Chapter 105: Magic Lock
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Staring at the young musician walking out of the darkness of the second floor, for a moment, an idea flashed through both Lilith's and Sala's mind: Mr. Evans was a sorcerer.
However, a second later, they felt a bit amused for having such silly thoughts. How could this young, talented musician who gained such vast popularity in Aalto be a mysterious sorcerer? That was ridiculous.
At this time, Lopez came into the living room followed by a bunch of servants who were holding candles. The whole space was immediately lit up.
"I'm Lucien Evans." Lucien walked downstairs and smiled in a polite way, "I was told that you two came here because of an ancient manuscript?"
"Mr.… Mr. Evans! I'm Lilith. I… I like your music very much!" Due to her nervousness, Lilith failed to answer Lucien's question properly, "For Silvia is my favorite! I'm… I'm very glad to meet you."
Facing this talented and good-looking young musician, the young girl's face flushed.
"Me too, Mr. Evans. I'm Sala." Sala was calmer than his sister, "Symphony of Fate gives me a lot of encouragement, sir."
Lucien smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your support. But can we talk about the manuscript first?"
Hoping that he could find more information about the Continental Congress of Magic, Lucien read lots of literatures and ancient manuscripts. He would not let any possible chance slip from his hands.
"Yes… Sorry, Mr. Evans." Sala sniffed a bit and took out a pile of paper, "Here it is, sir."
Lucien took the manuscript over and said to them, "Not a problem. Please sit down, so we can discuss together."
Lilith sat back on the couch, still blushing. From time to time, she peeked at Lucien, who was absorbed in reading. Her heart was beating fast.
As usual, Lucien read very fast in order to have a complete copy in his spiritual library. However, a familiar sentence in the manuscript immediately seized his attention!
"When the sun entered Thanos' Palace…"
Lucien was astonished.
Why did he see the same weird sentence twice within just a couple of months? What did the manuscript have to do with the poem that Mr. Deroni mentioned?
Thus, Lucien slowed himself down and started to reread the whole manuscript. The further he read it, the more shocked he was. Combining what he read before, in the princess' study, Lucien gradually realized what that manuscript was about.
It was about the ruins of a magic site!
Calm as Lucien looked, there was a great turmoil in his mind:
"Floating mountains", "grand cross"… Lucien remembered these words. He saw them when he was reading Astrology and Magic Elements. Opening that book in his spiritual library, Lucien turned the page to the last chapter, magic circles.
Just as he expected, Lucien found out that the manuscript described a wide and powerful magic veil called "Magic Lock", which was mainly constituted by a series of Astrology spells.
Compared with the folk poem, the manuscript offered a more detailed description about how the city was destroyed by the falling meteors and how the weird, red liquid surged up from under the ground. Unfortunately, the manuscript was not complete. No explanation could be found on it regarding why there was a magic site built underground, or why a Magic Lock was placed around it.
The witch's ancestors lived in Aalto many years ago. According to the witch's notes, one of her ancestors was the student of a very powerful legendary sorcerer who was the lord of the city. Therefore, Lucien guessed that the magic site might have something to do with this legendary sorcerer, but he had no real evidence about it.
It had been more than half an hour since Lucien started to read the manuscript. During this time, Lucien did not say even a single word. Both Lilith and Sala felt a bit nervous.
Shocked as Lucien was, he pretended to be quite calm, "It's not complete. Do you have the rest?"
"No." Lilith shook her head, "This is not the original manuscript. As you can see, Mr. Evans, it has been translated into the common tongue."
"I see." Lucien put the manuscript on the table, then he said to Lilith and Sala, "I have a rough idea… This manuscript is about some underground magic ruins, and I can do a rough calculation to locate where the ruins were, based on the geographic and constellation features the manuscript provides."
"Awesome!" Sala and Lilith exclaimed at the same time with great surprise.
After Lucien finished his explanation, Lilith was even more excited, "Thank you so much, Mr. Evans! This will help…"
"Li… Lilith," Sala directly cut his sister off with a couple of fake coughs. Then, he stood up and said to Lucien with respect, "Mr. Evans, thank you for telling us the story behind the manuscript. How much we shall pay you for this?"
"One Thale." Lucien smiled. Since he was about to leave Aalto after the music festival, he wanted to save more right now, although he already had saved thirty Thales from working for the princess and all the rewards he received. That was already more than what a commoner could earn for their whole life.
"For sure." Sala slightly bowed to Lucien. Then, he pulled out the money bag and handed Lucien a Thale with great respect.
"As the city gate has been closed, " Lucien smiled to them and invited, "if you don't mind, Lilith and Sala, you are welcome to stay in my manor tonight."
...…
After having dinner, Lucien asked Mr. Lopez to take Lilith and Sala to their guest rooms.
Standing in the center of the living room, Lucien watched the two young visitors leave. His shadow was shivering on the floor because of the candlelight.
Lucien was very concerned with this great coincidence. He just heard the folk poem from Mr. Deroni a couple of months ago, and now he had guests finding him on their own and bringing that precious manuscript. That was too big a coincidence in his eyes.
Lucien thought it might be a trap from the night watchers. However, he had to admit that he was also greedy.
Lucien's spiritual power had reached a peak within the level of senior apprentice. Up to a couple of weeks later, Lucien should be able to make a breakthrough to become a first circle sorcerer. Right now, all he needed was several kinds of magic materials for his advancement.
Lucien once read from another book that, around most of the magic veils, there would often be magic gardens, since the plants and other materials there would be exposed to magic power all the time. Many of them should be on Lucien's list.
Also, he didn't need to step into this Magic Lock. The magic garden should be just outside of the veil.
According to the sentence "when the sun entered Thanos' Palace…", the best time to approach the Lock should be on the tenth day of the following month, the equivalent to April on his original world. Actually, one should approach the magic veil at midnight of April ninth, when the silver moon swung to the summit of her travels. At that time, the sun should be close enough to the constellation called Thanos' Palace. Obviously, though, people would not be able to see the sun from the magic ruins, since it would be night time.
After a long time of struggling, Lucien finally restrained himself from being impulsive and greedy. After all, exploring the ruins of the magic site would require a lot of preparation from him. At the very least, he would need to collect more related books and notes to get a better understanding of this "Magic Lock".
Obviously, right now Lucien was not prepared for it. He decided to be more cautious and to wait for a future chance.
…
Lilith and Sala did not sleep well last night, half because of the excitement, and half because of the manor, which made them feel a bit creepy.
As the revelation of the secret of their manuscript took way less time than they thought, when Lilith and Sala went back to Aalto, they decided to stay in the city for the music festival and then head for the small town named Bonn, which was close to Elsinore Lake.
Although Sala still felt a bit concerned about the fact that staying in Aalto any longer might bring them unnecessary trouble, facing his younger sister's eager request, Sala yielded. After all, he did not want to miss the great musical festival himself as well.
After Lilith and Sala left, Lucien also left his manor and went back to the Musicians' Association to rehearse with the symphony orchestra.
Chapter 106: The Dream City of Music
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Sitting in the coach, which moved rather smoothly, Lucien looked out the window and found that Aalto became way busier than usual, because of the music festival.
Lots of coaches with strange coats of arms all of a sudden appeared on the streets, but they were familiar to Lucien, since he once read several books in Natasha's study introducing the stories behind the coats of arms of different families on the continent.
Also, there were way more street artists and bards out there today. Among those people, Lucien noticed a familiar figure. It was uncle Joel.
Joel was playing lyre. It seemed the loss of two fingers of his left hand did not bother him too much. Surrounded by a bunch of people, Joel looked rather cheerful and excited.
Lucien asked the coachman to stop. Then, he left the coach and walked close to Joel. Standing behind the crowd, Lucien listened to his playing, smiling.
The crowd burst out a warm applause when Joel finished his playing and bowed to them. A few of the listeners took out their moneybags and put some coins in Joel's hat to show their appreciation.
When Joel straightened up his body, he saw Lucien. Joel's eyes were lit up with surprise.
"How come you're here, Lucien!" When the crowd dispersed, Joel walked with Lucien to a quieter corner, "I thought you were still in the manor."
"I was." Lucien smiled. "I'm going to the association. How're you doing, uncle Joel?"
"I'm doing great!" Joel's eyes were shining with pride, "You saw it. They love my music!"
Lucien nodded and said to Joel, "For sure." Then he pointed at Joel's hat, which was filled with small change.
"I don't need this money. You've been taking care of my family all the time, and because of you and John, we're now living a decent life." Joel weighed the hat a bit with his hand, "As long as they like my playing, that's enough."
"I know," Lucien agreed. "Music itself is beautiful enough."
"I just play because of my dream now, not for a living." Joel nodded, "It feels like those days when I just came to Aalto are back again. I'm passionate and motivated. Aalto Music Festival makes turns me into a spring chicken again… hahaha…"
Later, Lucien wandered around on the street to enjoy the different styles of playing. Street music had its unique charm, which also inspired Lucien quite a bit. Staying in his manor in the suburbs for too long, Lucien missed the bustling atmosphere.
As he was walking, Lucien was trying to construct a rough idea about how to recompose the third movement of Violin Sonata in G Minor, which was a very challenging piece of music in this world. Lucien wanted to present the beauty of this piece of sonata with piano, and he also wanted to show the audience his skills.
Lucien decided to recompose it on his own, rather than referring to the masterpieces in his original world like what he always did before. This concert would be the first and also might be the last music concert in Lucien's life. He wanted to leave something that really belonged to him.
