"Miranda, move another five meters to the left..."
In the Banquet Hall, Annan was making the final arrangements for the performance. Suddenly, he sensed something and turned toward Baron Kelly as he entered.
"Is it done?"
"Yes. Bring out the other Puppet too."
Annan paused. "You knew?"
"You forget, this is my Manor. Nothing that happens here escapes my notice."
"I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I just thought it might come in handy."
Annan sent two Nobles to the Storage Room to carry out the Puppet he had left there.
Soon, the two Nobles returned to the Banquet Hall carrying a male Puppet.
The other Puppet Annan had commissioned Dunbelly to make was not Emma, but another of the Baron's close friends.
"What made you think of him?" Baron Kelly asked, giving nothing away.
"I thought even painful memories might be worth revisiting, though they aren't pleasant." Except, of course, for those embarrassing moments that came back to haunt you when you couldn't sleep at night.
Baron Kelly said nothing.
"You're not angry I investigated you behind your back?"
"You were right. It's all in the past... The good is still good, and the bad may not be quite so bad..."
Baron Kelly took a deep breath. "Young Miss Olmedo, you helped me take that final step. Without you, who knows how much longer I would have wasted?"
Without Annan, he would still have been unable to face his own heart. He would have hidden in the Manor like a coward, holding the same hollow imitation of a banquet day after day.
"I'm your assistant, after all." Annan smiled.
Baron Kelly considered the word, then his gaze settled on the tall, handsome young man beside Annan.
"Vincent..."
The performance began.
There was no grand opening, no