The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 134

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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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In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 134

He spoke without hiding his delight.
“I won’t let you fail.”
Artia laughed softly.
“How exactly? By threatening the entire Empire and forcing them to watch the performance?”
It was meant as a joke, but Killian von Orpheus nodded readily.
“If that’s what you want.”
“…?!”
Killian von Orpheus continued speaking to Artia, whose eyes had widened as if they might burst from her skull.
“But with that method, your venture wouldn’t be recognized as a success. You know that as well as I do.”
Killian von Orpheus understood Artia better than anyone else.
The woman who appeared delicate and gentle at first glance needed to achieve what she wanted with her own hands to feel satisfied.
The one fortunate thing was that she now permitted him to help her.
“Tell me if there’s anything I can do. Anything at all.”
The words Killian von Orpheus uttered carried considerable weight.
His “anything” truly meant “anything in the entire world.”
It was far too grand to be called mere friendship’s favor.
The moment Artia gazed at Killian von Orpheus with complicated emotions… Bang! The door burst open and Lamb rushed in.
Mikhail and Sandra had attempted to restrain him by grabbing both his arms, but they had failed.
With a face like a corpse that had sprung from a grave, he shouted with wild, blinking eyes.
“Your Majesty! Please take the role of Shine!”
Killian von Orpheus was not compassionate enough to sympathize with madness.
However, knowing that Lamb was the genius director Artia had mentioned, he decided to listen to what he was rambling about instead of striking him down.
“A face so beautiful that it captivates all eyes without uttering a single word! There is no one in this entire Empire more suited to the role of Shine than Your Majesty!”
Lamb cried out desperately in a hoarse voice.
Killian von Orpheus turned his gaze from him and asked Artia.
“Is what the director says true?”
“…Your Majesty’s image differs greatly from the character, but Shine is indeed the most beautiful man in the play.”
She said this and was newly astonished.
How could a person be made like that?
Despite seeing him so often, his face still frequently took her breath away.
Killian von Orpheus slowly closed his eyes, then opened them as he spoke.
“Shall I take on that role?”
Yes!!!!!!
Mikhail covered Lamb’s mouth just as he was about to answer without any sense of propriety.
Artia took a beat before responding, clearly taken aback.
“You’re joking, aren’t you?”
“No.”
Right—he wasn’t the type to make jokes. Though he did have a habit of uttering things one might wish were jokes.
Artia spoke in a flustered rush.
“But Your Highness has never acted before.”
“I have.”
“When?”
“Always.”
As the imperial prince, Killian von Orpheus had to conceal his true nature behind a mask, making him adept at acting.
Whenever the situation demanded it, he could perform without hesitation.
Yet Artia found herself unable to nod in agreement.
“If Your Highness were to act, the entire world would descend into chaos.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted to create?”
“I want the work to be recognized on its own merit, not riding on Your Highness’s fame.”
Artia continued, her voice rising slightly with conviction.
“Above all, I won’t have your honor tarnished.”
Artia found acting magnificent, but society’s perception was far different.
Acting was regarded as a base pursuit—something only commoners engaged in.
If the likely heir to the throne were to take the stage in such an atmosphere, a torrent of condemnation would inevitably follow.
“It doesn’t matter. If I’d cared about reputation, I wouldn’t have earned the title of the mad prince in the first place—”
Killian von Orpheus fell silent.
Artia was glaring at him, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Genuinely, truly displeased.
How adorable.
Killian von Orpheus gazed at her intently before speaking.
“I won’t do it, so drop that frightening expression. My legs are trembling so badly I’m on the verge of tears.”
“…That was wise of you.”
As Artia released a relieved sigh and her fierce expression softened, Killian von Orpheus felt a twinge of disappointment.
Perhaps I should have been more stubborn.

