Chapter 38

It took a whopping six hours to finish the first read-through of the script.

Still, it ended faster than expected. I thought it would go on past midnight.

It’s all thanks to Anthony and Katarina.

They’re so good at what they do that the other actors were able to find their feet quickly.

Just before the auditions, I was worried sick.

I briefly wondered if the script was too difficult for our actors to handle.

A performance is the culmination of many elements.

But the most basic thing is the fun of the play and the actors’ performances.

If the basics are solid, the other elements will shine through.

So, I was really worried, but now I feel relieved.

“Let’s call it a day.”

I clapped my hands together twice.

As the actors left, my head was still full of the performance schedule.

Soon the rehearsal room was empty, and it was just me and Roche.

I smiled at Roche.

“We’re going to have a little more time than we bargained for, aren’t we? Let’s go back and get some rest.”

“My Lady.”

“Yes?”

“Excuse me.”

Before I could ask what he meant, Roche stomped toward me. Even with his shoes on, his eyes were just above mine.

I looked into those pale green eyes, trying to figure out what he meant.

“Roche?”

I almost screamed as Roche pulled me into a quick hug.

“What are you doing?”

It was a genuine question, not an accusation, but Roche seemed taken aback. A soft whisper of breath reached my ears.

“My Lady, you’ve hurt your heel.”

The voice was low and ticklish, lightly stinging, and I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

No, more than that.

“Uh, how did you know?”

Earlier in the day, when I was walking to the theater after meeting the ladies at the café.

I was objectively triumphant, but I wasn’t in the best of moods, so I gritted my teeth and trudged across the hard stone floor.

Despite wearing shoes made of soft leather, my heel got scratched from my rough walking.

I felt uncomfortable all along, but I didn’t show it. I didn’t want unnecessary attention.

I thought I had hidden the pain well, but Roche seemed to see right through me.

I changed my question to, “Since when did you know?”

“Since earlier.”

His pleasant voice was tinged with mild resentment.

“I’ve seen it all, My Lady.”

I blushed with embarrassment at having been spied on.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt embarrassed.

“I wanted to make you comfortable quickly, but I thought you didn’t want to show it in front of the actors, so I held back.”

Roche’s voice sounded too close. Perhaps because he was embracing me.

It’s a ticklish, strange feeling.

Normally, I would tease him and play around, but strangely, I can’t think of anything to say, so I keep my mouth shut.

Roche carried me to my private office in the theater.

He sat me down on a plush couch and carefully removed my shoes.

“Ugh…….”

I could feel the pain even as he removed my shoes. Roche, kneeling in front of me, glanced up at me and asked.

“Does it hurt?”

He was asking the obvious.

I decided to pretend it wasn’t.

“No, it doesn’t hurt.”

Then Roche’s forehead creased slightly. With caution, his fingertips applied a bit of pressure to my injured skin, which had been scraped off by my shoe.

Without realizing it, I shivered from calf to toe.

No matter how well I managed my expression, I couldn’t hide my honest physical response.

I was furious that I had exposed such a vulnerable part of myself.

“You’re too much, really.”

Roche laughed without a response. It was laughter that sounded so pleasant that it gave me goosebumps.

“Wait a minute.”

Roche left the office for a few minutes with his sweet voice, but it wasn’t long before he returned with a basin of warm water.

The warm water was carefully placed at my feet, and I dipped both feet into it. The soreness of the wounds and the throbbing sensation on the soles of my feet felt like they were dulling.

I let out a long breath, sinking into the back of the couch. A pained sound escaped my lips.

Roche knelt down and rolled up his sleeves. His arms were muscular, though it was hard to tell from his gaunt face.

Fully exposing his forearms, he gently enveloped my feet in the warm water, his hands carefully cradling them.

I kicked lightly at the water, tickled by the sensation, and the droplets splashed and dampened Roche’s shirt.

“Hold still…….”

Roche focused intently, slowly massaging the muscles of my feet. I rested my chin on my armrest and watched him serve me.

Then, I playfully splashed him with water again, but this time it was intentional.

As I intended, Roche looked up at me.

“Just kidding.”

I chuckled.

Even to my ears, my voice sounded different from when I was directing the actors a while ago. The dignity of the theater director disappeared completely, and the tension melted away, making it soft and relaxed.

It felt much more intimate.

“Don’t play around.”

Roche’s voice was sharp. Sometimes he sounded like an adult, and then like a child.

“You know, I may use you as a bodyguard and speak informally to you now, but… you might actually have a higher status than me.”

He’d have to be royalty to outrank me, but that’s an exaggeration.

I assumed he was of similar status to me. Most likely a foreigner, judging by what has happened so far.

Using him as my bodyguard was a strategic move to provide him with a suitable identity.

So, even when we were alone, there was no need to adhere strictly to the roles of “bodyguard” and “subordinate.”

I added a playful remark to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too serious.

“When your memory returns, you won’t kneel before me because it’s disgusting, will you?”

Roche, being a perceptive young man, would have understood my words.

He pondered for a moment, still gently massaging my feet.

I lowered my eyes and waited for Roche’s answer. For a long time, all I could hear was the sound of lapping water.

When the water had cooled, Roche cleared the basin and wiped my feet.

“Well.”

Applying ointment to my scraped heel, he spoke.

“I imagined myself as a heir to a kingdom, but even then, I don’t feel ashamed standing in front of you like this.”

“Oh.”

He was so serious that my stomach tickled. I nudged Roche’s shoulder with the tip of my toe.

“You’re a little unimaginative, aren’t you?”

Roche rolled his eyes lightly. I burst out laughing.

* * *
The next morning.

Roche rose early, as usual, and groomed his robes.

His mistress, Marlena, was still sleeping. Yesterday had been an exhausting day, and she had gotten home late, so she deserved to sleep in.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Roche recalled his conversation with Marlena last night.

‘Who am I? ’

What are the memories beyond the veil I can’t seem to lift?

Trying to relive them only gave him a headache. He frowned and looked away from the mirror.

Amidst this, he caught the sound of butler Dylan opening the door to his room with his sensitive hearing.

This was followed by the sound of footsteps descending the stairs.

Wondering what was going on, Roche left the room. He met Dylan in the lobby, heading for the front door.

“What’s going on?”

Dylan looked quite embarrassed.

“Good morning, Roche. A guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

A question crossed Roche’s face.

“I don’t recall the Countess having an appointment this morning.”

“We have an unannounced visitor.”

“At this early hour? How rude.”

Dylan couldn’t deny it. Roche was right, it was very rude to show up unannounced so early in the morning.

It was as if saying, ‘I’ll come when I’m ready, and you better be waiting.’

“But since the countess is still sleeping, I suppose I’ll have to send them away.”

Dylan sighed. Roche nodded in agreement but suddenly asked.

“Who is it, by the way?”

“Well.”

Dylan shook his head.

“The Duke of Crestwell.”

Roche’s face hardened.

Having met Oscar a few times, he knew how despicable Marlena’s ex-husband could be.

No wonder he’d come at this hour.

He had a feeling he wasn’t going to go back if he was appeased. It was more of a hunch than a conviction.

He might not even turn back if Dylan tried to persuade him to leave.

Roche rolled his eyes.

Marlena was sleeping soundly, and the last thing Roche wanted to do was wake her up.

He’d have to work it out between himself and Dylan.