Chapter 174 – The Dream of a Mistress
“Oh my!”
“He looks like a completely different person, doesn’t he?”
Standing in the Grand Duchess’s reception room, Antonel shyly touched his now bare face.
Called to the Grand Duke’s castle early that morning, he had followed the Grand Duchess’s instructions—cutting his hair short and shaving off his sideburns and the messy beard he had grown.
“You look much better now.”
At the Grand Duchess’s praise, Antonel’s face turned bright red like a young boy’s.
“Th-thank you, Your Highness!”
He still wasn’t used to her goddess-like beauty.
“Shall we try on some clothes now?”
At her words, Madam Lamondria and her staff quickly gathered around Antonel.
The Grand Duchess sat comfortably on the sofa and asked,
“Madam, what do you recommend the most?”
Madam Couteur, the most famous dressmaker in the North, looked Antonel up and down.
“I think dark navy would suit him best.”
An assistant skillfully laid out a deep navy suit in front of the Grand Duchess.
“Why don’t you try this one first?”
she said, meeting Antonel’s eyes.
“Y-yes, Your Highness!”
Stumbling over his words, Antonel hurried behind the partition to change.
“What do you think?”
“With his clear features and solid build, he’ll look good in anything.”
“Just as I thought.”
Antonel could hear the Grand Duchess and Madam whispering.
“He sings incredibly well too. You’ll be shocked when you hear him.”
Hearing the Grand Duchess praise him, Antonel nearly put both legs into one pant leg.
‘Could it be… that Her Highness really…?’
The fact that Antonel had been personally chosen by the Grand Duchess as the male lead caused a huge stir within the troupe.
Some thought the Grand Duchess simply had a good eye, but most couldn’t understand how a rustic rookie like Antonel had landed the lead role.
— “Just how did he seduce the Grand Duchess?”
— “Does that mean Antonel is going to become her mistress?”
Some actors openly whispered behind his back.
Honestly, even Antonel couldn’t understand it himself.
‘Why did Her Highness choose me of all people?’
Hearing others mockingly say the Grand Duchess must have strange tastes, Antonel began to think they might be right.
‘Could it be that Her Highness plans to take me as her mistress?’
And being summoned to the Grand Duke’s castle to have clothes tailored only made that suspicion grow stronger.
Antonel buttoned his shirt with complicated feelings.
He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—but he wanted to succeed honestly.
“You look amazing!”
Yet when he stood before the Grand Duchess and saw her clap happily, his heart felt strangely unsettled.
— “Coachviel thinks he succeeded on his own?”
— “So what if you become a mistress? It’s not just about serving at night. Sometimes it’s companionship—talking, going out together, being like friends.”
Friends.
Somehow, becoming the Grand Duchess’s mistress didn’t feel as immoral as he had imagined.
After all, she was the first person to truly recognize his talent.
Just as Antonel was seriously considering it—
“Oh, what about the thing I mentioned last time?”
At the Grand Duchess’s question, Madam brought over a handful of items and laid them out on a display tray.
They were sleeves, decorated in various designs.
Madam stepped closer and rolled up Antonel’s jacket sleeve.
When she turned over the shirt cuff, small buttons were revealed inside.
As she unfastened them, the sleeve detached entirely.
She picked a frilled sleeve from the tray, attached it, and lowered the jacket again.
The suit looked completely different.
The Grand Duchess let out a satisfied sound.
“It looks much more natural than I imagined.”
“Women’s dresses will change even more dramatically just by switching sleeves,”
Madam said excitedly.
“Cecilia, what do you think?”
“It’s great! Just changing the sleeves makes it look like a different dress each day.”
“I want to really show it off in this opera. Especially the main characters’ outfits—we’ll change the sleeves every day.”
“But will people notice?”
a maid asked, tilting her head.
“They’ll only watch the performance once anyway.”
The Grand Duchess shook her head.
“If it truly succeeds, people will come see it more than once.”
“They’ll watch the same performance again?”
“That’s the charm of theater. Each day feels different. If the opera is truly fun, people will definitely return.”
She spoke excitedly about adding small variations to the costumes each day.
“Is that really possible?”
“Of course. The script itself is already so entertaining.”
“Oh, Your Highness!”
At that, the maid—no, the playwright—held her cheeks shyly.
“And we have such a charming male lead too, don’t we?”
The Grand Duchess looked at Antonel with bright eyes.
Antonel stared at her smile, mouth slightly open.
‘Could I really become friends with someone that beautiful?’
Images filled his mind—having tea together, attending performances, going on outings, singing love serenades for her.
He was lost in that sweet dream when—
“The Grand Duke has arrived.”
The butler’s announcement rang out, chilling Antonel to the bone.
Madam and the staff all knelt in greeting.
The Grand Duke strode into the room, briefly scanning the space.
For a moment, his sharp gaze passed over Antonel.
‘Impossible…’
A tall, muscular body refined by battle.
Strikingly handsome features that impressed even another man.
A relaxed confidence possessed only by a predator at the top of the food chain.
The Grand Duke looked like the perfect model of masculinity.
Then, his cool expression instantly softened as he looked at the Grand Duchess.
“Are you looking at dresses?”
“What brings you here?”
“I was on my way to a meeting and wanted to see you for a moment.”
At that shameless confession, the staff let out quiet, envious sighs.
Though respected by his people, indifferent to everything except monsters, and famously cold even to his aides, this was the common image of the Grand Duke of Blenheim.
He had never appeared publicly with his wife.
Some believed he cherished her deeply, but others speculated he didn’t truly acknowledge her.
‘Was Her Highness lonely, looking for a mistress?’
Antonel had thought so.
‘I couldn’t have been more wrong.’
At a glance, the Grand Duke was completely devoted to his wife.
Though the Grand Duchess seemed shy, she was clearly accustomed to his affection.
With a husband like that—what mistress?
Realizing how absurd his thoughts had been, Antonel’s face turned as red as a tomato.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
Taking advantage of the staff’s distracted excitement, I whispered to Loic.
‘There are so many women here!’
As I shot him a flustered look, Loic pretended not to notice and casually brushed my hair.
“Who is that man?”
“Oh, he’s the male lead of the opera. Antonel.”
Already tense, Antonel froze stiff at Loic’s presence.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”
He barely managed to speak.
“Were you choosing his clothes?”
“What do you think? He suits them well, right?”
Loic narrowed his eyes as he looked Antonel over.
“…Not bad.”
For some reason, Antonel nearly jumped—but when he looked again, Loic was smiling gently.
“Let’s go now.”
I whispered softly.
But instead of leaving obediently, Loic frowned.
“You said you were busy today and didn’t even kiss me once. And now you’re sending me away this quickly?”
Though everyone had turned their heads away, a few staff members couldn’t help sneaking glances.
This man—here, with people watching!
“Just go.”
I was pushing his back in embarrassment when—
“…Your Highness!”
Madam gathered her courage and asked urgently,
“Would you like to have matching outfits made together with the Grand Duke… while we’re at it?”
