"In that case, then who should be the judge? They should be fair and impartial," Elizabeth said.
"Naturally, we have a solution for this. The greatest scholars from the academy will be our judges," he explained as five people stepped out from the crowd.
Elizabeth gave a wry smile. She knew them very well. After all, they were her teachers! Certainly, they were the best option. These scholars were neutral to nearly every matter in their pursuit of truth and enlightenment. They would not be swayed by promises of power or wealth. There would be no bias, even to the Royal Family!
"If everything is to your liking, Your Highness, then shall we begin?" Fredrick asked.
"Just as well," Elizabeth drew in a deep breath. "I get to decide the first test, right? Then, the first test shall be about music." Compared to strategy or economics, the three topics: music, painting, and literature were highly subjective. It was far more difficult to determine a clear-cut winner with them. Since her skills had yet to be refined, she reasoned it was better to start with those instead. It was a very wise decision!
"As you wish," Fredrick smiled. "What shall the contents of the test be, judges?"
"It won't be anything too difficult for you two," an old man laughed. "Each side will play the harp. The winner will be determined by their overall performance."
A girl walked out from behind Fredrick. Elizabeth subconsciously raised an eyebrow. She recognized her as the young daughter from a minor side family. Her status was pitifully low compared to the other scions present. Of course, that was relative to a Grand Noble. She was still far above a commoner. Even in the Grand Nobility, there were large differences. But what surprised Elizabeth was her participation. There were superior harpists among the Grand Nobility, especially the heir of the Alkor Household! The heir had won countless contests and championships when young! They were regarded as a natural prodigy of the art. If that heir had participated instead, Elizabeth would have no choice but to bow out. It would be complete defeat!
Elizabeth volunteered to go first and stepped up to the prepared harp. Her heart was beating several times faster than usual. Although she had practiced plenty, playing privately and publicly were entirely different concepts! This was her first public performance so having everyone's gaze focused flustered her. When she sat down though, she closed her eyes. Everyone became quiet as Elizabeth's fingers strummed over the harp. She began to sing…
O New Havens, my home in the sky,
What a warm and happy family,
What a wonderful life it has been,
Her voice resounded throughout the hall into everyone's ears. One would be farfetched to call it masterful, much less perfect. However, her singing seemed to pierce into the crowd's hearts, cutting straight through with pure and free emotion. That was no surprise. This was no fictional story but her genuine history! How could those fake songs compare? Whenever she sang, the full overflowing might of her emotions came roaring out! The audience could not help but share her feelings. Everyone felt intoxicated by the music. It was an incredibly bewitching performance!
Alas, the future calls for what else?
The fire of fate burns my home,
The song of fate brings me below,
Benedict looked away in shame as his memory lapsed back to half a year ago. His recon accident in the Etera Forest exposed Elizabeth and New Havens to the rest of the world. Thanks to his blunder, everyone and everything in New Havens was destroyed. Elizabeth's family was painfully tortured and executed. Some would say that Elizabeth suffered immensely and that was true. However, she was not the only one! The weight of all those lives had bored down on Benedict every day! Even now, he wondered if things could have been different. Had he not crashed on New Havens, would Elizabeth still be with her family? Would she still be happy?
A crown for a queen, what is this?
I ran away, so far away,
Across rivers and oceans, across plains and forests,
O cruel fate, I resent thee,
O cruel future, I regret thee,
O cruel world, I reject thee,
Elizabeth's fingers continued to move across the harp in a trance. Her memories were drifting across her journey. Although it was short, it brought such enormous changes for Elizabeth. Her life was destroyed, and she descended to an unknown world. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Her melancholy, despair, and sadness… Her happiness, sympathy, and kinship… Everything was transformed into this melodious song.
Once upon a time,
I ran away, so far away,
A crown for a queen, now I stand,
When she was done, there was silence, completely dumbfounded silence! Certainly, Elizabeth's skill was not great by any standards. Her playing was mediocre, and her song was rough. Compared to the Alkor Household's heir, she was far inferior. No one could dispute that at all, not even Elizabeth herself. However, she made up for it! Because her playing was straight from the heart. Because her song was about her own life! Through it, everyone could experience her tribulations as well. For these Grand Nobles, born with silver spoons, could they sing these songs? It was impossible! That was the difference in life experiences. Her opponent played afterward, but Elizabeth won in the end! The first round went to her!
Elizabeth felt suspicious. She was not one to overestimate her ability. Granted, she trained hard for several months; yet, who were these nobles? They were training their entire lives! She had the feeling that this was part of the Grand Nobility's trap… but where was the trap? The judges were impartial and neutral. They would not ruin their reputation for this. If Lord Fredrick made a move, then someone would notice. Everyone was watching! Sir Winstin and Lady Christina were not here for show! Despite all that, nothing happened. She was deeply unsettled.
Following their arrangement, Elizabeth chose painting for the next round. An older youth was her challenger. Elizabeth carefully inspected this person from head-to-toe and found nothing wrong. This made her frown further. The two competed immediately. Elizabeth painted the scene she was most familiar with, her home on New Havens. Once again, she entered a state of immense concentration and exquisitely painted the beautiful scenery. Her opponent was not weak either, performing on par with Elizabeth. The audience was engrossed with the match. No one could tell who was going to win!
An hour soon passed, and the judges came up to inspect the two paintings. After a brief deliberation, they announced the winner. It was Elizabeth again! Elizabeth went into a daze and began doubting herself, wondering if she really improved that much. Her confidence began to overflow. She laughed internally, mocking Lord Fredrick and the Grand Nobility for their foolishness. They probably never thought she could be so strong! In that case, then this was a done deal. The next round would be hers! She felt her efforts were truly not wasted after all!