Episode 24
It had to be nothing more than a trivial decoration. In the past, whenever Sasha went out with Lady Rosalyn, she had seen plenty of things far more splendid than this. She had seen the Thousand-Year Snow said never to melt for a thousand years, and she had seen antique works of art worth over ten thousand ond.
At most, it was merely a lighting decoration made to enhance the atmosphere of the restaurant. Yet what Sasha felt in that moment was a sense of liberation born from the sudden realization that she could finally enjoy such things in full.
The person sitting across from her was not Lady Rosalyn, but a man named Isaac Pinscher. Far from nitpicking her every action and every word as Lady Rosalyn had done, he was entirely preoccupied with his own meal.
Though he did glance at her from time to time, it was nothing compared to the way Lady Rosalyn had stared at her with an expressionless face. It was a newfound sense of liberation. Yes, truly newfound.
Only then did Sasha realize that she had yet to escape that old woman’s influence. Even after the old woman’s death, Sasha was still bound by everything about her.
Sasha recalled the old woman’s will, filled with clauses that anyone could see were meant to keep her tied to the mansion until the very end. Yes, perhaps this is what she wanted. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, as though things were flowing according to that old woman’s will in life, regardless of Sasha’s own wishes.
Though it was an insignificant sight, Sasha was overcome for an instant by the freedom she felt, then soon returned to a composed expression. When she looked straight ahead again, her eyes met Isaac’s.
He was looking at her with a slightly strange expression. But he did not say anything to her then and there. He simply lowered his head calmly, as though he had never been looking at her, and finished off the rest of his meal.
That was the end of their meeting that day. As if he had truly called her because he needed someone to eat with, Isaac only ate while keeping her seated there, and after finishing the main course, he even skipped dessert and rose from his seat as if he were being chased.
“The food was really delicious. Don’t you think?”
Now that they had left the restaurant, Sasha thought she would get into the carriage with him and exchange some conversation. But Isaac merely nodded curtly, helped her into the carriage, and left.
Only after the carriage arrived at the Dilton mansion did Sasha feel a little bewildered. She wondered what on earth that had been, then even had the ridiculous thought that perhaps that man had called her because he needed someone to go to that restaurant with, before quickly pushing it from her mind.
After that bland first meeting, the two of them began to exchange letters, however brief.
Sasha’s letter came first, saying that she had greatly enjoyed their dinner that day, a letter anyone could tell had been sent purely as a formality. Contrary to her expectation that he would ignore it as he always had, however, a reply came from Isaac.
The reply was still brief. It was hard to call it a letter. Strictly speaking, it would have been more accurate to call it a note.
So when shall we meet next?
It was a response that seemed to say Sasha should decide their next meeting place. It was a reply that shoved the matter onto her, as though she were the one urging these meetings on.
Her confusion lasted only a moment, and after some thought, Sasha said that next time she would visit Lance Field herself.
Send me a letter before you come.
Instead of answering that he understood, Isaac sent back this curt response in a short reply. Sasha considered following his example and sending back a one-word answer that would be worse than not sending anything at all, but in the end she wrote a lengthy greeting in her usual kind, plainly formal, and refined tone.
The two met again a week later.
Sasha had been busy in the meantime handling this and that. Although the prospective husband candidates she had been keeping an eye on had all fallen away because of Jeffrey Grayson, there were still many people who wanted to grow closer to her.
Sasha sorted the senders, selected those of higher importance, and began replying to them first. Most had been close to the old lady in life, and most were prominent figures in politics and finance.
Next came the duchess’s acquaintances. Strictly speaking, they were people Sasha had never met before, but there was nothing to be gained from distancing herself from the acquaintances of the duchess, who currently held sway over high society.
There truly were many people who wanted to become close to Sasha. There were women around Sasha’s age, and there were also men of comparatively lower standing, so to speak, who were too insignificant for Jeffrey Grayson to bother keeping in check.
However, as time passed, the frequency of letters from the latter began to decrease. Sasha soon realized that even they were being influenced by Jeffrey. The friends from that damned gentlemen’s club led by Jeffrey were admirably exercising influence on his behalf.
