Alright, this is the final day of auditioning.

We'll be deciding final roles today. Keep that understanding in mind as you perform.

Understood!

Our remaining candidates will be performing the scenes which we have chosen. We will not be stopping you this time. You will be expected to play the scene out to the end.

The scenes we have chosen are...

For the protagonist, Luca, page 78.
From the moment Louise stabs him until the final song.

...!

Next, for Princess Louise, the scene starting on page 35...

(I knew it...
They picked the final scene for this day.)

(By this point, Luca has no qualms with harming the citizenry, and the story reaches its climax when his beloved Louise stops him.)

(In terms of this show, it's the biggest test of one's singing and acting skills...!)

Now then, we have five candidates vying for the role of Luca. To prevent any variance due to different co-actors, you will each act opposite the same Louise.

You will be performing in this order...
Ms. Osawa, Ms. Ito, Ms. Kanae, Ms. Kusanagi and Ms. Byakkomachi to finish.

Understood!

Time is of the essence, so let us get started.

(This is it.
Our final audition...!)

“Louise...
I just...”

“Wanted to be by your side...”

“♪————...”

And scene.

Thank you very much!

(Everyone's been really good.
They've all improved so much since the first day.)

(And this atmosphere...
There's so much tension in this room that I feel like it could burst at any moment.)

(They're all serious about this...)

(It's as though their lives depend on whether or not they get this role.)

(But...)

Next, Ms. Kusanagi, please get ready.

Understood!!

(I'm just as serious about this!!)

(Luca in this scene feels so proud as he enters the rose garden...)

(Because he believes he's finally worthy to be with his beloved.)

(So he comes in, unable to fully hide the happiness he feels...)

(Having completely forgotten about the thousands of lives he's cut down.)

“Hello, Louise.
It's been quite a while since we last met here.”

“Luca...
Yes, it's been years...”

“Five, if I'm not mistaken.
Back then, I used to cry like a baby whenever I pricked my finger on one of these roses' thorns.”

“But I've changed, Louise.”

“Now, it doesn't matter if I get hit by a rock thrown by a rioter, or a spear tip cuts my cheek. I won't cry a single tear.”

“Because now, I am a knight. Your knight.”

“Luca...”

...

(Kusanagi's doing well so far.)

(But here is where things get difficult...)

(Because this is the moment Louise uses Luca's heart as a sheath.)

(This sudden turn of events causes him to experience a violent mix of confusion, anger and horror... And love. She has to grapple with, and express, this torrent of emotions...)

(I'm looking forward to seeing how you play this part.)

“Look at this rose, Luca...”

“Remember what I told you all those years ago? About how I always wanted to see a blue rose?”

“I feel that this rose has a slightly blue hue to it.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes... But you surely can't tell from all the way over there. Join me over here...”

“Come close to me now, and...”

“Huh...?”

“Wait... You...!”

...!

(She's good...
I was under the impression that she still struggled with nuanced physical acting.)

(But the way she froze after realizing what just happened, as well as the way she's moving her hands... You can clearly see the impact of the blade, and how much pain Luca is in right now.)

“Louise...?”

“I'm so sorry, Luca!
But...”

“I had to do this...! I didn't want to see your hands become even more stained in blood!!”

“You once said that you wanted to become the groundskeeper for this rose garden. You said that you didn't mind being pricked by the thorns...!”

“That was the boy I fell in love with...!!”

“What are you saying...?”

“Wait, that means...
Everything I've done until now...!”

“Luca!!”

“H-Haha...”

“It was all for naught...”

“All the innocent people I rounded up and butchered. All the children I mercilessly had sent to the gallows.”

“All of it... Everything I did...
It just made me drift further away from you...”

“Why...?”

“Why didn't I take the time to examine your feelings closer...?”

“I simply wanted to be close to you...”

“Louise...
Promise to remember this one thing...”

“Louise...
I just... Wanted to be by your side...”

“I wanted to sit here with you... To gaze at a blue rose... And express our joy in song...”

“♪————...”

...!!

“♪————... ♪————...”

“Don't cry, Louise...”

“Please, smile...
For you are the most beautiful rose... In the entire world...”

“♪————... ♪————...”

(I see...
So this is what she went with...!)

(This is the song they sang together in the rose garden when they were little. It makes this story just that much more tragic, since this is where they must part.)

(The others all sang like Luca was taking his final few breaths. However...)

(Kusanagi is focusing on his love for Louise.)

(Luca sings with gentle warmth, because he doesn't want to see her cry.)

(He'd become a monster in the pursuit of his goal, but this shows the audience that there truly was love there...)

(That love adds an extra layer of depth to this tragedy, simply because it's so pure.)

Bravo...

And scene. That'll do, Ms. Kusanagi.

Oh, right...!
Thank you very much!!

(I was so nervous, but I managed to perform the way I practiced...!)

(I actually managed to give it absolutely everything I had!!)

Alright, I'm up next...

I really have to thank you, Kusanagi.

Because now I feel like I can put on the best rendition of Luca I ever have.