The Search for the Duchess’s Husband – Chapter 156

Author: Dakku-san

She wasn’t the only one.

All around the theater, exhausted people lay like corpses.

Even Marigold and Freesia were wedged between them, having forgotten their dignity.

Artia’s eyes flushed as she looked around at them.

“Thank you all so much.”

In her heart, she wanted to take each of them by the hand and thank them all she could.

But with the performance just around the corner, there was no time for that.

As if she knew what Artia was thinking, Marigold dismissed her hand.

“We’re going to go back and rest, so mind your own business.”

Freesia lowered her eyebrows.

“I know it’s hard for you, Artia, and I’m sorry we have to rest, but we’ll come back as soon as we’re better.”

Dahlia poked Artia in the side, who looked like she was going to cry even more at that.

She, too, had pulled an all-nighter, but she was the most unharmed.

She was used to pulling all-nighters.

“We should get ready for the audience.”

“Yes.”

Artia took Dahlia’s hand and led the way to the preparation room.

As the sky darkened, people began to gather in the theater.

It wasn’t just people who had come to see the show.

There were people who had come to see if they could get tickets, people who wanted to feel the atmosphere of the theater, and journalists… It was a huge crowd.

One of the reasons for the larger-than-expected crowd was a pre-dawn incident.

“I heard there was a fire in the theater?”

The woman who spoke up looked around the building.

“I thought you might be overdoing it by going ahead with the show as scheduled, but I was wrong. I don’t see any signs of fire.”

The theater was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Are you sure you’re not lying about the fire?”

“Of course not, I know a few people who saw it.”

Then, spontaneously, “the” name popped up.

“They said Prince Killian put out the fire with his magic.”

It was as Nocturne had predicted.

Within hours, word had spread like wildfire.

No one questioned why Killian had done what he had done, since he was known to be so interested in the performance.

Instead, people focused on the fact that he was using “magic”.

“I thought he wasn’t supposed to be able to use magic?”

“That’s why it’s so amazing that he could put out a fire in this huge building in an instant.”

Suddenly, the conversation turned to Killian.

“Well, that’s a problem. We should be the ones stealing the show tonight, not him.”

With that thought, Artia appeared in the lobby of the theater.

The chatter stopped and turned to look at her.

Artia was wearing a flowing white dress.

The dress Andi and Freesia had made for today was pure white, unadorned, with a design that represented winter.

The plain fabric and Artia’s slender figure didn’t make it feel shabby at all.

On the contrary, it exuded a clean and innocent charm.

Wearing a snow crystal accessory, Artia folded her eyes.

“Thank you for coming, everyone. I’m Artia von Edenberg, head of the Edenberg Manufacturing Company.”

It was a businessman’s greeting, not a lady’s.

Turning to the wide-eyed crowd, Artia continued.

“Before we begin the show, I would like to give you a glimpse of the world we have created.”

Artia raised her hand.

A man emerged from the railing on the second floor, beyond the hem of a flowing white robe.

The thin fabric sagged in front of him, making it difficult to see his form.

But the silhouette alone suggested a knight’s tall, hard build.

The women’s faces flushed red. Just as one of them recognized him and was about to call his name, Mikhail…

“Reinhardt!”

A beautiful, clear female voice echoed through the lobby, and a woman appeared opposite the man.

She, too, was shrouded in a thin cloth, so it was hard to see her, but the sound of her voice, which was far above the normal human volume, was enough to draw everyone’s attention.

The woman’s voice continued.

“O Lord of the Cold North, I am Mary, your bride from this day forward.”

“Bride… Yes, it was meant to be.”

Their voices crossed like swords.

“I have no need of a wife when my heart is frozen by a curse and I can love no one.”

“If I am not recognized as his wife, death awaits me.”

“He will never love me.”

“You must make him love me!”

The voice sounded like a volcano erupting, sending goosebumps all over their bodies.

At that moment, the cloth in front of them fluttered.

People squinted to see the face that had been covered.

But when the cloth was lifted, there was no one there.

As if by magic.

The people stared, mesmerized, and then let out a sigh.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t seen it at all, or if they had seen the actors in their full glory.

But the sound of their voices lingered in the air, and their curiosity, piqued to the extreme, made them sick.

In an odd silence, Artia spoke.

She pointed beyond the great doors to the stage.

“Allow me to invite you into a world where you may see the Grand duke of the Frozen North and his bride, Mary.”

Like children following the Pied Piper, the crowd filed in, mesmerized.

Some of those without tickets begged to be let in, offering any amount of money.

Those with tickets to the next installment breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that it was only a few days away.

* * *

The show began.

The audience in the seats, many of whom were fans of the original novel, were excited to see the show.

They were excited for the show, but also worried that it would tarnish the original.

But they couldn’t help but groan the moment the Northern Grand Duke appeared.

A cold face with silver and blue eyes and a huge body.

He looked like the Reinhardt they had envisioned in their heads.

The same was true when the heroine came out.

Mary was as beautiful as a snowflake.

Despite admiring the perfection of the two main characters, the audience was not completely at ease.

Shine hadn’t yet appeared.

“They said they cast Kudranian as Shine.”

And he’s never acted before.

The people who had gotten that far in their fanatical attention went beyond worry to anger.

Shine was the second most important role after the two main characters.

“Even if Shine is similar to Kudran, you can’t have a real Kudran on stage, it’ll ruin the show.”

“I heard that he was quite famous among the noblewomen for his half-and-half, but an actor is not just about his looks, it’s about his performance.”

The audience stared at the stage, ready to criticize.

A moment later, Shine appeared.

A handsome man with flaming red hair, coffee-colored skin, and violet eyes, he exuded a strange and mysterious aura.

“Shine!”

Mary’s voice called out to him, and Shine smiled, his eyes twinkling like half moons.

The smile of a mute servant who is in love with his master was pitiful and beautiful.

The audience was mesmerized, making gasps… and sounds of something escaping.

The combination of singing and acting, along with the high energy and charm of the actors, the stylish and colorful costumes, and the exquisite choreography, made the performance a captivating experience.

Then came the scene in the second half.

Shine, who had been silent the entire time, opened his mouth for the first and last time.

His voice echoed across the silent stage as the orchestra faded away.

A confession from a man who has loved Mary for years, spoken in a dream.

It was a song that would never reach Mary, but it was so mournful and beautiful.

The audience covered their mouths with tears, including an older gentleman.

At the end of Shine’s song, he turned back into the mute servant.

As the wistful afterglow of Shine’s song faded, the final scene of the play unfolded.

“I love you, even if my heart is broken.”

Reinhardt kissed the snow diamond on Mary’s finger.

As he spoke, white snow began to fall from the sky.

Slowly, the lights went out and silence filled the room.