Chapter 14
Assumptions swirled in the air. Strong ticket numbers made the buzz inevitable.
That haul scarcely dented her towering liabilities, though, Lady.
Fair point. Still, brighter horizons beckoned beyond.
Alfredo, pull the ledger on her burdens.
He delivered the ledger swiftly into the Count’s grasp.
The Count offered it forward.
Silence gripped her as she scanned the page, forehead knitting tight.
Worse than imagined.
Expected, really. Beyond venue costs, it tallied loans for glittering trinkets, smashed fine china from a boozy mishap, daily shelter and sustenance fees.
Even the chocolate savored?
Her features twisted faintly, finger jabbing the ledger’s odd final tally amid escalating oddities.
Upper entries rang true enough.
Louisa’s excesses demanded reckoning. Impostor or not, debts called for settlement.
But that servant’s gesture yesterday—sweet relief after weary homecoming—carried a tab?
Blatant plunder under open skies.
Intent on squeezing every morsel, Count?
Arno Dienche’s venom toward Louisa defied depths.
Disappointment clouded her.
Strangely, his gaze skittered aside, throat clearing in faint chagrin.
Ahem. Standard fare, no? Coin demands forging, Lady.
Sound logic, delivered so parsimoniously.
Clear the slate first. Channel energies into the script, not annulment distractions.
Annulment demands priority.
Undeterred, he barreled ahead.
Necklace gleam and podium poise fetch thirty million derk. White Priors warranted extra anyway—twenty million atop, fifty total.
A nod to Alfredo dropped a bulging coin purse nearby.
…
Fifty million derk.
Grandfather’s blade ransom—the imperial lifeline fund—resurfaced vividly.
Fate’s wry jest registered deep.
This stake joins the repayment pile?
Composed query met confirmation.
Thirty million mine, twenty million pour-in… that too?
Nod again.
Ticket windfall hits thirty million. Offset twenty leaves ten million net.
Arithmetic snapped crisp.
Thirty million derk transfixed.
Laborer’s decade drudgery in this age.
Her creation.
Born of drama.
South Korean dreams dared not stretch so.
Fortunes scripted here.
Body-snatch twist gleamed serendipitous.
Pathways unfurled. Independence loomed free of antagonists.
Face plunged to trencher, meat vanishing in frenzy.
Puzzlement creased the Count’s face.
Fuel for haste. Cast drill summons.
Quiet thickened, uneasy.
Coach viewport framed racing thoughts.
Odd duo: solely Leo alongside.
Town bound for garb tweaks pre-run-through.
Juliet’s garb reborn merited Romeo’s glow-up.
Funds liberated visions.
Investments unlocked infinities.
Future scripts craved rigging upgrades.
Show grind delayed overhauls, yet platform polish urged.
Splintered boards groaned fatally in shadows, stealth steps terror-laced.
Core quest: summon dedicated players, forge company.
Tryouts queued, coffers deepened for talent bloom.
Hunt visages primed for immersive craft.
Performance pulsed actor’s domain.
Hone a beacon, hoist average to legend, buoy disasters.
Anchor roles with steadfast crew deepened layers.
Rudy’s scramble hires screamed fleeting.
Rehearsal slacks betrayed itinerancy.
Leo Pierre danced amateur ranks.
Marquis Burbage’s favor crowned him knight soonish—year out.
Hasten via glare; maneuvers plotted.
Snag demanded encore script.
Paired with him.
Charisma cloaked his stiff delivery.
“You.”
Leo beamed, quiet fracturing.
Bored of chill ride already?
Soloquy stumbles betray half-learned verse—hammer post-tailor. Infuse Romeo’s rapture; banish line-lost glances.
Mind on critique?
Obviously.
Suspected lip-lock replay, Mistress.
Insolent chattel.
Jolt heaved the coach.
Tumble loomed toward him.
Arm snared secure.
Reflex praised.
Gratitude sparked.
Ephemeral.
Tug drew her flush.
Seat claimed his thighs.
The nerve.
Minor sway escalated intimate.
Eye-crinkled murmur: Feigned flops onto thrall court hazard, Mistress.
Amber stare challenged brazen guile.
Tales forewarned no such wild card.
Hatch yawned.
Lady, wheel woes block us. Foot it onward.
Driver’s stare ballooned.
Latch lingered half-sprung.
Dienche-crest crowd murmured, pinning her thrall-straddle tableau.
Her…
That figure.
Spot on.
Louisa Messena.
Wayward royal, carriage-tangled in scandal’s embrace.
Teeth ground; exit scramble hastened.
Tailor sprint before barrages.
Blur rushed.
Pardon.
Eyes sealed versus strike.
Impact? Pierce?
Nil stung; lids parted.
Scarlet petal thrust.
Performance enchanted.
Blank gaze held.
Freckles framed quivering offer.
Timing this?
Furrow deepened; her hue drained.
Companion piped—peer-aged, easy rapport.
Quit it, Elize. Cannibal whispers swirl.
Slander crested.
Inner mirth stirred.
Elize faltered back: No feasts spied. Stage debut glimpse. Utterly captivated.
Bashful curve unsettled.
Juliet veil cloaked stains, atonement threadbare.
Louisa affinity? Blindside.
Excessive leap.
Scorn suited her canon.
Hive mind decreed.
Primal decree.
Ocular truth trumped hearsay.
This one proved it.
Petal locked vision.
Forgive ire…
Scowl misread, pullback loomed.
Seized bloom firm.
Gossip deaf?
Um?
Icy clip curled her frame.
Radiance hoards solely.
Th-that…
Chin lifted; dome bowed, bloom deemed drab.
Grasp pivoted.
Lopsided smirk dawned.
Tribute worthy this—not trifles.
Cheek grazed soft.
Seal broke; orbs flared.
Radiance defines you.
Blush erupted contact-hot, cresting ridges and shells.
Truth spoken.
Solid canvas.
Plebe stock. Bold contours begged pigment punch, quirk parts.
No prima snap, craft spanned spectra.
Verdict pure from rosebud lips.
Revulsion thawed post-Leo lock.
Bliss curved: Spellbound truly? Tryout calls.
Tryout?
Indeed. Ensemble rises. Yours: bespoke forge-time.
Grind veiled; nuance sailed past.
Rumpus thud trailed.
Leo flagged: Press on. Run-through dwindles.
Gossip churned.
Curses halved; trances halved:
Sis… enlist me…
Enlist how?
Troupe seeds would sprout flocks.
Audition inferno unforeseen, satisfaction brimmed.
