Not noticing that subtle atmosphere at all, Mrs. Megan waved her hand and cackled.

“Everything surrounding him is so mysterious! Perhaps he’s a musical angel sent to us by God! Ho ho.”

Indeed, is he sent by God or by the devil?

I want to know more.

But Ioan had put down the tea he’d been drinking and was staring intently at her.

Has he noticed something suspicious?

She mustn’t find out yet that I’ve contacted La Rouge.

‘I should wrap this up and return to the mansion today….’

It was then.

Suddenly, Mrs. Megan patted Delphine’s arm familiarly and said.

“Lady Pryde, you said this was your first time at his concert, right?”

“Yes. …I’ve been staying in the mansion and not going out for a while.”

As Delphine smiled awkwardly while saying that, Mrs. Megan looked at her with a pitying expression.

It seemed she was showing more kindness due to feeling sympathy for the recent incidents.

“Actually, I’m about to go to Nakolai’s waiting room now. He specially invited me as thanks for my patronage.”

“Oh my. Really?”

Delphine’s eyes sparkled at the sign of an unexpected stroke of luck.

Satisfied with that reaction, the lady asked with a pleased face.

“Would you like to come along?”

“Of course!”

When she glanced at Ioan, he looked somewhat displeased for some reason, but didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping her.

“Shall we go then? The ladies crowding in front of the waiting room should have given up and left by now.”

They arrived at the waiting room in front of the concert hall, chatting lightly as they crossed the corridor.

Lin’s worried warning suddenly came to mind, but Delphine quickly shook her head to clear away the thought.

This is too good an opportunity to miss.

If she plays her cards right, she might be able to get more information about that suspicious performer and the black crystal.

“This is the place.”

Mrs. Megan announced to them in a sing-song voice as she knocked on the theater’s waiting room door.

Soon after, the wooden door opened.

Delphine skillfully hid her tension and stepped inside with a smiling face.

“Mrs. Megan.”

The man bowed deeply and kissed Mrs. Megan’s plump hand.

Her mouth was visibly twitching at the corners, but the man pretended not to notice and asked.

“You’ve come with guests, I see.”

“Ho ho. Yes, that’s right. This is Lord Pryde, and Lady Pryde. You’ve probably heard their names before?”

“Of course. It’s an honor to meet you, my lord. And my lady, you are indeed beautiful.”

As the man approached to kiss her hand, Ioan suddenly grabbed it.

“Pleased to meet you.”

At that moment, Delphine quickly observed both of their expressions.

The man looked bewildered by Ioan’s sudden action, but showed no other particular reaction.

Ioan’s face, wearing the mask of a nobleman, was also the same as usual.

Mrs. Megan introduced Delphine in an affected voice.

“Ho ho. Lady Pryde in particular was deeply impressed by Nikolai’s performance, she says.”

“That’s right. It was really wonderful. Enough to come give my compliments in person like this.”

Delphine offered flattering praise while closely examining the man’s face.

More precisely, his eyes.

Up close, the man looked even more ordinary than he had on stage.

His teal eyes were unique, but didn’t seem to have any other special characteristics.

“…My lady?”

Then, the man’s slightly puzzled voice was heard.

“Did you have something to say to me?”

Only then did Delphine realize she had been staring at the man long enough to be improper.

“No. Not really….”

“My, look at the time already.”

As she trailed off awkwardly, Ioan, who had been silently looking down at them, suddenly murmured softly.

“It’s time we returned to the mansion, my lady. You’ve only recently recovered from your fever, after all.”

Delphine’s lips moved for a moment, unable to find a reply.

She wanted to learn more about the man, but it was obvious that if she persisted any longer, everyone here would find it suspicious.

Unable to come up with an excuse, Delphine finally nodded slightly.

“…Yes. We’ve greeted him now, so we should be going.”

Delphine gave one last friendly smile toward Mrs. Megan.

“Then have a good evening, madam.”

That talkative lady would surely be of great help to her, who was cut off from high society, in the future.

Mrs. Megan smiled back at her with an equally friendly face.

“By the way, Nikolai, where did you put your violin?”

“Ah, that’s in the next room….”

Leaving behind the sound of the two people whispering intimately, Delphine slowly left the room with Ioan.

“…Um.”

It was when they had almost reached the theater entrance.

