Chapter 153: 89. Moonlit Night
The environment of the theater is quite nice because watching opera has always been a tradition of the Nali people. Every holiday and festival, they like to gather and watch, sometimes attending the same performance but with different actors, as it seems each actor’s style is unique and has its own charm.
Fisher also loves drama; he often came to watch with Renee, but that guy completely lacks any appreciation for art and is just there to tease and whisper to you.
Today’s play is called “Moonlit Night,” telling an ancient legend of the Nali people.
It is about a story of a king from an ancient kingdom who falls in love with a prince sent to his kingdom as a hostage, but of course, this is not a romantic tale written by the Shivali people. The hostage is not a real prince but a small country princess who is sent as a replacement.
The king of the small country is unwilling for his only son to go to another kingdom and risk his life as a hostage, so he asks his daughter to disguise herself as her elder brother to take his place. The story unfolds in this setting.
The princess, both gentle and brave, bets with the king of the great nation to save her servant; she even dons a knight’s helmet to fight the stone demon living in the mountains and retrieves the treasures stolen from the kingdom.
Over the long period spent together, her kind character touches the king, and they gradually become close friends.
Eventually, the king realizes that he has fallen for the hostage from another land, regardless of gender and status. However, such feelings are considered taboo, causing him great inner turmoil, so he orders the hostage to leave his kingdom and never see him again.
But at the moment of the hostage’s departure, he cannot resist his sincere love and resolves to break societal conventions to be with her.
In the dim moonlight, the king, under the pretense of privacy, rides a white horse to catch up with the princess who is about to leave in a carriage, revealing his feelings to her. The princess, moved by his sincere emotions, tells the king the truth of her identity.
At this point in the plot, the moonlight clears the fog, and the audience, much like the king, feels a sense of surprise and joy. They kiss under the moonlight, while the play’s songs reach an emotional peak, as two actors with beautiful singing voices sing,
“Oh my princess, why did you deceive me to this extent, making the beloved suffer from taboo’s torment?”
“Dear king, this was not my intention; my love for you makes me yearn, and my responsibilities to the kingdom make me hesitate. At this moment, under the moonlight as witness, I am willing to give up everything and entrust my sincere self to you, loving you until the last moment of my life.”
It seems that the Nali people inherently possess this pursuit of romance. The play “Moonlit Night” is rarely performed, but today the actors’ superb performances quickly immersed the audience in a state of bliss.
Originally, as Prince Losang, securing a private box would have been an easy task, but since the ticket was given by Carolina, he could only squeeze into the regular seats with others.
Losang had no objections and sat among other Nali citizens, just as he had stated before, he held no airs.
Beside him, Carolina stared absently at the two actors snuggling under the moonlight, unsure of what to think.
A nearby couple was leaning together and kissing, a romantic atmosphere spreading throughout the theater. Only Carolina and Losang seemed out of place, as most people watching the play were couples.
Their relationship was quite awkward, hard to define, though they appeared to be a good match on the surface.
Losang turned to glance at Carolina, who was wearing a formal dress and holding a small purse, looking shy and elegant like a Nali lady. Looking at the profile of Carolina, he smiled and said,
“This play is quite nice; many productions in our Shivali theaters are about war themes.”
“After we finish watching, let’s go.”
Carolina felt somewhat uneasy after hearing this. She picked up her small bag, ready to leave since the play was over.
To be honest, she had completely forgotten the things Fisher had instructed her earlier, about pleasing him, about the hope of survival resting on Prince Losang.
Since meeting Prince Losang, she had been quite wooden, not taking the initiative to speak, let alone flatter him.
She was not good at this under normal circumstances, not to mention in front of a prince.
Prince Losang stole a glance at her back, then quietly stood up and followed her. He waited until she walked out of the theater, but she didn’t stop.
Just as she was about to leave, Losang hurriedly caught up to her, reaching out to grab her hand and pull her under a streetlight.
In the light, they cast two intertwined shadows on the ground.
“Wait, can’t you see that I’m interested in you? If you keep this up, you’re just wearing down both our patience. Why don’t we be straightforward?”
“Let go of me.”
Carolina struggled for a moment but couldn’t break free. Then she shot a resentful glance at Losang and said,
“What do you know? Do you think I’m just an ordinary Nali girl? I am—”
“You’re a sorceress from the Sorceress Research Society, right? Fisher told me in advance. I came to find you after making up my mind. So what if you’re a subhuman? As long as I like you, and you’re a girl, what’s impossible?”
Carolina was momentarily taken aback, then looked at Losang with some confusion.
“He told you I’m a sorceress?”
Now it was Losang’s turn to be confused. He faintly sensed something ominous, as if some strange clues were forming connections in his mind. Yet facing Carolina’s beautiful visage, he couldn’t come up with any conclusions and simply asked,
“You aren’t actually a sorceress?”
