The Freak Show Foreman

After rolling in dirt and rehearsing all day, they would collapse into their beds, thinking they might not wake up the next day. Ella had massage therapists sent to each team member’s room.

It was like heaven – a massage to prepare for the upcoming day of hell. They repeated this routine for a solid month.

The rare moments of rest were incredibly sweet. However, Ella couldn’t just lie around and relax; it didn’t suit her temperament. She convened her team members once a day to share information about the performance program and discuss their opinions.

"What if we add this? What if we change that? Should we remove this?"

Initially, these meetings were led by Ella, but as time passed, the team members actively participated, infusing the discussions with vitality.

If there were discomforts in their costumes, they would make adjustments. If props frequently broke, they would replace them. If some stage elements seemed impractical, they boldly removed them.

And so, they had been gathering in the meeting room for five consecutive days.

Today’s topic of discussion was visual effects, something they had mostly skipped in the script until now. They didn’t have a dedicated illusionist, so Ella had used her craftsmanship to create similar effects when necessary. But now, they had a real illusionist among them, and that fact was particularly well-received by Womon and Bendict.

"So, does this mean we don’t have to dive into real fire anymore?" Womon asked.

"I guess I won’t have to change bandages as often now," Bendict added.

Womon had been practicing leaping out of a pit of fire to create the atmosphere of a demon rising from hell, while Bendict had been using his dance to emphasize the image and spread poison. Although Womon had skin as tough as a rhinoceros, passing through the blazing flames without protective gear still required mental fortitude.

On the other hand, Bendict didn’t have any attachment to his decaying, tainted skin, but dealing with damp bandages after hours of dancing in them was quite bothersome.

Their eyes turned toward a corner of the meeting room where a new member had joined just the day before. She had white hair and pale skin, and her black dress, yellow t-shirt, and brown beret gave her an appearance reminiscent of a doll – a beautiful doll at that.

Her name was Maya, the magician. Despite her name being mentioned several times, she hadn’t lifted her head from the book she was reading. Even when Ella provided a briefing, she didn’t pay attention, and as the discussion shifted to fantasy magic, she still didn’t look up from her book, seemingly absorbed in its contents.

Now, with everyone’s attention focused on her, Ella awkwardly smiled and asked, "Maya, what are your thoughts?"

The team members exchanged uncomfortable glances. They could tell that the deputy ringmaster was trying to control her anger. Ella detested actions that hindered teamwork the most.

Maya briefly glanced at Ella, her expression as impassive as ever, and shook her head. "I can’t do it."

"Eh…what?"

"I said, I can’t do that."

With those words, she returned to her book, filled with incomprehensible drawings and numbers, and Ella furrowed her brow in frustration.

An attitude of self-absorption in a group setting.

A lack of consideration for others’ feelings, displaying a callous demeanor.

Cold and aloof tone of speech.

A dismissive expression as if she doesn’t care about anything.

Normally, she would have exploded in frustration.

But today, she held back more.

The topic of the day was illusion magic.

Her cooperation was essential.

Sigh, don’t get angry. Don’t get angry.

Ella managed to muster a smile.

"So, um… when you say ’can’t do it,’ you mean you don’t want to do it?"

She was an exceptional illusion magician.

Asking her to create such low-level illusion as flames and mist might be an affront to her pride.

But it was her role to somehow appease the members and get the job done.

"Well, actually, it’s more the ringmaster’s role."

Ella lamented silently.

But Maya looked at her with a contemptuous gaze, as if mocking Ella’s efforts.

"’Can’t do it,’ I say."

A tone that made it seem like how she couldn’t understand something so simple.

It was a monotonous voice, but Ella could feel the disdain behind it.

Her patience had finally reached its limit.

She burst out, "Stop talking nonsense! You can’t even make simple flames or mist? Are you really a illusion magician?"

"Yes, I am. But I can’t make what you’re asking for."

"You can make everything else!"

"My illusions are different from the others."

"What’s different about them?"

Maya let out a small sigh and closed the book she had been reading.

She still looked at Ella with the same expressionless face.

