*
Carl thought with his chin in his hand instead of working. He wondered why Sienna was so busy recently.
‘The fact that she promised to go on a picnic with kids a week later means that she’s busy until then. Why can’t she make time like this?’
Carl tried to remember if there were no special events for the upcoming week. But he couldn’t remember any in particular.
There was a royal banquet, but it was an ordinary one. It was no special occasion to hold a royal banquet for the nobles. It can’t be the reason Sienna was busy the entire week.
He raised his head to call for Pavenik to ask Sienna to find out why she was busy. Just in time he came up to Carl and handed out a document.
“Please sign here.”
The document he presented was a special order form officially released by the emperor.
The emperor’s special orders were different from any ordinary documents. As soon as Carl signed it, it took effect immediately. It was rarely used unless it was an urgent situation such as war.
“What kind of document?
“It’s a very important document, so just sign it.”
Carl thought it was strange that Pavenik asked him to sign it without saying anything, so Carl scanned the papers.
“Theatrical actors?”
Carl couldn’t understand the contents while reading it. The document called for the expulsion of theater actors from the capital. It was questionable what the actors had been doing with Pavenik.
Carl stared at Pavenik. Pavenik drooped his shoulders.
“It’s all because of Her Majesty.”
At his words, Carl frowned and asked, “Why Sienna?!”
Pavenik continued with a peep face.
“It’s been hard to see my wife’s face lately.”
“You’re always too busy to see each other often.”
At Carl’s words, Pavenik made squinty eyes. It seemed like he wanted to shout, “Why do you think I have no time to see my wife!” but Carl lightly ignored his expression.
“My wife is too busy these days, not me.”
When Pavenik said Hain was too busy these days, Carl’s eyes shone brighter. Pavenik seemed to know something about why Sienna was busy.
“Why is she busy? And why is it related to the empress?”
“I don’t know why. But I know she is staying with Her Majesty in the theater south of the palace all day.”
“Theatre?”
“Yes, and it’s not just two of them. According to a witness, apparently every actor and actress in the city passes by that place.”
“Actors… was she busy because she was preparing for a performance?”
Pavenik’s explanation cleared up some curiosities for Carl. It explained why Sienna had been busy lately. But he still didn’t know why she was hiding this from him.
Since Carl didn’t make much of a reaction he wanted, Pavenik became more passionate.
“This is not the time to be laid back! They are theatrical actors! Much younger, youthful, good looking… not that I’m saying Your Majesty lacks in appearance, but it’s still these fresh meats in front of them!”
“…”
When Pavenik was all fired up about the issue, Carl looked at him as if he was looking at the most pathetic thing in the world. At Carl’s gaze, Pavenik asked permission to sit as if he lost strength in his legs from Carl’s look. He leaned against the chair like an old man who lived all his life.
“Why are you so laid back? I’m so worried it’s driving me crazy. When I ask my wife what she’s doing, she says it’s a secret and shuts her mouth, and if I go try to see what’s happening in the theatre, they tell me not to loiter around the area…”
“You haven’t been working but going around the theatre?!”
At Carl’s scolding, Pavenik passionately defended himself.
“What importance is work right now? I think there’s an issue with my marriage. It’s all Your Majesty’s fault!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If only Your Majesty had spent a lot of time with Her Majesty, this wouldn’t have happened! Then I would be happily on my way to Ostros with my wife! We were supposed to go yesterday! I worked so hard these past few days to take my vacation! But my wife bailed on me saying that she has an urgent matter with Her Majesty. I asked an acquaintance to rent a huge mansion in Ostros, decorated with fresh flowers that my wife likes, but rather, I spent all day alone yesterday by myself.”
“Where was your daughter? Why did you spend it alone?”
“She ditched me saying that she wants to play with the prince and the princess and came to the palace with her mom… oh, this tragic loneliness of being abandoned by wife and kids…”
Pavenik cried out his complaints for a long time after that. Carl was frowning at him but listened to him until the end, nevertheless.
