Chapter – 15
“You keep saying I’m the one seducing you, but don’t you think you should take a look at yourself first?”
While I was getting measured in the fitting room, Leo fiddled with the surrounding objects and asked. His tone suggested he had some complaint.
I tilted my head.
“I haven’t seduced you.”
“Then what was it?”
“Fan service.”
The staff member who had taken my measurements disappeared. They were busy moving about, having heard these were the clothes for tonight’s performance.
‘Well, I paid enough money for it.’
While the staff was gone, I looked around at the displayed brooches and hairpins and said,
“That kind of thing is necessary in performing arts. Enchanting people.”
Idols don’t do things like live fan calls for no reason. In a way, stage or musical actors are closer to idols than film or drama actors. That’s why communication with the audience is important. Because you have to act while sharing the same breath in one space.
“…Is that pretty?”
Leo asked cautiously, pointing to the hairpin I was holding.
“Yeah.”
“Should I buy it for you then?”
I grimaced at his reply.
“You?”
I chuckled.
Then, Leo frowned.
“That hurts, you know?”
“…….”
Oops. What a slip of the tongue I just made to the future Emperor.
“I got paid for my performance. I can afford something like this, Master.”
“You willingly became a slave, and now you’re offering money to your master? How pathetic, slave.”
That’s a statement that would make a certain European revolutionary I know rise from his grave.
I called a nearby staff member.
“I’ll take this.”
I picked up one of the hairpins I had been looking at earlier; it seemed quite high-end. It was a style with a simple flower-shaped decoration that didn’t suit me at all. But it didn’t matter. This wasn’t for me to keep.
I handed the wrapped hairpin to Leo. Then, pointing my chin at him, I said,
“He’s the one paying.”
Watching me, who had refused his offer but was now buying the hairpin myself, Leo looked baffled. But he obediently handed over the money.
‘Seeing how he brought money beforehand, it seems he was planning to buy something.’
Well. Anyway, it worked out.
“You do it.”
“You want me to do it? With this? Master, what exactly do you take me for…?”
“No. I mean, when you find a girl you like, give it to her.”
For example, someone like Elena Burbidge.
The Burbidge family becomes Leo Fear’s guardian in a year and a half. It’s also the Burbidge Marquis family that achieves the great feat of making Leo a knight of the imperial family and infiltrating the imperial palace. In the process, the affection Elena Burbidge holds for Leo is a great help to him. The fact that Leo is the man loved by his cherished daughter is not without influence on Marquis Burbidge’s decision to engage in the terrifying endeavor of plotting treason.
So, in the end, as this guy said, him growing up pretty is a great help in his life.
But the problem is that this damn male protagonist is utterly incompetent when it comes to romance. He constantly denies his love for the female lead, rejects her help, and even ends up in crises because of it.
“Someday, a woman will catch your eye. Gain as much favor with her as possible. And please, for heaven’s sake… just do what she says.”
I narrowed my eyes.
I needed to teach this guy a lesson, who seduces me as easily as breathing but can’t even seduce the woman he truly loves properly.
At my words, the expression on Leo’s face as he looked at the hairpin disappeared.
“So, you’re giving this to me for that reason?”
His voice became peculiar.
‘Is he listening seriously-?’
Just as I thought that, Leo raised his head. He was grinning brightly again.
“Okay. Then you take this, Master.”
He held out the hairpin to me as if it were obvious.
I can’t get through to this brat. Here I am, giving important advice as a life senior and original reader.
Feeling like there was no point in responding further, I walked towards the entrance. Let’s just look at clothes.
That’s when it happened.
A stern-looking lady outside the glass door saw me and scowled. She was a woman with voluminous black hair piled high and wearing a black dress.
‘For some reason, she looks familiar?’
The moment I thought that, the door swung open.
“Luiza Messena. So now you don’t even greet your own aunt?”
Fortunately, she introduced herself.
Ah. So it’s Luiza’s aunt. No wonder her face looked familiar. I remember seeing her at the auction house. She bought the Messena main estate and was so excited she even cheered.
‘Father! You looked down on me for being a collateral line! But I, that very person, have bought the main estate!’
Catherine Herotia.
As a collateral line of Messena, she played a significant role in the downfall of the Duchy of Messena. She involved her own husband’s family, the Herotia business, and my grandfather, the previous Duke, leading him into massive debt. As far as I know, the current Count Herotia has latched onto the Emperor’s inner circle and restored his former influence.
‘And despite that, when all the Emperor’s close associates were executed, only the Herotia clan secretly fled abroad and saved their necks.’
Meanwhile, I, no, Luiza, died.
She’s a hateful figure in many ways.
But maybe she has some use.
“Hello, Aunt. It’s been a long time.”
I finished my quick judgment and greeted her with proper etiquette. During my Grand Tour, where I spent a lot of money studying and traveling around Europe, I had learned a few noble etiquettes.
“Of course it’s been a long time. You’ve been so busy dragging Messena’s honor through the mud, you must have forgotten not just me, but all your relatives, haven’t you?”
“Are you referring to the auction? But Aunt, you were the one busiest excitedly buying up the assets at that auction. I clearly saw you pushing your servants around, saying ‘we have to buy when it’s cheap’ about the items sold at bargain prices.”
I asked blankly.
Catherine’s face immediately contorted. She quickly changed the subject to attack me.
“Just the auction? I’m talking about you spreading rumors of an affair with a male actor at the theater your father cherished! You, an unmarried woman, even moved into your fiancé’s mansion! Have you no shame?”
“Ah… So that’s what you mean. If it’s that…”
I nodded indifferently.
“I certainly was busy.”
I gestured with my eyes to Leo, who was sitting behind me. Meaning, come here.
Leo was looking at Catherine, an indescribable light shining in his golden eyes.
