Ireya had no idea what was even being perford on stage anymore, especially in the latter half when she felt completely dizzy.
Although her eyes were still on the actors, her thoughts had long drifted away, filled with the words of Priest Martina from earlier. Until the performance ended, she only clapped along with everyone else subconsciously, not even noticing when David had returned to his seat beside her.
"Let’s go, Miss Ireya. Let’s et the leader of ’Love and Honey Wine’."
"What... what..." Miss Rabbit said blankly.
"I ntioned it before, rember? He wants to adapt your dragon-slaying experience into a play and perform it across the Continent."
"Oh, right." The girl perked up a bit upon hearing this and followed David to the backstage. Halfway there, she wasn’t paying attention and bumped into a young girl selling pies, embracing her fully.
Miss Rabbit didn’t think she had exerted much force, but the young girl still fell down, and all the pies she was carrying tumbled to the ground.
"What happened?" David, who was ahead, looked back.
"Nothing, I just accidentally bumped into soone." Ireya said, as she fumbled for a gold coin from her purse and hastily handed it to the young girl.
"Here, keep the change."
The young girl, originally on the verge of tears, now broke into a grateful smile and kept thanking, "May the light of the goddess be with you, Miss Ireya."
"Mmmm..." Ireya mumbled vaguely, then hastened her steps and continued following David.
Unlike those small troupes that wander around using carts as makeshift stages, ’Love and Honey Wine’ was very particular about their venues.
They had rented an entire inn, using the second and third floors as living quarters and the first floor for makeup, props, and rehearsals. The stage was also built by themselves.
The reason they went to such lengths was that their troupe leader believed that this was the only way to ensure the quality of each dramatic performance, providing the best viewing experience for the audience.
And Ireya soon t this troupe leader who was quite persistent about his art.
To her surprise, he was a half-elf, half-dwarf, only reaching up to the girl’s waist but possessing the characteristic pointed ears and handso face of an elf.
Though he was over a hundred years old, he still looked strikingly handso.
Moreover, his clothes and the jewelry he wore must have been the latest fashion in the Royal Capital, styled perfectly on him. In comparison, Miss Rabbit felt her own gown was no different from those worn by peasant won in the countryside.
"Timothy, my friend." David began.
"Lord David, it’s an honor to see you again. This must be the Dragon Slayer Heroine, Miss Ireya, who’s beco quite famous in the Western lands recently," said the master of the ’Love and Honey Wine’ troupe.
The leader was teaching a young actress voice exercises when the two entered. He waved her off as the newcors arrived.
"Hello," Ireya said, "I just watched your staged drama ’Knight Revenge’ outside. It was truly fascinating, a masterpiece that held my gaze."
"Really? Then do you rember what Tess handed to Walt before she died..."
"Eh... I’m not very good at rembering, so details might be a bit fuzzy."
"Actually, that wasn’t just a detail, but the climax of the whole play," Timothy said lightly.
Miss Rabbit was totally embarrassed now, not knowing what to say.
Finally, David ca to her rescue, "Timothy, there you go with your old habit again, always going on and on about your plays."
"I just want to distinguish what’s a genuine critique and what’s rely courtesy so that I can continue to improve," he explained.
"No, no, no, it’s not that your play is bad, it’s my own issue. I got distracted by so things halfway through," the girl honestly confessed.
"That only proves my play wasn’t captivating enough; otherwise, why would you have been distracted?" Timothy asked seriously. "Tell where you lost focus."
"You’re too harsh on yourself and the people around you," David interrupted the theater troupe leader. "Stop dwelling on the past plays, Timothy. Aren’t you planning a new one? I have already brought you the person, and you should seize the opportunity. There are few in the Western Realm who have the chance to hear Miss Ireya narrate her Dragon Slayer story herself.
"As for , a lot has happened in the city lately, and I’m quite tied up, so I won’t stay here with you any longer."
"I heard about last night’s incident; that was terrifying," Timothy said, turning to David.
"Yes, the situation was quite perilous, but luckily, I only sustained minor injuries," David responded, nodding at Ireya before he turned and walked out of the inn.
Now, only Miss Rabbit and Timothy remained in the room.
The girl suddenly rembered sothing, hurriedly pulled out her manuscript from the previous night, and handed it over, then stood by anxiously, much like a school student waiting for midterm exam results.
Timothy took the manuscripts and after a quick glance put them aside, then asked the lady, "How much of ’Knight Revenge’ did you read?"
The girl was still waiting for Timothy’s feedback on her first story, but he shifted the conversation back to the previous play.
Seeing her painstakingly prepared materials being casually put aside, Miss Rabbit felt sowhat displeased and lost the respectful tone she had earlier, "I don’t rember."
"No worries, then let once again narrate it in full for you."
"??!"
The girl was surprised, "David said you wanted to et to adapt my story into a play."
"That’s correct, but before that, let’s discuss the recently concluded play," Timothy insisted.
Miss Rabbit, feeling a bit helpless, replied, "Then go ahead, I’m listening."
Timothy, seemingly oblivious to the girl’s discontent, continued, "The protagonist of the story, Walt, is a Knight with a beautiful wife. They were deeply in love, but in their second year of marriage, war broke out and Walt was conscripted by the Lord. This brave and loyal man imdiately went to the front lines with the army.
"After a year of prolonged warfare, Walt and his comrades finally conquered the enemy’s castle. However, when they returned ho with their hard-won victory, Walt discovered that his wife had passed away.
"The Knight was devastated. The villagers said his wife died of illness, and Walt initially believed this. But as he investigated, more and more evidence suggested that his wife had been murdered, and all signs pointed towards Walt’s good friend William.
"In anger, Walt decided to avenge his wife. He took his bow and arrow, ambushing William on a hunting path, and killed his friend with an arrow. This act, however, breached the law and led to the guards hunting him.
"While on the run, Walt was seriously injured but was rescued by a girl nad Tess. Under her care, Walt gradually recovered, and they developed feelings for each other.
"Walt then assud a new identity and settled in Tess’s village. However, not long after, war broke out again. The village n were conscripted, and fearing recognition by his forr comrades, Walt fled midway.
"When he returned to the village, he found Tess gone. Only after persistent questioning, even threatening, did an elder tell him that Tess had been taken by the Lord. It turned out that the Lord had a notorious habit of kidnapping won while their n were at war and never returned them to their hos.
"Walt then realized how his wife had died and how he had been manipulated by the Lord, even killing his best friend.
"Finally, Walt hid under a wine cart to sneak into the castle at night and killed his nesis, but his beloved was already dying. Before her last breath, she handed a lock of her hair to Walt, and he set a great fire that consud both Tess’s body and himself after her death."
After finishing, Timothy looked keenly at the girl, "What are your thoughts after hearing this story?"
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