“……Something I need to do?”

Rosa had thanked Karl for matters related to the orphanage, and also betrayed Evoque at great risk to apologize to her.

And Karl Winger had probably done something in return.

‘Everyone is trying to use me.’

That thought crossed her mind briefly, but since she had handed herself over as a chess piece from the beginning, she had nothing to say.

Rosa smiled as if asking her to continue.

Lumiere then said something unexpected to Rosa.

“I’m preparing a new opera. I think it would be a wonderful performance if Madame Rosa and Elina Buick worked together.”

Surprised by Lumiere’s words, Rosa looked at Elina in shock.

Elina smiled leisurely and added another bombshell.

“It’s even going to be my retirement performance.”

“W-what?!”

Rosa stood up in astonishment, and Luka, who had been quietly standing by, handed her a script book.

Elina held it out to Rosa and said,

“Will you join us?”

* * *

Kwang! Kwang! Bang!

Crreeeeeak!

Crack, crack! Kwang! Bang!

The sounds of breaking and smashing the road to build Schultz Tartien’s La Foudre were deafening.

Hundreds of people were mobilized, half of whom were prisoners from Robata Prison.

“What are you doing! Move faster!”

Perhaps because of this, the voices of those supervising the construction site were particularly harsh, and not a single person showed kindness to the workers.

Kwaaabang!

People moved ceaselessly through that dangerous place filled with huge machines and devices used for construction.

It looked so dangerous that it wouldn’t be strange if someone got hurt.

Yet Schultz, who was overlooking the site, showed no concern or worry, only displeasure.

“……Too slow.”

“Pardon?”

“At this rate, we won’t make it in time for the grand holiday season. Can’t we speed things up?”

At Schultz’s words, construction manager Rutner looked at him with a pale face.

The grand holiday season was about 70 days away.

They had already pushed people to work day and night, barely reducing what would take over half a year to 5 months, and now he wanted to cut that in half again.

This wasn’t a ‘maybe possible’ request but an ‘impossible’ one from the start.

He shook his head with a troubled expression.

“The grand holiday season? That would be impossible even if ten genius architects came to help. Even the current schedule is barely manageable……”

At his words, Schultz’s expression sank with displeasure.

During the grand holiday season, people don’t hesitate to spend money.

Opera theaters in particular were packed daily, and even expensive shows were always sold out.

Moreover, foreign tourists flooded in during that period, making it a time when even street musicians overflowed with money.

‘I need to capture that timing……’

If he was going to debut La Foudre, that would be the perfect time.

Seeing Schultz’s stern expression, Rutner’s face looked terrified.

He tried his best to appease Schultz’s anger.

“H-how about aiming for the Great Cathedral Festival instead?”

“No, that day won’t work.”

Schultz sighed and held his forehead.

Around that time, talk of the King and Maria’s marriage would be circulating.

Landers had already received the keys to the national treasury, and Maria was spending it as if it were her own purse.

The pretext was funds to prepare for the marriage, so there needed to be some expenditure related to that.

At that moment, a good idea flashed through Schultz’s mind.

‘What if the King and Maria’s wedding is held at La Foudre……?’

Not to mention the buzz it would create, he could showcase La Foudre in its most splendid and beautiful state.

Nobles filling La Foudre, the Pope and Archbishops visiting for the Great Cathedral Festival.

La Foudre would open its doors with the footsteps of noble ones and become a place everyone would want to visit.

‘Plus, I could legally siphon from the national treasury by taking the venue fee from the marriage preparation funds.’

The more he thought about it, the better it seemed.

No, rather, it painted quite a nice picture.

“Ahem! Come to think of it, your suggestion is reasonable. The Great Festival isn’t a bad idea either.”

At Schultz’s words, Rutner’s face immediately brightened.

He bowed deeply, bending his waist in half, and Schultz reluctantly told him to complete it within 5 months.

It was then—

“……Aaaagh!”

Thud!

A scream was heard along with the sound of something heavy falling.

Schultz frowned and glanced at where the sound came from, then clicked his tongue.

“So careless……”

At Schultz’s muttering, Rutner thought anew what a terrible person he was.

‘A person just fell right before his eyes, how can he say such a thing?’

He was looking at the man who had fallen to the ground with contemptuous eyes, as if he was watching a fool who had tripped over his own feet.

There wasn’t a shred of compassion in that gaze.

Unable to hold back, the construction manager blurted out what was on his mind.

“Even if they’re workers from prison, they stagger like that because they work without proper sleep or food. Shouldn’t we let them rest a bit while they work?”

“Nonsense!”

Schultz glared at Rutner with a thunderous voice.

“They’re all criminals! They have no right to complain even if they die. They should be grateful that we’re giving such people meaningful work! There’s no need for sympathy at all! If they die, we can just bring more. If you say such a thing one more time, I’ll put a muzzle on you so you can’t speak such nonsense again, understood!”

“Yes, yes! I-I understand!”

Just as Rutner was lowering himself as if to bow to the ground, someone rushed up to the temporary tower built to oversee the site.

It was Jane Dust, Schultz’s secretary.

“Duke! You should see this.”

With a pale face, she handed Schultz a rolled-up weekly magazine.

“What is it that makes you look like that?”

His experienced secretary, who rarely blushed at anything, was unusually flustered today.

Schultz glanced at Jane with a displeased face and unfolded the magazine she offered.

It was just a weekly magazine full of gossip, why was she making such a fuss?

“……”

As Schultz scanned the article occupying the front page of the magazine, his cheeks began to tremble.

Crunch!

The sound of grinding teeth escaped through his clenched jaw.

“This is crazy……”

He leapt down from the tower with a wild light in his eyes.

* * *

The royal palace, Karl’s secret room—

In that dim room where sunlight filtered in like a comb’s teeth, Karl, rubbing his face tiredly, asked in a weary voice.

“So Lumiere keeps going to Elina Buick’s mansion?”

“She goes in the morning and returns late at night, I’m told. The twins accompany her. Thanks to this, the work is progressing considerably. The script is all finished, and Henkel and the composers are gathered, immersed in composing music.”

Considering it took nearly two years to write the current incomplete script before Lumiere joined, the current pace of progress was dazzling.

“Seems they’ve caught the flow.”

Karl expressed his impression in brief words.

Fuego nodded in agreement.

“It seems Henkel has received some inspiration and is working intensely. They say over 70 percent of the composition is already complete. The orchestra has already been recruited from Osman’s side, and Chris reports that casting of actors has begun.”

Listening to Fuego’s report, Karl walked to the window and looked outside.

The window, made very narrow horizontally and very long vertically, looked from the outside like just part of the building’s pattern and sculpture.

Karl was thoroughly benefiting from his ancestor who had hidden this secret room in the design when building the king’s villa, Luperia.

Actually, he wasn’t the first to discover this secret room.

It was his father, Crown Prince Richard.

‘Shh, this is my secret place. Neither your mother nor even your grandfather knows about it. It originally belonged to your grandmother as her secret place, and I inherited it. And…… the next owner is you, Laedro.’

Saying this, his father had explained this place to him like an excited boy.

There were three hidden doors in the king’s bedroom—one connected to this secret room, and two connected to secret passages leading outside.

Of course, this secret room also had an underground passage leading outside, but one could never find the passage just by looking.

Karl thought of his father as he stared at someone’s shadow walking across the garden through the comb-like window.