CHAPTER 102…………………………………….
“Uh… since when have you been here?”
“Since you threw the door open and started shouting.”
Can someone’s vision really narrow this much just because they’re drunk?
I wanted to shake my head and deny reality, but my head was already spinning, so there was no need. Instead, I just stared at the man glaring at me so fiercely.
“I said, explain yourself. Why did you tell me to get along with the princess? And what do you mean by saying we ‘look good together’?”
“Th… that’s…”
Why can’t I get my words out? Well, with him staring like that, even the most flawless person would be intimidated. The intensity in his eyes was almost unbearable.
“I… I thought you liked the Duke… and maybe the Duke also…”
I confessed in a timid, almost muttering voice, barely audible. True to the so-called soul mate notion, Chase and Peredil had the exact same expression—my face practically melted into disbelief.
“Oh… really?”
“Of course not!”
Before I could even finish, Peredil snapped.
“Miss Joyce, I want to make this clear. I don’t want to be misunderstood. I do not harbor feelings for someone who already has a lover.”
“But I heard that Chase is a fan of the Duke…”
“That must have been a misunderstanding because I wanted to meet Duke Seymour. Of course, I was impressed by him, but my personal feelings toward the Duke are not the reason for this visit.”
Chase spoke with a cold clarity that left no room for arguing. And since she had no reason to explain herself to me in detail, his claim of having no romantic interest in Peredil felt entirely believable. In short, I had been acting alone the whole time.
“To have such a vivid imagination—just as the Duke said, Miss Joyce, you’re truly suited to be part of the cultural and arts delegation. Heh heh.”
“Huh?” The king of Kopes, who had been laughing heartily, widened his eyes at me, then quickly looked embarrassed. He glanced at Peredil with a face that said, “Oops, my mistake.”
“My apologies, Duke. You asked me to keep it a secret, but I accidentally revealed it.”
Peredil smiled gently.
“It’s all right, Your Majesty. It would have been hard to hide much longer anyway. You spoke at the right moment.”
Cultural and arts delegation? I felt like an audience member who had dozed off and missed half the story. I wished someone would explain it to me.
“Duke Seymour has already recommended plenty of competent people to Kopes, so shouldn’t we also consider the person’s wishes? In Kopes, we would like to recruit Miss Joyce as you suggested, Duke. We want to finalize the agreement as soon as possible, so could you temporarily suspend my duties and help bring her into the delegation?”
“Yes. I will gladly do so.”
The “head of the delegation”? Was he talking about me? Peredil bowed to both Chase and the king, then led me from the balcony back into the ballroom. He told me to wait a moment, then went to talk with Theo for a while.
“Let’s go.”
After finishing his conversation with Theo, he returned and spoke to me.
“The ball is in full swing—where do you think you’re going? You’re a diplomatic envoy, you know.”
“The king allowed it. And I’ve already had plenty to drink; staying here won’t do anything.”
Hah! Pretending to worry now was irritating. Earlier, he had coldly told me not to talk.
“No.”
Peredil’s eyebrow twitched like a worm.
“No?”
“I said no. If it’s not urgent, I’ll go later.”
I returned his words, the same ones he had used to wound me before. Honestly, I just wanted to collapse onto a soft bed, but I refused to do what he wanted out of stubbornness.
“Such stubbornness… Come on, okay?”
He spoke to me as if soothing a child, bending slightly and trying to persuade me with his eyes. I suppose he thought a gentle approach would make me comply.
Normally, maybe. But I wasn’t myself—I was heavily drunk and seeing nothing clearly…
I turned my head without replying, ignoring him.
“Oh my…!”
Suddenly, I was looking down at the floor from above, though I had been vertical just moments ago. I struggled, trying to get away from the man holding me aloft with one arm, but my movements had no effect. Even if I shouted to be put down, the noise of the ballroom drowned me out.
“Huff… How much wine did you drink?”
The “kidnapper” laid me in his carriage—a cushioned, warm interior. Between my dazed mind and the cozy carriage, I drifted into sleep.
“Joyce, wake up now.”
Peredil’s voice roused me from my drowsy sleep. I had been lying with my head on his lap. He helped me up slowly.
“Have we arrived at the mansion?”
I followed him out of the carriage as he extended his hand. This wasn’t the Woodville Mansion, nor the Seymour Mansion. I had never seen this place before, yet somehow it felt familiar.
Looking around, I realized—this wasn’t the capital.
This was Bria.
“Why… are we in Bria? Or rather… have I been asleep this long?”
“You recognized it’s Bria, then.”
He smirked as he draped his jacket over me. I hadn’t recognized it immediately because I had never seen such a large building here in Bria before.
“Where are we?”
“Curious?”
I nodded, and he took my hand, opening the doors to the building. Inside was unseen from outside: a vast stage, high ceilings, and rows of seats filling the space—a true theater. He seated me in the center of the first row.
I had no idea what was happening as he casually climbed onto the stage.
“This is my one-man show, just for you.”
Without warning, a performance began. As the sole audience member, I dutifully focused on the stage.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind. Why have you been so down? Am I not enough for you? I worried that you, who suddenly entered my life, might disappear just as suddenly. Sleepless nights became longer because of it.”
He spoke with a pained expression, showing traces of inner turmoil.
Then he suddenly laughed softly.
“I even asked Lucy… Ah, for you, the name Gina would be more familiar. Gina said maybe you’re anxious because I’m uncertain about my feelings. But I think there’s something else. Something else that holds you back.”
He looked at me with an expression as if realizing something.
“Acting. You want to act, right? You’re a woman who can’t give up on her dreams. I thought your future with me would be hard if acting wasn’t part of it. When an offer came to revive culture and arts in Kopes, I thought—you’re the perfect person for this.”
Finally, the explanation about the cultural and arts delegation I hadn’t understood began.
“I want you to lead the cultural and arts delegation. You don’t have to give up acting when you’re with me. I don’t want you to abandon your dream. Become the head of the Seymour theater company.”
Seymour theater company… How long had he been preparing such a large space…
“No, that’s not enough.”
The man who had given me such a grand gift knelt on one knee. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out something shining.
Through my tears, I immediately recognized it as a ring.
Offering the ring to his only audience member, he broke the invisible wall between stage and spectator.
“Be my leading lady, Joyce.”
