Chapter 46

‘But I’m the only one in this room.’

Oscar thought.

‘Perhaps it’s because she has a rough idea of how the performance might turn out and she wants to avoid it.’

Just as he likes.

Time passed, the audience took their seats, and a brief announcement was made about audience etiquette.

As Oscar predicted, the younger audience members were rowdy.

Sounds of children complaining about the dark theater could be heard.

He didn’t like the sound of children talking, but he figured they were embarrassing Marlena, so he could put up with it.

Suddenly, the door at the back opened.

An entourage, one for each box seat, entered with champagne and light refreshments.

“Your Grace, a welcome drink.”

“Ah, yes.”

Oscar picked up the glass.

He swirled the glass slightly, and a pleasant aroma hit him.

Marlena Balthus. She had a good taste in alcohol, thanks to her many indulgences. Oscar savored the aroma.

And so, the curtain rose.

The entire theater went dark.

As the astonished audience roared, a bubbly female voice echoed clearly throughout the theater.

“Once upon a time, there was a piece of wood…….”

“Katarina Blanchette.”

His stomach sank at the familiarity of the voice. He still felt bad about losing her.

Well, it didn’t matter.

The end of the Balthus Theater would come soon enough.

Perhaps then, he could persuade Katarina, who had nowhere else to go.

And if that didn’t work… well, she could go back to work as a server in a restaurant.

As long as she didn’t switch to a competing company, it didn’t matter what she did.

While Oscar was lost in thought, bright spotlights descended onto the stage.

A fairly large log was lying on the stage.

“This log is the main character of the play!”

What?

It was a ridiculous development.

Oscar stopped drinking his welcome drink and leaned against the railing.

He leaned toward the stage.

There’s something about an introduction that has no end in sight that makes you wonder how the play is going to be resolved.

“And this is Antonio, the carpenter, whom everyone calls ‘Grandpa Cherry’.”

The grandfather character, his nose painted red to match the narration, appeared. He took off his hat and waved to the audience.

Then, as if distracted by a log, he looked it over and exclaimed happily.

“This is the perfect piece of wood to make the legs of a table!”

Finally, the stage lit up. It was the carpenter’s workshop, neatly decorated.

On stage, Antonio picked up his hatchet and was about to split the tree in two. As he raised it high, an unknown voice called out.

“You’re hurting me with that axe!”

It was a line from “Wood,” apparently.

Oscar sighed softly. Was this piece of wood really the protagonist? What was it trying to do?

He found himself genuinely curious about what would happen next.

Though he couldn’t admit it.

* * *
“How lucky I am to be such a good boy!”

With that last line, the play ended.

Oscar, who had been seriously watching the stage from the railing until then, relaxed his strained expression.

“As expected.”

It was quite an innovative theme, and given the tight schedule, they had managed to execute it well. However, when considering its commercial viability, there were various issues.

‘It’s evident that the lack of experience is showing.’

The biggest problem was that the play itself was too childish. Even at sixteen, such exaggerated staging and colorful set design felt too childish…

Wait a minute.

Childish?

Suddenly, something flashed through Oscar’s mind.

Could it be…?

Was inviting children, not an attempt to fill empty seats after all?

Was the target audience actually children?

Why would she do that?

Oscar gripped the railing in panic and looked down, down into the audience.

Come to think of it, the problem Oscar had anticipated didn’t occur.

Contrary to his assumptions, the kids hadn’t moved from their seats for the entire 90 minutes of the play.

Oscar’s math was off, as he had no experience with young children.

Kids have a fierce attention span when they’re engaged with something they enjoy. They’re engrossed in the medium to an extent that adults are not.

He didn’t know, and Marlena did.

‘How on earth could…….’

Oscar was confused.

‘Maybe she just got lucky.’

There was no way she would have thought this far ahead.

It was just a short thought to avoid the moment, leading to a bold investment, and it worked out well in the end.

The thought made her mildly jealous of Marlena’s luck.

Just as he was about to turn away with a frown, a child’s high-pitched voice cut through the air.

“I want to see it again! Again!”

“I want to see it again.”

“I want to see it again,” they shouted.

Yes, they did. Kids don’t get tired of a movie once, and they’ll watch it a hundred or a thousand times.

Of course, adults with geeky tendencies are also prone to this, but children are much more likely to watch their favorite works over and over again than adults.

Anyone who has raised children surely experienced struggling with boredom while reading the same book hundreds of times.

Having never had children by his side, Oscar didn’t know such characteristics well.

“Yes, yes. If you had so much fun, come see it again. I’ll have to tell the master. The young master loves it here.”

The nanny’s voice was bright.

It was easy to see why.

At least during the play, the little master doesn’t run around and cause accidents.

It’s a break for them.

There was no need to actively engage them, like reading a book. It was enough to captivate the young master’s attention on the stage, left to the actors.

‘Oh……, d*mn it.’

Oscar savored the disappointment.

He knew how developed the community of lowly people was.

The group of servants had the most significant influence by word of mouth among the nobility.

‘No.’

Oscar gritted his teeth and trudged on.

‘It’s just a whim. There’s no need to get carried away. It hasn’t proven anything yet.’

Children change quickly. Fads come and go. They’re quick to abandon what they used to like for other interests.

But what else is there for them to love right now, and where can they find something to love on this scale?

Crestwell Grand Theater?

Due to its long-standing policy of excluding children, even the playroom was abolished when it passed down its business.

Now, would the Crestwell Grand Theatre start making plays for children?

If so, it was obvious what Marlena would say.

“Do places like the Crestwell Grand Theater imitate smaller places like the Balthus Theater?”

Oscar couldn’t come up with a smooth answer to the imaginary question Marlena threw at him.

He curled his fists and shivered slightly.

He resented his father, Kieran Crestwell, more than usual.

He never wanted to be in the theater business. Why did his head have to ache like this because of such business?

Why couldn’t he have done something else?

Of course, there were disputes between the ancestors and the royal family, and a situation where Kieran had to appeal for harmlessness.

The cold air between the ducal family and the royal family was neutralized as Kieran made Princess Idvina laugh, and the tension that had lingered between them eased.

But still.

Oscar left the theater in a huff of frustration.

The hall was packed again. The performance had already ended, but people seemed to be doing something instead of leaving.

Upon closer inspection, he realized there were several lines of people waiting to get something.

“Don’t just leave yet, get your stamp book!”

An attendant yelled at the audience members who were trying to leave without taking anything.

A stamp book?

Oscar stopped and looked around to see what it was.

Six attendants were busily stamping tiny booklets and handing them out to the audience members.

“After the official opening, if you show the stamp in your stamp book, you can purchase tickets at a 10% discounted price. It’s a repeat viewing benefit.”

“You can purchase tickets at a 15% discount for third-time viewers and 30% for fifth-time viewers. Fill up your stamp 10 times and we’ll give you a special gift.”

A strategy well-targeted at the audience with a strong inclination for repeat viewing.

It was a brilliantly cute and devious policy.

Unfortunately for Oscar, Marlena Balthus clearly had business sense.

He stared at the line, seething.

But then he saw a familiar face he would have missed if he hadn’t been looking so closely.

The blood that had been boiling just a moment ago now ran cold.