https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-883-Loqi-s-Longest-Two-Hours-Part-1-/12937228/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-884-Lance-s-Selfless-Sacrifice-Part-1-/12945305/
Chapter 883: Loqi's Longest Two Hours (Part 2)
Chapter 883: Loqi's Longest Two Hours (Part 2)
Everyone was in on it, pranking him, and the media was actually filming his reactions?
No, that wasn't it.
When Lance glanced at Abigail in the audience, he was certain she wasn't playing a trick on him.
Because at this moment, Abigail was also dumbfounded.
Lance couldn't quite analyze what was happening, but he knew that familiar feeling was back, and it was up to him to save the scene.
"Mr. Butler, why are you staring at my table? Don't you think the snacks are a bit lacking today?" Lance said, sweating and trying his best to express himself.
His voice dragged on, attempting to guide the butler to his meaning.
"Ahaha, yes, I just noticed that the snacks in your room have mysteriously disappeared. I'll go and get you some more right away."
The butler gave a dry laugh and took the cue from Lance.
He marveled at Abigail's chosen actor's ability to turn the situation around instantly.
Not only had he deflected the "phantom eating" into a paranormal phenomenon, setting up a foreshadowing, but he had also successfully covered for himself, making the butler explain that he was looking in that direction because the food in the room had decreased, not because he was staring at the demi-maiden.
"Master, then I shall take my leave."
The butler bowed to the governor and replied, his eyes concealing his panic.
"You may go."
The governor shook his head, seemingly unable to hold the butler's pretense against him.
The butler's avoidance of the young miss was a tacit indication that he couldn't possibly invite the young miss, so he had no choice but to let the butler leave.
"Master, don't you feel a bit chilly in the room?"
Before leaving, the butler stood at the door, and mist could be seen in the air.
"It's normal in winter," Lance said, holding the door and trying to calm himself.
The intensity of the first act was already so high, and he wasn't sure what unexpected situations might arise in this play.
But today, no matter what, he had to perform well.
If there was a stage accident and the audience left, it would disrupt Loren's schedule and rhythm.
On stage, he had to do his best to maintain the expectations of all the viewers.
"Okay, then I'll take my leave."
The butler bowed and left quickly, as if escaping.
Seconds later, the bedroom was once again occupied only by the demon governor and the demi-maiden.
"..."
The demi-maiden stared at the demon governor with curiosity and anticipation in her eyes, as if waiting for the governor's response, and wondering where he would take her next.
Seeing that the governor didn't speak for a long time, she finally stood up like a winner, gazing at the governor.
"How about this: if you can solve the mystery and find out who cursed you, causing you to keep forgetting me..."
Pointing to the governor beside a copper floor lamp, she smiled,
"Even if you still can't remember me, I'll convince the family to stop making you suffer over this engagement!"
On the lampshade, little ghosts from the demon inferno were chasing each other, as if a romantic comedy filled with youthful storms was about to unfold.
...
In the audience, Antanas and Sinora leaned back in their chairs, enjoying snacks and focusing on the performance on stage.
"Is it an illusion? Why does Huberian seem more willful?"
Antanas hadn't read the original work, so he could only refer to what he saw during rehearsals.
Now, it seemed purely comedic.
And it was clear that Lance had been momentarily stumped by Huberian, but the audience, unaware of Lance's situation, thought it was all part of the performance.
"Hmm, did Abigail tell them to act like this?"
Sinora was also deep in thought.
It was common knowledge that there would be differences between rehearsals and the final performance.
So far, the plot had already undergone some minor changes.
Not only Huberian, but even Lance and the butler's performances had been influenced by Huberian, making the overall style more comedic.
"Is Huobao a comedy genius? This isn't just comedic at the script level, is it? She's bringing out this absurdity in her performance."
Antanas couldn't help but view Huberian with newfound respect.
The two whispered and enjoyed the show.
They didn't notice that Abigail in the front row, like someone who had just gotten off a rollercoaster, was gripping the armrests of her chair, her shoulders trembling, unable to speak for a long time.
After more than ten minutes, the first act ended.
The stage scene changed, and the demon governor had already instructed and bid farewell to the butler.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his cheeks, then, with the demi-maiden, embarked on a journey to the demon academy, the place where the demi-maiden insisted they shared memories.
The demon academy's corridors looked classical and luxurious, filled with the scent of ancient wood in the dim light, carrying a hazy magic from the depths of time. The end of the distant road was always swallowed by darkness, leaving only secrets unknown.
"You said this place could awaken my memories?"
In this corridor, music echoed through the empty hallway, mixed with wailing and singing, swirling around the governor and the demi-maiden, like a prelude of pursuit and escape.
Even though the scene of the demon academy made the audience below feel slightly eerie, the governor and the demi-maiden remained calm, as if the demi-maiden's presence, with her atmosphere, made them immune to such levels of fear.
"Yes."
The demi-maiden nodded with certainty, standing with her hands on her hips in front of a door.
On the floor, made of dark marble, golden patterns were drawn, and the two stood on a carpet with a pattern of demonic flowers.
