Chapter 42 – My wife is not dead.

Wow, Walter. What is this about…?

“Ah, that, um, I think there’s been a misunderstanding….”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, I’ll be the judge of that.”

With those words, Ian ordered Phillip.

“Bring him here.”

Then he immediately descended the stairs. Ian only had to say a word, and the attendants naturally scattered in all directions. Phillip forced the trembling head of the troupe to stand up and said,

“Call all the members of the troupe right now. Every single one. Can you do that?”

But wait, Ian’s order was to bring Walter… Why are we gathering everyone? After patting the head of the troupe on the shoulder, Phillip hurriedly followed Ian. The head of the troupe, who had been momentarily dazed, also rushed down the stairs in a hurry, practically stumbling. Only then did I quietly slip out from behind the pillar.

“Anne? You haven’t left yet?”

When I turned around, Betty was standing there with a pale face. I hesitated, unable to tell her that I had followed because I was curious about why Ian had come. Betty grabbed my hand and pulled me back behind the pillar, whispering urgently.

“What’s going on with you? Did you do something wrong?”

“Huh?”

“Why is the Duke of Keppel looking for you?”

“……”

I was so shocked that I suddenly felt nauseous. It seemed to be a side effect of the medicine. Without waiting for my answer, Betty tugged on my hand again.

“Let’s get out of here for now. I already told them you quit. The head of the troupe confirmed it too, so if we leave now, we won’t get caught. I don’t know what’s going on, but… is that why you were planning to leave the capital?”

“What did they say… when they were looking for me?”

I asked as I followed Betty, nearly running. I was sweating, probably because my heart was overexerted from the medicine.

“He asked who wrote the card. He said the handwriting looked like it belonged to someone he’s looking for….”

D*mn it, I thought he wouldn’t bother to check it. He doesn’t even read the letters from his wife, but he reads a card from a stranger? I felt like I was going to be sick. I stopped in my tracks and sat down. How on earth did he recognize the sloppy handwriting?

“Anne, are you okay?”

I forced down the rising nausea. My head was throbbing. I asked with difficulty,

“So, what did you say?”

“I just said that it was a member of the troupe who used to work with me, and I asked her to write it because her handwriting was pretty. And that she already quit. I didn’t say when she left. The head of the troupe pretended not to know anything, too….”

Thank goodness. He doesn’t know that the person who wrote the card is Red Lips. I should be able to perform a couple more times before leaving. Staying too long could be dangerous, but I needed money immediately.

“Can you walk?”

“No… Let’s go.”

I struggled to my feet. As my nerves calmed down from the relief of not being caught, my condition improved a bit. Betty and I headed towards the back door that the staff used, but we saw someone standing guard at the door. I pulled on Betty’s hand before she noticed him. Betty quickly caught on to the situation.

“What should we do?”

Betty bit her nails out of habit. I gently stopped her and spoke calmly.

“Let’s go back. It might be better to hide among the troupe members.”

“What? If you get caught…”

“It’s fine. They don’t know my face.”

“…You’ll tell me what’s going on later, right?”

“Yeah, later.”

I pushed Betty to go ahead. When I slowly walked to the auditorium, a knight guarding the door opened it for me. It was a familiar face. I lowered my head and walked in, pretending to be scared. Through the crowd of gathered troupe members, I could see Ian sitting in the middle of the auditorium. Walter, who was standing in front of him, spoke with a dark expression, almost as if he were making excuses.

“It’s just a story from the opera. It’s all made up.”

“…Do you think I’m easily fooled?”

At that, Phillip kicked Walter behind the knee. As Walter was forced to kneel, he stubbornly lifted his head in defiance, but the head of the troupe, who was kneeling beside him, pressed Walter’s head down until it hit the floor.

“Your Grace, it’s true. It’s all just something I made up. We don’t know anything about the Duchess’s whereabouts. This is the truth.”

The head of the troupe frantically tried to explain as he pressed down on Walter’s head. Ian sat with his legs crossed, looking at the script with a haughty expression. He tore out a page and threw it, saying,

“You made it up all by yourself?”

The torn script grazed Walter’s bowed head as it fell. Walter flinched upon seeing the content of the script, but the head of the troupe pressed his head down even harder and spoke.

