Chapter 33

If an audience wants to see actors flaunting their beauty, they would go to the perfectly equipped Crestwell Grand Theater.

What I needed was a strong impression, something radical.

The audience would be shocked to see Katrina in her new role.

And…… audiences who will watch the play without prejudice.

With the change in the target audience, Katrina also had to present a completely different image than before.

As I reached this conclusion, Katrina seemed unable to utter any more objections and remained silent.

But accepting a role in your mind and accepting it in your heart are two different things.

I could still sense fear in her eyes, as if embarking on an adventure into the unknown mist.

She had always received flowers and applause, but what if she became the object of laughter?

I could easily come up with a headline like Katarina Blanchette parting ways with the Crestwell Grand Theater, to be relegated to ridiculous roles?”

The thought of Katarina embarking on a new path, one that was completely different from the one she had been on, made her feel weak.

I took a deep breath.

Yes, actors can be vulnerable.

Yes, being told you have to do something you’ve never done before can make you weak.

But as the owner of the theater, I couldn’t afford to be weak.

It was my job as a leader to inspire confidence in a fearful actor.

I lunged forward and grabbed Katarina by the shoulders.

I looked her straight in the eye.

“Are you afraid of a bad reputation?”

Coming from someone known as a troublemaker, this question would have carried a weighty significance for Katrina.

She could neither affirm nor deny it quickly.

“Answer me.”

After a moment’s hesitation at my firmness, Katarina nodded honestly.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I understand her pride. I’d rather she came clean like this.

Katarina tried to avoid my gaze. I didn’t let up and grabbed both of her cheeks.

Forcing her to look straight into my eyes.

“How do you make sure you’re not ridiculed even when taking on a ridiculous role?”

Katarina’s voice quivered with confusion.

“Mo, I don’t know, My Lady.”

I lightly squeezed the hand that gripped her shoulder.

Then I spoke clearly.

One syllable, one syllable, to make sure it stuck in Katarina’s ear.

“You just have to be confident, Miss Blanchette.”

“…….”

“Be very good. Overwhelmingly good.”

“My Lady……”

“If Miss Blanchette hesitates and gets shy, that’s when she becomes a laughing stock.”

Katarina’s eyes flickered a little.

“Be proud and be good. Do you hear me? Crush anyone who tries to laugh at you.”

I let go of her shoulder.

She knotted her words.

“Show them. Show them that Katrina Blanchette can excel even in ‘this kind of role.'”

Katarina stared at me blankly.

I have no illusion that a few words can instill conviction.

But I believed in my actor.

They would come with me, and they would stand on a stage I directed.

Because I had that confidence, I could say.

“If Miss Blanchette can’t bear this role, then you can quit.”

* * *
Katarina didn’t see Marlena for three days after that.

It seemed that working with Marlena would require her to overturn everything she had ever known.

It wasn’t easy.

Katarina closed her eyes and relived the events of three days ago.

“I understand why Miss Blanchette is reluctant. I’ll give you time to make up your mind.”

Katarina was dumbfounded, unable to respond.

“In three days, we’ll hold auditions for actors. Take your time and come to the audition. We need your eyes as well for selecting supporting actors. They’re the people you’ll be working with.”

Marlena said that if Katarina didn’t come, she would understand that she was quitting.

‘If you don’t like it, quit.’

Oscar had said something similar.

But Marlena and Oscar were different.

Oscar was intent on taming Katarina, and Marlena was not.

So Katarina’s thoughts only deepened.

Suddenly, she looked at her watch and realized that she had only an hour left until the audition that Marlena had told her about.

She had to brush her hair and leave the house immediately so she could get to the Balthus Theater in time for the audition.

But if she went to the theater, she would be stuck with a ridiculous role.

“A wooden boy with a long nose!”

Thinking about it again, it was staggering.

Katarina stood in front of the mirror.

Her face, as gorgeous as ever, stared back at her in the mirror.

In the mirror, she heard Marlena’s voice speaking.