"But there are no photos of us here, how can you prove that we came to this music classroom together?"
The governor stared at the large classroom with a music subject sign, asking the demi-maiden.
"Look, the music classroom is full of ghosts," the half-maiden said, shaking her head and pushing open the sealed classroom door.
As the classroom projection appeared on stage, the interior scene also unfolded before the audience's eyes. Compared to the tiered classroom, this place seemed more like a spacious grand theater.
The elaborately decorated lights, the red velvet seats, and the solemn stage resembled a reflection of the Echire Opera House, as if countless illusory figures had crossed over from another dimension, overlapping and indistinguishable from each other, much like a choir.
Tata had once enjoyed a unique delicacy in the Boson Kingdom—the Phantom Bread. When Lance first took her to the Boson Demon Realm, she tasted the ghostly bread. Now, the adorable creatures inside the classroom looked like those phantom breads.
"You know, I was the one who created this," the half-maiden said.
The Demon Lord Governor glared at the classroom, which sounded like the voice of hell itself. When he saw the half-maiden's drooling expression, he almost lost his composure.
At this moment, the atmosphere should have been building up suspense and horror, setting the stage for a dramatic twist.
However, all he felt was that they had opened the door to a cooking class.
"Yes, I was there too. So when they saw me, they were afraid of me as well," the half-maiden added, taking a step towards the classroom and swallowing her saliva.
The ghosts immediately began to back away, their fear of the half-maiden equaling that of the governor.
"..."
The Demon Lord Governor furrowed his brows, watching the half-maiden's hungry demeanor, filled with suspicion.
Could they not be afraid of you? And, Huobao, are you that hungry today?
It seemed like Huberian's performance today was slightly off in every aspect, and the overall style had gradually drifted away.
Lance's scalp began to tingle.
He wasn't sure if they could successfully wrap up the play with the way things were going.
"These ghosts don't know they're dead, they can only keep singing," the half-maiden continued.
"Alright, I'll initially believe your words—I might have forgotten about you. But I still can't completely rule out the possibility of this being a scam. After all, I genuinely can't recall any memories related to you. I'll investigate with you until we find conclusive evidence." Lance could only take things one step at a time.
His mind was already overwhelmed, and he was still trying to figure out how to salvage the almost-exposed plot points and gradually lead the play towards its conclusion.
"Let's retrace the path we walked together, and you'll see more of the traces we left behind," the half-maiden said excitedly.
They explored the past in the Demon Academy.
After a while, the second act, focusing on the Demon Academy, came to an end, and the preparations for the third act, set in the ancient castle ruins, began.
Amidst the audience's applause, the scene transitioned to the next act.
A cold wind blew on stage, not the bone-chilling cold of winter, but the refreshing chill of breathing at the peak of a mountain.
The scene shifted to the inside of an ancient, dilapidated castle.
This was the banquet hall on the first floor of the castle, which also resembled an ancient sanctuary.
A grand pipe organ, almost as tall as several stories, dominated the entire back wall. Its pipes stood tall and curved, some gleaming with gold and others in elegant wooden hues, arranged in various shapes and layers.
In the most prominent position at the center of the hall stood a grand and spacious long table. Silver candelabras had long gone out, and on either side of the table were orderly arranged dining chairs carved from brown oak.
The Demon Lord Governor immediately blocked the buffet cabinet.
He was afraid that the half-maiden would start searching for food as soon as she entered the scene.
Indeed, he had noticed that the half-maiden's gaze was fixated on finding food in this setting.
"What's here?" the Demon Lord Governor asked, hands in his coat pockets, mist forming at the corners of his mouth as he warily eyed the half-maiden.
"Do you feel the curse in this castle? You can sense the discomfort as soon as you step inside," the half-maiden said, pursing her lips. Her gaze unconsciously shifted towards the buffet cabinet behind the Demon Lord Governor.
There were indeed pastries there, but Lance seemed to be guarding them, preventing her from touching them.
Initially, she had been a bit nervous about being on stage, and she thought that eating a few bites of the nearby pastries would help her calm down. Moreover, she assumed that the plate of pastries was prepared by Abigail for Huberian, so she reached for them as per the usual routine.
This castle didn't seem like a place where one could casually search for food.
She wasn't stupid.
She just found Lance's behavior oddly impolite.
"This castle is indeed cursed, and the curse's technique feels so familiar..." The Demon Lord Governor placed his hand on the table, glancing at the half-maiden while sensing something.
"Could it be that I'm truly cursed, and I've unknowingly fallen under this technique?" he muttered to himself.
"I told you it's your own problem. You'll definitely find the curse on yourself; you just didn't believe it before," the half-maiden said, puffing out her chest and hugging herself.
Now, it was both a review and a trial.
"I'm sorry..." The Demon Lord Governor should have felt guilty for wrongfully accusing the half-maiden, but seeing her attitude, he felt no remorse and even experienced a rise in blood pressure.
When he came back to his senses, he realized that in that moment, he had subconsciously mistaken the half-maiden for Tata.
But this was Huberian, a young girl.
He couldn't possibly mistake Huberian's magic and aura.
