In the Place where the Golden Rose Was Broken - Chapter 15
But this time, exclamations flowed when people should have been quiet.
‘…What’s going on?’
Karen’s consciousness, immersed in her role, turned towards the audience at their unexpected reaction.
Listening closely, it wasn’t exclamations. It was the sound of people whispering in surprise at something they saw.
Karen confirmed the direction people were looking while turning.
A tall man, noticeable even from afar, was entering the theater late.
He could have gone to the higher seats for a better view.
The late-arriving audience sat in a seat where he could make direct eye contact with Karen. That audience member was Arcturus Cloen.
Karen could no longer fully concentrate on the stage.
Her attention was divided towards Arcturus Cloen. But even that didn’t last long. It was because of someone’s thunderous footsteps, unsuitable for a theater with soft music playing.
“Karen!”
A sharp voice, almost like a scream, echoed loudly.
The musicians tried hard to ignore it and continue playing. Karen also tried to concentrate on her dance, ignoring him–Joseph Mallon, who was causing this mad commotion.
Staff from backstage tried to stop Joseph Mallon. But the more they tried, the louder he shouted Karen’s name, almost drowning out the music.
Naturally, the musicians’ concentration broke, and the ensemble fell apart.
Karen tried to continue dancing somehow, but she lost her balance and fell as she saw Joseph Mallon finally pushing through people and climbing onto the stage.
“Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen, Karen!”
The performance was ruined.
Even as Karen watched Joseph Mallon approach her, kneel, and take out a ring, only one thought crossed her mind.
That the performance, which should have been perfect, was ruined.
There was no time to think about what state of mind he was in to barge onto the stage and publicly court her. Originally, you shouldn’t try to understand madmen by normal standards.
“Mr. Mallon! What are you doing, please leave!”
“Let go! Karen wanted this! She asked me to propose on stage!”
Karen had never, ever said such a thing to Joseph Mallon.
She had always disliked Joseph Mallon, but now that he had ruined her performance, there was particularly no reason to like him.
But this could also be seen as an opportunity.
Karen looked at the audience.
Although dance and the stage were precious, there was something even more important.
Karen shouted so that many people could hear, as if acting in a play.
“Stop it, Mr. Mallon! I’m seeing someone!”
“Don’t lie, you sent me a letter asking for a proposal…”
“Duke Cloen!”
Karen’s eyes met Arcturus’s, who had been watching her.
She wanted to spit at Joseph Mallon for ruining the performance. But separately from that, she needed to give a little push to Arcturus, who might be hesitating.
Joseph Mallon was eventually dragged away by the staff, and the performance resumed.
But after the performance ended, what was on people’s lips wasn’t Karen’s dance. It was the scandal between the dancer and the Duke.
Karen, filled with self-loathing for ruining the performance, was busy composing herself, shut away in her private dressing room.
She lay face down on the dressing table where cosmetics were placed, her head in her hands.
For her, dance and the stage were a world. It was the only world where she could fly freely…
It was ruined because of Joseph Mallon.
‘He said I sent a letter?’
Joseph Mallon had clearly said that she sent a letter. A letter with the ridiculous content asking him to propose on stage.
It wouldn’t be strange for a person who wasn’t in their right mind to be caught up in any kind of delusional fantasy, but something felt suspicious.
‘Could it be that someone impersonated me and sent the letter…’
There was a person she suspected in her mind.
Karen needed time to think. First, how to resolve this situation, and then how to turn this situation into an opportunity.
But it was difficult for the protagonist of a scandal to have time alone.
The door to her private dressing room opened without a knock. An uninvited guest with an angry expression, enough to rudely open the door without permission, entered, panting heavily.
“It’s a lie, right?”
“What is?”
“That you’re dating Duke Cloen!”
Karen closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
It was time to put on a mask again, hiding her dampened mood.
“Even if it’s a lie, what does it have to do with you?”
“Don’t tell me you’re really dating him?”
“Alice, it’s none of your business.”
Alice admired her but was also jealous. Immersed in feelings of inferiority, she tried to tear Karen down at every opportunity, and whenever things seemed to be going well for Karen, she would come like this to confirm the facts.
“Ha, you acted so high and mighty, different from us. But in the end, you were secretly receiving sponsorship too?”
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re not under the delusion that you’re actually dating each other as lovers, are you?”
Karen didn’t respond to Alice’s sarcasm. She was already upset about her ruined performance, and there was no need to waste emotions dealing with Alice.