Watching people's smiling and cheerful faces on the street, listening to the melodious music, Lucien sighed and murmured, "I wish there was no Church here."
"Sir, come and join our free concert!" Suddenly, a young man popped out in front of Lucien. "Free!" His green eyes were full of hope.
"Ah?" Lucien was a bit confused.
"We rented a house for hosting our concert, sir!" explained the young man. "By the way, I'm Piola, the first violin in our orchestra!"
It was still early. Lucien was not in a rush, so he nodded with a smile, "Where is it then?"
"Over there!" Piola cheered, "The thirtieth!"
Then he led Lucien to a two-storey house on the other side of the street.
The center of the living room was their simple and temporary stage, on which there were two violins, one viola and one cello. A black-haired girl of ample proportions was sitting in front of a harpsichord.
"Sorry, sir. We need to have more friends here before we start." Piola apologized, "Grace will play harpsichord for our guests during the waiting time."
Lucien realized what was going on here. They should be a band coming from another country. They came here for Aalto Music Festival to pursue their music dream, but renting a formal music hall here in Aalto was unaffordable to them. Therefore, they were hoping that more people here would get to know them by providing their audience with free performances.
What the girl played for the audience after Piola left happened to be For Silvia.
Although Grace played it pretty well, some shortcomings of harpsichord compared with piano could not be hidden from Lucien's eyes.
After a while, more people entered the house. The spacious living room now became quite crowded.
"Dear ladies and gentlemen, " Piola jumped on the stage and picked up his violin, "We come from Sturk, the Bright Pearl of the Sea. It's our great honor to play for you today. Welcome!"
Then he turned around and introduced the band members to the audience, "I'm the first violin, Piola, this is the second violin, Sharon. And our violist, Green. This is our cellist, Leslie. And our beautiful Grace who was playing harpsichord for us."
The small concert took about an hour. Lucien could tell that they were quite experienced from their repertoire, their infectious enthusiasm and their playing skills. Even in Aalto, they could be regarded as qualified instrumentalists.
At the end of the concert, they received warm applause from the audience. The band members were very excited and started to talk to the guests.
"How do you feel about our Fantasia in C Minor, sir?" Piola smiled to Lucien.
"Pretty good," answered Lucien sincerely. "At the same time, you guys can probably pay more attention to how to unfold your music and the technique that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements… as we call it serialism."
"Wow…" Piola was very impressed. He did not expect that he would receive such a professional comment from this young listener. Then Piola started to exchange his ideas with Lucien with great passion.
Their heated discussion drew the attention of the other band members. Gradually, they joined Piola and Lucien's conversation after most of the audience left the house.
…
"Thank you very much, sir. We learned a lot from your suggestions." Grace nodded to Lucien.
"Have a lovely stay in Aalto." Lucien smiled and was about to leave.
"I'm sure we will," answered Piola. "Sir, you know that the schedule of the many concerts that will be held in the Psalm Hall has been released."
"Already?" Lucien was a bit surprised.
"Yes!" Piola looked rather excited, "You know which ones I'm most looking forward to?"
"We all know." smiled Sharon, "Mr. Christopher's and Mr. Evans'."
"Exactly!" Piola clapped his hands, "Seven months traveling! We came all the way here from the shore, just for Mr. Christopher's and Mr. Evans' concerts!"
During Aalto Music Festival, even commoners, who could not afford the tickets, could listen to all the concerts held in the Psalm Hall indirectly by means of a divine power circle, which functioned like a broadcaster on the central square.
Seven months… The shore… Something flashed through Lucien's mind. Then, he started to chat with them about their trip for about another ten minutes.
After Lucien left, Grace said to the other band members, "I still can't believe that a random sir in Aalto can have such profound knowledge of music. This city's amazing."
"Oh my!" exclaimed Piola, "We didn't ask his name!" He patted on his forehead in a regretful way.
…
As soon as Lucien arrived his own office in the association, he heard a knock at the door behind him.
Surprisingly, it was Natasha and Camil.
After Camil closed the door, Natasha said to Lucien in a serious manner, "Argent Horn was detected in some remote towns again. You have to be careful, Lucien. Don't go out at night."
Chapter 107: Lucien's Repertoire
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
"Are they back?" Lucien was very surprised. He never expected that Argent Horn, after such a great loss, would bounce back so quickly.
"Yes. The Church has sent a Night Watch team out, as well as a bunch of pastors, even some bishops." Natasha nodded, "I wish I could go, too. Those heretics are just crazy…"
Lucien did not answer. He felt that some enthusiastic followers of the God of Truth were crazy as well.
Natasha sat down on the couch, "Aalto is super busy right now. Our security check can't be perfect, especially when we are actually short-handed. Please be careful, Lucien. I'm still eager to attend your concert."
"I will. Thank you for reminding me, Your Grace," answered Lucien. "Also, I have Alert. Unless they send someone who's of a grand knight level or above, they cannot get the jump on me that easily. Still, I'm just a nobody."
"Come on, you're not a nobody." Natasha waved her hand, "Your concert draws a lot of attention. We're all looking forward to it."
"I'm flattered, Your Grace." Lucien paused a bit, "I think I'll be fine. But uncle Joel and his family…"
"No worries. I can take care of them." Natasha immediately understood.
"Thank you so much, Your Grace," said Lucien gratefully.
"How's your preparation for the concert going, Lucien?" Natasha changed the subject and asked Lucien casually, as if they were close friends, "I'm curious."
"Well… not bad," answered Lucien honestly. "I Just need more time to practice with the orchestra. After all, it will be my first time as a conductor. I'm feeling a bit concerned about that, but that's my only concern."
"You have a really good understanding of music, and your Blessing has been awakened. I don't think that will be a problem." Natasha looked at Lucien with her beautiful purple eyes, "What about the repertoire of the concert?"
Lucien happened to be going to meet Mr. Othello later to have his concert repertoire registered, so he answered directly, "Symphony of Fate. Serenade for strings in G major. Piano Canon in D major. A piano solo recomposed from Violin Sonata in G minor. A piano sonata in C minor named Pathetique, which is a piece of theme music."
"Quite different than I thought," said Natasha with a bit hesitation, "The whole concert is dominated by piano and piano only. I'm afraid that the lack of symphony might make your concert less solemn and grand."
However, before Lucien made any explanation, Natasha smiled and said to Lucien, "But anyway, it's your own concert. You know what you're doing, Lucien. I trust you."
Lucien was encouraged. With the support of the princess, he believed that even Mr. Othello would not be able to say too much about his repertoire.
"By the way, Your Grace," somehow Lucien's mind was dragged back to the previous topic, "Argent Horn happened to be detected around the time of Aalto Music Festival… It seems to be too big a coincidence."
"I know your concern, Lucien." Natasha did not seem to be worried, "We'll handle it."
Lucien simply nodded without making any further comment on that. He clearly knew that he was not the only smart guy in Aalto.
…
After Natasha and Camil left, Lucien ran into Othello, the director of the association, on the stairs.
This time Othello's student, Mekanzi, was not with him. He had been receiving lots of negative comments since last time, when he accused Lucien of being a demon follower and failed. Thus, Mekanzi has not showed up in the association that often recently.
"Lucien, are you ready for the concert?" Othello looked a bit tired, "Is your repertoire ready?"
"Oh Yes, Mr. Othello. Actually, I was about to hand in the repertoire list to you later," said Lucien. Then, he took out the list and handed it to Othello.
Othello read the list with his brows wrinkling, "Too many piano solo. They are not enough for a grand concert, I would say. I know a genius always has a lot of novel ideas, but Lucien, are you sure about it?"
Lucien nodded, "I'm confident, and Her Grace agreed on the repertoire as well."
"Well, I see… I hope you don't feel too stressed." Othello was still a bit worried. In his heart, Natasha's decision to directly assign the last and most important concert to Lucien was not really wise. Othello believed that the final concert for the music festival required a musician who was way more authoritative and experienced than Lucien.
Later, when Lucien was walking upstairs to the practicing room, he met a few of his colleagues, who greeted him in a concerned manner. They were also worrying that Lucien might be under too much pressure for hosting the final concert.
As soon as Lucien stepped on the fourth floor, he saw a lady rushing toward him. Luckily, he was agile enough and made a sudden dodge to the side.
"Silvia? Why are you in such a hurry?" Lucien was a bit surprised.
"Oh hi, Lucien! Nothing really important, actually." Wearing a light yellow dress, Silvia's cheeks slightly flushed from rushing, "I heard that your concert is on the last day. Good for you and… don't stress yourself out."
"I'm fine. Thank you, Silvia." nodded Lucien, "You're not the first one today telling me I should not feel stressed. I appreciate it, though."
"I bet." Silvia smiled, "You handle pressure pretty well. And Natasha trusts you very much."
…
Rhine and the orchestra were already waiting there when Lucien arrived.
Picking up the baton, he said to them, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's start."
After the first round rehearsal, Lucien felt pretty good. When he was about to continue, Othello and another two young men entered the practicing room.
Lucien knew one of them, Count Verdi, having seen him twice in Ratacia Palace. The other, a grey-haired young man wearing a fine bright red jacket, was totally strange to Lucien.
"This is the prince of the Kingdom of Syracuse, Prince Michelle. The prince's very interested in our association." Othello introduced politely.
