The master of the estate, "Lavalner," though he had not yet appeared on stage, his presence was already strongly felt by the audience.
Those who could attend the premiere here usually possessed some financial strength, and many came from noble or wealthy merchant families.
For them, the image of "Lavalner" was not unfamiliar, even quite common—a feudal, conservative, authoritative head of the household.
This evoked some painful memories to varying degrees, and made others blush with embarrassment.
Especially among the older audience members, many played the role of "Lavalner" in their own families.
"Hmm, actually, actually, this is also out of concern..."
This quiet grumbling was quickly drowned out by the exciting drama on stage; no one paid attention to what the "Lavalner" offstage was complaining about.
"Second Young Master Antoine" began to confide in his mother, "Madam Madeleine," about falling in love with a girl who was "simple-hearted" and "understood the joy of living."
The experienced "Madam Madeleine" quickly guessed that her son had fallen for "Fanny," because "she was always an uneducated lower-class person."
This line made many in the audience nod, while some shook their heads in disapproval.
And "Antoine's" solution to this problem was innocently endearing—
[ANTOINE (seriously): Mother, I am preparing to allocate a portion of my accumulated education funds to Fanny.
MADAM MADELEINE (slightly surprised): What are you preparing to do now?
ANTOINE: I plan to tell Father my intentions.
MADAM MADELEINE (fearful): Have you forgotten what your father is like!
ANTOINE (stubbornly): I must tell him. I won't necessarily marry her in the future. If she doesn't want me, I will still respect her and help her, but I hope she can get an education now. I hope Father will allow me to give her half of my education money to attend school, and later I want to send her to a 'typewriter school.' That way, she can master a trade to support herself. That's much more promising than being a maid in this house!
MADAM MADELEINE (complex tone): You truly are a child.]
A "typewriter school"?
That was quite novel!
Only a fraction of the audience knew what a "typewriter" was, but almost no one had heard of a "typewriter school."
Could this school actually enable a maid like "Fanny" to "master a trade to support herself"?
Many people felt a surge of curiosity.
In the box, Alice turned, her eyes sparkling, looking at Lionel:
"Lio, thank you..."
Lionel smiled and nodded.
The "bicycle" and "typewriter" were part of his own business interests, so naturally, he had to promote them heavily while he had the chance.
He believed that with the success of the Thunderstorm premiere, the "bicycle," the "typewriter," and the "typewriter school" would soon become the rage in Paris.
He could notify Peugeot tomorrow to increase production.
As the plot progressed, the "Eldest Young Master Édouard" was gradually outlined through the dialogue between "Antoine" and "Madeleine."
[ANTOINE: Mother, but Brother is a bit strange now; he drinks a lot, has a terrible temper, and he often goes to church, I don't know why?
MADAM MADELEINE (pressing for details): What else?
ANTOINE: He was too drunk three days ago. He took my hand and told me he hated himself, saying many things I didn't quite understand. Finally, he suddenly said that he had once loved a woman he absolutely should not have loved!
MADAM MADELEINE (her body swayed slightly): 'Once'...?
ANTOINE: After he finished speaking, he burst into tears and forced me to leave his room at that very moment.
MADAM MADELEINE (voice trembling slightly): Did he say anything else?
ANTOINE: No, he seemed very lonely. I felt sorry for him. Why hasn't he married yet?
MADAM MADELEINE (gaze vacant, repeating): Who knows? Who knows?]
Through Antoine's innocent retelling, the audience caught a glimpse of Édouard's inner turmoil, struggle, and even self-destructive tendencies.
The line, "once loved a woman he absolutely should not have loved," further confirmed the taboo relationship between him and his stepmother.
And Madam Madeleine's reactions upon hearing this information—vigilance, pressing for details, trembling, vacant repetition... all revealed the tempestuous waves in her heart and her profound sense of guilt to the audience.
With every sentence Antoine spoke, the audience's understanding of the tragic fate of the stepmother and stepson deepened, and their loathing for the root cause of all this—the cold, autocratic "Master Lavalner"—grew stronger.
"She's like a certain lady I know..."
One female audience member whispered to her companion, her tone full of emotion.
"Look at her attitude towards that medicine... My God, what kind of life is she leading in this house?"
Another agreed.
"But that can't be a reason for her and the stepson..."
Argued a gentleman nearby, though his tone lacked absolute conviction.
The performance on stage continued.
The brief sunshine brought by Antoine vanished when another figure appeared at the drawing-room doorway.
It was Édouard de Lavalner, the eldest son of the family.
Completely unlike Antoine's brightness, Édouard was like a shadow, wearing a dark evening coat, the collar buttoned tightly, his brow heavy with gloom and exhaustion.
His face was pale, his eyes sunken, as if long tormented by nightmares.
When he entered the drawing-room and his gaze inevitably met Madam Madeleine's, both recoiled their eyes away quickly as if burned.
Édouard's entrance was wordless, yet it was more impactful than any line of dialogue.
He deliberately avoided his stepmother, unwilling even to stand in the same pool of light as her; his body language was full of awkwardness, remorse, and pain that could not be voiced...
The audience was dead silent.
They watched this stepmother and stepson enact their silent agony in the gorgeous drawing-room, watching Édouard's stiff, harsh responses to Madam Madeleine.
The annoyance and self-abandonment in his tone, and his barely concealed tension when mentioning the father's return, sent a pang through the audience.
This young master was not a born villain; he was more like a soul struggling in a swamp of emotion and morality.
Just as this suffocating silence and awkwardness reached its peak, steady, powerful footsteps sounded from the back of the stage, accompanied by the respectful greetings of servants.
These sounds were like a rush of cold air, causing everyone in the drawing-room to freeze their movements.
The stage lighting also seemed to subtly shift with these footsteps; a few electric lights dimmed quietly, while others brightened in a new pattern.
The light began to focus on the main entrance of the drawing-room, foreshadowing the imminent arrival of a highly significant figure.
This delicate interplay of lighting and sound effects was something difficult to achieve in the past.
On stage, Fanny instinctively straightened her back, Antoine's smile vanished, and Édouard sharply turned, his face instantly draining of color.
Even Madam Madeleine, who had been immersed in her own suffering, seemed to be pulled by an invisible string, her body tensing slightly.
"Master Lavalner" had returned.
(End of Chapter)