Death Cast

1.35 | Grecia Bella Theatre

“She is very qualified,” Jaerim muttered. 

“What?” Noel had relocated to another cabinet that had binders of information, most likely containing only the medical records of the people that had come before them. Even so, he removed it and flipped it open. The two of them came across a stack of dirty and yellowed sheets, each having a fragment of a single photograph taped to it. Additionally, it contains other information about the patients, such as their names, ages, and addresses.

Jaerim averted his gaze and shifted his gaze to the office desk, where he concentrated on his search. He took a trip around the table before peering into the storage box under it. As expected, it has a plethora of documents kept on it, but they are better organized. He sat down in the chair and began gathering the paperwork. The majority of these documents are expense records, with a few random cheques thrown in for good measure.

“What do you mean that she is very qualified?” Noel asked since Jaerim suddenly stopped talking. He had checked the first binder and didn’t find anything useful in it, so he went to check the other binders as well. 

“Bella,” Jaerim hummed lightly, his hands still checking each document seriously. “Bella is very qualified. She must have been treated by her father like a princess. I don't think she is spoiled, but she would have been an apple in front of many men.”

Based on her social standing, Bella would be considered one of the ladies that should be famous in her circle of friends. Who wouldn’t want to have a female companion who has a wealthy family, no siblings, and is intelligent? She was probably highly sought by many distinguished gentlemen who either wanted to marry her through convenience or affection. Could her desperation be based on this societal pressure?

But that will not make any sense. 

“Hey, if you had a daughter and loved her so much, would you give her everything she wanted?” Jaerim asked. 

Noel shuddered at the idea of having a daughter. He looked at Jaerim warily, as if answering the question would really give him a child. 

“I-is it really okay to ask someone like me questions like that?” 

“Hypothetically.”

“Even though I know it is hypothetical, I never imagined having one!”

The horror on the youngster’s face is so evident and vivid that Jaerim has to stop questioning. He heaved a sigh and slouched onto the chair, tossing the documents on the table with much ease. He clasped his hands and placed them above his stomach while slowly making the office chair turn a bit. 

“There’s something that I cannot understand. No matter how much I think about it, nothing comes to mind. It’s not that it’s so important, but this void keeps on bugging me,” Jaerim honestly said. 

Noel placed the binders down and looked at Jaerim across from him. “What is it?”

“Did you not see it was weird?” 

"What's weird?”

“Bella,” Jaerim tapped his finger over his clasped hand, his eyes clearly pondering over the issue. “We can see that she is a distinguished lady, the one that would make everyone want her. Yet, she doesn’t look like one based on the letters we found. She sounded like she was looking for a companion or friend.”

Noel could not understand Jaerim’s words. “Is that wrong?”

Jaerim nodded. “There is. Someone who has good social standing tends to attract friends and enemies. Maybe I am just exaggerating since there are many factors that are different in our world. But, Bella sounds like she is an outcast.”

“How could that be?” Noel scrunched his brows after understanding the premise. “The staff here treats her well. Remember the first time we got here? There is that maid who welcomed us and told us that the lady of the house could not meet us since she was already tired. You can see the pampering from her eyes whenever Bella is mentioned.”

“That’s what I'm referring to,” Jaerim straightened his posture and went to check the documents over again. “The affection between the family and peers is different. Her family would love her unconditionally, while the peers around her would only like her under a condition. This condition can be in any form: beauty, money, smarts, you name it. The more of these conditions are present, the more reason for people to love you.”

Jaerim paused flipping thru the documents after he caught sight of a small, thin notebook that got mixed in with the papers. A smile crept across his face as he read the contents of the paper. Noel had been observing Jaerim since earlier and found him grinning. 

“What did you find?” 

Noel flung the binders into the corner and stepped over to the table to look at the object in Jaerim's palm. Jaerim set the notebook down on the desk, exposing a single page. He pushed it in the direction of Noel so that he could see better. He was able to read the notebook's contents in a single sitting because there weren't many pages. After realizing something, Noel's eyes were wide open as he stared at Jaerim.

“Bella possessed all the qualities, but something made it so she would be different,” Jaerim pointed to the notebook. “She is crippled.”

The last letter they found first in the study stated Bella’s condition. Jaerim had guessed that Bella was sick, or something similar since it was the only thing that could make things reasonable. 

“Now, listen to my theory,” Jaerim knocked on the table to get Noel’s attention. He started arranging the events of the storyline from the clues they found. Although they never parted over these events, Jaerim still sounded confident as he counted the timeline with his hands.

“The theatre has been abandoned for many years due to an accident that happened before. According to the news clippings, it was arson. There are many speculations as to why the arsonist committed the crime, but some of the motives were probably jealousy.”

Jaerim had no idea about the name of the theatre before it was changed to Grecia Bella, but he was sure that it was famous. The establishment is found in the center of the city, and with an era where cellphones and television don’t exist yet, establishments like this theatre must have been a hit. The thing is, the idea of constructing a theatre is not limited to one person, so there must have been some rivalry occurring. 

“Many years later, the doctor bought the worn theatre. Bella must still be a kid, maybe around five or six years old, whatever. The theatre should have been something the doctor bought out of a whim.”

“Wait,” Noel raised a hand. “Bought on a whim not bought as a gift?”

Jaerim nodded. “It’s impossible for someone like a doctor to not know about the history of the place. He is rich, so it would only take a sleigh of a hand to order people to search for it. Yet, he still bought the theatre.”

