‘Oh my goodness.’

Rio felt like crying at how unfitting those words sounded coming from his master’s mouth.

Sweating profusely, Rio carefully chose his words.

“W-well. I wonder why Lady Lopez would make such a misunderstanding… sir?”

When he had opened the door of the Information Guild earlier and confirmed the person entering was none other than yesterday’s Lady Lopez, he had been so surprised.

Still, he had managed to pretend to be the master and hear the inside story about Ariana’s fiancé, which was good.

‘But why did you drop such a bombshell statement before leaving, Lady……’

“Anyway, the new husband is unable to have relations.”

Ariana’s face was full of calm certainty as she said this.

Dante leaned deep into the backrest and glared at the ceiling.

“I wasn’t, nervous.”

Where was the trembling like a shot deer from before? Now she met his gaze without even blinking after he had tried to scare her.

‘I thought she had some guts, but.’

Now that he thought about it, even that display from earlier wasn’t just simple courage…….

‘Did she think I wouldn’t really touch her?’

Dante let out a hollow laugh through his teeth.

“Well, this is……”

He twisted his lips with a light laugh.

“Quite vexing.”

[This is the timeline separator]

I walked out of the alley with calm steps.

Perhaps because I was leaving the guild building without depositing quest money or taking on work, my steps felt quite light.

‘First, I’ve laid the bait for the affair.’

Now it was time to do the real work.

I looked up at the clock tower.

‘There’s still quite a bit of time left.’

Although it was still quite far from the time I was supposed to meet Dante, I couldn’t waste time idly.

Walking through the alley, I became lost in thought.

‘I need an excellent orchestra. And an excellent soprano.’

I had no intention of simply stepping on the Lopez Opera House and my family just once.

I planned to crush them mercilessly so they wouldn’t even think of making a comeback.

Of course, the weapon would be the opera I was composing, but no matter how good the music is, it can’t be heard if it’s just trapped on sheet music.

‘I have something in mind for the orchestra.’

But for the soprano…….

I rubbed my lips, deep in thought.

Elena was an outstanding soprano.

Even excluding her beauty and talent, that was true. Her natural timbre was like silk, and her volume and range were excellent.

No matter how great the performance, if the soprano singing the aria lacks skill, the audience will consider the entire show terrible.

‘Sopranos as good as Elena are rare.’

That was an objective fact.

Five years later, Elena would become the undisputed top soprano in the empire, without rivals.

Ah, yes. Except for just one person.

Rosalyn. With her unique background from the circus.

Rosalyn, who would make her debut with a circus troupe two years from now, would transfer to Paradise and instantly establish herself as a top soprano on Elena’s level.

If I could get my hands on such a soprano from now, it would be perfect.

‘But, that person……’

There was a fatal flaw in that plan.

The fact that Rosalyn’s past was shrouded in mystery until her debut.

Many people pointed fingers, saying how rough must her life have been for her to hide it so thoroughly. But I…….

‘I have a hunch where.’

There were three purposes for today’s outing.

Stopping by the Information Guild, meeting Dante.

And scouting for a suitable soprano.

Every Wednesday at Paradise, aspiring singers who want to become professionals perform. And today was that day.

‘It’s good I don’t need to go out twice.’

It felt like a good omen that the dates aligned.

Just as I was thinking that and turning into the alley leading to Paradise.

“Hic, hic……”

My footsteps slowly came to a halt.

It was a very faint sobbing. So faint it could be drowned out by the slightest wind or a cat’s meow.

But my ears caught it clearly.

“Uhuhu……!”

I raised my head and opened my eyes slightly wider.

Far away, at the corner of the alley, I saw a woman crying with a blanket draped over her.

“……”

I clutched tightly at the winter cloak I was wearing.

The weather was bitterly cold with a cutting wind.

On a day like this, just an hour outside could lead to a terrible cold.

With the weather like this, even beggars had completely disappeared, leaving the alley empty.

Except for that woman.

“Hic, sniff, waaah!”

“……”

A faint smile appeared on my lips.

Even though it was just the sound of crying, the volume and resonance were remarkable.

I slowly crouched down in front of the woman.

Around this time, Elena had begun to develop a special ‘hobby’.

That was crushing female singers who showed promise.

One day, she had said this with a sneer. It was around the time when the weather had turned this cold.

“I hate those who don’t know their place the most. The sight of all sorts of riffraff eagerly flocking when Lord Dante holds some charity events for unknown singers. Rosalyn? Ha, what rose? Her hair color looked like a rose soaked in water.”

