chapter 32
[“Different mothers, same ambition.”
The Beldertt brothers clash over the new videosphere service—who will win?][“I’m superior both as a businesswoman and as a woman.”
Melanie Clotilde vs. Josephine Ingda—Polius’s women face off through videospheres.][“Not you—your brother.”
The duke’s daughter who broke off her engagement with the younger brother to date the elder—what came of that choice?]
Headlines with sensational titles like these started flooding the papers.
For several days, Melanie’s name was plastered across the front pages in a negative tone.
Melanie barely skimmed a few of the articles before angrily throwing the newspaper aside.
“They might as well start writing novels.”
No matter which article she read, they all ended in the same way:
[Meanwhile, Polius Beldertt and Josephine Ingda are set to launch their “Red Sun” videosphere business this fall.]
‘They’re definitely using provocative headlines to promote their videosphere venture,’ she thought.
It was obviously intentional.
Melanie sighed as she watched even people who’d never cared about videospheres gossip about her.
‘They named it Red Sun because Damian and I named ours Black Moon. They’re going for the same-but-opposite effect—how petty.’
She clicked her tongue. Even the company’s name had been crafted to appear as a rival to hers.
The business hadn’t even launched yet, and people were already treating it as if it stood on equal footing with Black Moon, which had a proven record.
‘If it’s something underhanded, he’s strangely talented. Why didn’t he ever show that skill in the right place?’
This was different from how things went in the original novel.
Back then, Polius—so protagonist-like—had tried the same thing, but the actor Robio Tamdaze had refused to participate.
He’d said, “A videosphere can’t capture the essence of theater!”
And yet now…
[“The duke’s daughter abandoned by her father?”
Actor Robio Tamdaze’s secret reason for choosing Red Sun over Black Moon]
The papers were still full of sleazy stories, but at least now Melanie understood why things had diverged from the novel.
‘He was impressed by Black Moon’s videospheres, so he decided to try making one himself? Then I’ve basically helped Polius and that Ingda woman!’
Ha… thanks to The 13th Article, more and more people were saying they had to see Red Sun’s videosphere.
Melanie clicked her tongue. As expected of the “protagonist,” Polius’s luck was absurdly good.
‘Even people who didn’t care are now waiting to see which side wins. Every paper is talking about this stupid feud.’
Some people were even saying she and Tower Master Damian had already lost to Polius and Josephine.
‘A few months of preparation, and they think they can release a videosphere business?’
Even Black Moon couldn’t have been prepared so quickly without the Tower’s cutting-edge magic technology.
Polius’s side had nothing—so why was their release date so soon?
‘And a single 13th Article won’t be enough anyway.’
At least her side was getting free publicity, so she didn’t plan to complain to the papers.
Since it had come to this, the more attention, the better.
‘I’ll make sure the difference is clear. They used my private life to promote their product—let them fail loudly and miserably.’
She was determined to show the brutal gap in quality between them.
Once the public’s eyes were on both, Red Sun would crumble spectacularly.
‘The only problem is Lady Martis feels so guilty.’
A few days ago, Lady Martis had written to her, saying she should have stopped the production of The 13th Article midway and calling herself a failure as a spy.
There was no such thing as a perfect person—she had no reason to blame herself.
Melanie smiled faintly as she reread the long, apologetic letter.
Then she picked up her pen and wrote back:
[No need to apologize. I only have one favor to ask…]
If Polius insisted on dragging her into this mess, then she might as well return the favor—make his life a bit chaotic, too.
* * *
Dophelan Clotilde had been a duke for twenty-five years.
Reading the daily papers was part of his routine—to keep abreast of how the world was turning.
Lately, with plans to reclaim the position of trade head from Melanie, he’d made a point of reading a wider range of publications.
Of course, most newspapers weren’t worth much, and some specialized in scandalous gossip.
The diligent, steady man had even begun reading tabloid magazines recently, thinking they might still hold useful information about public sentiment.
Until today.
