The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 148

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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 148

When we began rehearsals together, everyone’s eyes widened at hearing “I can’t” for the first time.
“Why can’t you?! You have to! You’re capable of it! Please, just do it. Please….”
Lamb seized Luka and erupted into desperation.
But Luka could only apologize.
Unable to bear it any longer, Artia stepped forward.
“Mikhail, please take the director outside.”
Mikhail dragged away Lamb, who was throwing a childish tantrum, insisting he absolutely wouldn’t leave until he heard Luka’s song.
Sandra, quick to read the room, led the other actors out as well.
Only Artia and Luka remained in the empty Practice Room.
Luka’s shoulders sagged as he hung his head.
Like a puppy terrified of being scolded by its master.
Artia called his name with careful tenderness.
“Luka.”
“Yes….”
The voice that had rung out so clearly during acting practice was now barely audible, thin as a whisper.
Artia gazed at Luka, whose eyes had reddened, and asked gently.
“You’re someone who works hard at everything without complaint. I don’t think you’d say you can’t do something without reason. If there’s a reason you won’t sing, could you tell me?”
“….”
Luka’s violet eyes trembled violently.
Artia didn’t press him, waiting calmly instead.
After a long silence, Luka finally forced himself to speak.
“Madame Tungguel once made me sing.”

* * *

It hadn’t been long since I became Madam Tinguere’s servant.
Madam Tinguere summoned her friends to show off her newly acquired servant.
The women exclaimed with delight upon seeing me.
“My goodness, he’s the finest I’ve seen yet. Wherever did you find such a treasure?”
“Let me borrow him for just a few days.”
Elated by her friends’ enthusiastic reactions, Madam Tinguere’s thick lips curved upward.
“Absolutely not. But I’ll let you all admire him to your heart’s content today.”
Following Madam Tinguere’s orders, I poured wine for the women.
The women, their faces flushed from drink, savored the attention of a rare and beautiful young man.
As time passed, the women, including Madam Tinguere, grew increasingly intoxicated.
One woman, her face reddened, pointed at me and spoke.
“This is getting tedious. Make him do something. Surely he can do more than just smile and pour wine?”
At the woman’s provocative remark, Madam Tinguere’s eyebrows shot up.
She despised the notion of her plaything being disrespected.
“Luka.”
“Yes, mistress.”
“Sing a song for us.”
“…!”
When I first heard this command, bewilderment flickered across my face, but Madam Tinguere paid it no mind.
“Go on.”
I had to obey whatever my master commanded.
That was how I had survived as a parentless child of Kudran.
Standing before the women, I steadied my trembling hands with effort.
Soon, my clear voice began to resonate through the stale air.
With no songs I knew, I sang the lullaby my grandmother had sung to me in childhood.
The beauty of the melody was so striking that the intoxication seemed to vanish from the women’s faces in an instant, their eyes widening.
Madam Tinguere was no exception.
She hadn’t expected the child she’d taken based solely on appearance to possess such a talent.
The moment the song ended, Madam Tinguere spoke.
“Keep singing.”
I could only stop singing after all the women had drunk themselves into slumber.
The next day, Madam Tinguere spoke with a face ravaged by hangover.
“Your voice is passable, but your song choice was utterly childish. A lullaby? It ruins the taste of wine.”
She made me learn new songs.
They were all vulgar pieces expressing love through crude language.
From then on, I had to sing the songs I’d learned at Madam Tinguere’s nightly gatherings every evening.
The women laughed with flushed, excited faces.
Some spoke in teasing tones, asking if I was trying to seduce them.
My stomach churned, and I felt as though I might retch.
Yet I could not stop singing.
There had been no order to stop.
But Luka’s body could not endure the relentless strain of daily practice, and eventually his voice cracked like that of a sickly man.
One of the women clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“What a waste. It’s already broken.”
“Hasn’t this happened before? Take better care of your things, Madame Tungguel.”
The women had spoken in jest, but Madame Tungguel took offense.
“What an embarrassment in front of everyone. Can’t you sing properly?”
Intimidated by Madame Tungguel’s threat, Luka opened his mouth.
But his voice still would not come out properly.
Furious, Madame Tungguel shoved a glass of harsh liquor into Luka’s mouth right there.

