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

I couldn't help but think of the masquerade ball in my previous life: it was apparently held to celebrate the birthday of a famous painter, but it was actually the engagement ceremony of the Viscount Charny and Christine.At that time, I didn't know about Eric's existence. I thought it was because Christine was not accepted by the Shani family, so the engagement ceremony was held in such a perfunctory and low-key manner.

I walked into her room, patted her on the shoulder, and was about to comfort her, but she suddenly buried herself in my arms, crying out of breath: "Meg... I, I made a mistake." Made a big mistake..."

I quickly picked up her face, wiped away her tears with my thumb, and tried to speak softly: "What's the matter? Don't worry, just speak slowly."

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying: "You know, my father passed away when I was very young, even though you took care of me...but I, but I can't let it go, I always hope that he is still by my side. Whenever When someone bullies me, my thought becomes stronger...I thought it would be great if my father was still there, if he was still here, I wouldn't have fallen to this point...you know, this thought ruined me, " The more she talked, the lower her head was. She didn't know whether it was sad or ashamed. "It ruined me. In fact, my father is long gone. The only person I can rely on is myself. It would be great if I could realize this sooner... sooner." If we bid farewell to the past, those things will not happen later.”

"what's up?"

"Haunted by a ghost," she said in a low voice. "You won't believe it, but the ghost of the theater does exist. He lives under our feet, watching our every move."

I find it ridiculous.

There is an underground lake in the theater, I know, but there is no way that lake can hide a "ghost" in it anyway.I looked at Christine's pale face and rabbit-like red eyes, and thought that maybe the pressure of marrying into a famous family was too great, which made her unable to distinguish between nightmares and reality.

Thinking of this, I patted her slender back and softly coaxed her to sleep.She gradually calmed down, clasped my fingers and fell asleep.At that time, I thought the incident was over like this, but at the dance party the next day, the ghost really appeared.

He was wearing a dark red tuxedo, a high-collared shirt with black bottom and gold buttons, a skull mask symbolizing death, and appeared in front of everyone with a long sword in his hand.He threw a sheet of music at the feet of the theater manager and glanced at the crowd with contempt.When he looked at me, my heart stopped beating uncontrollably.However, his eyes didn't stay there, and he quickly skipped over me and locked on Christine.

I watched him walk down the steps, past me, toward Christine.Then, he grabbed her wrist, pulled off her ring almost roughly, and said in her ear: "Your ring is mine. You are mine too."

I was standing next to Christine, so close to him that I could even smell the faint scent of his perfume.I heard this sentence clearly, but when he said it, he didn't look sideways, and he didn't give me a ray of peripheral vision, as if he didn't mind at all—or rather, he didn't care about being heard by me.

Ever since Christine replaced Carlota on stage, I was a little curious about who was behind the scenes to guide her and make her progress so rapidly in a short period of time... It's not that she didn't ask her, but her answer was vague and in awe , It is only said that it is the teaching result of the music angel.I thought she was unwilling to share this secret, so I didn't ask any further. Who knew that she really thought Eric was her music angel, and she always regarded him as her father's soul.

Later, the "angel" who pretended to be a loving father had thoughts on her. Before she had time to accept this, she was frightened by his moody personality.Then, the death of the mechanic Buquet, Carlotta who made a fool of himself in public, the falling chandelier, the theater ravaged by flames... all made her more and more afraid of this "angel" with bloody hands. Beauty and ugliness are not so important.

Christine and I were inseparable, and by rights I should have been afraid of Eric's cruel methods, but all I had to do was think of him sitting on the rocks by the subterranean lake watching Kristen punting on the day it all came to an end. With the lonely back of leaving, I can't feel that he is cruel.He hangs his head, holding the engagement ring in one hand and the monkey doll in the other, his hands are full, but his eyes are empty and lonely as if he has lost everything.

I was too young at that time to be interested in confirming the existence of the ghost of the theater, and I didn't find the scene to have much impact on me.I didn't realize it until many years later, but I couldn't erase it from my mind.