“Not exactly, but how should I put it… I am a rather special kind of sorceress.”
Meeting Losang’s gaze, Carolina’s face flushed slightly as she nervously explained, and the more she tried to clarify, the more muddled it became, until she finally admitted defeat,
“But I am not an ordinary sorceress; I was… a human at first, but later became… a synthetic sorceress! There, I said it! I’m an artificial sorceress!”
“An artificial sorceress?”
Losang chewed on this term, recalling that Father Dek had said in the magical barrier that those monsters were artificial sorceresses created by the Sorceress Research Society? But the person in front of him was clearly a beautiful lady!
He seemed caught in a dilemma, paused for quite some time before saying,
“Wait, are you saying that you are a sorceress formed after birth, and before becoming a sorceress, you were a human?”
“Yes, before becoming a sorceress, I was a man! Are you satisfied? So liking me now is no different from those Shivali nobles.”
Carolina gritted her teeth, looking into Losang’s sincere eyes. She finally couldn’t hold back any longer and decided not to deceive the prince any further.
Perhaps Fisher’s despicable idea was for her to deceive Prince Losang or hide the truth to seduce him, believing that this way she could escape safely.
However, after struggling for some time, Carolina resolved to tell him the truth. In the worst case, she would return to being chased by people, just with two more countries pursuing her.
Even so, she still did not want to deceive Prince Losang.
Losang felt as if struck by lightning and suddenly let go of Carolina’s hand, his expression one of disbelief.
Countless childhood memories flooded his mind in an instant, surrounding him like an unbreakable curse, making him take a small step back.
Does that mean I—
The moon was now high in the sky, the hazy moonlight falling between them, slightly obscuring the streetlight’s glow, and their atmosphere became awkward and silent.
“I already rejected you long ago; you keep pushing yourself on me. You’re a prince with so many beauties to choose from, and I’m just a monster produced by an experiment!”
“Your affection will only annoy yourself; better abandon that damned romantic notion and think more about how to benefit your people so that the girls born in your kingdom don’t suffer the toxic hands of that bunch in the Sorceress Research Society. I’d be grateful for that!”
Carolina refused to look at Prince Losang, rather mercilessly criticizing his foolishness.
“Go back and also tell Fisher that I appreciate his kindness; here’s my pre-prepared reward for him. Just give it to him yourself.”
Carolina pulled out a folded note from her bag, which seemed to have some drawings on it.
But Losang simply stared at Carolina without taking the note, instead asking in a hoarse voice,
“What about you? The Nali officials are currently investigating the members of the Sorceress Research Society; how will you escape?”
“You just need not tell them I was at the scene. When I’ll be exposed is not something for you to worry about. The Sorceress Research Society has gotten the blame; they’re probably too busy taking care of themselves to have time to catch me. As for the rest, I’ll figure it out on my own. Now go.”
Carolina forcefully shoved the note into his hand and then tidied her brown hair. It was only at this moment that Losang noticed she’d put on some light makeup, with a touch of lipstick.
If she were not a lady, then is this her true nature or her disguise?
Prince Losang wondered, watching the elegantly dressed woman wave farewell to him before turning away.
The performance has ended; audiences inside filed out steadily, discussing the play while walking onto the street, slowly forming an invisible wall that separated her from him. Only the moonlight formed an illusory path, cutting through the tangible barriers and directly pointing toward her direction.
Prince Losang gripped the note in his hand but remained still, not moving a step.
Carolina showed no expression on her face. She pulled out the paper airplane messenger she had previously used to communicate with Fisher. Hesitating for a second, she tore it into pieces. With the magic rune destroyed, its magical function completely vanished, leaving a pile of scraps.
Perhaps Losang would be enraged by her deception, but at this moment, Carolina preferred to believe that he wouldn’t.
She suddenly remembered in the magic, when that prince asked her if it hurt. That was the first time since her birth that someone had paid attention to her, as if for the first time someone understood her.
Carolina was most afraid of pain.
Perhaps not wanting to disappoint him for that one concern, she ultimately decided to be honest with Losang, to prevent him from being angry later due to her deception, for then the pain would not only be her body but a deeper pain in her heart.
She didn’t know if this heartache could be healed by her own nature.
She touched her brown hair, the black hair among the brown in the ocean slowly faded in color, turning to the same shade as Carolina’s original hair color.
The owner of that black hair seemed to have completely abandoned her, now there was no contact at all, so the hair gradually turned brown, though Carolina still hadn’t returned to being a man.
Maybe this isn’t so bad?
Carolina casually tossed the scraps aside when, in the next moment, her hand was suddenly grabbed. She turned around in shock to see Prince Losang gripping her hand tightly, staring straight at her.
“I want to ask you something.”
This was Prince Losang’s first sentence. The moonlit night behind him parted the crowd, creating a path leading straight towards Carolina.
