“……”

What exactly had they just witnessed?

The nobles who came to enjoy the opera with cheerful hearts were all shocked.

Befitting an opera created with such dedication, every scene was etched vividly in their minds.

Thanks to this, everyone watching the opera felt as if they had become witnesses to that day.

What’s especially unforgettable was the final scene where nobles thought to be dead all came out and sang with ‘Philia.’

“I rejoice and sing that the moment has come when this ugly truth you have seen today finally spreads widely throughout the world.”

……What was the truth?

Was it that the past they had believed to be true for 13 years was actually fake?

The opera actors’ performances were all excellent, and the music premiered today was magnificent and beautiful without a single flaw.

The detailed script was also admirable, worthy of Henkel Raus’s devoted new work.

Because it was such a perfect opera, people’s shock was all the greater.

They staggered out of the theater, unable to even offer applause for this perfect opera.

And just as they were about to leave through the lobby,

“……Kyaah! F-fire!”

When people turned around in surprise at someone’s scream, the poster of 〈Burning Spring〉 hanging in the center of the lobby burst into flames.

“……!”

Fortunately, the poster that had instantly caught fire was completely burned, and instead, a completely new poster appeared in its place.

People covered their mouths in shock.

“Wh-what is that! Is it magic?”

“What’s going on? The poster changed!”

When they entered, it had been a picture of Buchanan mansion beautifully sparkling against the night sky.

But now the picture showed a hideous ruin with only black frames remaining under the bright sunlight.

It was as if the mansion in the picture had been completely burned by the flames from moments ago.

“……”

People stared blankly at the picture of the burned mansion.

The blackened Buchanan mansion tightly wrapped in red rose vines.

Among those staring blankly at it, no one was unaware that the red rose was the symbol of Tartien.

Thus, Lumiere’s second poster was also completely revealed to the people.

* * *

That evening.

“Father! Father, something terrible has happened!”

Maria Tartien burst into Schultz’s office with a pale face.

Schultz, who had been busy calculating figures, frowned and looked at Maria disapprovingly over his glasses.

“Your behavior is too reckless for someone who will soon become queen, Maria.”

“Th-that’s not the issue, Father. Look at this!”

Maria hurriedly placed the poster of 〈Burning Spring〉, which her maid had obtained with difficulty, on Schultz’s desk.

“What could this possibly be……”

Schultz narrowed his brow and quietly looked at the poster Maria had placed down.

His expression hardened at the somehow familiar appearance of the mansion.

“……Where did you get this, Maria?”

“It’s the poster for the new opera at Cissus Opera House. I heard it was released the day before yesterday and spread all over Opera Street!”

Due to the unrest outside caused by the protests, Maria had been refraining from going out.

Since Tartien was the main target of the protesters, she couldn’t go outside carelessly.

The protests had temporarily subsided since Schultz began taking strong measures after his visit to the temple.

But it was still too early to feel at ease.

Schultz realized, after facing that fierce anger directed at him, that these protests would not end easily.

But protests were protests, and the poster Maria brought was a different matter.

“You mean that new opera called 〈Burning Spring〉?”

“Yes! That one!”

Schultz already knew about the new opera coming to Cissus Opera House.

He only knew that they were doing strange promotions, enticing people by saying they would perform for just a few days.

But was there any reason for Maria to be so excited about mere news of a new opera?

He had an ominous feeling.

Schultz glared at the poster with a distorted face.

And as if proving his premonition, Maria grabbed Schultz’s sleeve and said,

“This opera is strange, Father. The daughter of Marquis Lankes saw it today and came to find me. And the content of this opera……”

Maria relayed to Schultz exactly what the daughter of Lankes had told her.

When Maria finished her story, Schultz unconsciously struck the desk and stood up, muttering words of anger as if he wanted to chew and swallow:

“Karl Winger, you son of a b*tch……!”

* * *

The next day, Schultz’s butler obtained a ticket for the opera through the black market overnight, paying an exorbitant price.

Schultz, wearing a hat and glasses pushed down deeply so people wouldn’t recognize him, sneaked into the opera house without anyone knowing.

‘……Impossible. The king and the daughter of Buchanan were witnesses to that day?’

He couldn’t believe it.

This had to be a fictional story created by the opera house to attract people’s attention.

Schultz came here to confirm it with his own eyes.

“Oh my! Mrs. Langert, you came too? Was it difficult to get tickets? I sent five servants to get this.”

“Don’t even mention it. I barely got one by paying several times the price. I couldn’t even get one for my daughter, so I came alone. She cried and made such a fuss.”

“Oh my, my child was also in an uproar. But I couldn’t miss this. You heard the rumor, right?”

“About the content of this opera. Of course! That’s why I came. I’m so curious if it’s true.”

“Me too!”

Schultz looked around at the thousands of people filling the Sun Hall with anxious eyes, listening to the conversation coming from nearby.

Even though he knew the opera hall was always full during major holidays, this packed audience felt strangely ominous.

Meanwhile, the lights dimmed, and an announcement quietly echoed that the opera would soon begin.

The melody of the opera resonated magnificently throughout the Sun Hall.

“……”

Throughout the opera, every aria sounded as terrible as a funeral dirge to Schultz.

The events of that day unfolded vividly before his eyes as if being reenacted.

Throughout the performance, Schultz had to clench his fists until his hands turned white.

And when the curtain finally fell, he headed straight for Osman’s office without even watching the curtain call.

“Aren’t you Duke Tartien?”

As if they had been waiting, Osman and Chris greeted him at the top of the second-floor stairs.

“Bring Karl Winger here. Now!”

Recognizing Chris, Schultz grabbed his collar with a red face and growled.

Chris remained completely calm despite Schultz’s seemingly excited reaction and said calmly,

“Please calm down, Duke. Besides, the performance just ended, and people will be coming out soon. Please come this way.”

Schultz seemed to have his reason paralyzed, his eyes rolling at the thought that other people might see.

Thus, he didn’t realize at all that Chris and Osman were taking him to a place other than the office.

Entering a room with many strange machines where outside noise was completely blocked, Schultz shouted, losing his reason:

“To plan such a trashy opera! You must all want your heads to fall!”

“I see you watched the performance, Duke Schultz Tartien.”

“This, this is deception and blasphemy against me! Stop this immediately and announce to those who have already seen the performance that this is all made-up fiction! Otherwise, I will use all my power and strength to not leave this opera house alone.”

“I understand your excitement, Duke. I suppose you didn’t like the names of the characters? For tomorrow’s performance, especially, we will change the names ‘slightly’.”

As if Schultz’s words were not a threat at all to Osman, he calmly suggested an absurd alternative.

Schultz’s face turned bright red.

“Do my words sound funny to you?”

“Not at all. We just didn’t think using real names for realism would cause such problems. Buchanan, the Stings dynasty, and Tartien…… Two out of these three gave permission, so we didn’t pay enough attention to Tartien. I suppose it’s because you’re the perpetrator……”

Chris spoke as if to restrain him, throwing filth.

To dare to openly call me a perpetrator to my face!

Sparks flew from Schultz’s eyes, but he held back for now.

It was because he was concerned about Chris’s words, “Two out of these three gave permission.”

“Are you saying the king also knows about this opera?”

Chris and Osman nodded, meeting eyes.

“Our President confirmed it personally.”

……Huh.

At their answer, Schultz felt his forehead growing hot.

Looking at the content of the opera, the king was a survivor who had witnessed everything that day.

Then he was nothing less than Schultz’s mortal enemy.

Yet the king said he would marry the daughter of that very enemy.

In fact, the king had known everything from the beginning.

‘……What exactly is his intention?’