Hwani barely managed to squeeze in among them. The director looked around at the assembled cast and spoke.

　　“Do you all understand? The owner of the theater has made a massive investment in this production. You must give it your all and ensure it’s a hit!”

　　“Yes, sir!”

　　“The four fairies open the show! Enter on cue with the overture! Line up in proper formation centered under the chandelier!”

　　“Understood!”

　　Just then, chimes rang out from the stage. The director took a deep breath and waved the rolled-up script in his hand.

　　“We’re starting! Curtain up!”

　　The first scene began with dialogue between the chorus fairies.

　　Hwani ran onto the stage with the other chorus members she had just been talking to. With the curtain still down, they lined up and took their positions.

　　Was it just pre-show jitters? The chandelier above the stage seemed to sway more erratically than usual. Trying to calm her pounding heart, Hwani lightly bit her lower lip.

　　Ezio is sitting out in the audience today.

　　Just knowing that felt like a dream. She had always been the one in the audience, watching his performances from afar. Shy as she was offstage, she had never dared to send even a simple fan letter or gift. All she remembered was being utterly absorbed, drinking in his sweet music.

　　And now, Ezio was here to watch her perform. Of course, strictly speaking, he had come to see Ginevra, not her, but still…

　　There was no denying that even a minor role was part of the play. Her heart thundered at the mere thought of her movements catching the eye of the artist she secretly adored, of her song reaching his ears.

　　I’ll do my best. Even if it’s a small part.

　　As she renewed her resolve, the overture drew to a close. The curtain parted, and the dialogue began.

　　“Hey, hey!”

　　“What, what?”

　　“Is it true Her Majesty the Queen has fallen in love?”

　　“It’s true!”

　　“Who is it? The Merman King of the Southern Seas?”

　　“No!”

　　The scene of the fairies swishing their skirts, chattering busily, and prancing about came to an end, and a brief opening chorus began.

　　“Her Majesty, Her Majesty, our Queen!”

　　“The one she adores!”

　　“Below the mountain!”

　　“Above the river!”

　　“A mortal man of the village!”

　　Right on cue, the Fairy Queen made her entrance. Some in the audience cheered and applauded the arrival of the prima donna, Ginevra.

　　Ginevra glided forward with an airy grace, haughtily crossed her arms, and summoned Hwani.

　　“Come here, Bean Fairy!”

　　Hwani hurried over and knelt before Ginevra. Her melodious voice rang out across the stage.

　　“What is your command, Your Majesty?”

　　“I entrust you with a grave duty. Take this letter, penned in the essence of roses, and slip it beneath his pillow. A letter wrung from my love, my affection, and my burning heart!”

　　Hwani took the prop Ginevra offered her. Ginevra then stepped toward the front of the stage and launched into an aria confessing her love, recounting for the audience how she had met and fallen for a lowly mortal man unworthy of her station.

　　Meanwhile, Hwani had her own role to play. The foolish Bean Fairy was supposed to wander through the village and leave the love letter beneath the wrong person’s pillow.

　　She darted back and forth across the stage with deliberately clumsy movements, fully committed to playing the foolish fairy to perfection.

　　Where could Ezio be sitting?

　　A stray thought flickered through her mind as she bounded about. But with the stage brightly illuminated and the auditorium cloaked in shadow, she could not easily tell where the composer she so admired was seated.

　　So she focused on hopping around as foolishly as possible in time with the melody of Ginevra’s aria, swaying like a reed as though dancing.

　　“Before his beauty, even this crown is in vain!”

　　Crash!

　　“Aaaah!”

　　It happened in an instant. A dizzying shock hit her, and a reflexive shriek tore from her throat—loud enough to drown out Ginevra’s aria at its very peak.

　　No one could tell what had just occurred, for the lights had blown out, plunging everything into total darkness. Murmurs stirred through the audience, and the backstage dressing rooms erupted into commotion. Someone hurried out with a lamp to illuminate the surroundings.

　　“Heavens!”

　　A collective gasp swept through the hall. Only then, dazed and bewildered, did Hwani realize what had happened to her.

