CH 27

Part one is over and the break has begun. Marienne thought she had to hurry to get back into her dress and go to the bathroom. She was surprised to hear that the break was an hour long.

Chloise reacted as if an hour was no big deal.

“The last show I saw with my mum had a ninety-minute intermission.”

Ninety minutes. I could go home if I want to.

As Marienne watched, she realised there was a reason why the intermission was so long. People used the time to socialise.

Businessmen were busy pulling business cards out of sleek business card holders. Noblewomen with married children smiled at families with unmarried children of similar ages.

A few braved the box seats where Vileon was seated. Marienne excused herself and slipped out.

“Wow, you could run in this bathroom.”

Turquoise tiled floors with no water spots, large mirrors, brass taps, and elegant fresh flowers.

The toilets in the back of the ladies’ room were very impressive, and Marienne realised that the aide’s quarters were as good as the ladies’ room at the opera house.

“There’s even hot water.”

The opera house washroom wins hands down. At least Marienne was able to leave the bathroom feeling refreshed.

“Did you say hello to the Fourth Princess?”

“I tried and failed to do so before the performance started, but I’ll try again later.”

Marienne turned to leave the ladies’ common room, but was stopped by the ladies’ conversation.

“I hear the earrings she’s wearing today were a gift from His Majesty.”

“They were originally a treasure of the royal family of Einfel, and the Empress coveted them because they were two hundred years old, but…”

“He gave it to her as a gift to celebrate her engagement to the duke.”

“I don’t know how she managed to capture that ice-hearted man, but her position in the imperial family has skyrocketed.”

Marienne went out into the corridor with a grumpy face.

Vileon is working himself to death!

To whom should we pass the crown? Let’s ask Professor Cheok Cheok-bak1an alliterative phrase used to describe someone who is competent and efficient, who works tirelessly from morning till night on behalf of the emperor who plays games like Ding Dong Dang Dong2a metaphorical expression for a ruler who is frivolous and not serious about their responsibilities.

I could write a book just listing all the conflicts, big and small, that Vileon has settled.

Nevertheless, the Emperor praised his daughter greatly for bringing the Northern Duke into his confidence. If Odette had been betrothed to Vileon, she would not have been given those earrings.

‘You mean to tell me that Vileon is a fish you’ve caught, anyway?’

It was dirty and vile, and I had no words.

The Emperor’s been like this since the beginning of time, so I guess Odette was right to ally herself with the Northerner. The response is immediate, my heart has gone to Vileon and back again.

“The earrings, I must find them.”

Marienne turned back to the box seats with determination. From her position, Marienne could only see part of Odette’s face.

She wondered what the original heroine looked like. But Marienne thought it was just as well.

I’d rather just focus on the ears. Marienne double-checked the silhouette of Odette’s earrings, which were made of ten different gemstones.

For now, both seemed to be intact.

Anyone who wanted to say hello to Odette would surely notice her earrings. If one was missing, of course the first person to spot it would say something.

“Miss Aide, was the break room crowded?”

Chloise asked, keeping her voice low. Break room? Oh, she’s asking if the toilets were crowded. Marienne shook her head firmly.

“If you’ll excuse me.”

Getting the answer she wanted, Chloise pushed her way through the crowd. It took a long time before the second child of the Byers returned.

The curtain had risen on the second act. Everyone was seated during the performance, which was a relief. Marienne watched the performance with her nerves loosened.

Cough.

It was Vileon. The cold medicine had temporarily improved his condition, but he’d had to deal with too many people during the intermission. His throat began to tickle and he coughed dryly.

As luck would have it, a singer with a sly voice was singing aria3refers to a type of operatic solo. Marienne quickly pulled a small bottle from her coat pocket and handed it to Vileon.

“It’s cough drops, please take them.”

“…Thank you.”

He grunts his thanks, even though his throat is tickling and itching. Vileon popped the herbal candy into his mouth.

“Lord Byers keep them for yourself.”

“Very well.”

Marienne turned her attention back to the stage. She couldn’t help but smile at the satisfaction of finally being of use to Vileon.

The performance had just ended, and there was a stir in the box seats next to her. After returning to Odette, Vileon said with a stern face.

“I’m afraid I can’t go straight home, Her Highness’ earring is missing.”

◇ ◆ ◇

After learning who was behind the bucket dump, Marienne made a decision. She would watch Odette’s behaviour before going forward.

If the missing earring was Odette’s doing, Marienne Didi shouldn’t be involved. No matter how much she wanted to help Vileon, it was right to wait for another opportunity.

But as Marienne remembers, Odette is genuinely upset after losing the earring.

The earrings belong to Odette and are still a treasure of the Imperial family. She must be held accountable for not taking proper care of them.

“If my mother was here today, she would have been so excited she would have jumped up on the stage down there.”

Chloise said, fanning herself.

“A jewel theft in a fancy theatre.”

“It wasn’t stolen. It was lost…”

Marienne blurted out.

“Theft?”

Marienne glared at Chloise.

