Chapter 2232: Behind the Stage

Chapter 2232: Chapter 2232: Behind the Stage

Luviya and Dorothy naturally stood up as well. They both heard the compliments from the people around them, and Luviya wasn’t stingy with her praise, but her commendation wasn’t for the actors, it was for Dorothy:

"It showcased the unity of the Royal Family members, displayed the Kingdom’s amiable and approachable nature, and quietly slipped in a few warnings to alert young ladies about choosing the right men... How did you come up with it?"

Although Dorothy was smiling, she wasn’t proud:

"Oh, come on, Luviya. This opera’s story is utterly dull, and its plot and ending are truly cliché. Even when I was still a student, I never wrote trashy scripts like this that are discarded on the streets. I merely followed someone else’s topic and submitted a tidy answer sheet, nothing worth praising. However... it seems I finally have a chance to vie for the Kingdom Literature Prize at the end of this year, for something beyond popular literature."

Luviya neither agreed nor disagreed, while Miss Writer watched the actors on stage gather for photographs with the King, and then suddenly turned to Luviya:

"Later, Shard and I will read Toby’s Summer Night Collection manuscript; would you like to join us? Don’t be shy; we’re all family."

The girl with purple eyes raised an eyebrow but shook her head with a smile:

"I won’t intrude. This is your time. Enjoy yourselves... did you bring the leaves?"

Dorothy blushed and laughed:

"Of course, I did."

As the opening opera of the banquet finally concluded after the group photo, if nothing unexpected happens, the front page headline of tomorrow’s newspaper should feature this photograph. As per tradition, His Majesty the King was about to say a few words to thank everyone for attending his birthday party, while simultaneously, the people who performed in the opera had already returned backstage to remove their makeup and change back into their original attire.

Even the Princesses needed to change clothes; though the costumes were beautiful, it would be improper to attend the banquet in such attire. Shard naturally had to take off the robe adorned with glowing little sequins, suspecting Dorothy designed it based on the "glowing Silver Great Dragon."

He didn’t wear makeup, so he just needed to change out of his costume and back into his formal wear and shoes. Lecia specifically sent two maids to assist Shard, but instead of smoothing the wrinkles on his clothes or correcting his slightly crooked tie, their more important task was leading Shard, once changed, to Lecia’s dressing room, preventing him from wandering off.

Though adjacent to Yordle Palace, and even connected by internal passageways between the two, Saint James Palace isn’t, strictly speaking, part of the Yordle Palace complex. It’s the venue specifically used by the Royal Family for hosting banquets, therefore its interior space is immense, so much so that even for occasions as significant as the King’s birthday, not every corner can be utilized.

Due to the abundance of empty rooms, Lecia was able to have a separate dressing room. When Shard entered, Lecia was standing in front of the floor mirror, having her maids remove the hoop skirt from her heavy gown. Although Lecia likely won’t wear the dress again, it’s an expensive garment that needs careful preservation, so they were dismantling it slowly.

Besides Lecia, Dorothy was surprisingly there too. But Miss Writer was merely sitting at the dressing table, touching up her makeup in the mirror. Upon seeing Shard enter, Lecia gestured for the unrelated maids to leave, keeping only those she trusted.

While outlining her eyebrows, Dorothy remarked:

"Luviya is outside now, listening to the King’s speech with Galina. By calculating the time, he’s probably discussing the difficult political climate and urging everyone to unite through the hardships of the second half of 1854."

Shard sat next to her but looked at Lecia instead of at her reflection in the dressing mirror. Thus, Her Highness the Princess spread her arms and freely displayed her figure:

"Dorothy, how would you rate our performance?"

Dorothy remained focused on touching up her makeup:

"Quite good, better than I expected. Do the Princesses of the Cavendish Family really have no acting lessons in their education?"

"Of course not, but we have to study dance, music, and at least one instrument. As for acting, that’s the Cavendish’s talent."

With that, Lecia praised Shard again:

"Knight, your delivery was impeccable. That opening line ’What business do you have with me?’ genuinely startled me. Very impressive, quite authoritative, my sisters even praised you when we left the stage."

Shard chuckled, deciding to tell them later that he used the effect of Arcane Technique.

Meanwhile, the maids had finally removed the hoop skirt, placed it properly, and began assisting Her Highness the Princess in changing out of her gown and into the blue and white dress displayed on the skirt stand nearby.

