Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash ` 267
A faint trace of relief and gratification, one she herself didn’t
even notice, flickered deep in her eyes.
It was quickly replaced by her familiar competitiveness.
She reached out and gripped Madeleine’s hand tightly, so hard
it almost hurt.
“Let’s see if you can even keep up with my training intensity
before you talk big.”
Leona snorted, but the corner of her mouth uncontrollably
curved up into a tiny smile.
After Madeleine left, Leona let out a long sigh and leaned
against the window.
She took out her phone and called her teacher.
“Katherine Hill, she agreed. I’d like you to send me the hellish
training plan you designed back then.”
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“Yes, I’ll be training her specially for three months.”
“Not good enough?
No, you don’t have to worry about that. She just danced for me,
and I have to admit…”
Leona took a deep breath. “She’s an incredibly talented dancer.
Even after not dancing for a few years, and even having a child,
her skill level is far beyond that of a professional dancer.”
Leona thought to herself with a bitter smile.
“She’s even better than many people in our dance troupe.”
Katherine on the other end of the line was clearly surprised, her
voice rising slightly.
“Better than many people in our troupe?
Leona, that’s quite a statement… She’s been out of practice for
years, and she’s had a child. Her physical condition, her muscle
strength, how could that be possible…”
Katherine was a titan in the country’s ballet world, famous for her sharp eye and strict standards.
Leona, whom she had personally trained, was already a
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standout among the younger generation.
For her to give an assessment that someone was better than many in the troupe was simply unbelievable.
Leona gazed out the window, the image of Madeleine’s recent movements–unpracticed yet undeniably graceful–appearing
before her eyes.
Especially that fleeting, unique lightness that was all her own.
Her tone was certain, even carrying a subtle pride she herself didn’t notice, as if sharing in the honor:
“Katherine, I saw it with my own eyes.
Her muscle memory and physical foundation are astonishingly good, and her flexibility is coming back quickly.”
“Most importantly… that sense for the music and the charm of her movements, it’s etched into her bones. It can’t be lost.”
“It’s just that her strength and stability are much weaker now, and her technique is rusty. She needs systematic, hellish
training to get it back.”
Katherine was silent for a long while after hearing this.
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“So she’s the demon that’s been weighing on your heart all
these years.”
“Yes.”
Leona was a bit embarrassed, looking down and smiling sheepishly.
“Back then, when she suddenly withdrew from the competition,
I moved up as the runner–up to represent the city in the
nationals.”
Her voice grew heavy.
“Everyone said that award should have been hers.
If she hadn’t withdrawn, if she hadn’t had that breakdown… my win wasn’t honorable. It was like I just picked up what she didn’t
want.”
The sky outside gradually darkened, and the glass reflected
Leona’s slightly furrowed brow and complex expression.
“Later, nasty rumors started spreading. Even without any proof,
that talk never really died down.”
“The better I danced, the more awards I won, the more people
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would bring her up, bring up that victory that ‘should have been
Madeleine’s‘.”
Leona’s fingers unconsciously picked at the window frame.
“Katherine, you know?
Even before every competition, people would look at me with
that ‘what a shame about Madeleine‘ look, as if my very
existence was a waste and a stain on her talent.”
Her voice was filled with years of pent–up frustration and
indignation, but more than that, a sense of powerlessness from
being unable to prove herself.
“I practiced like crazy, worked myself to death. I wanted to
prove I could make it on my own. I wanted to dance so well that
everyone would shut up and admit I was the best… but.”
Leona gave a bitter smile. “As long as she wasn’t dancing
anymore, as long as she was gone from this field, I could never truly escape that ‘what if‘.”
“That ‘If Madeleine were still here, would Leona even have a
chance?”
“That hypothetical is like a thorn stuck deep in my heart. It’s
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become my inner demon.”
“I don’t just want to win. I want to beat her. Beat her fair and square, just once, when she’s at her absolute best.
Or… even if I lose, I want it to be a clear–cut loss!”
Katherine hummed in understanding.
She knew Leona’s way of thinking was a bit extreme, at least in
the eyes of an ordinary person.
For a dance fanatic like Leona, an obsession like this could trap
her for a lifetime.
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