After Lucien and the other musicians saluted, Prince Michelle said to them a bit shyly, "Am I disturbing you? Don't mind me. I'm just looking around." When he was introduced to Lucien, Michelle looked quite excited, "Mr. Lucien Evans! It's a pleasure to meet you." Then, the prince reached out both of his hands and gripped Lucien's hands regardless of the royal etiquette.
Lucien could feel the young prince's strength when he was shaking hands with him. Obviously, Michelle had awakened his Blessing. Lucien bowed slightly to him and said politely, "It's my great pleasure, Your Grace."
…
On Lucien's way home, he came across Silvia's father, Mr. Deroni, who was talking to a middle-aged man that Lucien had never seen before.
The man was in his forties. He had tall nose, brown hair and dark blue eyes. Wearing a decent suit, the man was well-mannered.
Deroni nodded to Lucien and introduced, "This is Rogerio, my relative and also my business partner. And this is Mr. Lucien Evans."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Rogerio," greeted Lucien politely while reaching out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Evans." Rogerio sook Lucien's hand, "You're famous even in Sturk. I've been hearing your name all the time."
"I happened to meet a band from Sturk earlier today." Lucien smiled and shared with them some of the interesting stories that he heard from the band.
…
Several days later, the most exciting music event on the continent, Aalto Music Festival, finally kicked off.
Chapter 108: Warm Up for the Festival
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
April third, Aalto Music Festival.
Music was everywhere on the streets. Today, Lucien was dressing less formally, with a simple brown coat, white shirt and black trousers. Wandering on the streets, he was accompanied by Iven, who also dressed like a little gentleman, since Joel and Alisa decided to go out on a date to revive the passion and love that they had when they were young.
Victor was busy with meeting different musicians and nobles from other cities and countries, and so were Felicia, Lott and Herodotus. Natasha was feeling overwhelmed by the royal guests coming from all over the continent, and she spent all her spare time supporting Silvia's upcoming concert. Rhine was invited to be the first violin for several concerts, and Lucien heard that he didn't even have time to eat.
Even John could not find any time to hang out with Lucien. He needed to maintain the order on the festival.
"Hey, John!" Lucien waved to his buddy, who was patrolling on the streets.
"Hey, Lucien!" John grinned, "How's everything going?"
"Well… Can't be any better." Lucien shrugged his shoulders, "Is there anything better in the world than being a babysitter during the music festival?" Lucien pointed at Iven, who was focused on chewing the huge hotdog in his hand.
John laughed so loud that several pedestrians on the street turned to look at them.
"Come on! I'm taking care of your younger brother!" Lucien complained in a joking way.
"Well… I heard that several noble ladies invited you to their manors during the festival." John patted on Lucien's shoulder, "Say… Miss Yvette Hill."
"I prefer to take care of your brother," answered Lucien honestly.
After talking to John, Lucien continued to stroll around the streets. Since he might be leaving soon after the music festival, Lucien wanted to feel Aalto more and cherish the time when he was still here.
While Lucien was quite interested in listening to the street artists playing, Iven paid more attention to the assorted food trucks which were selling grilled cheese, fruit pie, fried potatoes, desserts and so on.
Finishing his hotdog, Iven started to stare at the candy store on the other side of the street.
Lucien and Iven easily spent the whole morning walking around to enjoy the festival atmosphere, and walking into some random small music halls to appreciate the music that the bands played.
During the music festival, except for the Psalm Hall, tickets for any music performance were very cheap, and some of them were even free. Thus, Aalto Music Festival was genuinely a music feast for everyone.
It was close to lunch time. Lucien took Iven to a restaurant.
"Look!" Iven was pointing at the sign standing in front of the restaurant, "Play music and earn your free meal!"
Iven could already read some words under Lucien and John's teaching.
"This restaurant seems to be quite awesome." Lucien smiled.
The restaurant was super busy. When Lucien and Iven were waiting to be seated, they saw an old gentleman who was playing piano in the front. The old gentleman was not playing really well, and every of his key-pressing movement seemed to be a big challenging for him.
But he played in a very devoted way, as if he was having his own concert.
When the old gentleman finished playing, the whole restaurant bursted out a warm applause for him. The guests were applauding for his courage and passion.
"Free lunch for this gentleman!" cheered the owner of the restaurant, "Who wants to be the next!?"
Lucien and Iven were led to a small table for two, close to the window. They ordered two steaks for lunch.
A few more guests performed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very nice. Everyone here was enjoying their time.
More and more people came into the restaurant. Some of them could not find any seat, so they just stood beside the bar section, holding their food, and that included Piola, Sharon and the other band members.
After playing for the whole morning, they were starving. A free lunch was definitely great.
Piola's playing seized everyone's attention. The festive atmosphere in the restaurant climaxed.
"Free lunch for this young lad!" the owner of the restaurant announced, "And for his friends!"
Lilith and Sala were attracted by the restaurant as well.
…
Putting down his knife and fork, Lucien smiled at Iven, who was too full to sit up straight on his seat, "Told you. Don't eat too much."
"I can't control myself…" Iven was still staring at the rest of the steak on the plate and then he ask the waiter to take it to go. Then he turned to Lucien, "If you're willing to play, Lucien, for sure we don't need to pay!"
Being touched by the friendly, warm atmosphere, Lucien wanted to give it a shot as well. Lucien wanted to see whether his own music, the one he didn't copy from any masterpieces, could receive some appreciation among the people.
So he nodded to Iven and walked toward the piano.
"Another young lad!" said the restaurant owner.
"Mr. Evans!?" Lilith could not believe her eyes.
"Yes, it is Mr. Evans." Sala looked a bit confused but also excited, "I thought he was preparing for his concert."
"We're so lucky!" Lilith's face flushed, "We can listen to Mr. Evans' playing here, in a random restaurant!"
Piola recognized Lucien as well, and he turned to his friends, "That's the gentleman we talked to the other day. I wonder how well he can play!"
Placing his hands on the keyboard, Lucien quickly went through the small piece of serenade he wrote before in his mind, without referring to any music books in his spirit library.
Lucien's playing was like a cool breeze coming in through the window, gentling touching every listener's heart. The busy restaurant slowly calmed down. Everyone stopped talking and listened to the music carefully.
Moving his hands smoothly on the keyboard, Lucien closed his eyes and started to enjoy.
In sharp contrast to the bustling atmosphere just now, the beautiful melody refreshed people's mind like a limpid brook.
The piece of melody was very short. When Lucien left the small stage and came back to Iven, the whole restaurant remained very quiet, since the guests were still immersed in the beauty of the melody.
Lucien was satisfied. Leaving a Nar on the table, Lucien and Iven quickly left.
As soon as Lucien stepped out of the restaurant, he heard a great mix of people cheering and applauding.
…
"He left!" Piola looked disappointed, "We didn't ask his name! Again!"
"I wonder why we never heard the melody before. Full of music surprises, Aalto is such an amazing place!" said Sharon. She did not know that it was that gentleman himself who composed the melody.
…
"Mr. Evans!" Lucien heard someone calling him from behind.
Turning around, he saw that it was the brother and sister who visited him the other day.
Chapter 109: Marcus
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Seeing Lucien, Lilith was both excited and shy, "Your performance in that restaurant was awesome!"
Lucien somehow asked subconsciously, "Why are you two still in Aalto?"
"We still have time until…" Before Lilith finished her phrase, Sala cut her off directly, since he realized that his younger sister might spill the beans inadvertently.
"Mr. Evans, why did you think we wouldn't stay here for the music festival?" As soon as he asked, Sala regretted that he asked the question in such a harsh defensive way, which could make he and Lilith even more suspicious.
Lucien got a bit nervous too. He did not want Lilith and Sala to realize that he actually knew more about the ruins of a magic site than they thought.
"You two were in quite a hurry when you visited me," Lucien's mind was working fast, "and I thought you had something urgent. That's why."
"Oh… I see." Sala relaxed a bit and switched to a safer topic, "Like Lilith said, your playing was very impressive."
After chatting a bit more, Sala left with his younger sister, although the latter was a bit reluctant to stop the conversation with Lucien.
Watching Sara and Lilith leaving, Lucien slightly frowned his brows, feeling a bit concerned. He was not sure whether today's meeting with the brother and sister was just a coincidence or something else.
However, Lucien would not let his concern ruin his beautiful day. He still spent a very pleasant afternoon with Iven hanging around and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
…
In the evening, Lucien took Iven to Joel and Alisa and had dinner with them. Then, they walked toward the central square. Tonight, the square was way busier than usual, and the whole place was literally packed. People gathered here to enjoy tonight's concert in the Psalm Hall through the divine power circle.
The divine power circle was actually visible, which seemed to be more like a transparent crystal dome floating in the air than a commonly-imaged mysterious magic circle. Through this huge dome screen, people on the square could watch the spectacular performance and enjoy the wonderful music simultaneously.
"Wow…" Iven drawled with surprise.
"It looks like we cannot go anywhere closer," said Joel. "Let's just stay here."
"We're not staying here!" refused Alisa, "What can we see from here?"
As she was talking, Alisa was about to take advantage of her weight to open a path for them.
"Auntie Alisa," Lucien smiled and stopped her, "I actually know a better place than the square."
…
The town hall of Aalto was a five-storey building, sitting on the other side of the central square.
"Felicia's father, Mr. Urbain, is the chief clerk here," Lucien explained. "He invited us to enjoy the concert on the top floor."