“That’s right. Walter here is just an actor; I came up with all the content….”

Ian interrupted the head’s excuse.

“I never once doubted that you loved me, but today, for the first time, I’m starting to doubt it. That man tried to kill me.”

Whoa.

“Did the head of the troupe write this line by himself too?”

It was something Ian had said the day he beat Walter to a pulp. Thinking of Walter secretly watching us from behind, I felt a chill. Who would have thought he’d take that conversation and turn it into an opera script? What on earth is the content? I should have paid more attention. Walter, shoving the head of the troupe aside, said,

“If it bothers you, I’ll change the line. I apologize for eavesdropping on your conversation. But please, allow the opera to be performed. This opera was created by the head and me to honor the memory of your wife….”

Walter couldn’t finish his sentence because Ian suddenly grabbed him by the collar. Someone screamed as Ian began to pummel him. With a murderous look in his eyes, Ian started beating Walter mercilessly. Phillip kicked the head of the troupe who tried to intervene and drew his sword with a look that warned no one else to interfere. This wasn’t the mild and diligent Phillip I knew.

With even Phillip like this, who could stop it? Everyone was so terrified that the only sounds in the auditorium were the thudding of fists and Walter’s groans. The violence only stopped when it seemed like Walter might actually die. Ian, as if nothing had happened, straightened his disheveled clothes and calmly said,

“My wife is not dead.”

“…….”

“If you spout nonsense again, I’ll make sure you never speak again. You’d better think carefully and answer wisely. My patience is thin these days.”

…Should I have just hidden somewhere else? No, if I had, I might have been discovered and caused unnecessary suspicion. There are three knights blocking the exits and the entrance to the auditorium, but the other two are nowhere to be seen. They’re probably searching for anyone hiding. So that’s why Ian brought the knights with him from the start.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

Walter lowered his head and answered,

“Last spring… the day I saw her at the theater was the last.”

“So, all of this is just your delusion?”

“…Yes.”

Walter’s shoulders began to tremble as he gave his sullen answer. At the same time, the troupe members started murmuring. It seemed they had believed that at least some part of the ‘The Vanished Duchess’ story was true. I was dying to know what kind of story Walter had written about me as the main character. Did he write that I ran away with him? Is that it?

“I figured as much. If my wife had known, she never would have allowed such nonsense to be performed. Why did you spread your filthy fantasies as if they were real? You smeared my wife’s name by wrapping up your disgusting desires as affection.”

He spread those rumors? I was so taken aback that my mouth hung open. Walter, however, retorted angrily.

“Who would believe that story is real? Everyone thinks the Duchess is dead. Why is it disgusting that I wanted to give her a happy ending, at least in the story?”

Ian let out a laugh as if he couldn’t believe it, then suddenly kicked Walter. Walter crumpled to the floor without so much as a groan.

“Why is it a happy ending if she ends up with you? You’re completely insane. Do you know why I haven’t killed you yet?”

Uh, hasn’t killed him? After beating him nearly to death, he calls that sparing him?

“Because you were nothing to my wife.”

Ian took a handkerchief from Phillip and wiped his hands. He rubbed his temples as if tired and said,

“Do you think you’re the only one? Do you know how many men like you have deluded themselves into thinking there was something when my wife gave them nothing? I’m sick to death of people like you, who claim to love her but only do things that would make her despise them….”

Ian trailed off suddenly, then sighed.

“Yeah, I’m the real idiot here.”

…So, who are those men? I was starting to get curious when suddenly, Ian’s attendants, who had been out of sight, entered the auditorium and reported,

“Your Grace, everything is finished.”

As expected. The reason we were gathered in the auditorium wasn’t to witness Walter being interrogated.

“I’ll be taking this script. And all related materials.”

“W-Wait… Your Grace, taking my work? I’ve spent the last six months on this… If there’s anything you don’t like, I’ll revise it. But….”

“Enough. Do you want me to handle this legally?”

Ian glared at the head of the troupe as he spoke. The head flinched and couldn’t say another word. If this were handled legally, it could indeed result in a death sentence for insulting a noble. That’s probably why they tried to get permission before the performance. In any case, the performance of ‘The Vanished Duchess’ wouldn’t happen until Ian was dead. I secretly sighed in relief.