Solo For Two Chapter 6

He thought there would be a way once he crossed over to Russia. But he didn’t expect the land to be so vast and desolate. Moreover, there weren’t many dark-haired people to be seen. All the footmen were uniformly blond, dark blond, or brown-haired.

“Was my determination to find Sasha just empty?”

Karel tried to calm his troubled thoughts.

***

For two days, Karel explored the winter villa, which seemed more fittingly named a palace. Julian pestered him every night to go to the balls together, but Karel thought coolly that it was none of his concern. Thanks to ignoring Julian’s incessant pestering, Karel could have his own time.

The villa was so large that, apart from the footmen, there were hardly any people to encounter, and no one paid any attention to Karel. At some point, completely relaxed, Karel wandered freely through the long halls, the reception rooms where various greetings were exchanged, the kitchen, and the laundry room where the footmen worked. He couldn’t go out like he did in St. Petersburg, but there was plenty to see inside the villa, so Karel accepted it as a kind of journey.

And on the third day after arriving at the mansion, Karel found a heavy, grand door.

Pushing open the heavy door and stepping inside, there was a sparkling marble floor, intricately crafted golden windows, and a high-ceilinged, grand hall. Karel stopped for a moment and admired the interior of the hall.

One side was entirely mirrored, and sunlight poured in generously through the wide windows on the opposite side. The outside scenery was also beautiful. Although it was bare now, with only a few remaining trees, it would be even more beautiful in the summer with lush greenery.

Stepping slowly on the marble floor that reflected the outside scenery like a mirror, Karel approached the window.

“This is the ballroom.”

At the familiar voice, Karel turned around. The countess, whom he hadn’t seen in three days, was standing there.

Instead of being surprised by the sudden appearance of the lady, Karel calmly asked,

“Is this used for dances?”

“No, this is not an open space.”

“I apologize…. I’ll leave now.”

“No, what I meant was, it’s not open to socialites.”

The countess’s voice sounded urgent for some reason, causing Karel to stop.

“I see.”

Karel turned back and surveyed the hall again. When he heard it was a ballroom, Karel initially imagined waltzes or mazurkas danced by pairs. However, it was strange that one entire wall was covered with mirrors.

Recognizing Karel’s curiosity, the countess provided further explanation.

“Here’s the practice room. My husband is very interested in ballet and folk dance, so he’s sponsoring the royal ballet. The sponsored dancers stay here.”

“Does the countess also dance ballet?”

“No.”

In response to Karel’s question, the countess replied with a serious expression. Karel barely remembered that the countess was from Paris. In Paris, there was a long history of courtesans prospering among nobles and dancers under the pretext of sponsorship. Although Karel didn’t know the position of dancers in Russia, mentioning it to the countess would likely have been considered an insult.

“I was mistaken. I thought this was a splendid place for the mistress of the palace… Sorry.”

Realizing his mistake, Karel apologized, and she nodded in acknowledgment.

“I used to come here occasionally to watch ballet performances, and they were beautiful. I enjoy watching them too. Russian ballet is of high quality. If you have time, you should come see it sometime. I’ll arrange it for you.”

Karel just nodded. Although the countess’s words sounded like an invitation to make a private arrangement, he pretended not to notice.

“Are there dancers somewhere in this mansion?”

“Yes, there are.”

Before Karel could respond, the countess spoke with a thoughtful expression.

“If you want to see them, follow me.”

Since there was no reason to refuse, and Karel had been free during the entire journey, having dealt only with Julian, he followed the countess.

And throughout the walk, the countess couldn’t hide her smile beside Karel. Although Karel thought it was a bit awkward, he didn’t take the situation too seriously. He was quite adept at accepting the favors of ladies and then cutting them off.

Anyway, the countess seemed to want to show Karel the utmost kindness she could offer.

On the way to the dancers’ quarters, the two encountered several groups of girls with their hair tied high. The countess explained that they were recently selected young dancers. Shortly afterward, young boys passed by. Surprised, Karel asked the countess,

“There are boys too.”

“Yes, in the empire, there are many professional male dancers as well as women.”

“I’m curious.”

Karel said it without any ulterior motive. As he had only a few memories of watching ballet performances, he thought ballet was exclusively for women. In the performances he had seen so far, only female dancers with slender and beautiful figures had appeared. He wondered if male dancers’ performances would feel similar.

After walking for a while, the countess stopped at the end of a hallway, at a certain entrance.

In front of them stood a solid wooden building with considerable attention to design. Surrounded by pine trees separate from the palace.

“This is the dancers’ quarters.”

“May I go in?”

“Of course. Since servants and sponsors often come and go, outsiders coming in shouldn’t seem strange. This is the men’s quarters. Please go ahead.”

With a light thank you, Karel entered.

The interior of the building was mostly finished in wood. Karel realized that this building had been built not long ago, unlike the winter villa. The interior was simple and modest but gave the impression of being well maintained.

Since it was midday, most of the rooms were empty, as everyone seemed to be outside. Seeing one door open, Karel slowly pushed it open.

Why was this door the only one open among so many doors, and why did he feel drawn to this room?

In hindsight, Karel often pondered whether this was some kind of sign.

A signal of fate leading him to Sasha.

“…?”

Karel stepped into the room. It was a narrow room to the point that even the tall Karel felt a bit cramped.

There was a narrow bed where one person could lie down, with only an empty iron frame left without bedding. It didn’t seem like anyone was currently in this room. However, it felt strange to call it a completely empty room, as there were still traces of life scattered around the room.

Clothes hanging on the wall, a few books and notebooks on the dresser…

Despite being tormented by guilt for invading someone else’s privacy, Karel approached closer. His chest fluttered with a strange premonition.

Then, his gaze fell on the frame placed at the head of the bed.

“This is…”

It was an unexpected reunion. A shiver ran down his spine. Karel stood in the middle of the room, staring at the frame as if mesmerized for a while.

“Sasha.”

A moment later, without giving himself a chance to think otherwise, he quickly removed the photo from the frame and tucked it into his chest. Aware that he was essentially stealing, he turned the frame upside down after taking out the photo, then carefully stifled his footsteps as he made his way out into the corridor.

Once completely out of the room, Karel leaned against the corridor wall, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“It could just be a figment of my imagination.”

It was simply his longing to see Sasha again that led him to superimpose Sasha’s face over someone else’s.

Karel tried to think rationally. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming urge to properly examine the photo. He fumbled around the pocket where he had put the photo but found this place inappropriate for inspecting it thoroughly.

There were name tags on the doors, presumably indicating the occupants, but the characters looked more like symbols to Karel, so he couldn’t read them. He quickly retraced his steps back the way he came.

“Madam, do you happen to know how to read Russian?”

“A little.”

Lost in thought, Karel pondered whether it was appropriate to take Rambouillet to check the nameplates. Deciding it would be better to call Julian later, he walked ahead in silence.

They returned together after walking through the long corridor again.

Karel was so absorbed in the photo in his arms that he didn’t know what Rambouillet had talked about or how he had responded. He could only recall the moment when he first met Sasha, the faint smile he showed when sharing food, and his warm body temperature and soft skin. It was a brief encounter, but there was much to remember.

When he snapped out of his reverie, Karel found himself standing in front of a familiar door. He was supposed to bid farewell to the countess, but he ended up being seen off instead. Realizing this, Karel hid his embarrassment and thanked Rambouillet.

“Thank you for your time.”

“No, thank you…”

Seeing Rambouillet’s flushed cheeks, Karel briefly pondered whether now was the appropriate time to make a request.