Only after Killian von Orpheus left did Lamb finally break free from Mikhail’s restraint, tears streaming down his face.
“Artia, even now, you should go to His Highness and ask him to play the role of Shine, yes?”
Mikhail, who had come to restrain Lamb again, furrowed his brow.
“Stop spouting nonsense. How could a prince of the realm possibly act?”
Lamb let out a piercing shriek.
“Why not! It’s not illegal! Besides, everything about the performance we’re preparing is unprecedented. If the Nobility can invest in creating a performance, and if we’re adapting a novel written for women as our source material, then surely His Highness can take the stage as well, can’t he?!”
Sandra, who had been quiet until now, nodded her head.
“I agree. If His Highness were to perform on stage, it would be extraordinary. Every woman in the Empire might fall for him?”
In that instant, Artia’s shoulders stiffened. Unaware of this, Sandra continued.
“Oh, but then the male lead would be in trouble. Don’t worry—I’ll be the one to love the Duke of the Northern Region.”
Mikhail’s expression turned sour.
“Not necessary.”
“My, really? Then I shouldn’t keep my loyalty and should go to His Highness instead~.”
“And you think he’d accept you?”
“You don’t think he would?”
Sandra’s drooping eyes curved like a crescent moon as she lifted the corners of her mouth.
From the dignified noblewoman emanated a provocative allure rarely felt before.
Mikhail clicked his tongue and shook his head, but Artia’s gaze turned cold.
Artia clenched her fists.
‘His Highness will never set foot on that stage.’
I’ll find a way to save Shine, no matter what it takes.

* * *

Artia pondered the matter.
‘What if I searched for someone suited to play Shine outside the realm of acting?’
Dancers, singers, even those charming rogues who set the hearts of women aflutter these days….
Like a prospector gleaming with fervor as he searched for gold, Artia sought out men reputed for their beauty with an eager gaze.
Though each possessed striking features, none matched the image of Shine that dwelled in her mind.
“O maiden more beautiful than flowers, might you spare me time more precious than gold?”
To the charming rogue who winked with one eye, Artia replied with courtesy.
“No.”
Artia turned away at once and murmured to herself.
“I really must go there.”
Shortly after, Artia arrived at a slum on the outskirts of the Convent.
This place possessed a distinctly different character from other slums—its residents were not Empire citizens but Kudran people brought here by a war that had occurred a century ago.
All the people visible on the shabby streets possessed deeply toned skin.
Artia’s pink eyes, hidden beneath a pulled-up hood, sparkled with delight.
‘This is precisely the skin tone I imagined for Shine.’
Though not explicitly stated in the novel, Shine possessed the distinctive features of a Kudran.
When I asked about casting an actor, Dahlia had nodded in agreement.
Yet the reason I had not come here sooner was the insularity of the Kudran people.
With their homeland destroyed and nowhere else to turn, the Kudran had remained in the Empire, where they had endured centuries of enslavement.
Even now, more than twenty years after slavery’s abolition, the persecuted naturally feared Empire citizens and had gathered to live among themselves.
Artia’s face, concealed by the hood, grew troubled.
‘Even if I find someone perfectly suited for the role of Shine, they won’t readily agree to become an actor. Will I be able to persuade them….’
Then Artia’s eyes widened.
An elderly man walking in the distance suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Artia rushed toward the old man in alarm.
“Are you all right?!”
But the old man was in no condition to answer. He gasped for breath in ragged, wheezing sounds.
Artia cried out urgently.
“We need to take him to the Doctor, Bibi!”
“Yes.”
Bibi nodded and scooped the old man into her arms.
Artia grabbed the nearest person and asked.
“Where is the closest physician from here?”
But upon seeing Artia’s face hidden beneath the hood, he uttered words she could not comprehend, then wrenched his hand from hers and fled.
The next person reacted the same way.
‘Are they doing this because I’m an Empire citizen?’
Artia was taken aback by the intensity of their reaction.
Bibi, who held the old man, spoke.
“Shall I seize someone and force them to guide us?”

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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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