He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 151

151. A Tit-for-Tat Strategy

◈ Almack’s Club, near Piccadilly, London.

Despite the early hour, the club was bustling with aristocratic wives and ladies.

Gentlemen who had received invitations were also chatting amiably.

Although it was a women’s club, men were occasionally allowed in for lectures by prominent figures, as was the case today.

‘I wish Olivia were here today….’

As Tae-oh entered, scanning the club, he was recognized and greeted from all sides.

“Oh, Lord Theo Sanders!”

“Lord Sanders! How have you been?”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Having become known among the Almack’s Club members through several lectures, and with his status significantly elevated over the past few years, Tae-oh was met with an even warmer reception.

After exchanging greetings for a while, Tae-oh’s gaze stopped at a table on one side of the club.

He carefully observed one young lady among the group of women enjoying a pleasant conversation.

If his memory served him correctly, it was indeed Olivia Perry.

‘It seems to be Olivia. I was worried she wouldn’t be here, but thankfully she is.’

However, her appearance had changed significantly since he last saw her.

She had shed her youthful look and transformed into a mature and beautiful lady.

‘Heh heh, Patrick has every reason to be anxious.’

Tae-oh smiled and approached her.

“Miss Perry, how have you been?”

Olivia Perry, who had been chatting happily with her friends while fanning herself, turned her head.

Upon meeting Tae-oh’s eyes, she looked surprised and immediately stood up.

“Oh! Lord Theo Sanderson!”

Olivia’s exclamation of Tae-oh’s name caused her friends to look puzzled.

They soon began whispering among themselves. They, too, seemed quite surprised by the sudden appearance of a famous person.

They were probably young ladies who were visiting the club for the first time after receiving an invitation.

Tae-oh asked Olivia if he could join them for a while.

Olivia and her friends gladly accepted the offer, and Tae-oh was able to sit with them and chat.

* * *

“Though belated, congratulations on receiving your baronetcy [a hereditary title below a baron].”

“Yes, thank you.”

Tae-oh engaged in small talk and inquired about her recent activities, subtly checking on Olivia’s current situation.

“I’m currently organizing the member list, and I happened to hear that Miss Olivia Perry recently received a proposal from a gentleman. I was hoping to introduce you to a suitable match, but it seems that won’t be necessary, which is a bit disappointing.”

Olivia looked slightly flustered, but the emotion on her face suggested that it was true.

If Olivia’s heart was already won over, it would be difficult for Patrick Bogart to seize an opportunity.

Olivia replied with a shy smile.

“It’s true, but neither my parents nor I have made a decision yet.”

“Ah, I see.”

The emotions conveyed by Olivia’s expression and gestures suggested only a slight interest. There was no specific affection for the man who had proposed.

‘That’s a relief. Patrick still has a chance.’

Still, one must know the enemy to avoid being caught off guard.

Although he wasn’t Olivia’s lover yet, he was the most dangerous rival at the moment.

The fact that she had received a proposal but was still considering it could be interpreted as having some feelings for him.

Those feelings could naturally grow over time as she became more familiar and discovered new aspects of him.

“It seems that gentleman is quite smitten with Miss Perry, to the point of asking for her hand in marriage?”

Instead of Olivia, a close friend chimed in.

“You have no idea, Lord! Mr. Smith is completely head over heels for Olivia. He can’t take his eyes off her, haha.”

“What… he’s not that smitten….”

Olivia waved her hands dismissively, embarrassed by her friend’s words.

“We’re just getting to know each other. But it’s a relief that our tastes are similar.”

“Tastes?”

“Yes, Mr. Smith is very fond of opera and sings quite well. I heard him sing a few bars, and he seemed to sing quite nicely for a layman.”

Her friend teased her.

“A layman? He was good enough to perform right away, wasn’t he? Haha.”

“Oh, he wasn’t that good.”

Olivia denied it, but she looked somewhat proud.

Tae-oh, who had been closely observing her, said as if he had just remembered something.

“Ah, now that I think about it, I remember hearing that your father, Marquis Perry, is a huge fan of opera.”

“Oh my—you remember everything.”

“Does Miss Perry also enjoy opera?”

“Of course! Opera is the greatest source of vitality in my life.”

Perhaps feeling more friendly due to Tae-oh’s memory, Olivia confided in him about her personal life.

