Peter's performance was really good. In fact, it was very good, but when Jose complimented him on his Attainments but said that it was not enough, everyone sighed in their hearts.
The Viscount did not seem hurt or sad, and he graciously accepted the judgement and returned to his seat under an impressed applause.
Later, a few young ladies and young men stepped on the stage. Not really gunning for the win, but just to showcase their talent.
As long as they received even a "Not Bad" from Jose, they were happy and considered it an achievement.
A few older ladies gave it a shot as well, and even some old men joined in the fun.
Maria was tempted too, but she was self-aware and knew that her musical skills were not up to the mark.
Her son, however, was a musical genius and had great interest in it, but Mikael did not seem to be holding any thoughts about going on the stage.
"Brother, you should give it a shot too." Anaiah expectantly looked at him, and he smiled.
"Let Raeya and Klara have a go first. I don't want to steal their chances of winning the painting." He teasingly said, and both the twins rolled their eyes.
However, they were indeed itching to give it a shot, and after the ongoing performance ended, Raeya stood up and walked to the stage.
She picked up the instrument that no one had touched so far. A Guqin. When people saw her choice, they all became very interested, and as soon as the beautiful music greeted their ears, they were amazed.
Jose, who seemed a little bored, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes, and as the performance continued, he was seen nodding his head in appreciation and kept his eyes closed to focus on the music.
It was a composition from a famous musician who lived two hundred years ago and was called The Dream. This score was not easy to replicate, and Raeya's performance truly shocked a lot of people.
When the performance ended, Jose even stood up to applaud her, and the other people in the room, with the exception of a few, did the same.
"Brilliant! This was the best performance of the night."
"Thank you, Count Romanio." Raeya curtsied to him, and then smiled and bowed to the audience.
"Young lady, if you were a few years older and had honed your skills more, my heart would have bled as I would have to give you one of my most cherished paintings. Luckily for me, your performance is still not enough to win it."
"I understand that I have a lot of room to improve. Thank you for your honest judgement." She bowed to him, and he was very impressed by her manners and confidence.
When Raeya returned to the table, she entered Mikael's arms and shared a chaste kiss with him, which everyone saw.
Klara, after her sister's performance, was pumped up and confidently walked to the stage.
Her confidence grabbed a lot of attention, and both Jose and Luis could not help but expect her to possess a similar level of skill to her twin.
And they were rewarded with another beautiful performance as Klara's slender fingers danced on the keys of the piano, filling the room with a happy melody.
Those who immediately recognised the score, praised her for her boldness as it was one of the hardest to master.
The Moonlight Symphony, the best work of Sebastian van Gaal, was loved by millions and hated by the majority of Piano players for how difficult it was.
When Klara's fingers landed on the last notes, the room remained silent for a good few seconds, and then Jose stood up and laughed as he excitedly clapped his hands.
"Brilliant, Miss Klara Zarayne. Your performance was even better than your sister's performance. I am happy to have gotten a chance to hear someone play this beautiful piece of music. The best work of Master Sebastian van Gaal..."
Jose kept praising her, and then to everyone's dismay, said that her performance was still not enough to win the painting.
Seeing that people were starting to have doubts about his judgement, he smiled at Klara and pointed out her shortcomings in her performance, and when she acknowledged that she was indeed lacking, they all turned quiet.
After thanking the Count, she happily returned to the table and entered Mikael's arms who tightly hugged her.
She blushed hard and then received compliments from her family and people nearby, and after the Hall calmed down, no one stood up for a couple of minutes to continue.
No one had the confidence to even show anything close to Raeya and Klara's level of musical attainments.
"Brother, are you still confident?" Anaiah teasingly asked and giggled when he unhesitantly nodded his head.
However, Mikael stayed seated as he knew that someone else would go on stage, and sure enough, when no one seemed ready to get up, Aaron Stone suddenly decided to give it a try.
He bowed to the Count to garner his favour and stepped on the stage, taking his seat at the Piano.
Soon his fingers started dancing and a familiar melody filled the room.
It was the same score that Klara had played, but it had a different taste to it.
Jose's eyes gleamed again as he was not expecting anyone to come close to Klara's level of performance, but this night was full of surprises.
Normal people could not really tell which one was better, but those who understood music knew that Aaron's performance was slightly better.
This was something Jose pointed out at the end of the performance and said that though the performance was better, the level of skill between the two was the same.
Aaron did not seem to be unhappy with the judgement and graciously accepted it. He even said some words to flatter the Old Jose, which made people smirk in their hearts at his youthfulness.
Under a round of applause, the Son of Destiny returned to his table and enjoyed the glances that the rich ladies took in his direction, but instead of sitting down, he looked towards the table where the Zarayes were sitting.
"I wonder if Mr Mikael has any interest in music. I really want to see what the husband of the two talented ladies can do with a musical instrument."
It was a naked jab, an attempt to cause trouble, and where it displeased a lot of people, it also made some gloat as they were jealous of the young Zarayne. Someone finally dared to speak such words to him in the open, and they were excited to see what would happen next.
The ladies at the table frowned at the words, but before any of them could react, Mikael slowly stood up.
