LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 31: Monachopsis(II)
The play ended in grim finality.
On stage, the swordswoman fell to her knees, her body trembling with fury as she cursed the young woman who had betrayed her.
"Thou art no child of mine, thou bastard daughter of a woman who doth leech upon others who prays to her. Yes, thou shalt choke on thine own blood and tongue, gazing neither above nor below. Thou shalt find no path, neither heaven nor hell, after death!"
The actress's voice carried through the square, sharp and damning, before her body went limp. Black-clad figures swarmed the stage, their bat-like wings of fleshy leather glinting in the firelight as they carried her away.
The scene shifted.
"Flowers, gleam and glow,
End this destiny,
Break these bloody chains…"
A haunting melody rose as the young woman, now, as if, bound by invisible chains, cried out. Tears glistened on her cheeks, so convincing they seemed real, dripping steadily as if her grief bled from her very soul.
"Why cannot I break free?"
The chorus of singers behind her echoed her plea:
"Why cannot I break free?"
Their voices swelled, a mournful harmony, before the young actress sang again, alone:
"Flowers, wither and decay,
Catastrophic deeds,
Hands of the guilty can never pay,
And only from the victim does it reaps."
The song lingered in the air, but it paid little attention. Its focus was elsewhere, tuned to the hushed conversation between Aldric and Ad.
"...It's not the song about us. Dammit, Julian," Aldric muttered, his voice low, but it caught every word.
His head tilted slightly, the only sign of his frustration. "He made them remember an event of the past, before this world, in tales. This isn't true at all. This is 'our desperate struggle to survive against the Conjurers which was meaningless' and now it is turned into theater."
It studied him intently. Aldric's tone remained indifferent, unreadable, but the atmosphere around him shifted. It was subtle, something only it seemed to notice—a palpable, murderous intent. Not wild or reckless like bloodlust, but cold, calculated. It was directed at someone absent: the man named Julian.
"What do you mean?" Ad asked, confusion creasing her brow. She tilted her head as she looked at him.
Aldric exhaled, his composure returning. The intent dissipated like a flame snuffed out. "You arrived later...after our brethren were wiped out by Julian's kind and the Conjurers." He paused, his words deliberate. "I'll… I'll tell you later."
___________________
The play concluded with the young girl becoming the first queen of a new world, ushering in six hundred years of peace.
The audience rose to their feet in applause. It guided the girl it inhabited to stand and clap alongside them, her small hands moving rhythmically. On stage, the actors stepped forward, bowing deeply. Their voices carried a message of devotion, a speech like a ritual, as they spoke of their God—Mother, the protector of all.
When the actors withdrew, the crowd began to disperse, their chatter mingling with the cold wind sweeping through the square.
"What? You can just come tomorrow again!" Ad's voice cut through the din as she protested Aldric's departure.
"It is necessary, Ad," Aldric replied, his tone strained but firm. "I need to check on the stocks and make sure everything is safe. The Anvil isn't doing well in sales."
Their exchange continued, a back-and-forth that ended with Ad relenting. She wrapped her arms around him in a brief hug before stepping away, disappearing into the crowd.
The girl it controlled shivered violently in the cold, her frail body struggling against the chill. But her discomfort was irrelevant.
Its focus was now singular: follow Aldric.
It followed Aldric as he strode through the cobbled streets, his tall figure weaving through the sparse evening crowd with the ease of someone familiar with the rhythm of the city.
"My little knight on the horse white,
Come and save me…
Oh, my sweet knight.
In the tower I stay,
The princess is the witch, they say,
Curses fall upon me, and they take their children away.
Death upon me do they pray.
But I am just a girl,
Who looks upon the sapphire night.
Oh, take me away,
My sweet knight."
Aldric sang with a jolly tune, his humming carrying softly in the cold air. It noted the song and filed it away, every word, every inflection, every hum.
They arrived at the shop shortly after.
It was simple, unassuming—a wooden structure with a modest sign hanging above the door. Inside, the wares were practical rather than decorative: hides and organs of beasts crafted into accessories, weapons, or elixirs. A shop for the practical hunter, not the extravagant noble.
Aldric turned abruptly, catching the girl it inhabited in his gaze. His expression softened slightly as he crouched to her level.
"What are you doing, child?" he asked.
The question startled it. It had no prepared answer and scrambled through the girl's memories in a heartbeat, searching for a plausible response. But Aldric didn't wait.