“Lift up your swords, you knights of the Leipsden Empire. Protect the citizens from Castro’s demons. The blood you shed will never be in vain.”
A handsome man with long blond hair raised his voice to the fullest. Then the prepared band played solemn music. Every time the drum beats, Sienna’s heart beat with tension, as if she was about to face a real battle.
All those involved in the project were satisfied with the atmosphere that felt like Carl would lead the knights to the battle right away. For this scene, they stayed up all night for several days to act, to tune in, and to put on the stage.
However, one person murmured regretfully.
“Carl doesn’t use that kind of words…”
Sienna said, shaking her head in a grumpy tone.
“We can’t help it because it’s a play. The person on stage is an actor, not the real emperor. If you keep saying that, people who are preparing for the stage will lose their motivation.”
“Oh, I’ve been rude. Was my voice that loud?”
In fact, Sienna’s murmur was only passed on to Hain, who was close by and actually buried in grand music. Nevertheless, Hain nodded. This was because Sienna kept grumbling the entire time they were preparing for the play.
The lines sounded cheesy, not normal, the emperor’s hair was not as long as the actor in the role, the battle scenes were too bland… Sienna’s requirements were many. Of course, there were some parts that needed to be listened to and corrected, but most of them were because she was too nervous to show it to Carl.
“You’re too nervous, aren’t you? Some might think the Empress is going up on that stage herself. Oh! That’s a good idea. Why don’t you direct the scene of the Empress’ appearance and get on stage yourself?”
Hain looked at Sienna with bright eyes, saying she had come up with a great idea. Sienna was fed up. She shook her head, saying it was the most terrible suggestion she had ever heard.
“I’ll throw up as soon as I get on stage.”
“Well, yeah I only watched plays from the seats, and it wasn’t easy to act when I tried. I thought I just had to memorize the lines well. Still, I thought it would be okay because the Empress was playing herself.”
Then came a small man with brown curly hair and the man who was playing Carl. The two greeted Sienna and Hain with courtesy. Sienna smiled and said to them, “I was worried a lot about the short time, but it was really great. I think it was a good thing to choose you who had a lot of experience in directing a play.”
A small man shook his hand, saying it was an over-praise. He was currently the most famous writer and director in the city. Most of the plays in the theater in the capital were written and directed by him.
His skills were reliable, but Sienna and Hain debated because most of the work he did was about love between men and women. The play to be shown at the banquet should be centered on Carl’s heroic narrative. However, they chose him because it was hard to find a writer who had a lot of experience in directing.
As a result, their choice proved to be good. Time was running out, but his team quickly acquired the actors and the band and started producing the play.
And they didn’t do sloppy work either. They worked passionately on the task, visiting the knights who participated in the battle in person and listening to their stories.
Sienna praised the actor, who stood next to the playwright with a pleased look, for his good acting. Hain made fun of Sienna by mouthing silently, “You said you didn’t like it because he didn’t have a charisma,” but she encouraged the two without looking at Hain.
The playwright and the actor hesitated to ask for a favor.
“In the battle scene. Can we use a real sword? I’m not talking about the sharpened sword, but the decorative sword, but a real one. Holding onto a stick doesn’t give it the necessary atmosphere.”
“That’s right. I think it would be better to swing a shiny sword than a wooden stick.”
Sienna knew for what reason they were asking for a real sword, but she couldn’t allow it.
There were no major threats now, both politically and externally, but they have always been careful. It is going to be a banquet attended by the royal family and aristocrats. While she didn’t doubt the playwright, she had to be careful about the small things.
“That won’t work. As you know, it’s been less than a decade since something big happened to the capital city. Moreover, this stage will be held in the middle of a banquet hall where a large number of aristocrats are gathered, so I cannot allow not only swords but any other metallic prop. So think of another alternative.”
“I think my thoughts fell short. I’ll think more about the battle scenes.”
“I know you don’t have much time, but please try.”
“I will definitely.”
They said that their break time was over and went back to their practice. Sienna and Hain took their seats too. While the two were preparing for the play, they also had to decide how to set up the theatre inside the banquet hall.
