Vanessa covered her mouth with her right hand, her eyes fixed on the ring on the ring finger of her outstretched left hand.
Shade had no choice but to look at Siris again, wanting to ask what they should do next. Yet Siris, who had orchestrated all of this, was unwilling to let this "opera" be interrupted even when the leading lady had gone off script.
She began to sing:
"Knight from a foreign land, you have fallen into my trap after all. Without your sword, you cannot cleave my scales. Without a weapon, you will never have another chance to take her away. Princess, you shall belong to me forever. And your knight shall spend the rest of his life in regret."
As she spoke, Siris grabbed Vanessa again and tried to lead her toward the mirror. This time, however, she could not move Vanessa at all. Vanessa did lower the hand covering her mouth, though, and her gaze shifted from the ring on her left hand to the young knight who had given it to her.
"Oh, don't do this."
The young woman who had planned all this said, pressing a hand to her forehead. Before the female lead could make any more involuntary movements, she forcibly pulled her toward the mirror.
This looked even more like "a Dragon abducting a Princess" than the scene just now.
Before they left, Siris's expression and gestures clearly indicated that she wanted Shade to remain at the Sacrificial Ground for a while, giving her time to soothe Vanessa's emotions so the performance could continue.
Thus, the girls in the theater continued playing music, while the "adventurers" onstage blocked the mirror and continued singing to stall for time.
With nothing to do for the moment, Shade stood in the middle of the