The bright overhead lights that had illuminated the inside of the theater slowly began to fade, shrouding the space in a soft darkness.

Whispers among the crowd.

The sound of popcorn and beer being consumed.

Amidst various noises, the young lady clenched her hands, eyes wide with interest.

“Oh… Ricardo, it looks like it’s starting!”

As the curtain hiding the stage parted ever so slightly, a hostess dressed in a vibrant sky-blue gown slowly emerged.

“Good evening. I am Rowen, the playwright and host of ‘A Sad Love Story of a Girl.'”

“All names, characters, and incidents in our play are fictional. There’s no relation whatsoever to any real individuals, places, buildings, or products.”

The hostess’s smile, brimming with confidence that her play would entertain, inspired trust in the audience seated in the theater.

With a voice full of confidence, she called out to the audience.

“Now ‘A Sad Love Story of a Girl’ will begin.”

As the hostess slightly lifted the hem of her dress in greeting, a whisper of excitement came from the young lady.

“Oh…”

“I’m looking forward to this.”

“Hm. But what’s it about?”

“Given that it’s called a ‘sad love story,’ I guess it’s a romance. I’m not sure myself; it was recommended to me.”

“Romance…!”

The young lady adjusted her seat with an audible huff. Despite her typically cold demeanor, she was utterly drawn in when it came to romance.

The anticipation was inescapable.

“It must be thrilling.”

“I don’t know.”

“Will there be people fighting and stuff?”

“Do you want to see that?”

“A bit…?”

The young lady murmured shyly.

“I’m excited for the play Ricardo chose.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“I’m not expecting much.”

“What’s that?”

“Hehe… Just kiddin’.”

Just as I was about to pinch the mischievous young lady’s cheek,

“Uh… it’s starting!”

The half-concealed curtain opened wide, and the dazzling lights of the stage shone into our eyes.

It was radiant.

Of course, I refer to the young lady’s sparkling eyes.

“This will be fun.”

“Mm.”

*

-Once upon a time, in a rural domain, there lived a wicked noble.

-This lord, fond of tax evasion and bribes, made the lives of his subjects miserable.

-Kugung…!

As the grand music boomed across the stage,

The spotlight that had been on the hostess slowly dimmed, creating a somber atmosphere.

Like the tragic heroine, a fallen noble knelt on the ground, a spotlight pouring over his head. The young lady’s eyes widened in curiosity.

“He’s doomed.”

“Pardon?”

“Tax evasion is what idiots do. If you’re a noble, you launder, not evade taxes.”

“You’re very astute.”

“If you evade taxes, you’re in big trouble. The imperial army will come for you.”

“What about bribes?”

“Bribes are fine if you go down together.”

“Truly fitting for the youngest of the Desmond family.”

The young lady nodded with a crafty smile, a kind of magic where insults somehow made her feel better.

Sure enough, she had the makings of a villainess.

The cold-hearted young lady whispered to me,

“He’s going to collapse any moment, right?”

“Why?”

“He skimmed off the taxes.”

“The play will probably have him fall towards the end, won’t it?”

“No, he seems doomed right now.”

I was certain the cliché wouldn’t break, yet the young lady shook her head resolutely.

“I’m right.”

“Come on, surely not.”

The actor playing the middle-aged noble spoke with sorrow in his voice.

-These filthy commoners…! How dare they betray me!

‘Huh?’

Just like the young lady said, the play broke the cliché and ousted the villain swiftly. I had anticipated a story where the evil lord reformed or the unfortunate heroine sparked a revolution. But that was just talk.

The actor portraying the wicked noble uttered one line before being dragged offstage by the commoners emerging from behind the curtain, letting out a cry of terror.

-No!

-The vile lord was brought down by the hands of his oppressed subjects. As revenge for all the hardships, the people killed the lord and wanted to kill his offspring, but…

As the hostess’s narration trailed off, a small child actor slowly walked through the curtains.

-The lord’s young daughter, ‘Lucia’, was spared.

The tiny thespian stood defiantly center stage. For the fallen noble house’s female lead, her expression was surprisingly arrogant, one eyebrow cocked up in a cheeky manner. I felt a sense of confusion at the child’s performance.

