WPVMVA Chapter 42

“I heard that before it was censored, the operas were quite entertaining and popular with the locals. So, how about this—why don’t we stage those operas that were blocked by the High Priest under my troupe?”

“…Pardon?”

“Lysander, I don’t care what kind of plays you put on. I’ll appoint you as the director and give you full authority over the troupe. But, there’s one condition—you must never reveal that I’m the owner of this troupe. If you do… you’ll have to pay with your life.”

“…!”

“Your pay will be thirty percent of the troupe’s total revenue. How about it? Not a bad offer, is it?”

Lysander stared blankly at Daniela, stunned. He couldn’t believe it. It was too good to be true.
And for good reason—the Grand Duchess’s offer was just too generous.

If there was any part that made him uneasy, it was the condition that her identity remain secret. But even that wasn’t unusual; other noble patrons often preferred to remain anonymous, so it wasn’t a major problem.

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

He swallowed dryly. Then, without a trace of hesitation, he answered.

“Of course! Leave it to me. If you wish, I’ll even make a ‘secret contract’ through a dark mage right away.”

What he meant was that he would bind himself with a forbidden spell—one that would stop his heart the moment he revealed the secret.

Daniela smiled and shook her head.

‘In the original novel, he was arrested by the High Priest and dragged to an inquisition for staging a radical opera, yet he never revealed the name of his patron.’

So even without a magical contract, she trusted he would keep her secret.

“That’s the answer I wanted. …Good. I’ll be counting on you.”

Then Daniela handed him the contract and feathered pen that Gray had prepared just hours earlier.

Without hesitation, Lysander signed the document stating he would serve as the head of Troupe Ophelia for the next three years. Then, gazing at Daniela with eyes full of admiration and loyalty, he said,

“I will give everything I have for this cause, Grand Duchess Alveric.”

Daniela smiled brightly and nodded.

A few days later—
The Empire of Aschillad, near the northern region of Castle Greenhorn.
Cadilla Village.

Once one of the many towns that suffered indirect devastation when the Duchy of Resinia invaded Greenhorn, Cadilla was now experiencing a wind of revival.

This was thanks to Grand Duke Ashid Carlyle Alveric, who had signed a peace treaty with Resinia and distributed the massive reparations fairly among the knights and residents who had suffered losses.

Recently, they received yet another piece of good news.
The Grand Duchess Alveric announced a philanthropic initiative—to construct new schools and hospitals across the northern castle region, including Greenhorn and Cadilla.

Because of the frequent wars, many residents had suffered injuries and lost opportunities for education. The entire village rejoiced at the announcement.

They praised their wise lord and benevolent lady endlessly.

‘…Damn it.’

But there was one person who did not welcome the decisions of the Grand Duke and Duchess.

Count Cyril Olburn—the administrator of Cadilla Village and the only son of Sir Leopold Olburn, who had once been the Grand Duke’s mentor and knight protector.

Looking out from his mansion, Cyril clicked his tongue at the joyful villagers walking about in new clothes purchased with their reparations.

‘What did those lowborn fools ever do to deserve a share of the revenue from the Revant region’s mana stone mines?!’

He was seething with resentment.

The spoils of war rightfully belonged to the knights, not those foolish commoners.
To distribute that wealth among them—it felt like having what was rightfully his stolen.

Grinding his teeth and clenching his fists tightly, he cursed internally.

‘If he was going to be that generous, he should’ve wiped out the Resinians and divided their land among us! He ignored my suggestion to annihilate them and instead distributes the profits earned through diplomacy?!’

The Grand Duke had no right to treat him this way.

He was furious at Alveric and his aides for such unfair treatment. Sure, he admitted that he hadn’t contributed much to this recent endeavor.

But that was only because Alveric had hastily ended the war through negotiation. Had the war gone on longer, Cyril was sure—without any basis—that he would have made great achievements.

‘My father was utterly loyal to the Empress and the Grand Duke! And yet this is how they treat the family of a man who gave his life for them?’

When his father, Leopold Olburn, died, Cyril had only been sixteen.
He had hoped that the Grand Duke would reward his father’s sacrifice with a proper title and compensation.

Instead, all he got was the small land of Chambers County, where Cadilla Village was located.

That wasn’t nearly enough to support the lavish lifestyle he desired, nor to cover his ballooning gambling debts.

Considering his father’s service, he should have at least been granted a marquisate—and more wealth this time, too.

‘So there’s no money for me, but there’s plenty to waste on the Duchess’s little charity games?’

If they had that much money to throw at useless charity, they should’ve just given it to him.

He stared at the dozens of debt notices on the nearby table like they were personal threats.
Each warned that if his gambling debts weren’t paid on time, “appropriate action” would be taken—threats that felt more like death notices.

‘At this point, I’ve got no choice.’

He would have to betray the lord who had dashed all his hopes.

Recalling something from the past, Cyril smirked darkly.

He was already plotting a scheme that would make the Grand Duke regret ever treating him this way.

Gloria Road – Mansion of Duke Rodion.

Sitting in his office chair, Duke Rodion glared coldly at the people standing before him.

They were George, the former head butler of House Enchanto, and a few dismissed servants—all expelled recently at the command of Lady Gray under Daniela’s order.

Duke Rodion let out a dry, mocking laugh and said,

“So you’re saying that woman who serves the Grand Duchess kicked all of you out? Just like that? Without any reason?”

“…Yes. We protested and asked for an explanation, but she just said, ‘Don’t you know better than anyone why you’re being dismissed?’ Then she forced us to take severance pay and threw us out.”

George cautiously explained while reading the Duke’s expression.

Rodion slammed the desk with his fist, shouting menacingly.

“You should’ve held out, no matter what! You idiots just took the money and left? And you think you still deserve my money?”

“S-sorry, sir! But if we’d stayed, that Gray woman wouldn’t have left us alone!”

“T-that’s right! She clearly suspected we were leaking information to you, sir!”

George and the other dismissed servants, shaking in fear, desperately tried to explain their side.

Maybe their desperation worked—Rodion finally calmed down. He asked cautiously,

“She suspected something… Are you sure?”

“Yes! She didn’t say it outright, but it was obvious from her attitude!”

“Damn it…”

Rodion cursed quietly. A few months ago, he wouldn’t have believed such a claim.

But after the recent poisoning incident, he realized that Daniela Enchanto was no longer the fool she used to be.