Chapter 13
The next morning.
I went downstairs looking like a mess; it was the aftermath of the consecutive late nights and the grueling rehearsals I had endured recently.
I felt the need to take care of my body if I wanted to pull through the remaining performances.
‘Since I am the lead, if I catch a cold and lose my voice…’
I don’t even want to think about it.
At least, among these terrible actors, I am in the best shape, though if I were among modern professional actors, I would have been quite flustered.
‘I have to go today as well to train them on the mistakes they made yesterday.’
While I struggled to pry my eyes open and stuffed bread into my mouth, my mind was buzzing with thoughts.
I had to endure watching that bad acting all over again.
‘I wish I could buy a new pair of eyes.’
Of course, if I had the money.
Moving actors requires money, installing lighting requires money, and stage costumes and sets all require money.
Worse still, that damn Leo Pier tore Juliet’s dress yesterday.
‘He couldn’t control his strength.’
Was what we performed a kiss scene or a fight scene?
“This was all my lady’s fault.”
Leo’s words, spoken in a grumbling tone, left me speechless. What kind of guy is he?
But I don’t regret it.
That kiss during the curtain call… well, there might have been an impulsive side to it, but it was mostly a “strategic choice.”
An enjoyable and vivid play? Yes, that’s good.
Rumors might spread and tickets might sell steadily.
But that doesn’t give people enough material to gossip about.
In modern terms, I needed to “generate noise.”
Every art needs something to grab attention.
People leave nice reviews for a beautiful and perfect play, but it doesn’t attract a new audience from outside the usual demographic.
However, if there is something for people to debate and attack, rumors will spread and even those who don’t usually watch plays will come.
The best types of noise are high-intensity kiss scenes, bold exposure, or powerful slaps. And I chose the kiss.
Despite my intense dislike of touch, I wasn’t in a position to be picky; making this play a success was my only way to avoid the inevitable dead end.
‘It was closer to lips brushing than an actual kiss.’
In my life before reincarnation, the number of times I hugged someone could be counted on one hand, let alone a kiss.
I didn’t attach any meaning to touching others, but the feeling was strange, especially since I expected the other party to feel the same way.
I even felt a slight pang of regret seeing Leo flustered with shame.
‘I stole this boy’s first kiss, which was supposed to belong to the heroine.’
In the original novel, Leo pretended to be corrupt to push the heroine away, but it was accurately described that his first kiss was with her.
But while I was lost in these thoughts yesterday, Leo surprised me and kissed my lips first.
Surely, his features and mine together must have sparked a massive controversy.
“The extravagant Duchess kissed someone on stage!”…
The rumors must have filled every corner.
For the premiere, two-thirds of the audience seats were filled.
Two-thirds of the seats in this era meant 200 out of 300 seats, so no matter how cheap the ticket price was, the Count made a decent profit.
That’s not even counting the balcony seats reserved for nobles, which cost ten times more.
But those people came to see the face of the extravagant Duchess, not the play, so I heard that sales for the following shows started to drop.
However, if the noise I manufactured succeeds, I’ll be able to sell out the rest of the shows just like the premiere; rumors are a power not to be underestimated.
So… shouldn’t the Count be giving me generous financial support?
The actors became like walking corpses after yesterday’s performance, and I must feed them something good before starting.
Even in Korea, where theater doesn’t make much money, we used to feed the actors the most delicious food during the run.
I glanced sideways at the Count sitting at the opposite end of the long table.
“Umm…”
As someone in astronomical debt, it was difficult to talk about money.
So I hesitantly changed the subject:
“Have you thought about the matter of breaking the engagement?”
He certainly has; and the answer will be “yes.”
Since he watched the play, he must have realized it will be a success.
This would reduce his worry about me running away with money, and the story of the play will spread through high society, giving him the perfect justification to break the engagement without being blamed alone.
I was so immersed in thinking about the play that I wasn’t truly interested in hearing the answer I thought was obvious.
“No. I haven’t thought about it.”
“Huh?”
This answer changes the course of things completely.
“I had another concern. How I can make more money from this play.”
“But, try to find time to think about breaking our engagement too…”
“All the residents of the Duchy are interested in the jewelry you own. Did you know that?”
Arno directed a sharp gaze toward me, as if it were poisoned. Jewelry?
“Ah, do you mean those massive jewels I allegedly looted from the vault and bought before my grandfather’s death?”
I know the rumors circulating in the Empire well.
It is true that this extravagant woman summoned jewelers to splurge while her grandfather was on his deathbed, but saying the value equaled the Duchy’s budget for an entire year is an exaggeration.
Besides, I don’t own a single piece currently; I left the Ducal castle as if escaping from creditors and took nothing.
“Those jewels…”
“These are the jewels.”
“What?”
I looked in astonishment at the sapphire necklace and the jewel-encrusted dress that Arno pushed toward me with a firm sound.
I was bewildered. Is this for me?
Did he steal my jewelry and dresses from the Ducal castle?
“I don’t remember buying something like this…”
“Of course you won’t remember, because you aren’t the one who bought them. I am the one who bought them. I recently purchased a sapphire mine in the south, and I plan to hire goldsmiths to open a jewelry store in the capital, along with a dress shop as well.”
Then why is he giving them to me?
I felt an idea occur to me and waited for his next words.
“Wear this and go on stage.”
My intuition was right.
He wants me to wear these pieces on stage so they can be promoted naturally.
In other words… this is product placement.
From my perspective as a modern person, it seems old-fashioned, but from the perspective of someone living in this era…
“This is creative!”
“……”
“Your mind works very well in these matters, Count.”
I was truly impressed by his cleverness. I am now the focus of the entire Empire’s attention.
Although I said I would cover my image as an extravagant Duchess with the tragic image of Juliet, that was just an attempt to get some forgiveness.
The image of the wasteful and spiteful woman is deeply rooted and won’t be easily erased.
I just left room for people to think differently through the play, and at the same time, I tried to turn their hatred for me into an image of an attractive villainess.
In this situation, if this wasteful woman appears with a massive sapphire on stage, everyone will wonder where she bought that sapphire.
Public hatred is a double-edged sword; they will hate me, but they will inevitably want to imitate what I do.
“So, what do I get out of this?”
I shifted my tone to one of power and arrogance; since the Count wants to exploit my play for his business, it means he truly liked it.
“I will give you money. 5 million Dirk.”
“20 million Dirk.” I said with a faint smile.
“Ten million.”
“Let’s say 30 million.”
“Why is the price going up?” The Count’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Because my market value is rising at this very moment. Tell him, Alfredo; how many tickets for Romeo and Juliet have been sold so far?”
Alfredo, who was looking at us as if to say “Are they fighting again?”, hesitated and then answered:
“Umm… actually…”
Surely many were sold.
“All the tickets are sold out.”
That’s truly amazing. I turned to Alfredo in shock:
“Today’s show?”
“No, not just today’s show… but all shows, and all seats… they are completely sold out.”
..?
I tried to suppress the expression of shock on my face as much as possible.
It seems the reaction was even hotter than I expected.