When they got closer, Lucien saw that Felicia was already waiting there at the back gate of the town hall.
Due to the limited amount of seat that the Psalm Hall could provide and the large number of distinguished guests coming from other countries, even Mr. Urbain was not invited for tonight's concert. As for the musicians' association, only the most well-known musicians would be invited, like Mr. Victor, whose concert just achieved a great success in the Psalm Hall.
Actually, Lucien, as the princess's personal music consultant, got invited as well, but he didn't dare to go, since a great number of grand cardinals and bishops would be there that night. Lucien did not want to take any unnecessary risk.
…
The concert started at eight o'clock sharp.
Sacred light appeared above the central square, covering everyone present.
All of the people present lowered their heads, praying and praising. This was the love of God, the power of God.
Lucien also lowered his head, but he was thinking about something else. As the power of magic originated from nature, Lucien wondered where did divine power come from.
The light became brighter and brighter, then it gradually covered the crystal dome. The spectacular main stage of the Psalm Hall slowly appeared in the sky.
The Golden Cathedral Choir was ready.
"Pious followers…"
The hymn was so wonderful, as if it was being sung by angels.
All the choristers were men, and all of them got castrated before they entered their adolescence. Thus, their voices were even purer and beautiful than that of women.
"Lucien… are you all right?" Felicia asked him with concern.
"Yes? I'm fine, Felicia," Lucien said to her. "Why do you ask?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking that the first concert's grand beginning might have put lots of pressure on you." Felicia slightly shook her head, "It looks like I'm even more nervous than you are."
Lucien grinned, "Thanks, Felicia. I'm fine."
…
At the adamant demand of Mr. Victor, Lucien attended the second concert in the Psalm Hall, held by Christopher, the president of the association.
"You can't miss it," Victor said to Lucien. "It might be Mr. Christopher's last concert. You have to cherish this opportunity."
"Oh yeah… can't miss the opportunity to attend a music master's concert in order to make myself anxious." Lucien joked.
"If you were really that stressed, you wouldn't say something like that." Victor knew Lucien's personality pretty well, "And I trust you, Lucien. I read the music sheet of Pathetique. Challenging as it is, I believe this piece of sonata can lead to a revolution in the history of music."
"Thank you, Mr. Victor." Lucien smiled. "Your support means a lot to me."
At this time, a young man in his early twenties with black hair and brown eyes approached them.
"Mr. Victor, good evening," greeted the young man. "Is this Lucien Evans?"
Victor stood up and introduced with a big smile on his face, "This is my previous student, Marcus. He is now the music consultant of the Kingdom of Shaq. He came back several days ago, just because of the music festival."
Chapter 110: The Last and the First
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Lucien reached out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Marcus."
Holding Lucien's hand, Marcus put on a sort of arrogant smile, "Likewise, Lucien. I heard your name when I was in Shaq. When I had just arrived in Aalto, a couple of days ago, I was about to visit you, but Mr. Victor asked me not to distract you from the preparation of your first concert."
Marcus put some extra emphasis on the word "first". In his mind, Lucien should not be respected as a musician until his first concert achieved great success.
"Mr. Victor often mentioned your name, saying that you're one of his most outstanding students." Lucien remained polite, "In terms of concert experience, I'm not even close to you."
"Well… It's my great pleasure to be invited by the many countries." Marcus put on a big smile when they came to the topic that he felt the most proud of. He sat down beside Lucien and started to spout his concert experience in different countries: the passion of the Kingdom of Syracuse, the rigidity and conservatism of the Holy Heilz Empire, the boldness of the Kingdom of Shaq…
Lucien did not mind knowing more about these countries. So he nodded and asked a couple of questions from time to time when Marcus was talking.
Marcus did not stop himself until the concert was about to start. In his mind, Marcus felt that Lucien was pretty easy-going, rather than arrogant as he assumed.
Marcus' hostility did not come from nowhere. At first he felt truly happy that his teacher, Mr. Victor, noticed this talented young man, and he was proud that his peer could make achievements like him, until more and more news about Lucien Evans came to Shaq like snowflakes. Even the nobles in Shaq were talking about the young man and making comparison between them. All of a sudden, Marcus felt that his achievement was worth nothing compared with Lucien's success, but Lucien hadn't even had his own concert yet!
The audience gave Christopher a very warm applause as soon as he appeared on the stage. Dressing in black, Christopher looked rather hale and solemn tonight.
That would probably be Christopher's last concert for his music career, the last concert of the president of Aalto Musicians' Association, the most authoritative and the greatest musician across the continent, the "living music legend".
"Ladies and gentlemen," Christopher turned to the audience, "thank you for coming."
Straightening his back, Lucien listened carefully.
"I've been devoted to music for fifty-nine years, and now I'm seventy," said Christopher with deep emotion. "I'm still standing here because of all your support, and because of the stimulus I received from a young lad. We, as human beings, we age and die, but music never!"
Then Christopher turned around and raised the button.
The first three symphonies were Christopher's most well-known music pieces. One was elaborate and ebullient, one was elegant and sublime, and the third one was passionate and graceful. The intoxicating and familiar melodies seized every listener's mind, no matter if they were inside or outside of the Psalm Hall.
Christopher's achievement in music was the milestone in the history of music. Together with the music, the listeners' remote memories were brought back.
During every interval, the audience applauded like never before, as if the whole continent was applauding the respectable, senior musician.
After the third piece of symphony, Christopher looked a bit tired, "Now, please enjoy my student Silvia's piano sonata, while I'm going to prepare for the next symphony."
In his last concert, Christopher wanted to support his student, and he knew that he must take a rest before the upcoming symphony.
"This is the 'living music legend'! His concert is strikingly awesome!" said Piola with great excitement on the square.
"I know…" Sharon nodded earnestly, "It's my greatest pleasure to be here right now and listen to Mr. Christopher's concert."
Dressing in white, Silvia walked onto the stage like an angel.
Lucien closed his eyes and listened to Silvia's playing carefully. Generally speaking, her playing was pretty good, and Silvia's progress was already very impressive to Lucien, but he knew she could still make some improvement on her piano fingerings and her understanding of the many features of the new instrument.
The ten-minute long sonata also received a warm applause. Silvia slightly lifted her dress and bent her knees to thank the audience, feeling quite excited.
When Lucien was applauding Silvia, he felt someone was looking at him. It was Natasha. Her beautiful purple eyes were shining as she smiled.
She nodded to Lucien, and Lucien knew that she was thanking him for providing Silvia with some tips for playing piano and recomposing the sonata.
Then Christopher's returning immediately seized everyone's attention again. They were all looking forward to the last symphony.
As Christopher lifted the baton and waved, the first two music notes struck every listener's mind.
Christopher took them to a great battlefield.
Horns blowing, flags waving, and the brave soldiers howled and charged like lions against the enemy, with their blood burning out of the great determination and the will of fighting. Under the guidance of the many heroes, pastors and knights fought side by side and devoured their enemies like an overwhelming flood. They beheaded the titans and smashed the tall towers of the evil sorcerers. To protect their homeland, they killed all the demons who were trying to destroy the world.
The following movement had a more restrained style, as if the army was mourning the heroes, but hope came with sadness, and even greater determination followed grief. Then, an exciting and passionate movement changed the music tone. In the name of justice and light, the soldiers wiped off their tears and marched again with irresistible momentum.
The whole Psalm Hall remained silent for a moment after the symphony finished, then the audience burst into thunderous applause.
This was not only an applause for the symphony, but also for Christopher's great spirit of innovation and perseverance in his seventies! Apparently, this piece of symphony was influenced by Lucien's Symphony of Fate. It was astonishing that the greatest musician ever would learn from the younger generation and always seek to reach new levels even in his late years!
"Master. Mr. Christopher, master!" Piola was too excited to form a complete sentence.
"Yes… Yes!" answered Piola's friends. Their voice was trembling.
The grand duke, the princess, the prince from the Kingdom of Syracuse, Count Verdi and all the people in the Psalm Hall stood up while they were applauding to show their great respect toward that great musician.
"Ladies and gentleman, my last concert has ended tonight." Christopher bowed to the audience and said with emotion, "Tomorrow, our young, talented musician, Lucien Evans, will bring us his first concert ever here in the Psalm Hall. The last concert and the first concert… What God is telling us here is that… music never ends!"
"Music never ends!" The audience followed Christopher and repeated his words. And them many of them turned to look at Lucien.
Lucien bowed deeply to this great musician, with great respect.
Chapter 111: Pressure
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
The crystal dome in the air created by divine power had disappeared, but people still remained on the square, lingering over the last piece of symphony named The War of Dawn.
Following the trend of theme music created by Symphony of Fate, Mr. Christopher's latest music piece was definitely great.
"Comparatively speaking…" Sala was a bit hesitant, "magnificent as The War of Dawn is, Symphony of Fate, to me, is still move impressive."
Lilith nodded, "Yes, I feel that the determination that Symphony of Fate carries is still stronger." Then she frowned her brows and looked worried, "But Mr. Christopher's concert is still a great success. The concert tonight must have put even more pressure on Mr. Evans."
"Mr. Evans will be fine…" Sala did not really know what to say, "He won't let us down."
"Then what if he does?" Lilith raised her head, "After all, Mr. Evans is competing with the president of the Musicians' Association."
Sala looked at his sister and sighed.
At the same time, on the top floor of the town hall Felicia released a long sigh, as if she was trying to drive away the worry and nervousness in her mind.