“Actually, Mr. Smith is planning to sing an opera aria at my father’s birthday party in a month, and he’s been practicing diligently.

I heard he’s even receiving private lessons from a famous composer named Jake Martin.

My father was really happy to hear that. And of course, I’m very excited too.”

Her friends were also excited.

“Oh, really? That’s great. We’ll have something good to see at your father’s birthday.”

“I know, I love opera too, haha.”

17th and 18th century English music was greatly influenced by Italian and French music.

During this time, not only royalty and nobles but also emerging bourgeois [middle class] such as financiers, wealthy merchants, and lawyers enjoyed high culture by attending operas in theaters that sprang up everywhere.

In an era without modern TVs or movie theaters, opera was the best form of entertainment, combining touching stories and music.

In particular, Italian opera, with its outstanding techniques and artistry, such as sopranos and castratos [male singers castrated in boyhood to retain a high vocal range], gained great attention and popularity.

Therefore, theaters fiercely competed to attract good Italian operas or outstanding singers.

As England greatly increased its musical activities and investments along with industrial development, the best musicians of the time, such as ‘Handel’ from Germany, ‘Mozart’ from Austria, and ‘Geminiani’ from Italy, flocked to England and played a major role.

“I heard that your father also sponsors many opera houses.”

Olivia clapped her hands in response to Tae-oh’s words.

“Oh my, you even know that? That’s right. My father wakes up even in his sleep when it comes to opera.”

In the early 18th century, Italian opera was transformed into ballad opera with strong folk music and satire, which became very popular in England.

In particular, ballad opera was performed with English texts instead of Italian, which made it popular even among the common people.

However, in the late 18th century, as the popularity of ballad opera waned, Italian opera began to revive.

Olivia’s father, Marquis Arthur Perry, was a huge fan of Italian opera and showed great interest, sparing no expense to sponsor good composers or excellent sopranos and tenors who came from Italy.

Listening to the conversation, Tae-oh realized that Olivia’s passion for music was no less than that of her father, Marquis Perry.

When Tae-oh showed interest in opera, she expressed her love for music without reservation, radiating rich emotions and high energy.

‘This is a disaster. Patrick didn’t seem to have much interest in music. No, he even seemed to dislike it. That means there’s a big difference in the most important taste….’

The introverted Patrick and the extroverted Olivia had differences in personality, and their interest in music was completely opposite.

Nevertheless, Tae-oh couldn’t shake the feeling that the two were very well suited.

There are times when it seems that people with such opposing tendencies will fit together well.

In such cases, spending time to find that common ground can often lead to surprisingly good results.

Even in modern society, there were many cases where the matching score was low, but when Tae-oh trusted his gut feeling and arranged an actual meeting, it showed much better results than expected.

Tae-oh decided to trust his gut feeling this time as well and actively push forward.

* * *

Inside the carriage heading home.

‘When Patrick first met her, Olivia, with her extroverted personality, probably didn’t feel any attraction to him due to his cold impression. But the emotional tendencies inherent in their unconscious minds match very well. In the end, all I have to do is boost their attraction….’

Tae-oh was pondering the information he had gathered from his meeting with Olivia today.

‘She loves opera very much and is really looking forward to Mr. Smith singing an opera aria at her birthday party.

If that expectation is properly fulfilled, her attraction will naturally increase significantly, right?’

The opera sung by a layman at a birthday party will inevitably be at an amateur level.

Unless he is a professional opera singer, showing even a slightly different level of skill in that atmosphere can lead to a much higher evaluation than expected.

‘Olivia, whom I met in person, was a young lady with very high musical sensitivity and interest. Thanks to her father, who loves opera so much, she has been familiar with music since she was a child, and thanks to that, her innate artistic sensitivity has developed even further.’

Just as Catherine Osborne, the daughter of Mr. Osborne in Manchester, had a rich artistic sensibility, which matched Colin Peterson’s tendencies and greatly increased his favorability, a similar strategy seemed necessary.

In the current situation, the best way for Patrick to do within a month is to sing opera beautifully at Arthur Perry’s birthday party, Olivia Perry’s father, to increase his favorability.

But a very strong opponent appeared.

Arnold Smith, who proposed to Olivia Perry, had enjoyed singing for a long time, and seemed to have quite a skill in reality.

In addition, he was receiving special training from a famous expert to prepare for Olivia’s father’s birthday.

‘Hmm… Patrick’s tone seemed really special… but he lacks confidence.’

