DTV★CH 09

Chapter 9 

“Why is he here?”

A young noble girl’s voice was heard somewhere.

“The Magic Tower must be connected to this performance in some official way. That’s why he showed up.”

A man around my father’s age answered.

“I never thought I’d see that face here.”

A young noblewoman fanned herself and spoke excitedly.

Magic Tower… a rare face to see…

‘Of course.’

It was Etienne — the man who once caught even my attention.

Because of him, curious onlookers and regular guests mixed together, and the place became crowded.

‘…!’

And in the middle of that chaos, Etienne walked right past me.

It lasted only a brief moment.
But in that moment, his gloved fingertips moved gently… slowly wrapping around my fingers like a snake.

Such a delicate motion.

Etienne didn’t even glance at me. He just kept walking forward calmly.

But the feel of his smooth leather glove brushing each joint of my fingers…

Just that alone made chills run down my spine.

‘Isn’t this supposed to be a secret relationship?’

To the world, Etienne was someone rarer than a falling star.

Naturally, the crowd around him was huge, and that made me nervous.

‘No way… right?’

If anyone had looked down and seen our hands briefly touching…

Our entire “secret relationship plan” would be ruined.

“You look quite pretty today.”

He whispered softly as he walked by.

I almost turned my head toward him, but I barely held myself back.

Instead, I discreetly moved my eyes in his direction.

And…

‘…He’s smiling?’

My heart was pounding over this tiny gesture, but Etienne, with a faint smile, looked pleased.

It was absurd enough to make me wonder if he was really standing in the same place as me.

After what felt like an eternity to me — but only a moment to everyone else…

‘He’s gone.’

Etienne slipped through the crowd, and our lightly tangled fingers separated like a curtain drifting in the wind.

Just as I stood there still dazed—

“Wait — isn’t that lady over there her?”

People began noticing me a little late.

“I heard she’s been wearing the same dress again. Looks like it’s true.”

“Fashion always comes back! Maybe re-wearing a dress will become the new trend.”

Whispers rose from around me.

Normally, I would’ve listened closely to every comment, every bit of gossip.
But today… I couldn’t.

‘My mood is… awful.’

All the attention, all the talk, all the interest that usually swirled around me —
It all shifted to him.

Etienne.

‘Fine. I get it. I’m someone they can see anywhere, anytime. He’s someone they rarely see. I understand. A hundred times over.’

But knowing didn’t stop the irritation.

“You should move, my lady. There are too many people here.”

Selly finally reached me after pushing through the crowd.

I nodded.

“Don’t worry about me. Go get your ticket checked and take your seat too.”

Selly was wearing the casual dress I had once gifted her and holding her own ticket.

‘Good things are better when shared.’

Back then, money fell into my lap just by breathing.

I often took Selly along to enjoy things with me, like hobbies and outings.

“If you need anything after the performance, I’ll come get you, my lady.”

Since she might feel uncomfortable sitting right next to me in noble events, I always bought us different sections—

Today, I took a box seat on the 2nd floor; she got a seat on the 1st floor.

‘Now, the stairs to the 2nd floor…’

Ignoring the whispers, I lifted my chin and climbed the stairs.

After walking for a while, I found my seat.

This opera house had only four box seats in total — a unique structure.
Mine was the far-left one.

And there—

‘What are the chances…’

Etienne again.

He sat calmly in the far-right box — exactly three boxes away.

When I sat down, I realized even the clothes matched what he wore earlier.

‘Our seats are… kind of close.’

And strangely…

Despite the hall being full, the two box seats between us were completely empty.

‘Whatever this is, I’ll just count it as preparation for our “secret relationship”.’

I snorted softly and lifted my opera glasses.

Clap! Clap clap! Clap clap!

‘Looks like it’s starting.’

People began applauding, and I focused on the stage.

***

Intermission

There was a 30-minute break after Act 1.

‘Maybe I’ll get some air.’

I wanted to clear my head somewhere quiet.

Just then, as if reading my thoughts, Etienne stood up and passed by me.

“I’ll wait in section A-2.”

He whispered and walked away before I could react — not that he was someone who would stop even if I tried.

‘Why does he want to meet separately?’

I sat for about 10 more minutes thinking, then stood up.

‘With this delay, no one will suspect anything.’

I walked naturally toward the place he mentioned.

Tap, tap, tap.

My heels stopped in front of him — standing in a quiet outer corridor no one passed by.

“My guess was correct,” Etienne said pleasantly.

“I thought we’d meet again since we enjoy the same things. And here we are.”

His tone suggested that this was all perfectly convenient.

“I didn’t expect to see you here…
Or to have you hold my hand in a place like this.”

I emphasized “a place like this” twice.
He chuckled.

“Are you upset? Because I grabbed your hand out of nowhere?”

I wasn’t upset about the hand.

It was something else.

“That’s not it.”

“Good. I don’t want to see your pretty brow frown.”

He lightly tapped between my eyebrows with a long finger.

I blew my bangs upward and listened as he continued.

“Now one thing is certain. Our contract is progressing smoothly.”

He shrugged confidently.

“Don’t be too sure. People never know how things will turn out. If you get careless, everything could fall apart.”

We were in the same boat — but one mistake could sink us.

“In that case, for the sake of our great goal…”

I stepped toward him.

“To avoid any obstacles…”

Another step.

“…let’s practice something new.”

With my usual charming smile, I suggested:

“What kind of practice?” he asked.

“For anything to be perfect, you need practice. Holding hands, hugging — even if we can do everything else perfectly, if we miss one thing, it’s meaningless.”

To deceive others, everything must look flawless.

“So what is this ‘one thing’ in your opinion?”

He gestured for me to continue.

I shamelessly answered:

“For example… kissing.”

A type of skinship we hadn’t tried yet.

“We haven’t practiced that yet, have we?”

We held hands already —
Let’s skip hugging and jump ahead.