Chapter 89. Mercedes

Violet is an unfortunate woman who was abandoned by her parents as a child and came to the capital alone.

She always wears a red camellia, her symbol, on her collar.

Violet succeeds in seducing a wealthy financier and becoming his mistress, but she never gives him her heart.

‘Because I love no one, I can love anyone.’ These contradictory lyrics reveal her defensive heart.

Violet is used to being abandoned and does not believe in love. True love approaches her, but she continues to reject it.

However, being pure by nature, she ultimately throws everything away for love. And finally, she confesses her love, but…

Her sincerity is arrogantly laughed at and trampled on by the other person. Thus, Violet is abandoned once again by the one she loves.

And she sings.

My fate is miserable.
I smile lonely, waiting for death.
The rosy happiness of life was so short.
When I die, will you cry for me?
Still, I am waiting for you.

Violet suffers from pneumonia and dies. Her lover, who abandoned her, comes too late and regrets it, but there is no way to save her.

I want to live.
Please save me.
If not you,
No one else can save me.

The lover who came too late cannot save Violet, and she collapses into his arms, singing her final song.

It’s strange.
The pain is gone.
It feels like living again…

And so, the finale.

The curtain falls on the stage.

* * *

Enoch had a continuously puzzled expression.

“Why are you crying?”

I had been silently suffering throughout the play because Violet was so pitiful and heartbreaking, and I eventually cried during the finale. Seeing me like that, Enoch was very bewildered.

“It’s a fictional story. Why are you sad about it?”

“……”

Sometimes, I can’t tell if this man is sensitive or insensitive. Despite his taste for reading poetry, he has no emotional response to such a sad opera…

“Stop glaring. Stop crying and come here. Warren wants to see us for a moment.”

He grabbed my hand and started leading me, so I followed along like a limp paper doll.

Even as I sniffled a few times, Enoch stopped walking for a moment, looked back at me with a pitiful gaze. I dabbed my eyes with a handkerchief and glared at him.

“Stop crying. Because you keep crying…”

There was a hint of bewilderment in his voice.

“It feels like I’m the one who made you cry.”

He stroked my cheek and kissed the corner of my eye. I nodded and tried to hold back my tears. Then, a sudden thought came to mind, and I quickly told him.

“Did you know? The camellia flower means true love.”

Or pure love, tenderness, and waiting. It truly encapsulates Violet. My heart felt heavy again, and I took a deep breath.

Enoch raised an eyebrow at my words and looked at me as if to say, “So what?”

He grabbed my hand again and urged me indifferently.

“I don’t care about flower meanings. Just follow me. If we keep Warren waiting, it will be troublesome.”

“……”

I shook off his hand and walked ahead alone. Enoch seemed to hesitate for a moment, then soon chased after me with a fierce demeanor, irritated.

“Why are you acting like this again? Are you having fun fighting with me?”

“Your Highness, do you only see the letters when you read poetry?”

“Of course, I see the letters. What else would I see, pictures?”

“Ha, really…”

“‘Ha, really’?”

While we bickered, we arrived at our destination. It was the dressing room of Prima Donna Mercedes.

Standing in front of the door, I took a deep breath and knocked twice. Trying hard to smooth out my crumpled expression.

But before a response came from inside, Enoch grabbed the doorknob and opened the door abruptly.

What are you doing!

The rude Grand Duke of Bayern barged into the dressing room without hesitation. I stood there utterly flabbergasted, my mouth agape, before hurriedly following him inside.

Inside the dressing room, Marquis Norbert and Mercedes were half-lying on the sofa, tightly embracing each other, staring blankly at us…

“……”

“Oh… you’re here? Oh my, this is embarrassing. Merci? Let’s get up. Haha. This is a bit awkward. But you’ll understand, right, Enoch? Merci and I are quite close, you see.”

Marquis Norbert’s cravat was half undone, and his face was covered with lipstick marks. His curly brown hair was a mess, looking like he had been hit by a bomb.

