Celebrity Lady - Chapter 16

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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
Chapter 16
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Sera Wigo.
A commoner-born actress, she was now the most successful woman in the Empire.
The play in which she took the role of female lead this time, “The Death of Helga,” had already surpassed five thousand cumulative viewers just one month after its opening.
“Oh, Simon. My sun, my moon. My breath, my every moment. My desire for you cannot be extinguished even by death.”
Every audience member held their breath, their eyes fixed on Sera Wigo upon the stage.
After delivering her final line, Sera Wigo drove the short sword she held into her own chest, and soon her face contorted in agony as she collapsed forward.
‘Wow, she really is an excellent actress.’
I was impressed by the emotional depth of her monologue, but her suicide scene at the end was truly as remarkable as the rumors suggested—awe-inspiring in its impact.
‘My blood is boiling!’
I’ve been an actress since childhood, spending more than half my short life in the profession.
I first entered the entertainment world thanks to my half-breed aura and beauty, but regardless of how it began, acting was my calling. I couldn’t help but be thrilled to witness such a master performer after so long.
I wasn’t alone in my admiration—every spectator in the theater sat spellbound, basking in the lingering emotion.
“She’s really quite skilled, isn’t she?”
“Well, she’s all right, I suppose.”
My father, seated beside me, nodded with little enthusiasm in his eyes.
‘Such talent taking her own life at such a young age. So the dark underbelly of the entertainment world is the same whether you’re high or low.’
I found myself clicking my tongue silently as I gazed at the darkened stage.
The brilliant actress Sera Wigo would, several years from now, take her own life before even reaching thirty, exactly like the female lead in this very play.
The gossip-mongers would busy themselves speculating about her motives, but none of them would ever truly understand why she made such a choice so young.
‘But I understand all too well.’
After watching Sera Wigo perform today, I was certain.
‘She couldn’t continue doing the work she loved, forced to live a life she never wanted—of course she wanted to die.’
In her prime, when her popularity had reached its peak, she would become the mistress of an elderly count and retire.
It was quite common for beautiful commoner actresses in the Empire to become the mistresses of wealthy nobles and live comfortable lives.
So when Sera Wigo announced her retirement after becoming a nobleman’s mistress, her fans felt regretful but harbored no doubts about her decision. It was the inevitable path all celebrated actresses walked.
‘She probably didn’t become a mistress for comfort so much as out of half-coercion. Even now there must be no shortage of leeches making her such offers.’
Having lived as an actress myself, I could tell just from watching her perform—she was a true actress who loved her craft, a woman who took pride in her life as a performer.
But this aristocratic society, unfortunately, was not lenient enough to allow a beautiful commoner actress to practice freely the art she adored.
‘Let her give her all to acting just this once, in this lifetime.’
I sprang to my feet to execute my plan. My father, who had been leaning back indolently in his chair with his arms crossed, looked up at me.
“Wait here for just a moment. I’m going to get Sera Wigo’s autograph.”
“What? Hold on—”
Leaving my flustered father behind, I hurried toward the waiting room at the back of the theater.
The area in front of the waiting room was already crowded with people hoping to catch even a glimpse of Sera Wigo or shake her hand.
I tapped the arm of a man standing at the very back with the fan I was holding and spoke.
“Could you move aside?”
Everyone turned to look, apparently surprised by the voice of a young girl.
I pushed through the now-silent crowd and approached the theatrical company staff member guarding the waiting room entrance.
“I’m Ruybetria Diolus. I’ve been a fan of Sera Wigo’s for some time now, and I came hoping to see her face today.”
“Ah!”
The man’s eyes widened the moment I revealed my status.
He quickly disappeared into the waiting room, and returned in less than a minute to say:
“Miss Diolus, what an immense honor your visit brings us. This way, please.”
“Thank you.”
The power of rank is supreme.
I left behind the envious gazes of the crowd that had been murmuring outside the waiting room and entered.
Inside, I saw a row of vanities with mirrors arranged in a line. Sera Wigo sat quietly in one corner of this ordinary waiting room.
She greeted me with a somewhat startled expression.
“It’s an honor that you’ve come to see me, Miss.”
‘Goodness, she really is beautiful up close. No wonder she’s famous in this business.’
In her early twenties, at the height of her beauty, Sera was a striking woman with lustrous golden hair and transparent skin.
I examined her delicate, distinctly expressive features with genuine admiration and spoke.
“It’s lovely to meet you. I know it’s impolite to visit so suddenly, but I wanted to see your face so badly that I couldn’t resist—forgive my rudeness.”
