Chapter 67: The Truth Behind It All
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Right, the box!
What was wrong with his brain? Why would he obediently get into the box as instructed?
He felt that he was not playing with his full deck of cards.
There was no way he was going to perform on stage later, and since he was planning to escape, why would he be cooperating with the magician?
He was probably too distracted by the gathering of the mages that he totally forgot about escaping.
There was no point for him to stay since he had identified the mages in the theater. He did not intend to leap out of the box, enthusiastically take Henry into an embrace and shout, "Oh, my lad, I’m a mage too!", which could lead the thirty over mages backstage to break into a group hug and sob dramatically. No. Definitely not that.
The initial curiosity died down too.
So what was he still doing here?
He should flee!
Benjamin immediately started plotting his escape from the theater.
He first used Water Particle Detection to have a sense of the situation outside the box. Henry was standing outside the box, and he was having an intense discussion while facing another mage who looked like a magician.
Well, he could not get out of the box. All he could do was to wait for Henry to leave the vicinity.
He had no idea when would the performance start, but judging from the atmosphere backstage, it probably would start in another 10 minutes or so. Before this, Suits was blabbering about how the show would be starting soon, but the ‘soon’ he was referring to was probably the same as the word ‘soon’ in ‘I’ll be there soon’.
There was no use for him to be anxious now. He might as well be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity.
Also, Dick!
How could Benjamin forget about him.
Suddenly, Benjamin was hit with an epiphany. Something was off.
How was it possible for Dick to be oblivious about this? This was Fulners’ new theater, and the mages were most probably gathered by the Fulners. Benjamin would never believe that the Fulners’ intention was innocent; why would they gather all the mages at a place and start a much-anticipated premier in this theater?
What were they conspiring?
If it really was just for a show, was such a magnificent lineup really necessary?
Benjamin was suddenly reminded by the proverb, ‘Coming event cast their shadows before them’. He broke into a new territory without any preparation. No matter what happened tonight, it would be a startling ‘premier’ from the Fulners because they put in so much effort for the preparation.
The hierarchy of the nobles in the kingdom was as follows: The Lithurs, affiliated with the Church, had the highest status; the Fulners, though had the same ground with the Lithurs due to their their business and commercial achievements, was always suppressed by the Church.
Would it be that the Fulners were fed up with the situation they were in? Were they preparing to join forces with the mages?
Just when Benjamin was filed with myriad of thoughts, three crisp bangs were heard which pulled him back into reality - someone knocked on the box three times.
Benjamin was bewildered because he was interrupted from his thoughts.
Had the performance started already? Although he was puzzled, he still walked out of the box just as Henry told him to.
"Yes! That’s it! That’s the feeling that I want!" Benjamin stood at the side of the box, his face lit with surprise, "That was great! When you are on stage, do this exact expression when you get out from the box. Then, leave the stage from the door to your right. Your mission will be completed then."
Benjamin was speechless. So this was a rehearsal, huh.
That was a random rehearsal; something that was done because Henry felt like it. Was this the rumored free-spirited enthusiasm of an artist?
"Great, let’s do a rehearsal again!" Without considering Benjamin’s feelings, Henry excitedly exclaimed as if he was touched by Benjamin’s performance.
Benjamin doubted Henry’s identity as a mage.
Benjamin could not help but suspected Henry’s true identity.
It was probably because he could never understand the appreciation between a magician and his actor.
Thus, Benjamin had no choice but to rehearse under Henry’s commands. Basically, what he did was just hide in the box and come out of it dumbly when Henry knocked on the box.
How should he phrase this…... This magic was extremely dull.
Benjamin felt immense ‘respect’ when he noticed Henry’s serious expression - as if this ‘magician’ really wanted to just perform magic on stage instead of causing any commotion.
Benjamin nearly believed that, really.
It did not take long for the rehearsal to end. Henry finally allowed Benjamin to hide quietly inside the box and wait patiently for the show to start. Henry left after he gave his instructions to finish up some final preparations for his performance.
There was finally no one around the box.
It was time for Benjamin to escape.
After he used the Water Particle Detection to make sure that no one was in the vicinity and paying any attention to him, he pushed the lid of the box and crept out of it.
No matter what the Fulners planned for today, as long as he stayed, he would inevitably be involved in it. Benjamin made it a point that he was better off not affected by whatever plot the Fulners were up to.
If they wanted to start a commotion to catch the attention of the Church, it would benefit Benjamin too.
The moment Benjamin stepped out of the box, he gave a cursory glance at his surroundings. The backstage was quieter than before, and everyone no longer seemed to be in a hurry; instead, they looked anxious for the show, their face stoic and painted with worry.
As if their show was real…...
Wait.
Benjamin suddenly felt that something was off.
He suddenly noticed that this feeling never subsided ever since he found the piece of cloak in the toilet. He was just distracted by the series of events he experienced after that.
Something was wrong with all of this. The way all of these people interacted…... The way they talked, even if it was between mages, did not have the air of understanding between them. It was as if…... as if they had no idea that the other was also a mage.
It was not like they treated normal people and mage the same. If they knew each other’s true identity as mages, their tone of voice, body movements, and expressions would have minute changes, no matter how hard they attempted to hide them. However, judging from the existing situation, all the mages probably assumed that they were the only mage here, and were trying to hide their identity.
Why would it be so? Did the Fulners really just wanted to stage a show, and thus did not reveal the identities of the mages? Were the Fulners unaware of their identity, and only found a bunch of performers who coincidentally were all mages?
Benjamin pondered. A bunch of oblivious mages happened to have gathered together under these circumstances....
Benjamin suddenly remembered the piece of information he got when he was eavesdropping on Dick before. Two specific sentences stood up to him.
‘They actually called Father and half of the nobles in the kingdom over!’, and ‘The Church gathered the holy knights, and ordered them to be on standby, somewhere in the kingdom.’
When Benjamin pieced the puzzle together, he inhaled sharply as he was suddenly enlightened.
The events tonight would probably grace the headlines tomorrow.