A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11.
Caroline sat with a tangle of thoughts weighing on her mind.
‘I’m at a loss.’
She wasn’t sure what she needed to figure out or how to go about it, but Caroline quickly rallied herself.
‘I’m a Player too. If I think this through carefully, I can reach the answer.’
Caroline began to organize her thoughts, one by one.
First came the image of Aiden acting strangely. Then James. Then Friedman.
All three of them fully costumed and made up in their character roles.
‘Why were they doing that?’
Why had Aiden, dressed as James, been standing in the rain? Was he practicing his Acting?
‘And today—why was Friedman holding onto that woman from earlier?’
The menacing expression suited Friedman’s character well enough, but the context made no sense to her.
‘Hmm.’
Frustrated, Caroline rummaged through the papers on her desk.
Something caught her hand with a soft tap.
‘Oh, this is the copy of the Rules I signed back then.’
The text was written in golden ink. Caroline read through the Rules slowly.
[The Rules below are matters you must familiarize yourself with during your stay at the Deverell Estate. Please read carefully and sign below.
First. Your summer vacation lasts thirty days—one month. You may leave this place only on the day that marks exactly one month. It is impossible to leave before thirty days have passed, and it is also impossible to remain here after those thirty days have elapsed. If you find it difficult to meet this requirement, please do not sign and leave immediately.
Second. While you remain in this estate, we do not recommend contacting the outside by letter. We will deliver any letters you send, but before that, they will be reviewed once within the estate to ensure there is no harmful content. If you must send a letter, please do not include personal matters.
Fourth. Do not leave your room after midnight. A servant will visit last at midnight—please mention anything you need at that time. A dressing room and bathroom exist within your room, and we will bring you any necessary items, so please do not leave your room after midnight under any circumstances.]
‘What?’
Caroline frowned and brought the paper closer to her eyes.
But her eyes hadn’t deceived her. The Rules written on the paper numbered three, yet the third Rule was labeled “Fourth.”
‘Why?’
It couldn’t be a simple mistake. In a game as meticulously choreographed as a play, such a thing couldn’t be trivial.
‘There’s a separate third Rule.’
But they clearly hadn’t told her about it.
‘Then they mean for me to find it myself.’
She had no idea how to find anything in this sprawling estate, but Caroline believed—as Players did—that she had the capacity to succeed.
‘Perhaps that child could be helpful?’
The child who had secretly guided her into the estate that rainy night.
The way he had led her past the servants without being seen suggested he knew about the Rules. But he likely wasn’t a Player.
‘I’ll ask him the next time we meet.’
* * *
“Miss Caroline, are you awake? Please come down for breakfast.”
When Caroline opened her eyes, she felt as though she’d just woken from an unsettling dream.
But the view before her when her eyes opened was different from before.
A bag-shaped icon floated in the lower left, and three heart-shaped icons in the upper right.
‘So this is what the game looks like.’
Marveling at it as she descended, Caroline found Aiden seated properly, waiting for her.
With all the Players gone from the game, only the two of them occupied the dining room.
Caroline found herself freshly embarrassed. Eating breakfast alone with her favorite actor.
‘Even if he is merely a Game Character.’
Despite the cold reality the system had revealed last night, Caroline felt her heart stubbornly unchanged.
Character or not, Aiden remained achingly beautiful and precious to her.
‘I can’t let him die.’
To prevent that, she had to fulfill her role as a Player.
Now Caroline understood why the women at the dining table had only pretended to eat and asked questions instead.
“Did you sleep well last night, Aiden?”
This was how Caroline broached the subject.
“Yes. I slept very soundly. So much so that I didn’t dream at all.”
As he spoke, Aiden’s face was utterly composed—so perfectly at ease that she nearly forgot the image of Friedman she’d seen past midnight last night.
‘Is he lying?’
Being an actor, his face showed no sign of deception whatsoever.
Caroline hesitated, then spoke.
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
“I appreciate your concern, but what do you mean by my condition?”
Aiden tilted his head, asking in return.
Caroline was thinking of the time he had stood in the rain dressed as James, taking the downpour. How would he explain it now?
Are you planning to hide something?
“I was worried because you seemed to have gotten caught in the rain the night before last. I thought you might have caught a cold.”
Caroline watched her actor intently, unwilling to miss even the slightest hint.
But he rolled his eyes with a bewildered expression.
Aiden, pulling himself from his thoughts, laughed with both eyebrows drawn outward apologetically.
“It’s true that my body felt chilly and unwell starting the night before last. I suspect your considerate eye caught that, Caroline…… but in fact, I was never caught in the rain, Caroline.”
“Ah, I see.”
Caroline could be certain of one thing.
If he truly wanted to hide it, he would have said he’d never been caught in the rain and felt perfectly fine.
But to admit feeling chilly while denying ever being caught in the rain was close to simply not remembering.
‘It’s not that he’s pretending not to know.’
Does Aiden fail to remember situations when he’s in character costume and makeup?
Is he so absorbed in performing in that state?
“Oh, and there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What might that be?”
“Do you perhaps practice acting alone sometimes, even though you’ve retired?”
“What do you mean by that?”
The man’s tone grew slower.
His voice was laden with a chilling edge as he spoke each syllable deliberately, as if grinding them between his teeth.
!
And at that very moment, Caroline’s eyes flickered rapidly at the red triangle that appeared beneath the Heart in the upper right corner.
[▲]
‘What is that?’
The confusion lasted only a moment.
Caroline realized that all eyes had turned toward her in response to her question.
!
Not only Aiden’s, but the servants’ pupils as well were all fixed upon her.
They were not smiling.
A chill crept down her spine. Caroline’s shoulders shrank involuntarily.
‘I don’t know why, but…… that triangle doesn’t seem like anything good.’
It felt like some sort of warning.
Should she stop speaking now?
‘But there’s only one.’
There are three Hearts in the upper right. She didn’t know what the triangle meant, but one alone shouldn’t be a serious problem.
“What I mean is…… I was curious whether you still practice the roles you’ve played so far even these days.”
[▲▲]
Another triangle appeared.
As an ominous feeling crept through her, Caroline noticed a change.
Aiden was placing both hands on the table as if about to rise from his seat.
And the servants, pressed against the walls and facing forward, had only turned their heads to look at her now—unlike before when only their pupils had moved.
“I’m not sure what you mean. Is there a reason you think so?”
“What I’m saying is…….”
Caroline blinked her eyes.
A feeling washed over her that something terrible was about to happen.
“Even though you’ve retired, I hope Aiden will keep acting and return to the stage someday.”
Do you have any plans to do so?
The moment Caroline ended her roundabout words with a final question, she realized her own words could no longer be heard.
More precisely—only that last question.
[3/3]
And a window appeared before her eyes.
‘What?’
[You may only ask three questions during mealtime.]
It seemed to be one of the game’s Rules. Only now did Caroline understand why the Players tended to pour out their questions all at once before falling silent.
‘Three questions? Could it be…….’
‘Did you sleep well last night, Aiden?’
‘Are you feeling any better?’
‘Do you perhaps practice acting alone sometimes, even though you’ve retired?’
Counting slowly, Caroline’s brow furrowed. This inflexible game was treating even her morning greeting as a question.
‘How ridiculous!’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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