However, not everyone was feeling concerned about Lucien's concert. Mekanzi was one of the exceptions, who was very excited after tonight's concert, not really because of the great breakthrough that Mr. Christopher made in his late years, but because Mekanzi believed that the president's awesome concert would absolutely pale Lucien's performance on the following day by comparison.
…
The grand duke, the princess and other high-ranked nobles stayed in the Psalm Hall after the concert and right now they were talking to Mr. Christopher in a separate box, congratulating him for his great music achievement and regretting that he would hold no more concerts in the future.
The other nobles and musicians remained in their seats, exchanging their ideas about the concert.
"You're now almost an expert in the field of theme music, Lucien." Victor was impressed by Lucien's interpretation of the first movement of The War of Dawn, "I can tell you are shaping your own music style and ideas."
"Thank you, Mr. Victor. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I still have a long way to go before achieving that level," answered Lucien humbly. "What I was talking about was basically from Music Criticism and Symphony News. They produced a few quite insightful music reviews in the field of theme music in the past couple of months."
In fact, all the music knowledge that Lucien was exchanging with Victor and Marcus was from his spirit library.
"Oh… I read those articles as well. Yes, they're great as means of instruction," agreed Marcus, but then he changed the subject, "Do you feel stressed that your concert tomorrow will be compared with this perfect concert, Lucien?"
When Lucien was about to answer, Victor patted Marcus' arm to stop him. Then, Victor said to Lucien, "Never compare yourself with others. Do what you want to do."
In fact, Victor himself was pretty worried that the piano solos tomorrow might not be able to provide enough music appeal to the audience, but he chose to trust his student.
Lucien was not as stressed as other people thought. Although he knew that his arrangement and repertoire of the concert was quite ahead of the mainstream, and the several pieces of piano solos might be a great risk, Lucien believed that only himself knew what he wanted.
"I'll just try my best." He nodded.
Then minutes later, the nobles started to leave the concert hall, followed by the musicians. Some nobles and musicians greeted Lucien in a sort of weird manner. Clearly, they were trying to avoid mentioning his concert tomorrow.
…
It was April fifth, the last day of Aalto Music Festival.
At seven thirty in the evening, almost all the people in Aalto were gathering around the central square and on the streets nearby, waiting for the last concert.
Piola, Sharon and other band members arrived at the square in the early afternoon to secure a relatively good spot. Now they were surrounded by more and more people and more and more heated discussion.
Staring at the crystal dome, Piola murmured as if he was dreaming, "I wish I could hold a concert here. I'd be willing to die for that."
"Not really possible, unfortunately." Green, the violist, shook his head and sighed, although he had the same dream in his mind.
"We're only in our twenties. We're still young. Don't be this pessimistic, Green," said Sharon, "Mr. Christopher is still seeking for music breakthroughs in his seventies, and we shall carry our dreams all the way until we accomplish them."
"Speaking of being young…" Grace said to them, "Mr. Evans' coming-of-age ceremony is still a couple of months away from now."
Sharon, who was born in a music family, replied, "The youngest musician held his concert in the Psalm Hall when he was fifteen, but by the time he performed here, he had already hosted several concerts in different places. Mr. Evans is now having his first concert here during Aalto Music Festival, that's something that will definitely be recorded in the history of music."
Christopher held his first concert in the Psalm Hall during a previous Aalto Music Festival when he was twenty-six. The eldest musician who held his concert at the age of a hundred and twelve in the Psalm Hall was also a grand knight, which is considered an almost unbreakable record.
"Everyone is looking forward to Mr. Evans' performance tonight," said Grace. "I feel that… as long as his concert is half as impressive as Mr. Christopher's, we shall call it a success."
"I agree…" Piola nodded, "After all, Mr. Evans has been learning music for less than a year. He's already a genius for going this far, and he's still very young."
"I don't think that other people will agree with us, unfortunately." Sharon sighed, "There must be people who're hoping for Mr. Evans' failure."
…
Outside of the Psalm Hall, Lucien, dressing a black tailcoat, was welcoming the distinguished guests together with Rhine and some other orchestra members.
Many nobles and musicians trickled in the hall. Among them were Count Hayne, Count Rafati, Count Hill, Mr. Othello, and other foreign nobles and musicians that Lucien did not know.
Then, Christopher showed up with his student Silvia. He nodded to Lucien with a kind smile and asked him to relax. Silvia smiled to Lucien to show her encouragement.
Lucien also specially invited his "family" in Aalto to come. John, Joel, Alisa, Iven and Elena were all invited. They arrived with Victor and Felicia, and some of them looked even more nervous than Lucien. He grinned to them, telling them he was feeling great.
Finally, the coach of the grand duke arrived. The grand duke and Princess Natasha were surrounded by many nobles, and so was Michelle, the Prince of the Kingdom of Syracuse, and Sard, the Saint Cardinal of the Church.
Natasha lifted her purple eyebrows a bit to Lucien and smiled, "I trust you, my music consultant."
…
In the box, the Grand Duke Orvarit said to his daughter, "Natasha, I think that you were quite inconsiderate when you arranged Lucien's first concert to be held after Mr. Christopher's and as the closing concert of Aalto Music Festival. You don't want him to mess it up, do you?"
"Of course I don't, father." Natasha laughed. "I just have faith in him. I know he can do it."
"Well… your faith doesn't make him a qualified musician for this occasion." Verdi said to Natasha, "All he had was Symphony of Fate, and… probably For Silvia."
"I think this is a proper occasion for a young and talented musician to grow." Christopher agreed with Natasha, "The most valuable concert for a musician is one that can help him break through his limits."
Sard also nodded, "I can tell from that symphony that this young man is very persistent. He has a heart that won't yield to difficulties. God will bless him."
Having the support of Christopher and Sard, Natasha smiled to Verdi, "Now, what do you think?"
"Well… we'll see." Verdi did not bicker too much with Natasha tonight. His mind seemed to be a bit pre-occupied right now.
…
When Lucien appeared on the stage, Piola's pointed at the crystal dome and exclaimed, "He… he's Mr. Evans?!"
Piola's mouth opened wide. He could not believe his eyes.
It took Sharon a few seconds to organize what to say, "Yes, I think so. The young man we talked to before… is Lucien Evans."
"No wonder…" Grace murmured to herself.
Standing in front of the orchestra, Lucien smiled to Rhine and nodded.
Then, Lucien waved his baton.
Chapter 112: The Art of Conducting
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
What was out of expectation was that the music did not start as soon as Lucien waved his baton. Standing in the front of the stage, he raised both of his arms up high. His whole body was shaking slightly, as if there was a great momentum of power coming out of his body.
Before the audience realized what happened, Lucien quickly swung his arms backwards and lifted the baton again. Here came Serenade for strings in G major.
Short and direct, the music notes impacted every listener's mind. The confusion and nervousness of the audience suddenly disappeared, and they were now immersed in the joy brought by the serenade.
Lucien was smiling. His whole body was rocking in a pleasant way together with the music. The happiness that was being delivered to the audience was so infectious that many of them started to nod and shake their bodies, synchronizing with the development of the music.
Christopher and Natasha never watched Lucien's rehearsal before. Now, they were both very surprised by Lucien's new way of conducting, which was totally different from the traditional style.
Usually the simple function of conducting in the past, due to the conservative style of music, was only to direct a musical performance to ensure correct entries by various members of the ensemble, thus, neither the emotion of the composer of a music piece nor that of the conductor was conveyed. For example, although both Victor's and Christopher's range of movement when they were conducting was wide, they never really tried to show their own feelings to relate to the orchestra members, or to provoke the audience's emotion.
Following the development of theme music, Lucien also changed his way of conducting to fit in the trend of moving from classicism to romanticism. Lucien spent a lot of time on learning from the great conductors in his original world, such as Arturo Toscanini and Herbert von Karajan, in order to form his own style of conducting.
Under Lucien's direction, the orchestra perfectly captured the joyful, lively spirit of the first movement of the serenade.
Then, Lucien's waving of the baton became more gentle when the serenade entered the second movement. The melody was like a piece of veil-like, rosy dream, floating in the air and then slowly falling on everyone's mind.
The dream was about love and romance, about beautiful girls and handsome boys, about the endless wild flower field and the cool breeze in summer, about one's youth, the most sweet years in one's life.
Transiting smoothly, the rondo form of the third movement made many of the listeners feel like dancing. They even wished it was an evening party, instead of a formal concert.
In its ending part, the music returned to the lively, youthful and pleasant style again. When Lucien finished his conducting and turned around, the audience pause a bit and broke into a sudden, warm applause during the short break, as they just realized that the serenade was over.
"A serenade in the Psalm Hall!" Piola exclaimed to his friends, greatly surprised.
In the past, serenade, as an informal music genre, was usually not qualified to be played on an elegant and decent music stage. Very rarely was serenade put on this kind of occasion in the past, and people never really liked it. Today, Lucien broke the stereotype and made a piece of serenade as impressive as a symphony.
"Graceful and gorgeous, exquisite and balanced," Sharon commented. Even the aftertaste of the serenade was fascinating.
In the box, Christopher smiled and said to the grand duke and the Saint Cardinal, "Again, a surprise from Lucien."
The grand duke nodded, "His conducting's definitely a bonus for the serenade."
