Chapter 24

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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 24: A Cross-Dressing Boy Plays Romeo

——–The reason why I started acting.

It was because I wanted to make my sick mother happy.

My mother always watched TV in a dimly lit hospital room.

My mother was always smiling happily as she watched my father through the screen, who rarely came home.

I think maybe seeing that made me feel regretful.

How can my mother smile for my father when he’s not here?

I wondered why it was my father, who does whatever he wants, but was able to make my mother laugh and not me, who was right there.

I was both a siscon and a mama’s boy.

So, fueled by a silly competitive spirit, I thought to myself, “I should be my mother’s number one”, I dove into the world of acting.

“—Fuuma. I heard you’ve won another award? You’re truly your father’s son. I guess blood is thicker than water.”

When I returned to England from Japan and headed to my mother’s house with my many certificates, she always…patted me on the head from her bed and said to me.

That made me very happy.

Because I thought that I could make my mother smile too.

I became an actor because I wanted to see the smiles of the people I care about.

I chose this path because I just wanted to make people happy.

I don’t have any lofty goals like aiming to win some special award or become a successful actor.

I just wanted to make someone on the other side of the screen happy. That was it.

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“My attendance number is 6, Kaede Kisaragi.”

“My S-s-student number is 22, Honoka Hiiragi!”

Saying this, the twelfth pair, Honoka and I, bowed to the two instructors who were sitting on metal chairs and were part of the judging panel.

Then I raised my head and, for the first time in a long time, I got a close look at my father’s face.

[…He hasn’t changed at all. He always has a confident smile on his face, and always looks like he’s provoking others…He’s really an annoying guy.]

—I quietly close my eyes.

What I’m about to do now is called “layered acting”.

Instead of playing Romeo as Fuuma Yanagisawa, he plays the role of Romeo as a woman named Kaede Kisaragi.

She truly immerses herself in the role of a woman, exuding femininity in every aspect of her performance, making the public aware of her status as a woman.

Normally, if you’re playing a male role, it would be taboo to show your femininity to the audience.

But I dare to violate that taboo.

Because my goal this time isn’t to pass the audition, but to fool that damn father.

“……”

Open your eyes.

Then I smiled seductively and faced my father.

“—The audition will now begin. Please act out the scene in which Romeo and Juliet pass each other on the bridge and then reunite at the Capulet ball. The time limit is 30 minutes. Now, let’s start. Please begin.”

Upon hearing those words from Professor Wagatsuma, Honoka and I faced each other.

“…It’s okay, Honoka-san. Just look into my eyes and act.”

When I whispered that to her, Honoka put her hand to her chest and nodded slightly.

Since she is afraid of men, I had instructed her in advance to act while looking only into my eyes.

Normally, it would be strange for them to act facing each other in a scene where they pass each other on this bridge, but…if the two male instructors were to flash before her eyes, Honoka wouldn’t be able to concentrate on her acting.

This position will probably be a negative for the audition, but for now it’s the only best solution to her fear of men, so there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Shhh…Hah…”

After taking a deep, quiet breath, Honoka narrowed her eyes and began to act like a ladylike, aristocratic girl.

“The Adige River has a beautiful surface today. It’s a very fine morning. Oh, that person over there looks a little depressed. I wonder what’s wrong…”

“Hmm…”

Letting out a big sigh, I gazed out at the river with a sad expression on my face as Romeo.

At this point, the narrator, Father Lawrence, would normally begin narrating.

“It was on this bridge that they first met.”

“The young man gazed at the water with a gloomy look on his face, while the girl gazed at him curiously from afar.”

When the young man looked up in surprise at the presence of another person, their eyes were drawn to each other’s — Romeo and Juliet simply gazed into each other’s eyes in silence, as if time had stopped.

“The young man’s name is Romeo, the girl’s name is Juliet”

“What is about to begin is the tale of two sad lovers who fell in love that would never come true.”

“Everyone, please watch this love story between these two until the very end.”

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From Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s Point of View

The scene changed to the Capulet ball.

After missing each other on the bridge, they meet again at the ball and Romeo asks Juliet to dance.

“Excuse me, would you like to dance?”

“Yes, with pleasure.”

The two of them hold hands.

As Romeo stares at her, Juliet tilts her head and quietly speaks.

“Um… Is something wrong? You’re staring at me so intently.”

“No. You may not remember, but we met before. On the bridge over the Adige River.”

“Hehe, I remember. I’m sure you were the one gazing at the river with a sad expression three days ago, right?”

“Oh, you remembered! I’m so glad! Ever since then, I’ve only been thinking about you and chasing after you!”

Saying this, Kaede, who was playing Romeo, put her (his) arm around the waist of Honoka, who was playing Juliet, and took her hand, making eye contact with her at close range.

Apparently, that sudden action was ad-libbed.

Honoka, who was playing the role of Juliet, forgot her character in response to Kaede’s actions… Suddenly, her cheeks turned bright red, and she appeared flustered.

[Eh, Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!?!?! O-Onee-sama, wh, what are you――――――]

“You have beautiful eyes. They’re like jewels.”

“Oh… you’re good at flattery. Since you’re attending a ball, I assume you’re a noble as well?”

“I’m not a nobleman. I entered the gates of the Capulet family in the hope that I might meet you. And so, here I am, reunited with you. I must thank God in heaven for this fate.”

“If you say something so nice, I might just take it at face value. So please, go easy on me.”

[—Wow, that’s good.]

While Hiiragi Honoka’s performance isn’t quite up to par, Kaede Kisaragi’s performance at various points gives glimpses of the depth of acting experience she has accumulated.

That being said, when it comes to detailed technical skills and emotional expression, Akane Tsukishiro is by far superior.

“……”

However, Kaede Kisaragi has something special that Akane Tsukishiro does not have.

The most important thing of all is that there is something about her acting that draws people in.

“Wow… she has a mysterious sexiness… she has a strange charm…”

“Yeah. I guess it makes sense why the other students call her Onee-sama…”

I glanced over at the students watching the audition and saw a group of kids from the acting course with dazed looks on their faces.

I see… she had control of the situation and grasped the mood of the audience.

She doesn’t have any sophisticated or high level of acting ability, nor does she have any outstanding talent.

However, there was something sexy about it – a mysterious Romeo with a hint of femininity, a protagonist with a unique character.

[I see. So that girl, Kaede Kisaragi, has adapted Romeo from the script to create a different character, using only the same lines.]

That’s the kind of approach that directors who stick to basic theory will dislike.

But that’s what makes it interesting, it’s something new and intriguing to the viewer.

“…Yuuji. I understand why you’re interested in her. That kid is certainly different from the others. She has an interesting talent.”

“Wow, it’s rare for you to admit it so openly, Kyoichiro. I bet you’ll be waving spears at me from the sky today.”

“…But it’s a pity. That brat, Kaede Kisaragi, must have had a pretty long break from acting. In her acting, it’s like she’s desperately trying to remember her past self…there’s a sense of urgency and impatience. Also, I sense a certain fear in her about acting.”

In reality, she could fly higher, but something was getting in the way and she couldn’t fly properly.

So, instead of exerting itself to the fullest, it continues to fly low and at a low altitude.

I see. Yuuji, I understand now why you said she was trying to hide her true nature. She’s deliberately holding back her power.”

I look at Kaede Kisaragi again.

As expected, she looked exactly like his late wife, Yuki Yanagisawa.