Chapter 014

<Episode 14>

“Did you hear? It sold so much, so of course…”

“Even so, it is a pitifully small amount compared to the debt the princess owes.”

“It’s not wrong, but what I’m saying is that there are future possibilities….”

“Alfredo, bring the princess’s debt details.”

Alfredo immediately handed the Count some paper.

The Count held it out to me again.

I looked at it quietly and frowned.

It’s more than I expected…?

It was natural. The paper handed out to me included not only the cost of the theater, but also the money I had borrowed to buy jewelry, the cost of the pottery I broke after drinking, my lodging and food expenses….

“The cost of the chocolate I ate?”

I made a subtle expression as I pointed to the bottom line of the ledger with strange words written on it in increasingly detailed detail.

Honestly, all of the above made sense.

Louisa did something like that. I am not Louisa, but it is natural for me to pay back.

But when I came home yesterday, the maid asked me if I was tired and the chocolate she gave me was paid?

What kind of robbery is this?

“Count, were you planning to receive this from me?”

As expected, Arnaud Dietze’s malice toward Luisa is immeasurable.

I felt a little discouraged.

But for some reason, the Count avoided my eyes and cleared his throat, as if he was a little embarrassed.

“Hmm…. Isn’t it obvious? Money doesn’t come from digging, princess.”

It’s not wrong, but it’s rude.

“So, until you repay this money, it would be better to focus on theater rather than trivial things like breaking off an engagement.”

“Why is breaking up an engagement boring? Breaking off an engagement is also important.”

The Count continued as if ignoring my words.

“I will pay you 30 million derks to stand on stage wearing this necklace. I was planning to increase White Friars’ investment anyway. A total of 50 million derk, including the investment of 20 million derk.”

The Count motioned to Alfredo, and Alfredo placed a bag of gold coins in front of me.

“……!”

50 million derks.

The money with which I sold my grandfather’s sword, the money with which I bought the emperor’s life, has returned before my eyes.

‘That’s fun.’

“Does the investment also have to be repaid?”

When I asked calmly, the Count nodded.

“Is 30 million derk my money, and is the 20 million derk investment money that I have to repay?”

When I asked calmly, the Count nodded.

“However, we will deduct it from the ticket price. The total price of the sign sold so far is 30 million derk, so if you subtract the investment amount of 20 million derk, the amount to be settled is 10 million derk.”

It was a quick calculation.

30 million derks.

I was quite fascinated by that word.

I don’t know how much it would be if converted to Korean money because it was a very old era, but 30 million Derk is the amount of money an average person would have to work for 10 years to earn.

I earned that money.

With a play.

‘It’s something we can’t even dream of in Korea.’

Is there a world where you can become a tycoon through theater? And that place is here?

Rather, it was a moment when possession was considered a blessing.

This was a possibility. In the future, I might be able to make a living on my own without having to live at the count’s residence that hates me.

I quickly stuck my nose into the plate and ate the meat.

“……?”

“I have to eat quickly and leave. To make the actors practice.”

The Count looked at me a little puzzled.

* * *

“…….”

“…….”

It’s awkward.

I looked out the car window and thought.

As it happened, only two people, Leo and I, were riding in this carriage.

I was going downtown to get my stage costume fitted before going to practice.

The reason I went with Leo was because as Juliet’s costume changed, I wanted to match Romeo’s costume to a better one.

‘Because I have money.’

There were so many things I wanted to do with this.

There was no limit to how much money was spent on plays.

‘Maybe we can add a little more stage equipment to the next play.’

First of all, I wanted to renovate the stage a bit, even though I can’t do it for a while because there are performances scheduled every day.

‘It creaks every time I move, so I thought I was going to die from walking around on tiptoe during the dark war.’

And the most important thing.

I really wanted to create a theater company by hiring aspiring actors.

To do that, you have to go to auditions and spend more money than you do now to develop star actors.

‘I need to find a face that will become a star with the method acting style I want.’

Theater is basically an actor’s art.

If you train a star actor well, a medium-budget film can become a huge hit, or you can save money from a flop.

In addition, with a few strong supporting actors, the work could have been made more in-depth than it is now.

The actors we have now are all newbies, as they were hired by Rudy in a hurry.

It was clear that once this play was over, everyone would shake their hands and leave without any regrets.

You can tell that just by looking at their attitude during practice.

‘If we have to be honest, Leo Peer is also an outcast.’

Leo Peer originally caught the eye of the Marquess of Burbage and became an imperial knight.

This is about a year and a half from now.

To pull it off, I needed to make it more noticeable to the Marquess of Burbage, and I was thinking of several options.

‘The problem is that we might need to do at least one more play to do that.’

Take this bastard.

He also gets smudged because of his face, and he can’t make his acting dirty.

“You.”

When I broke the awkward silence and opened my mouth, Leo grinned.

“What. Aren’t you going to maintain an awkward atmosphere?”

