519 A Parent-child Moment
Selma Payne’s POV:
Even a professional troupe’s backstage was not much tidier than an amateur troupe’s backstage in school. Props, costumes, tables, and chairs, and half-drunk bottles of mineral water, could be seen everywhere.
The actors were nervous and uneasy when they saw us, and the staff was even in a hurry to clean up the mess.
However, this awkward scene only lasted briefly before it was broken. Cynthia, this young girl so obsessed with looks, immediately forgot about her shyness as a little adult and my advice when she saw the female lead. She started chatting with her like a little fangirl.
The female lead was a rather famous female opera actress. The name ‘Cynthia’ came from a role she had once played. At first, she was a little reserved, not knowing how to respond to a royal family member – the one that she had never heard of – and not knowing how to deal with a child who could ask ten questions in a second.
The commander was a quick-witted person. Even though the royal family had never announced Cynthia’s existence to the outside world, he still didn’t mention a single word about her identity. He simply addressed her as ‘Your Highness’.
“Your Highness is such a smart child.” He smiled like a kind grandfather. “It’s rare for a child your age to have such a sharp tongue.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” No matter what, a mother would always be proud of her child being praised by others. “The child is a little naughty. I hope you can understand the inconvenience caused to your troupe.”
The regiment commander’s face immediately bloomed into a smile.
I didn’t have much to say to the troupe. Besides, this wasn’t a public setting, so I didn’t have to say anything official in front of the media. Thus, this visit ended very quickly. The only one who was reluctant to leave was Cynthia. Before she left, she took a photo with the actress and left her signature on the photo.
On the way back, Cynthia hugged my autograph and asked, “Mother, will Aunt Mara always work at the Midnight Opera House? Then, can I go to the opera house more often after I return to the Lycan pack?”
“To be precise, our family has always had VIP seats in the Midnight Opera House. It’s just that no one was interested in opera before, so we rarely went.” I wiped the sweat off her forehead. A mimicry could even simulate such subtle physiological changes. It was magical.
“Yay!” Cynthia cheered. “In that case, I’ll go every day!”
Watching the opera wasn’t a big deal, but I had to put a wet blanket on her. “I don’t think that’s possible, my dear. You’re still young. If you want to go out, you’ll have to be accompanied by an adult, or you’ll likely encounter danger.”
“I know that you, Grandpa, and Grandma are very busy. Father can’t do anything for now, and Grandpa also has official business to do.” Cynthia still wanted to fight for some rights for herself. “I can ask Kara or Bertha to accompany me. They’re also adults and are very trusted adults.”
“But Kara and Bertha also have things to do. If they always accompany you to the opera, their work will be piled up, and they will be exhausted.”
“In that case, I don’t need an adult to accompany me! You know that I’m not just a two-year-old child. Mother, if a bad person tries to do anything to me, I can immediately make him disappear forever.”
“I trust you, and I know you’re not a good kid who will kill people. But how are we going to explain this to the outside world? A vicious assassin disappeared forever in the private room of a two-year-old child?”
“...”
Cynthia pouted and thought briefly before saying, “I can also bring a few more guards with me.”
I held back my laughter and touched her hair, no longer teasing her.
“Okay, my dear, since you like it, I promise we can go to the opera once a week, okay? I’ll do my best to free up time to accompany you. Even if I can’t, I promise to find a reliable person to fulfill my promise in my place.”
“Really?” Cynthia’s eyes immediately lit up. “Thank you, Mother!”
After that, she couldn’t help but feel a little excitement along the way. Sometimes she talked about taking the wolf cub out to ‘see the world’, and sometimes she would talk about taking little Sunflower to explore new hobbies. She didn’t even consider whether these two real younger children could understand the gorgeous singing and elegant words.
When we returned to where we were staying, Dorothy had already returned. She didn’t enjoy the opera with us. She left after saying goodbye to Mara. With Tracy’s recommendation, she got to know several experts in the pharmacology research group, so the witch, who had a great interest in herbology, went into the laboratory.
She often had to stay up all night and rarely came back so early.
“I feel a little uneasy,” she said worriedly as she lay on the sofa in the living room. “That familiar feeling is back. It’s the feeling when fate is about to show me something.”
She raised her head and happened to see Cynthia. Without any warning, she froze.