‘It seems like a mistake…’

I thought it was the young actor’s clumsy error, misunderstanding the role. It just didn’t fit for her to have such an expression after her house had fallen.

At the same time, I felt a growing intrigue within me.

What exactly was the play trying to convey with such an act?

Ceiling lights began to illuminate the girl, and simultaneously, she shouted out to the audience with a loud voice.

“X-Fall!”

‘Madness…’

-Murmuring…

‘What’s going on?’

The young lady, equally shocked, looked at me with bewildered eyes and said,

“Ricardo, that kid is weird.”

“Pfft…! This feels familiar to me.”

“Familiar?”

“Nevermind.”

The young lady held a question mark over her head as she watched the little actor standing amid the stage.

-Unfair! If you’re envious, be born as great as me, why get angry at me!

It was a familiar scene.

The performance by the child, who resembled the noble young lady sitting beside me, made me smile contentedly as I focused on the play.

“Ah, it reminds me of the old days.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you feel the same, young lady?”

“I was well-behaved at that age, so I wouldn’t know.”

“You have no conscience.”

“Heh.”

The young lady responded with a soft chuckle.

-Idiot…! Fool…! Stupid commoners…!

The child actor threw a tantrum with adorable kicks, perfectly portraying the stereotype of nobility common among the commoners, eliciting a quiet gasp of amazement from me.

‘But is this really okay?’

As times change, people enjoy sensational content, but I wonder if such material might offend the nobility.

As if confirming my words, murmuring voices came from the audience.

The play had begun on a troubling note, and I started to wonder if I had chosen poorly.

-Hey! You, commoner!

Behind us, the curtain opened, and a carefully hidden stage began to reveal itself.

The soft brown glow of the lights created an illusion of dust floating in the air.

The backdrop was a familiar slum.

It was as though a piece of my memory abandoned in the capital had been cut out and set up behind the stage, reminding me of my first encounter with the young lady.

The walls of the dilapidated buildings.

The tin roofs.

Amid the dusty set, the little actor in a ragged dress spoke to a red-haired boy rummaging through a trash can.

-Did you call for me?

-Yes.

-Why?

-I’ll give you the chance to feed me. You should feel honored.

-Yeah. Bye.

“Pffft!”

Laughter echoed through the theater.

The young lady beside me opened her eyes wide in annoyance, seemingly upset by the audience’s laughter at something she deemed obvious.

Identifying with the protagonist, the young lady asked me in a voice full of irritation,

“Why are they laughing?”

“Maybe it’s funny?”

“You laughed too, Ricardo.”

“I was just following along.”

The young lady pouted her lips and said,

“Don’t laugh. She says she’s hungry.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Mm.”

The young lady crossed her arms and huffed.

The play continued.

The hostess walked out in front of the actors and announced,

-The girl, no longer a noble, began her life in the slums.

-Having nowhere else to go, the girl followed the boy into the slum life and gradually grew closer to him.

-Of course, they did fight.

-Give me food!

-No, go home.

-I don’t have a home…

-Neither do I!

-Year after year, the relationship between the boy and the girl began to evolve.

-Sharing food they begged for and sometimes protecting Lucia from ruffians who nearly beat her, the two, who seemed as incompatible as water and oil, started to grow closer.

-And then.

-The boy’s heart began to sprout feelings of love, unbeknownst to the girl.

What seemed to be an uneventful play started to catch the wind.

A spring breeze filled the theater, carrying the sweet scent of blooming flowers. The banter and fights between Lucia and the red-haired boy didn’t feel like someone else’s story.

-Don’t be picky!

-It tastes bad, so I won’t eat it.

-You’re not a noble anymore! Know your place!

-Uh…? Uh… No! I am… I am…

Both uttering hurtful words and comforting cries, their growing closeness touched the heart.

The red-haired boy, denying his feelings with irritated ticks, and Lucia, always living proudly.

The story of the red-haired boy’s love, who had to degrade himself to begging to survive and felt his life dim until he quietly came to talk to Lucia, was somewhat heart-warming.

And the boy declared.

-When I grow up, I’ll buy you lots of tasty things. So… stay with me forever.

And with that, he awakened to the emotion called love.