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Published at 22nd of April 2024 09:00:19 AM


Chapter 91: Play [2]

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Chapter 91 Play [2]

Cli Cla—!

When the lights turned on, color returned to the stage as Joseph was again in the bakery.

Compared to the previously oppressive atmosphere, the atmosphere was now a lot less suffocating.

[....]

Sitting in the same spot, Joseph remained quiet the entire time until he lowered his head to rub his face.

[Face... What did his face look like?]

There was one clear disadvantage to the visions.

It was that he couldn't remember the faces of the parties involved.

[Damn it.]

But it wasn't without hope.

[White shirt, brown pants, and undervest...]

He could remember the clothes he had worn and the location of the incident.

Coming down from the stairs was his assistant Elbert who pushed his glasses back up.

[I wasn't able to find any evidence. The place is clean. It's unfortunate, but we might have to look somewhere else for clues.]

His steps eventually stopped not far from where Joseph was.

[What about you? Have you found anything...?]

[....]

[Detective?]

[....Uh, ah right.]

Joseph snapped out of his thoughts and looked back.

[What did you say, again?]

[Did you find anything?]

[Oh, that.]

He shook his head.

[No, not really. I do have some ideas though. Troublesome, but... Haa, I need the money, so I have no choice.]

Finally standing up from his seat, Joseph took a long and dragged out a breath before turning around and heading towards the exit.

[Detective? What are we doing here? This is the fifth house that we've visited. How is this supposed to help us?]

[Just wait.]

The scenery changed. Coming out of the bakery, they appeared before a large wooden door and knocked.

To Tok—

[How can I help you?]

Greeting them at the door was a familiar figure. Instantly, the atmosphere around the theater turned tense. And yet... For some reason, that faded the moment they noticed the warm smile on the figure's face.

To the audience, he looked like a very friendly person. A vast difference from the person in the vision.

The stark contrast made a few uncomfortable.

'Is that really him?'

'It can't be the same person, right...? How does that even make sense?'

Removing his hat, the detective introduced himself alongside his assistant.

[Let me introduce myself. I'm Detective Joseph, and this man over here is my assistant.]

He too greeted the man with a polite and warm smile.

[A detective?]

[Yes. I'm sorry, but could we ask you some questions?]

[....But of course.]

The man invited them in.

But just before he let them in, he introduced himself.

[Oh, before I forget. My name is Azarias. It's a pleasure to meet you.]

[Azarias? What a nice name.]

[Thank you.]

The scene once again shifted.

They were now all sitting around a wooden table. On the table sat a small tray bearing three cups of warm tea.

[I'm sorry for this. It's all I can offer.]

[Oh, there's no problem.]

Taking a sip of the tea, Joseph joked.

[I can't tell the difference between good tea and bad tea anyway. It all tasted like grass one.]

In return, Azarias smiled.

[I can't say I'm any different.]

The atmosphere was lighthearted and warm. It seemed to be a regular and friendly talk between two friends.

That, however, took a more serious turn when Joseph started his investigation. Just slightly, his demenour shifted, becoming a lot more serious.

[I'll start off by asking a simple question. Where were you yesterday night at around 10 P.M?]

Staring towards a certain man, who was currently heading towards his private room under everyone's watch, Aoife lowered her head.

It was still not enough.

She...

Was still not good enough.

'Just how much more do I need to do to keep up with him...?'

She was honestly scared. Especially since their scene was about to come up. Aoife felt like she was in top form, but even that didn't seem to be enough.

'More.'

Her current form was good, but not good enough to keep up with him.

She had to do more.

Especially since 'he' was watching her. Aoife couldn't let herself be swallowed by Julien's acting. With a soft 'huu' Aoife massaged her cheeks and took out the script.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

"Ah...!"

It was almost falling apart, as she had to try her best to prevent some of the pages from falling.

Making sure that all the papers were in order, she focused her attention back on the script.

Perfection.

She would only stop at perfection.

***

"Huh..."

Coming back into my room, I sat down and took a deep breath. I was mentally exhausted, and my head hurt a little. Staring at the script, I flipped through the lines before putting on my makeup.

Flip, flip, flip—!

The next scene was the scene where I would kill Aoife.

It was another small flashback scene.

However, this scene held great importance as the play was still in its introductory phases. My role was to 'highlight' Joseph's ability.

My death would come not long after. Compared to the whole script, I didn't have a lot of screen time. Even so, my role was important.

I had to make sure to leave an impact on the audience.

But...

It was that part that stumped me.

"I still can't get a proper grasp on this."

I tossed the script over the desk. It was annoying. Regardless of how hard I tried, I still struggled to come close to understanding the character.

....It was just impossible.

Azarias was a total psychopath. Someone whose mind and emotions were hard to properly understand. For a brief moment, my gaze wandered towards the four-leaved clover tattoo on my forearm.

If there was one method that could help, then...

"No."

I was quick to throw the idea away. The wheel was a gamble. I could very well end up with an emotion that would have the complete opposite effect.

"Huu."

If only I could get into Azarias's mind...

"Ha."

I massaged my forehead.

"What a troublesome situation."

To Tok—!

"The play will start shortly. Please make your way into the stage."

Hearing the organizer's voice, I took a deep breath and adjusted my clothing.

Making sure that everything was on point, I reached for the handle and opened the door.

What greeted me was a long and narrow corridor.

"Hm?"

I looked around.

Where was the organizer...? And why was it so dark?

"....!"

WOOOOM—!

Something streaked past my cheek. I was hardly able to react on time as I tilted my head just slightly to the right.

Drip...! Drip.

I felt a sharp pain by the side of my cheek and frowned.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

From across the space, a subtle and repetitive scratching sound caught my attention as a figure stepped out from the darkness.

"You dodged that?"

His voice was hoarse, almost croaky as I remained silent.

"...."

I stared at him without saying a word. Slowly, his appearance became known to me, and I lowered my head.

So you're finally here...




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