Salon ‘Nocturne’

A rumor has long circulated in the city.

That while it does not exist by day, at the moment when the night is darkest, a single door appears before someone.

A door made of black wood, bearing neither name nor sign. Only a silver handle and a small plaque.

「Welcome to the Salon.」

Those who opened that door and entered all left the same words behind.

“It felt as if time had stopped.”

There were no clocks inside the salon. There was no scenery outside the windows. The candles burned but never grew shorter, and the champagne never diminished no matter how much was drunk. Laughter and piano melodies bounced off the ceiling and flowed slowly, and white petals drifted through the air regardless of the season.

This was not a place entered with money.

Each guest could open the door in exchange for one thing.

A happy memory. Their own name. A secret hidden for a lifetime. Or a desire they could never tell anyone.

Only the salon knew what had been surrendered.

There were not many rules in the salon.

First, do not ask about another guest's past. No fighting allowed!

Second, do not take what happens here outside. If the Secretary hears of it, you're dead!

Third, never lie while the Madam is smiling. Never, ever upset the Madam!

It is said that those who break the rules can never find the salon's door again.

At the center of the salon, the Madam always sat.

Always draped in a luxurious slip dress and fur, she smiled as if she already knew the name of every single guest. With a single gesture, the music changed, the candles flickered, and a new guest opened the door. People called her human, a demon, or an ancient fae, but no one knew the right answer.

By the Madam's side, there was always a secretary.

The secretary spoke little, filled the guests' glasses before they were empty, and prepared what the Madam wanted before she even spoke. All the salon's ledgers, invitations, and records that must never be shown to anyone passed through his hands. Guests were relieved by the secretary's presence, yet simultaneously most wary of him. Though he wore a smile, he was the one who knew the most secrets in the salon.

Here, anyone could become whoever they wished.

An emperor, A beggar, An actor, A murderer, For just one day, they were all equal guests.

However, the moment the night ends and they step out the door, memories of the salon fade like a dream.

Only one thing remains.

No one can forget the Madam's smile.

And so, people wait for the night again.

In the hope that one day, that black door will appear before them once more.