Her eyes widened in surprise at my courteous greeting.
No matter how successful, a commoner is still a commoner. Moreover, the profession of actress was viewed by nobles merely as the work of pretty buffoons who existed to entertain their cultural pursuits.
So it was rare for someone of high birth to show such respect, and Sera seemed taken aback by my manner.
She stared at me blankly for a moment, then gestured hastily with her hands.
“No, Miss. For me, it’s a great honor. You’re welcome to visit anytime. Please, sit here—”
“Thank you for saying that. Your performance today was truly wonderful. The monologue scene with Helga in the middle was absolutely superb.”
I took the seat she offered and continued.
“Helga knows she must abandon her feelings for Simon, yet her desire for him torments her all the more—that’s the heart of her character. So ‘The Death of Helga’ is, fundamentally, a play where the anguish of a lovesick woman must be the focal point of expression.”
Sera, seated across from me, fell silent.
“So while everyone raves about the final suicide scene, the part that impressed me most was different. That monologue of Helga’s, you know? When she resolves to stay at Simon’s side and confesses her guilt in viewing her own heart as greed—I’d like to call that the true climax of the play.”
“…”
“I may be mistaken, but you seemed to put the most care into that very scene. Your acting there was truly exquisite.”
Sera’s eyes widened as she listened to me, her daze breaking.
“…Yes, exactly. Helga carries such profound inner conflict. So when I first received the script, that monologue was what struck me most deeply. She must let Simon go because she loves him, she knows that’s what’s best for him, but even knowing that, she can’t release her selfish hold on him. The agony that brings.”
Listening to Sera chatter away like a fish in water, I felt a bittersweet ache.
‘An actress born to love her craft, yet she’ll retire young and waste away as nothing more than some old nobleman’s mistress…’
“Oh, and when she pushed Simon’s fiancée Isabel down the stairs—that was brilliant too. The audience was so shocked by Isabel tumbling down the stairs that they focused entirely on that, but I was more captivated by what came just before—”
“Just before…?”
“Helga’s hesitation before the push. The way you portrayed her inner turmoil—the mixture of hatred and guilt toward Isabel creating such confusion—was extraordinary. I was so absorbed in that internal struggle that I barely noticed Isabel falling. You really did put tremendous effort into that part, didn’t you?”
Sera’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Exactly! If that part isn’t handled carefully, Helga becomes just a flat, villainous character blinded by love.”
“Precisely.”
“She’s committed a crime, yes, but the audience must come to understand it somehow. That’s why I practice that scene over and over, even before bed.”
Sera, brimming with excitement, spoke with deep emotion as she watched me smile.
“I’ve received many interpretations of my work until now, but yours feels different somehow. That you would recognize the very parts I’ve thought about and worried over the most…”
She continued, her eyes bright with both joy and surprise.
“Just your visit was already an honor, but I never imagined you’d have such deep knowledge of theater. It makes me truly happy. Thank you for such kind words.”
“I should be thanking you for such fine performance.”
Having debuted at six and spent nearly my whole life as an actress, there’d be something wrong if my eye didn’t match that of a professional.
Sera seemed delighted to finally have a real conversation, her expression animated as she continued chattering eagerly.
“Miss, if you don’t mind, might I treat you to a meal? We could talk a bit more—”
That’s when it happened.
Knock, knock. An urgent rapping at the door, followed by the theatrical staff member’s voice calling through.
“S-Sera. Count Ergeti is on his way here right now…”
Sera’s expression visibly hardened.
Count Ergeti. In my past life, the elderly nobleman who had taken her as his mistress.
‘If my guess is right, he’s the very reason she came to choose death.’
Sera rose with a darkened face and moved toward the waiting room door. At that moment, the door burst open.
“Sera!”
“C-Count…”
Count Ergeti, who had rudely kicked open the door, appeared to be at least twenty years my father’s senior.
With a repugnant leer plastered across his face, he abruptly pulled Sera into an embrace and buried his face against her neck. Her expression was plainly one of disgust and revulsion.
‘Is this man out of his mind?’
I jumped to my feet and approached him.
“Please, stop. There’s someone here who arrived first.”
At Sera’s words, the count finally noticed me, his face darkening with displeasure at this unexpected interruption.
“…What?”
His smug hand remained firmly gripping Sera’s arm.
Suppressing my revulsion, I brought down my fan sharply against his hand.
Thwack.
“Ow—”
The count flinched in shock, and Sera’s breath caught.
I let my irritation show plainly as I spoke coldly.
“Let go.”

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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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