“Why do you think it was stolen? Lord Byers only said the earring was ‘missing.'”

Marienne’s eyes widened even more and she leaned closer to Chloise.

“Lady Byers, look me in the eye and answer me this …did Lady Byers feel good?”

Chloise was speechless for a moment, then turned to Marienne.

“Does the aide now suspect me of the crime?”

“Your being away so long during the intermission, and the shield of being Lord Byers’ sibling, which allows you to approach the Princess without arousing suspicion.”

“No, you’ve already begun to deduce.”

Chloise interrupted.

“Have you been spending too much time with my mother? Or with the youngest, Daisy? And why have their ills been passed on to you?”

The sadness in Chloise’s voice deepened.

“Then they might be interested in an oddball, someone like our father, or the aide.”

She casually referred to her father as an oddball, and she didn’t pause to correct herself.

“This is not the time for you to worry about my love life, young lady.”

“There’s nothing in the world more important than that, Miss Aide!”

Chloise waved her fan.

“Love is the best, and it’s the only thing that’s going to save the world, kyaaak!”

“Uh, uh, calm down.”

To my astonishment, this young lady had just called her father a freak.

An Earl whose only hobby was tending to his garden and occasionally deceiving visitors in his mansion.

She said, ‘Kyaak,’ exactly. Did I just hear that wrong?

‘You’re being a bit bold with the extras, author-nim…’

I kind of figured it out when they decided to make the extra’s hair and eyes rose quartz and serenity.

Anyway, I didn’t expect such a detailed characterisation as in the original story, they were just the friendly Count and Countess Byers and their four children.

I thought he was just Vileon Byers, a well-educated, well-bred boy from a harmonious family.

Raised in a family of bright nerds, I never expected him to be the only sensible guy in the room.

“She’s right, love is the best. Love is all-powerful. So answer me straight. Did the lady steal it?”

Chloise poured out the debt quickly. She looked back at Marienne, who didn’t seem particularly surprised that she had lost her cool.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then why were you away so long during the interval?”

“I had a milk tea with lots of cream before I left the house, and it made my head spin for a while, so that’s my explanation.”

“I accept.”

The reason for her long absence had a lot to do with personal dignity. Marienne stopped questioning Chloise at that point.

“There’s no reason why I said it was a case of jewellery theft. You’re right, Miss Aide, a case of loss would be more accurate.”

This, too, Chloise explained, was her mother’s influence. The Countess took pleasure in blowing things up a bit and making a case out of them. It made sense.

“Theft.”

Marienne muttered.

“I didn’t realise it could have been a theft, even though I’d read it so dry and worn that I could recite the key lines.”

Until now, Marienne had been convinced that Odette had lost them.

The earrings in question weighed as much as they looked. Odette might have taken them off briefly when she took a break in the private break room just before the end of the interval.

She put them back on before leaving the room, but something was loose. Tired from her long night out, Odette didn’t notice the earring falling down her dress and onto the carpet.

A later attendant hastily adds a vase as a decoration to the room that is as tall as an adult, and the earring is crushed under it, completely out of sight.

The Princess’ attendants search for the earring, but no one thinks to lift the giant vase.

Knowing this, Marienne plans to get Vileon to look under the vase.

‘But how do I know this…’

Because the person who found the earring said so. When asked by his fiancée where he found it, Cain Blackwood said under a vase in the break room.

Vileon summons the private mess sergeant, who confirms Blackwood’s story.

‘But what if the northerner hid it all along?’

The earring incident is told from Odette’s point of view from start to finish. As a reader, we have no way of knowing what the Northman was thinking about this.

Marienne looked down at Vileon, who was barking orders at the front of the stage to his entourage and guards. It wasn’t like she could reach down and whisper to him.

Marienne rolled her eyes for a moment. I’ll have to be careful with this. If I get ahead of myself and try to find the earring with my own hands, I risk being framed.

‘If this is the work of a northerner… who do I turn to in this situation?’

As Marienne lamented the absence of the Countess of Byers, her daughter caught her eye.

“My lady, let me ask you a question.”

There is a saying that even if you wander off the right path, as long as you reach the capital city, you’re okay4this proverb implies that even if someone goes through hardships or takes a wrong path in life, they can still succeed as long as they eventually reach their goal or destination. If the Countess wasn’t there, she’d use her daughter somehow!

“About that duke lurking in the corridor over there, if he’s the one who stole Her Highness’s earring.”

“…Yes?”

“Why? Come up with the most romantic reason you can.”

Love and romance must have been a spell that sent Chloise Byers’ brain into overdrive. The lady’s face suddenly softened.

“Because he wants to win the trust of Her Highness, I suppose?”

A madman calls that self-inflicted? Marienne swallowed her curse and gave Chloise a second prod.

“Then where is he going to hide it until he tells he’s found it?”

“In his body, needless to say. Who would dare search the body of the Duke of Blackwood?”

Marienne bit her lip impatiently. Check under the vase first, somehow. What if it’s not there?

Eyes burning with the light of serenity turned to the corridor.

You, prepare yourself.