Before the concert started, although Natasha looked very confident, she was still a bit worried about Lucien. Now, she was totally relaxed, leaning against the back of the seat and listening to her father and the Saint Cardinal talking about Lucien's new style of conducting. She was curious about what would be the next surprise from Lucien, and so were all of the other listeners.
…
After the short break, when Lucien came back to the stage and passed by the concert members, Rhine smiled and said to him in a low voice, "It seems that your conducting received a pretty good feedback, and I believe Symphony of Fate will just shock them."
Lucien smiled and nodded to Rhine, looking rather confident. Then, he stood in front of the orchestra and closed his eyes.
The entire Psalm Hall and the whole square quieted down.
Slightly lowering his head, Lucien raised up his arms again, but he did not immediately wave his hands.
The audience held their breath, waiting.
Standing there still like a statue and with his eyes closed, Lucien thought about his parents' faces, so familiar but also very far away from him. The plain days in his original world came back to him, but, unfortunately, Lucien did not realize how valuable these days were and thus he never cherished them.
Now, he was here, in this strange world, all by himself. He had to live in great risk almost everyday. He could die easily because of his dream of learning magic. The faces of gangsters, the night watchers and the heretics showed up in Lucien's mind, mocking him, threatening him, telling him that everything was the arrangement of fate.
Was he supposed to accept his fate?
Was he supposed to give up fighting?
Was he supposed to abandon his goals and yield to all the difficulties?
No! Never!
He would fight against the so-called fate with his last breath!
Lucien's face was twisted with his great determination. Gnashing his teeth, he fiercely dropped both of his arms downward.
The familiar opening of Symphony of Fate again seized every listener's heart.
It looked like Lucien's body almost lost balance from his wild waving. Every piece of muscle in Lucien's body was shivering from his great excitement!
As if their hearts were gripped by a powerful, big hand, many of the listeners felt out of breath.
Even Sard opened his eyes. He was looking at Lucien, who was conducting the orchestra in an almost crazy manner.
With the baton in his right hand, Lucien's left hand sometimes clenched into a fist, and sometimes tightened like the claw of eagle. His arms sometimes stretched wide out and sometimes stayed tightly close to his body.
Lucien's face was twisted with hatred and anger, as if he was biting off a piece of flesh from his enemy alive. Occasionally, the muscles in his face relaxed a bit, but soon his face looked even crazier, as if he would be struck by a heart attack at any moment.
Compared with Victor's conducting of Symphony of Fate, Lucien's version was even more striking and intensive. Every member in the orchestra was influenced and motivated by Lucien, and the whole orchestra seemed to be crazier and crazier!
The power and the momentum of the symphony was unprecedented!
Grabbing the arms of her seat, Natasha's back was tightly straightened up, while some of the other elder nobles seemed to be about to pass out at any moment due to the great intensity of the playing.
Finally, with all his power, both physical and mental, Lucien brought out the last movement of Symphony of Fate. The great joy of victory and triumphant return suddenly bursted out and immediately inspired everyone!
When the symphony ended, even with his Blessing power, Lucien still felt quite tired.
The whole Psalm Hall was very quiet.
Then Lucien turned around and bowed to the audience. By the time he straightened up his back, Lucien heard the warmest applause ever in his life.
The whole city was applauding him for Symphony of Fate, for Lucien's art of conducting!
Chapter 113: Piano Solo
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
The whole city was applauding Lucien's performance. In this world, people were not used to this kind of strong sensory stimulus. They were shocked.
"I almost can't breathe," said Lilith. "Mr. Evans' conducting gives the symphony a new life."
"No one knows a music piece better than its composer!" Sala was still applauding, his eyes were shining with excitement.
Compared with those traditional conductors' conservative style, people who did not have too much knowledge about music absolutely preferred Lucien's way of presenting the music.
…
"He's crazy." Verdi was first impressed, but soon he felt that it was too much for him, "Lucien simply has no idea about what is elegance!"
Verdi was not alone there. Many other conservative musicians who adhered to past practices nodded as Verdi was commenting.
It could be foreseen that a bunch of critic reviews of Lucien's conducting would be found on tomorrow's Music Criticism and Symphony News.
"I don't think so, Verdi." Natasha shook her head, looking quite excited, "This way of conducting was born for Symphony of Fate! Don't you think?"
"I agree with Her Grace." Christopher, the authority, was on Natasha's side, "Lucien's conducting style lit the great passion of the whole orchestra, and together they presented us with an even more exciting version of Symphony of Fate. This conducting style, I would say, suits theme music very well."
"But Mr. Christopher…" Verdi looked at him.
"I know what you want to say, Count Verdi." Christopher smiled, "Indeed, Lucien was pushing a bit too hard. He was being too direct when he was presenting Symphony of Fate, and that left the audience less space for further imagination."
Even Natasha had to admit that what Christopher said was true.
"However, I think we should not be too tough with a young musician and his first concert ever." Fingers crossing, Christopher looked at the grand duke, "We need a creative younger generation, and being tolerant and open-minded is the first step."
The grand duke smiled and nodded. What Christopher said was exactly what he was thinking.
Both what Natasha and Verdi wanted to say was pretty much all covered by Christopher. Verdi turned his face to the other side.
"I'm wondering, please forgive my interruption, Your Grace, why Lucien chose to put Symphony of Fate in the second place of tonight's concert." Michelle, the prince of the Kingdom of Syracuse, asked in confusion, "I mean… the remaining part of the concert is pretty much composed of piano solos only. That seems quite imbalanced to me."
"Um?" The grand duke picked up the repertoire card beside him and took a quick look, "That's right… Michelle, you made a good point here. What do you think, Christopher?"
"Well… Lucien's best-know music work is Symphony of Fate. Using Symphony of Fate as the ending piece of the concert might be the most ideal arrangement." Christopher gently rubbed his chin a bit, "For now, like prince Michelle said, the repertoire card does look quite imbalanced to me, and I didn't notice this earlier."
Taking a short rest, Sard's eyes were half closed. He smiled and said to them, "I believe that Lucien's not an idiot. Maybe he's very confident in his piano solo, or maybe he prepared something new. It's interesting to wait and see, isn't it?"
By the time they got to that conclusion, the whole orchestra had left. Now, there was only a piano on the stage.
Instead of facing toward the audience, the piano was facing a different angle.
…
Seeing Lucien appear on the stage through the crystal dome again, Piola asked his friends, "Why isn't the piano in the right position?"
That was what many people were wondering right now as well.
On the stage, Lucien bowed to his audience and sat down in front of the piano.
Pressing the keys, Lucien's hands started moving smoothly on the keyboard.
"It was Canon in D major, played in the piano!" Sharon recognized the familiar, beautiful melody immediately.
Simple as it was, Canon in D major might be the most classic music piece in this world. By playing one or more imitations of the music notes after a given duration, the repetition of the soft and gentle melody soothed every listener's mind like a cool breeze. The audience gradually recovered from the impact brought by Symphony of Fate, and now many of them stretched their bodies in their seats a bit and enjoyed the music in a very relaxed way.
Sitting in front of the piano and playing with his heart and soul, Lucien's handsome profile and his long, nimble fingers left the audience with a deep impression as well.
About seven minutes later, warm applause burst out again. This time the applause was less furious and crazy, but more gentle.
This time, the audience felt the beauty and the joy of peace from Lucien's playing.
"Small changes made a bit difference." The melody of Canon was still lingering in Piola's mind, "It's very different from the versions played by violin or harp."
"That's the sound feature of piano, pure and crispy." There was a sweet smile on Grace's face, "Mr. Evans looked so charming when he was playing… His face… His hands…"
"Now I know why you wanted to place the piano in a certain angle, Lucien!" On the other side in the box of the Psalm Hall, Natasha smiled and thought to herself, looking quite amused, "You want the audience to directly see your movement. But why didn't you tell me this earlier when I was about to play piano in front of Silvia?" Natasha also blamed Lucien a bit.
"He definitely put a lot of thought in his concert. We can tell that from the way he placed the piano," said Christopher, "Simple but fascinating. This piece of Canon will become quite popular."
Lucien did not move after playing. He was still sitting on the piano bench, as if he was preparing and waiting for something.
There was only a very short interval between the two compositions. A while later, Lucien's hands started to move again. Here came the piano solo recomposed from Violin Sonata in G minor.
After the heading part of playing which gave priority to terseness and fluency, Lucien started to play the very short notes in a fast way. His fingers were like two dancers spinning on the piano keyboard.
"Violin Sonata in G minor?" Some listeners whispered to each other, "It's for violin. It's impossible for piano…"
As the solo consisted mainly of semi-quaver runs, Lucien's hands were moving faster and faster. Double-stops, ostinato, scales and arpeggios, big crossovers… Lucien combined almost all the playing techniques together and that dazzled the audience's eyes.
They almost could not believe that it was a human-being that was playing.
Lucien's extremely fancy fingerings fully showed the potential of piano. This piece of music was more than just showing off the player's remarkable playing skills, but also a praise for the great potential of piano as a new musical instrument in this world.
As the pitch got higher and higher, the melody became more and more exciting.
The audience was trying hard to hold back their exclamation. The playing was not finished yet.
As Lucien ended his playing with a very challenging finger technique and a pitch accent, the listeners on the square erupted with cheers and shouts, while the nobles and musicians in the music hall also applauded vigorously.
Lucien's playing renewed everyone's idea of how much potential the piano had!
