Chapter 304: An Unexpected but Pleasant Surprise
May had not expected to want to return.
The last time she’d sailed the Redwater River toward Border Town, her chest had been tight with anxiety and something close to resentment — a woman forced by circumstance to go somewhere she hadn’t chosen. Now the woods along both banks had turned yellow at the edges, the breeze carried the first real bite of autumn, and the river shimmered under a low October sun. Fallen leaves moved past the ship’s hull like small orange boats. Looking at it, she felt something that took her a moment to name.
Peace. Something like that.
“Miss May.” A voice behind her — careful, almost reverent.
She turned. A cluster of actresses had gathered at the railing: young women, most of them barely started on their training, watching her with the particular expression of people working up to a question they’d been arguing about all morning. The one in front — Swallow — had the expression of someone who had lost the argument about who had to ask it.
“Is it true that His Highness wrote Witch Diary for you personally?”
Irene appeared at the edge of the group, bowing apologetically. “I couldn’t answer it. They wouldn’t stop asking.”
This fool. May had spent enough months with Irene to have softened past the point where she’d simply dismiss the lot of them with a look. She sighed instead. “His Highness didn’t write it for me. Lady Scroll wrote Witch Diary.”
“Uh — is that so?” Swallow blinked. “But at the time you argued with Bella, we all thought—”
“‘His Highness wrote it’ and ‘His Highness wrote it for me’ are not the same sentence.” May let that sink in. “But he did endorse the script and the performance. So when Bella insulted the writing, she was insulting something His Highness had supported. That part was true.”
The question she’d answered opened twelve more. Gray hair, good looks, romantic disposition, rumored lovers — the questions came in an undifferentiated rush that lasted until Rosia waded in and herded them away, offering May an apologetic smile.
“No harm done,” May said. She turned back to the river. “I invited the trouble.”
Rosia lingered. “I still don’t understand why you brought them. Thirty-five people — two have stage experience, twenty-six haven’t even finished their courses. They’re still inside the egg, as you put it. If the Lord’s requirements aren’t very demanding, His Highness still won’t — even if you want to retaliate against Bella, you should have taken better supporting actresses.”
“I don’t intend for all of them to perform.”
Rosia went still.
“They can read a script,” May said. “They can read and write — all of them. Did you really not notice?” She glanced sideways. “Do you think Roland Wimbledon loves drama so much he recruited us for a play?”
“This…”
“If it were Lord Petrov — yes. He went to the theater every week before he took over Longsong Stronghold. But His Highness Roland, beyond watching the opening night of something new, never appears in the town square. He isn’t promoting drama for his own pleasure. He’s using it to move ideas through the population.” May let the river take her attention for a moment before she continued. “The early plays all argued the same things: resist oppression, witches aren’t evil. The new ones — The Dawn of a New Era, New City — they’ve shifted. They recruit. They say that a person can make something of themselves through their own effort. I’m simply following his idea and using the small power I currently have.”
Rosia was quiet for a moment. “I never thought about it that way.”
“Understanding the whole story is part of what makes a good actor. You have to put yourself inside the character, yes — but also inside the larger shape of what the work is trying to do.” May shrugged. “And even if none of them ever step on a stage, they can find work in Border Town. City Hall, administrative positions — His Highness doesn’t care about status or family background. That door is easier than the stage, and it’s open.”
The vessel arrived at the Border Town pier in the early afternoon.
Ferlin Eltek was waiting on the dock. Of course he was — he was here for Irene, not for anyone else, and the moment Irene saw him she broke into something close to a run. May watched her throw herself into his arms and felt a quiet, clean sadness that she had made her peace with over the past months.
“The first knight of the Western Territory,” Swallow said somewhere behind her, voice hushed with admiration. “I thought he and the theater star were—”
“Anyone who says another word on that subject,” May said, “carries her own luggage to the City Hall.” Silence. “Good. Disembark, all of you. Ghent and Rosia will handle registration.”
She walked down the pier alone, and Carter Lannis was not on it. He had promised — his letter had used the phrase a pleasant surprise — but important men kept different schedules than actors, and she had long since stopped expecting to be the priority.
She carried her own luggage to the residential district, let herself into her room, set down her bags, and stood for a moment in the particular quiet of a space that has been empty. She found the white wine in the cupboard and was reaching for a glass when someone knocked.
