[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

The circus troupe and the actors had terrifying appearances... almost instantly, they thought of the Phantom.I breathed involuntarily.

Viscount Shani thought I was afraid, and patted my shoulder lightly, his voice was very soft: "Don't worry, we're not going to watch a show with horror effects."

According to Christine, he grew up surrounded by fans, and his closest relatives were his two older sisters and his aunt, so no matter how he spoke or behaved, he would always subconsciously take care of women.Just like the way he looks at me at this moment, the Seine River in spring is as warm and clear as the waves, but in fact, even when he looks at the fat lady in the laundry room, he has the same expression.

I pretended to be shy and looked away, thinking about how to ask questions related to Phantom.Mrs. Geary said that Phantom spent time in a circus troupe as a child.After leaving the theater, it is not impossible for him to return to the circus troupe...

Thinking of this, just as he was about to speak, someone grabbed his wrist suddenly, and it was Hester who had walked a long way and came back.The force in his hands was so strong that he seemed to imprison people, but his tone was calm and breezy: "I forgot to say, you and I are in the same car."

"Huh?" I looked at Viscount Shani in confusion.He smiled at me: "Yes, I'm going to say goodbye to Christine first, you go first."

"What's so funny..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted lightly by Hearst: "Let's go."

I really don't know how Viscount Shani endured this kind of strong personality without considering other people.

Walking out of the theater, I found that the sky was unbelievably dark, a solemn leaden gray.The dead leaves trembled in the heavy breath of the autumn wind, and the outlines of the angel statues on both sides of the gate were blurred, casting shadows like pencil smears under the dim skylight.

In the thick fog, four horses loomed, and behind them was an open four-wheeled carriage.

Hurst strode to the car door and held out a hand to me: "Come here."

Looking at his unusually stern face even in the dense fog, his heartbeat stopped for some reason.

I held his hand, got into the carriage, and he immediately followed, instead of sitting across from me, he sat beside me.Breathing and body temperature are close at hand, and I can even smell the light fragrance from his collar and cuffs.The diamond ring on my little finger gleamed under my nose.

I haven't been out of the theater for a long time, and it turned out to be so cold outside.The air is a sharp blade, and it hurts to shave my face, but when the carriage bumped and he accidentally touched my finger, it felt like I was in a stove.

Pedestrians came and went in a hurry on the street, and occasionally there were well-dressed nobles passing by in carriages.But inexplicably, they are like smears of watercolor paint diluted with clear water, and the lines are not as clear as a finger of the people around them.

As soon as this idea popped up, I couldn't help but feel a little confused.Fortunately, the pace of the four horses is not slow, and the circus troupe is not far from the theater, so I don’t have much time to think about it, and I soon arrived at the venue of the open-air performance.

The first thing that catches the eye is an arched wooden door covered with bronze posters. "Freak Show" in capitalized French, written at the top in bright red paint.

The closest to me was a Today show billboard, depicting a disfigured man with no limbs on the left and a regal blond woman in a wide-brimmed hat on the right.The man lay on the ground, raising his head to say something; the woman dropped her fan on the ground, her eyes full of horror.

Below is a line of elegant cursive letters:

beauties and geeks

Labeauté et le monstre

show today

Ticket price: 20 francs

The ticket price is not low, which is equivalent to half a year's house rent for the poor. No wonder there are carriages of celebrities and ladies all around.Wait a minute, it seems that the author is written in the lower right corner... Before I had time to look carefully, the traffic has already advanced a long way.

Because it is cloudy, a bunch of torches are lit every few meters, and the fire light is a dark blue like hell.Outside the white tent not far away, a young girl with a beard combed her hair quietly amidst the lady's exclamation.

"Aren't you afraid?" Hester's voice sounded in my ear.I didn't dare to look back, I saw his Adam's apple sliding gently, very close to me from the corner of my eye.

"Not afraid. Are they all born?"

"Some are not. For example, I know a person whose face was burned in a fire, but he was still treated as a deformed child since he was a child."

When he said this, a bald man with two heads on his shoulders suddenly jumped in front of the car window, making a strange cry.

I was startled by him and crashed into Hester's arms.Hester stabilized my waist with one hand, and gave the man a cold look.

The man left with two big heads hanging down in frustration.

Being so disturbed, I completely forgot what he just said, and he didn't mean to repeat it.

The carriage stopped in front of a huge white cloth and gold thread tent.A girl wearing a flower wreath and a pink skirt stood at the door. She had a beautiful appearance, and she was as noble and outstanding as a white swan against the ugly appearance of the surrounding circus performers.

She clasped her hands, as if waiting for someone.At this time, Hurst straightened his collar and got out of the carriage.Her eyes lit up, she immediately greeted her, and said incoherently: "Mr. Hurst... I woke up at four o'clock this morning, and I have been looking forward to you coming to my performance, but I didn't expect you to come... I, I'm so happy."

Hester answered her a few words indifferently, and then knocked on the shaft of the carriage: "Come out soon."

The girl in the pink skirt said softly: "You really, always talk to Viscount Shani like this... Only a good person like Mr. Viscount will not dislike your bad temper—"

Before the last word fell, she saw me stepping out of the carriage, her gentle expression froze on her face.

Hester didn't seem to notice her stiffness, and took my hand.A very natural movement, but under the unbelievable gaze of the girl in the pink skirt, it became particularly ambiguous.I couldn't bear her gaze, so I put on the hood silently.

She kept silent, as if frightened, until we were about to enter the tent, her voice came: "Mr. Hurst, don't you never bring a female companion..."

Her words also made me stiff, and I turned to look at Hester.Other men and women held hands politely and distantly, but he clasped my wrist tightly, never relaxing for a moment.

Seeing me looking at him, he asked casually, "What's wrong?"

The words were suddenly stuck in the throat, and some questions could not be uttered.After thinking about it, I said, "She just..."

"Ok?"

"...She just mentioned Mr. Viscount. Where is Mr. Viscount? I read on the sign that the performance will start soon..."

Hester paused for a moment, and the originally calm voice was as cold as an ice edge when he spoke again: "It's none of your business."

I:"……"

Sitting down in the center below the stage, the atmosphere fell into silence.Hearst's two slender legs were restrained in the narrow aisle.He put one hand in his trouser pocket, and casually played with the pocket watch with the other.From time to time, people would run over to strike up a conversation with him, but they were all frightened back by his ice-water-like eyes.

After about ten minutes passed like this, all the lights were turned off one by one, the red curtain slowly fell, and the performance began.