TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 107
The overhead light that brightly illuminated the theater gradually faded, wrapping the interior in a gentle darkness.
The sound of people whispering.
The sound of popcorn being eaten and beer being sipped.
Amidst the various noises, the Young Lady clasped her hands tightly, her eyes sparkling with interest.
“Oh… Looks like Ricardo is about to start!”
As the curtain that covered the stage created a small gap, the Narrator, dressed in a Bright Sky Blue Dress, slowly appeared.
“Hello. I am Cowen, the playwright and Narrator of this ‘Sad Love Story of a Certain Girl.'”
“All names, characters, and events in our play are fictional. They bear no relation to real individuals, locations, buildings, or products.”
The Narrator’s smile, filled with confidence in the play’s entertainment value, instilled trust in the audience seated in the theater.
The Narrator shouted toward the audience with a voice brimming with confidence.
“From this moment, the play ‘Sad Love Story of a Certain Girl’ begins.”
With the Narrator’s bow, lifting the Dress Hem slightly, the Young Lady’s excited voice quietly murmured.
“Oh…”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yeah. But what’s this about?”
“Hmm… Since it’s called a ‘Sad Love Story,’ I guess it’s a melodrama. I also came because it was recommended.”
“Melodrama…!”
The Young Lady exhaled sharply and adjusted her posture in the chair. Though she had a cold temperament, she was a woman who resonated with the romance genre.
She couldn’t help but have high expectations.
“It’s going to be so thrilling, right?”
“Who knows.”
“Will there be scenes of people fighting and stuff?”
“Do you want to see that?”
“A little…?”
The Young Lady mumbled softly in a shy voice.
“A play Ricardo chose… I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’s troublesome if you expect too much.”
“I’m not expecting much.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Hehe… Just because.”
Just as I was about to pull the cheek of the cheeky Young Lady.
“Oh… It’s starting!”
As the curtain, which had been half-covering the stage, opened, the dazzling Stage Lights shone into the eyes of the Young Lady and me.
It was radiant.
Of course, I was referring to the Young Lady’s Bright, Shining Eyes.
“This looks like it’ll be fun.”
“Yeah.”
*
-Once upon a time, there lived a Vicious Noble in a rural estate.
-The Evil Lord, who loved tax evasion and bribes, made life difficult for the Territory People.
-Boom!
As the grand music resonated through the stage.
The light that had been illuminating the Narrator gradually dimmed, creating a dark atmosphere.
A Spotlight poured down on the Fallen Noble, kneeling on the floor like a tragic Heroine. The Young Lady widened her eyes and tilted her head curiously.
“That guy’s doomed.”
“Huh?”
“Tax evasion is something only fools do. If you’ve become a noble, it’s not about evasion; you need to launder it.”
“You’re quite sharp.”
“If you evade taxes, you’re in big trouble. The Imperial Army will come for you.”
“What about bribes?”
“If you take bribes, you’ll die together, so it’s fine.”
“As expected… Truly the Youngest Child of the Desmond Family.”
The Young Lady nodded and smiled bashfully. Despite her insults, there was a magic that made one feel good.
It was indeed a Villainess-like demeanor.
The cold-hearted Young Lady whispered to me.
“That guy’s going to go down right now.”
“Why?”
“Because he embezzled taxes.”
“Wouldn’t he fall later in the story?”
“No. I think he’ll fall right away.”
With certainty that the story wouldn’t break clichés, I spoke, but the Young Lady shook her head firmly.
“I’m right.”
“Oh, come on… No way.”
The Middle-Aged Man actor, kneeling on the floor, spoke in a sorrowful voice.
-You filthy commoners…! How dare you betray me!
‘Huh?’
As the Young Lady had predicted, the play broke clichés and immediately removed the Antagonist. I had expected the story to either show the Evil Lord reforming or the tragic Heroine leading a revolution.
The actor playing the Vicious Noble uttered just one line before being dragged behind the curtain by the approaching commoners, screaming.
-No!
-The Evil Lord was dragged down by the Territory People. As revenge for the oppression they had endured, they killed the lord and even tried to kill his child…
As the Narrator trailed off, a Tiny Child Actor slowly walked out from between the curtains.
-His young daughter, ‘Lucia,’ was the one life they couldn’t trample on.
The Child Actor stood at the center of the stage with a bold expression. For someone from a Fallen Household, the expression seemed quite arrogant. With one eyebrow raised and a cocky look, the Child Actor’s performance left me puzzled.
‘Feels like a mistake…’
I thought it was a clumsy error from a child actor who didn’t understand the role. Considering the household had fallen, such an expression didn’t seem fitting no matter how I looked at it.
