Chapter 659: A Dramatic Transformation

"Swish… swish… swish…"

The emerald sea rippled gently, caressing the golden sand shore with tender affection; on the old, orderly stone pier, a few scattered boats swayed lightly in the dock, while several seagulls, gilded by the sunlight, circled gracefully above the vessels, occasionally letting out soft, melodious cries…

The morning in the seaside town of Ankara remained as quiet and beautiful as ever, except that the once-bustling tavern by the pier had become deserted, with no one coming or going for a long time.

Agatha, the waitress who had become the young men's dream woman in town for her playful, fiery personality and an even more fiery figure, was also absent from the tavern—instead, she stood before Ankara's only post office, frowning as she flipped through past newspapers posted on the door.

…

Hard to find work these days…

After flipping through many editions of the classifieds without finding a suitable job, Agatha, who had just lost her job this morning, let out a quiet sigh.

After the tavern incident yesterday, though Joseph had pulled me out and I wasn't hurt in the brawl, those three drunken sailors beat Elijah senseless for speaking up.

Even worse, when I arrived with the police later, those three sailors had slipped away unnoticed, broken into the tavern's cellar, looted and smashed everything inside, emptied the till, then vanished without a trace.

When the tavern's real owner returned and learned all this was because of me, he flew into a rage—docked my entire salary as compensation and fired me outright.

I'd fled home in a hurry and brought little money; though I'd saved a bit from months as a waitress, it was still barely enough to get by—and now the classifieds offered no suitable jobs. What should I do?

"You're… Miss Agatha?"

As Agatha stood before the post office, helpless from lack of funds, a voice filled with surprise sounded behind her.

Agatha turned in surprise and saw the man who had chatted so pleasantly with her yesterday—and who had bravely stepped forward when the sailors caused trouble.

"Mr. Elijah!"

Seeing the man before her—his head wrapped in bandages, a large bruise on his temple, yet still radiating handsome charm—Agatha, guilt-ridden over having left him to be beaten yesterday, blushed and awkwardly greeted him:

"You… you're alright? I'm so sorry about yesterday—if it weren't for me… you wouldn't have…"

"It's fine."

Though Elijah had been brutally beaten, seeing the rosy-cheeked, graceful woman before him, his lingering resentment melted away unnoticed; he smiled and replied:

"Yesterday's incident wasn't your fault—you were merely caught up in the drunken fools' chaos. As for these wounds, when I chose to step forward, I already prepared myself for the possibility of being beaten.

This is the price a man must pay to uphold his principles—and the medal commemorating his courage. It has nothing to do with a beautiful lady who was innocently caught in the crossfire. You needn't feel guilty."

"Mr. Elijah…"

Watching Elijah, beaten so badly yet still trying to comfort her, Agatha's heart warmed; she clenched her fists against her chest, her eyes soft as she whispered:

"Your bravery and kindness are like the morning sun, illuminating my dark heart, and like the endless waves upon the ocean, making me…"

"I can't take this anymore!"

At this point, Leon, who had been sitting inside the post office for half the morning, couldn't help pushing open the window and sticking his head out, exasperated:

"Can't you two just talk normally? Greeting each other like you're reciting poetry, back and forth—your tone's about to turn into a song. If I don't interrupt, will you two start dancing in the middle of the street next? And then all of us passersby will jump out of our carts and stand on the roofs to dance for you?"

After Leon finished his rant, the yellow-haired puppy on his shoulder nodded its tiny head vigorously, enthusiastically chiming in:

"Wangwu wangwu! (Exactly!)"

Is this… Mr. Joseph?

Seeing the man and dog poking their heads out the window, the male and female leads of "Twelve Days of Travel" froze in place.

Why? Because compared to yesterday's outfit—the kind only a manic dandy would wear—"Mr. Joseph" now looked absurdly normal.

Beneath a well-tailored gray wool coat, he wore a simple, proper vest and a fitted, pleated shirt; a neatly folded handkerchief stuck out of the shirt's breast pocket, making him look almost gentlemanly.

The only thing ungentlemanly was the top button undone, revealing a sharply defined collarbone and a fair, smooth neck; above that, a clear jawline and a slightly upturned lip, paired with a high nose and deep, bright eyes—giving the impression of…

A man who looked decent enough.

There was no help for it: whether in real life or in "Twelve Days of Travel," Leon was never a character with stunning looks.

Even though Leon had dressed carefully today—even secretly smudging eyeliner beneath his collarbone to accentuate its lines—his base appearance was what it was; no matter how hard he tried, he could only manage "a bit cute," the kind of guy who might get a second glance walking down the street—and nothing more.

But just as beauty is defined by contrast, "Mr. Joseph" now, though merely slightly handsome, looked breathtakingly handsome next to yesterday's gaudy, insane rooster. This contrast made him undeniably striking.

…

Well? Scared?

Seeing the two outside the post office, stunned, Leon raised an eyebrow slightly and offered a knowing smile.

Whether true or not, according to the information revealed by the 【King of Drama】, if he could completely disrupt the plot and earn a higher rating than the original script, he might become the new master of the drama world.

To achieve this, first he had to know who issued the ratings—and the most likely source, naturally, was the residents of the small town of Ankara, the same three thousand spectators from the Central Cross Theater.

As for what these spectators liked to watch…

Last night, Leon had broken into the Bureau of Household Registration through a window and reviewed the town's registration records: fully seventy percent were women. Today's two performances were the romantic comedy "Twelve Days of Travel" and the tragic age-gap romance "Madame Helena." It wasn't hard to guess what they preferred.

And how, with only himself as a "controllable" character and the 【King of Drama】 interfering from the sidelines, could he make the new "Twelve Days of Travel" more appealing than the original…

For someone steeped in countless works from another world, this might actually be the easiest part!

(End of Chapter)