Chapter 114: Pathetique
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Looking at Lucien bowing to the audience, Christopher seemed to be a bit emotional, "When Victor and Rhine first introduced piano to me, although I could sort of see the potential of this new musical instrument, I never tried to compose anything specially for piano, not to mention to adapt any harpsichord or violin piece for it. The skills Lucian applied just now during his playing were very challenging. What he was trying to do was to learn from the playing skills for string instruments, which is remarkable."
"Practice makes perfect." Although Verdi was very impressed as well, he did not want to make a too favorable comment about Lucien, "Especially after awakening his Blessing, the practice can't take long for him."
"Fingering is not everything." Natasha took a glance at Verdi, "For other musicians, what is hard is to really get to know piano… I mean… like Lucien, who has this profound understanding of the unique features of this musical instrument. Without the knowledge, there's no way that one can produce such a fabulous piano piece."
"Well, maybe I'm too old… Although Lucien's playing is very impressive, I did not get as excited as you young people with his fancy fingerings." The grand duke smiled, "I'm more looking forward to Pathetique."
On the other side, Lucien's friends were a bit more relieved now seeing that Lucien's concert was going great so far. That made the last piece of the concert, a sonata, even more significant.
…
Pierre was also on the square. Gawking at the crystal dome, hearing the thunder-like applause, he felt shame of himself because, when Lucien was playing, his heart was completely seized by Lucien's bold and unrestrained fingerings, which he once condemned as a horrible betrayal of legitimate playing skills founded by his father.
"No… It's not right." Pierre murmured to himself, "His playing was merely fancy fingerings piling up! That's unacceptable! That's… not right."
Pierre got too distracted to notice that Lucien had come back to the stage again.
Everyone was waiting for the last piece of piano solo of the night, Pathetique.
…
Sitting in front of the piano, Lucien did not start playing immediately. He knew that although the playing skills required for this solo were not challenging for him at all, if he could not devote all he had to the playing, Pathetique could never show its breathtaking charm.
Lucien closed his eyes. All those painful moments came back to him:
The great nostalgia that tortured him in those sleepless nights when he was missing the smile of his parents;
The fear he suffered when he was forced to go into the sewers by the pastor, Benjamin;
The feeling of helplessness when he was beaten by the gangsters;
The horrible feeling of guilt he bore when Joel and his family got kidnapped;
The great anger that was burning his guts when he saw the three fingers sent by the heretics…
All those emotions gathered together and infused Lucien's heart.
What made Lucien feel the most depressive was the fact that he was trapped in this city, the City of Psalm!
He was hiding like a filthy rat in the sewers to do his magic experiments;
He was like a spy who could not fully trust anyone;
He was worried all the time that he might bring doom to uncle Joel and his family;
Every time he saw gallows, he couldn't stop imagining that he would be burnt to death one day.
Fear, grief, helplessness, anger, cowardliness…Lucien did not even realized that to what extent the negative emotion was piling up deep in his mind.
Stamping down on the piano pedal, Lucien pounded the keyboard with both of his arms using the great strength coming from his strong mixed feelings.
Even the heavy piano trembled from the pounding!
Then deep and gloomy melody came out, with a strong sense of grief and loss.
Orvarit, the grand duke, immediately felt the tragic atmosphere brought by the music. The melody was like the dark clouds threatening to develop into a big storm, pressuring heavily on his mind.
The grand duke was not the only one with that impression. All the listeners, no matter old or young, male of female, rich or poor, as long as they had experienced the bitter side of life, felt the deep emotion conveyed by the song.
Natasha's mind went back to that winter, when the sky of Aalto was shaded with heavy dark clouds, as if something horrible was about to come…
Christopher was missing his deceased wife who accompanied him for almost fifty years, and his son who would rather spend all his life on the road as a businessman than as a musician because of the great pressure brought by the reputation of his father.
Victor closed his eyes and murmured, "Life is tough, Winnie, but I still remember your smile."
Everyone's heart was seized by their own sorrow.
Among them all, Lilith and Sala's feeling might be the closest to that of Lucien, since they were also tasting the great bitter frustration of having to hide, of knowing that everyday was a struggle between life and death.
The introduction part ended with a smooth run of notes, then Lucien's playing became quicker and with much vigor. The music style became exciting, as if the music was encouraging people to bravely face all the difficulties and sufferings in life and to believe that life would always turn better.
However, with the repetition of the introductory part, the solemnity lingered on the listeners' mind. The mixed feelings of hope and desperation almost drove them nuts.
The grand duke was almost out of breath. The great pain came back to him, reminding him of when he heard his eldest son died on the battlefield in the far north, and when he was looking into his wife's beautiful eyes in her final days.
Natasha's eyes were darker than usual. She remembered what she promised her mother in front of her bed, "I'll become a knight, mom, to protect House Violet." She remembered how soft and weak her mom's hand was.
Verdi's face looked rather gloomy. Obviously, he had his own suffering.
On the square, the shock of the music numbed Pierre, and after a while, he burst into crying. He finally realized that Lucien's piano fingering would replace the playing skill created by his father. He blamed himself for being so useless that he was not able to carry on his father's achievement.
Marcus, Silvia, Felicia… their hearts were all occupied with their own thoughts.
By the end of the first movement, the audience noticed that the tone of the music became a bit more rousing, as if the young man who was playing piano right now was trying to show them his great faith in life, to encourage them to face the pain and move on.
Because light was in front of them, victory was in front of them, as long as they could hang on one more second.
The Continental Congress of Magic, the wonderland for sorcerers and sorceresses… that was what Lucien was thinking about. He believed that after tonight, after he found where the congress was, there would be no need for him to hide anymore!
The higher pitch was very uplifting. Many of the listeners took a deep breath and then released a long sigh as if they were driving all the negative emotion away.
The second movement was of a singing style. The gentle melody was like warm sunlight lighting up people's mind. Then the chorus joined in, curing people's hearts.
Then, there came the finishing rondo. Lucien quickly pressed down a run of keys in a stunning speed, as if rain drops were falling down onto the ground. The speed showed Lucien's renewed spirit and lit up people's great passion.
Lucien's movement was so fast that the audience's eyes even could not follow. Everyone got excited again, people started to applaud amidst Lucien's playing.
They were enjoying the music, and they were enjoying more than just music. The audience's mood was completely led by Lucien, the young man who was showing his astonishing skills on the stage. At this moment, it did not matter whether they were nobles or commoners. They were cheering for this young music genius, cheering for Lucien's never-ending fight against fate, cheering for their shared emotions as human beings.
Lucien's playing reached the perfection with the cut time movement in C minor. After another full run of notes, he heavily pressed down the last key and finished the sonata in great enthusiasm.
All of the audience in the Psalm Hall, including the grand duke, stood up from their seats and applauded for Lucien. The crowd on the square just went wild, and they were shouting and cheering.
The whole city was conquered by Lucien's concert!
Chapter 115: Let the Curtain Fall
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
Lucien bowed to the audience over and over again. And the thunder-like applause was still going on. And the people on the square were still shouting at the top of their lungs.
Those nobles and famous musicians in the hall were touched, and they, especially the nobles, had not been touched so deeply for a long time. They tended to forget their own feelings, joy, sorrow, love, anger, just to be less vulnerable.
However, no one could resist the power of music. Nobles were still human beings. Even though many of them had awakened their Blessings, being physically strong could not turn their hearts into rocks.
The beauty of music was shared by all, regardless of social status, gender or age.
Only a few religious zealots remained relatively calm.
Lucien had no idea how many times he bowed to the audience. After a long time, they slowly calmed down, feeling both tired and peaceful.
"The best piano sonata I've ever heard!" Staring at the crystal dome, Piola exclaimed, "Similar to Symphony of Fate, but also different. The emotion is deeper… more conservative."
Sharon nodded and smiled, "I can image that Pathetique will become the classic sonata in terms of musical expressiveness."
"Aalto Music Festival was definitely worthy of our seven-month traveling." Grace looked serious, "After seeing Mr. Evans's playing, I want to stay in Aalto to learn piano."
"Get real, Grace." Green said to her, "Mr. Evans already gave us some suggestions for our fantasia. Come back with us and let's focus on our own music work. We will become famous in Sturk pretty soon, I believe."
"I agree. If you stay, Grace," Sharon added, "you won't be able to afford a music instructor here in Aalto. And since Aalto is filled with great musicians, how long do you think it will take you to stand out here?"
Finally Grace nodded and sighed, "I guess you guys are right. Don't forget to buy the latest Music Criticism and Symphony News. They will be very helpful for the future of our music."
The other band members nodded. They would definitely buy a lot of them in Aalto so they could take the newspapers back and make some money from the big price difference.
After standing on the square silently for a while, Lilith and Sala exchanged a look and turned around to head for the city gate.
"After we become real…" Sala paused a bit and gently patted on his younger sister's shoulder, "we will travel across the continent and find a safe place where we don't have to live in fear anymore."
Lilith nodded seriously, "Yes, then we'll be hiding no more."
…
In the backstage of the Psalm Hall, Lucien unbuttoned his suit jacket and then hugged Rhine, "Thank you, Mr. Rhine. The concert wouldn't be this successful without your help."
Then Lucien asked Rhine in a low voice, "And can you tell me where's it now?"
Rhine smiled and whispered, "You're so impatient, Lucien. I'll visit you tomorrow night."
Then Rhine raised up his voice, "Congratulations, Lucien!"