Had he recognized our ‘aunt’ too?
If he was Calinan’s close associate, he had reason to be furious.
I roughly pulled Leo towards me and smiled. As if showing him off, I said,
“Pretty, right? I bought him.”
“Wha… what?!”
Astonishment spread across Catherine’s face. Simultaneously, a hint of glee was also visible.
Catherine had thought she would naturally inherit the successor position after the death of her brother, my father. But my grandfather chose me.
Catherine lived her whole life tormented by an inferiority complex because of that choice. The reason she went so far as to overextend herself to buy the Messena main estate, formidable as it was even then, was likely due to that.
The glee she’s showing now probably comes from the fact that I, the sole successor chosen by my grandfather, have such a head full of flowers.
She’s a strangely twisted human being.
“As expected, Father had no eye for successors. To believe until the end that a stupid girl like you was the successor…”
‘Stupid girl’.
If this were before Messena’s fall, a collateral line would never dare say such a thing to the legitimate successor of the Duke.
Now, well, there’s no real justification to stop such language.
Still, if I were the real Luiza, in this situation, I wouldn’t have been able to contain my anger, would have thrown a tantrum, gotten kicked out, and provided the duchy’s citizens with one more interesting piece of gossip.
But I had no such intention.
“Still, you know. Pretty boys are like money. I made quite a bit from ticket sales this time, so I might become rich again soon!”
I said with a bright smile.
I could feel Leo looking at me from my peripheral vision, but I didn’t react.
Catherine let out a hollow laugh at my words.
“You’ve changed somehow. You didn’t seem this bright before.”
Then, with a visibly scheming expression, Catherine said,
“You really have your head in the clouds. The duchy has come to this state because of you, and all you can think about is playing around with men like this.”
Catherine put on an act and reached out her hand to me. She stroked my cheek.
I take back what I said earlier about being okay with contact.
I think I’m going to be sick.
“But I feel sorry for my young niece, so let me give you some helpful information. I’m going to throw a splendid party soon at the Messena main estate.”
As expected.
I knew it.
In the original story, after Catherine bought the Messena main estate, she frequently held parties there. She didn’t have the social standing to make proper use of the estate she had overextended herself to buy, and her daughter was currently looking for suitors.
The vain Catherine would be hoping for more nobles to attend her parties now. And she probably thought using me would be even better.
“Wow, really? Then will there be lots of handsome men there?”
“Of course, of course. So, here’s the thing, I’ll give you an invitation too.”
Catherine said magnanimously, with a ‘gotcha’ look in her eyes.
‘More like, you’re the one who took the bait.’
Among the candidates for the ‘actor with star quality’ I’m looking for, one will be at Catherine’s party.
“You can come with your fiancé… but it might also be nice if you came with this male actor you’re so fond of. It would be even better if you could put on a play. As you know, Count Arno is too stiff.”
It was a blatant request for me to bring the male actor instead of my fiancé. Her intention to make a fool of me was clear as day—but.
‘This is even better.’
Being able to show the kind of performance I want to put on in front of that ‘actor’ candidate is the best condition.
I held back from immediately agreeing and subtly tried to back out, saying,
“Then… I should probably buy another dress. But I haven’t received my settlement yet, so I’m short on money. If I don’t have a dress, it would be difficult to put on a play—”
“Huh?”
“Ah, I guess I can’t go after all—”
“I, I’ll pay for it!”
Catherine said hastily, her face slightly stiff. She seemed really eager to invite me.
‘The play really did become a topic of conversation.’
I put on a slightly more pitiful face and said.
It must have been an excellent performance, in contrast to Catherine’s.
“Then, the cost of Romeo’s clothes here…”
“I’ll pay for that too…!”
Just as Catherine was about to retort irritably, Leo, right next to me, softly wrapped his arm around my waist and said,
“I don’t think we should rely on the Madam for something like that. It seems her financial situation isn’t very comfortable.”
After saying that, Leo looked straight at Catherine.
“Right?”
It was a clear provocation. So right now—
‘He’s helping me, right?’
He noticed I was trying to squeeze clothes out of Catherine and is ‘acting’ along. He’s even using the technique I taught him.
‘Before delivering an important line, look at the other actor, but when you deliver the important line, look towards the audience. Eye direction is a splendid technique.’
His movements, as if he had already internalized my direction, made me almost want to praise him.
Soon, Catherine replied with a sour expression.
“I’ll cover all the costs. After all, Herotia has a sturdy rope to hold onto, unlike Messena.”
A sturdy rope, huh.
I laughed inwardly.
That rope will be cut in just a few years.
Anyway, the costume budget is settled, so that’s good.
When we arrived at the theater, as expected, most of the actors were late.
All except one.
“Benvolio?”
I said, looking at the actor playing Benvolio, who was muttering over his script alone.
Pink hair, a gentle face.
‘I don’t remember his real name.’
He started, even falling over backwards.
“Eek, M-My Lady! I’m sorry! I’m just here early practicing for no reason…! I didn’t mean to!”
“I’m the one who’s late, aren’t I?”
The others are even later.
I looked at the blushing Benvolio with a baffled expression.
Watching him open and close his mouth as if he had something to say, I took a seat.
What is it, just say it.
The words that came out of his mouth were quite unexpected.
“Um… Please treat me harshly!”
While I was frozen, a sigh came from behind me.
“How impudent. Should I kill him?”
The owner of the cold voice was Leo.
Come to think of it, this guy becomes a Sword Master later.
I grimaced, remembering the fact I had momentarily forgotten.
“Don’t kill him. We don’t have an understudy; it would disrupt the play.”
“Eeek, that’s not what I meant, I… I…! I want to become an actor!”
Who says that like you just did?
I made a face.
