The Search for the Duchess’s Husband Chapter 153

Once they saw Tunguel sway, the owners were no longer afraid of her.

 

Speed was of the essence in the livestock industry.

 

Once an animal was slaughtered, it had to be sold without delay. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be long before they were injured and had to be disposed of.

 

The damage was exponentially increasing.

 

Meanwhile, letters began to arrive for Tunguel.

 

The letters from the loan sharks read:

 

 

“Dear friend Tunguel,

I’ve heard that things are not going well for you these days.

I hope you’ll pay me back the money I lent you as soon as possible.

Don’t forget to collect the interest you promised.”

 

 

Tunguel tore up the letter.

 

“What are they talking about when the so-called friends won’t help me!”

 

John gave her a pitying look.

 

“Miss, you’ll have to get over it…”

 

And the next day… John disappeared from the mansion.

 

He had robbed the mansion of the gold coins it kept in its safe.

 

Tunguel screamed like a monster.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“All of Tunguel’s businesses have been paralyzed, her creditors, concerned about her economic situation, are bombarding her daily with demands for money, and her servants have left the mansion, leaving it empty.”

 

Vivi adds.

 

“In the meantime, servants who have been unhappy with their employer are said to have scrawled insults about Tunguel on the walls and even left feces in front of her door.”

 

Ouch.

 

Turning to Artia, who covered her mouth in disgust, Vivi continued.

 

“It’s also said that even those who were once harassed by Tunguel would come and throw stones at her, causing her to leave the mansion and disappear.”

 

“That’s good. If she’s so disturbed, she’ll be able to stay out of trouble for a while.”

 

Tunguel’s downfall was quicker than expected, but Artia was far from satisfied.

 

She wanted to make her pay a more severe price.

 

But she couldn’t afford to be so concerned with Tunguel at such a crucial time before the performance.

 

Instead, Artia turned to Luca and said,

 

“I promise. After the show, I’ll bring her in and make her apologize to you.”

 

In truth, Luca didn’t care what happened to Tunguel.

 

But it was nice to know that Artia cared, so he smiled and nodded.

 

And that day, Luca sang for the first time.

 

He paused occasionally and stuttered as if he was being watched, but the sound of the words and notes blending together was beautiful.

 

When Luca finished, he let out a breath of air and tried to make eye contact with Artia, but Lam rushed over and clung to him.

 

“This is what I wanted, this is what I wanted!”

 

Mikhail and Sandra also gave him a thumbs up, saying, “He’s a big boy!”

 

In the midst of all the excitement, Luca’s gaze was drawn to Artia.

 

Luca approached Artia with Lam tied up and asked, “Master, did I do well?”

 

Artia, who had been overcome with emotion, regained her composure and said,

 

“Yes, that was a beautiful song, Luca!”

 

Luca blushed and lowered his head slightly at Artia’s words.

 

Artia casually stroked his tousled red hair.

 

Luca smiled.

 

It was a smile that mesmerized Lam clinging to his waist.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“It’s really only a matter of days until the performance of <The Blazing Heart of the Northern Grand Duke>.”

 

“The director and actors are among the best in the empire, what kind of stage will Mrs. Edenberg create with them?”

 

As the days went by, the nobles’ interest soared.

 

It was said that getting tickets for the first night of the performance was as difficult as becoming an Ethereal.

 

So much so that one nobleman even swallowed his pride and asked Artia for a favor.

 

“Frau Edenberg, may I have two tickets?”

 

Some of them were close to her, some were not.

 

But Artia’s answer was the same for everyone.

 

“I would love to, but there are so many people interested, and I don’t think it would be a good idea to favor only a few of you, both you and your wife.”

 

The women were upset by Artia’s refusal, but they realized that she had been fair to everyone and let it go.

 

Artia collapsed onto her bed, exhausted from another eventful day.

 

“Sob…”

 

The strange sound leaked out of her exhausted body.

 

‘I need to change my clothes…’

‘I need to bathe…’

‘I need to eat dinner…’

 

When Killian came to the window, Artia was asleep in bed, still dressed for the day.