Right now, nothing has happened.Buquet did not die, Carlota did not make a fool of himself in public, the chandelier did not fall, and it was still some time before the fire broke out.Eric, despite his paranoid nature, did me no real harm.Does all this mean that when I am reborn, the people and things around me are indeed developing in a good direction?

Does it also mean that I am not as... useless as I imagined.

Shaking my head to regain my senses, I took the long skirt and went behind the screen to put it on.There are at least dozens of secret passages leading to the main hall of the theater in the underground labyrinth, but the manservant did not take me to those places, but sent me to an open carriage and mixed into the motorcade for the ball.

The night sky was deep, but it couldn't absorb the brilliant lights from inside the theater.A long queue of hundreds of carriages generally entrenched around the theater.As one of the most magnificent and luxurious buildings in Paris, even holding a masquerade ball is as grand as an epic drama.The crimson carpet is spread from the main hall to the steps in front of the door, candles are lit, and the tall Roman columns reflect the streamer of fireworks.

Holding the corner of the skirt, I walked into the main hall. Before I could find Eric, a man in a priest's robe came over. He was wearing a golden mask, holding a silver cross in his hand, with a solemn and sacred face: "This Miss, may I ask you to dance?"

The magic of the masquerade is that the priest can also pick up girls.I waved my hands dumbfounded.He asked a few more questions, and seeing that I really didn't mean it, he smiled helplessly and left.Then, I rejected another man with horns and a vampire, and seeing another elf with transparent wings coming towards me, I hurried into the dance floor, pretending that I already had a partner.

It was finally quiet around me.It's strange to say that I have never been so popular in my previous life, but it seems that I often encounter this kind of situation in this life. I don't know if the dress that Eric sent is too outstanding, or I really have something that I didn't realize. Amazing change.

Just as I was thinking wildly, the music suddenly sounded.

This is a ballroom dance song. The moment the music started, the men and women on the dance floor separated into two rows facing each other.In less than a moment, I was the only one left in the same place.Many people stopped talking and looked towards me.The few people I rejected before stood by the dance floor with their arms folded and whispered to each other, laughing from time to time.I figured with my toes that they were laughing at my embarrassing situation.

It wasn't until this moment that I realized that I had really changed a lot.Because if I was in my previous life, I might have left in despair, but in this life, I have inexplicably developed a lot of confidence—isn’t it just ballroom dancing, and I can dance by myself.

Walking to the end of the dance floor, I squatted slightly and saluted the air.Then, under the eyes of everyone who was either laughing or playing, he finished all the dance steps alone.After all, with decades of ballet skills in her body, many movements can be stretched to the extreme without the help of a dance partner.On the other hand, the other people on the dance floor were watching my jokes, and their dance steps were quite chaotic, which actually became my foil.

When the song was over, I nodded to everyone, walked out of the dance floor without changing my expression, and went to the long table to order a glass of champagne.

Thinking of the resigned or frustrated looks of those people just now, I couldn't help snickering. Fortunately, it was a masquerade ball. If I had let them know that I was a ballerina in advance, they probably wouldn't be so anxious to see me make a fool of themselves.

At this time, a crisp voice sounded behind me: "Miss Jiri, long time no see."

She deliberately raised the volume.In an instant, I was shot through by the sight of the entire main hall.Looking back, it turned out to be Margaret, the red actress that "Hurst" once praised.She was wearing a round hat with feathers on her head, and a pink and purple low-cut dress with a string of exaggeratedly blooming flowers tied around her collar.She met my displeased gaze, but she smiled without suspicion: "It really is you, Ms. Giri. I will never forget your dance steps in my life. Only your dance has such charm in the whole theater, and it can make everyone feel happy. People are eclipsed."

I looked at her for a moment, then asked slowly, "What do you want to say?"

The newly recovered throat is not very sharp, and the voice I speak is dry and unpleasant. Although I tried my best to slow down the speed of speech, compared with her clear and sweet voice, I still have an illusion of being ashamed.