Carter’s frame filled the doorway, sweat at his temples, breath controlled by a man who had been moving quickly and didn’t want to show it. “The boat docked half an hour early,” he said. “The moment I heard, I came directly from the barracks.”
She realized her mood had lifted — completely, without her deciding it. “Do you want a drink?”
“I still have duty this afternoon.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “His Highness comes first.”
“I came to give you something.” He reached into his coat and produced a small white wooden box. Handed it to her.
She opened the lid.
A ring. Gold-orange metal, set with a clear stone that caught the autumn light coming through the window and broke it into colors across the wall. This was not a market item. Nobles gave rings for one reason, and the weight of it in her palm was telling her exactly what she hadn’t yet let herself hear clearly.
She covered her mouth.
“Miss May.” Carter met her eyes without flinching. Whatever he felt showed in his steadiness — not performance, not demand. Steadiness. “Are you willing to marry me?”
Chapter 304 An unexpected but pleasant surprise
May would never have thought that by the time she was about to set foot on the road back to Border Town, her heart would once again be filled with so much expectation.
The woods along the Redwater River had already begun to turn yellow, and the breeze blowing directly in one’s face brought along a trace of chill. The waves of the shimmering river were rolling under her feet, and from time to time she was able to see the fallen tree leaves floating past the side of the ship.
Now, without all of the anxiety and restlessness she had felt on her last trip, the exuberant surrounding autumn landscape seemed like it was something which came out of a poem or painting.
“Miss May,” a voice, full of respect, came from behind. “Your play of the ‘Witch Diary’, is it true that His Highness wrote the play for you personally?”
When May turned around, she saw that a group of actresses had gathered behind her, the person standing in front looked at her with a tense expression. She recalled that this one’s name was ‘Swallow’.
“Aha, sorry,” Irene waved at her, then bowed and said with an apologizing smile. “I wasn’t able to answer this question. So without any better option I had to let them come and ask you.”
This fool… May thought and gave her a supercilious look. If it had been her from the past, she would have only dumped them with a sneer. But now, after having spent so much time together with Irene her patience had unexpectedly grown stronger day by day, and thus she dared to answer, “No, His Highness didn’t write it for me. Rather it was the City Hall’s Minister of Education, Lady Scroll who had written the Witch Diary.“
“Uh, is that so?” Swallow blinked in wonder, “At the time you argued with Bella, we all thought it was the truth.”
“His Highness wrote it personally” and, “His Highness wrote it personally for me”, the meaning of those two wordings were poles apart, how could these people grasp the first half of the sentence, but totally dismiss the second half? Thinking of this, she then said to them, “But His Highness endorsed both the script writing and the theatrical performance. Therefore, when Bella ridiculed the script it was indeed equivalent to mocking His Highness. Regarding that point, I haven’t fooled her.”
“Have you ever seen His Royal Highness?”
“I heard that he has the royal family’s mark of long gray hairs and looks extraordinary handsome, is that right?”
“I also heard that he was born with the natural disposition of a romantic and has many lovers!”
“Eh, was it really like that?”
“…” Looking at this group of lively little girls, May couldn’t help but knit her brows. Curse it! I should never have responded to their curiosity.
“Alright, that’s enough, don’t you girls bother Miss May,” Rosia said and began shooing the group of females away while showing an apologizing expression towards May.
“No, harm” she shrugged and then continued to enjoy the scenery along the coastal area. “After all, I was the one who sought out trouble.”
“I… do not understand,” Rosia scratched her head, “Why did you want to take them along when we left? Of the thirty-five people, only two people have stood on stage before, while twenty-six of them have not yet completed any of the courses for their drama classes. According to what you’d previously said, they cannot even be considered as baby chicks. They are still inside their eggshell, yet to hatch… Even if the Lord’s requirements for the play are not so demanding, I’m afraid that even His Highness would find
it difficult to accept them. In case you want to retaliate against Bella, you should have tried to court some more experienced supporting actors.”
“I didn’t intend to let all of them perform.”
“Ah?” The other side froze in place for a moment.
“They can read the scripts for a play, isn’t that right?” May asked laughingly, “Although they still have a long way to go until they can enter the stage, all of them can at least read and write. Don’t tell me you haven’t discovered it yet? His Royal Highness is currently exactly in need of that exact skill.” She paused for a moment, “Do you truly think that His Royal Highness Roland Wimbledon loves drama so much, that he recruited us for a play?”
