Celebrity Lady - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Episode 111
Lark turned his gaze back to the stage, all his strength drained away.
The play was proceeding without a hitch.
A man and woman meeting for the first time at a masquerade ball. And two souls tumbling into each other as if by fate…….
It was almost as if.
‘This is a bit like our story.’
Indeed. Even the situation where they could not meet as lovers—everything was the same.
“Oh, Romeo……. Romeo!”
The moment Rubetria began her soliloquy on the balcony, everyone held their breath and fixed their eyes upon her.
“Why, why are you Romeo.”
Her cry into the void, a whisper so achingly tender.
Eyes brimming with sorrow as though she might burst into tears at any moment, her voice trembling.
“Romeo, cast off your name and take me instead…….”
The moment she clutched at her bodice and delivered her soliloquy toward the audience,
Lark, whose eyes met Rubetria’s, found himself thinking blankly.
‘……I would, in any measure.’
Wait. That line is for Romeo, isn’t it? Not something meant for him.
Lark shook his head and looked back at Rubetria on stage.
He was marveling anew.
‘I knew she could act well, but.’
Hadn’t he felt it from the moment they filmed that false testimony video for Lisbet? That possessed mastery of performance.
Looking to the side, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who was amazed.
The Emperor, the Empress, Marienne—all of them, along with spectators throughout the audience seating, watching the stage with expressions of helpless sorrow, unable to tear their eyes away.
The actors of the Roland Theater Troupe, particularly the leading lady Juliet’s performance, was nothing short of brilliant. It wouldn’t allow for a single moment of lost focus.
“Juliet……! My beloved Juliet, you, why do you still remain this beautiful?”
At the desperate cry of Romeo, the male lead, pulling the now-cold body of Rubetria into his embrace, every spectator clapped their hands over their mouths.
“Oh, oh my. Juliet isn’t actually dead…….”
The Empress, thoroughly immersed, trembled as she clutched her breast with trembling hands and murmured to herself.
Juliet, who had been driven to marry another man after encountering her family’s opposition,
had drunk a poison that would place her in a death-like coma to escape the arranged marriage, but…….
“I shall remain here with you. I will never abandon your side. Here, I shall remain. Your side shall be my eternal sanctuary…….”
Tragically, Romeo, believing Juliet had truly died, drank poison in the end.
Romeo crumpled to the ground, meeting death.
And Juliet, awakening too late, pulled her dead beloved into her embrace.
“Why…….”
The eyes of Juliet, holding the empty vial, were hollow. As her vacant gaze groped at the emptiness, gasps erupted from all corners of the audience seating.
“Could you not have left even a single drop for me to follow after you…….”
Juliet, embracing Romeo, gazed down at him blankly.
“Might there perhaps remain some poison on these lips, any trace of it for me.”
And then, a brief kiss.
While everyone fought back tears, Lark, despite his absorption, furrowed his brow slightly.
‘……Are they actually kissing?’
Whoosh.
But before he could wonder further, he was startled by Juliet’s next performance.
Juliet withdrew the dagger from Romeo’s embrace and unsheathed it, and the audience stirred.
“No, no……. I cannot bear to look. What shall I do…….”
The tender-hearted Empress buried her face in her hands.
“Ah, blessed dagger. End all this tragedy so that we might at last become one in death……. Send me, send me to the side of my beloved.”
Her expression serene.
“Let me die.”
Eyes closing gently. A beautiful face swept by the rapture of tragedy.
“Forgive us, O God, I beg of you.”
Juliet’s eyes opened once more, and the blade plunged deep into her own breast.
Presently, with a soft collapse,
Juliet fell upon Romeo.
Cries of admiration burst reflexively from the audience seating.
‘Wow.’
Lark felt the air heavy, and in that instant wiped at his forearm.
Glancing to the side,
“Hah.”
The Emperor, goosebumps risen on his neck as well it seemed, pulled at his collar with a somewhat rough hand.
Click.
The lights on stage went out.
The Emperor stood at once.
Lark, startled, looked up at him.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap……!
The sound of applause, delivered with tremendous force, rang through the silent hall,
“Ahhh!”
“Magnificent!”
Beginning with him, all the spectators stood and added their applause and cheers.
* * *
After the play ended.
I was taken aback the moment I hurried out of the waiting room, unable even to take a bow, and changed out of costume.
‘What on earth is this.’
Lark’s family, whom I’d thought would depart for the palace first, was waiting for me.
I was startled, but quickly composed myself and offered a greeting.
“I greet the great and exalted sun of the empire, His Majesty the Emperor, and the supreme moon, Her Majesty the Empress. I am Rubetria Diolus.”
And to Marienne, who stood beside the Emperor.
“Madame Endleton, what an honor to meet you thus.”
“How lovely to see you.”
After exchanging pleasantries with Madame Endleton and turning again to face the Emperor, I grew tense.
I was scrambling for some excuse for having suddenly taken the stage—
“My lady, that was a most magnificent performance. I find the lingering emotion has not yet faded from me.”
For some reason, the Emperor seemed delighted rather than surprised or displeased.
He handed me a bouquet he’d been holding and spoke.
