Chapter 36: Janna Roland
From a young age, Nachusa had always competed with her younger sister, Natasha. Her greatest dream was to divert everyone's attention away from Natasha and onto herself.
However, although the two were born of the same parents, their appearances were worlds apart.
Natasha, the younger sister, inherited all the favorable features from their parents.
In contrast, Nachusa was plain-looking, unremarkable, and had a fiery temper since childhood.
Her lifelong wish was to see Natasha fall flat on her face in public. But upon learning of their father's death and reading a letter Natasha left in her bedroom, Nachusa's perspective changed entirely.
With the family's decline, a marriage alliance was urgently needed to maintain their status in the kingdom.
Natasha's departure forced Nachusa, who already had someone she loved, to marry a powerful yet disabled nobleman in her sister's stead.
"Why—why—why—"
"Why do they say the kingdom's rose blooms because of you? Why am I always in despair under your shadow—"
"Why is it you who avenges our father? Why must I become the mud that nourishes the rose due to your willfulness—"
"Why—why—why—"
These four high-pitched, questioning lines were delivered effortlessly by Liji Silks.
Her abundant emotions, conveyed through each increasingly intense note, allowed everyone present to feel the anger and pain embedded in "Nachusa's" words.
Jealousy toward her radiant, rose-like sister since childhood, sorrow over their kind yet biased father's death, and finally, the unwillingness to replace Natasha in marriage—all these emotions were vividly portrayed through Liji Silks' performance, adding depth and authenticity to the character of "Nachusa."
"No wonder she's an apprentice with the [Perfect Pitch] talent in the music department. In terms of singing skills, few here can surpass her."
"Different professions have different standards. After all, she's a music apprentice. Nothing we can do about it."
Listening to the evaluations from those familiar with Liji Silks, Janna couldn't help but agree.
Even with her own [Voice of the Heavens] vocal talent, Janna's pitch control was on a different level compared to Liji Silks.
Just considering those high notes expressing various emotions, Janna could reach them using her talent, but without instrumental accompaniment and relying solely on her voice, it would be easy to go off-key.
"Clap clap clap clap—"
As Liji Silks concluded her performance, Shuka Berg timely applauded.
"Your pitch control is the most precise and professional I've heard so far."
"Thank you for your compliment... Mr. Shuka."
Having just finished her performance, Liji Silks was still immersed in the emotions of her act.
Hearing Shuka Berg's praise, her voice trembled slightly due to her heavy breathing.
"Alright, let's proceed with the next auditionee."
Seeing the judges' signals, Shuka Berg kindly winked at Liji Silks, inviting her to step down while prompting the next auditionee.
"Phew—"
Returning to her seat, Liji Silks clasped her cold hands and exhaled deeply, meeting the smiling eyes beside her.
"Congratulations, your performance was outstanding."
"Really? I actually think I did quite well... Also, I suddenly feel that Mr. Shuka Berg is so handsome, totally my type..."
Hearing this, Janna's mouth twitched involuntarily.
She turned her head, ignoring Liji Silks' continuous fangirling, and refocused on the audition performances.
"Janna, are you listening?"
"Of course not."
"You... You're infuriating. Your reaction is so unlike a witch."
"I'm a wizard. What I pursue is..."
"The path of a wizard! You mentioned that earlier."
Seeing Janna fall silent, the gossip-loving Liji Silks had to suppress her urge to chat, frowning as she casually watched the subsequent auditionees.
"It's already number fourteen. You're number fifteen, right?"
"Yes."
Fixing her gaze on the fourteenth auditionee, Janna had fully entered "battle-ready" mode.
"So far, two people have auditioned for the role of [Natasha], but the second one's performance wasn't even as good as Ollie Berry's."
Among the first fourteen auditionees, besides those auditioning for the female lead [Natasha], there were also candidates for the role of [Nachusa].
However, their performances were far inferior to Liji Silks', which made her more relaxed and allowed her to objectively evaluate the auditionees, aiding Janna in her assessment.
"Now calling group fifteen."
As the fourteenth auditionee's performance concluded, Shuka Berg, who had been overseeing the proceedings, invited the next auditionee to the stage.
"Good luck! I'm rooting for you!"
"Mm, thank you."
Taking a deep breath, Janna calmly nodded at Liji Silks' encouragement and stood up gracefully from her seat.
"Please hold onto my wizard cloak for me."
"No problem."
Unfastening the buttons at the front of her robe, Janna removed her large outer wizard cloak.
Dressed in a rose-colored long dress and deep black boots, she walked into the audition area under everyone's gaze.
"Oh my goodness!"
With hair like a waterfall and skin like jade, her pure aura rivaled that of a holy mountain angel. Her exquisite features, reminiscent of a goddess descending to the mortal world, were accentuated by her crimson dress.
At that moment, standing before everyone, Janna looked exactly like the most beautiful woman of the Rose Kingdom—Natasha—from "Bloodshadow Rose."
This visual impact caused everyone present to gasp in astonishment.
"Long time no see, Miss Janna Roland."
"Long time no see, Mr. David."
In fact, ever since Janna entered the "Floral Rendezvous" private room, not only the auditionees but also the four judges had been paying attention to her.
Apart from David Berg, who had specially invited her as a talent scout, Janna's outstanding appearance immediately caught the attention of the other judges.
"David has been mentioning you since last week. Seeing you today, you're even more beautiful than I imagined."
"Thank you for your compliment, Director Klan. You're also younger than I expected."
"Haha, to be honest, all four of us are looking forward to your performance. But don't put too much pressure on yourself. After all, I heard you don't have any prior acting experience. Just relax and give it your best shot..."