Whether Jeffrey had ordered even that much, she could not know. In any case, when Sasha happened to hear of this from a certain lady, she could not hide her displeasure.
In that sense, Lance Field, where she arrived after some time away, was a grateful place that welcomed her with unmatched warmth. There were no chatterboxes here waiting only for rumors to carry off, nor were there people pretending to be honest and to associate with her while expecting scraps to fall their way. Of course, it would be a lie to say there was absolutely no one who made blatant use of their acquaintance with her, but at least the people of Lance Field had a naive side, so it was all obvious.
If she had to choose the group she was most reluctant to deal with in Lance Field, it would be a few officers who kept pestering her without being discouraged even when she refused them.
In any case, two days before arriving at Lance Field, Sasha wrote to Isaac as if to notify him that she would be coming in two days.
No reply came from him, but Sasha did not particularly mind. All she wanted was to leave the Dilton mansion as soon as possible and rest again.
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This time, too, Sasha decided to stay for a few days at the major’s residence. The major’s wife, Matilda, whom she had not seen in well over a week, still welcomed her with a pleased expression, but throughout their formal greetings, she kept working her lips as though debating whether or not to say something.
When Sasha tentatively brought up her previous appointment with Isaac Pinscher, Matilda’s face lit up as if she had been waiting for it.
“We went to a wonderful restaurant in the capital. All the food was delicious.”
“Wasn’t it? My husband and I always stop by there whenever we go to the capital. There’s no better place for a date.”
Whether Sasha looked at Matilda with a subtle gaze for a moment or not, Matilda, who had begun chattering with a delighted face, said, “That’s why I told him he absolutely had to take Miss Grayson there.”
“……Oh, dear.”
Matilda looked at Sasha awkwardly, her face turning pale. Sasha, unconcerned, looked at Matilda and giggled.
“I did think the choice of location was excellent for the blunt Captain Pinscher, so it turns out you had a hand in it, madam. Thanks to you, I was able to dine somewhere with a lovely atmosphere. Thank you.”
Matilda looked greatly relieved upon hearing Sasha’s words. She soon sighed as if she could hardly believe it and said,
“Goodness, when I asked him where he was going to meet you, do you know what he said? ‘Somewhere, anywhere.’ So I took measures in advance.”
Sasha thought back to that day for a moment. She recalled his appearance, dressed to the nines as if he had been looking forward to that day far too much, unlike his plain—no, blunt—attitude.
Seeing Matilda smile proudly, Sasha could easily guess that his appearance that day, too, had to some extent been created by Matilda’s influence.
Indeed, the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. It had been quite strange for that man, who had always looked at her gloomily with a face full of distrust whenever he saw her, to suddenly appear so neatly dressed as though none of that had ever happened.
And dressed like that, it was not as though he had set his mind to seducing her. Had he not simply ignored her again and focused only on his own meal?
“Has anything interesting happened in Lance Field while I was away?”
Sasha ended the topic around there and brought up something else.
Then, as Matilda told her that Mr. Martin, the landowner living in the lower village, had a sow that had given birth to piglets, she quietly looked out the window.
In the distance, the gray military facilities could be seen. Within those high walls, Captain Isaac Pinscher would be there.
Sasha spent the entire day of her arrival with Matilda, relieving some of her fatigue.
When she woke the next morning, a young servant employed by the major approached and handed her a short letter, saying the captain had asked him to deliver it.
Five o’clock in the afternoon.
Be out in front of the house.
It was a grim message that looked almost like a summons to a duel. In any case, Sasha did as he said and leisurely spent time indoors with Matilda until before four in the afternoon.
And when four o’clock came, she slowly changed clothes and prepared to go out.
Her expectation was that this time, since there would likely be no interference from Matilda or the major, it would be a much plainer meeting.
Ten minutes before five in the afternoon, she checked the clock and decided to leisurely go outside ahead of time. And the moment she opened the door, she came face-to-face with Isaac, who was standing there.