The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 51

Episode 51. The Play

The theater was a refined building decorated with various kinds of dragon statues. The two of them were guided to the VIP room.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke, Your Highness the Grand Duchess, thank you for honoring us with your presence.”

A middle-aged man standing in front of the VIP room greeted them politely. He was the director of the theater.

“Of course we had to come. Thank you for inviting us.”

Emilia answered with a bright smile. At her words, Louid’s expression turned slightly awkward. Though he was the Grand Duke, this was his first time attending a festival performance.

He had always been busy, and because of the risk of assassination, Alex, Aaron, and all his aides had advised him against attending such events.

The two sat on the sofa in the VIP room, drinking tea and chatting with the director.

“Are there any difficulties in running the theater?”

Louid was the first to start the conversation.

“Thanks to Your Highness’s support, we’ve been operating smoothly without any problems.”

Although Louid didn’t particularly enjoy theater, his generous patronage made the Lot Theater Company famous throughout the Empire, and every production they staged was highly acclaimed.

“If there’s ever anything you need, let me know. I’ll make sure to provide support.”

“Thank you very much, Your Highness. We’re presenting a brand-new play this time, and I hope it’ll be to both of your liking.”

Hearing Louid’s offer to continue supporting the troupe, the director responded with delight.

“Oh my, is today the first time this new play is being performed?” Emilia asked with a face full of excitement.

“Yes, it is, Your Highness.”

“I’m really looking forward to it. Aren’t you?”

She turned to Louid with an expectant look.

“I see. I’ll be sure to watch closely.”

At her words, Louid nodded in agreement.

Emilia’s face was flushed with anticipation. It was her first time watching a play, and she was both thrilled and nervous.

Ding… ding….

A long bell rang, signaling the start of the play. The two followed the director’s guidance to the VIP seats on the second floor at the back of the hall.

As expected of the theater’s reputation, there wasn’t a single empty seat.

When the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess took their seats, the lights dimmed, and the play began.

The theater interior was dark, and only the soft candlelight from the chandeliers on either side of the stage illuminated the scene.

When the curtain that had covered the stage was drawn, a set resembling a narrow alleyway behind a row of houses was revealed.

Moments later, a black-haired actor and a blonde-haired actress appeared on stage.

Running from both sides of the stage, the two embraced each other tightly, their faces full of emotion, as if reuniting after a long separation.

“Emily, I love you. I can’t live without you.”

After holding each other for a while, the male actor whispered to the female lead.

“I love you too, Louis.”

‘Huh?’

Emilia blinked in disbelief. The names of the lead characters were Emily and Louis.

When she glanced to the side, Louid’s face remained expressionless as usual, but his gaze was fixed on the stage.

“If you tell me to bring you the stars, I’ll bring them. If you ask for the sun, I’ll get it for you. No one can stop us.”

“Me too. Even if I were given all the jewels in the world, I wouldn’t need them. I only need you.”

‘Ugh, I can’t listen to this.’

Emilia shut her eyes tightly. The cheesy dialogue from the very beginning was too much to bear.

After a moment, she opened her eyes again. She had to manage her expression since people might be watching them.

When she looked beside her, Louid’s face hadn’t changed, but he was gripping the armrest of his chair tightly.

Soon, the heroine’s family appeared and pulled the two apart.

The family dragged a struggling Emily away as she cried and screamed. Louis was also seized by Emily’s family and forced to kneel before the Duke.

The Duke hurled insults and threats at the hero.

‘That’s strange….’

The story of the play felt oddly similar to her own situation with Louid, as if it were a fictional tale modeled after them.

After the two leads were dragged away, the play showed how they had first met.

The heroine, Emily, was the granddaughter of a powerful duke, and the hero, Louis, was the youngest son of a humble viscount family.

The two, children of enemy houses, met one day at a ball and fell in love. Their story followed the hardships they faced, condemned by both families for loving their sworn enemy.

Looking around, Emilia saw audience members shedding tears.

Midway through the play, the duke who kept tormenting the hero devised a scheme and sent Louis to war. A year later, Louis returned triumphant, having earned great merit on the battlefield.

While he had been away, Emily endured her family’s relentless pressure to marry another man and waited steadfastly for Louis.

Before their eyes, the heartbreaking love story of the two protagonists unfolded.

‘Ugh, this is so cringeworthy.’

Emilia screamed inwardly. But aside from the cheesy dialogue, the play itself was captivating.

Throughout the story, the duke and Emily’s family did everything possible to torment the hero, yet the play constantly emphasized that Emily was innocent.

While Emilia was completely focused on the play, Louid was lost in thought.

Just as the Emily in the play was innocent, Louid knew Emilia bore no fault either. She was merely a victim of her grandfather’s greed.

But if he were to accept her as his true wife, it would feel like falling right into Duke Berthe’s scheme, and that was the only reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He pitied Emilia, who had done nothing wrong, but he couldn’t allow things to unfold according to the will of the man who had tried to assassinate him for ten years.

“…?”

Nearly two hours had passed, and the play was nearing its end. It was time to resolve everything and show the conclusion.

But the two leads hadn’t appeared on stage.

Moments later, the theater director stepped onto the empty stage. The audience looked at him with puzzled faces. Louid and Emilia did the same.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest with us today. Your Highness the Grand Duke and Your Highness the Grand Duchess, would you please stand?”

The director spoke politely, looking toward the VIP seats on the second floor.

“….”

Emilia turned to Louid in surprise.

“What do we do?”

She tilted her head and whispered to him, covering her mouth with one hand. Unaware that to the audience, they looked like a loving couple, whispering sweetly to each other.

“Everyone, your applause seems a bit too quiet!”

“Wow… Waaah….”

At the director’s words, the audience broke into even louder applause and cheers.

Louid took Emilia’s hand and stood up. Startled, Emilia rose with him, her hand still caught in his.

When the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess waved to the audience, thunderous applause filled the theater.

Louid smiled and pulled her firmly into his arms, as though the Grand Duchess was the most precious person in the world to him.

“Ah.”

Pressed close against him, Emilia mirrored his startled expression.

‘What was that just now?’

He doesn’t even like me….

She couldn’t tell if Louid’s gentle smile was sincere or part of an act.

‘It can’t be real. He hates me. It must be for the audience’s sake.’

Emilia convinced herself his smile was fake.

But Louid, holding her tightly, felt his heart racing.

“Haa….”

He let out a long, quiet breath she didn’t hear. He had never trembled like this, even in countless battles or before enormous monsters, yet now his heart pounded wildly like a storm, and his body shook ever so slightly.

Waaaah.

Thunderous applause rained down on the couple standing affectionately side by side.

“She’s so beautiful.”

“He’s so handsome. Like a god out of myth.”

Along with the applause, whispers of admiration spread through the crowd.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke, Your Highness the Grand Duchess, thank you. Now, let us show you the play’s final act.”

After greeting the audience, the two sat back down amid the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers, and the restarted play ended with a happy conclusion. The theater troupe had arranged the introduction as an impromptu event to express their gratitude to Louid for his generous and continued support.

***

The next day, Emilia went to find Louid to talk about the fashion academy. She needed his cooperation for something.

‘Where did he go?’

But he was nowhere to be found. She looked in his office, then the training grounds, and even the first-floor dining hall, but he wasn’t there.

“Alex, have you seen His Highness anywhere?”

“Ah… well, Your Highness… I haven’t seen him.”

Alex finished his awkward reply with a stiff expression and hurried off as if fleeing.

Watching Alex’s retreating back in confusion, Emilia went to find Aaron instead.

But even when she asked Aaron, he didn’t know where Louid had gone either.