However, Alice’s expression became triumphant, apparently interpreting Karen’s silence in her own way. She seemed to think Karen couldn’t say anything because she had hit the nail on the head.
Karen ignored Alice and looked in the mirror. She wanted to remove the thickly applied makeup that felt suffocating.
But another uninvited guest appeared.
“Karen!”
Like Alice, Mark opened the door without knocking, then realized his mistake and cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry for opening the door without permission.”
“It’s okay. But please make sure to knock next time.”
Alice muttered, “Fake b*tch,” seeing Karen respond docilely to Mark, unlike how she dealt with her.
Even though it was muttered in a low voice, it was intended to be heard by the other person, so both Karen and Mark clearly heard Alice’s curse.
“Alice!”
“I’ll step aside, so you two can talk slowly.”
As Mark raised his voice to scold Alice, she acted shamelessly and left the dressing room.
“Karen, please understand. Alice is…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not upset by things like this.”
“…Alright then.”
“Is that all you wanted to say?”
After barging into the dressing room as if he had something urgent to say…
When Karen asked what he wanted to say, Mark was momentarily struck dumb.
He knew in his head.
You’re nothing to Karen. You have no right to ask such questions. It’s presumptuous.
But even though he knew this in his head, an unidentifiable emotion made Mark open his mouth again.
“What kind of relationship do you have with Duke Cloen?”
***
Alice was in quite a good mood.
‘Karen Chaner, did you manage to seduce Duke Cloen by luck?’
But even so, to call it a romantic relationship was absurd.
Just like her, she’s merely receiving sponsorship.
She planned to tell this to colleagues who hated Karen. That Karen Chaner, despite being the Duke’s mistress, was deluding herself into thinking she was a real lover.
Alice’s chuckling laughter stopped when she spotted a very unfamiliar person standing in an area where outsiders weren’t allowed to enter freely.
Next to him were Baron Theron and choreographer Everdeen, who must have rushed over upon hearing the news.
“D-Duke. What brings you here… Surely you didn’t really come to see Karen?”
Baron Theron was so eager to impress Duke Cloen that one could almost see the image of a wagging dog tail behind him.
But the Duke, seemingly uninterested in the surrounding gazes and Baron Theron, looked around as if searching for someone.
“Where is Karen?”
Arcturus said, waving a bouquet.
“As you can see, I have a date.”
His expression, which looked quite pleased, was enough to appear as a man in love.
***
Karen didn’t answer. It was difficult to understand the intentions behind the Director’s words, who had always maintained proper etiquette and never crossed the line until now.
“Karen, you don’t really think you’re his true lover, do you?”
“You’re saying the same thing Alice just said.”
“You’re saying I’m like Alice? I’m saying this because I’m worried about you.”
The more Karen avoided giving a direct answer, the more anxious Mark became.
“Karen, you know how rotten those noble gentlemen are to the core. They’re the type who marry based on conditions, not love.”
“So?”
“Sure, Duke Cloen has a handsome face. He might seem different from other nobles since he’s called a national hero. I don’t know how that guy sweet-talked you, but…”
Mark poured out words non-stop, like someone being chased.
“Don’t delude yourself into thinking he loves you. You’ll be the only one getting hurt.”
“……”
“That man doesn’t think of you as a lover, Karen.”
Duke Cloen would probably be no different from other nobles, except for his beautiful exterior.
He hoped Karen wouldn’t get hurt.
He hoped Karen wouldn’t get hurt by another man.
He hoped Karen wouldn’t meet another man.
“That man only sees you as a mistress.”
“Are you finished speaking?”
“Karen, I know my words might upset you, but…”
“Please leave now.”
Karen didn’t frown at all. Her expression was calm as usual. However, her voice asking him to leave carried a cold air.
It felt as if he had been pushed out of Karen’s heart.
“I heard Duke Cloen disappeared from the theater as soon as the performance ended! If he truly cared about you… how could he just leave after seeing you humiliated on stage by Joseph Mallon?”
Though he didn’t intend to get angry, Mark couldn’t suppress the emotion boiling inside him and ended up raising his voice.
“Wake up, Karen!”
The more Mark’s voice rose, the less Karen responded.
She just stared at Mark’s face with the same expression as always.
When their eyes met, Mark lowered his head. He felt as if Karen might see the ugly, bare face inside him that he himself didn’t know.
Except for Mark’s rough breathing, no sound could be heard. In the quiet space, just as Karen, deep in thought, was about to say something.