Patrick Bogart seemed to have a deep sense of inferiority about his voice, having been teased by those around him for a very long time.

His confidence was low, and he had been avoiding singing and had never properly uttered a word, so he was likely to be at the level of being tone-deaf.

‘Anyway, even if the opponent is good, he’s just an amateur level. Now there’s only one way. Since there’s still a month left, I have to hit it whether it works or not.’

* * *

The next day, Tae-oh immediately visited Patrick Bogart’s house and met him.

And he informed him that Olivia had not yet made up her mind.

Patrick was overjoyed at Tae-oh’s words.

“Hahaha—what did I tell you? Anyway, I’m so glad. I’m so glad! Haha—”

It was the first time he had seen him smile so brightly after meeting Tae-oh.

How nice it would have been if he had smiled so brightly and treated her when he met Olivia.

However, Tae-oh had seen countless times how even dating masters become awkward when a truly beloved opponent appears.

He must have shrunk greatly when he met an attractive woman who was exactly to his liking, and he must have become more rigid because of his voice inferiority.

And that would have been seen as an unsympathetic and cold face.

“But now there is not much time left. Perhaps Miss Perry will have her heart stolen by Mr. Smith.”

“…Not much time left?”

“From what I heard, Mr. Smith is planning to sing an opera aria at Marquis Perry’s birthday party to celebrate. Olivia Perry had very high expectations for that. Miss Perry seemed to like gentlemen who sing well very much.”

“Ah….”

Patrick’s face was filled with despair at that moment. He seemed to know very well that Marquis Perry was a fan of opera.

“Arnold Smith… that friend… he really sings well. He’s been famous for singing well among his friends since he was a child.”

“So….”

“……?”

“Now that things have come to this, let’s go out with a counterattack?”

Patrick tilted his head at Tae-oh’s words.

“A counterattack?”

“Lord Bogart is also preparing a song gift for the Marquis.”

“Yes? Me… me singing?”

Patrick, who had a blank expression at Tae-oh’s words, soon shook his head.

“I told you last time. Our family has been a family of tone-deaf people for generations. I have no talent for music, and I don’t really like it.”

“No. From what I hear, Lord Bogart’s voice is really unique and wonderful. Anyway, Mr. Smith is also an amateur. So even if you practice and sing it plausibly….”

But he lowered his head and covered his head, suffering.

“I’ve lived my whole life being ashamed of making my voice loud. I’ve been teased since I was very young. But opera! Practicing something I’ve never done in my life in a month and in front of the Marquis? It’s absolutely impossible! I’m sure I’ll be embarrassed and become a laughing stock for the rest of my life! I can’t do it! I can’t do it!”

Tae-oh’s face hardened. Even though it was the 18th century, the young man looked too pathetic to be unable to do it without even trying.

“Is that so? Then, well, there’s nothing I can do. Do that. In a month, Miss Olivia will now be Mr. Arnold Smith’s woman. Later, when you attend their wedding, it would be perfect if you could congratulate Mrs. Smith.”

At the words Mrs. Smith, Patrick Bogart raised his head sharply.

“Mrs. Smith! That can’t happen! Absolutely… absolutely!”

His eyes burned with jealousy as if they were smoldering.

Tae-oh encouraged Patrick as if he were comforting a young sibling.

“So why don’t you try to be brave? You hesitated like this at first and missed all the opportunities? But are you going to miss it again this time? You should at least try, whether it works or not, so you won’t regret it, right?”

Patrick, who had been contemplating for a while at Tae-oh’s words, shouted as if he had made up his mind.

“That’s right! I really don’t want to just watch passively like this anymore! I’m so sick of it! I don’t want to suffer only with unrequited love until when!”

For the first time, he felt a strong will from him.

“Good. Now that you’ve made up your mind, let’s proceed quickly? Let’s go with me!”

“Yes? Go? Where to…?”

Tae-oh blindly led the puzzled Patrick and put him in the carriage.

And after running for about 10 minutes, he got off in front of a house.

“Okay, we’re here. Get off.”

Patrick, with a bewildered expression, got out of the carriage and looked around, asking.

“Where is this?”

Tae-oh went to the front door without answering, and then vigorously knocked on the door knocker.

Knock knock knock-

After a while, the door opened and a maid came out, and Tae-oh asked.

“Is Mr. Bach inside?”