“You mentioned you take great interest in the advancement of cultural endeavors. Yet for a young noblewoman to actually take the stage and attempt to change perceptions of actors—it was surely no easy decision. How admirable indeed.”
……What are you saying?
As I hesitated, Lark, standing behind the Emperor, signaled me urgently with focused eyes.
Ah, it seemed he’d already handled the situation without me needing to explain anything.
‘My, truly a perfect business partner as always!’
Having built his favor without doing anything, I smiled knowingly.
“To hear you say such things is a great honor for me. I was worried you might disapprove, so I’m grateful for your kind understanding.”
“My, how lovely you are. Your words, your deeds—all so graceful. Your performance was wonderful to witness. I wept I don’t know how many times.”
Indeed, the Empress spoke with eyes somewhat reddened.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Ah, might I present you with a gift before your departure?”
At my subtle gesture, an attendant who had been waiting produced two brooch boxes.
A rose-shaped brooch set with a crimson ruby.
I fastened it directly to the Empress’s bodice as I spoke.
“The magnificent and beautiful rose is the queen of flowers. For the most exalted lady in this empire.”
“Oh my.”
The Empress, gazing down at the brooch that suited her splendid gown so perfectly, smiled radiantly.
“Thank you. It’s so very beautiful.”
“And.”
Removing an elegant flower-shaped brooch from the other box, I fastened it to Madame Endleton as well.
“It’s a brooch carved with the Atarakis flower. The Atarakis blooms throughout all four seasons but withers in early winter, and its appearance changes with each season.”
“For, for me as well?”
“Of course, Madame. The Atarakis is beautiful in spring, summer, and autumn alike, but they say its appearance in early winter before it fades is the most beautiful. I thought it would suit you perfectly. Please, accept it.”
…….
Madame Endleton, who had been looking up at me with a peculiar expression, laughed pleasantly, covering her mouth.
“Thank you ever so much.”
“It is truly an honor to meet you again.”
“It is I who feel that way more.”
The Emperor, observing us with satisfaction, spoke.
“Now let us depart for the palace. We have made preparations to welcome our cherished guests.”
* * *
The luxurious Imperial Palace Dining Hall.
The Emperor and Empress sat at the head of the table; Madame Endleton beside me; and Lark across from me.
The imperial chefs bustled about, carrying dishes.
“By the way, we sent word to the Diolus some time ago. When do you suppose we might receive their response?”
The Emperor asked me with a smile.
The word sent some time ago surely referred to a proposal letter.
In other words, a question about when the wedding would take place.
I was about to give a prepared answer, having expected the question, when Lark was faster.
“I visited the Duke of Diolus in person to apologize for the rudeness and informed him there was no need to reply to the proposal letter. There shall be no response forthcoming.”
I stiffened.
Madame Endleton, seated beside me, tilted her head with a bewildered expression.
The Emperor’s expression became grim as he leveled only his eyes at Lark in a stare.
Lark, without granting the Emperor even a glance, added further,
“I have no intention of sending proposal letters to any house whatsoever until the Marriage Law Revision is enacted, Your Majesty.”
“Your Highness.”
“What in the world is this about?”
“My dear.”
As Madame Endleton tilted her head in confusion, the Empress interjected, gently taking hold of the Emperor’s arm.
“It is impolite to discuss such matters among important guests. Let us speak of it later.”
At the Empress’s mediation, the Emperor seemed inclined to hold his tongue, yet his gaze upon Lark remained piercing.
Lark, for his part, was no ordinary man either—cutting away with indifferent composure as though to say the Emperor’s disapproval meant nothing to him.
‘Is this what they call a Tiger and Dragon confrontation?’
The father and son stood opposed with such ferocity that neither would yield an inch.
Behind them, it seemed as though a dragon and a tiger prowled, each roaring.
“By the way, when did you say Madame Rubis would arrive, Your Highness? Everyone is waiting…….”
The Empress frowned, seeming annoyed by the tardiness of our final guest.
It was precisely the timing when attention would fall upon me in this now-strained atmosphere.
My eyes met Lark’s, who had glanced up, and I smiled awkwardly and sat up straighter.
“Ahem, I have something I should tell you…….”
“It’s that young lady from the company, isn’t it?”
In that instant, Madame Endleton gently squeezed my hand and asked.
“……?”
“?”
The gazes of the Emperor and Empress turned toward Madame Endleton and me.
“Ah…….”
“I’m certain. I suspected it already when watching you perform on stage, but seeing you up close left no room for doubt.”
Madame Endleton, chuckling softly, continued.
“The lovely voice, the affectionate manner of speech—it was unmistakably that young lady from the company.”
“What do you mean, Mother?”
The Emperor asked, his eyes narrowing.
The bewildered Emperor and Empress, and Madame Endleton, smiling with satisfaction, all fixed their gazes upon me.
I ran my drying lips together and met Lark’s eyes from across the table.
At his reassuring gaze, as though encouraging me, I smiled awkwardly and opened my mouth.
“Yes…….”
And then I confessed.
“I am, I am Madame Rubis…….”
As expected, the Emperor’s and Empress’s eyes went wide.
“Pardon?”
Rubetria Diolus, the lady = leading lady in the play = proprietress of ?
???
It was as though question marks hovered above their heads.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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