“You, you……”

Edward glared with bulging eyes, panting.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this? Because of you, the Lopez family’s honor will be dragged through the mud! Are you only satisfied after watching our family fall?! You witch!”

“You should watch your language.”

Ariana glared at Edward with cold, hardened eyes.

“It wasn’t me who dragged the Lopez family’s honor through the mud, but you, elder brother.”

“Wh-what?”

“The one who has trampled on and tarnished the pride, self-respect, and honor that grandfather emphasized.”

Her eyes, which had remained calm throughout, flashed a bright blue.

“It wasn’t me, but Edward Lopez. It was you.”

“Y-y-you… damned woman! How dare you!”

Edward twisted his body, causing the interrogation room chair he was tied to to rattle.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now. I have quite a lot to do from here on out.”

Ariana stood up and looked down at Edward’s flushed face, then smiled faintly.

She then turned her back without hesitation and left.

“You, you come back here! Where are you going?! You did what I told you to do, so you should provide a solution too!”

No matter how much he shouted, Ariana’s back only grew more distant.

“Hey! Come back this instant, you damned woman! Aaaargh!”

A wail of anguish echoed through the space where Ariana had already disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Among the nobles who were bored due to the interruption of the music festival, strange rumors began to circulate.

“My goodness! Is that true?”

“It can’t be.”

The first rumor was that Edward Lopez had plagiarized Karka’s traditional ceremonial music for the festival.

“So that’s why that envoy was so outraged?”

“He must have thought it wouldn’t be discovered since Karka hasn’t had external relations for many years. Even we didn’t know at all.”

“Good heavens, even so, there are limits! How brazen!”

Soon after, another rumor flew to the shocked nobles.

“I heard that even the plagiarized piece wasn’t actually composed by Count Lopez?”

“They say Count Lopez can’t compose a single measure properly. This plagiarized piece was also bought from an unknown artist’s score and passed off as his own.”

“What? Then what about the recent performances at Lopez House?”

“This is the shocking part. Count Lopez confessed that those were all not by him, but……”

The nobles who heard the rumor whispered in excited voices here and there.

“They were all works by Duchess Ariana Heigenberg!”

There were those like Count Horace who scoffed, saying it was nonsense and how could a woman compose so many operas.

However, whether people believed it or not, the rumor spread throughout the imperial palace in an instant, carrying excitement and surprise.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Elena tried to grasp the situation with trembling fingertips.

Imperial soldiers forcibly pulled her and the orchestra off the stage.

The reason was that Edward Lopez had lost his qualification to be on stage.

Those who spotted the disoriented Elena rushed over with fire in their eyes.

“Miss Elena! Don’t you know anything about this incident? You’re family, so you must know something!”

“Is it true that Count Lopez has been passing off the Duchess’s works as his own all this time?”

“Living under the same roof, did you really not know such things were happening among family members, Miss Elena?”

Elena stammered at the barrage of questions.

“That… that can’t be. My elder brother is an excellent musician.”

“Then are you admitting that it was Count Lopez who made the plagiarized piece?”

“What? Oh, no! That’s not it!”

‘What in the world is going on here!’

Elena screamed inwardly as she chewed on her lips.

Edward showed no signs of returning, and Adolph was nowhere to be seen either.

She had firmly believed this would be her brilliant debut stage at the imperial palace. What would become of her now?

“Breaking news! Breaking news!”

A nobleman shouted with an excited face.

“They say the music festival will resume soon!”

“Oh, really?”

“And they say the last stage will be Lady Ariana’s performance!”

People’s eyes all lit up at once.

* * *

As promised, the music festival soon resumed.

The next in order was Count Horace.

However, no one was paying close attention to the stage.

“Were all the operas from Lopez House really the Duchess’s works?”

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe.”

“We’ll know when we see the stage. The Duchess’s turn is last, right?”

The nobles were busy whispering to each other without even glancing at the stage.

“When does this performance end anyway?”

“It’s longer than I expected. Well, it’s not bad, but… hmm, it’s a bit cliché. Wasn’t Count Horace’s stage almost the same feeling last year?”

“I wish it would end soon. When does the last stage start?”

Even the more polite nobles didn’t even pretend to focus on the stage.

