“You did well, Miss Rosalyn.”

“That was truly amazing.”

“Everyone, you were all so wonderful! Great work, everyone!”

Rosalyn cheerfully greeted the troupe members’ praise.

Just thinking about the applause and cheers she had just heard made her heart pound as if it would burst.

‘It was the first time I had an experience like that…’

To think that so many people would love her song. It was an experience she would never forget until the day she died.

When she first heard from Ariana that she would be singing in the square, she was startled and a little scared, but now she was overflowing with happiness to the point where her past self seemed foolish.

And there was a separate mastermind who had orchestrated everything to allow her to feel this happiness.

“Lady Ariana!”

Rosalyn, who had run down from the stage, hugged Ariana tightly.

“Thank you. I, I, this is the first time I’ve received so much applause.”

As if to prove it was her first time, Rosalyn was trembling all over.

Ariana grinned and lightly patted Rosalyn’s back.

“You did great. You didn’t show any signs of nervousness at all.”

“It’s all thanks to you watching over me, Lady Ariana!”

While calming Rosalyn down, Ariana looked around the square.

She saw many people with excited faces sharing their impressions of the song they had just heard.

She had expected a crowd to gather, but she didn’t know it would be to this extent. It was a success beyond her plans.

Ariana thought with a grin.

‘It’s about time they come barging in.’

The distinguished guests she had personally visited and invited.

It was when she was counting to ten in her mind.

“Ariana Lopez!”

The shout came at the obvious timing.

Turning around, Ariana faced the faces she had been waiting for.

“Brother. And Duke.”

Ariana gave a light bow and tilted her head.

“I guess Elena didn’t come? Perhaps she’s still in shock.”

“In shock, you say? Ha, you crazy thing.”

Edward, seemingly more enraged by her casual tone, strode over.

“How dare you steal my stage!”

“Steal it?”

Ariana tilted her head and corrected him.

“I think the correct expression would be ‘took it back.’ Brother.”

“What? What kind of nonsense is this!”

“It was the score I wrote, wasn’t it?”

Edward tried to immediately refute, but Ariana smiled as if she knew what he would say without listening.

“Ah, are you perhaps referring to the clutter you so generously added to my original song under the guise of arranging it? Don’t worry, I’ve cleanly removed all of that.”

“What? Clu… tter?”

Edward’s face, who had considerable pride in his arranging abilities, turned red and blue.

“You’ve really gone mad-”

“The troupe members? They were all held captive by your fake composing skills, but I let them know that those were actually all my works. Ah, of course.”

Ariana added as if doing them a favor.

“They’ll have to pay a lot of penalty fees for leaving before the contract period ends, but I told them I would cover all of that. So use the penalty fees I’ll give you well. You’ll be ruined if you have to refund all the tickets.”

“…You.”

Edward breathed roughly.

“You may not know since you’re uneducated… but this level of business obstruction is a felony. You think I’ll go easy on you just because we’re family? After you humiliated me like this? Rather than penalty fees, you’d better figure out how you’ll pay the bail when you’re dragged to the guards. Though I’m sure you’re bluffing about having the money to pay the penalty fees!”

“I’ll handle the legal issues myself, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Ariana calmly continued, unfazed by the threatening voice.

“I also used a girl I personally scouted instead of my sister for the soprano… Ah, right. The lyrics.”

A sneer hung on Ariana’s lips.

“The lyrics, more than anything, are mine, imbued with my autobiographical experiences.”

Grit.

The eerie sound of molars grinding came from Lucas.

Turning to Lucas, Ariana drove the point home.

“So there is indeed an error in saying I ‘stole’ it. Please say I took back what was mine.”

Ah, Ariana added.

“I’ll be taking back much more in the future, so be prepared.”

“…You.”

Edward panted lowly in anger.

People around them were casting curious glances at the sudden commotion.

But to Edward, whose eyes had already rolled back, it seemed like nothing was entering his field of vision.

Blinking his unfocused eyes, Edward raised his right hand.

“You crazy lunatic…”

“Duke Lopez!”

Lucas shouted in a stern voice and blocked Edward’s way.

Edward clearly had anger management issues. Using violence here would obviously garner sympathy for Ariana, wouldn’t it?

Clicking his tongue at the stupid Edward, Lucas issued a threat.

“Come over here.”

Edward retreated, gritting his teeth and breathing irregularly under Lucas’s resolute gaze.