“Don’t stutter in your monologue. It’s obvious that I didn’t memorize that part properly, so I memorize it more to match the costume. In that part, Romeo has to say it as if he is in love and possessed, but he rolls his eyes and thinks about the lines in between.”

“Now…. Is that what you were thinking?”

“Then?”

“I thought you were reminiscing about our kiss again.”

“This spoiled slave….”

Squeak.

It was then.

The inside of the car shook as the carriage came to a halt.

My body lost balance and almost fell towards Leo.

Leo quickly grabbed my arm.

Nice catch.

I felt grateful to him for accepting what could have been a fall.

Wee.

Because the moment I thought that, Leo pulled me.

“…What are you doing…?”

It was only a slight fall, but Leo pulled me up and before I knew it, I was sitting on his thighs.

Leo smiled and spoke in a whisper.

“If you pretend to lose your balance and fall on me, you’ll be in trouble, master. It’s dangerous.”

I looked into the golden eyes of the shameless bullshit.

In the original, there was no mention of this guy being this crazy.

And then, the carriage door opened wide.

“Princess, I’m sorry, but there’s something wrong with the carriage, so you have to walk from here….”

The driver’s eyes widened as he opened the carriage door.

It was at that time that the coachman was contemplating whether or not to close the carriage door.

Some of the citizens, who had obviously seen Dienche’s seal, started whispering as they saw me sitting on the slave’s lap in the carriage.

“That woman….”

“It’s her.”

Yes, it’s me.

Luisa Mecenat.

A crazy, crazy princess who was caught enjoying a secret affair with a man in a carriage.

Thinking that, I gritted my teeth and tried to get off the carriage.

I might get stoned, so I’m going to get into the dressing room quickly.

But that was then.

Someone rushed at me.

“Excuse me….”

I quickly closed my eyes as an object suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

That’s right. Am I being stabbed?

After a while, when I felt no pain anywhere, I opened my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, there was a red rose.

“Theater…. I enjoyed it.”

“…….”

I quietly looked at the flower that stuck out like a knife.

And I also saw a girl full of freckles holding the flower.

“…….”

The girl’s hands were trembling.

You’re giving me this now?

As my eyebrows furrowed, the girl’s face visibly turned white.

The girl behind me said.

He seemed to be around the same age, and the way he spoke was friendly, making him seem like a friend.

“Let’s just go, Elise. There is a rumor that that princess eats people.”

Did the rumor go that far?

That was when I laughed inside.

A girl named Elise whispered to her friend in a trembling voice.

“But I’ve never seen the princess eat a person. I first saw the princess at a performance. Very…. It was good.”

The moment I saw that shy smile, I felt strange.

Playing Juliet, I tried my best to defend Luisa Mecenat.

I hoped it would at least excuse her evil deeds.

But I never expected anyone to have a ‘favorite’ interest in Luisa Mecenat.

Because I went too far with that.

Because Louisa is a woman who deserves to be hated.

Because everyone thinks that way.

Because that is the essence of ‘humanity’.

However, there are people who believe in ‘what they have seen’ rather than rumors.

At least this girl in front of me.

I looked at the roses for a moment, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry if you felt bad….”

Elise must have thought that I was still glaring at her as she tried to collect the roses.

I quickly picked up the flower.

“Have you not even heard the rumor?”

“Yes?”

Elise shrugged her shoulders at my cold voice.

“I only collect beautiful things.”

“…That, that, that….”

When I looked down at myself, Elise lowered her head.

It seemed like he thought the rose he was holding out was not beautiful.

I held Elise’s chin.

Then he lifted one corner of his mouth and smiled.

“So if you were going to give me a gift, you should have done something like this and not something trivial like this.”

I kissed Elise briefly on the cheek.

As soon as their lips separated, Elise’s eyes widened.

“You are more beautiful.”

As soon as I finished speaking, his face turned bright red from the cheek I kissed to his cheekbones and ears.

What. I meant it.

He had a pretty nice face.

A typical face of an ordinary person. However, because of the slightly protruding cheekbones and chin, you can play a unique role if you apply a bit more makeup.

It’s not a face that can become a leading role right away, but if you have acting skills, you can act in a wide spectrum.

Besides, my play was fun, I just said the right things with my pretty lips.

By the way….

‘Contact.’

What I hated so much has become easier than I thought.

Is it because it was after I kissed Leo?

I smiled happily and said to Elise.

“If you really enjoy the play, come audition.”

“Audition?”

“Okay. I’m thinking of starting a theater company. I will take a special long look at you.”

It meant grinding hard, but the girl didn’t seem to understand what he meant.

Dump.

I motioned to Leo as I heard the sound of the girl falling behind me.

“Come quickly. I don’t have enough practice time.”

I heard a murmur around me.

Half of them were cursing me, and half of them were saying things in a dazed voice.

“Sister…. I… Take it….”

What do you have?

I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you spread rumors about the theater company little by little like this, people will gather, right?

I didn’t expect the disaster that would happen later at the audition and was just proud.