Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 196 Thank you, Sophia!
Louis-Alphonse's method was actually quite simple: turn the premiere of "The Chorus" into a laughingstock with no one applauding! Let Lionel and his admirers face an empty audience!

After speaking, Louis-Alphonse stepped aside and began to observe Sofia's expression.

He wasn't confident he could convince Sofia to accept this absurd proposal—after all, the costs and resources involved were too great.

But Sofia only thought for a moment before gritting her teeth and uttering a single word: "Okay!"

Even Louis Alphonse was flustered; he hadn't expected Sofia to agree so readily.

He completely underestimated the importance of "getting revenge on Lionel" in Sofia's mind.

For Sofia, punishing Lionel was originally only one of the purposes of her trip to Paris.

If she had succeeded in humiliating Lionel during that oral exam at the Sorbonne, she would have simply kicked him aside and ignored him.

Ultimately, her ambition lay in establishing herself, her mother, and the Shcherbatov family in Paris.

With Russia's increasingly turbulent situation and the growing number of revolutionaries, even Shcherbatov, from a top family, had to consider his future.

Originally, it should have been her mother, Baroness Alexievna, who had accomplished this mission.

But with that unforgettable masquerade ball, Baroness Alexievna was almost destined to be rejected by Parisian social circles.

Sophia, as the eldest daughter in the family who was most skilled in "salon games," was urgently summoned to Paris.

Both she and her mother most wanted to see a Russian noblewoman who, with her looks and knowledge, would move freely in the major salons of Paris.

Instead of spending all his time arguing with a rising star in the French literary world.

But as her harassment of Lionel backfired time and again, the name eventually became an obsession in her heart.

Because the "sunk costs" were getting higher and higher, Sofia's "additional investments" were also increasing, which eventually caused her to gradually lose her rationality.

Sofia stood up, poured Louis-Alphonse a glass of red wine, and winked at him: "Tell me, what should we do?"

Louis-Alphonse was completely captivated; his previous concerns vanished, and he began to seriously analyze the situation for Sofia.

Buying box seats directly is not an option.

In Paris' major theaters, a certain number of boxes are leased long-term by prominent families as a symbol of status and prestige; these seats are certainly not available on the market.

At the same time, the theater would never allow anyone to buy up large quantities of the remaining retail box tickets and hoard them for speculation, as that would be tantamount to offending the entire upper class.

Therefore, the most suitable target is the ordinary seats in the orchestra and balcony of the Comédie-Française.

During the Christmas season, ticket prices at the Comedy Theatre are already higher, with stalls averaging 15-20 francs and balcony seats costing 8-10 francs.

Louis-Alphonse estimated that to create the effect of an empty stadium, the vast majority of regular seats would have to be bought up—at least 70%—which would cost approximately 8000 to 1 francs.

"8000 francs?" This amount of money was not a small sum for Sofia, but it wasn't a large sum either.

She could get it simply by flattering her mother, Baroness Alexievna.

Sofia walked up to Louis Alphonse, leaned down, and stared intently into his eyes: "Are you sure this will work?"

Louis-Alphonse looked at the two snow-white mounds revealed beneath Sofia's low collar, swallowed hard, and struggled to look away: "It's...it's definitely possible."

Sofia, think about it, without the applause and cheers from the regular seats, what play could succeed with the audience in the boxes?
Believe me, many of the people in those boxes don't even care what's happening on stage; what they care about is having fun with their lovers..."

Sophia straightened up, her complexion improved, and she smiled: "Alright, then you can handle this..."

Louis-Alphonse was flattered: "Yes, sir! Sofia!"

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To avoid arousing suspicion from the theater, Louis-Alphonse employed a manpower tactic. He secretly hired hundreds of poor and unemployed people from the streets of Paris, paying each of them a few francs as a running fee, and had them go to the Comédie-Concert hall's ticket window in batches, each buying only one or two tickets for the premiere of "The Chorus" each time.

"The Choir" is a new production by newcomers. Although it has sparked controversy in several newspapers, the main buyers of stalls and balcony seats—the middle class—have limited budgets and will definitely prioritize buying tickets for Racine, Corneille, Hugo, and others.

I would only consider buying tickets for "The Choir" if I had extra money or if I couldn't get tickets from other people.

Therefore, by purchasing tickets in a dispersed manner like Louis-Alphonse, the premiere tickets for "The Choir" were like a small stream flowing into the sea, making it difficult to detect anything unusual.

The plan went unexpectedly smoothly, and within a few days, a large number of regular seats for the premiere of "The Choir" quietly flowed into Sofia's hands.

When Louis-Alphonse handed her the small box full of theater tickets, Sofia wore a cruel yet gleeful smile.

The time was ripe, and Sofia decided to deliver the most fatal blow to Lionel in the most public setting, making him taste defeat and humiliation ahead of time.

The day's literature theory class had just ended, and the students were preparing to leave the classroom.

Sofia suddenly stood up from her seat, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

She drawled out her words, her tone full of sarcasm, "Mr. Sorel, I heard that your masterpiece 'The Choir' is about to be staged at the Comedy Theatre?"

That's... truly astonishing.

Lionel paused in his tidying of books, looked up at her calmly, and said nothing.

Sofia enjoyed being the center of attention. She raised her voice as if announcing something important: "To show my support for your 'outstanding achievements,' I've specially... um, prepared a small Christmas gift for you in advance."

She paused deliberately, glanced around at the curious and puzzled classmates, pulled a theater ticket from her pocket, and then slowly said, "Tickets for the premiere of 'The Choir' at the Comedy Theatre on the night of the 26th. Guess how many I have?"

A wicked yet dazzling smile spread across her face: "Don't worry, I'll definitely be there. I'll be able to fully appreciate... um... the elegant reliefs on the theater walls and the wonderful sight of the empty seats."

That would definitely be a performance you'd never forget, wouldn't you say? Perhaps even more spectacular than your script itself.

The classroom erupted in an uproar!
The students stared at Sofia in shock, then at Lionel.

Although Sofia didn't say it explicitly, everyone had a vague idea of ​​what she had done.

Albert de Rohan jumped up from his seat on the spot: "You filthy Russian bitch..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lionel interrupted Albert's tirade of profanities.

Faced with this blatant provocation, he showed no anger whatsoever; in fact, he even revealed a look of pity.

His tone was surprisingly calm: "Miss Sofia Ivanovna Durova-Sherbatova, thank you for your generosity."

Yesterday, the comedy theater told me that the premiere tickets for "The Choir" were sold out, which was a pleasant surprise for a newcomer like me.

I never imagined it would be you who helped me; this friendship from my classmates truly touches me.

His reaction completely surprised Sofia. Instead of getting angry or panicking, he even began to thank himself.

Sofia felt a little flustered—every time she provoked Lionel, he remained calm and composed, and then…

Sofia shivered, but she refused to back down easily: "I hope you'll be just as stubborn on the 26th!"

With that, Sophia snorted coldly, put away her theater tickets, and left the classroom with an air of arrogance.

Albert moved closer to Lionel, somewhat angrily: "Léon, are you crazy? Thank her? She's planning to ruin the premiere of 'The Choir'!"

Lionel looked innocent: "She bought all the tickets, and I get 3% of each one, so of course I have to thank her."

Albert: "...You're eating your own lunchbox today! It's infuriating!"

(End of this chapter)