Taking his place, Lucas glared at Ariana.

“…I.”

Lucas growled in a low voice, as if trying to control his anger by taking a deep breath.

“It seems I’ve really failed to properly educate my fiancée, Ariana. Come here for now. Let’s have a talk.”

It was when Lucas tried to grab Ariana’s wrist.

“Step back.”

Knights in black armor appeared in an instant, blocking Lucas’s path.

Lucas issued a threat with a grim face.

“Who are you people? How dare you block the path of Duke Fedegrin!”

“Speak with words. We have orders to protect Her Highness the provisional Duchess.”

“Her Highness the provisional Duchess? …Hahaha!”

Lucas burst into hollow laughter as if dumbfounded.

“Look at this. Ariana, aren’t you the one who actually cheated on the duke? Back then! When we ran into each other in front of the jewelry store, you two were already fooling around, weren’t you?!”

Lucas growled in a rough voice.

“And yet how dare you try to slander someone with this kind of petty stage!”

The moment he entered the square to check what kind of scheme Ariana’s ‘invitation’ was.

The first thing Lucas saw and became enraged by was all the missing orchestra members lined up in front of that fountain.

‘It was all… Ariana’s ploy.’

Simultaneously feeling absurd and dumbfounded.

Wasn’t Ariana always timid, barely spoke a word, and was thoroughly trampled and withered by her brother and sister?

How on earth did such a woman change overnight as if becoming a different person and relentlessly launch these counterattacks?

However, even that confusion was overwhelmed by immense disbelief and anger the moment he heard the lyrics.

‘She’s mocking me.’

The heroine of the song who commits adultery with her friend’s husband. There was no way he could not know who they were satirizing.

That song was Ariana’s declaration of war against him.

‘This… This impudent wench dares to.’

Ariana had dared to create a satirical play targeting him.

Moreover, she performed it in a square where numerous people gathered. The intention to humiliate him on a grand scale was blatant.

The way for Lucas to turn the tide in this ridiculous battle of public opinion was simple.

Pressing on with a counterattack.

‘You think you can put a dent in me with just some song? I am Duke Fedegrin.’

He was the head of the renowned Fedegrin family, the ducal house of the nation’s founding contributors.

There was no way he would lose in a battle of public opinion to a foolish young lady from a fallen count’s family who could only scribble some sheet music.

“You’re the one who betrayed me by cheating on me, your fiancé, with the duke. Elena was just comforting me!”

Lucas noticeably raised his voice.

The voice he used to command servants all the time rang out with a certain majesty.

He could feel curious gazes being fixed on him.

There were also whispers from those who recognized Lucas’s face.

Engaging in a public brawl on the square floor was unbecoming of a ducal family’s honor, but running away from a fight the other party started was also not something a man should do.

‘I’ll definitely break your spirit here, Ariana.’

“But how could you make such a dirty misunderstanding about that? I told you again and again. You have delusional jealousy disorder. Even if my clothing merely brushes against a passing lady, you jump up and down suspecting me, but I didn’t expect your illness to progress this far!”

The day after the wedding, when Ariana whispered that she knew about his relationship with Elena, the first place Lucas visited was the Lopez family doctor.

Until recently, the impoverished Lopez family had a subpar family doctor. One who could be swayed by money.

He did have to pay a considerable amount of gold coins.

However, the doctor, who received a satisfactory amount of money, quickly produced a fake diagnosis.

A diagnosis stating that Ariana Lopez had a history of delusional jealousy disorder and delusional disorder from long ago.

‘You’ve crossed the line too far, Ariana.’

No matter how much the family’s fortunes had temporarily faltered due to failed investments, the Fedegrin ducal family was one of the most prestigious noble houses.

If he mobilized the connections and skills accumulated over hundreds of years, there was no way he couldn’t make a mere daughter of an insignificant count’s family kneel.

…It was irksome that the duke was backing her, but wasn’t Ariana a woman he had already marked as his?

If he appealed that point well to noble society, he could regain ownership over Ariana.

‘After that, I’ll have to properly break her spirit.’

It wouldn’t be bad to send her to a mental hospital notorious for harshly treating patients for a few months.

Planning such things, Lucas took another step closer to Ariana.

“I told you to get treatment a long time ago, didn’t I? Delusional disorder, it’s a curable illness. Even your family doctor kept saying that. Tsk… Damn it. I’m just worried about you.”