The Happy Life of a Duchess

Adele's attention seems to have been focused on the stage performance in front of her, but only she knows the passion and turmoil in her heart.

She couldn't calm herself down at all, it took all her strength to restrain herself from screaming with excitement, and maintaining that seemingly peaceful social etiquette was enough to make her "exhausted".

But she was so happy, so clear, she deeply realized that she was not "tired", rather, she was so excited that she couldn't calm down even for a moment.

Her heart was dancing violently, and even after the initial shock, she still couldn't return to her natural state, and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

She thought of how her Mr. Duval had confessed to her, smiling and tenderly.

She considered her response, and didn't know whether her "eagerness" had been conveyed to the other party's heart.

She recalled the details of the relationship between the two of them, from the appreciation of each other at the beginning, to the gradual understanding later, and even her exploration of his attitude, rules of dealing with things, and her understanding and tolerance...

Adele has to admit that she has fallen in love with him a long time ago, and she trusts him very much. She firmly believes that he is not only a good-looking gentleman who makes his heart beat, but also a very reliable, good-natured man. Zhou Zheng, a man of noble character and integrity.

She had already identified him in her heart, so when the other party proposed, she was slightly surprised——

The way he confessed is so special that she can't forget it even now, and I'm afraid she will remember it deeply for a lifetime. To a certain extent, the opera "Beauty and the Beast" has become a part of her heart because of her clever Mr. An irreplaceable favorite drama, none of them.

She complied obediently, and even had to suppress the impatience in her heart.

The presence of others can't affect her decision, she just doesn't want to make herself look "too naive" excited, and she can't make the kind of screaming and cheering that is not in line with etiquette, even though the villain in her heart is already excited screamed desperately.

"It seems a little unreserved."

Now, Adele felt that her answer seemed a little too "like a wolf like a tiger".

It's even more impatient than a gentleman who hasn't "opened meat" for a long time, but so what, the sexual relationship that dominates this era is also very open.

She believed that Mr. Duval was definitely not without desires.

But with the character of a gentleman, he has always restrained himself, not bringing her any experience that would be offensive, even though she is actually willing in her heart, as long as the other party is the husband she likes.

This will only show more and more the nobleness of his character. Although it is not the same as the public's concept, it is in line with the requirements of religion for believers to a certain extent.

In fact, he is not a devout believer, nor is she, but both of them maintain the same attitude towards faith.

Thinking about it this way, they really are the most suitable couple.

Adele couldn't help but snickered again.

The crescent-shaped smiling eyes turned slightly, and his eyes fell on Mr. Duval. He seemed to have calmed down a lot, but his clenched fists showed a little bit of his extreme or even excessive restraint. heart.

If it wasn't for the excessive ups and downs in his mood, the restlessness could hardly be suppressed, how could he need to restrain himself in such a way?

She wasn't the only one who seemed impatient.

Thinking about it, Adele just felt like drinking honey water, it was even sweeter.

Others didn't pay much attention to this side, which is a rare thing.

Mr. Duke sat at the front, and he was more focused on watching. Morgana, who was next to Adele, was also very devoted.

As for Armand...

Armand's attention has long been distracted.

Adele also waited until half of the episode where the beast proposed to the beautiful woman day and night was over, and she calmed down a bit before she had the time to pay attention to her surroundings, and only then did she discover that Armand was looking anxiously and even slightly worriedly downstairs. somewhere.

Apparently, Armand wasn't paying attention to the drama either.

His mind is not on the opera, nor is he in this private room.

Following his line of sight, Adele's expression froze slightly.

In the private room on the second floor that is open to the public and not exclusively for some nobles, the bright and beautiful girl Margaret is sitting in it, watching the repertoire on the stage with full concentration, and beside her is a middle-aged man. The young female companion is exactly the neighbor and friend Prudence she mentioned.

All of a sudden, Adele's thoughts were deviated.

She felt a little strange, but also an indescribable taste.

