A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 12

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

Episode 12.
Yet despite the barrier to further questioning, Caroline’s excuse seemed to have worked—the tension in the room dissipated in an instant.
The servants’ eyes fixed forward now, their gazes turning away from Caroline and toward the front of the room.
‘Thank goodness. I was terrified.’
And Aiden’s demeanor softened back to its usual gentleness.
“Ah, I see. That’s what it was, then.”
He smiled kindly.
“I stopped acting after that final play. I needed a proper rest, you see.”
“…Ah, I understand.”
“Whether it’s Burnout or something else, I found myself unwilling to engage with anything connected to theater. You know, Caroline, sometimes it’s actually helpful to stop thinking about something entirely when you’re trying to generate fresh ideas.”
“Oh, that’s true. I experienced the same thing at the Academy.”
As Caroline answered each of his statements dutifully, her gaze wavered with uncertainty.
Setting aside the matter of makeup—perhaps he hadn’t applied it for a performance—but one thing was certain: he had been wearing the shape of a character.
For ordinary Aiden to take on James’s appearance, he would need to apply scarring makeup to his face and wear the school uniform.
And to become the Friedman she’d seen yesterday, Aiden’s hair would have to be slicked back with wax, and makeup would need to be applied around his eyes and face to create that menacing air.
‘He said he didn’t want to engage with anything related to theater.’
Perhaps it was because he was an actor.
Aiden spoke with such disarming honesty that it was nearly impossible to believe he was lying.
‘But if it wasn’t a lie…?’
Caroline tried to construct a hypothesis that would make such a thing possible.
‘What if what I saw wasn’t Aiden at all?’
A ghost? A hallucination? Someone else?
As Caroline entertained these wild notions, she could only grip one possibility.
‘Could he have a twin?’
* * *
‘It’s lucky I didn’t ask about the boy who helped me on that rainy day.’
If I’d pressed him on how we’d happened to meet, he might have caught on that I was outside that day—so I’d held back, and in doing so, I’d narrowly avoided losing another question.
Caroline reflected on this small fortune as she followed the servants’ guidance to the location of afternoon tea.
‘I wonder if there’s a limit on how many questions I can ask during tea time as well.’
Consumed by this curiosity, she followed the servant’s lead and found that today’s venue was indoors.
“Do you know how to play Chess?”
At Aiden’s gentle inquiry, Caroline glanced around.
Like a space designed to showcase matches between masters, a single table and two chairs occupied the center of the spacious room.
The space was so vast it seemed less like a private chamber and more like a hall.
Along the outer edges around the table sat a Gramophone, a Billiard Table, and a stand for musical instruments.
“The weather is warmer than yesterday, but since it’s summer, there’s a light rain falling outside. I judged it would be inconvenient to spend time outdoors.”
Caroline moved forward, guided by Aiden’s escort.
The room was decorated in warm, antique brown tones that evoked the feeling of early autumn.
Most of all, Aiden looked particularly striking today in his beige knit over a white shirt.
“Welcome to my Recreation Room, Caroline.”
He stood behind one of the chairs, waiting for her, and pulled it in for her at precisely the moment she sat.
Then he crossed to the opposite side with quiet footsteps and settled into his own seat.
“Did you say you know how to play Chess?”
“Yes.”
After arranging her skirt, Caroline gazed down at the Black Tea and Chess Board resting on the table.
Steam rose gently from the wooden board, which was crafted in pale beige and rich brown.
She played white. Caroline carefully adjusted the rounded pawn, running her fingers over its smooth surface.
“I know how each piece moves, but I’m not very good at reading strategies or the technical aspects.”
“Do you know what Checkmate is?” Aiden’s calm, measured voice drifted across the table.
At the sound, Caroline’s head snapped up.
“Oh, yes, I do!”
Caroline had learned Chess because of .
As she’d mentioned to the other players during a previous tea time, it was a play about the bonds of friendship between a temporary teacher assigned to a rural school facing closure and his students.
One of the turning points in the delinquent James’s growing closeness to Roberain, the teacher who transforms him, had been Chess.
“I learned Chess from . You played Chess with Roberain as James, didn’t you?”
An expression of surprise crossed Aiden’s face.
‘Is he surprised that I learned Chess from that? Or did he have plans to bring up himself, and I’ve beaten him to it?’
He smiled and met her eyes, nodding slowly.
“I played James for nearly five years. That scene where Roberain teaches James Chess, piece by piece—that must be where you learned.”
“Exactly. He explains each one—the Pawn, the Knight, the Bishop—one by one.”
“Actually, I learned Chess for the first time while practicing that scene.”
“I’ve heard about that. But for a beginner, you played so well that you beat the actor who played Roberain every time you two had a game during breaks?”
“…….”
The conversation stalled.
Caroline studied her companion in silence, watching as words seemed to abandon him.
Aiden’s expression held no shock, no bewilderment, no alarm. His eyes weren’t wide with surprise.
Instead, he gazed at her with the keen fascination of someone discovering a rare butterfly for the first time.
Caroline noticed how the weariness that had dulled his eyes these past days now gleamed with sudden brightness.
“How did you know that?”
“There was a press conference after the premiere of The Quiet Graduation. I attended. And I read the magazine that came out about it afterward. I even brought a copy to the residence!”
Aiden let out a sound of admiration.
He wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Caroline herself was startled by how readily the details spilled from her lips.
Though perhaps she’d seen every play Aiden appeared in only because her assigned role in the game demanded it.
Yet she remembered all those experiences vividly. Even now, recalling them made her words flow faster, made her laugh. It was the sound of genuine joy.
And that was something the system couldn’t have implanted.
‘I really do love Aiden.’
As shame crept up Caroline’s neck and flushed her ears, Aiden let out a soft exclamation before speaking again.
“I had no idea you knew so much about my performances.”
“I’m a devoted fan of your work, after all.”
The moment the words left her mouth, they sounded too much like boasting.
Alone with him, talking about her favorite actor right in front of her—her heart wouldn’t stop racing.
Feeling her cheeks burn hot, Caroline quickly shifted her gaze to the Chess Board.
“Let’s start the game quickly. I’m really nervous since I’m such a beginner.”
“Is that so?”
Only then did Aiden break into a gentle smile and continue.
“To be honest, I haven’t played Chess since after the premiere of The Quiet Graduation. So my skill level is probably similar to yours.”
White moved first—Caroline.
Without much thought, she advanced the pawn on the far left one square.
“But there’s something you won’t know, Caroline.”
Aiden also moved a pawn, two squares forward.
“You see, Quirtz, the instructor who played Roberain, was someone who competed in amateur Chess tournaments. Beating him wasn’t because I was skilled.”
This was news to her.
Caroline stared at Aiden with wide eyes as he smiled.
‘I thought that after all these years as a fan, there was nothing about him I didn’t know.’
She’d never expected Aiden himself to teach her something new.
Still, it fascinated her.
“Is there anything else you remember about the production?”
Early in the game, only pawns could move. Caroline took a sip of Black Tea, then paused thoughtfully before speaking.

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