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Chapter 272: Never stopped smiling [1]

Participation wasn\'t compulsory.

At least for the cadets. On the other hand, the same couldn\'t be said for the representatives that all had to be present.

This gathering was more for them than for us.

It was good like this since it made the event end rather quickly.

It ended in a few hours, and before I knew it, I was back in my hotel room.

|| ||

Crinckle- Crinckle-

The script in my hand crinkled under my tight grip.

Reading the crinkled lines, I pressed my lips firmly before they parted open, reciting the next line in the script.

".....Ah, I wish I was there. I wish-"

Crinckle~!

Stopping halfway, I clenched my teeth as I stared at my blank expression in the mirror. For the past few hours since returning, I had been practicing the last part over and over again.

And yet...

"Nothing."

My expression remained stiff.

.....Regardless of how hard I tried to make it seem as though I was in love, I failed. As if something was blocking me, my face remained stoic.

"At this rate, I will fail..."

The thought made my breathing quicken slightly as I once again immersed myself in the script before me.

Failure...

I couldn\'t fail.

"I need to do this."

And with such thoughts, I continued to practice. Even as the night faded and light started to spill into my room from the narrow gap in the curtains, I didn\'t stop practicing.

I immersed myself into this new character and juggled through the emotions that I knew.

...I tried my best to replicate what one would feel when in love.

From the subtle blush in the face to the quickening of the heartbeat and what people described as the \'butterflies in the stomach\'.

I tried to replicate all of that, and while it did look decent at a glance when I thought back to the performance of the mysterious actor who was replacing me in the main play, I knew this wasn\'t enough.

it was far from enough.

"As expected, it\'s not good enough."

And I knew exactly what was missing.

"Love... I need to find a way to unlock it."

Only then would I be able to put on a performance that I would be satisfied with.

There was only one problem with this.

\'I don\'t understand love.\'

Not in my past life, and not in this life.

.....I never bothered with it, but ever since my fight with the Vice-Chancellor, I had a feeling that I needed to unlock it.

I was on the verge of grasping something special, and while I could feel it, I knew that I was missing something.

That something... I believed it to be the last emotion.

[Love]

It was for this reason that I was pushing myself to do this.

Once I figured it out, then...

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

\'I\'m sure I\'ll be stronger... I don\'t know how, but I just know it.\'

Of this, I was sure.

***

7 A.M.

12 hours before the start of the play.

The auditorium was packed with workers as they arranged the seating and cleaned up the place. On the other hand, the actors were already backstage preparing for the upcoming performances.

There was still quite a bit of time before the event started, but taking into account the time it took to put on the makeup and change as well as practice before the event, there was hardly

any real-time.

".....He\'s still not here yet."

Aoife blankly stared at the ceiling of her changing room as her red hair scattered over the red

sofa she was sitting on.

Her hair blended nicely with the sofa as she lay on it.

"This will go well."

Aoife felt her lips tremble as she said those words.

In reality, she was extremely nervous.

This was going to be the second time that she performed as an actress, and as a main lead to

boot. How could she not be nervous?

Biting her lips, Aoife sat up and looked around.

Her eyes eventually set on a worn-out script. She immediately reached out for it and opened it

as she flipped through the pages.

Flip. Flip. Flip.

Her eyes rapidly darted from one side to the other as she furiously scanned the pages.

Eventually, she paused on a certain page.

It was only that...

||

It was illegible. With all sorts of notes filling the page, there was hardly a proper structure, making it almost impossible to read.

But that was no problem for Aoife.

She had spent the better part of her days memorizing each and every line. Not only that, but she also knew exactly which scene was from which page and so on. She knew everything by heart, and although she couldn\'t read the script, she didn\'t need to in the first place.

Aoife was deadset on doing her utter best in this script.

Although she didn\'t have much time to practice, this role meant so much more than one could imagine for her. It was for this reason that she was pushing herself to levels that even before

she hadn\'t put herself.

Aoife\'s gaze set on a particular scene as her expression paused.

"Did he figure it out?"

At the very end, there was a solo lead that involved the male protagonist.

.... It was a soft monologue that would mark the end of the story, and also one of the most

important scenes in the script.

Everything had to be perfect.

