"Um… May I bother you for a moment…?"
Suddenly, a figure appeared. Everyone followed the voice and saw a pink-haired girl with a monocle, holding a Kamera and looking at the Lake Light Troupe.
"Miss Charlotte? What brings you here?"
Griel immediately recognized this unique reporter from the Steambird Newspaper.
"Director Griel! Hello, I heard the Lake Light Troupe has partnered with Lady Furina and is now preparing a new opera? Is that true?"
Charlotte cut straight to the chase, but Griel felt a slight headache.
No… even though they made the agreement with Lady Furina a week ago, they had only started rehearsals today, right? How did the news leak so quickly?
This Miss Charlotte was quite dedicated as a reporter. She'd probably use every method possible to ask countless questions…
He needed to find someone who knew less.
Griel's gaze swept over the troupe members around him, then landed on Noria, who was staring blankly at a piece of paper.
Got it.
"I apologize, Miss Charlotte, but I still need to arrange the troupe's future work, so I may not have time for your interview. However, our prop master Noria is available. If you have any questions, you can ask her."
With that, Griel looked at Losoria, who nodded, then said to Noria:
"Noria, please go greet Miss Charlotte. Just answer any questions she has."
"Ah… Yes, alright."
Noria instinctively nodded and replied, but it took her a moment to realize something was off.
By the time she reacted, she had already been pulled aside by the reporter.
Losoria sighed softly as her best friend was dragged away.
She, Milos, and Griel absolutely could not be interviewed. Miss Charlotte's interviewing ability was far too sharp; even a slight slip could expose everything.
So, compared to them being questioned, it was better to let Noria, who didn't know much about the opera, to handle it.
The Lake Light Troupe quickly moved aside, giving Charlotte space for her interview.
Noria looked at Charlotte helplessly. "Miss Charlotte… I really don't know much about the opera… But if you ask, I'll tell you everything I know… Just don't blame me if I'm wrong…"
Noria expressed her helplessness about being pushed into the interview, but there was nothing she could do. She was used to it… besides, she would receive "interview subsidies," so it wasn't a loss!
"No, no, no… Miss Noria, you've misunderstood."
Charlotte waved her hands quickly, then continued:
"Miss Noria, you must have met that 'Miss Yuan,' right?"
"...Is Miss Charlotte referring to Lady Furina's Familiar?"
"Exactly, exactly! I wonder what you think of this suddenly appearing Familiar? Do you think the relationship between Lady Furina and Miss Yuan is truly just a 'Master-Familiar' relationship? Could there be a deeper connection?"
"My intuition tells me there's a big scoop waiting to be uncovered! What do you think, Miss Noria?"
Noria was startled, then instantly understood — and her inner desire to "ship" exploded.
"Miss Charlotte, I also think Lady Furina and Miss Yuan's relationship is very unusual!"
Noria's eyes lit up, instantly revealing her true nature as a dedicated shipper.
Charlotte's eyes also sparkled, one hand gripping her pen, the other holding a notebook.
She could already sense it — this was definitely a huge, shocking piece of news!!!
At this moment, Furina, who was sound asleep in bed, had no idea she was about to become famous again…
---
A few days later, during afternoon rehearsal.
Because Furina often needed to observe trials in the morning, she could only come to rehearsals in the afternoon.
Fortunately, everything was going smoothly. At this rate, they might finish in less than a month.
The only problem was…
Why did she feel like the troupe members had been looking at her strangely lately? No… it should be that their expressions were strange whenever she and Liu Yuan acted together.
For example, just now, she and Liu Yuan were rehearsing a scene with close physical contact, but everyone below seemed dazed. In the end, it was Milos who snapped back first and called for a stop.
"Liu Yuan, was my acting not good just now?"
Furina glanced around, confirmed nobody was near, then whispered to Liu Yuan.
"It was very good."
Liu Yuan replied softly.
"But why do they look at me so strangely when I perform… It's a feeling I can't quite describe…"
Liu Yuan thought for a moment, then said:
"When you perform, their expressions show positive emotions like happiness, joy, shock, and contemplation. It shouldn't be an issue with your acting."
"How could I possibly act poorly! My acting skills are super amazing, absolutely impossible for anyone to see through!"
— Except in front of you.
Furina silently added in her heart, then continued:
"Then what else could it be… I just feel like everyone is acting weird.
"Oh, and this morning during the trial, I also felt like Neuvillette was watching me, and Clorinde too. He seemed like he wanted to ask me something, but he didn't.
"And the maids in Palais Mermonia… I feel like they also want to ask me something, but in the end, they don't say anything... Strange…"
Furina was frustrated.
This situation had been going on for several days, and she couldn't understand. Everyone looked at her strangely, as if wanting to ask something — but they never actually said it.
Liu Yuan lowered her eyes slightly. She hadn't noticed that many issues. The only thing she noticed was that the annoying reporter hadn't appeared recently, as if she had something else going on.
That allowed Liu Yuan to breathe a little easier.
She was still not very used to talking to people other than Furina.
However… Liu Yuan's gaze shifted slightly.
To Noria — who was fiddling with props in the distance.
This Miss Prop Master…
Why has she been staring at Furina lately…? And why are her eyes… so strange?
.
.
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_