The Freak Show Foreman

Yeterinpuurk was a city located at the eastern end of the Kievan Empire.

Although it was located far from the center of the empire, it played an important role in many aspects.

Firstly, it was one of the few non-freezing ports owned by the empire.

The Kievan Empire, known as the "Frozen Empire" due to its long winters, received harsh winds from the North Pole.

As a result, the development of transportation networks lagged behind.

One-third of the year was snowy, with one-third of that being heavy snowfall.

Maintaining roads under such conditions was no easy task.

Due to the phenomenon of auroras, flying airships was impossible, and even sophisticated magical equipment would malfunction, leaving the traditional powerhouse in recent years ridiculed by other countries as a "hibernating bear."

In this era, relying solely on the power coming from a large territory and population had its limitations for development.

Therefore, non-freezing ports were precious to the empire.

Despite its geographically and socially different background within the empire, Yeterinpuurk was not disconnected from the mainstream culture of the empire.

It was one of the cultural centers of the empire.

Due to its location at the eastern end, many nobles who had been expelled from the central politics had been exiled here since ancient times.

And culture and arts flourished around the exiled nobles.

As a result, it had become a city where nobles from all over the empire came to enjoy vacations.

The fact that it could hold one of the six theaters where the Circus Grand Prix preliminaries were held was also due to this cultural strength. Although the theatre people still looked down on the benefits of the non-freezing port.

Along the coast of the city, there were mansion complexes formed along the hills, and most nobles who had some power within the empire owned villas there.

Of course, whether the nobles themselves would visit here once a year was questionable.

Most of the guests filling the villas were influential people associated with them.

The reason why the "Golden Carnival" circus troupe could stay in one of the baron's villas was due to the connections of their sponsors and their reputation.

The name of being a candidate for the winner of the Circus Grand Prix was enough of a decoration for the baron to boast to his other villa guests. He gave them a building in exchange for showing performances to other villa guests once or twice a week.

The Golden Carnival was a planned circus troupe.

The purpose of the sponsor organizing the circus troupe was to show off and promote themselves through performances.

Yet the circus troupe, which had been organized with such effort, had excellent skills and passed all the tests in a year and then took a break for the rest of the year, did not fit the purpose of sponsorship.

So the circus troupe had to slowly conquer theaters wherever the sponsor demanded, showing their faces and slowly expanding.

That was why the Golden Carnival was spending time here waiting for the second test after passing the first test.

The head of the Golden Carnival was known to have as many as four Inspiras.

He always wore a golden suit, a golden cloak, and a long golden hat wherever he went.

The raised mustache and the golden-rimmed glasses on his left eye were his symbols.

Lord Fantastic.

He was on his way back from having dinner invited by another influential person staying at the villa.

His eloquent speech and amazing talents were always welcome at any dinner.

A merchant sent by the sponsor expressed his gratitude to him.

"As expected, there was a reason why the chairman told us to trust only the director! Thanks to you, the business talk went well."

"Making people happy is my job. I'm glad if I could help."

"You are amazing! Unlike clowns who sell cheap laughter, not vulgar, not arrogant like actors blind to art, not showing off like acrobats performing dangerous stunts! High-ranking people find somewhat conceited artists a bit uncomfortable."

"Adapting to the audience is also a skill."

"Indeed, there are reasons why you are the best in the industry! Ah, isn't that your daughter over there?"

In the backyard where the circus troupe was staying.

There was a 10-year-old girl with flowing golden hair, wearing sweaty workout clothes, focusing on acrobatic training.

Despite her age, she was tall and had a well-developed body.

It was all thanks to perfect management of exercise and diet from a young age.

She put daggers between her fingers and threw eight at once, hitting the target 20 meters away with no error.

The merchant opened his mouth to applaud, but Lord Fantastic, who was next to him, stopped him.

The training program still had more to go.

She prepared eight more daggers.

And she threw them at another target in a different position.

They all hit the mark again.

She succeeded like that four times in a row.

Fifth time.

As she turned her gaze from the target to the courtyard, holding a dagger in her hand,

She locked eyes with her father across the courtyard.

Ah.

Already in the motion of throwing, she missed the timing to release her finger.

