Chapter 020

<Episode 20>

I regretted watching Arno’s expression crumple in real time.

I didn’t mean to eat with these bastards.

One of them is the one who will kill me directly. One of them is a bastard who will report me and kill me.

For some reason, I felt like I was in the dew of the execution ground.

That was when I sat down and pretended as best as I could that I didn’t hear Leo’s nonsense. Arno spoke in a voice so suppressed that one side of his face convulsed.

“It seems like a really valuable item. He said he would take me to the party tomorrow. Even to the party to be held in the main castle of Mecenat.”

“Oh, that’s-.”

“Without saying anything to me.”

“…….”

Right. I didn’t even tell Arno that I was going to the party.

I thought there was no benefit to me if I told you.

It was clear that Arno would not like me, still his fiancee, going to the party with male actors.

If I told you, I was planning to go and do it.

If I go to that party and show a two-person play, everyone at that party will know that I am a person with other uses besides rolling around in bed with male actors.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yeah….”

“I guess they didn’t want to take me to Mecenat Castle.”

Who?

Before I knew it, I quietly watched Arno eating the bread with an angry look on his face.

Do you really think I didn’t want to take you?

Why?

Ah, no way-.

‘Is it because of the difference in status?’

In fact, both Arno and Louisa are nobles. However, the Dientse was a family that had run a business in a place other than the empire, settled down when they started business in the empire, and used the money to win the favor of the emperor at the time and become nobles.

In short, it means that in the eyes of the empire’s nobles, it is a family without honor or history.

And this fact also influenced Arno in the original.

To brutally kill Louisa, who had ignored him.

‘Shit.’

The misunderstandings that have accumulated here must be resolved.

On the surface, the current situation appears to be Count Arno complaining about not being able to become his fiancee’s partner, but in reality, my words and actions are stimulating Arno’s sense of inferiority.

“The reason I didn’t tell the Count in advance….”

“Because we decided to do a play there. You are of no use to the theater.”

At that time, Leo, who was cutting steak next to me, chewed the meat in his mouth and answered as if it was obvious.

“…….”

“…….”

I felt the atmosphere at the table becoming cold.

Shut up. Stop talking.

The moment I was about to say that, Leo looked at Arno with a grin and holding the knife he was cutting meat with.

“I am a useful being.”

Fuck you.

I shouted impulsively as I saw the murderous look in Arno’s eyes.

“The Count is the most useful person to me!”

“…….”

“…….”

At that moment, the eyes of the two men are focused on me.

One gaze was sharp, and the other gaze clearly showed confusion. I quickly adjusted my words while looking at Arno, who had a confused face.

“Because I am a supporter of theater. I can’t do the play without the Count.”

“He is also a person who takes money in return for that.”

But Leo didn’t let that go.

He pointed at the meat he had cut with a disgusting face that pretended to be innocent.

“How much is this, Count? Isn’t this all accumulating as our master’s debt?”

‘I made Romeo do it for no reason.’

Your acting as a rebel is the best.

“I brought a rat into the house.”

The Count’s cold voice echoed through the dining room.

“How dare you eavesdrop on the owners’ conversation?”

“I didn’t listen. I saw it. The scene where the maids walk around calculating everything that my master and I eat and wear.”

As I looked at Leo talking with his eyes shining, I realized what this bastard wanted to do.

Separation.

So you’re driving a wedge between me and my fiancé.

That’s why he thinks it’s easy for him to seduce me.

Okay. That strategy seems to be working very well.

“If you knew it was a debt, shouldn’t you just destroy the count’s property and get out of the way?”

“You said that to my master too, right? Many times.”

“When did I….”

“With your eyes, facial expressions, and voice.”

It was then. Leo glared at the count with a murderous face.

I felt like anyone would see that I was really angry. Absolutely not.

This is ‘acting’.

“You can tell when you play a play. People speak not just with words, but with their voices, facial expressions, and eyes. Especially you. Why do you think they don’t take you to Mecenat Nature? There are only people out there who only want to bite our master. Not only Catherine, the host of the party, but also the Mecenat family, collateral families involved in money issues, and noble families all want to see the master humiliated there.”

Surprisingly, you understand the essence of the party you are going to tomorrow very well. This guy.

Moreover, while doing this ‘acting’, he was so completely immersed in his lines that he stopped acting like a ruthless person and maintained perfect table manners.

Even a single cut of the knife exudes elegance.

There is life in the eyes.

Every expression on his face shows that he has been educated by a king since he was very young.

‘…Prince.’

Now this guy is not Romeo. The rebellious face suddenly disappeared and he became a prince.

I felt strange.

Until now, this guy has never been so immersed in the appearance of a ‘prince’…

It was then that I realized something.

‘I hid it on purpose until now.’

Because he thought he should not reveal himself as a prince.

If you think about it, it’s natural. Leo doesn’t trust anyone right now.

