Chapter 162 Pieces On The Board

• [ELARA]
• I pull the curtains aside before they shut completely, hesitating for only a moment before stepping through.
• The back of the stage is chaos—scattered clothes, ropes hanging loose, people laughing, cheering, and congratulating one another on a good performance. It’s bright and messy and real in a way that startles me after the dramatic depiction I just witnessed. Their joy fills the air, but as faces turn toward me, smiles fading into polite confusion, I feel suddenly misplaced—like an intruder in someone else’s celebration.