“The thing is-,” Jaerim pulled himself towards the table and leaned onto it. He placed his elbows on the table and cupped the side of his head. “If it were me, after buying the theatre, I would renovate it soon. If it is a gift - it is reasonable that I will never present it in a bad way especially if it is meant for a relative. Yet, the theatre remained shabby until it was renovated after many years.”

He looked Noel straight in the eye. “What do you think is the reason?”

Noel thought of it. He scratched the side of his cheeks while thinking of an answer. “Are you, perhaps, telling me that he only bought it just for a past time?”

“Correct,” Jaerim smiled. “The young Bella should have liked performers and theatres even she was still young. To satisfy her daughter, he simply bought a theatre. But it wasn’t meant to be a gift since he thought this interest would soon be gone. A young child loses interest quite quickly.” 

“Damn, how could he just go decide and buy a theatre for his daughter’s sudden interest? How did I not have a parent like that?” Noel complained. “This Bella is spoiled to the brim.”

“Well, they are rich. There’s nothing we could do about that,” Jaerim shrugged his shoulders. “Anyways, he bought the theatre and Bella went over to play around. However, something must have happened to Bella that made her stuck in the theatre and forced her father to renovate it.”

He pointed to the notebook. It is a journal left by the doctor himself. It contains information about deciding to buy a theatre, daily reminders, and, most importantly, about Bella’s health. There is not much information since the doctor seems to not like to write long sentences and summarize everything into short words. But Jaerim and Noel were smart enough to understand the rest. 

“Bella got crippled, or somewhat like that, due to an illness. It is hereditary. As a doctor, the father knew the condition of her daughter and had known that she would be living a rather lonely life. So, he spoiled her to the brim, so she won’t feel any sadness. The theatre would become something she would spend time on as she grows up.”

And things happened quite well after that. Bella must have been happy staying in the theatre. It is probably due to this that made the Lady and Elias meet. Of course, the young jester must still be naive and didn’t have the confidence to approach Bella. 

“But that is enough. For the young jester who had not understood anything, watching over Bella was enough. Of course, things changed after something happened to Bella. It wasn’t presented in the letters but obviously, a triggering event must have caused Elias to step up and send a letter to the Lady.”

“Like an accident?” Noel guessed. 

“Correct. Bella’s condition must have worsened. This place did not have a facility for treatment, so the father took Bella somewhere. They only returned after getting plausible treatment that could help Bella with her condition.”

The father must be feeling torn about his daughter. So, to make things much better, he decided to renovate the theatre. He must have known that Bella would be staying in this place most of her life, so should he not give her a comfortable place? That’s why he had become busy, so busy that he didn’t notice the love blooming between his recovering daughter and a puny performer.

“But he eventually found out. He could not accept his daughter getting together with a man without any wealth and merits, so he tried to separate them.”

But Bella had fallen in love. She is the one who had the illness, the unknown condition, so she is the one who is feeling everything very clearly. She tried to look happy, tried to act like a sophisticated lady, acted prim and proper so her father wouldn’t worry anymore. But it also made her desperate. She wanted to act normal but no people around her wanted her to become like that. That’s why, when she encountered an encounter that is normal, like receiving a letter from an admirer, she immediately gave in. 

“For the first time, the father saw something his daughter that he did not expect before. He had known about Bella’s feelings, after all, he is a father. How could he not guess that his daughter is pretending to be alright? Thus, he relented. He will allow them to be together. But as a father who loved his daughter, he won’t simply hand his daughter and give the potential lover a condition.”

“That must be winning the competition,” Noel muttered. “But why is he not the one performing?”

“It’s because the father knows that Elias will become a good performer. You can tell it now. He had become one of the best troupe leaders, no? So, the father ordered him that instead of developing his skills, sacrifice them and make a performing troupe. Then, on the opening ceremony of the theatre, he would give him a slot to perform. If he gained the support of the audience, he would let Elias come near his daughter.”

It is clear now. The whole storyline is complete. 

“Bro, you are good. You managed to understand the whole script like that. And… it seems to be the real thing.” Noel looked at Jaerim with amazement. He picked the notebook up and flipped it. 

Jaerim observed Noel boldly, then suddenly asked, “But is that enough?” 

“What?”

“After knowing everything, is that enough?” Jaerim shook his head. “It could be the truth, but just knowing it is not enough. We still haven’t found a way to escape from this world.”

“That’s true,” Noel returned the notebook. He pulled the stool beside the table and sat across from Jaerim. “Then, do you have any idea how to escape from here?”

“Somewhat,” Jaerim hummed. He averted his eyes from Noel by closing them. “We are living in the present timeline. It is the moment the jester is still trying to prove his worth. But something is off.”

“What is it?”

“The last letter,” Jaerim carried over the letter they found from the study. Ken said that the one who found it should be the one to carry it. “The jester told Bella that he was sure he would win the competition. It is the future.”

“Then we only have to win?” Noel understood that. 

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes, no,” Jaerim opened his eyes and looked Noel straight in the eye. “Bella never opened the letter. She was not able to read it.”

Noel gasped. Elias was sure that he would get first place, but Bella didn’t know about that since she wasn't able to read the letter. 

“Why was she unable to read it?” Noel asked. 

“She must have been killed,” Jaerim replied. 

“Killed?” Noel blinked his eyes like an owl. “How could she be killed like that?”

“Why not?” Jaerim chuckled. He looked at Noel with eyes filled with curiosity. It was black and deep as if his eyes showed a portion of the universe's peculiar reality. Noel's eyes shook a little. It felt as if he was getting sucked into a void. Jaerim continued his words with a hint of mirth in his tone.

“You even wanted to kill me, so how could she not be killed randomly?”