Leo’s face has changed a lot over the past 9 years, so although it is written in the original that many people do not recognize Leo, some nobles recognized him right away.

Especially those who saw Leo closely, like the Marquis of Burbage.

So, for Leo, this performance is definitely a play that cannot be missed.

Romeo and Juliet is, after all, a play for commoners that is performed in large theaters.

The nobles come, but they only see Romeo dressed up from afar.

However, since this two-person play is being performed on a small stage in a banquet hall that can hardly be called a stage, they think there is a high possibility that their true identity will be discovered.

Even his role is ‘prince’.

However, there is another reason why I would take such a risk and bring Leo to a performance.

This is because in the original work, a person who will help Leo appears there.

“But there’s no need to add you to that. Count.”

Leo gritted his teeth and looked at the count. At that moment, the hand holding the knife gained strength.

It looked like an emperor holding a sword.

I looked at Leo dumbfounded and then opened my mouth.

“Stop.”

I almost lost consciousness for a moment, but I had to quickly resolve the situation.

This situation where a slave or something dares to confront his master.

“Stop. The Count….”

So I turned my head and looked at the Count.

But something was a little strange.

“The Count is a benefactor to me just by having me. I can’t ask for more than that.”

For some reason, the count had a blank expression on his face.

Of course I thought he would get angry at Leo, but he didn’t and he just looked at me quietly.

As if he was a sad person.

* * *

“Why on earth did you say that?”

After leaving the dining room, I caught up with Leo for a moment.

For some reason, the Count had a stern expression on his face throughout the meal and was only focused on the meal. There was no further reaction to Leo’s scoffing.

‘I’m offended.’

Although he failed to appease the Count, Leo has something to make clear.

That was when I was thinking that. Leo stuck out his cheek.

“…?”

“No matter what the reason, you’re going to get hit.”

Ha. Okay. This is Luisa Mecenat’s current position.

A wicked woman who thinks it’s okay to hit people when she’s angry.

I was dumbfounded and just glared at him.

“Why me?”

“Because you said something rude to your fiancé, who wanted to look good even while crying.”

“…The Count is the one who can get you and me out of here.”

“But there is no reason for the master to cry in front of him.”

Oh, stop talking about his luck.

I was about to say that, but I saw Leo’s expression and kept my mouth shut. His face looked really annoyed.

“Master, you are not the kind of person who will cry just because you are kicked out of the mansion. I don’t know if they at least threatened to take the play away from the owner.”

“……!”

Somehow, I feel like I hit the nail on the head.

“Anyway, thanks to this slave’s arrogance, the Count didn’t dare to ask him to put on a play at that party.”

I tilted my head at the next words.

“Did you show off in front of the Count so that he would let me do the play?”

“Okay.”

“Why?”

Even though I don’t like theater.

During practice, I didn’t show even 1/10th of what I just did.

“Because you like it.”

Leo looked at me and smiled seductively.

“Because I like you.”

Oh really.

Maybe this kid is good.

What on earth should I, as a director, do with this guy who acts 24 hours a day but never shows real acting?

I thought for a moment.

“I like you too.”

The moment I said those words, Leo’s expression hardened.

As I saw him twist in confusion for a moment, I knew I had hit the nail on the head.

I decided to aim for the moment when the face that pretended to like me turned into disgust and contempt.

Of course, I could pretend I really fell for this guy.

I could have caught this guy off guard by pretending to be in love with him.

But I’m not interested in ‘love’.

When I act out something I’m not interested in, it inevitably shows.

‘Love you.’

I became disgusted with that word from a very young age.

So this time, it is not ‘acting’ but ‘sincerity’.

Because real acting starts from the real ‘me’.

“I really like your acting.”

“…….”

Strangely, disappointment appeared on Leo’s face.

I was serious.

The whole time I was reading the original, I liked his acting. The male lead in the original story hid his identity and deceived many people.

The sight of him controlling everyone so skillfully was truly beautiful.

He ‘controlled’ them perfectly.

“Theatre is a world over which I have complete control. In it, even the human heart is in my hands. Because I can make their hearts stop. The look in the count’s eyes that used to despise me changed after watching the play. The countless people in that castle who despise me will also change. Because we will control those people.”

I looked at Leo.

I said, raising the corners of my mouth. This time, I approached him as if I was tempting him. But I didn’t touch his body.

“You like it too.”

A taste of the stage.

I was the one who saw Romeo cry on stage.

I definitely saw this guy too. The taste of that stage. I’m just trying to deny it in my head.

‘But the head cannot overcome the heart.’

The firm belief that one should not reveal one’s identity cannot overcome a beating heart.

‘It’s only once anyway, and there’s no guarantee that someone who will recognize me will come there. So let me show you. Even once. Let me show you what I have endured.’

I will plant this desire in this guy’s heart right now.

In order to elevate this guy’s acting, I had to control his heart.

Please…. Trust me. Leo Peer.

This play will definitely benefit you.