Black Swan

Belle was so beautiful!

That was Salinya Professor's first thought as he watched the film. He was already nearing middle age. The plot of "Beauty and the Demon" might leave many young people in tears, deeply moved, but what drew Salinya Professor most to this film was its heroine, Belle.

The heroines in stage plays generally seemed terribly unreal. No matter how good their acting was, the audience knew that they were always performing that role upon a confined "stage."

But Belle in the film was completely different. She lived there! In a small village—a kind, curious, warmhearted, and bold girl...

Salinya Professor could no longer distinguish the boundary between reality and illusion. He would rather believe that Belle truly existed somewhere in this world.

But when Salinya Professor came back to himself, he realized that he was in the White Thorn Flower Theater... and that the film he had watched was merely a "performance." In other words, White Thorn Flower Jazz might know the actress who played Belle!

At that thought, he could no longer sit still. This form of performance called film had already far surpassed stage plays. Whether in entertainment or spectacle, it stood above stage plays in every respect...

If this continued... no... that was not right. He still had the Black Swan Troupe. With the Black Swan Troupe's reputation and that Black Swan's charm alone, the Nolan National Theater's popularity could continue indefinitely. Though film completely surpassed stage plays, its greatest flaw was that one could not see the actors themselves during a performance.

Many of the people who bought tickets for the Nolan National Theater were not there to watch a performance at all; they simply wanted to see Galolie in person... Yet when Belle appeared on the giant screen in a gorgeous gown, dancing gracefully with the demon, Salinya Professor realized with a chill that Belle's charm seemed no less than that Black Swan's.

The film continued until the very end. As soothing music played and the Behind-the-Scenes Cast List gradually appeared before everyone, Salinya Professor saw the name of the actress who played Belle... I Nuo.

It was a name he had never heard before. He had worked in the theater industry for so many years and knew, or had heard of, no small number of actors. Could White Thorn Flower Jazz have discovered another talented young actress?

Salinya Professor could not remain there any longer. He memorized that name and rose to his feet, only to find that Galolie beside him showed no intention of leaving her seat.

"You go out first. Don't wait for me. That is an order," Galolie said.

"Um... understood."

This trip did not require Salinya Professor to ensure the Duke's Daughter's safety, because he knew that his abilities were nowhere near enough to qualify him as her guard. At most, he was merely a guide.

Thus, Salinya Professor hurriedly left the auditorium, leaving only one person seated there in silence for a long while.

"If you want to cry, then cry," Galolie suddenly said.

Soon, the sound of sobbing came from behind her. A blurry shadow appeared at Galolie's back.

"Young Miss, why did that demon die in the end..."

The sobbing voice sounded like that of a little girl, though it was somewhat indistinct because she had no physical form.

"The most common trick of playwrights: show you the most romantic scene, then tear it to shreds without mercy. It is the simplest way to make the audience cry. The more beautiful something is, the more painful it is when it shatters."

Galolie spoke in a soft murmur. She had practiced dancing and performed onstage since she was very young. Her years of stage experience had long allowed her to see through certain familiar formulas in the scripts playwrights gave her. At first, reading a play would still draw a few tears from her, but now, even if she performed onstage so movingly that the audience wept bitter tears, she herself would not feel the slightest sadness.

She had once thought that she would never again feel any emotion from performing in a stage play, but unexpectedly, this film had brought back the feeling she had when she first began performing: being moved.

Galolie wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. Beyond that emotion, what the film left her with was interest.

She had never heard of a form of performance like film. It no longer confined a performance to a tiny stage, nor were the characters she played merely roles that put on a particular costume and recited a few lines.

Film allowed actors to truly become the characters within the story!

How... exactly was this made? By what method?! And how were those shifts between scenes achieved... Countless questions swirled through Galolie's mind, eventually condensing into one: who had made this film?

Was it Miss I Nuo, who played Belle? No... or perhaps that demon, Zennas? No, there had to be someone else behind this film.

Galolie sat quietly there. At last, after a long, densely packed string of cast names, new credits appeared—and every remaining credit bore the same name.

Director Joshua, producer Joshua, cinematographer Joshua, costume designer Joshua...

A string of identical names filled the screen.

"I've found you..." Galolie said.

"Young Miss, I strongly oppose you coming into contact with this person."

The blurry shadow behind her had stopped choking back sobs and spoke to Galolie in an extremely stern tone.

"Why?" Galolie asked.

"Because... because that Demon Prince seems to be a demon known as Sin, a monster only my mentor can defeat."

"Why do you always believe that demons must be enemies of ours?"

Galolie suddenly asked a question that would have been utterly heretical in the Holy Country of Messiah. But she was not a citizen of the Holy Country of Messiah. She was a citizen of the Country of Art, Falosi, and she was proud of her homeland. She would not blindly believe another country's doctrine.

"Because..."

"The so-called maxims of those missionaries? The demon race has indeed shared a history of war with the Holy Country of Messiah and the Frost Country for over a hundred years. But several centuries ago, our country also went to war with the Holy Country of Messiah. We merely reconciled in the end and became allies."

Sensing the silence of the attendant behind her, Galolie sighed.

"To put it in the simplest terms: if the villagers in the film were replaced by the Holy Army of the Holy Country of Messiah, they would not only kill that demon, they would also hang Belle as a witch. And if you had the chance to help them escape all of that, would you help them or not?"

"I... I..."

Perhaps that was the greatest regret shared by everyone who had watched "Beauty and the Demon": wanting to rush in and tell the demon that those foolish villagers were coming, to make them run at once. She was no exception.

"I don't know how to answer." From her tone, Galolie heard a trace of hesitation.

In the past, whenever facing demons, Galolie's attendant should have been able to act without the slightest hesitation. Even if it were merely a hypothetical example, she would have given an unequivocal answer. But now, she had not.

Perhaps that was this film's true purpose.

"Let's go back. If you can't let it go, I can come again tomorrow. Though the tickets probably won't be as easy to get as they were today."

Galolie adjusted her heavy gown and stood up. She had just walked up the stairs when she suddenly stopped.

"And one last question: do you find my performance more interesting, or this film?"

"Uh..."

"Be sure to tell the truth," Galolie said with a smile on her face.

"This... movie—Young Miss, your stage play, I've been watching it for a year and have wanted to... sleep... That's the truth..."

The phantom behind Galolie trailed off, clearly losing its nerve.

The smile on Galolie's face did not change in the slightest, but the hand gripping the seat beside her exposed just how far from calm she truly was.