“I wish Miss Blanchette would come with me, but if you  won’t, well, so be it. I suppose I can’t help it.”

Marlena’s voice sounded so indifferent. It caused a strange ripple in Katarina’s heart, making her reluctant to play the role of Pinocchio even if she died.

Katarina stared at herself in the mirror.

“……d*mn it.”

She ran a hand through her hair nervously at the harsh words.

Then she shot back at herself.

“Weren’t you desperately wanting to stand on stage? Was all that eagerness going to crumble just because the role you got isn’t pretty enough?”

Of course, to Katarina, the turmoil of roles was as big a deal as it could get.

What a rigorous standard of beauty at the Crestwell Grand Theater!

Everything on stage had to be beautiful.

That was the unwritten rule of the Crestwell Grand Theater.

“What?”

Her mind snapped back to reality.

‘Oh, my God. Oscar Crestwell, that son of a b*tch, was controlling me!’

“The Unwritten Laws of the Crestwell Grand Theater!”

Katarina’s voice grew fiercer and fiercer.

She didn’t want to obey any of Oscar’s rules.

She grabbed a comb and brushed her hair out of her face.

Venom flared in her hazel eyes.

‘I don’t care if I’m a laughingstock, I’m going to do the act anyway! ’

With her hair roughly combed out of her face, she began to gather her clothes with a thump.

Meanwhile, news of the restructuring of the Crestwell Grand Theater business reached the ears of Duke Lopez.

* * *
Upon hearing the news, Duke Lopez puffed on his pipe.

“The existing key personnel have been restructured in order to bind them more tightly, and to cut costs in the process…….”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The Duke of Lopez smirked at the butler’s comment.

“Oscar, that boy is nothing like Kieran.”

How could Oscar and Kieran be so different when they must be of the same blood?

Oscar is too cold-blooded.

‘It’s difficult for people who run businesses to be swayed too much by their emotions, so I understand why they value profit and efficiency… … .’

Nevertheless, as someone who had been a close friend of Kieran Crestwell, the founder of the Crestwell Grand Theater, Duke Lopez couldn’t help but feel somewhat regretful about the traces Kieran was erasing.

The theater is still gorgeous, but he kept thinking that it had lost some of its sparkle.

‘At least the plays that come up are still great.’

Trying to reassure himself, the Duke of Lopez tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“It’s unfortunate for those who lost their jobs overnight.”

Studying his expression, the butler whispered softly.

“Antonio Brogo is among those who were laid off this time.”

“Antonio Brogo?”

The Duke of Lopez’s upper body, which had been sinking into the armchair, jerked upright as if it had been strung with a spring.

He could no longer feign indifference.

“Do you mean to tell me that the Duke of Crestwell has thrown Anthony Brogo out?”

“……I’m sorry to tell you, Your Grace, but yes, it is true.”

“What? This is unbelievable…… How?”

Repeating the words ‘how’ and ‘my God’, the Duke of Lopez finally jumped out of his seat and started pacing.

“No……. Anthony Brogo, what the hell is the Duke thinking?”

He hadn’t expected Oscar to be so abrasive, no matter how cool-hearted he was.

Anthony Brogo is a senior actor, and as far as the Crestwell Grand Theater is concerned, there are no roles for him.

It might be understandable to let him go under certain circumstances, but……

No matter what.

“I can’t believe he kicked the man who contributed most to the growth of the Crestwell Grand Theater, knowing how much his father loved Anthony Brogo…….”

That’s not all.

Antonio was a genius actor.

He was someone who could outshine his co-stars with his mesmerizing acting.

Until Kieran’s death, Anthony Brogo was the face of the Crestwell Grand Theater, and he was the symbol of the theater.

That’s how he was associated with the theater and its history.

He should be honored and not kicked out like this.

The Duke of Lopez, who remembered Anthony as a young man, was conflicted.

The butler said to him

“He had grown old, and he no longer fit the mood of the Crestwell Grand Theater…….”

“What…….”

“It seems they were just waiting for an opportunity to let him go.”

The Duke of Lopez’s lips felt dry.