They didn’t cease their work because Shard was watching Lecia; Lecia’s personal maids were well aware of the unique relationship between the famous "Rejed’s Hamilton" and the Princess.

"If you hadn’t put me in such strange attire, I’d probably be satisfied as well."

Shard spoke again, which drew Dorothy’s discontent from the side:

"What, are you dissatisfied with the clothes I picked out?"

"Oh, Dorothy, someone as conservative and old-fashioned as Shard surely can’t handle such trendy clothing."

Lecia also joked but then asked:

"So, how was the extracurricular practice this time? You don’t have to write a report, but you need to give us a verbal summary."

So Shard straightened up:

"The changes in ancient prototype stories are all about adapting to the shifts in times and customs. People always describe and adapt those stories in ways that they can understand and that satisfy the expressions of their own thoughts, so in comparing different versions of fairy tales, one is in fact comparing different eras."

He paused to organize his wording:

"Regarding the fairy tale of ’The Mermaid Princess,’ the version Dorothy adapted into an opera clearly caters to King Larus III’s preferences. Therefore, she did not modify most of the original fairy tale, but added a twist to the tragedy, thereby highlighting the mutual care within the Royal Family, weakening the harsh and authoritative impression of the King, and enhancing the King’s benevolence and responsibility towards family."

He paused again:

"There’s nothing much to say about this version that Dorothy adapted; I suspect it won’t be long before people forget the content of this opera. Whereas the versions of fairy tales that can endure over time have emotional and value resonance characteristics that exist beyond just being close to their adapted era.

The original content of ’The Mermaid Princess’ is no longer traceable, and the current mainstream versions, though all end in tragedy, all mourn the ending of the Mermaid Princess and try to warn young women not to be blinded by love, however..."

"Say what you want to say, speak freely."

Dorothy encouraged, so Shard concluded:

"Perhaps some people may disagree with my view, but in reality, people pity the actions of the Mermaid Princess, yet they praise her persistence in love. Some young women might think that praising such stories of losing one’s life for love is actually a way for men to subtly tame young women. But I think that the kind of determination to fulfill one’s wishes at any cost, seen in the Mermaid Princess who turned into bubbles in the sunshine at the end, is also worth learning from and emulating."

"Well said."

Lecia clapped lightly, the Maid behind her helping to style her hair. Different evening dresses require different hairstyles, so she would have to redo her makeup. Her green eyes stared at Shard with a broad smile on her face:

"Though I know you are very talented, it’s a bit exaggerated that you can say so many sentences just after thinking for a second or two, isn’t it? If I didn’t know your learning situation, I would even think you had undergone prolonged and dull reading comprehension training before."

This sentence wasn’t much by itself, but the Outlander still sighed in his heart:

"It’s thanks to your excellent teaching."

"Look, Dorothy, he’s really eloquent."

The plan to look at the manuscript of ’Summer Night Collection’ was not urgent, after all, Lecia couldn’t refrain from appearing at the banquet all night. Therefore, after changing clothes, the Princess and Miss Writer went with Shard back to the banquet hall.

The Queen Diana, in her seventh month of pregnancy, also arrived here, but she was going to leave after just a brief appearance. Before Queen Diana left, and after Lecia had changed clothes and met Angelina, she took Shard and Dorothy over. Even when Lecia and Angelina got close, they had to be checked by the Queen’s maids before approaching her.

Looking at her two daughters, the now-mobility-impaired Queen held their hands respectively. She didn’t say much to Lecia, but was quite distressed about her younger daughter:

"Really, your father insists you go out of town for some recuperation. It’s just a headache, and Tobesk doesn’t lack renowned doctors, how could he arrange for you to go so far away?"

The Queen certainly knew about the Circle Sorcerer matter, she even knew Lecia went to a mysterious place to study those arts. However, His Majesty the King had no intention of revealing the House of Cavendish’s long-term collaborative relationship with Zaras Literary Academy, and considering the Queen’s pregnancy, he feared she would worry, so he didn’t explain what exactly Angelina was going to do this time.

"Mother..."

With slightly red eyes, Angelina spoke softly, extending her arms to gently embrace her. Even for the Princesses, it has recently been difficult to meet Queen Diana alone. With her delivery approaching, King Larus III, even though he already had enough offspring to stage a large opera, remained cautious. The matter of the Queen being pregnant with twins had already been diagnosed by the doctors. Of course, only Shard and Lecia knew they were having two boys.