"Hmph, if you still can't remember me later, I won't bother you anymore. After all, I'm not unmarriageable," the half-maiden said haughtily.
"..."
The Demon Lord Governor didn't respond.
He was unsure of what emotion to display.
To the audience, they might have already become a bickering couple.
"You idiot, think carefully about the clues to break the curse. Only then can you remember me, right?"
The half-maiden approached, raising her hand as if to gently caress the Demon Lord Governor's cheek, but she stopped just before making contact and withdrew her hand.
She turned her body slightly, as if feeling they shouldn't be so intimate.
She even less wanted to show her affection for the governor.
"The curse should be lifted, there's no curse that can last this long unless it's constantly influenced by the environment or continuously cursed."
The governor nodded, his emerald eyes staring blankly as he muttered.
He had just been startled by the half-maiden's hand, thinking she really intended to touch him.
Only in the last scene would the Dimensional Bishop cast a simplified spatial barrier, allowing the governor and the half-maiden to feel as if they were in a different space, unable to touch each other even if they tried to embrace.
"So?"
The half-maiden asked him.
"So it must be a demon from our side who cursed me, wanting to ruin our family's marriage. We can narrow down our investigation, and we should head back to the city now."
The Demon Lord Governor focused his gaze and replied.
"Let's go and investigate near Host Duke's house."
The half-maiden also enthusiastically answered.
In the final chapter of 'Holy War Romance', the half-maiden and the governor would discover that it was the demon Host Duke causing trouble, and by this point in the performance, the governor should have drawn some conclusions at the castle.
Lance must have forgotten his lines just now, but thankfully she helped him out.
"???"
Lance looked at her in disbelief.
It wasn't his sister.
Where did Host Duke come from?
Is there a Host Duke character in this opera version of Holy War Romance?
"It's Host Duke."
The half-maiden winked at him, as if trying hard to remind him.
"Then... I'll follow your lead."
Lance agreed with a trembling voice.
He couldn't argue with the half-maiden at the moment, and if they kept arguing, they might really give themselves away.
They searched for clues in the castle among the cliffs and once again set out on the road back to the city.
To match their mood, the originally gentle and sad piano melody transformed into a more playful tune.
The auditorium was filled with cheerful notes, and as the pitch rose, the addition of brass and string instruments made the music grander, more lively, and lighter, like jazz from a Broadway show.
...
In the audience, Antanas watched with full concentration, her furrowed brows filled with confusion.
"I feel like they're really going to find the culprit who cursed them."
Antanas was thoroughly confused by what she was watching.
Even though she had seen the rehearsal version and knew the answer to the puzzle, she now felt that they could truly find the culprit.
From the third act onwards, whenever the governor prepared to take the half-maiden away, the half-maiden would speak like a detective, providing clues that forced the governor to make deductions.
"Lance looks like he's in prison."
Sinora also felt that Lance's state was off.
In the original plot, the demon lord governor and the half-maiden lady fought against the demon grand duke, capturing the culprit who cursed them.
However, in the modified plot by Abigail, they should never be able to solve the puzzle, not only unable to find the caster but also as if the caster never existed, and they imagined a demon conspiracy.
Lance seemed to be led astray and had to cooperate with Huobao, running further and further off course.
But Lance should also know that the cheerful atmosphere of the story's subplot lacked the necessary buildup, and if the audience was told it was a tragedy at the end, they might feel it was abrupt due to the mismatched emotions, and a forced tragedy might turn a smooth landing into a crash.
Throughout the performance, the governor and the half-maiden's frequent interactions and bickering kept the audience in the auditorium laughing.
Especially Ifatiya, who was laughing happily now, as if she had found the joy she felt when watching the Gray Princess Chapter.
"Hahaha!"
Ifatiya loved the bickering couple the most.
"Look at Huobao's performance, always making me... Lance sweat. His expression in prison looks so funny!"
Ifatiya said to the black-haired beauty beside her.
The black-haired beauty was also laughing, covering her mouth.
"Sinora, do you feel like Huobao is possessed by Tata today?"
Antanas turned to Sinora and asked.
If it weren't for Talia sitting not far away, she would have thought that the one on stage was Tata.
"You think so too?"
Sinora looked at Antanas in surprise.
She wasn't the only one who thought that.
Lance on stage must also be at a loss for an explanation.
He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
"P..."
Antanas wanted to ask Pranay, as he was the only one who could see the truth at this point.
However, when Antanas leaned over to look at Sinora's side, she found that Pranay was gone.
"Where's your brother?"
Antanas asked Sinora.
"My brother went to the bathroom just now."
Sinora looked in the direction of the aisle, remembering that Pranay had just left without saying a word.
"Huh...?"
Antanas's expression froze.
She glanced nervously at Abigail in the front row.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the aura around Abigail had become quite terrifying, and the veins on the back of her hand were pulsating, as if the entire play up to this point had been an accident, not following her original plan at all.
Antanas swallowed hard, afraid to speak.
She could only watch the stage.
Witnessing the continuation of this disaster.
She was now a little afraid to imagine what Lance was experiencing on stage at this moment.
(End of Chapter)
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