One dagger landed slightly off-center from the target, the other completely missed and stuck into the tree behind.

She had made a mistake.

She felt a cold stare passing through her back.

It didn't matter whose it was.

"Reyna! What a waste! You were doing well until the fourth one. Why did you… act like you've seen a ghost… Oh, dear…"

The lanky man in his thirties, who had been helping her practice, approached her but stopped in his tracks upon seeing the director across the courtyard.

"Oh, what a pity. Still, to have such exceptional skills, Miss Reyna. I envy you."

"You flatter me."

Lord Fantastic flashed a commercial smile to the merchant beside him, but his gaze towards her was cold.

'Did I slip up that badly?'

'You might as well have wet yourself in front of hundreds, thousands of people.'

"Slip-up,' you say?'

'Why do trash excuses keep coming out of your mouth?'

His usual tone of voice was conveyed without words.

Lord Fantastic and his guest went inside the building.

Reyna stood there trembling.

The lanky man sighed deeply and shook his head.

That trauma machine, anyway.

"Phew, of all times, for the director to come there… It's okay. Let's practice again… Hey, Reyna! Where are you going?"

"I'll go get some fresh air."

There was a terrace extending towards the cliff in the backyard.

It was made of bricks, with half of the view showing the Yeterinpuurk cityscape and the other half showing the mansions of other nobles.

Since all the rooms faced towards the sea, naturally, the backyard faced inland.

It must have been about 20 meters high.

Reyna leaned against the railing and looked down.

The wind came up from the cliff.

Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

Then, laughter of a young man echoed from the dark alley below the cliff.

It was refreshing and clear, a sound that made you smile involuntarily.

Next to it followed the murmuring voices of a girl similar to her.

Lovers?

A noble lady and her suitor?

Or… father and daughter?

Sometimes she envied them.

Such ordinary relationships.

Between them, there would be no circus, no harsh training, no inexplicable affection.

After a moment, the girl's voice, now playful, switched to a voice that seemed to suggest the young man was daydreaming.

The alley below the cliff led to the street on the other side.

Their figures would soon be revealed under the streetlight.

Their faces, looking at each other with sincere affection…

Just seeing that would make her heart even more unsettled.

Reyna pulled herself together.

I'm different from those ordinary kids.

I am the daughter of Lord Fantastic, the world's greatest acrobat and magician.

I have to practice more and more.

So that dad won't be disappointed.

She finished her rest and went back into the courtyard.

Right after that, two shadows walking down the dark alley were revealed under the streetlight.

A blond man in a black suit and cloak, and a black-haired girl in a red military uniform.

Ella looked up at Wonderstein and spoke with a mocking tone.

"Feeling good? Did you enjoy the mistress' lips so much?"

He gave an awkward smile.

"It's a Kievan custom, you know. Kissing on the cheek. The master was going to do it to you too, Ella."

"I dodged it! You just accepted it."

"If both parties avoid it, wouldn't it be rude?"

"Hmph. Kievan people have standards too. They don't kiss just anyone on the cheek. Doing it to someone you've just met is a sign of liking them. Remember how the mistress kissed your cheek then ran next door giggling?"

"Well, that was embarrassing indeed. But we did get twice as much fruit in return…"

"In return?"

Ella raised an eyebrow.

Wonderstein didn't flinch and added an explanation.

"As a courtesy for accommodating their customs."

"Hmph. Well, you're quite the talker."

At that moment, Ella's foot stumbled, and she staggered.

It was the third time in a row.

Wonderstein knew the reason.

"Ella."

"Why, why…?"

"Could you loosen your arms a bit?"

"Huh? Arms? Oh, um, sure. Is it too hot…? Haha, even in the north, August is still August…"

She loosened her arms and stepped back.

Though she tried to maintain an indifferent expression, she couldn't hide the slight relaxation.

Her gaze sank, and a shallow sigh escaped her lips.

Wonderstein smiled and extended his arms again.

"Isn't it difficult to link arms due to the height difference? Our steps keep getting tangled. Hold hands instead."

"Sure, fine! Well, there's a 30cm difference between you and me anyway!"

She tightly grasped Wonderstein's hand.

