leonardwarren Chapter 25 Circus and Casino
Chapter 25 Circus and Casino
The tent was quiet for a few seconds.
Anna stared at Margaret's perfectly intact face, her mind blank. If one considered the human chest cavity as an organ display shelf, her heart would have rolled off the shelf with a thud, spun 360 degrees, and fallen into her abdomen.
Margaret Satya is back??
Shouldn't she be dead already? Those three men who worked for the casino won't let her go! And that gunshot... Anna so desperately wanted Margaret to never come back that she refused to accept any possibility that she was still alive.
Unfortunately, reality often doesn't go as planned.
"Margarita!" Captain Harry was the first to react. He released his grip on the others and strode over to Margarita, his face a mixture of elation and anger. "You're back! That's wonderful!! Do you know how worried we were about you? Where have you been these past few days?!"
As everyone knows, his worries were unfounded, but he was genuinely relieved—at least his performance this afternoon was saved.
Margaret blinked innocently and said, "I went to a friend's house. Something came up at his house, so I stayed a few more days."
The circus members looked at each other: "Friend? Isn't Margaret all alone in London? Could she be talking about the pony she met while living in the stables…?"
Ringmaster Harry, however, didn't share this adorable sentiment. Instead, he assumed Margaret was evading the question and flew into a rage, yelling in a shrill voice, "What 'friends'? Who have you been with these past three days? Men or women? We never allow circus members to take on private gigs, otherwise what will your fans think?! And let me tell you, this income also has to be handed over—how much money did you take from your 'friends'?"
A barrage of questions came at her, and Margaret's smile faded slightly.
She didn't look at the leader who had committed the sins of greed, arrogance, and fantasies about lesbians. Her gaze swept over the other members in the tent. The animal trainer was wiping his whip with his head down, the clown was playing cards in the corner, and the acrobats were whispering among themselves. Everyone avoided her gaze, except for Anna, who was staring at her intently with an expression like Isaac Newton watching an apple fly from the ground into the sky.
Some of these people had given her nightmares, while others were occasionally good but mostly not bad; they were the most common ordinary people in the world.
The latter calmed Margaret's disappointment and disgust somewhat. She said gently, "Captain, you don't need to worry. Just tell the fans the truth. Tell them I was sick a few days ago and went to a friend's house to recuperate for a while. Now I'm better and back."
Commander Harry was so angry he laughed. Unable to contain his rage any longer, he pointed his short, stubby finger at Margaret's nose and said:
"Do you think those gentlemen and ladies are fools? They paid money to see your performance? Do you think your performance is that great, that unique? Don't fucking dream on! You've only been in the business for six months; everyone in this tent is better than you!"
This was the absolute truth, and Margarita didn't refute it. Seeing this, the commander's arrogance grew even stronger, and spittle flew from his thin lips into the air:
"You disappeared for three days without a word, and now you think you can just brush it off with a casual 'went to a friend's house'? Let me tell you, if you offend the audience today, or if there's even the slightest mishap during the afternoon performance, you're getting back to the stables! The circus doesn't keep idlers!"
The air inside the tent grew even quieter, almost so quiet you could hear a pin drop. At this point, the argument was bound to end with one person bowing their head and apologizing, thus calming things down.
This person could never possibly be Commander Harry... right?
Margaret did not apologize.
She even laughed again, but that usually gentle smile now seemed terrifying due to its extreme abnormality.
"Alright, then leave it to me. I'll give everyone an explanation as soon as possible."
Commander Harry choked on his words.
Anna watched this scene with a dizzying sense of disorientation. The development of events had completely exceeded her comprehension. At this moment, she felt as if she were dreaming, vaguely watching the commander so angry that he couldn't speak, and then storm off with a flick of his sleeve. She watched Margaret Lisa chatting with her colleagues as if nothing had happened, and watched the atmosphere in the tent return to its usual peace.
The only thing that shouldn't even happen in a dream is that she ignored her.
Margaret ignored her.
Anna should have felt relieved, but just as she had felt joy when she thought Margarita was dead, she was now overwhelmed by inexplicable fear. The last shred of reason in her mind prevented her from standing up and shouting to everyone:
(Please remember 1110.com for the fastest chapter updates)
Margaret Satya must be dead!
I killed him!!!
The woman in the tent was definitely not Margarita. Although her curly red hair, emerald eyes, and exquisite features were exactly the same as Margarita's, she *couldn't* be Margarita. Margarita was dead; I killed her. I traded her life for money. If she wasn't dead, was the money in my hands also fake? Had the casino not forgiven me yet? Were the past few days all an illusion, and this moment the only reality? This isn't right, this isn't right, this isn't right, this isn't right—
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the ringmaster's voice rang out from the front of the stage, "Welcome to the Gilded Circus! Today, our most popular star—Miss Margaret Zeller—will be returning to the stage!"
There was thunderous applause.
Margaret Lisa casually lifted the curtain and walked out. Anna held her breath, covered her cheeks with her fingers, and dug her fingertips deep into her flesh.
She waited to see Margaret Lisa make a fool of herself, to see the audience's anger after discovering that Margaret Lisa had been "missing for several days," to see the actress's head suddenly fall from her neck, and to see the world return to its true nature.
"Margarita!" someone shouted from the audience, "Long time no see! Where have you been these past few days?"
Margaret stood in the center of the stage, her figure shimmering under the spotlight. She bowed slightly towards the direction of the voice and replied in a clear voice, "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. I visited a friend I hadn't seen in a long time these past few days and lost track of time."
"A friend?" A wealthy and sophisticated female audience member shielded her face with her fan and teased, "Is it a boyfriend? Oh dear, Miss Zeller is at the age to be getting married. I wonder which gentleman will be lucky enough to win your heart..."
Margaret smiled, neither confirming nor denying, but simply said earnestly, "She is a very important friend."
Anna, backstage, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her cheek; her fingernails had scratched her skin and dug into her flesh.
Does Margaret have other friends besides herself?
lie.
I'm pretty sure she died alone.
The person on stage is not Margarita. You have been deceived. Everyone has been deceived. A ghoul who has crawled out of the grave has taken over Margarita's body and wants to use that sinful beauty to spread blasphemous words to the world!
Anna shuddered, realizing she needed to do something. She hastily wiped her bleeding face with her sleeve, ignored the circus staff and passengers, and turned to leave the tent.
She's going to the casino to ask someone for help!
Night fell unnoticed, and London was shrouded in evening fog. Gaslights along the streets lit up one after another, casting dim yellow glows in the fog. Anna wrapped her shawl tighter and hurried through the muddy alley.
The casino was located deep in a secluded street not far from the circus. In the past, when the sun was setting and business was booming, the sounds of dice, cards, cheers of winners, and curses of losers could be heard from afar. Anna had spent her entire youth here and could imagine that intoxicating atmosphere. Therefore, she did not notice that the street seemed unusually quiet today.
"Pat-pat, pat, pat."
That was the sound of her boots stomping through the mud.
"Thump, thump, thump."
This tremor came from deep within the casino.