“What was that just now?”

“Did she mess up?”

The audience slowly began to stir.

“I can tell she made a mistake, but why isn’t she starting over?”

“What the hell is going on…”

Irritation and frustration gradually mixed into the murmurs.

Noticing this a beat late, Elena bit her lower lip hard.

‘Sister wants me to falter.’

That was the only reason Ariana would deliberately sit right in the center of the first row.

Elena clenched her teeth and scoffed.

‘You think I’ll be shaken just from seeing your face a bit?’

You’re mistaken, Sister.

I’m not an amateur.

Anger followed the momentary bewilderment.

The vivid memory of receiving two slaps from Edward because of Ariana resurfaced.

Thinking about it, the intense emotions that suited the role seemed to well up instead.

Elena opened her mouth again.

– Even with a wretched heart, it’s fine.

A much smoother voice flowed out compared to before.

– Even if I sell my honor and lose my humanity…

Her voice came out properly again.

The moment a confident smile formed on Elena’s lips.

‘…Huh?’

Ariana, moving slowly, reached into her bosom.

Then she pulled out some palm-sized papers and waved her arm widely, scattering them onto the stage.

‘What the…’

Elena, who had been momentarily frightened, was taken aback by the unimaginable action.

Ariana’s motion was as natural as fans throwing flower petals onto the stage.

The audience seemed to think it was just to cheer on Elena, who had slipped up for a moment. Even the security didn’t stop Ariana.

However.

“Huff, hah…”

Upon seeing the true nature of the ‘flower petals’ Ariana had scattered, Elena turned pale.

‘Those, those are…’

They were photographs.

Photographs of her own figure, intimately entangled with a man.

It wasn’t just one.

In the next photograph that flew onto the stage, Elena was straddling a man lying on the grass.

And in another photograph, and another…

“Ugh!”

Elena covered her mouth.

She almost let out a scream.

‘What are all those?!’

The photographs all captured the secret meetings between Lucas and Elena.

Stunned, Elena blankly stared at Ariana.

Some of those were at least a few weeks old. Why did Ariana possess evidence from so long ago?

‘The relationship with the Marquis… wasn’t it only exposed at the wedding venue?’

The rushed intimacy with Lucas right before the wedding.

She thought Ariana’s outburst was because they were caught then.

But no, it wasn’t. If Ariana had those photographs, the story was completely different.

From long before the wedding, much earlier…

‘She had been watching us.’

Without showing any signs, like a mouse holding its breath and waiting for the right moment!

A chill ran through her entire body. Elena gasped for air like someone encountering a ghost.

Facing such an Elena, Ariana smiled brightly.

Then she slowly began to move her lips.

Elena could clearly read those distinct movements.

‘Why? You have to keep singing.’

Ariana continued to move her lips.

‘Your aria.’

“…Gasp.”

Recalling the title of this aria, Elena’s eyes widened.

The Aria of the Adulteress.

The title that felt a bit unpleasant when she first heard it but soon dismissed as trivial.

The reason she simply brushed it off was simple. She thought there was no way Ariana knew the secret between her and Lucas. If she knew, she would have crumbled and cried tears long ago, that weak woman who was her sister.

‘…How.’

But no, that wasn’t the case.

Ariana knew everything.

Knowing that, she made Elena sing such a song as if nothing was wrong.

Excitedly singing without realizing the lyrics were mocking herself…

“Ugh.”

Elena panted slightly.

‘Who the hell are you?’

Who was that woman sitting in front, smiling at her?

Shocked, no song came out at all. After moving her lips a few more times, Elena breathed heavily.

She couldn’t sing.

All the lyrics were jeers Ariana had gifted her.

“…Oh my.”

In the concert hall, emptied like the ebbing tide.

Edward strode over to Elena, who was slumped on the stage like a defeated soldier.

“You stupid wench!”

Edward’s fury was fierce. He looked ready to grab Elena by the collar at any moment.

The stage was a disaster.

The orchestra did not return, the soprano collapsed midway, and the audience clicked their tongues and left.

The target of Edward’s outburst was clear.

“My, my lord.”

A servant called out to Edward, pale-faced.

“What?!”

“Over there…”

Edward turned to look in the direction the servant pointed and flinched.

Not all the audience had left.