Armand's eyes peeking into the private room there can be called affectionate, and he seems to have secretly fallen in love with the beautiful courtesan girl Marguerite as described in the book.

Margaret didn't know what was going on upstairs, and she didn't really care much about it. She was a somewhat "willful" girl, and she was almost stingy even when she looked at the man she didn't care about——

Of course she also has flaws, and she is not perfect, but compared to her extraordinarily cute and innocent aspects, the vanity problem that seems to be common to every girl can only be regarded as a small problem, and it is not worth denying her whole life just because of a little flaw. people.

Margaret's early life experience has taught her that it is useless to care about those.

No matter what, since she became a courtesan in order to pay off her father's debts, various rumors and gossips will continue to fall on her, including malicious speculation and groundless slander.

Whether it was for protecting herself or for other purposes, she had tried her best to block out that part of the bad voice.

She reduced her activities. In order to respect the expectations and wishes of Adele and others for her, she broke away from her past life. She no longer wandered around all day and lived in dissolute ways, but began to try a quiet life of ordinary people.

With Mr. Duke's support, she wouldn't have to worry too much about daily necessities.

Although her current life is tight compared to the days when she spent money like water in the past, she is still the girl who loves reading, music and art and longs for love.

"It's nice to see, isn't it?"

She whispered to the female companion next to her, the handkerchief couldn't hide the smile on her face.

The way Armand stared over there was absolutely obsessed.

His eyesight was so bad that it barely concealed it, and it didn't take long for him to be noticed.

Adele saw with her own eyes that Mr. Duval was amazed by his son's idiot look, and then followed his line of sight, and naturally noticed Margaret downstairs.

He was a little surprised for a moment. The moment he saw Margaret, he thought of the bright noble lady beside him. Coincidentally, Adele, who had been paying attention to these things, also returned him a clear smile , and waved to him with a smile.

Mr. Duval was slightly taken aback, probably realizing something.

He frowned, and was a little speechless at Armand's finally concealed expression after being discovered, but the scene wasn't over yet, and naturally he couldn't say anything until it was time for a break.

Finally, it was time for halftime.

Although "Beauty and the Beast" at the Paris Opera House is based on the fairy tale version and slightly adapted from the opera version.

But no theater will stick to a certain version of the opera and repeatedly perform the same repertoire. Almost every time it is solemnly released to the outside world, different latecomers—screenwriters, choreographers, composers, etc. Make your own interpretations and adaptations of the original version.

The same is true for this one.

Different from the traditional version, this version retains the princess status of the heroine Belle.

That is to say, after the commonly understood male protagonist changes from a beast to a prince, the prince's mother and relatives will also appear to prevent men and women from getting married and living happily together, and at the same time reveal the mysterious true identity of the heroine, the beauty.

However, although it is said that she is the real princess, some screenwriters will directly set her as a fairy or a descendant of a mysterious fairyland. This arrangement is similar to the setting of the Queen of Ghosts in "Giselle", which seems to be more current. Popular arrangement of hipster elements.

On the other hand, this also confirms the popularity of the writer Mr. Hugo, and his mysterious or passionate poems are also very popular.

Adele didn't know how the following plot would develop.

The hero and heroine are not together yet, the beauty has not rushed back to the castle from other places, has not promised the beast to turn him back into a prince, has not seen the difficulties that two people may encounter after being together, and has not really arrived. After the two sides are together, the perfect curtain call...

Others don't know, and everyone is curious about how the following plot will be adapted and developed.

Naturally, the rate of departures at halftime is low, which is a welcome relief for actors and theatres.

After all, the picky Parisian taste is well nourished by many excellent works...

As a result, it's not that there have been cases where the audience didn't buy it because the opera was too rubbish, and they just dropped their hands and left.

During the intermission, the Duke sat still in his seat, with people who came to greet him next to him.

There were two of them, and soon a few gentlemen came in to talk to him. Adele and Morgana didn't want to deal with it, so they hid in the resting place inside under the pretext.

