After the Student Council members returned to the Imperial Capital and rested for a few days, Director Feen’s second round of rehearsals arrived on schedule.
Clothes fell to the floor one by one.
The girl looked at herself in the mirror, revealing large areas of fair, delicate skin. Finally, she put on a black-and-white maid dress with lace trim.
She removed the two blue bows from under her ponytail, then brushed her long hair into a neat bun.
She inserted the Purple Gem Hairpin that Leonora had forced on her.
Then she sat on a high-backed chair, rolled up white stockings, and slowly pulled them up her slender, pink toes, over her curved, glossy knees, as if coating them in sweet, delicious cream.
Her small red round-toe leather shoes made crisp, cute sounds on the floor.
She pushed open the door, spun lightly toward the young lady in the hallway, and lifted her hem in a playful curtsey.
“Respected villainess, here is your most loyal evil maid.”
Leonora, who had been stunned by her appearance, slumped her face and pinched the soft flesh of the girl’s cheek.
“Hurry up and rehearse. I can’t stand you troublemakers.”
Shiya humphed, lightly slapped away the hand of this mischievous woman, turned, and walked to the front of the stage.
Her eyes met with a pair of light blue eyes.
She immediately shouted, pointing at Elena, who was playing the princess.
“Master Karlen, the mistress’s jewelry from the bedroom is missing. I suspect someone with ulterior motives stole it.”
Then she deliberately muttered:
“I wonder why Her Highness the Princess’s handkerchief ended up in the mistress’s room.”
Karlen was silent for a moment, his face pale.
He glared at Director Feen below the stage, then patted his wife, the pig’s head.
“Don’t worry, dear. That is the token of our wedding anniversary. I will dig three feet deep into the entire Imperial Capital to find it for you.”
The pig wife let out an uneasy squeal and bit Karlen hard.
Suddenly, blood splattered.
The man screamed, clutching his hand with a missing piece of flesh, and rolled away to find a healing priest.
Shiya’s eyelashes trembled.
She humbly moved a little farther from the pig wife.
But the play rehearsal had to continue.
At Director Feen’s continuous urging, Shiya spoke viciously at the empty sofa seat of the male lead:
“I suspect it was Her Highness the Princess who stole it.”
Elena opened her mouth as if to speak.
Being able to talk to thin air without changing expression, Shiya’s acting was too authoritative.
But Princess Elena still pointed at the pig wife:
“What jewelry could it have?”
Maid Shiya immediately raised her chin arrogantly and clapped her hands.
A Student Council member dressed as a servant rushed over hastily.
But his acting was not so professional.
From the moment he came on stage, he kept trying to stuff a bell collar into a small handbag.
Seeing the servant’s face flushed red, unable to force out his lines, Shiya kindly covered her lips with the back of her hand and whispered to him:
“Just go get a pig feed bag and put it over the collar.”
The servant actor felt greatly relieved.
He gave Shiya a grateful look and then rushed back behind the scenes to the prop room.
Soon, a large brown plastic fiber bag landed at Princess Elena’s feet in an extremely graceful parabolic arc.
Shiya pointed her little finger and shouted loudly, as if commanding:
“Your Highness the Princess, do you still deny that you stole it?”
Elena’s mouth twitched.
She finally understood:
Shiya wasn’t seriously rehearsing; she was clearly having fun.
Seeing Elena staring at her with a deep gaze, Shiya unconsciously shrank her neck and twirled a few strands of hair with her fingertips.
“Well… since Karlen has run off anyway, let’s end the rehearsal here.”
Princess Elena stood up abruptly and pulled out the lady’s belt from under her costume.
“It’s fine. I’ll make do. According to the original script, I’ll first interrogate you on why you did bad things.”
Shiya’s face instantly turned pale.
She quickly waved her hands:
“No, no, Sister Elena. There’s still the part where Master Karlen collects evidence for Princess Elena and clears her of suspicion.”
But Elena answered bluntly:
“I already know I didn’t steal. Why go through the procedure? Just arrest you and torture you to find out who is behind it.”
Shiya turned to run, but the belt, as if intelligent, wrapped around her waist and pulled.
She fell into Elena’s embrace.
Elena’s voice carried a unique bamboo leaf fragrance as it brushed against Shiya’s earlobe.
“Shiya, who is behind this? If you don’t tell, you’ll receive an education.”
Shiya’s ears felt hot.
She gently pressed her hands against the princess’s shoulders and looked up at her pitifully.
“Well, I would never tell you even if I die.”
Shiya swore that this really was the line Director Feen had set for her.
So when those light blue eyes gradually became as deep as an abyss, she actually wanted to change her words.
Unfortunately, Elena didn’t give her that chance.
She grabbed Shiya and pressed her face down onto the sofa.
slap! That was the dull sound of a palm hitting fabric.
Shiya felt a burning pain on her bottom.
She whimpered and almost burst into tears.
The whole place was dead silent.
Director Feen was silent for a moment.
After informing his female assistant, he signaled all the male staff present to leave with him.
Only Shiya remained, terrified, shouting his name, hoping he would come back and end this rehearsal.
Then came more than a dozen dull sounds.
Shiya, half-lying on the sofa seat, sank deeper and deeper, her body suddenly going limp.
A fine layer of fragrant sweat soaked her.
Her weak voice was full of grievance.
“Sister Elena, actually, I was ready to confess from the very beginning.”
The princess, whose eyes held a strange excitement, paused her hand in midair.
Somewhat embarrassed, she helped Shiya up.
“Shiya, why didn’t you say so earlier.”
Shiya sniffled and straightened her messy skirt.
Under the meaningful gazes of all the female staff present, she gave Elena a look that said, “I really hate you.”
Elena’s breath caught, and a flush spread across her face.
Shiya’s familiar look—
Eyes full of only her, no one else, only disgust for her, only anger at her—
Almost made her breathing disordered and her body tremble slightly.
The girl was frightened by Elena’s almost morbid smile.
She unconsciously covered her lips with both hands.
“Sister Elena, what’s wrong with you?”
Acting on instinct, Elena leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“Shiya,
Can you be angry at me like this?
Even scold me?”
Shiya’s mouth fell open.
She could hardly believe what the usually dignified and elegant princess had just said to her.
“Sister Elena, have you gone mad?”
Elena gave two very light hums, a satisfied pleasure curling at the corners of her lips.
Shiya was truly frightened now.
She rolled over and fell to the floor, supporting herself with her hands, curling her legs and shrinking back.
Then she bumped into a pair of long, straight, beautiful legs in black stockings.
Looking up, she saw a pure white, flawless fabric.
No.
It was Lady Leonora finally making her appearance.
The light red eyes glared displeasedly at this soft, spineless creature who only stared at her skirt and dared not resist even when bullied.
Then, her gaze collided fiercely with Elena’s, who slowly stood up not far away, her face gloomy.
Sparks seemed to fly between them.
“Where are we in the rehearsal plot?”
The young lady tilted her head, her tone indifferent.
“Isn’t it the scene where you and I duel?”
Chapter 46: Is It Who Wins, and Who Will Get the Wife?
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