Only when the climax came to life would a story truly shine.

This scene was a must, and also the most troublesome one. Originally, Aoife thought that

Julien would be able to breeze through the acting given what he had shown in the past, and in

more ways than not, he was able to nail everything to perfection.

Everything but the last scene.

For some reason, he struggled immensely with that.

Why?

Why did that happen?

"Hm?"

As Aoife\'s head flicked to face the closed door, she crinkled the script in her hands. For a moment, she thought that someone had knocked, telling her to get ready.

The idea made her heart jolt.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

Aoife felt her heart beat loudly within her mind as she pressed her hand against her chest.

Glancing at the script beside her, her heart quickened further as she went on to mumble,

"....I hope he did."

It was at that moment that her anxiety finally set in.

"Or else we\'re screwed."

***

12 P.M.

Backstage of the main theater.

"Yes, this is working... Yes, okay..."

Tommy was busy handling all the logistics involved in the play. Currently, he was test-

checking all the equipment involved in the play.

From the illusiongram to the light center, he needed to make sure that everything was aligned

with what he had planned.

Cli Clank-

The stage lights flickered in and out with the press of a finger.

At the same time, the stage also changed. Changing from a regular stage to what appeared to

be a nice park.

"All good."

Unlike Olga\'s production, he had to do everything by himself.

The Empire had put the biggest emphasis on her play. It was for that reason that most of the

staff was helping her.

On the other hand, he had to figure things out by himself.

Of course, by the end, the staff would do one last check to make sure things would work

properly but before then he would need to figure things out by himself.

He had been stuck doing this for the past three hours.

.....He was slowly becoming happier with his achievements, and it was just as he was about to

get done with one check that he spotted Julien\'s figure in the distance.

"Ah."

Tommy dropped whatever he was doing and approached him.

He was just about to greet him when he paused.

"Eh?"

Julien...

There seemed to be something wrong with him. His face was paler than usual, and he had dark

circles beneath his eyes.

But it wasn\'t that that

No, it was something else.

His expression... It seemed lost. Almost hollow.

"Could it be...?"

At first, he didn\'t understand, but after a little thought, he understood.

"....He still hasn\'t figured out the last scene?"

Tommy felt his heart sink at the thought.

If he couldn\'t figure out the last part then...

"Ah!"

Tommy suddenly started to rub his hair as his heart started to sink.

Slap-!

But that was only for a brief moment as he slapped both sides of his face, finally snapping

himself out of it.

"....I\'ve done what I\'ve done. It\'s not my job to tell someone how to act. I\'ll just have to wait

and see."

And with such thoughts, Tommy went back to sort out the equipment.

***

6 P.M.

"The crowd is just starting to enter! The crowd is just starting to enter! Start preparing the

equipment!"

A loud voice bellowed throughout the back of the main stage. Over a dozen workers scrambled

around the set, transporting props and equipment around.

An air of tension lingered in the air. "Hey! Be careful of that...!"

This was especially so for Olga.

.... Although she didn\'t need to feel nervous as she had absolute confidence in her play, she

still couldn\'t help but feel that way.

It was just that the crowd outside was quite special.

Each and every single person in the audience was an extremely important figure or would be.

If she could impress any one of them, then her future achievements would soar to an even

greater height.

The thought made her breath heavier.

\'Perfect... Everything needs to be perfect!\'

"Ho."

Peeking through the back, she took a deep breath.

There were quite a few people that she recognized. She felt her heart stop for a brief moment

before she calmed herself down and eased out her anxiety. Turning her head, her gaze fell on

Arjen and immediately her nervousness shattered.

\'Right, I don\'t need to be worried. He\'s performing.\'

If Julien could do it, why wouldn\'t he? He was better.

.... It was with such thoughts that Olga found herself at peace with the situation.

Cli Clank!

It was the sudden sound of the curtains opening that she turned her head in the direction of

the main stage.

"Ah."

Her features softened.

\'It\'s about to start.\'

Her gaze fell on the group that was about to perform, and her expression changed slightly.

Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind and she headed for a better spot to see the first performance.

"....I guess this can be a good way to calm my nerves."

7P.M.

At exactly 7 P.M. the theater performance started.

It\'s first play;

Never Stopped Smiling.