"You, you..."
Edward glared and gasped.
"Do you think you'll get away with this? Because of you, the honor of the Lopez family will fall to the ground! Are you going to be satisfied with seeing the family fall?! You witchy bitch!"
"You should speak up."
Ariana glared at Edward with cold, hardened eyes.
"It wasn't me who fell to the ground, it was you, my brother."
"What, what did you say?"
"You trampled and sullied the pride, self-esteem, and honor that your maternal grandfather emphasized."
The eyes that had been calm the whole time turned blue.
"It wasn't me, It was Edward Lopez. It was you."
"You, you, you... you fucking bitch! How dare you!"
Edward twisted his body, and the chair in the Interrogation room that had tied him rattled.
"Then I'll get up. I have a lot of work to do."
Ariana, who had gotten up, looked down at Edward's face, which was flushed red, and smiled brightly. Then she turned her back and left without any regrets.
"You, you, come back here! Where are you going! Since I did what you told me to do, you should come up with a plan!"
No matter how much he cursed, Ariana's back only grew farther away.
"Hey! Can't you come back right now?! That damned bitch! Aaaah!"
A heartbreaking scream echoed through the space where Ariana had already disappeared without a trace.
***
A strange rumor spread among the nobles who were bored after the music festival was called off.
"Oh my God! Is that true?"
"That's ridiculous."
The first rumor was that Edward Lopez had plagiarized Karka's traditional ritual music and performed it at the music festival. Is that why the envoy was so furious?"
"Karma hadn't interacted with the outside world for a long time, so he probably thought he wouldn't get caught. We had no idea."
"Oh my God, no matter what, it's like that.
Even if the liver is out of the stomach, there is a limit!"
Soon, another rumor flew to the astonished nobles.
"It turns out that even the plagiarized song wasn't composed by Count Lopez?"
"They say Count Lopez can't compose a single word properly. This plagiarized song was also bought from an unknown artist and pretended to be his."
"Huh? What about the recent performances at Lopez House?"
"That's the shocking part. Count Lopez confessed that those weren't all by him either..."
The nobles who heard. the rumor whispered in raised voices here and there.
"They were the works of Duchess Ariana Heigenberg!"
There were those like Count Horace who scoffed, asking how a woman could compose so many operas. However, regardless of whether people believed it or not, the rumor spread throughout the palace in an instant, carrying excitement and surprise.
'What on earth is going on?'
Elena's fingers trembled as she tried to figure out what was going on. The palace guards forcibly dragged her and the orchestra off the stage. It was because Edward Lopez was no longer qualified to perform on stage. The men who saw Elena's disorientation came running with their eyes wide open.
"Miss Elena! Don't you know anything about this? Of course, you would, since you're family!"
"Is it true that Count Lopez has been claiming the Duchess's work as his own all this time?"
"You didn't know that this was happening between the families living under the same roof?"
Elena's lips trembled at the rapid-fire questions.
"That... that can't be. My brother is an excellent musician."
"So you're admitting that Count Lopez is the one who plagiarized the song?"
"Huh? Oh, no! That's not it!"
'What the hell is going on!'
Elena screamed inwardly, chewing her lips. Edward showed no sign of returning, and Adolf was nowhere to be seen. He had been confident that his debut stage would be in the magnificent palace. What would happen to him now?
"Breaking news! Breaking news!"
One noble shouted with an excited face.
"The music festival will resume soon!"
"Oh, really?"
"And the last stage is Lady Ariana's stage!"
Everyone's eyes lit up.
***
As expected, the music festival resumed soon. Next up was Count Horace. However, no one was paying attention to the stage.
"Was it really true that all the operas at the Lopez House were the Duchess's works?"
"Honestly, I can't believe it."
"You'll know when you see the stage. You said the Duchess's turn was last, right?"
The nobles were busy whispering without even looking at the stage.
"But when does this stage end?"
"It's longer than thought. Well, it's not bad, but... Hmm, it's a bit boring. Wasn't Count Horace's stage almost the same last year?"
"I hope it ends soon. When is the last stage going to start?"