* * *

“After that, I received treatment from the Doctor and my voice recovered, but whenever I tried to sing, I would become breathless and unable to open my mouth. As this repeated, Madame Tungguel eventually stopped asking me to sing altogether.”
Artia found herself unable to speak in the face of such a shocking story.
Fury surged toward Madame Tungguel.
At the same time, I felt an overwhelming pity for Luka.
Seeing Artia’s furrowed brow, Luka’s heart sank.
“I’ve done wrong!”
“…!”
“I was so startled earlier that I said I couldn’t do it. But I will do my best to sing again somehow. …Please don’t cast me out.”
Artia’s eyes wavered.
I had known Luka was troubled, but I never imagined he harbored such thoughts.
Artia spoke to Luka, whose expression seemed on the verge of tears.
“I would never cast out such a precious actor of the Edenberg Theater Troupe over something like that.”
“…!”
“If it’s difficult, you don’t have to sing. Let’s just proceed with the original script.”
Luka’s head snapped up.
“But both you and the director were looking forward to that scene so much.”
“That’s true. But a scene isn’t worth preserving if it means reopening an actor’s wounds.”
“….”
“So don’t worry about what happened today. Treat it as if it never occurred and erase it from your memory. Do you understand, Luka?”
Her gentle voice held nothing but concern for Luka.

* * *

The next day, the servant who shared a room with Luka asked him a question.
“You always rush out early in the morning, but why aren’t you going anywhere today?”
“My lady gave me the day off.”
Last night, Artia’s directive had suddenly come down to the entire theater troupe.
Since we’d been running without rest all this time, she ordered everyone to spend today recuperating and recharging their energy.
“That’s nice. I wish my day off would come soon too….”
The servant left the room with an envious expression.
But Luka, left alone in the chamber, wore an awkward expression.
I had received a day off for the first time in my life. Yet I had no idea how to spend this empty time.
Above all, yesterday’s events kept weighing on my mind.
‘My lady said I didn’t have to sing, but I feel so sorry.’
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to sing.
‘Why am I like this?’
As I sat with my head bowed and shoulders drooping, a knock sounded at the door followed by a familiar voice.
“Luka, are you——”
Before the words could finish, Luka sprang to his feet and rushed out.
Upon opening the door, there stood Artia, much to his surprise.
“My lady, how did you come to be here…?”
“I wanted to show you something. Come along.”
Following behind Artia, Luka wondered to himself.
‘What could she possibly want to show me?’
The thought was fleeting, however, as his gaze was drawn to her silhouette.
I had seen many slender women, but Artia stood out among them with her delicate frame.
Her long silver hair, shimmering in the sunlight, carried a pleasant fragrance—not the heavy scent of perfume or the sharp smell of alcohol, but a subtle floral aroma.
“Luka.”
The moment Artia turned her head, Luka’s face flushed crimson.
“Yes!”
“I’ve been too inattentive all this time. I should have looked after you before you had to speak up.”
“…?”
Luka tilted his head, unable to understand what she meant, but then his eyes widened.
In the garden bathed in brilliant sunlight, a small figure came into view.
Luka’s expression shifted to one of disbelief before he bolted forward.
“Grandmother!”
On the day Artia had brought Luka, she had sent Bibi to his grandmother.
“Luka will be staying at the Edenberke Estate. My lady said she would prepare a room where Luka’s grandmother can stay with him during his time here.”
Noma was startled upon hearing the situation, but she shook her head.
“I’ve already received such tremendous kindness. I don’t wish to impose any further. Your words alone are gratitude enough, and more than enough.”

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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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