"Go home," he said, his voice kind but firm. "I'm not selling tomorrow, and it's only going to get colder." He straightened, turning back toward the shop, clearly expecting her to leave.
But it needed to stay with him.
In a fraction of a second, it sifted through the girl's memories again, analyzing how she pleaded when she wanted something. It learned the subtleties of her behavior—the wide eyes, the quivering lip, the soft tone. It copied them perfectly.
"I…" it began, pitching the girl's voice just so, catching his attention as he stopped to listen. "I am hungry, sir. Could you please feed me something?"
Aldric hesitated, his brow furrowing. "Why would I do that? Aren't you a noble lady? Find your mother and father."
It persisted, its tone faltering, carefully layered with desperation. "My parents… they kicked me out because I was impolite to them." A lie, of course, but a sensible one, crafted to appeal to a man with a grudging sense of duty. "Please, good sir."
Aldric sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine, young miss. But after feeding you, you'll take me to these brilliant parents of yours."
It nodded, feigning relief, and followed him to a nearby restaurant.
The restaurant was warm and bustling, its interior lit by soft lanterns that cast a golden glow over polished wooden tables. Aldric waved the girl to a seat and gestured for her to order.
It made the girl select a balanced, nutritional meal, enough to restore her strength and sustain her body for now.
As she ate, Aldric leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting across the room. "I noticed you were following me for a while," he said, his tone conversational but his eyes sharp as they scanned the other patrons. "Were you watching the play too?"
It nodded, maintaining the girl's innocent demeanor.
"So, what did you like about it?" he asked absently, his head tilting slightly as if observing something just out of sight.
"I thought it was a very interesting story," it replied, the girl's voice carrying a practiced enthusiasm.
"That right?" Aldric murmured, still distracted. "And what was so interesting about it?"
"The way the heroine of the story turned villain," it answered.
"Oh, so you want to be a villain, is that it?" he said, his tone chuckled, "No offense, of course," though he didn't look directly at her.
"No," it replied quickly, adjusting. "I loved both of them—the swordswoman and the young girl who turned into a saint."
Aldric turned his full attention to her now, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But both aren't the heroine. The swordswoman is the heroine." Aldric stood, brushing off his coat, and motioned for her to lead the way. "Now, take me to these parents of yours," he said, his tone stern but not unkind.
It complied, directing the girl's body toward the path, and Aldric followed
"The swordswoman is the leading character," it said, picking up the thread of their conversation as they walked. Its interest in Aldric's perspective was genuine—his responses were proving far more revealing than anticipated. "And the young girl, her student, takes the role of the leading character after her."
"True," Aldric agreed, his tone contemplative. "But wouldn't one prefer a single character as the main focus throughout the play, rather than changing the lead and giving the previous one a cliché end?"
"It wasn't a cliché end," it countered smoothly. "She had a strong beginning—renouncing violence as she cast away her blade in protest against corruption. A meaningful middle—helping others through the Mother's blessings. And an impactful ending—returning to violence when corruption resurged. It's a full circle."
"A tragic and flawed circle," Aldric said, shaking his head. "A person changes when they want to, truly and deeply, and they don't revert to their old ways if that change is genuine. If the play meant to depict transformation, it failed. What they showed wasn't change—it was a façade of goodness. A mask she wore to fool herself and those around her. Violence isn't an addiction. People turn to it because they have no choice."
"Or perhaps," it replied, tilting the girl's head as if in thought, "they had plenty of choices, and violence was simply the easiest route. It requires fewer steps, fewer complications. The swordswoman had three defining characteristics: integrity, loyalty, and aptitude for both evil and good. She chose good at first because it was convenient and garnered her followers. But when corruption returned, she abandoned good for murder, taking the simpler path to solve her problems."
"If she truly had integrity," Aldric retorted, "she wouldn't have changed her nature. She isn't a swordswoman, therefore."
"How would you know?" it challenged, pushing slightly with the girl's voice.
Aldric stopped walking and it turned her body looking at him.
"I know," he said, tilting his head down slightly to meet her gaze, his tone calm but charged. "Because I am one. And just as I knew you weren't a noble lassie, even though acted incredibly good."
The girl's body froze, her eyes widening as if in shock. Inside, it felt its control waver under the weight of his words, a flicker of uncertainty creeping through the hive mind. Without hesitation, it twisted the girl's body away, ready to retreat.
"Surprised?" Aldric asked, his voice light but laced with steel as he tilted his head, his expression unreadable.