 

It wasn’t a surprise.

 

She was always like this these days.

 

Killian looked at the stack of papers beside her.

 

‘If every noble worked with this much enthusiasm, the empire would see unprecedented progress.’

 

His golden eyes widened at the thought.

 

His golden eyes widened as he noticed something drawn on one of the papers.

 

At first, he thought it was a monster.

 

But the closer he looked, the more it reminded him of someone.

 

It had dirty-looking bulging eyes, blackened hair, and triangular cat ears poking out from the top of its head.

 

“Could that be me?”

 

Killian looked at Artia with an expression of disbelief.

 

He had drawn her in such a hideous way, and she was sleeping innocently.

 

“…….”

 

Killian looked at Artia in silence.

 

Thin, silver hair, a prominent nose.

 

Small, full lips…

 

Suddenly, he remembered the last time he’d kissed her.

 

It had happened months ago, and he felt a rush of heat through his body as if it had happened yesterday.

 

He clenched and unclenched his fists, but to no avail.

 

Killian’s gaze kept wandering to those tiny lips.

 

‘I want to be close.’

 

‘I want to touch them.’

 

“Not like a dog in heat.”

 

Cursing at himself, Killian sat up.

 

Despite his intentions, he had failed to watch Artia for long today.

 

 

When Artia opened her eyes, her head was resting on her pillow and the covers were pulled over her.

 

She blinked, still not quite awake, and her eyes widened when she saw the paper on her bedside table.

 

Next to Killian’s face, which Artia had drawn with less than childlike skill, was a woman drawn with the delicate hand of a court painter.

 

The woman’s head, which looked exactly like Artia’s, was topped with bunny ears.

 

“Pfft!”

 

Artia laughed out loud at how cute the side-by-side picture was.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The day before the performance.

 

After the last rehearsal, everyone, including Artia, clapped loudly.

 

Especially Lam, who made a weird “Oooooh!” sound and threw his hands up in the air.

 

“It’s the latest! It’s perfect! This show is going to be a success…”

 

Artia interrupted him with the script book she was holding.

 

“Stop. I don’t think it’s going to work if you say that.”

 

But Lam huffed and puffed.

 

“Oh, there’s no such thing. The minute the curtain goes up, the whole world is going to be crying and screaming and grabbing the end of my pants and the hem of your skirt and thanking you for making this happen.”

 

“I think so too, but…”

 

Artia clamped her hand over her mouth and straightened her expression,

 

“You know what they say, if you get too cocky, the goddess of luck gets jealous, so let’s wrap this up as quietly as possible and get ready for tomorrow.”

 

At Artia’s words, the people nodded obediently and went home in silence.

 

Artia went home earlier than usual.

 

She ate a quick dinner, feeling like her digestion wasn’t working properly.

 

After reviewing the performance one last time, she went to bed.

 

She glanced at the window.

 

It had been a while since she’d seen Killian, as lately she’d fainted upon entering the room.

 

Only occasionally did she see signs of his presence.

 

“I guess he won’t be coming today.”

 

He hadn’t promised, she thought with a pang of disappointment.

 

Artia shook her head, embarrassed by the emotion.

 

“I’ll see him tomorrow.”

 

Artia gave Killian a gift of tickets to the first night of the show.

 

“It’s one of ten tickets that went to the head of the production company, and they say it’s worth more than a carat of diamonds these days.”

 

Killian chimed in, half joking, half serious.

 

“I hear it’s a hard ticket to get, even for the emperor.”

 

“That’s true, which is why you should come.”

 

Killian’s sharp eyes softened.

 

“Of course I must come. It’s a performance that Killian von Orpheus is rumored to be smitten with.”

 

Her heart thudded at the thought.

 

Artia tugged at the quilt.

 

She had spent half a year preparing for this performance.

 

She wanted to be seen, to be recognized.

 

For Killian more than anyone else.

 

“So let’s get some sleep, so we can perform well tomorrow.”

 

She closed her eyes with a heavy heart.

 

Without knocking, the door burst open and Vivi burst into the room.

 

“Master, they say the theater is on fire!”