After meeting the orchestra members, Lucien saw a knight squire waiting there to invite him to the theater box in the front.
Lucien was a bit nervous of getting too close to Sard. After all, he had no idea how sensitive a Saint Cardinal would be about sorcerers around him.
"No worries. Your Blessing will conceal your identity." Pretending that he was wrapping up stuff, Rhine said to Lucien in a very low voice from behind, "Unless he already feels you're suspicious."
Lucien calmed down a bit from Rhine's words and left the backstage following the squire.
…
Although Lucien was still a couple of steps away from Sard, Lucien could feel the warm saint light that was surrounding the elder.
Since Lucien had awakened his Blessing, he could better sense the great power Sard owned. Fortunately, Lucien's Blessing was not a dark one, and he did not specialize in Necromantic spells, or his soul might be seriously injured just from standing close to the Saint Cardinal.
After saluting the nobles, Lucien walked in front of the grand duke. Orvarit nodded to Lucien approvingly, "You're young and talented, Lucien. I like your soul-touching music and I appreciate your never-ending spirit fighting against the sufferings in life. Keep working hard, Lucien, and you'll become the next music master in Aalto."
Natasha directly gave Lucien a hug like a friend and said to him in a joking way, "What else are you hiding from me, Lucien? Friends are about to share, but you did not tell me that a small adjustment in positioning piano could make a big difference!"
"Nothing else, really…" Lucien put on an awkward smile. Actually, he had way more secrets than that.
"What I want to say is that… thank you for your playing, Lucien." Natasha's smile was slightly sad, "Your music reminds me of the past. The past is painful, but also valuable."
Christopher also hugged Lucien, "My era's over, but your era's just arrived, Lucien."
"Thank you, Mr. President. I hope I can get a new start, too," answered Lucien in a meaningful way, since his life was about to set off a new journey soon.
Then Lucien finally came in front of Sard, and he tried his best to stay calm.
"I've heard your story before." Sard looked at Lucien with his turbid eyes, "I understand your pain, and I also see your strong heart. All the difficulties are tests from God. If you pass them, you become stronger."
Following Verdi, Michelle hugged Lucien a bit shyly, "Congratulations, Mr. Evans. On behalf of Syracuse, I want to invite you to Tria. Any time you come to my country, you'll receive the warmest welcome."
"Thank you, Your Grace." Lucien nodded.
Then Lucien received many other invitations offered by the rest of the guests coming from different countries across the continent.
Lucien knew that these invitations would become his excuse to leave Aalto when he got to know where the Continental Congress of Magic was.
When Lucien left the box, he saw that the last few people were leaving the Psalm Hall.
People on the square were also leaving.
Soon, the whole city became very quiet.
Lucien stepped out of the Psalm Hall and said to himself, "It's time to let the curtain fall, Lucien."
Chapter 116: Moonlight Sonata
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
After changing his clothes, Lucien left the Psalm Hall through the side door.
Not far away from it, he saw a couple of coaches, in front of which stood Victor, Joel and his family.
All of a sudden, Lucien felt quite emotional. Taking a deep breath, he walked toward them.
"Congratulations, Lucien. I'm so proud of you." Victor walked to Lucien and gave him a big hug, "Are you a bit depressed, Lucien?" Victor was very sensitive.
"Thank you, Mr. Victor." Lucien forced a smile on his face, "I'm fine… just a bit exhausted."
"I see." Victor showed his understanding, "Playing three piano solos at a time is exhausting for any pianist."
Then, Victor gently patted Lucien's back, "Have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow night we'll celebrate your success."
"Tomorrow?" To Lucien, the celebration party seemed to be quite in a hurry.
"Yes," answered Victor, "since a couple of days later, I'll be leaving Aalto."
"Where are you going, Mr. Victor?" Lucien did not expect that it was Victor who first bid them farewell.
"After last year's concert, " Victor smiled, "I've been receiving lots of invitations from other countries. I stayed in Aalto because, at that time, you were during your critical period of music learning. Since now you're a well-qualified musician and you just held your first concert, it's time for me to start my music tour and gather some new ideas about music."
"And Lott and I are leaving with Mr. Victor." Felicia nodded, "We are all Mr. Victor's students, but now you're a great musician, and, of course, we can't fall too far behind." Felicia put on a sweet smile.
Lucien felt that it was a good chance to announce his leaving as well.
"A music tour… That's what I've been thinking about, too." Lucien said to them seriously, "Honestly, this concert exhausted all my ideas about music, and I feel that I need to travel out of Aalto to see more, to experience more."
"I'm very proud of you." Victor looked at Lucien's eyes approvingly, "Your serious attitude toward music will make you one of the greatest musicians, if you stick to it. I wish you all the best, my student."
"Me, too." Lucien hugged Victor again with deep emotion, "Wish you a wonderful tour, my teacher."
Then Lucien turned around and hugged Joel and Alisa, "I'm sorry… I'm afraid I won't have my coming-of-age ceremony in Aalto now."
Lucien's birthday was on July, 26th.
"Don't say sorry, Lucien. We understand, although we'll miss you a lot." Joel laughed and patted Lucien's shoulder, "Alisa and I…" his voice trembled a bit.
"We're very proud of you, all the time." Alisa finished Joel's words, "Come on… don't be this dramatic, Joel. Little Evans will come back again soon."
Alisa looked at Lucien with hope in her eyes, "You will, right?"
Lucien opened his mouth a bit but did not know how to answer Alisa's question. He hurriedly nodded and turned to Felicia to hug her, in order to hide his awkwardness and sadness.
"Your playing and your understanding of music is awesome, Lucien!" Felicia was very excited, "Piano is the king of all the musical instruments!"
Lucien still remembered his promise to Felicia and Elena, "I'll organize and write down my knowledge about piano before I leave."
"Thank you, our great musician." Elena's face shone with excitement.
Then Lucien hugged his buddy, John, "I hope you will already be a knight when I see you again."
John answered decisively, "I will. Good luck, my friend."
The conversation between best friends was always simple, but the emotion was always deep.
Then, Lucien slightly bowed to all of them with his left hand on his chest and said to them sincerely, "Wish you all the best in my absence."
…
On the next day, Lucien spent most of day meeting his many visitors and at night he celebrated the success of his concert with all the guests.
When it was close to the early morning, all the guests started to leave Lucien's place. The great silence was in sharp contrast to the faded jollification. Lucien went back to his bedroom and waited for Rhine, who had promised Lucien that he would come after the party.
After a long time waiting, Lucien almost lost his patience. At this time, he heard a knock at the bedroom window.
Lucien hurriedly stood up from his bed and turned to look at the the window.
However, it was Natasha and Camil who were standing on the patio. Being a bit amused by himself, Lucien opened the window.
Wearing a long dress, Natasha looked a bit shy until she started to talk, "Haha, were you waiting for me, Lucien? You looked in such a hurry."
"Yes, I was," he joked. "After all, you did not show up on my party tonight."
"I'm sorry, Lucien." Natasha apologized sincerely, "I wanted to, but I had to host the party in Ratacia for sending off the nobles from other countries. Now I'm here, you see, to congratulate the great success achieved by my music consultant."
"I appreciate it very much, Your Grace." Lucien grinned.
"Well… Besides saying congratulations to you tonight," Natasha smiled, "I also want to invite you to visit Cartier Palace with me. I'm leaving tomorrow. Silvia and her father will go as well."
Cartier Palace belonged to House Violet, sitting on the broad land owned by the family in the suburb of Aalto.
"Sorry, Your Grace. I'm afraid I can't make it," replied Lucien. Then, he told Natasha his plan of leaving.
Natasha looked quite excited, "What an enviable trip! I wish I could travel around as well!"
After a brief exchange with Lucien about the unique features of different countries on the continent, Natasha switched the topic and asked Lucien, looking a bit embarrassed, "Lucien… did you complete the melody that you were playing the other night… the melody that you were playing in the moonlight? I want to play it for Silvia…"
"I only finished the first movement…" Lucien was a bit hesitant, "I'm thinking about naming it Moonlight Sonata."
"Can I listen to it?" requested Natasha eagerly.
"Sure." Lucien sat down in front of his piano, Lucien placed his hands on the keyboard again.
The introduction was slow and peaceful, picturing a glittering lake at a moonlit night. The soft breeze rippled the water like a pair of young lady's hands.
A mixed feelings of joy and sorrow rose in Natasha's heart. Everything under the moonlight depicted in the sonata was as beautiful as a dream.
The first movement was rather short, only about a few minutes. Natasha's nodded and looked at Lucien with approval, "Adagio as the first movement, impressive! I'm sure Silvia would love it!"
Then she slightly leaned forward, "What do you think I should say to Silvia after playing the first movement of Moonlight Sonata for her?"
"Remember me whenever you see the moon*." Somehow Lucien blurted out.
"Wow…" Natasha looked very impressed. "That's really something."
Then, the princess stood up and said to him, "I'm glad to have you as my music consultant and friend, Lucien. I'm not sure when you're coming back, but I'm sure we'll see each other again sooner or later."
Lucien sighed in his heart but did not say anything special, "It's my great pleasure to be your friend. Please take care, Your Grace."
After Natasha and Camil left, Lucien continued to wait for Rhine.
About ten minutes later, Rhine finally showed up at the front gate of Lucien's house. Lucien went downstairs to open the door for him.
"Wanna go out and take a walk under the moonlight, Lucien?"
Rhine still dressed in black and red tonight.