Her gloves, always worn, were now gone.

Her fingers intertwined with his.

She chuckled softly.

"Alright. It's nice to go around like this."

"You've been through a lot alone in Luz."

"That's why I collapsed."

She sniffed dismissively.

"Ella insisted on doing it alone."

Wonderstein tossed the remark, discreetly observing her reaction.

She suddenly stared into space with unfocused eyes.

After a moment of waiting, she blinked and shook her head.

"…Why did I insist on doing it alone?"

"Don't you remember?"

Ella only murmured and shook her head.

"I guess I was too greedy. You wrote such a great script, I couldn't mess it up by being careless."

"…Is that so?"

Wonderstein nodded with a somewhat regretful smile.

They soon arrived at the villa provided by their sponsor.

Except for the caretaker's room, most of the rooms were dark.

"Oops! Are these people all asleep? I even bought fruit!"

"We said we'd eat outside and come back. The physical training in the daytime was tough."

"Ugh, how could you expect to pass the second test when you're so tired…"

Wonderstein smiled at Ella's grumbling.

"Aren't you tired too, Ella?"

At his words, Ella widened her eyes and nodded slightly.

"Oh, no! I'm fine!"

"Someone who can sleep on a tightrope shouldn't have any problem linking arms."

He pushed her shoulder playfully, causing her to stumble.

"Ugh! …Oh? Hehe, busted."

She scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"You're so tired, why did you force yourself to come along?"

"…Just because. I felt uneasy leaving only you."

"I almost had to carry you back on the way."

Hearing that, Ella inwardly sighed with regret.

Why didn't she think of that?

'No. No.'

If she showed weakness, she might not be taken again later.

"Can't you not even submit a test application after enduring such hardship…"

She sighed in response, and he seemed unable to argue, smiling.

"I wouldn't have been able to stop you anyway."

He looked like he was smiling.

"I understand. Go rest for now. We have a schedule tomorrow, right?"

At his words, Ella seemed a bit disappointed, but she suppressed her desires.

Everyone else was asleep… It was a perfect opportunity for the two of them to be alone…

However, as much as she loved Wonderstein, she also valued training and planning.

It was best for her to go in and rest now.

"Okay. I have to practice again from dawn."

"Yes. Goodnight then."

"Yeah. You too…"

As Ella was about to enter her room, she suddenly felt an impulse.

She turned back and approached him confidently.

"Ella, what's this, Kievan Culture?"

With a light kick, she adjusted her height to match his.

Then she offered him a Kievan-style greeting.

Squish.

"Hehe."

As she landed on the ground, she quickly turned around and dashed into the building.

It was too embarrassing to look him straight in the face.

"Sleep well then."

Wonderstein shook his hand and Ella disappeared into the dormitory.

"Huh, really."

Wonderstein sighed.

If the members were awake, they would be shocked once again.

Despite getting used to it now, Ella's attitude was still difficult to adapt to.

But at least there was no one else around.

If the other members saw this embarrassing situation…

"Director…"

A voice came from behind like a ghost.

Wonderstein quickly turned around.

There stood Maya in her pajamas, looking somewhat dejected.

She had less stamina compared to other members, so she had gone to sleep during training, but she seemed to have just woken up.

She stared at Wonderstein face intently before speaking.

"Did you submit the application…?"

"Yes…"

"Did you go with the assistant-director…?"

"Yes…"

An awkward silence followed.

A chilly breeze passed between them.

Maya's expression wasn't clearly visible in the darkness.

Anyway, it would probably be expressionless…

She approached him and stared at his face.

What was she thinking?

After hesitating for a moment, she bowed slightly.

"Goodnight."

She said and disappeared into the dorm without waiting for his response.

It seemed like she hadn't fully woken up yet.

Wonderstein peeled and ate a fruit he bought from the market.

It wasn't very sweet, perhaps because it was from a cold region.

He stood in the backyard of the villa, looking at the sea.

Maybe it was because they were in the north?

Or because it was a coastal area?

Even though it was summer, the wind was cool.

It was mid-August.

It had been over two weeks since they left Dvallchep.

They were in Yeterinpuurk, the second city where the Circus Grand Prix preliminaries were held.