an excuse.
“Is that so? Let’s just hurry and go inside. I’m exhausted and want to rest quickly.”
“Yes, I understand, Grandma.”
Not long after Sercadia disappeared into the townhouse, Kain came back out the door.
“That…… you were surprised, weren’t you?”
A mixture of subtle tension and welcome was on Kain’s face.
Although she couldn’t point it out exactly, an awkward aura flowed from Kain.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance. I knew you and my grandmother were discussing a contract, Agnes. But…… the situation was a bit like that back then.”
At those words, Agnes nodded quietly.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
After a moment of silence, Agnes asked if Chloe had pressured Sercadia to force Floris onto the stage.
She had hoped it wasn’t the case.
But it was the truth.
And he said that was the decisive reason why the relationship with the Bardo trading company had soured.
“So you are trying to terminate the contract with our company because of that incident.”
“That’s right. My grandmother was very angry. She is a person who holds the conviction that the stage is not a place moved by money or names.”
Indeed.
Sercadia was that kind of person.
The first female troupe leader in the Empire, and the person who built up the Grand Theater based solely on artistic merit without the support of nobles.
She had never succumbed to pressure from the Imperial Family or the nobility, putting on works of high artistic quality and dancers with outstanding skills even if they were unknown, rather than works and dancers who had received their lobbying.
Chloe had tarnished Sercadia’s conviction.
“……I should apologize first. I will also immediately fix the internal procedures of the company so that the same thing never happens again.”
It seemed today’s visit would be a long shot.
Even if she knocked on the door in this state, she would be committing a discourtesy no different from Chloe.
Because it would be the same as ignoring Sercadia’s will.
‘What should I do.’
How could she open Sercadia’s heart, which was already closed, so that she could prepare for the eve of the festival?
Agnes’s worries deepened.
Just then, the paper bag Kain was holding caught her eye.
The bag was full of figs and fruit covered in white powdered sugar.
“Kain. May I ask you something?”
“Of course! Should I tell my grandmother that you are here, Agnes? If it’s my request, she might allow it.”
“No, that’s okay.”
Agnes shook her head.
That was something she had to resolve herself.
“More importantly, does Sercadia like figs?”
Kain’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
He gave an awkward laugh, clutching the bag tightly.
“Actually, my grandmother has a picky palate. She said the Bardo trading company sold limited-edition fig tarts about twenty years ago.”
So he had searched every single dessert shop to buy fig tarts, but Kain added the explanation that Sercadia had rejected them all, saying they were not the taste she wanted.
“So I tried to make them myself, but it’s not easy.”
“……I see.”
“She hasn’t had any energy since the theater collapsed, so I thought she might smile a bit if I made her even this.”
Kain’s curly hair drooped down dejectedly.
Agnes recalled a product related to tarts she had seen in the old company records.
She thought she had seen that the previous master of the company had provided the recipe herself.
Perhaps she could find out what the recipe for the tart Sercadia missed was.
“Kain, I think I can help you. When I send the next written reply, I’ll send some fig tarts along with it.”
“Really? If you do that, Grandma will be truly happy!”
Kain grabbed Agnes’s hand suddenly with a joyful face.
Then, when Agnes slightly pulled her hand away, he was startled and apologized repeatedly.
“I’m sorry, I was just so happy.”
“No, it’s okay.”
In an instant, Kain’s lips wavered.
He looked like he had something to say, just as he did before.
“Kain, you have something to tell me, don’t you?”
“Ah, that is……”
Kain kept rubbing his face, seemingly unable to speak easily.
“That day when the terror happened……”
He spoke cautiously.
“Actually, I could have gone to save you, Agnes, but I hesitated. I was worried my feet would get hurt because there were so many glass fragments on the floor. In that worry, my body just froze for a moment. So I just…… watched the Duke dive under the collapsing ceiling.”
Agnes said nothing.
Instead, she nodded very slightly.
She had felt it since their first meeting, but Kain was a good person.
Honestly, she was just a stranger to him since they had only met a few times.
To be that sorry just because he hesitated to save her.
“To be honest, I was so ashamed that I haven’t had the nerve to face you, Agnes.”
“It’s okay. I would have been the same. To a dancer, feet are more important than anything else.”
“Even so……. Ah……! I’m really pathetic, aren’t I? It’s the first time I realized I’m such an egotistical fellow.”
Kain ruffled his hair messily as if embarrassed, then crouched down beside the wheelchair.
“I told you it’s not true. Just the fact that you’ve kept this in your heart means you aren’t an egotistical person, Kain. Usually, people don’t even have this kind of self-reproach. They just move on, saying it was a matter that had nothing to do with them.”
Kain, who had been burying his face between his arms, laughed as the corners of his eyes curved softly.
“You are a truly good person, Agnes.”
“Probably not?”
It was a remark made with sincerity. For some reason, Kain’s laughter grew louder.
His laughter, which seemed to have become a bit lighter, scattered into the air.
“Kain.”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever been to the festival eve?”
“Of course. It’s a festival that everyone in the Empire looks forward to every year. Of course I’ve been.”
Agnes smiled thinly.
He didn’t know that such a person was right in front of him.
“Then what about the fireworks? Have you seen them in person?”
“Naturally. They are extremely lavish.”
“Is the sound…… very loud?”
“I suppose so.”
“What about the smell? Does it smell strongly of gunpowder?”
“Uh…… yes?”
Looking at Agnes, who kept asking obvious things, Kain tilted his head as if puzzled.
Agnes cast her gaze downward.
Andrew’s words were not entirely wrong.
If fireworks exploded, she might truly faint in the middle of the square and become the laughingstock of the entire Empire.
‘By the time of the festival…… can I really overcome this?’
A shadow settled on Agnes’s face.
Behind her, a jet-black carriage was approaching the townhouse without her noticing.
Behind the window of the carriage engraved with the crest of the House of Duke Valheim, jet-black hair that resembled the night was shimmering.
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