At the same time, I found myself harboring a small sense of anticipation.
I couldn’t grasp what kind of lines this performance was leading up to.
The Ceiling Spotlight began to illuminate the girl, and at the same time, she shouted loudly to the audience.
“Damn it!”
‘What the…’
-Murmur murmur…
‘What is this.’
Startled as well, the Young Lady looked at me with wide eyes and said.
“Ricardo, that kid’s weird.”
“Pfft…! I’m used to this.”
“Used to it?”
“Never mind.”
The Young Lady, with a Question Mark on her head, quietly stared at the Child Actor standing in the middle of the stage.
-Unfair! If you’re jealous, you should have been born as brilliant as me. What’s with the attitude!
It was a familiar sight.
The Little Kid’s performance strongly reminded me of the Noble Lady sitting beside me.
“Ah, it brings back memories.”
“…Really?”
“Don’t you feel the same, Young Lady?”
“I was well-behaved at that age, so I wouldn’t know.”
“You’re shameless.”
“Hehe.”
The Young Lady responded with a small chuckle.
-Fool…! Idiots…! Stupid commoners…!
The Child Actor stomped on the floor with a cute Kicking Sound, throwing a tantrum. It was a performance that seemed to perfectly embody the stereotypical image of a noble in the minds of most commoners, and I let out a small sigh of admiration.
‘But, is it okay to leave it like that.’
Although people have come to enjoy provocative content as times change, Nobles probably wouldn’t like this kind of story.
As if to agree with my words, the sound of murmurs arose from the Audience.
At the moment when I began to think, ‘Did I choose the wrong play?’ amidst the unsettling atmosphere that the Theater Play started with.
-Hey! You there, Commoner!
The curtain behind opened, and the stage that had been carefully hidden began to reveal itself before my eyes.
A soft brown Lamp.
It created the illusion of dust floating in the air.
The background was a familiar Slum Village.
The Stage Set at the back of the stage, as if cutting out A Portion of a memory discarded in the Capital City, reminded both the Young Lady and me of our first meeting.
The walls of the Old Buildings.
Roofs made of tin.
In the Stage Set that seemed covered in dust, the Voice of the Child Actor wearing a shabby Dress was directed toward the Red-Haired Boy rummaging through a Trash Bin.
-Did you call me?
-Yes.
-Why?
-I’ll give you the Honor of providing me with food. Be grateful.
-Okay. Bye.
“Puhaha!”
Laughter echoed from the Audience.
The Young Lady sitting next to me glared at me with pouty eyes. She seemed displeased with the Audience’s reaction of laughing at what she believed to be an obvious situation.
Having empathized with the Protagonist, the Young Lady asked me in a voice full of annoyance.
“Why are they laughing?”
“Probably because they find it funny.”
“Ricardo, you laughed too.”
“I was just laughing along.”
The Young Lady pouted her lips and said.
“Don’t laugh. They said they’re hungry.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Alright.”
The Young Lady crossed her arms and huffed.
The Theater Play continued.
The Narrator quietly walked in front of the actors and spoke.
-The Girl, who was no longer a Noble, began her life in the Slum.
-With nowhere to go, the Girl started living in the Slum following The Boy, and gradually, she began to grow closer to him.
-Of course, they did fight, though.
-Give me food!
-No. Go back to your house.
-I don’t have a house…
-Neither do I!
-As the years passed, the relationship between The Boy and the Girl began to develop further.
-Sharing food obtained through begging and sometimes saving Lucia from Delinquents, the two, who seemed as incompatible as water and oil, started to grow closer.
-And then.
-A feeling called love began to sprout in The Boy’s heart. The Girl, however, remained unaware.
The wind of interest began to blow in a Theater Play that initially seemed boring.
It felt as if a gentle spring breeze, carrying the fragrance of flowers, filled the Theater. The sight of Lucia and the Red-Haired Boy quarreling somehow didn’t feel like someone else’s story.
-Stop being a picky eater!
-I’m not eating because it’s gross.
-You’re no longer a Noble! Know your place!
-Huh…? Ah… No! I… I…
Sometimes, they exchanged hurtful words.
Sometimes, they cried together.
Their gradually deepening bond made my chest ache.
The Red-Haired Boy, denying his own feelings, acted prickly, while Lucia always lived boldly and confidently.
When the darkness of her now humbler life, which sometimes required begging to survive, weighed on her, the love story of the Red-Haired Boy, who would quietly come to comfort her, was somehow heartwarming.
And The Boy.
-When I grow up, I’ll buy you lots of delicious food. So… stay with me forever.
Awakened to the emotion called love.