Merci, or Mercedes, was in a similar state. She straightened up from the sofa and pulled up her slipped shoulder strap. I had already inadvertently seen her exposed thigh, but I pretended not to notice.

Once she composed herself, Mercedes clasped her hands together and greeted us politely.

“Your Highness, and Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you. I apologize for the indecent scene you just witnessed.”

I said it was fine and gave a social smile, but Enoch clicked his tongue with an extremely disgusted expression.

He seemed to lack self-awareness in this aspect. Regardless of the place or time, he always pounced on me just the same.

“Anyway, it’s good that you came. I thought the Grand Duchess would want to see our Prima Donna in person, so I arranged this meeting.”

Marquis Norbert said jovially, and I rolled my eyes and shrugged. It was true that I wanted to see the famous Mercedes in person… but it seemed Warren Norbert just wanted to show off his lover to us.

“You just wanted to show off your lover, didn’t you, Warren?”

Enoch, who didn’t know how to beat around the bush, pointed out sharply. Marquis Norbert denied it, saying it wasn’t like that, then started rambling about how annoying Enoch was, how he thought marriage would make him better, and so on.

While the two men engaged in a childish and meaningless argument, Mercedes quietly approached me and handed me a red camellia.

Come to think of it, the dressing room was filled with bouquets. They must have been gifts from Mercedes’ fans.

“I’m so glad that Your Highness came to see my performance. How did you find it?”

The woman, known as the heavenly soprano, had a speaking voice as beautiful as a nightingale’s song. Perhaps because she played Violet, I found myself easily liking her and shyly accepted the camellia.

“It was truly a wonderful performance. Your acting was really… amazing.”

“I’m flattered to hear that. Thank you so much, Your Highness.”

She was impeccably polite, her eyes shone with intelligence, and she exuded a strangely intellectual atmosphere.

Seeing her like this, she seemed more suited to being a female journalist or writer than an opera singer. However, she was such a dazzling flower that it was hard to imagine her wearing flannel instead of silk or satin, with ink-stained hands writing.

“Actually, I wanted to meet Your Highness, so I pestered the Marquis a bit.”

“You wanted to meet me?”

Was it because of my recent surge in fame? I asked in bewilderment, and Mercedes smiled secretively and politely whispered for me to follow her for a moment.

She led me to the powder room attached to the dressing room. Mercedes approached a vanity with a large mirror, opened a drawer, and took out a book.

A dark navy cover with silver-embossed letters. The title of the book was 《Spring of Ashes.》 …Could it be?

“…It’s the novel about me.”

Mercedes blushed and confessed shyly.

“I am… ‘Autumn Grace,’ Your Highness.”

An astonishment close to shock spread through my heart like paint. With wide eyes, I opened my mouth and asked.

“Are you the female writer who said she would adapt my story into a novel? That’s you?”

Mercedes nodded shyly. I stared at her in a daze, recalling past events.

‘Your Highness, the Grand Duchess of Bayern, nice to meet you. We are reporters from [Stellio] Publishing, and we would like to…’

The previous publishers who wanted to turn my story into a fairy tale were quite rude, but these reporters from [Stellio] Publishing were very courteous.

And above all, they seemed to understand well how careful one must be when adapting a real person’s life story into a narrative.

Their utmost respect for me gradually won me over, and after some consideration, I accepted the publication proposal. Thus, I signed the contract as the original author of my story.

‘The writer who will adapt Your Highness’ story into a novel is Autumn Grace. Have you heard of her? She is quite famous and popular among female readers of all ages.’

I knew of Autumn Grace. I even liked her. I was secretly thrilled that a writer I liked would adapt my story into a novel, though I didn’t show it.

I looked at the person in front of me again in amazement. This time, she truly appeared as a writer to me.

“I am so delighted and honored to meet you in person, Your Highness.”

Mercedes grasped my hand holding the book and smiled brightly. It was as if a halo shone above her head.

Just as I was about to move closer to her and speak,

Slam!

The door to the powder room suddenly opened, and Enoch barged in like a ruffian.

He looked back and forth between me and Mercedes, who were standing close together, and scowled fiercely.

“…What is this?”