I quietly looked down at the woman crying “Waaah”.

Cotton candy-like pink hair.

Above all, a beautiful timbre that could be felt even in her crying voice.

‘I didn’t expect to find her right away like this.’

Indeed, today was a day of good omens.

“Here. Wrap yourself in this.”

I said, handing the woman some clothing.

“Thank, hic, thank you, cough!”

The woman raised her tear-stained face to look up at me.

“You’re so, cough! kind…… sniff, I’ll definitely repay this kindness.”

The face revealed was clear and youthful, without a trace of stage makeup.

‘So this is what you looked like. In your girlhood.’

Thinking that, I slowly moved my lips to ask.

“What happened?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“It’s so cruel, sob……”

Wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeve, Rosalyn cried.

“How could this happen, after finally getting a chance, waaah……!”

It had been an hour since she’d sat down and started crying in the bitter cold.

She knew she’d end up with a terrible fever at this rate, but she just couldn’t find the strength to get up.

Rosalyn was born an orphan and had lived her life drifting through back alleys.

For an orphan, she didn’t go hungry much, thanks to the odd jobs she did here and there.

From a young age, Rosalyn had been good at singing and was loved by the people in the back alleys, who called her a nightingale.

When she sang her heart out, adults would laugh saying she was quite good and toss her coins.

It was natural for Rosalyn to dream of becoming a singer.

Once she was old enough to be called a young lady, she even performed on small stages.

She even gained a few fans, though they could be counted on one hand, and even got a boyfriend who was good at playing the piano.

“Rosalyn, you have talent. If my accompaniment and your singing come together, we’ll surely make it big!”

How many sweet dreams she had dreamed at her boyfriend’s whispers.

Then one day, an opportunity finally came for Rosalyn and her boyfriend.

The day they sang at a small restaurant attached to an inn, they received an offer to sing at a tavern owned by Duke Heigenberg.

It was a well-known rumor that the Duke, who had returned from war, was collecting talented singers and composers, so Rosalyn and her boyfriend were overjoyed.

And that night. One more person approached the two of them.

“You have good piano skills.”

A silky voice and dazzling platinum blonde hair. Recognizing the woman, Rosalyn’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t that person the popular soprano these days?

“Gasp, could you be Lady Elena?”

“Are you two lovers? Hmm. The boyfriend’s performance skills are quite good…… but sorry to say, it’s a bit of a waste on that voice.”

Rosalyn blankly faced Elena, who said this with a smile in her eyes.

And then, a week later.

That is, today, when she was supposed to have a stage at Paradise.

Rosalyn’s boyfriend, Mark, had disappeared without a trace.

Leaving behind just a note saying he had found true love.

Panicked, Rosalyn searched for an accompanist to play instead of Mark, but no one was willing to play for a girl with no experience.

It didn’t help that the song Rosalyn was supposed to sing was known for its difficult accompaniment.

“I see.”

After hearing the whole story, which was half sobbing, Ariana nodded.

“You were planning to have a debut stage with your boyfriend as accompanist, but your boyfriend ran away.”

“Uhuhu!”

Hearing Ariana’s calm one-line summary, Rosalyn buried her face between her knees and cried.

Hearing her miserable situation neatly summarized from someone else’s mouth made her sorrow well up again.

“What time was it?”

Ariana asked, holding out a handkerchief.

“Sniff……?”

Blowing her nose into the handkerchief, Rosalyn raised her head.

Come to think of it, who was this lady?

‘Her hair…… is so pretty.’

It was platinum blonde similar to Elena’s, but the impression was different.

While Elena’s was a bit overwhelming with perfume and hair ornaments, this lady’s platinum blonde hair flowed naturally, looking as harmonious as a landscape painting.

Above all, those features.

Although the lady looked about as young as herself, her eyes were unusually deep.

The calmness, as if observing the past after going through all sorts of hardships, intertwined with her pure features to give a strange impression.

“I asked what time Paradise allowed Rosalyn to have the stage from and until.”

Rosalyn, who had been lost in admiring her face for a moment, belatedly came to her senses at those words.

“Oh, from 4 o’clock to 5 o’clock……!”

At those words, Ariana glanced at the clock tower and muttered.

“Not much time left.”

Ariana stood up and held out her hand.

Then she said to Rosalyn, who was blankly looking up at her.

“Get up. We need to go to the stage.”