Maylily - Chapter 31

“My family are all people who live diligently and uprightly. They are not people to be so easily spoken of by someone like you, who tramples others in a desperate scramble to hold onto your place.”

The unwavering brilliance in Maylily’s eyes as she protested with a firm voice was, for Vanessa, a moment of utmost humiliation.

She had neither received a fine education nor possessed a good background, and yet Maylily shone brighter than anyone. That radiance had always been an eyesore to Vanessa.

Even among the many outstanding talents gathered at the Roden Opera Company, Maylily’s skill stood out. From the beginning, she had been a child with talent of a different magnitude.

Vanessa had always believed there was no rival she couldn’t overcome with effort, and she had proven that belief with her own body. Yet to her, Maylily was a wall she could never surmount no matter what she did. And she realized that fact even before she had properly competed against her.

As they were both sopranos and even shared parts, Vanessa’s sense of crisis was all the greater. And so she struggled desperately to bring Maylily down, before she grew too great to be touched.

But for Maylily to pierce through the anxiety and inferiority hidden within that cowardly struggle, and worse, to expose it with her own lips before the other members….

Overcome by fury triggered by that humiliation, Vanessa raised her hand as though to strike Maylily across the face and shouted, “What? You done talking? Is this how you speak to someone giving you advice out of concern….”

“I’ll return this. I have nothing to wipe away, so I don’t need it.”

Cutting off Vanessa’s words in a tone more resolute than ever before, Maylily returned the handkerchief and walked toward the door.

To suffer such an insult from no one else but that country bumpkin. It was unthinkable. At the sight of Maylily’s back, appearing almost lofty, Vanessa burst out with a shriek.

“You’re not coming back? I’m not finished talking. Who do you think you are, to cut me off so rudely? Huh?”

As the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, the members began slipping out one by one. Amidst this, Kate, anxious, quickly grabbed Vanessa’s waist just as she lunged at Maylily.

“Stop it, Vanessa. We’re about to go on stage, what good will it do to fight with her now? If you really have something to say, do it after the performance, all right?”

No words reached Vanessa, whose rage had risen to the crown of her head. Shaking off Kate’s hand roughly, she stormed into the corridor and strode after Maylily. The sharp heels of her shoes struck the marble floor with sharp, angry clicks.

“Hey! You stop right there, you whore!”

Her voice, high and shrill like shattering glass, rang through the backstage corridor. Unheeding of the pouring gazes, Vanessa strode fiercely forward and seized Maylily’s hair from behind as she stood on the stairs leading down to the lower floor.

“Aah!”

Struck by the sudden blow, Maylily screamed and grabbed at Vanessa’s hand in panic.

“Let me go. Why are you… why are you doing this so dangerously?”

“So your precious mouth can open again now?”

Twisting her lips, Vanessa shook the handful of hair mercilessly in venting her rage. Maylily struggled to escape her grasp, but she was no match for Vanessa, who had lost her reason in anger.

Dragged this way and that, she finally lost her balance and, with a sharp scream, fell forward.

Tumbling down the stairs, Maylily collapsed onto the landing between the second and first floors. Spraining her ankle, she couldn’t easily rise, and two nearby members hurried to support her and lead her to the infirmary.

Ordinarily, no one would have interfered, but with the performance about to begin, they couldn’t simply ignore the situation. If this disturbance ruined the performance, it would disgrace not only Maylily but the entire Roden Opera Company.

Moreover, whatever the reason, violence could not be permitted within the theater, and so in this case, there were those who came forward to help Maylily.

By the time they reached the infirmary, Maylily’s left ankle was red and swollen. Diagnosing a sprain, the medical officer applied a splint and advised her to avoid moving for a week.

“Then… does that mean I can’t go on stage?”

“Unless the role you were assigned is a bedridden patient, yes.”

At the old officer’s joke, Maylily’s face grew grave as if she had been given a death sentence. A week was more than enough time to lose the position she had fought half a year to obtain. Unaware of such circumstances, the officer only smiled as if soothing a frightened child.