One person was still sitting in the first row, watching them. Edward bit his lip in dismay.

‘Damn it! I hope it’s not a reporter.’

The woman sitting slowly pulled back her hood.

Seeing the cascading platinum blonde hair spilling out from under the hood, Edward’s eyes widened.

He wasn’t the first to react.

“Ariana!”

Lucas shouted like lightning and approached her.

“Damn you! Do you know how much I’ve been looking for you!”

Reaching Ariana in an instant, Lucas shouted roughly.

“How could you humiliate me like that and not even take a single call!”

Gazing into his eyes brimming with anger, Ariana smiled slightly.

She couldn’t help but find it ridiculous.

What filled Lucas’s eyes was clearly the emotion of betrayal.

“Does the Marquis have the right to interrogate me like this?”

Ariana spoke with an unintentional smirk.

“The right! Ha, you mentioned the right?”

Sparks flew from Lucas’s eyes.

“You, of all people! Did you have the right to shame me like that? The one who cheated was you, not me!”

Lucas thrust his face forward, growling.

“Since when have you been screwing the Duke behind my back? Tell me!”

Ariana let out a small laugh.

Lucas was raging like a beast whose nest had been stolen by another male and his female taken away.

“Interesting. They say in the eyes of a pig, only pigs are seen.”

“Are you evading the question? After showing that spectacle in front of me?”

Lucas growled roughly.

The moment the Duke tasted Ariana’s lips right before his eyes still haunted him like a nightmare.

He couldn’t forget the satisfying smile on that damn bastard’s face or the flushed look on Ariana’s face as if she was overwhelmed.

‘Did she give her body to the Duke?’

While she kept preaching to him about a lady’s chastity before marriage and never let him enjoy it, did she open herself to the Duke?

Just thinking about it made his vision turn red.

“Ariana, you’re finished as a lady now.”

Lucas growled like a wounded animal.

“It’s no different from receiving a death sentence. There’s no greater humiliation for a woman than failing to preserve her chastity. And with another man while having a fiancé… Ha.”

Lucas looked Ariana up and down as if she was filthy.

“You’ve exposed such a sight to the whole world, so your reputation is over now!”

“You’re right. It will pose a big problem for my reputation.”

Ariana readily agreed.

“But if I cared about such things, would I have caused this commotion in the first place?”

“What?”

Lucas frowned at the unexpected answer.

“…Hey, Ariana. Think carefully. I’m your only lifeline. There’s no way to restore your reputation other than the story of me forgiving and accepting your infideli−”

“Enough with the tedious talk.”

Lucas, whose words were abruptly cut off, widened his eyes.

“I came here to extend an invitation.”

Ariana naturally changed the subject and said with a bright smile.

“‘We’ have also started a stage.”

We?

As he thought that word was irksome, Ariana continued.

“Feel free to come. No need to worry about the price.”

Glancing around the deserted auditorium, Ariana added as if doing a favor.

“It’s free, after all.”

The front of the Lopez House was still crowded with audience members who hadn’t caught a carriage yet.

“What? We just wasted money.”

“They bragged about it being the greatest ever, but…”

“What is this? Did I pay that expensive fee just to listen to a woman coming out alone and humming a song?”

“She didn’t even sing much and stopped halfway through! They hyped her up everywhere, saying she’s a promising soprano, but seriously!”

“Let’s request a refund. We can’t just throw away that money on such a nonsensical opera, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement with someone’s suggestion.

“Right, there was that option.”

“Let’s get a refund! Not only for the ticket price but also compensation for the time we lost.”

“I agree. Do they think we’re some leisurely people?”

People grumbled irritably and soon began to ponder how to spend their suddenly free holiday afternoon.

“Shall we go play cards?”

“Cards in broad daylight… Sigh, I thought I’d indulge my ears with some elegant music for once.”

“It’s regrettable, but there’s no choice. We can’t get tickets at another house on such short notice.”

Just as people were about to scatter, grumbling.

– The moment I first saw you, I felt it…

A faint singing voice carried on the breeze.

Some began to tilt their heads.

“What’s that?”

“Isn’t that the lyrics from earlier? The ones that incompetent soprano sang briefly…”

“I don’t know about that, but the tone is quite impressive.”

“Where is it coming from?”