Episode 36
Sunday. Around and around, it was Sunday once again.
Sasha stood in front of the theater where she had promised to meet Miss Merilson, waiting for her.
Sasha stood blankly, watching the passersby, and recalled the rural scenery of Lancefield, which had been far quieter than what she was seeing now.
Even though it had not been long since she left that rural village, it already felt like a distant past.
"The weather is very nice today. Isn't it?"
A carriage stopped in the distance, and Miss Merilson, who had descended from it, quickly ran over.
"I'm sorry for oversleeping. I wanted to go to the church with you, too!"
"No, it's fine."
Sasha looked at the large clock in the square with a blank expression. It was half past one in the afternoon.
There were about thirty minutes to spare before the play began.
Sasha paused mid-greeting to Miss Merilson.
Beside her was one more uninvited face.
"And this person is?"
"Ah, this is my brother, Demian. When I mentioned I was going to see a play with Miss Grayson, he begged so much to join us. Is that all right?"
Miss Merilson spoke with a bright smile, not a hint of guilt on her face.
Mr. Merilson, having been introduced by his younger sister, greeted Sasha with a more confident attitude than before.
"I've heard about you from my sister. Miss Grayson."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Merilson."
Looking at the Merilson siblings, who somehow resembled the Hampshire siblings, Sasha accepted the greeting with resignation rather than taking offense at the sudden addition.
When Sasha extended her hand, Mr. Merilson kissed the back of it, as if he had been waiting.
Thankfully, she was wearing gloves, but the lips touching the back of her hand felt quite moist.
After waiting a little longer, Miss Huffin and Miss Thomson arrived immediately after the Merilson siblings.
They were the friends Miss Merilson had mentioned in her letter a few days prior.
Yes. It was better to have more people than to be alone with Miss Merilson.
Watching Mr. Merilson standing there with an excited face, Sasha solidified that thought.
Miss Huffin and Miss Thomson, who had just arrived, looked slightly surprised at Mr. Merilson's sudden joining. However, they soon exchanged familiar greetings with him, then looked at Miss Merilson with knowing eyes and shook their heads.
Sasha looked at them with a strange expression for a moment, and Miss Merilson quickly changed the subject, saying, "Shall we go in?" and walked ahead.
"Miss Grayson, I was indeed thoughtless. No matter how much my brother pestered me, I shouldn't have brought him."
Miss Merilson linked arms with Sasha and whispered subtly.
Sasha knew full well that it was not an apology made out of sincere regret, but rather a preemptive move to keep her from showing any sign of displeasure.
However, Sasha did not have the energy to fuss over such things one by one. She simply answered with a perfunctory smile, "It's fine."
Sasha did not think much of Miss Merilson. If she absolutely needed company to watch that tedious classical play, she thought it wouldn't be bad to have her.
But now, well.
Sasha rolled her eyes at Mr. Merilson, who was peeking at her with a flushed face from behind Miss Merilson.
Recalling the letters she had exchanged with Miss Merilson over the past few days, Sasha let out a light sigh.
She had been a person whose intentions were transparent from the beginning, so Sasha had not expected a pure friendship by now, but such a blatantly obvious ploy made a sigh escape her automatically.
After all, Miss Hampshire had at least shown some sincerity, throwing a grand party and keeping in steady contact with Sasha from the beginning.
Soon the group entered the theater.
Naturally, there were only four VIP tickets that Sasha had booked in advance, so one of the five had no choice but to hurriedly purchase a general seat ticket on the first floor on the spot.
Miss Merilson insisted on willingly giving up her seat for her brother and sitting in a general seat herself.
It was exactly the scenario she had expected. The VIP seats were arranged for two people each.
"No, Josephine. I'm the one who butted in."
Mr. Merilson put on an obviously affected face and pretended to decline his younger sister's offer.
As the siblings' squabble dragged on, Miss Huffin, who had been watching the situation from the middle, whispered something to Miss Thomson and then opened her mouth as if she had been waiting, loudly offering to give up their seats for Mr. Merilson.
Sasha looked at the clock on the wall with a tired face and opened her mouth.
"Rather than that, the two siblings should sit and watch. I can watch alone on the first floor."
In fact, that was exactly what she had been hoping for.
As soon as Sasha said that, Miss Merilson exclaimed.
"What do you mean? You were the one who booked these tickets, Miss Grayson! Brother, how could you put Miss Grayson in such an awkward position? So just do as I say, nicely."
It was a funny play. Mr. Merilson looked at Sasha and laughed awkwardly, as if he had no choice under his younger sister's fervent insistence.
Soon the real play began. In the second-floor VIP seats, as per Miss Merilson's stubborn insistence, Sasha and Mr. Merilson ended up sitting side by side.
Mr. Merilson talked to Sasha the entire time with an obviously excited face, and Sasha replied to him perfunctorily, leaving a brief comment on the incident that had just occurred: "Miss Merilson's consideration for you is remarkable. It's nice to see such deep affection between siblings."
The surroundings darkened, and all the lights focused on the stage.
"The Day of Saint Agnan," one of the Empire's four great comedies, began, and the actor playing the lead role of Aquana appeared at the center of the stage.
In fact, Sasha had practically memorized the lines of all the four great comedies and four great tragedies alike.
This, too, was all thanks to Viscountess Rosalyn. Once she judged that Sasha had reached a level where she could understand plays to some degree, she periodically took Sasha to see classical plays. Plays, operas, without discrimination, all of them.
Deconstructing the original novels that served as the foundation was a given. Not only that. Every time a performance ended, Sasha had to discuss the actors' performances with her as well.
Yes. So, compared to before, it was a play she could watch relatively comfortably without such burdens.
"Actually, I've never read the original novel."
"Really? I heard that you are a graduate of Whitten Academy, Mr. Merilson."
Mr. Merilson, who had expected Sasha to naturally play along with his own playful remark, raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Ah, of course I studied it. But, hmm... It seems Miss Grayson quite likes these classical plays. Is it because of your grandmother's influence?"
Mr. Merilson quickly changed the subject. Sasha nodded with a smile.
"Yes. She used to take me with her every holiday without fail."
"Actually, my mother said she had seen Miss Grayson and the Viscountess from afar. At the theater."
"Really?"
"But she said she couldn't muster the courage to greet you. The Viscountess is such a remarkable person, after all...."
It was a bit pitiful how desperately Mr. Merilson was trying to keep the conversation going.
Feeling somewhat sorry for him, Sasha decided to change the topic for him.
"My grandmother especially loved classical plays. So much so that she collected first editions of the original novels by Dilten."
"Really? That's impressive."
"The first editions are kept safe, but there are several copies including reprints and special editions. Are you interested by any chance?"
Mr. Merilson immediately brightened and nodded.