Maylily - Chapter 87

“This is a headache.”

Martin let out a deep sigh, folded the letter he’d been holding, and set it down on the desk. Beneath it lay yesterday’s newspaper.

A rising star lighting up the night at the Roden Opera House

It was an article lavishly praising Maylily Aile for her impressive first performance as the Roden Opera Company’s prima donna. The day before yesterday, after Maylily took the stage in “Agnes” in Vanessa Fritz’s place, the public and media attention on her had exploded.

And at a time like this, he was being told to expel Maylily from the company.

It was the instruction written in the letter he’d received yesterday from a powerful patron. No matter how much Maylily was a talent too precious to lose, he couldn’t go against the wishes of the patron who donated the largest amount of funding to the opera company.

If there was one small consolation, it was that if the man had decided to block Maylily’s activities, there was no need to worry about her being snatched away by another opera company.

It was just as he folded the letter, whose contents wouldn’t change no matter how many times he read it, and put it into his desk drawer.

“You called for me, Director?”

Maylily, whom he’d just sent someone to summon, entered the director’s office with a bright smile.

“Come here and sit down, Maylily.”

Martin sat facing Maylily on the reception sofa that he rarely ever offered to company members.

“The weather’s gotten quite chilly lately, but your clothes seem too thin.”

“Oh, I left the coat I wore over here in the cabinet. Thank you for worrying about me.”

Maylily answered with a shy smile at his attempt to loosen the mood. Seeing that innocent face, he regretted not getting straight to the point.

Saying unpleasant things, bitter things, was not difficult for Martin in the slightest. Notifying someone of expulsion was the same. That was the director’s role.

Even so, this time the circumstances were unusual, and the words didn’t come easily. Martin had to handle the awkward task of giving Maylily, who’d saved both him and the Roden Opera Company from crisis, a punishment rather than a reward.

“Maylily, don’t blame yourself for what I’m about to say. It’s not your fault at all.”

“…Yes, Director.”

As the atmosphere in the conversation suddenly grew heavy, Maylily’s expression turned serious in an instant. Martin spoke to her in the gentlest voice he could manage.

“You can’t continue your singing career at the Roden Opera Company anymore.”

And so, Maylily was expelled from the Roden Opera Company once again. Director Fritz explained it was a decision from the higher-ups. The only thing above the internal organization was the imperial family, who’d founded the theater.

It seemed extremely unlikely that they would’ve intervened in her employment issue. With high probability, Maylily guessed that an outside patron had gotten involved in this.

Who could it be? Who did she need to beg for forgiveness?

Sitting by the reception room window overlooking the Fez River, where the leaves had started to turn, Maylily suddenly remembered what Greta had said.

“I’ve heard rumors that the patron is the Marquess of Rowford, and thanks to him, she even took on a few leading roles.”

“So I think it’d be best to be careful not to clash with Miss Fritz.”

Since it happened after her appearance in “Agnes,” had Vanessa asked the Marquess of Rowford for a favor? Or maybe it was the marquess’s decision because he found it unforgivable that Maylily had stolen her role.

When she took the stage in Vanessa’s place, she’d been prepared to some extent for their relationship to worsen, but she’d never imagined backlash like this, not even in her dreams.

Either way, I need to go see Vanessa and solve this.

She decided to leave asking Count Everscourt as a last resort. She didn’t want to become even more dependent on him.

The next day, Maylily went back to the theater. She didn’t have time to dawdle if she wanted to return before her vacancy was filled.

It happened to be the day of Vanessa’s performance. When Maylily arrived to match the preparation time and knocked on the door of her dressing room, a short reply came from inside, “Yes.”

“Could you spare me a moment?”

Vanessa glanced over Maylily, who cautiously peeked her face through the crack in the door, then tipped her raised chin. She was in the middle of having her hair done, seated at the vanity.

“What brings you here?”

Vanessa asked indifferently after sending the dresser out. She kept looking into the mirror without even sparing Maylily a glance, standing by the door.

“I came to apologize.”

Vanessa turned her head at the calm answer and stared as if pressing her to continue. Maylily tightened her hands, folded politely together, and swallowed hard.

“If you were displeased about me going onstage for Agnes, I’m sorry.”

“What’s with apologizing for that now? You were praying with your hands clasped that I’d have an unlucky accident, watching rehearsals and practicing the songs.”

“I swear I didn’t wish for anything like that. I just didn’t want to miss even a chance that came by accident…. If I hurt your feelings, I wanted to apologize.”