Even the nobles who were considered respectable didn't even pretend to focus on the stage. Count Horace clenched his trembling fists.
'You're being swayed by gossip and not recognizing my masterpiece!'
Ariana Heigenberg, that woman, he really didn't like. Maybe this was all noise marketing the Duke was doing for his wife. Was he trying to compete with this because he wasn't confident in his skills?
The Count snorted.
'Just start the stage. I'll criticize you point by point...! Was this supposed to be the last order?'
So that the Ignorant public wouldn't be blinded by gossip and be unable to make a proper judgment, the Count planned to use all his musical knowledge and insight to carefully step onto that woman's stage.
'The Duke shook hands.'
With so much attention focused on her, her poor workmanship would be exposed.
While Count Horace was snorting, his stage came to a close, and the final stage finally began. The evil-possessed Count watched the red curtain rise with his eyes wide open.
***
It is said that music is the art of time. Unlike spatial art such as painting or sculpture, music divides the flowing time and places notes on it. It is the role of music to create meaning by adding color to the time that always flows mercilessly. That is why music is limited by time, but at the same time, it helps the listener transcend time.
And at this moment, the audience of the music festival was perfectly experiencing the latter moment. The last stage began with the melody of the organ. A girl wearing a cloak carefully appeared on the stage. As the girl walked around the stage decorated like a dark forest, the organ added notes. The trembling melody of the organ also sent ripples through the hearts of the listeners. Everyone wished that something would happen soon, that this time that felt slow would pass quickly.
At that moment, as Viola intervened, a man wearing a white mask appeared behind the girl.
"...!"
As soon as the White Mask appeared, several people in the audience gave each other glances, but their appearances were hidden in the darkness. The girl on the stage ran away frantically. The ensemble of the organ and piano played a sense of urgency. Just when the tension was about to explode at its peak...
The mood changed abruptly as the melody of the harp suddenly intervened. The fairies who appeared on the right side of the stage discovered the girl and invited her to the banquet. The kidnappers passed by without noticing the girl, and the joyful banquet continued. The audience was mesmerized as bright metallic instruments such as the harp, celesta, and glockenspiel dominated the stage.
Unlike the introduction where time seemed to pass slowly, each moment led by the beautiful and bouncy melody passed by in the blink of an eye. Time passed abnormally quickly in the play as well. The girl, who accidentally returned to the human world, realizes that ten years have passed, and once again encounters the White Mask who has been chasing her for ten years.
However, unlike ten years ago when she had just run away listlessly, the girl defeats the white mask through a joint attack with the fairies and throws herself into that world again to be with her beloved fairy.
The aria that bursts out the moment the girl reunites with her lover is captivating, full of energy as if it would explode. The audience watched the stage with dazed eyes. The stage ended with a scene where fairies and the girl happily toasted. It was a beautiful story depicting the mysterious atmosphere created by the fairies, the growth of the main character, and the love that transcended races.
The audience was dumbfounded as they watched the red curtain go down.
'Already?'
'Huh? It's over?'
The music festival stage had to be at least twenty minutes long. The audience could not accept that so much time had already passed.
'How did time pass so quickly...!'
'Oh my God. I feel like I've entered and exited the fairies' banquet.'
Just as the girl lost track of time at the fairies' festival, the audience had the same went experience. The silence that had momentarily dominated the audience was soon broken.
"... Bravo!"
Someone's cheers began, followed by thunderous applause.
Whoosh, whistles, and the tumultuous applause that sounded like hundreds of fireworks exploding. Ariana is up on stage. The applause seemed endless as they greeted Ariana, who was politely greeting them as a composer.
"It was ecstatic. Every single moment was so perfect!"
"The thrill I felt at the final climax still hasn't gone away."
"It was music that touched my soul!"
Here and there, the audience began to stand up as if they had promised. Count Horace reluctantly stood up, making a grumble.
'l... lost.'
Clap, clap, clap.
Count Horace had no choice but to admit it, even as he clapped his hands disapprovingly. That it was his complete defeat.
At this moment today, the delicate lady on stage had clearly captured the hearts of all the audience.
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