The princess sisters ran off to the Gold Bee Amusement Park again to play. Following Isatia's suggestion, she wanted to keep some surprises for the long-awaited performance, so she did not watch the rehearsal.

Antanas hadn't read the original novel, but Sinola, Pranay, and Almis likely had.

"It doesn't really matter if you've read the original or not. Abigail's version of the performance will definitely have adaptations, which is why the Cinderella act was accepted by the audience last time. The audience expected differences from the original from the start, and fortunately, Lanci managed to keep the deviations from being noticed by the audience."

The Bingxue Witch said as she gave Antanas a brief introduction to the connection between the Half-Witch act and the Cinderella act.

The story takes place during the Era of the Holy War in the Protoss Empire.

First, some background on the era needs to be mentioned.

The timeline of the Half-Witch act occurs a few years after the Cinderella act, when the Holy War had already begun. Yet, historical figures of the Protoss Empire such as Emperor Franklin and Empire Sage Isis hadn't risen to prominence, and the current configuration of the Northern Continent was far from being formed.

Before the Holy War began, the Protoss Empire had established relations with the Demon World. Since the Demon World was extremely developed while the Protoss were relatively backward, the Demon Race held a high status in the Protoss Empire at the time, such as the male protagonist Demon Race Governor in the Cinderella act who went to the Protoss Empire.

With the onset of the Holy War, the human nations of the Northern Continent and the Demon World became enemies. The Governor could no longer remain in human territories. He knew well that bringing Cinderella back to the Demon World would be a dead end for her. His family and the Demon King would not allow him to marry a human woman at this critical moment. To protect Cinderella, he decided to agree to his family's deal and return to the Demon World, leaving Cinderella with treasures sufficient to revitalize her family, promising her that he would return if the war could end.

"This part of the story rigorously references the era's background. Because the ancient Protoss Empire had learned much from the Demon World and was later dominated and reconstructed by the Demon Race after their defeat many years later, the region retained much of the Demon Race's heritage, as evidenced by the indelible Demon World flair in the future capital Herram's construction."

Pranay elaborated to Antanas.

Although they were figures who might have appeared in Northern Continent history, Antanas remained in the Demon World at that time and didn't delve into the human culture much, thus not closely examining the allegory of the Cinderella act for later plots.

Reflecting on history from the present, the Protoss people were unable to forgive the Demon Race nor fully extract their traces, as if caught in eternal entanglement.

The "Holy War Romance" story began when there were no fires of war yet, and the Demon Race and Protoss people were still on friendly terms.

But if humans and the Demon Race carelessly fell in love during that era, what awaited them was destined to be a treacherous path filled with snow and thorns. Although the Cinderella act's tone was joyous, the foreshadowing of the era's background laid at the story's start already destined their difficult end.

Next comes the story after the male protagonist Demon Race Governor returned to the Demon World.

Since the Governor had a high-status half-witch fiancée, the noble family he belonged to hoped that he would fulfill the marriage contract soon to avoid being accused of associating with humans, while also gaining the protection of the other family.

Then came the opening of the Half-Witch act, just performed by Lanci and Hyperion —

"The Half-Witch believes the Governor has forgotten her."

The Bingxue Witch pointed toward Hyperion on stage.

"And the Governor insists he has no memory of the half-witch, with no recollection of their past in the Demon World."

Her finger moved to Lanci, who was acting opposite Hyperion.

"So in the original, the half-witch suggests solving the mystery. She suspects the Governor has been cursed by the Demon Race, causing him to constantly forget her, thus disrupting the union between their families. As long as the Governor can find the spellcaster, whether or not he remembers her or is willing to marry her, she will promise to stop bothering him."

The Bingxue Witch explained to Antanas.

The two from the Demon Race embarked on an unforgettable and romantic journey.

Along the way, they adventured in the Demon World, searching for clues, undergoing dangerous life-and-death trials until they found the mastermind and defeated them.

In the end, the Governor still couldn't remember the half-witch, but during the journey, he had fallen in love with her once again.

Even though there were no past memories of her in his mind, his heart couldn't erase the feeling of loving her.

"So this opening doesn't differ much from the original?"

Antanas softly asked the Bingxue Witch.

"That's right. Abigail's adaptation merely omits much of the era's background, swiftly transitioning to the scene where the Governor and Half-Witch meet in the snowbound mansion as the opening."

The Bingxue Witch nodded.

At this moment, on stage, the Demon Race Governor had settled things with the butler and was preparing to embark on a journey with the Half-Witch. The scene was about to change soon.

"Stop."

A voice from the front row of the audience called a halt to the ongoing rehearsal.

Abigail made a pause gesture, indicating for the actors on stage to stop. Today, she wore an elegant black off-shoulder evening gown. The finely tailored fabric accentuated her slender curves, and she wore a black gemstone necklace.

No matter when, as long as she was working in the theater, Abigail always dressed glamorously, maintaining her poise.