Count Horace clenched his trembling fist tightly.

‘To be swayed by such gossip and fail to recognize my masterpiece!’

Ariana Heigenberg, that woman still didn’t sit well with him.

Perhaps this was all noise marketing that the Duke was putting on for his wife.

Is this how they’re trying to compete because they lack real skill? The Count scoffed.

‘Just wait until the stage begins. I’ll critique it point by point……!’

It was the last in order, wasn’t it?

To ensure that the ignorant masses don’t make improper judgments with their eyes clouded by gossip, the Count planned to mobilize all his musical knowledge and insight to thoroughly trample that woman’s stage.

‘The Duke has made a bad move.’

With this much attention focused, any shoddy craftsmanship would be glaringly exposed.

As Count Horace snorted, his stage came to an end, and finally the last performance began.

The Count, filled with spite, watched the red curtain rise with fire in his eyes.

* * *

There is a saying that music is the art of time.

Unlike spatial arts like painting or sculpture, music divides flowing time and places notes upon it.

Creating meaning by coloring the ever-flowing, merciless time – that was the role of music.

Therefore, while music is constrained by time, it also helps listeners transcend time.

And at this moment, the audience of the music festival was perfectly experiencing the latter.

The final stage began with the melody of an organ.

A girl in a cloak carefully appeared on stage.

As the girl walked across the stage decorated like a dark forest, the organ added more notes.

The organ’s trembling melody, tinged with anxiety, created ripples in the hearts of the listeners.

Everyone wished for something to happen soon, for this time that felt so slow to pass quickly.

Around then, as a viola joined in, a man wearing a white mask appeared behind the girl.

“……!”

As the white mask appeared, some in the audience exchanged glances, but their actions were buried in darkness.

The girl on stage ran away in a panic. The ensemble of organ and piano played out the tension.

Just as the tension reached its peak…

Unexpectedly, the melody of a harp intervened, and the atmosphere changed dramatically.

Fairies appearing on the right side of the stage discovered the girl and included her in their feast.

The kidnappers passed by without noticing the girl, and the joyful feast continued.

While bright metallic instruments like the harp, celesta, and glockenspiel dominated the stage, the audience was entranced.

Unlike the opening that seemed to pass slowly, the moments led by beautiful and bouncy melodies flew by in the blink of an eye.

In the play too, time flowed abnormally fast.

The girl, who accidentally returned to the human world, learns that ten years have passed, and once again encounters the white mask that has been chasing her for ten years.

However, unlike ten years ago when she helplessly ran away, she defeats the white mask with the help of the fairies, and the girl throws herself back into that world to be with the fairy she loves.

The aria that bursts forth as the girl reunites with her lover was explosive with energy yet enchanting.

The audience watched the stage intently with dazed eyes, as if bewitched.

The stage concluded with the fairies and the girl raising a happy toast.

It was a beautiful story depicting the mystical atmosphere created by fairies, the growth of the protagonist girl, and love that transcended species.

As the red curtain finally fell, the audience was dumbfounded.

‘Already?’

‘Huh? Is it over?’

The stages of the music festival were supposed to be composed of at least twenty minutes.

The audience couldn’t accept that so much time had already passed.

‘How did time pass so quickly…!’

‘My goodness. I feel like I too entered and left the fairies’ feast.’

Just as the girl lost track of time at the fairies’ festival, the audience had the same experience.

The silence that briefly dominated the audience was soon broken.

“……Bravo!”

Starting with someone’s cheer, thunderous applause erupted.

Whistles and applause as loud as hundreds of fireworks going off.

Amidst it all, Ariana stepped onto the stage.

Seemingly endless applause continued towards Ariana as she bowed properly as the composer.

“It was enchanting. Every single moment was so perfect!”

“The thrill I felt at the final climax still hasn’t faded.”

“It was music that stirred the soul!”

Here and there, audience members began to stand up as if on cue.

Count Horace grudgingly raised his large frame with a groan.

‘I… lost.’

Clap, clap, clap.

Even as he applauded reluctantly, Count Horace had to admit it.

His complete defeat.

At this moment today, it was clear that the delicate lady on that stage had captured the hearts of all the audience.