Chapter 774 — Your Aunt Is Always Your Aunt

Fendil's radiant smile, as though struck by a "cold calamity," instantly stiffened and froze; the words that followed seemed squeezed out of his bronchial tubes: "Aunt… Aunt…"

The Duchess Victoria, however, acted as though she had not seen this nephew she herself had raised. She first came before Gao Yang and paid her respects with impeccable propriety: "I salute you, Your Majesty. My apologies for appearing before you under such imperfect circumstances."

"No matter. I already knew you had come," Gao Yang said, seated in his chair, nodding with a smile; he also returned the salutes of the others. "I simply did not expect that you would come to watch this first magic-shadow play. I imagine it must be a coincidence."

"It is indeed a coincidence," Victoria said, a faint smile surfacing briefly on her ever-cold countenance—only to turn cold again the moment her gaze fell upon Fendil. "Fendil, you are here… also by coincidence?"

"I…" Fendil's stiff smile had just begun to ease when his expression stiffened once more. This young man of the North, who always smiled so brightly, plainly could not manage much of a smile before Victoria. He glanced around, his gaze sweeping past Gao Yang, and at last pieced together the words that followed: "I came with His Majesty to inspect this…"

"Ahem," the Earl of Ballin, standing not far off, could not help coughing softly in reminder. "Marquis Fendil, there was a list of names at the end..."

Fendil: "..."

"Displaying a roll of all the performers and production staff at the end is a rather good idea. It suits the nature of arcane projection admirably, and no such thing was ever seen in the old-style theater," Victoria said, her face impassive. "Whose idea was it?"

Fendil: "...Mine, Aunt."

"In your last letter, you said you had entered the Imperial College and were devoting all your energies to your studies, and that by putting your talents to use you had achieved some small successes..." Victoria regarded Fendil's eyes and spoke unhurriedly. "So... you have in fact been studying with others how to put on plays?"

Gao Yang said nothing either. He merely sat quietly to one side wearing a smile and watching, expressing by his actions a willingness for them to continue, his smile thoroughly delighted.

Amber even drew sunflower seeds from the small bag she carried.

Fendil had noticed as well the plainly theatrical enjoyment of His Imperial Majesty and the head of the intelligence bureau, and cold sweat had already broken out on his brow.

After several seconds of silence—so awkward and tense—Fendil, who knew well that the duchess had never been blessed with much patience, finally steeled himself, and with the resolve of one who would not thaw until spring had come and flowers bloomed, broke the silence: "Aunt, I have indeed done some things... that I did not mention in my letters, and putting on plays may indeed ill become a nobleman's station, but in my view it is a thing of great meaning, especially in a place like this where new things are everywhere, in a place so full of a new order. Some old notions must—"

Victoria did not wait for Fendil to finish. In a cold and detached tone she cut him off: "Did I say you had done badly?"

Fendil: "...Huh?"

In Victoria's ice-blue eyes there was no emotion at all: "I was merely confirming whether a member of the Wilde family truly had a hand in this new-style theater. Honesty is required."

Gao Yi tilted his head slightly and said in a low voice to Amber, who was cracking sunflower seeds: "I had thought she was quite incapable of joking or teasing anyone."

"The thing is, the more deadpan a person is, the more devastating they are when they do joke and tease," Amber muttered back. "You can't tell from any shift in their expression which of the things they say are in earnest and which are in fun."

Gao Yang thought it over and decided Amber had a point. Then he clapped his hands and spoke with a smile, dissolving some of the awkwardness in the air: "Victoria, there is no need to be so severe with the young. It is good for the young to try their hand at a variety of things—so long as they do not go too far, they ought to be openly encouraged."

Victoria withdrew her gaze from Fendil and bowed her head slightly before Gao Yang: "Yes, Your Majesty."

It was only now that a distinct sound of breath being released came from nearby.

The one heaving that great sigh was Filim, standing behind Fendil.

This young man, who hailed from a small northern town and a common family, had nearly suffocated in the tension of the moment.

"Allow me to make the introductions," Gao Rong said, rising to his feet and performing the office of introducer without a trace of haughtiness. "This is Mr. Filim. That splendid arcane shadow play is his creation, and his enterprise already enjoys the full backing of the imperial house."

"This is the Duchess Victoria Wilde, one of the grand chancellors in whom I place my deepest trust, and protectress of the northern marches."

"As for the rest of you... introduce yourselves."

The Earl of Ballin and the others, astonished at Filim's youth, had been studying him closely; hearing Gao Song's words, they set aside for the moment all noble reserve and so-called rules of propriety, and one after another introduced themselves.

Listening to title after title, Filim felt for a moment dazed and unmoored...