Benson?.... Melissa? Wha—
"Klein, that actor was really good!"
"Huh? Ah, yes, he's good..." Klein's thoughts had been interrupted by Audrey's comment.
The play continued, but Klein's mind was still focused on his siblings. He was using the persona of Klein Moretti, and meeting someone who knew Klein Moretti would be troublesome—especially if his siblings saw him!
I could make an illusion around us like last time... but Earl Hall's Beyonders are keeping a close watch. It would cast more suspicion on me if Audrey and I suddenly turned invisible. I also can't switch my appearance for the same reason...
I guess I'll just pray to the Goddess that Benson and Melissa don't see us...
...
"Thank you everyone for coming!"
The play came to an end, and the crowd began to clap.
"That was wonderful!" Audrey said. "Ah, Klein, let's leave now before the exit gets too crowded."
"Is something the matter?"
"It's just that the reservation I made is coming up, and it's a little far from here. I don't want us to be late." She grabbed his hand and led him out of their private box and towards the exit of the opera hall.
Klein's heart pounded in his chest. No, no, not this way!
His bird's-eye view from the crimson star in Sefirah Castle let him see the whole situation. This exit was not good!
They joined the river of people flowing into the main hall. Klein tried to keep his head down, hoping to disappear into the crowd. But for a single, terrible moment, the people in front of them parted.
Across the crowd, a young woman with familiar dark hair and brown eyes suddenly froze. Her eyes went wide as they locked with his.
It was Melissa.
She saw the face of her brother. Her dead brother. He looked healthy, wearing fine clothes, with a beautiful blonde lady holding his hand.
It was just for a second.
Then the crowd shifted again, and he was gone.
"Melissa? What is it?" Benson asked, seeing his sister stop suddenly.
She blinked, staring at the spot where the man had been. There was no one there now but strangers.
"It's... nothing," she whispered, shaking her head. "I thought I saw someone I knew."
"...Melissa? Why are you crying?"
"Huh?"
She touched her cheek, and her fingertips came back damp with tears she hadn't even realized she was shedding. The impossible image of her brother, smiling and alive, flashed in her mind again, and a fresh wave of grief washed over her.
Her brother looked healthy, and also had a gorgeous young woman next to him. Perhaps it was a lover. Melissa thought this was her mind playing tricks on her. He's... He... Klein is dead... He can't... Right?
Her eyes became blurry, and she began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Melissa?! What happened?!" Benson was shocked by her sudden crying. "L-lets get you to the carriage," he said as he led her by the shoulder.
Seeing her dead brother was definitely an illusion of sorts. Right? She thought so, too. Melissa interpreted it as her mind showing her the possibility of an alternate future. A future where her brother was still alive. A future where he was a healthy man and had a beautiful partner.
A sudden flash of images created by her imagination hit her mind. What would've Klein's wedding looked like? And his wife?
More scenes flashed through her mind.
She imagined Klein and his wife visiting her and Benson. Klein would be carrying his child, and he would pass it to Melissa for her to carry. It was a cute baby.
In another scene, she saw herself alongside Benson and Klein. They were much older, but still hung out as siblings. They would go to their favorite pastry shop, arguing over who would get the last slice of Desi pie. She could almost hear Klein's laugh as he told them not to worry, that he would just buy the whole shop for them.
The beautiful dream was shattered when she felt Benson's hand gently squeeze her shoulder. "Melissa, we're here. The carriage is waiting."
She blinked, the happy images fading away, leaving behind only the cold night and a throbbing pain in her heart of what could never be.
...
"Klein? Are you alright?" Audrey pulled out a small handkerchief and cleaned Klein's tears. "I also thought the play was very emotional. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who cried a little bit at the end," she said with a small smile on her face.
Crying? I was... crying?
"Yes, it was a very emotional ending," he said as he looked out of the window of the carriage.
Seeing his siblings unknowingly made his eyes teary, and now he felt a gaping hole in his heart slowly forming. It was old wounds reopening.
He wished so much to be able to go see Benson and Melissa once again. He wished he could appear before them and give them the tightest hug ever. He wished he could proudly introduce Audrey to them. To let them attend his wedding, to see his children, to grow old alongside them.
Thinking about this made his chest tighten.
Audrey, who was sitting next to him, kept her eyes on Klein the entire time.
The ending of the play wasn't emotional at all, Klein...
She thought of all the possibilities that could've caused Klein to be like this. She recalled everything they saw and heard.
That's when two people popped into her mind. Melissa Moretti. A prodigy student at the Backlund University of Technology and Industry, which Audrey visited fairly recently. She also knew that the man next to Melissa was her brother and guardian.
Melissa Moretti... Moretti? Klein... were they your...
"My Lady, we have arrived," the carriage driver announced.
Audrey cleared her throat and said, "Y-yes, thank you." She then led Klein outside the carriage.
Hm? She noticed that Klein was no longer crying—in fact, he was smiling just as brightly as he did every other day.
"Alright, Audrey. What did you book for us today?"
Wasn't Klein crying just minutes ago? Did I misread the situation? Did he actually not see his siblings?
"You'll see," she said, squeezing his hand as she led him out of the carriage.
What Audrey didn't see was that Klein was using his Clown powers to deceive her. He wanted to cry so badly right now, but that would've spoiled the mood of the date.
He held his feelings behind a fake, warm smile.
Seeing his siblings hurt him, but it also changed something inside of him. His siblings would've wished happiness for their brother, and Klein was going to do just that. He vowed to live life to the fullest and become just as happy as his siblings wished for him to be.
For the family he had lost, he would protect the woman in front of him that he refused to lose.