He did not even look towards Aaron, and after giving Anaiah a kiss on the head, he slowly walked towards the stage.
Everyone watched as the young Zarayne took his time looking at the instruments and finally picked up the Violin.
An attendant immediately brought him a stool and then handed him the mic when he asked for it.
"What I am about to play is my own composition, which took me four years to complete. Its first notes were penned the day I met my wives Raeya and Klara for the first time, at the Imperial University, and its last notes come to my mind after I listened to their performances today." He smiled in their direction. "I love you, both of you, and you are the lights of my life. This composition is for you, and I will call it the Journey of Love." He smiled at them and put down the mic.
Mikael took a minute to compose himself and get ready, and right before the bow touched the strings, his eyes became lost.
No one was expecting much, even though they were really eager to listen to his Journey of Love, but the moment the first notes entered their ears, they felt chills run up their spines.
Seconds later, Jose subconsciously stood up on his feet, and following his lead, others started standing up as well.
The music which seemed to evoke their happiest of memories, made them all feel touched, but then the rhythm changed and there was anger and sadness, hurt and helplessness, hope and desire, which sent them on a roller coaster of emotions.
From happy days to sad days to days where you felt numb. It truly was a Journey of Love, and both Raeya and Klara could not help their tears.
The other ladies and even men in the room were no different, and everyone wished that this Journey of Love had a happy ending.
Their heart ached when they heard the notes closing with hints of eternal loneliness, but only seconds later, a chaotic symphony started, pulling them right back in and playing with their emotions once more. And when they felt the happiness again, smiles of joy crept on their faces.
Raeya and Klara giggled as they understood that it was the Journey of their Life. From the first day they had met Mikael to this very day, and both felt immensely warm in their hearts.
When the Journey ended, people did not know how to react for a while, but soon, someone started clapping, and then a thundering applause honoured the man on the stage.
Mikael lightly smiled at everyone and then stood up to bow to them.
"Brother, again!" Anaiah suddenly shouted out loud, and following her call, the other girls and ladies in the hall expressed their desire to listen to him one more time.
"Sure, why not?" He picked up the mic, spoke into it, and immediately sent the hall into a frenzy. "Please, be seated. I will perform this piece again, but not with Violin. I wish to play it with the instruments that my wives love."
As soon as he said that, the attendants brought the table with the Guqin.
Raeya expectantly looked towards her husband, and the moment the first notes fell, she fell in love with him all over again.
This time, the Journey of Love had a different flavour to it, but it was still just as mesmerising.
Mikael's skill with Guqin shocked everyone in the hall.
Mastering one instrument was already hard, and he had mastered two, one of which was perhaps the most difficult instrument to learn.
But they were in for another shock when he played the Journey of Love again on the piano, enchanting them, and making people look at him in reverence.
Hearing him play made people feel ashamed of their talents, and when the performance ended, a lot of sighs were heard around the room. These reactions were mostly from men because the ladies were going crazy for him.
Mikael was sweating now, his hands trembling a little after performing for over half an hour.
No one had the heart to request him to play it again, but to their happiness, they watched him ask the attendant to bring over the Cello.
"I heard that Cello is Count Romanio's favourite instrument, and I want to play Journey of Love on it next. This one is for the win. But I have a request." He said in the mic, and the Old Jose happily looked at him.
"You have already won, Young Man. Please tell me what your request is."
"I do not want the watch. I want Sakura's Prayer as it is one of my Anaiah's favourite paintings and I wish to gift it to her."
Everyone glanced at the young Zarayne, who was sitting next to Maria, and her beautiful blue eyes were brimming with tears after she heard Mikael's words.
Jose too felt warm in his heart after hearing the requests and agreed to it without any hesitation.
"It's yours, Your Honourable Mikael."
"Thank you." The Young Zarayne smiled at his little cousin, who had her head lowered now, and then he took a deep breath and started playing the cello.
There was just something haunting about this instrument that people could not help but be drawn to, and again they were blessed by another flavourful version of the Journey of Love.
Old Jose's body was trembling in excitement when he saw how skilled Mikael was with his favourite instrument, and he did not hide his tears as he was reminded of his own Journey of Love with his late wife, whose loss still made his heart ache in her memory.
This time, when the performance ended, the Old Man walked over to stand under the stage and then before everyone's eyes, deeply bowed to Mikael.
"Thank you, Your Honourable Mikael. You have humbled this old man today, and you have blessed me with a symphony which will forever remain close to my health." After he finished speaking, he took off his watch and climbed the stage to put it on the Young Zarayne's wrist. "This is my token of respect and gratitude to you."
"Thank you, Count Romanio." Mikael bowed for the old man, who appreciatively patted his head and then invited him to sit at the table with him and Luis for a while.
"Young Man, it is good to be confident and bold, but arrogance eventually bites back." A middle-aged man, who was sitting close to the Albonn's table, looked at Aaron and said, and the Son of Destiny scoffed at those words.
"A Young Master like him, who has all the money in the world and no worries, it's good that he can, at least, play some musical instruments." He condescendingly said, but people who heard his words turned cold in their hearts.
Soon whispers broke in the Hall and reached the City Lord's table, and Luis' face immediately darkened.