novelPlease don't come to the evening concert (6)
| ← Ch.030 | Ch.032 → |
Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Please don't come to the evening concert (6)
"... No thanks. Such a beautiful song would be more appropriate for your love."
"Oh no! You're worried needlessly. I already have a wide variety of variations based on that melody. So, you don't have to worry about it."
Smiling at her briefly, he gave her the bow.
"Hold it for a minute. Don't think of breaking it, " he said, looking at her with a mischievous smile.
After playing strings with his fingers briefly, he made clear sounds while watching her narrowed brows playfully.
His pizzicato seemed mischievous at first, but it was never ridiculous. To her pleasant surprise, she could feel his pure heart in his simple and pure melodies. It shattered her tight alertness a bit. Was this another one of the prince's masks? She had some doubt about it, but his continued performance quickly cleared even her slightest doubt.
"As for this melody, I expressed my wishes for your longing for Sir Schroder."
She thought to herself, 'Oh my, is this man trying to express things with music every time?'
She was speechless for a moment at his unique expression of emotions, but she became wary again and coldly said, "I was just here today to repay my debt to Sir Schroder. Please don't get me wrong because I have nothing to do with him."
"Oh, really? Then, I should have more interest in you! I have to get on stage again today so I can't find time for you today. Oh, I know they have a hunting contest in the imperial Burgonu Forest eight days from now. Let me invite you there, so please come. Of course, you should come with Sir Schroder, hand in hand. Keep in mind it's my order, and don't be late. Let me send you the invitation through Sir Schroder. Hahaha. It's going to be a lot of fun!"
The crown prince burst into laughter like an old man. As he had to retire from the musical world at a young age, his feelings were no different from that of the old man, and even his laughter sounded like an old man's.
She could feel sad about the prince who had to quit music, but she felt bad because she had caused his laughter. He enjoyed teasing her as if he had a golden chance to heal his sense of loss upon retirement from the musical world!
She spoke, pursing her lips in annoyance, "Your Majesty, I am sorry, but I am not a woman suitable for such an occasion. How can I attend an imperial hunting event? I'm no more than a shabby commoner woman, so I'm afraid I can't attend the event where precious noble men are gathering."
She felt that she was repeating the same excuses she made to Lard Schroder. She would say anything that could degrade herself, but he was not pleased with that. After she was done talking, she unconsciously chewed her lip and expressed her dissatisfaction.
"Shabby? No way! You can feel more confident today as you are more beautiful than any of the noble ladies I've seen. So, please don't be mean to yourself! I want you to do what I say. Why do you distinguish between noblemen and commoners in the hunting contest? What my sister told me repeatedly was that I should view people based on their competence in key posts without any limit on their social status, be it noble or commoner. I want to test your hunting ability in that contest. If you show your competence, I'll give you a corresponding reward. Just show your abilities freely, regardless of whether your game is a beast or a brute of a man. Hahaha!"
She was silent. To be sure, the prince was the type of man she wanted to avoid the most, a man who she could not communicate with well. In a sense, he was more persistent than Lard, the imperial knight.
"Please brighten your expression. Who knows? You may win a prize unexpectedly in the hunting contest. Wouldn't it be a good opportunity to win honor, along with love? I'll make that event a chance for you to achieve that. Be it a fox fur or a handsome imperial knight, let me make sure you can get anything. If you're lucky, you might be able to win a noble title."
"My lord, I really..."
When she was about to respond as she could no longer stand hearing his absurd talking, he spoke again, "Oh, on that day, please let me see your original hair color. Although the fragrance of your hair is sweet enough to melt my heart, I want to see more of your original hair color."
The prince shook his head as if her hair color was a shame. She was embarrassed by his unexpected rebuke. How did he know? She tried hard to figure out how he figured it out, but she concluded that he would never believe what she said, no matter how strongly she denied.
She barely calmed down and asked with a suspicious expression, "... how did you know my current hair color is not natural?"
"Your eyebrows! Why would your eyebrows be brighter than your hair? It seems you tried to cover it with makeup, but you can't deceive me!"
She became upset as her makeup skills was pointed out by a man rather than a woman.
Obviously, she was mistaken that she would not have to color her eyebrows because they looked darker than her dark yellow hair, so she thought it would go well with brown hair without dyeing them. She never encountered a man who paid such attention to a woman's eyebrows.
"I will keep in mind your advice, Your Majesty!"
Concealing her troubled agitation deep inside, she bowed humbly.
"By the way, you don't look so good. What's going on? You didn't come all the way up here like this after you had a quarrel with Sir Schroder, right?" The prince asked slyly. He added, "The concert will resume soon. So, go back and enjoy the music comfortably. I hope to meet you with a nice look in eight days. If you go back to the way you walked here, you will soon find an aisle of red carpet. From there, there are signboards everywhere, so you can get back to your seat easily. Don't ever think about going anywhere else. Just go back immediately to Sir Schroder! I will check from the stage where you sit beside him."
"I'm sorry, but I..."
"Wendy, I really like your last name. Waltz! That's the name I have no choice but to like. I'll prepare a waltz for you next time. See you eight days later."
The prince, who interrupted her words, confessed that he liked her name. After the confession, he asked her to go back to her seat. He soon lost his interest in her and returned to his other self as a musician in his own world. The prince began to examine the strings of the violin, as if he were trying to fix his musical instrument for the performance set to resume soon.
She pressed her lips together, feeling as if she had been caught in a trap he set up.
"... Why? Can't you find your way? Then, let me call an imperial knight to guide you."
"No thanks. Let me leave now."
Standing in embarrassment, she left quickly, refusing his well-intentioned offer.
Obviously, he was very good at expelling people. She clenched her teeth once again. As she had no other choice but to go back to her seat, she began to walk, although she wanted to leave Jerus Hall right away.
Given the odds of bumping into Dylan Lennox again in the corridor, she struggled to shake off her anxiety. She could easily imagine that the imperial knights were on guard in Jerus Hall because of the prince. She thought that if she could pass by the corridor safely where she had encountered Dylan, she could go back to the theater. She just wished that she would not run into him this time.
During the past two years while she lived as Wendy Waltz, there was never a more dangerous situation than now. Recalling the moment she saw Dylan Lennox, she found it hard to breathe. She hardened her expression.
She decided that she wouldn't be shaken even if she saw him this time, but the cause of her nervousness was pure fear: fear that her purchase of a new status might be detected when she encountered Dylan again, no more or no less.
Passing through the round corridor, she saw a familiar red carpet. As she walked further, she saw a familiar hallway. Once she went around the right corner, she could see the woman's lounge where she wanted to go.
Wiping cold sweat on her forehead, she went around the corner and found several knights gathering in the lonely corridor.
A knight's blue hair came into her view. There were three knights on the stairways leading to the third floor. Although Dylan was standing with his back to her at the moment, she instantly found him among them. When another knight talking with him discovered her first and cast a glance at her, Dylan turned his head toward her, too.
| ← Ch. 030 | Ch. 032 → |