Delphine suddenly spoke up.

“I have somewhere I need to stop by. Please go ahead to the carriage.”

“Where might that be, my lady? I should accompany you….”

“The powder room.”

Delphine cut off his words with a small laugh as he immediately showed his obsessiveness and tried to follow.

“…It would be embarrassing if you came along.”

Ioan, catching the euphemism for wanting to go to the powder room, nodded sheepishly.

She smiled brightly at him, then slowly turned her steps toward the restroom.

But after confirming that Ioan had left through the theater entrance with just a glance back, Delphine very quietly walked back into the corridor they had just come from.

The theater corridor, where the concert had ended long ago, was empty.

She headed toward the waiting room they had just left with unhesitating steps.

‘He definitely said he put the violin in the next room.’

She knew it was a reckless act, but this was an opportunity she couldn’t miss.

It also didn’t suit her temperament to return home without any results.

Delphine, who had reached the corridor where the waiting room was, quietly turned the doorknob of the room next door.

As expected, the door was locked.

After looking around for a moment, Delphine picked up a candle from the wall lighting the corridor without hesitation.

The Mariinsky Theater was a historic building over two hundred years old.

In other words, most of the building was made of wood.

Delphine stood in front of the wooden door, holding the candle with wax dripping.

‘There’s no time to hesitate.’

Ioan was waiting for her in the carriage outside.

If she was even a little late, he would surely come looking for her.

Having quickly made up her mind, Delphine held the candle to the wooden door with a determined expression.

The small flame that seemed to hesitate for a moment soon began to devour the wood, blazing at a terrifying speed.

Delphine quickly pressed her body against the waiting room door and put her ear to it.

In the empty theater, coquettish moans and rough breathing mixed together, coming through the door, as if they were doing something unmentionable between patron and protégé.

“Aah! More! Make it hotter!”

She felt terribly sorry for Mrs. Megan, but if left like this, it might get so hot that she would burn up.

Delphine took a deep breath, then flung open the door and shouted.

“Fire!”

“Kyaaak!”

“Wh-What?”

The couple, stuck together like a pair of affectionate insects, quickly separated.

Delphine shouted again loudly toward them as they scrambled to fix their disheveled clothes.

“There’s a fire! Fire! You need to evacuate quickly!”

“La-Lady Pryde? What is this…”

“The next room! It’s on fire!”

That was the signal.

The man, who had been standing awkwardly as if unable to grasp the situation, suddenly cried out in shock.

“My violin!”

“Aaak! Ni-Nikolai…?”

He heartlessly threw Mrs. Megan to the floor and ran straight to the next room.

“Nikolai…. H-How dare you do this to me…”

“Madam. This is not the time. We need to get out of this room quickly.”

Delphine supported the fallen Mrs. Megan and quickly escaped into the corridor.

The door to the next room had already lost its shape and completely collapsed on the floor due to the raging fire.

And through the blazing wooden walls, Delphine clearly saw.

The man lifting the burning violin case without a moment’s hesitation, and the flames disappearing as if it were a lie.

And for a fleeting moment, the man’s teal eyes changing to resemble those of a reptile before returning to normal.

At the same time his eyes turned a strange color, his pupils elongated vertically.

Though it was just a split second, it felt as if ice water had been poured over her from head to toe, making her whole body break out in goosebumps.

It was like encountering something in nature that should never be encountered.

Delphine quickly turned her eyes away from him and pretended to tend to Mrs. Megan to hide her uncontrollably trembling body.

“Ma-Madam. Pull yourself together. We need to get out quickly.”

However, she seemed more intent on venting her anger than evacuating, overcome with a sense of betrayal.

She shouted at the man in a frenzied state.

“Nikolai! How could you do this to me! You’re saying that damn violin is more important than me?”

“…”

“After all I’ve done for you…! Did you think I didn’t know you were flirting with other ladies besides me?”

“Madam. Please calm down…”

“I’ll tell everyone! I’ll cut off your meal ticket!”

Madam, please. This isn’t the time. Don’t provoke him any further.

It was then, as Delphine was struggling to pull her back with an anxious heart.

“Alright. I’ve decided.”

“…What?”

The man standing engulfed in flames tilted his head to the side.

Gone was his excessively friendly attitude, replaced by an expressionless face that sent chills down one’s spine.