My reaction pleased her greatly.She squinted her eyes and walked around me slowly: "I heard that after the last performance, you got seriously ill and have been recuperating in the theater. I didn't believe it at first, I thought it was the smoke released by the theater to attract reporters. Fog, bomb, I didn't expect it to be true." At this point, she changed into a worried expression, "Your voice is so sick, will you not be able to sing in the future?"

I took a sip of champagne and took a deep look at her: "So. What does it have to do with you?"

"Of course it has something to do with me." She suddenly put away her worry, and her voice became extremely cold and low, "The heroine of "The Shepherdess" was originally mine."

After saying this, she put on that mask-like worried look again, and her tone became pitiful: "...Miss Geary, why did you treat me like this? I just want to tell you that it is impossible for Hester and Phantom to It's the same person, and you just insult me ​​like this. I know you have a lot to do with Specter, but no matter how good your relationship is, he and Hearst are not from the same world after all..."

Me: "..." What is this all about?

After listening to the buzzing discussions of people around me, I realized what she was talking about.It turned out that on the day when the performances of "Double-Faced Man" and "Shepherdess" ended, there was a heated discussion in the Paris music circle about whether Hearst and the ghost were the same person.

Most people can't accept that Hearst and the ghost are the same person.In their view, an outstanding musician must have a long and rich musical heritage like that of Bach and Beethoven.Who is The Ghost of the Theater?from where?It is said that he has been living in the sewers of the theater, making a living by defrauding and intimidating the former theater manager. How could such a morally corrupt and lowly clown write a song that subverts the whole of Paris?

Hearst would cooperate with him, probably because of his miserable life experience, and there is no other reason besides this.

Margaret heard from someone that I had a very close relationship with the "ghost", and set up several language traps for me as soon as they met, intending to make my image plummet.

Thinking of this, I was a little speechless, and took another sip of champagne, wanting to see what kind of tricks she was going to perform.

Seeing that I was still unmoved, she clenched her back teeth, and her weak and innocent expression always cracked: "Maybe you don't know it yet, you have been betrayed by your colleagues in the theater."

I really don't know. "What betrayal?"

"Do you remember Louis? He told me that three years ago, he witnessed the ghost take you to the basement of the theater, and because he saw your scandal, he was severely punished by the ghost and lost the qualification to lead the dance. .God, you were only 15 years old three years ago, it's unbelievable that you have such a vicious and vicious heart."

There is such a thing.At that time, I thought that Luis had insulted Eric's appearance, which caused him to take revenge... Now that I think about it, there are so many people in the theater who insulted his appearance, why did Luis take revenge on Luis alone?At that time, I was dizzy whenever I faced Eric, and I couldn't think normally at all. Naturally, I didn't expect another reason, that is, Louis's frivolous behavior towards me made him feel unhappy.

My face felt hot and my heart beat faster.Seeing my blushing cheeks, Margaret thought I had hit my sore spot, and her voice became louder and sharper: "I want to tell you, no matter what dirty deal you have made with the ghost, let him introduce you Hearst, even help you become the heroine of Hearst's opera, Hearst is the king of music that you can't get your hands on."

She stepped forward and said aggressively: "You have to recognize your identity. You are just an unknown ballet girl. Even if you star in Mr. Hearst's opera, it can't change this fact. Ask yourself, can you understand him?" Is the artistic conception in the opera? Can you understand the metaphors in his pen? Can you play the classics he created? You don’t know these things. Put your face together and rely on his identity to become famous."

If it wasn't for me that she was the one who confronted me, I would have applauded her.Well said, if I hadn't been with Eric day and night for more than a month, I would have almost believed her impassioned nonsense.

Most of the people present were aristocrats with rich families who grew up listening to church mass and Bach's fugues. In their opinion, the pieces composed by the ghosts were flamboyant, crazy, and eclectic. Compared with Hearst's exquisite and symmetrical style, It's as crude as a country tune.They were the last group of people who didn't want to admit that Phantom and Hearst were the same person, so they all believed Margaret's words and looked at me with a little disdain.

I was thinking about how to briefly and forcefully refute her nonsense, when an indifferent voice came from behind her: "Are you finished? Someone over there wants to see my wife."