61.

Philip, who couldn’t fit in here or there, felt more relieved than ever to see Petra. His foolish mind momentarily forgot that he was supposed to eliminate her according to the situation.

Like a salmon swimming upstream, Philip fluttered towards the entrance of the ballroom. However, he was easily pushed aside by the crowd, flapping around like a paper doll.

In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from his sight as he staggered significantly.

‘Huh? Where did she go? She was right there—’

The guests pouring in from the entrance gave him sharp looks as they passed by him, lingering near the door. Philip, being jostled here and there, just rolled his eyes in bewilderment.

There were too many people, and losing Petra so quickly after finally finding her made him anxious. He was so impatient that even the slightest mishap left him flustered.

He was about to bite his nails nervously out of habit when someone grabbed his shoulder. Philip, who was on the verge of a minor panic attack, turned around hastily.

A short-sleeved purple dress that bared the arms and had a neckline plunging deeply near the chest caught his eye.

‘The McFoy color.’

With his guilty conscience, Philip momentarily mistook the woman for the head of the McFoy family and gasped for breath.

“Oh my, did I scare you?”

The woman in front of him said, waving her hand lightly in front of his face as if to snap him out of it. The subtle purple gloves, showing her skin faintly, shimmered before his eyes.

“Hello, my love.”

“A… Ah.”

Under the white half-mask, the corners of her mouth curved into a soft smile finally registered in his mind. Philip quickly felt relieved.

“Pa-Petra, you scared me.”

The one who had grabbed him was Petra Landry. Cornered and desperate, seeing Petra made him completely forget how she had troubled him recently.

“Where were you looking so intently? Were you looking for me?”

“Of course! Why are you so late? I almost died waiting. There are so many people today…”

Philip whined as he grabbed Petra’s waist tightly.

“…Oh my. Does it seem like there are more people than usual? I can’t really tell. My love knows everything, doesn’t he?”

Petra’s tone was theatrical, as if a performance had already started, but Philip only found her voice more endearing than usual.

“I want to hold you like this forever, but sadly, I must go prepare for the stage now. Today, I’m the lead after a long time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me in advance? I would’ve prepared a gift.”

“The play changed suddenly, so I didn’t have time to tell you.”

“Really? If it’s a play where you’re the lead… Is it that founding myth story?”

“No, Philip.”

Petra shook her head and hugged him even tighter, whispering softly.

“It’s a love story.”

Then, with an unhesitant move, she stepped away from him and smiled brightly.

Philip felt his heart race for the first time in a while as he looked at her. The woman before him was the ‘kind and beautiful Petra’ he had fallen in love with.

“So, make sure you’re in the best spot to see me, okay? Before the play starts, one of my attendants will show you to your seat.”

Feeling as if he was receiving special treatment, Philip nodded gladly.

After the welcoming speech by a woman in a red mask, who appeared to be Lady Tibey, the play began without delay. Petra, dressed in a purple gown, took her place on stage.

The audience, recognizing her, erupted in cheers. Some jeered at her for wearing the McFoy color on stage.

Today, Petra was playing the role of Annemarie, the only daughter of a wealthy merchant. She had a kind fiancé chosen by her parents.

Another actor, playing the fiancé, appeared on stage, wearing an amethyst brooch on his left chest. Philip, focused on Petra, didn’t notice this detail.

Philip assumed the story would be about Annemarie and her fiancé’s love, as Petra had mentioned it was a love story.

However, the play turned into a scandalous drama from the start.

Whenever Annemarie turned her back, her fiancé engaged in explicit romantic scenes with a beautiful mistress.

The charm of watching a performance at a masquerade ball was that one could watch noisily, without regard for etiquette. The masked audience shouted each time the fiancé and the mistress had a daring scene.

“Stupid Annemarie, look behind you!”

“Poor Annemarie, with a scoundrel of a fiancé!”

Half of the masquerade attendees were engaging in their own affairs, but they were thoroughly engrossed in the play, shouting curses at the fiancé. Some even took it as satire, pretending to be magnanimous.

Philip’s face began to harden. He didn’t notice that someone had come to stand beside him amidst the audience’s fervent reactions.

When the fiancé and his mistress ended up having a child just two months before the wedding, curses, jeers, and shouts erupted from all sides.

“This is insane! Who wrote such a lowbrow play?”

“Are you out of your mind? This is disgusting! I’d strangle them if it were me!”

Someone shouted, thoroughly incensed. Philip’s face turned completely pale. His hands started to tremble.

It was just a play, just a fabricated story… Philip shook his head slightly, as if to deny reality.

The fiancé and his mistress whispered secretly. The fiancé sang that he coveted Annemarie’s wealth and had made a ‘vow’ to win her heart, crying that if his betrayal were discovered, he would lose his life.