After a while, feeling that it was too boring in the room, Adele stood by the window in the corridor to relax.

She swears that she has no other thoughts, but unexpectedly this is still a "golden position to listen to the wall".

"Please help me to the second floor..."

A string of letters was reported at the back, which was exactly where Margaret was in the private room.

Adele was speechless in her heart, quite a bit sighing.

She also didn't know how Armand found out where Marguerite was, and asked someone to buy her favorite pickled plums for him, and then asked the waiter to send it to the second floor while taking advantage of the social gap. Private room to go.

"Miss Adele."

"Good evening, both of you."

Occasionally, Adele waved a fan and greeted the gentlemen and ladies who passed by with a smile.

If you have time, just say a few more polite words, if you don't have time, just salute, nod and laugh.

"Hey, kid."

Adele waved.

The noble families in the private room often give gifts to each other. The common ones are bouquets or other simple gifts, such as the pickled plums that Margaret likes, so they have to send someone outside to buy them. Fortunately, the shop is not too far from the theater, and those who run errands earlier and move faster will be able to catch up.

Of course, the theater will not miss this kind of gift-giving business opportunity.

Sometimes they will allow small vendors who sell flowers or other small things to come in, and then send them away when the show starts.

However, most of the people who were able to enter the VIP area on the second and third floors gave money to the people in the theater or had relatives.

Without a reliable relationship, you can't get into this familiarity and enjoy the convenience of making money.

Outside the theater, there were also some little girls selling flowers. The boys seemed to be selling more newspapers, but there were also some selling other things. After all, they were all from common people or the poor to make a living.

Some sell real flowers, while others are fake silk flowers and paper flowers. But as long as the color is good and the style is good, the price will not be too expensive, and some people will be willing to buy from them.

Adele stopped him because she saw that the bouquet of lilies in the kid's hand was relatively fresh.

The little boy was also very cleanly dressed. He looked like a child from an ordinary family. When he heard her calling, he came over and saluted seriously.

Adele also noticed that he observed his own attire, and after confirming that she was unmarried through the hair accessories, he spoke very politely:

"My dear lady, what would you like me to do for you? Perhaps you would like this bouquet of fresh lilies?"

"Do you have a card?" Adele asked him with a smile.

"Yes!" He nodded, knowing that this business has a lot of fun, and the noble ladies and wives don't want to be too stingy in the theater, they are more tolerant of children like them, and the money is also generous.

"Okay, let me write a sentence, can you help me bring the card and the bouquet to the box on the second floor?"

"Okay, of course!" He looked happy, his eyes sparkling.

Adele was in a better mood then.

She asked the waiter to bring a pen, wrote a blessing with her own hand, signed it as Adele Juradi, and paid a few francs for the flowers, and the remaining change was counted as a tip for the children to send to Marguerite's Go to the private room.

"Okay, let's go, you must help me get it done, and the flowers will be delivered to that young lady."

"Understood." The child ran away without a trace, apparently very familiar with the pattern here.

"So you are here."

Behind him came Mr. Duvall's voice.

The pen and ink in Adele’s hand hadn’t been put into the bag yet, and the writing just now was written on the handrail of the stairs at the intersection. Her fan and ink were placed on the window, and the waiter helped her carry the handbag.

She hesitated for a moment, as if she had no time to spare, and she couldn't respond to his words.

A little ink theater can still afford it, if she is not in the private room, in fact, the waiter should directly take it to the private room for them to use.

She is used to the pen, although she was not used to it at first, but now that she has written many characters, she can still write good characters with this not very delicate pen.

Mr. Duval stepped forward and took the initiative to carry the bag for her. Adele then signaled the waiter to take the ink back. Back into the small box, and then put the small box in the bag.

"I thought you were still entertaining inside?"

Adele smiled, fastened the buckle of the handbag, and took the bag back from him.

Mr. Duval laughed.

The author has something to say:

Duval: "Fleeing class" looking for you (bushi)