“This…”
“In case it was Lord Petrov, then the answer would be yes. Before he had taken over Longsong Stronghold, he had the habit of going to the theater once a week. However His Highness Roland, apart from viewing the first play of a new theatrical work, he didn’t appear in the town’s square for the rest of the time – so he never promoted the drama for his own enjoyment. Instead, he intends to spread his views to the masses through the drama.” May paused, before going on to say, “Compared to the first shows, which emphasized resisting oppression and the message that witches aren’t evil, the new play, ‘The Dawn of a New Era’ and ‘New City’ have moved towards recruiting people, and ‘one becoming rich though one’s own efforts’ as the message. I’m merely following along with his idea and using the small amount of power I currently have.”
“So, it was originally like this. I never thought about that…” Rosia seemed to be speechless.
“To polish and refine the script for a play, in addition to putting yourself into the character you are playing, it is also important to try and understand the overall story as much as possible if you want to express its true meaning. This is also a quality that a good actor needs to possess.”
“Yes, thank you for your guidance!” She bowed.
“Be at ease,” May said as she showed her a reassuring smile, “Even in the case that you don’t want to perform any longer, you should still be able to find a pretty good job inside Border Town. Maybe you can enter the City Hall and become an administrative officer. After all, His Highness does not require you to have any sort of status, and he also doesn’t look at your family background. This road would be much easier than going on stage.”
…
When the vessel arrived at the town, May saw Ferlin Eltek waiting to greet them at the pier.
Naturally, he was here to see Irene.
When she saw the girl dash forward and happily throw herself in his arms, she could only gently sigh.
“Isn’t that man Morning Light?”
“He hadn’t been exiled by His Royal Highness …”
“The first knight of the Western Territory is magnificent” Swallow said, “I thought he and the theater star would be -“
“Who’s talking such nonsense,” May’s cold voice made everyone suddenly close their mouths. “Hurry up with your luggage and disembark. Ghent and Rosia will take you to the City Hall so that you can register your identity. Everything else will be arranged by them.”
“Yes,” came everyone’s respectful reply.
Walking down the pier, Ferlin, with his arm around his wife, came over to greet her, and spoke to her, “Miss May, Irene just told me about the clash in the theater. Thank you for the kindness you showed her.”
“There is no need for you to thank me,” May couldn’t accept it, “Even though it looked like the other party was looking for trouble with her, but in fact, their target was me.”
“Even so, I still want to thank you.” The Knight laughed brightly and continued to say, “If it weren’t for you stepping forward, she would have cried right on the spot.”
After the two had left, May curled her lips and alone she began carrying her luggage toward the residential district.
Although she had already let go of her feelings, but seeing such a scene still had her feeling some regret. Furthermore, that familiar figure also did not appear, which was contrary to the vow in his letter that he would be waiting for her with a pleasant surprise.
Well, the other side, after all, is an important man to His Highness. Unlike Morning Light who can walk around as he wishes, right?
Back home, May put away her luggage and was hit by a sense of relaxation that she hadn’t felt for quite a long time. She took a long breath, took out the white wine from the cupboard and was about to pour herself a drink when a knocking sound came from the door.
When she opened the door, Carter Lannis’ awe-inspiring figure appeared before her.
“I did not expect you to be half an hour early,” he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “The moment I heard that the boat from Longsong Stronghold has arrived, I immediately rushed over from the barracks.”
I don’t know why, I definitely didn’t catch sight of him at the pier, and he obviously didn’t go to receive me, but the moment I see him, my mood immediately lifts up, “Do you want to drink a cup?”
“No, I still have to work this afternoon,” Carter waved his hand.
“Well,” she nodded, “The matters of His Highness are more important.”
“I came because I want to give you a present,” The Chief Knight took a white wooden box from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Is this the latest product of the convenience market?” May asked full of curiosity as she took the wooden box. When she opened the lid, she saw a yellow-orange ring quietly stand at the bottom of the box. Its top was inlaid with a bright and transparent stone, it reflected the autumn sunlight falling through the window with a colorful light.
There is no doubt that this ring is worth a lot of money, which makes it unlikely for it to be a selling item for the convenience market. And when nobles give a ring, it means… she couldn’t help but cover her mouth.
“Miss May, are you willing to marry me?” Carter asked her earnestly.