Sighs and cheers erupted simultaneously from the audience. They wanted the fiancé to be thoroughly punished.

Philip could no longer bear it and turned around. He tried to push past a woman in a yellow mask standing behind him, but his paper-thin body couldn’t move her. The small scuffle quickly drew attention to him.

It felt like everyone was whispering about him. Driven by the need to get away, Philip tried to push through the crowd again.

But someone grabbed him by the nape. His feeble body was easily pulled back. As he fell to the ground, a sinister voice whispered in his ear.

“Where are you going? Get up.”

“…”

Philip Morfolk recognized the voice. But he didn’t dare turn his head to see its owner.

“Are you planning to miss something so entertaining? Get up. The real fun starts now, so keep your eyes open.”

Philip didn’t have the courage to look at the person speaking to him. Nor could he respond. He simply tried to stand on his trembling legs, as he was told.

His already not-so-functional mind seemed to have stopped working entirely, as if hit by a bomb.

Philip, who had lived a comfortable life, felt like he was in a nightmare. He shook his head, refusing to believe something so bad could happen to him.

Meanwhile, the play continued.

The fiancé and his mistress moved to break the engagement with Annemarie before she found out about the child.

They created a scandal. The scandal soon became accepted as truth.

The fiancé acted like a heartbroken man to those watching, then laughed crudely when he returned home to his mistress.

The audience, who had been noisily commenting, fell silent. Even the drunken attendees began to understand the situation.

Anyone could see that this was no longer just a play.

The first act reached its climax. Annemarie, dressed in purple, was treated as a witch and expelled from the castle. The scene was pitiful, tragic, and cruel.

Petra, playing Annemarie, gave the performance of her life. Despite Petra’s stellar performance, no one in the audience showed their emotions. Instead, murmurs grew louder.

Some pointed directly at Philip, glancing between the brooch on his chest and the actor’s brooch on stage.

The first act ended with Annemarie, betrayed and expelled from the castle, collapsing in the forest.

“No, no…! I didn’t mean for it to go this far. Yes, I just repeated the rumors everyone was talking about…”

Philip muttered breathlessly. It was unclear to whom he was making excuses.

Petra slowly rose from her dramatic performance. Philip, his eyes red and disbelieving, glared at her. His look was one of pure hatred.

Petra removed her mask. Gasps of shock echoed through the hall as her face was revealed.

“I dedicate this play to the head of the McFoy family.”

Petra knelt on one knee and bowed her head. Her sweet voice echoed in the hall.

The commotion grew louder, causing a stir.

Philip’s head turned unnaturally to the side. He saw a woman in the same dress as Petra. Her face was entirely covered by a white mask, making it impossible to read her expression or know where she was looking.

Philip finally realized that the woman in the purple dress he saw at the entrance was not Petra, but the woman standing beside him now. Tears of fear began to stream down his face.

The woman in the white mask stepped onto the stage. Silence fell over the crowd.

“So, you had something to say. Is this all you have to say?”

The woman spoke as she removed her mask. The mask hit the ground with a sharp crack.

“Lo-Lord McFoy… Lord McFoy…”

Philip, collapsed on the floor, clutched the hem of my dress, gasping like a dying man.

This must have made me look like the villain.

‘He should have known this could happen when he decided to cross me.’

I knew Philip Morfolk had always lived in a bed of roses. Having never faced any real hardships, he couldn’t have imagined his life could turn so miserable.

Tsk, unlucky fool. I roughly shook off the hem of my dress, freeing myself from Philip’s grasp.

“Lord McFoy! The head of the McFoy family!”

Someone who had recognized my face shouted. Instantly, gasps of shock and screams erupted from all around.

‘Our family head is acting.’

Only Erika, standing behind Philip Morfolk in her yellow mask, smiled grimly. As the commotion died down, I spoke again.

“Why do you confess your and Morfolk’s sins with your own mouth?”

“Because Philip Morfolk will eventually kill me and our child.”

“No!”

A shocked scream rang out again, and Philip yelled hysterically.

“Shut up, you damned woman! How dare you wag that filthy tongue! Shut up before I rip that mouth apart!”

“Why should I believe you?”

I looked down at Philip’s grotesquely twisted face. My expression, as if thoroughly entertained, made Philip shut his mouth.

“I trust my fiancé. Who knows if you’re just trying to set him up?”

The audience, more engrossed in our exchange than the previous play, held their breath along with Philip.

“I, too, will make an oath to you, Duke Mcfoy.”

A long, sly smile spread across my face.

“If the child in my womb is not Morfolk’s, I will offer my life to you.”