“It’s not so serious, so don’t worry too much. Keeping your mind at ease will help your recovery. Now, let us take a look at your forehead.”

After receiving treatment for the bruise on her forehead, which she had gotten from hitting the stairs, Maylily limped to the director to request a leave of absence.

Even then, she couldn’t shake off her lingering attachment to today’s stage and sat alone for quite some time in the empty dressing room. The night sky filling the small window was especially dark that night.

***

News of Maylily’s injury reached Hugh the following afternoon. A report from the housekeeper working at Maylily’s residence was delivered to him through David.

“Miss Aile is said to have injured her ankle and forehead. Though the injuries are minor, she has been told to rest from performances for a week.”

That evening, Hugh had an engagement with a foreign guest at the hotel, so he adjusted his schedule for the following afternoon and visited Maylily with David.

“Good day, Count of Everscourt. And Mr. Curren, it has been a while.”

Having been informed beforehand, Maylily stood at the entrance of the drawing room in a navy dress with a wide white collar. Though it was a simple outfit with nothing special, her clear skin and blue eyes stood out.

While David handed the bouquet of pink tulips and the dessert box they had prepared as gifts to the maid, Hugh and Maylily entered the drawing room.

Escorting limping Maylily to the sofa, Hugh took a seat not across from her but beside her, removing his gloves. Maylily showed a trace of surprise at this, but Hugh, leaning back against the sofa and crossing his long legs, was utterly composed.

After a short while, the maid returned with tea that had been steeped in advance and a tray of desserts. Following behind, David stood straight by the door.

“There was no need for you to trouble yourself so much, Count. Still, thank you for coming. You must be busy, so I feel sorry for burdening you.”

Once the maid had withdrawn, Maylily set the teacup on its saucer and placed it quietly upon her lap as she spoke. Slowly, Hugh turned his head to look at her.

She must surely have felt his gaze. Yet Maylily stubbornly kept her eyes fixed on the steaming teacup without moving them.

“If those words are sincere, then is it not only proper courtesy to show your face at least, to the person who made time to visit?”

“Ah… forgive me.”

At Hugh’s remark, Maylily whispered a small apology and turned her head. Just then, the breeze through the wide-open window puffed the curtain into a round shape like a cloud.

The corner of the music score placed on the ottoman by the sofa fluttered, and Maylily’s golden bangs shimmered in the sunlight. As he brushed them aside to check the wound on her round forehead, Hugh’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Who dared put a blemish on my flower?”

Though he already knew from David on the way over, Hugh asked deliberately, to make Maylily lean on him. Beneath it lay a calculation—to become her support and take his due in return.

“…I slipped and fell on the stairs.”

Did she still believe she could hide something after all that had happened? Had she instead been the sort of woman who seized the chance to exploit others shrewdly, she would have been much easier to handle.

But no, this was the side he preferred.

“My, you should have been more careful.”

It had been Hugh himself who had stoked the dying embers of rumor with fresh fuel, hoping for Vanessa Fritz’s next outburst, yet the sight of Maylily’s pretty face marred with an injury left him displeased.

As he stroked Maylily’s hair, Hugh pondered how he ought to deal with Vanessa Fritz. If the hunting dog did not drive its prey intact into his hands but tore it to shreds at will, then it was no longer of use.

“Does it hurt much?”

“It only makes moving a little inconvenient; it doesn’t really hurt. The wound on my forehead has already healed a lot too.”

“Even so, your complexion doesn’t look well.”

“That is only because I feel… a little anxious.”

“About what?”

After hesitating for a moment, Maylily finally said, “I worry that my sudden absence may have caused problems for the performance, and at the same time, I fear the stage might go on so perfectly without me that my absence will be forgotten. These constant unworthy thoughts torment me.”

Before Hugh, whom she had always faced with wary caution, Maylily was, for the first time, revealing her deepest thoughts. From that night onward, her heart began to crack, and it was not difficult to see that now was the moment to slip into that fissure.

As she anxiously fidgeted with the teacup, Hugh’s bluish-gray eyes fixed on her with a faint smile. Pretending kindness was all too easy for him.