“What is it?”
“If we were to be together, could we have offspring?”
He was a prince; having offspring was not just for himself but the hope of a kingdom.
At this moment, Prince Losang, following the moonlight, faced the consequences of his own decision, but he also had to take responsibility for his country, which is why he asked her this.
Carolina opened her mouth, her face flushing slightly, a mixture of helplessness and anger, yet she still didn’t pull her hand away; instead, she scolded,
“Hah? Are you out of your mind? I’ve already told you, you’re a prince; shouldn’t you marry the daughters of those nobles? How long have we known each other? Do you even know my character? How can you just come and say this? Aren’t you afraid I’m actually a spy from the Sorceress Research Society, and all this protecting you is just an act?”
Hearing this, Losang sighed, then said,
“The other day I saw your expression; the look of fear of pain wasn’t fake. Moreover, my request isn’t high; rather than enter a political marriage with some other family, I’d rather marry a simple person. So trying this with you isn’t a problem, right?”
Carolina bit her lip, not responding. Prince Losang pressed on with his previous question,
“So, what’s your answer? Can we have offspring?”
“How would I know? We won’t know until we try!”
Carolina didn’t dare to look at him, saying this in a frustrated tone.
Another opera began performing in the theater, still “Moonlit Night,” but it was unclear if they had replaced the actors. The beautiful voices continued to sing sweetly, captivating the audience with the Nali lyrics.
They sang the same lyrics,
“Oh my princess, why did you deceive me to this extent, making the beloved suffer from taboo’s torment?”
“Dear king, this was not my intention; my love for you makes me yearn, and my responsibilities to the kingdom make me hesitate. At this moment, I am willing to give up everything and entrust my sincere self to you, loving you until the last moment of my life, with this moonlight as witness.”
Nearby in the grass, Jasmine opened her mouth, watching the two slowly depart hand in hand, unsure of what expression to make.
Beside her, Fisher wore an odd expression, looking as if he didn’t know what to say.
The two had been secretly following since Carolina and Losang came out. Jasmine was there for the gossip, while Fisher simply wanted to see if Carolina succeeded, which seemed similar to gossip as well.
He felt a bit like he would fail when Carolina laid everything bare earlier; if Carolina hadn’t given that note to Losang, he would have to go out forcefully interrupting the spell.
Just kidding, Fisher wouldn’t be that cruel.
Actually, this was just an attempt. Regardless of whether Carolina succeeded or not, Fisher was still able to safely get her out of Nali. After all, Prince Losang had already instructed others not to mention her presence at the scene.
The Nali officials wouldn’t discover her for a while; as long as she was secretly sent away, going to some small country or an unknown place to live out her days would also be a good choice.
But who could have predicted this outcome to be so absurd?
Fisher thought that when he first encountered Prince Losang and heard the words “First of all, I’m not gay,” it was utter nonsense.
Though Carolina truly didn’t look much like a normal male, Fisher felt it would be too unfair to blame the transformation of her into a lady entirely on that black hair’s fault against the Undying Sorceress.
However, the ending seemed quite good; as for how to bring Carolina back to explain to Prince Losang’s aunt, Queen Shval, that was his own business, as they had only known each other for a few days and had a long path of romance ahead.
This was no longer Fisher’s concern.
“Let’s go; I’ll take you back.”
Jasmine squatted behind the grass, watching the play, having seen two plays in one night, feeling as if she had gotten her money’s worth.
Upon hearing Fisher’s words, she turned her head to nod, then stood up to smooth her dress, following the gentleman towards the other side of the street where they could catch a carriage.
“I didn’t realize that lady Carolina was once a male. I didn’t see it at all. Life is truly a miracle; can I tell Lord Ramastia about this?”
Jasmine’s little face flushed, and having spent more time with him, her social anxiety diminished, making her more talkative, thus validating her status as a chatterbox among the Whale Folk, though in humans’ eyes she was just an ordinary young girl.
Fisher chuckled and said,
“The Godlin Festival’s restaurants will be open late for the next few weeks; would you like a late-night snack?”
“Mm!”
“…”
He shouldn’t have asked that. Politeness is a nonexistent concept for the Whale Folk; only hunger is tangible.
Forget it, just for today, consider it compensation for her.
By the way, hasn’t he compensated her many times already?
Under the moonlit night, the gentle moonlight fell softly, just right to tint the path ahead for the two.
Happy Qixi Festival!
Here’s a 5000+ word offering, wishing everyone finds their other half to celebrate the festival with.
The story of Carlo and Losang comes to an end here, marking a mid-point in this volume about the Child of the Sea.
Yes, thus far, the second volume of this book has reached its halfway mark; there’s much more plot to write ahead, so look forward to it!
Finally, please support with monthly votes, tips, and comments. This means a lot to your lovely author!
Thank you very much!
(End of chapter)