In this line of work, roles being replaced happened often, and it wasn’t wrong. But from the standpoint of the one being replaced, it was more than enough to feel unpleasant, so Maylily bowed her head and apologized.

“Fine. If you’re done talking, get out.”

Vanessa waved a hand toward the door, brushing off the apology.

“Um, well….”

Maylily hesitated, bit her lower lip, let go, and forced herself to continue.

“There won’t be anything like that again, so could you… speak well of me to the Marquess of Rowford so I can return to the stage?”

“What?”

Vanessa’s voice rose at the unexpected request.

So you think you got expelled because of me? Vanessa stared at Maylily with an absurd look, then crossed her arms and changed her expression. It was a perfect chance to pay her back for the humiliation last spring.

“Kneel and apologize. Then I’ll think about it.”

The moment the words fell, Maylily knelt in front of Vanessa. As if there was nothing she couldn’t do as long as she could return to the stage.

“I’m really sorry. Please.”

Her eyes, looking up at Vanessa, were full of desperation and urgency. That made the situation even more enjoyable.

“Hey, you country bumpkin.”

Vanessa giggled as she poked Maylily’s forehead with her index finger.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“….”

At the nonsensical words, Maylily only blinked quietly. What an idiot. The smile on Vanessa’s lips deepened.

“You’ve got one of the richest men on the continent as your patron, so how could I possibly drag you down? If I touch you, it’s the same as provoking your patron. There’s no reason to pick a fight with someone I can’t beat first. Anyway, the role of Agnes is bound to come back to me.”

The Marquess of Rowford, Vanessa’s patron, was also a wealthy noble, but he wasn’t comparable to the Count of Everscourt.

An era where money was converted into power. The Count of Everscourt was said to stand shoulder to shoulder with Riverton’s nine dukes. Getting on a man like that’s bad side was nothing but a self-defeating move that added a new hardship to your life. It was a lesson she’d learned last spring.

“Who inside this theater would dare touch a man even the imperial family finds difficult?”

Maylily’s face was confused at the truth she was dimly realizing. As if delivering the final blow, Vanessa said it clearly right to her face.

“It was your patron who pulled you down, you idiot.”

Lie. Maylily muttered slowly, dazed as if she’d been struck hard on the head.

“Why would I lie when it’d be exposed right away if you ask the Count of Everscourt?”

Vanessa had, the day before yesterday, happened to see the Count of Everscourt’s secretary coming out of the director’s office as she passed through the corridor. And the next day, Maylily was expelled. It was far too easy to infer the cause-and-effect between the two.

“I heard the amount of sponsorship he paid this summer was enormous. Then why did only insignificant supporting roles fall to you? You’re someone with talent even the director acknowledged, you know.”

Sponsorship not for a singer’s rise, but for her fall. The wealthy, beautiful patron Maylily had once been the envy of all the members for was a man twisted badly somewhere.

She wanted to see Maylily’s face despairing in front of the dream he’d shattered as soon as possible. Vanessa laughed as she patted Maylily’s shoulder, her head finally drooping.

“See, you should’ve latched onto a patron that fit your station. You got in trouble because you swallowed something too much for you to digest.”

She’d been expecting her to collapse on the floor and sob.

But after taking several deep breaths to steady her breathing, Maylily rose from her knees with composure.

“Thank you for telling me the truth. I won’t forget this kindness.”

Then, after forcing a smile, she left the dressing room. At a reaction that missed her expectations by a mile, Vanessa stared at the closed door with a blank face.

***

After leaving the theater and coming out onto the main road, Maylily consciously tried to put strength into her legs and walk straight. Even so, because her legs kept trembling, she couldn’t go far. She turned into a side alley and stood there, bracing herself against the wall of a building.

Where had it gone wrong, exactly? She’d only wanted to protect her dream. Was it wrong from the start that she’d held a man beyond her station in her heart?

In the jumble of memories of the Count of Everscourt rising up, her vision blurred. Maylily stopped thinking and tried to swallow her tears. If she burst into tears here, it felt like she’d collapse completely.

After wiping the corners of her eyes, filled with tears, with a handkerchief and steadying her breath for several minutes, she finally regained her composure.

“Ugh.”

All at once, her stomach lurched and nausea surged up. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, so she only dry-heaved for a long while before it stopped. Maylily straightened her bent waist.

And just as she was about to go back out to the main road, a thought flashed through her mind, and she froze like stone.

No way….

After briefly weighing something in her head, she dropped heavily to the ground. The sky spread above the narrow alley was, for some reason today, unusually blue. In her eyes that held that color, a hollow light surfaced, as if her soul had drained out.