“What fool wrote this garbage…”
His opinion of tabloids as “a necessary evil for information gathering” evaporated the moment he saw it.
[“The duke’s daughter abandoned by her father?”
Actor Robio Tamdaze’s secret reason for choosing Red Sun over Black Moon]
The Duke of Clotilde read and reread the line, unable to believe his eyes.
He’d never hidden how fond he was of his daughter—on the contrary, he wanted everyone to know.
That this girl was the treasure of the Clotilde family, and anyone who dared harm her would answer to him.
He’d made sure no one ever treated Melanie carelessly.
‘So how could anyone print something like this?’
Abandoned by her father?
Shocked, he began reading the article properly—and sure enough, it was a vicious piece tearing Melanie apart.
It detailed how she’d been removed from her position as trade head, and even accused her of taking out loans using the family’s merchant company as collateral.
[…The Duke of Clotilde has finally decided he can no longer overlook the reckless behavior of his spoiled, thoughtless daughter.]
To call that “abandoning” her?
It wasn’t just the headline—the whole piece was filled with sensational insults like “spoiled” and “brat.” He wondered if the publication could even be called a real magazine.
‘A paper like this should be beneath anyone’s notice.’
But since the article featured an interview with Robio Tamdaze, anyone interested in him would inevitably read it.
And it spun his comments to suggest that he, the Duke, had disowned his daughter.
‘How dare they claim I cast her aside!’
True, ever since that argument in the study, he hadn’t spoken much to Melanie.
It had become difficult to face her as before.
And perhaps sensing that, Melanie had started avoiding him, keeping her distance whenever possible.
“……”
But lashing out at her hadn’t brought him any satisfaction.
He’d only wanted to let his ailing daughter do whatever made her happy.
Without a mother, he’d wanted to raise her so she never felt lacking in anything.
…If this was the result, perhaps he’d failed as a father.
‘If she’d done something else wrong, I could’ve just told her it was fine, like always…’
But this—this was too much.
His late wife’s carefully built trading company had nearly gone under.
The Duke clenched his jaw again, but then the memory of his daughter bowing her head in shame, unable even to defend herself, came back to him.
‘Still… she must have loved Polius very much.’
Or could that even be called love?
Even to a father’s eyes, it hadn’t looked like genuine affection between equals.
When Polius couldn’t come to see her, she turned pale as a ghost; when he met another woman, she trembled with nervous jealousy.
‘But loan-sharking was crossing the line.’
Anger surged again.
And this new “business venture” didn’t sit well with him either.
A girl with no financial sense starting a business—what good could come of it?
She hadn’t even discussed it with her father.
‘This is all because I raised her poorly.’
With a heavy heart, the Duke ordered his butler to investigate Melanie’s business thoroughly—her reputation as a company head, the current state of her loans, everything.
‘If it’s as bad as the papers say, I’ll shut it down before it gets worse.’
If things truly were as chaotic as described—
If Tower Master Damian, Polius’s half-brother, turned out to be as dangerous as the rumors said—
If Melanie was getting hurt because of it—
Then it was his duty as her father to step in before it was too late.
Letting your child do whatever they want isn’t love.
* * *
While the papers and magazines were abuzz with news about the Red Sun project and actor Robio Tamdaze’s signing for The 13th Article videosphere—
The man at the center of it all, Polius Beldertt, wasn’t even showing up to work.
Instead, he lay sprawled across his bed at the Beldertt estate, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Honestly, he couldn’t focus on anything productive; his head was filled with thoughts of one person.
‘Ah, Melanie Clotilde… why does she have to be this adorable?’
Polius kept replaying the words he’d heard from Clara a few days earlier:
“I heard Lady Clotilde hired the former actors of the disbanded Beldertt troupe.”
“Yeah. Because Melanie interfered, we had to find new people to perform The 13th Article with another troupe…”
“But maybe she did it because she still can’t forget you? Maybe she was trying to protect your reputation, Polius?”
“What?”
