Chapter 772 — The Earl of Ballin's Astonishment

With an inconspicuous gesture, the Duchess Victoria forestalled her retinue's attempt to intercept the man, and turning to the approaching stranger, she asked coldly, "Is there something you want?"

The man of ordinary appearance seemed briefly cowed by the peculiar presence and striking beauty of Victoria Wilder, and for a moment was somewhat nervous and overawed; but he soon found his voice: "I saw just now that you seemed to be having some trouble… is it about tickets?"

The Earl of Ballin nodded. "We did wish to buy tickets, but they appear to be sold out."

"Ah, then it is just as well," the man in the padded coat said at once, breaking into a smile and nodding with an air of utter sincerity. "I happen to be able to help you. I arranged to come with a few friends to see the play and bought the tickets in advance, but today they all say they cannot make it, so I have a few extra on my hands. Would you like them? Only one final each. I know that is dearer than the original price, but I had to queue a long while for them…"

The Earl of Ballin opened his mouth, about to say something, when he heard Victoria speak first: "That will do."

Then the Ice Duke turned to him. "Mr. Ballin, pay the man."

"But—" was all the Earl of Ballin could squeeze out, before, under the gaze of those icy, crystal-cold eyes, he fished out his money and paid like any ordinary citizen, receiving in exchange several tickets, rather finely printed, bearing on their surface the words "Film Pictures Company" and "The Theater of Three."

Only after the man had gone did Count Barlin lower his voice and say, "Lady... Victoria, you should not have trusted that man. He is plainly nothing but a reseller of..."

"I know," Victoria Pingxi said.

"Then..."

"It merely seemed interesting," Victoria said offhandedly, lifting her head to look at the theater entrance not far off. "This place really is... more interesting than the royal capital."

"Still, that was genuinely a disturbance of the peace. We cannot simply ignore it.

"I saw constables at the edge of the square just now. One of you go and report it."

Victoria Wilder's tone rose ever so slightly, as though her mood had suddenly brightened.

After another while, the crowd ahead finally began to stir with a faint murmur.

The corners of Victoria's mouth curved up a little, her spirits good: "Mr. Barlin, it seems we may go in now. Let us go and bear witness."

...

Following the flow of people and the directions of the staff, Count Barlin at last stepped into this "theater" that seemed to him quite peculiar, and found the seats for his party among the rows of chairs arranged at varying heights.

All along the way, out of a gentleman's duty and a subordinate's instinct, he had done his utmost to shield the Duchess Victoria, lest the surging crowd jostle this Grand Chancellor of the Empire and Shelter of the Northern Mountains—for which he himself had been shoved several times—yet once he was seated, he discovered that it was simply impossible to fully preserve that "dignity" and "protection."

The seats were packed one against another, and people were everywhere.

The crowd pouring in here was greater than in any theater he had seen in the royal capital! And the seats were far more densely packed!

Front and back, left and right, countless commoners—or citizens of the Empire—surrounded him, until this noble from the royal capital felt a faint suffocation.

He was utterly unaccustomed to this place.

Yet Victoria Wilder showed not the slightest discomfort or weariness. The Shelter of the Northern Mountains merely sat quietly in her seat, her gaze drifting casually over her surroundings. Though her face lacked expression, Count Barlin could roughly guess that this was a sign of keen interest and abundant curiosity.

On the road to "adapting to the new order," he seemed still far from matching the Duchess's pace.

"With facilities like this, fire and crowd-crush risks should have been considered in advance," Victoria said suddenly. "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Barlin?"

"Me? Ah, yes, yes, of course," Count Barlin answered hastily, having nearly failed to react. "There are so many people here, and so many densely arranged seats—these things truly must be considered... I wonder whether anyone here has made plans for it."

Another noble from the royal capital looked curiously toward the stage: "There are no actors on the stage, nor any sets or props... could it be that they have not been arranged yet?"

At that, Count Barlin instinctively glanced up, and indeed noticed this strange problem.

At the far end of the great fan-shaped array of seating, on the open platform that ought to have served as the stage, there was truly not a single actor to be seen, nor any scenery whatsoever.

He strained his eyes wide, and in the end saw only several arcanonet bases installed upon the platform, along with crystal devices assembled in some kind of array.

Slowly Count Barlin pieced it together, yet grew only more bewildered: so... this so-called new-style drama was in fact a projection from arcanonet terminals?

...

Outside the "Three's Company" Theater, with so many people filing in, the square that had been so crowded now seemed considerably quieter.

Those still lingering in the square were partly vendors, partly citizens who had passed by out of curiosity, and partly the personnel keeping the peace.

A man in a dark padded coat hurried past the edge of the square, a glad look on his face, his hat pulled low.

But he had only just reached the mouth of a nearby alley, before he could turn into it, when several uniformed constables suddenly appeared around him.

The man in the coat was greatly startled and turned to flee, but before he could take a step, one of the constables raised a hand and sent a small bolt of lightning crashing into him, striking him to the ground.

Several constables rushed forward and pinned the man—twitching violently and trying to shout—firmly to the ground. The constable in charge, pulling out a small pair of shackles, berated him furiously at the top of his voice: "You again! You again!

"You were there when the arcanorail first began selling tickets, you were there when the first football match sold tickets to spectators, and you were there when the first zoo opened!

"Today the shadow drama begins selling tickets, and sure enough, there you are again!

"For the next half month you can spend your time by the water pipes at the constabulary!"

In Cecil, where development advanced with each passing day, there were always so many new things being born without end...

(Happy holidays~~)