A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 50

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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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Episode 50.
Caroline seized it immediately.
It had a keyhole just like the other, but instinct whispered that this was the same key that had opened the door before.
And then.
“This is…….”
At the top of the diary were holes, and a charm attached to a chain.
A charm in the shape of an opened shell, silvery metal holding a pale pearl that rolled freely within.
Each time the charm clinked and swayed, the pearl moved with it.
Caroline knew it intimately.
‘I gave him that.’
“What’s it doing here?”
Bewildered, Caroline scanned the room once more.
She wanted to read the diary’s contents, but to do so she’d need to leave the room and get the key back.
‘I can always come back.’
A thorough search could wait.
Caroline took one last look around what struck her as far too small and far too strange a room for a celebrated actor, then stepped out.
‘But why would his room be hidden away like that?’
Was there really a need to conceal it so carefully among the other residents’ rooms?
Caroline had struggled through the mission to find it, so how had Aiden managed?
The answer became clear the moment she pocketed the key and left James’s room.
“Wow.”
The space between James’s room and Friedman’s had widened since before.
And between the doors of those two rooms, a different-colored new door and lock had appeared.
‘This game is absolutely infuriating.’
Caroline clicked her tongue and made her way downstairs.
Below, Ifros waited with the gentle expression of a docile dog.
‘Looks harmless, but who knows how relentless he can become.’
Caroline approached him cautiously.
“Is the work finished?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you going to give me my reward?”
“……Yeah. Follow me.”
Caroline glanced around for any servants, then tugged at his hand.
It was already deep into the early morning hours—she should have been exhausted.
Yet his eyes sparkled as if he felt nothing at all.
Like something fashioned from machinery.
“Isn’t it time for you to sleep?”
“……Only me. You need to go finish what’s left.”
“Ah.”
Aiden’s expression fell in an instant.
“So where’s my reward?”
Caroline’s hand, which had rested on the doorknob, trembled slightly.
She’d planned to catch him off guard and slip quickly into the room, but it seemed that wouldn’t be easy.
‘Should I really do this?’
After a moment’s hesitation, she rose onto her toes.
“?”
She pulled at his shirt collar, his expression turning puzzled.
And she kissed his pale cheek as he waited obediently.
Then she slipped quickly into the room like a thief making her escape.
“Sigh.”
She sank down onto the carpet.
The late hour and the weight of everything she’d endured were catching up with her, exhaustion pulling at her eyelids.
‘But I can’t put this off until tomorrow.’
Caroline picked up the key to examine the diary.
Click.
The diary opened without resistance, and the charm swayed gently on its chain.
Caroline followed the bookmark and turned to the last page with entries.
[I’ve confirmed that I have a mental illness. Every day I splinter into multiple versions of myself. There are moments I can’t remember—entire hours when I was awake but lost. It must be because I’ve lived my life as an act, a performance.]
[I spent my hours and strength unwillingly as an actor, and it was never my choice. I never truly loved that life of mine.]
What came next was shocking.
Aiden didn’t know he’d become a pawn in someone’s game, but he was aware that his mind was fractured.
His body grew more exhausted with each passing day because of it.
Yet the weariest part of him seemed to be his spirit.
Aiden had resolved to retire without caring for himself, to choose death instead. Since there was no mother left to push him toward acting, he felt he had nothing to lose.
And he had already set the date when he would end his own life.
“What…?”
Caroline counted the days.
[First. Your summer vacation lasts thirty days. You may leave this place anytime before your thirty days of vacation end. If you feel your safety is in danger, you’re free to stop playing and leave whenever you wish.]
The Rules flashed through her mind.
‘So that’s why they insisted on thirty days.’
The game was cruel beyond measure.
Aiden planned to end his life on the thirtieth day after the guests arrived at the Mansion.
‘That’s why. Once Aiden dies, the game ends.’
Caroline shook her head slowly.
‘But who wrote those Rules?’
Apart from the Rules distributed to all players at the beginning.
The real Rules she had fished out of the tea water.
Who on earth had written them?
‘I should have asked young Aiden.’
But he was gone now.
Caroline opened the Diary from the beginning, hoping the answer lay within.
And so she ventured into Aiden’s past.
* * *
It was a winter’s day.
“Michelle!”
A girl with pale, braided hair was adorning herself with lipstick.
She had been gazing into the mirror with keen anticipation when she heard herself called, and she turned around.
“Michelle!”
“Yes?”
“Someone’s looking for you.”
At the hopeful thought, her face brightened, and the fellow dancer who’d called for her nodded vigorously.
“That’s right! The man who brought you those bundles of roses before. He’s dressed spectacularly again today.”
“I—I’ll go see!”
Michelle hastily smoothed down her skirt, took one last look in the mirror, and rushed out.
Outside, snow was falling quite heavily.
Undeterred, Michelle pushed open the door and spotted a man dressed entirely in refined gray attire.
She tried to slow her pace to appear graceful.
But her excitement overwhelmed her, and she hurried forward in quick, eager steps.
When she reached him, the man smiled and tilted the large umbrella he wore toward her.
White breath, flushed cheeks—yet the man remained a handsome figure, radiating an easy charm.
“The weather’s cold. You should have rested a bit longer before coming out.”
“I couldn’t bear to keep you waiting any longer.”
Michelle had been born a commoner but raised by wealthy parents.
After studying dance, she’d joined the Ballet Company.
She’d been performing since her youth and had only recently claimed the position of principal dancer.
Recently, a man had come into her life who set her heart racing.
He attended every performance she danced in, always presenting her with Bouquets and Jewelry that rivaled none others in grandeur.
At first, he revealed nothing of himself, only giving gifts.
After repeating this several times, he carefully enclosed a letter confessing his feelings along with his presents.
I truly admire your performance on stage. If my sincerity doesn’t burden you, might we meet outside the theater sometime?
She’d thought it a mere diversion and gone out lightly—only to find herself drowning in deep waters from that day forward.
A man with eyes of pale blue, who introduced himself as Martin.
The hat, coat, and shoes he wore were of such flawless quality that no fault could be found, and every gesture, word, and movement he made toward Michelle was grace incarnate.
Their meetings continued.
What had begun as brief moments after performances near the theater evolved into longer, more varied rendezvous.
Martin held Michelle’s hand as they visited the finest restaurants, sailed yachts, and rented private gardens for themselves alone.
He draped her neck, ears, and limbs with brilliant Jewelry that graced the pages of newspapers.
To Michelle, Martin was at first merely an amusing distraction, an alluring suitor.
But when the trading company run by Michelle’s parents went bankrupt, everything changed.

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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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