　　She had noticed the chandelier swaying erratically before the curtain rose. The entire fixture had crashed down onto the stage in one piece. It had plummeted directly toward her head, and she had escaped unharmed only by dodging out of the way at the very last second.

　　Even so, she had lost her balance and taken a hard tumble, ending up sprawled across the boards.

　　Hwani pushed back her disheveled hair and swallowed hard. Just as a chill ran through her at the thought of how easily it could have been a terrible accident, an urgent voice rang out from across the darkened stage.

　　“Heavens, even the sun itself is overwhelmed by my confession and hides its face! Bean Fairy, are you unhurt?”

　　Ah…!

　　She was still on stage. The show was going on. Realizing that Ginevra had stepped in to salvage the scene, Hwani got to her feet at once. Pretending to bow, she improvised her lines.

　　“Yes, Your Majesty! The Bean Fairy is hale and hearty!”

　　She had dodged the chandelier by a hair’s breadth. Although crystal shards were scattered like shrapnel across the floor, she was, miraculously, completely unscathed.

　　Perhaps relieved that no tragedy had occurred, Ginevra pointed sharply toward the back of the stage.

　　“If you are well, then so be it! Go, tarry no longer, and seek him out! Deliver my letter without fail!”

　　“Yes, Your Majesty! I go at once!”

　　Taking her cue to exit, Hwani dashed across the stage and slipped into the wings. The moment she cleared the stage, the curtain dropped. Meanwhile, stagehands hurried out to hoist the fallen chandelier back into place, attempting to make the transition appear seamless.

　　Hwani finally let out a sigh of relief. Several people, including the director, crowded around her.

　　“Miss Derossi! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

　　Her whole body throbbed from her awkward fall, but she forced a bright smile.

　　“I’m completely fine. I can go on with the performance, no problem at all.”

　　“You scared the life out of me with that scream! I thought something terrible had happened! Lighting crew, how on earth did you inspect the stage?”

　　The director wiped away cold sweat as he shouted in fury. Only then did Hwani bring a hand to her scratchy throat.

　　“Did I… scream?”

　　“You certainly did. A tremendous scream! Good heavens, what a way to ward off bad luck on opening night! Is the stage cleared over there? We’re going straight into Scene Two!”

　　The director appeared frantic to keep the performance going. Left on her own, Hwani finally began to unwind as she sipped the tea a stagehand brought her. Only after the hot tea soothed her tight throat did it truly hit her just how loudly she had screamed.

　　Was that good luck or bad?

　　Had the chandelier struck her, she would have been grievously injured. Avoiding catastrophic injury was sheer luck.

　　Yet she had ended up at the center of an onstage disaster on opening night of all days—the very day the composer she revered was sitting somewhere in the audience.

　　Thoughts of Ezio drew Hwani’s gaze toward the house once more. She tried to make out the audience from backstage, but the stage was ablaze with light now that the performance was underway again. Because of the glare, she couldn’t see who was sitting in the darkened hall.

　　In the end, Hwani gave up and stepped back.

　　Of course. A chorus extra like me would never catch the eye of someone so famous.

　　She let out a bitter chuckle, chiding herself for indulging in silly daydreams just because he was in the theater. Then she cleared her throat. In any case, her next cue was coming up, and she had to give it her all for the play to come together.

　　Even if I don’t have so much as a supporting role right now, someday I want to be a prima donna just like Miss Ginevra!

　　As she reaffirmed the dream burning in her heart, the director caught her eye and gave instructions in a hushed tone.

　　“Bean Fairy, now! Hurry!”

　　“Yes, sir!”

　　Hwani ran out onto the stage. This was the final solo line she had to deliver.

　　“What? You say I delivered the Queen’s letter to the wrong person? That can’t be true…!”

* * *

　　“My, Miss Ginevra! Another splendid triumph! When that light fixture came crashing down, I feared the worst, but what a relief it ended so smoothly! A fairy queen in love with a mortal… Truly, no one could have given such a performance but you!”

　　Backstage was abuzz after the premiere. As the theater owner showered her with unceasing praise, the temperamental prima donna gave a beaming smile and nodded, as if she had never thrown that fit over milk in the first place.

　　“It is I who should thank everyone for trusting me with this role. I’m just glad the audience received it so well.”