"The basic principles are different. It would take some preparation time to do what you’re asking for."

"How long?"

"It would take a few weeks."

Ella’s mouth dropped open.

"Few weeks to prepare a simple illusion? Why do you even need that much time?"

"Things like fire or mist are not easy but standardized items can be made quickly."

Ella shook her head in disbelief.

What she knew about fantasy magic was completely opposite.

Fire, explosions, light, mist, and the like were considered basic elements of illusion magic.

But this girl claimed that it took weeks for those, while other things could be made quickly?

Ella blurted out without thinking, "Is there even such magic?"

"Such magic?"

Maya’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

"Don’t speak so casually."

"Oh, right, right. I get it now. You learned from that person, right? It all makes sense now. Of course, you wouldn’t know real magic if you learned it from someone like that."

A smug smile played at the corners of Ella’s mouth.

It was clearly a taunt.

Maya’s hand holding the book trembled noticeably.

"What did you say?"

Her magic spread around her.

Even though they were indoors, the room suddenly felt colder.

The temperature in the room dropped instantly.

The members shivered and moved back a step from Maya.

In contrast, Ella let out a mocking laugh.

She had the confidence not to be shaken even before thousands of spectators.

Her presence, her aura, and her intimidation couldn’t deter her.

"You… Don’t speak so lightly of him when you don’t even know him."

A cold light emanated from Maya’s red pupils.

Ella hadn’t really paid much attention to Maya for a while.

Maya, on the other hand, had accumulated a lot of resentment towards Ella.

Throughout the meeting, Maya had acted so nonchalantly that it could be considered rude, and this was partly due to her resentment towards Ella.

What surprised Maya the most when she joined the circus was not the fact that the members were "cursed ones." She had heard of them before, and it wasn’t particularly fascinating. They were just people who looked a bit different.

What made Maya cold towards them was not their appearance, but their attitude towards the Ringmaster. Most of the members regarded the Ringmaster with caution. Even when the Ringmaster greeted them with a smile, they would awkwardly laugh and try to avoid him.

But when they gathered among themselves, they chatted comfortably. Maya could sense the exclusion.

She knew that fear of the Ringmaster underlay this behavior, but she didn’t want to defend the members.

Maya was familiar with that kind of look in their eyes.

’Ah, looking at that kid gives me the creeps for some reason. Is it appropriate to say that she looks like a doll both in appearance and behavior?’

She wouldn’t shed a single tear even if her own parents died. The way people looked at her was similar.

Her perspective on the world may have been slightly different, but her emotions were no different from others’.

But people around her feared and scorned her as if she was a monster.

Frank Wonderstein. At first, she had somewhat looked down on his carefree attitude, thinking that he lived life without any worries. She thought that he must have lived a life without insults or ridicule, unlike herself.

But she had learned otherwise since coming here. That was her misconception. He, too, had dark corners that normal people couldn’t understand.

It was as if he had projected his own self onto her… Could it be? That’s why he came over to stand by her?

Even though all he needed to do was teach her magic, he had been watching her for over a week. However, it had only been a few days since she joined the circus.

But Maya felt a deeper connection with him. He was like her in more ways than one. Not just in terms of magic but in life as well.

That’s why the constant pestering of the deputy ringmaster, the girl who had no manners, annoyed her.

The Ringmaster always used formal language with her, but she spoke informally to him as if she had some kind of authority.

And she did it with various people around, making a fuss about her position and trying to shake the Ringmaster like a hurricane.

That was Maya’s first impression of Ella, and it hadn’t changed even now.

Ella sneered as she looked at Maya’s eyes, which were fixed on her.

You’re telling me not to speak so casually when I barely even know him?

You’re making fun of me.

There’s probably no one here who knows that person better than Ella does.

The reason Ella was angry wasn’t because Maya was defending Wonderstein. His handsome face and charming smile were skills he used to manipulate people in social situations. If she got upset and annoyed at everyone who liked him then she would have not survived till now.

Has she ever seen his true self?

Does she even know what terrible things he had done?

Pretending to know in front of others, just pretending.

Their gazes clashed in the air, and sparks flew.