Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Years later, the Psalm Hall looked the same luxury and magnificent. The architecture style was very different from that of Rentato.
In the hall, the waiter was welcoming the nobles and musicians here for tonight’s concert. When it was getting closer to the time for the concert to begin, he was getting less busy, so he could finally feel a bit relieved.
For an ordinary citizen like him, being a waiter in the Psalm Hall was a rare opportunity. If he did a good job, he might get a better job offer from a noble or a musician. Therefore, he was very careful with every single word he said and every single movement he did tonight.
Seeing that some young popular musicians were adjusting their bow ties and walking toward the backstage, he was feeling even more relaxed now. Every week, there was a concert in the Psalm Hall, and rarely were there spare seats left. However, the crazy, grand occasions that he once saw seven or eight years ago never happened again.
Seven or eight years ago, he was only a teenage boy, but he could never forget how the young musician’s music works made the entire city crazy.
He wondered if people in other countries were as crazy about music. His elder brother kept telling him that people in Aalto loved music because they had nothing else to do.
The waiter thought to himself, But for ordinary people, what else could they do for entertainment?
Suddenly, he heard the bell ringing. A pumpkin coach arrived in front of the gate.
The waiter was surprised to see a pumpkin coach, but somehow, he felt that it was okay for a pumpkin coach to be here.
Before he could think much, a gentleman in a black tuxedo got off the coach. He then helped a lady in a long, purple dress to get off.
“Madam and sir, are you here for Mr. Francisco’s concert?” asked the waiter respectfully.
“Yes, please. We need two seats,” said Lucien calmly.
The waiter turned around and led them into the hall. He felt that he had forgotten something important. For example, did they have tickets? For example, why could they just ask for two seats in front of the concert hall?
“Why pumpkin coach?” Natasha was amused by how Lucien took her here.
Lucien rubbed his chin. “Don’t you feel it’s like a fairy tale?”
Then he turned to look at the Psalm Hall and sighed. “In fact, I’m more familiar with the stage than the audience seats.”
“… I never performed here.” Natasha also felt a bit regretful. As a princess, she could not.
The waiter found two armchairs and put them in the last row. The musicians sitting in the last row did not care.
As soon as Lucien and Natasha sat down, the concert started. The musician tonight was Mr. Francisco. He was wearing a fine black tuxedo tonight. He first bowed to the VIP seats, and after that, the rest of the audience.
He had straight nose and thin lips, and his cheekbones were a bit high. He had the very typical look of people from the Holy Heilz Empire. And he was still quite young.
“I was always there. See, that’s Mr. Victor, Mr. Othello, Franz…” said Natasha.
Lucien also recognized Elena, Grace, and Felicia. He smiled and said, “They could never imagine that I would be here in the same hall with them for the same concert.”
Again, Lucien had no plan to meet them.
Francisco picked up his baton. Lucien and Natasha instantly stopped chatting and started enjoying the music. According to the list, this was a piece of symphony called Growth.
Starting from the music scores that were full of suspicion and questions, the melody slowly turned more and more cheerful, which presented the audience a picture of youth and love.
In the melody, every listener revisited their childhood, adolescence, and first love, and then the music scores and musical instruments started getting sharper and more intense. As the pitch rose, the music was like a storm that dragged every single listener back into their most depressing and painful memories.
However, after the storm, the sky had become more clear and blue, and the sun had become even brighter. It was telling the audience that the pain and sufferings would finally go away, and one’s life could only become richer with these sufferings and pain.
When the peaceful life reached its limit, the playing of flute was replaced by the confident march, indicating the upcoming challenge.
“Very good, but different from a traditional symphony,” Natasha applauded and commented.
Lucien smiled. Such a branch in the symphony in Aalto had finally come into being.
“Single movement symphony. It’s more like a poem. While traditional symphony values structure, it is free and focuses on its central idea…”
The musician sitting in front of them heard their conversation and turned around. “You don’t know the symphonic poem? Mr. Francisco created it! Did you two just come from somewhere else? This is the most heated music topic in Aalto recently.”
Lucien and Natasha exchanged a look between each other, and both of them shook their heads. Lucien was always busy with studying arcana and magic, and Natasha kept focusing on the kingdom stuff and improving herself as a knight. Even though they followed the development of music in Aalto, they did not always know the most up-to-date information.
The musician continued, “But even though you don’t know much about symphonic poems, sir, your comment was very accurate. It’s obvious that you have a good understanding of music. May I ask if you’re a musician from another country?”
“I’m not a member of any Musicians’ Associations. I just… love music,” said Lucien rather ambiguously.
A dead person would not be a member of the Musicians’ Association of Aalto.
The musician did not insist on asking. The musician explained the symphonic poem and Mr. Francisco to them during the break time. “He’s a musician from the Holy Heilz Empire, and he was a student of Mr. Christopher for two years. Recently, he is known for his passionate piano playing and bold innovation. The symphony you just heard is named Growth, and it’s one of his most famous pieces.”
It seemed that Mr. Christopher had another student after Silvia’s death, which was a piece of good news to both Lucien and Natasha.
“He’s very talented, for sure. You’ve heard him play. It’s a masterpiece! After Mr. Evans passed away, people in other countries said that music in Aalto would gradually die, but now, they should realize they’re wrong! Aalto’s music is in its blood. In the atmosphere of the entire city, with all the legacies left by all the masters, great new musicians will always come out. Mr. Francisco is an example!”
The musician was a bit excited. His eyes were shining as he looked at Lucien and Natasha, waiting for their support.
Lucien smiled. He said in a solemn and casual tone, “That’s right.”
“Yes.” Natasha nodded, feeling encouraged.
After the concert, when the musician turned around again to talk to the noble couple, he realized that they were gone. Only two empty armchairs were left.
Since when did the Psalm Hall accept adding seats? Somehow, he started feeling a bit creepy.
And somehow, he realized that the noble couple looked a bit familiar to him. He started thinking hard.
……
In Ratacia Palace, Paradise Corridor.
Standing behind the arch window, Lucien and Natasha enjoyed the sunset glow together as the garden was dyed in red. The twenty-four huge mirrors reflected the view like a dream.
Natasha told Lucien the stories that once happened to her here. She was known for her physical strength when she was young, and she once almost destroyed this place.
“We already enjoyed the dinner. It’s sunset. It’s time to go back now. Such a nice walk,” said Natasha while stretching her arms.
Lucien nodded, and he looked at the other end of the palace. “I don’t even know who’s the current grand duke. Isn’t he being rather low-key in the family?”
“It never occurred to him that he could ascend to the throne, but I believe that this is just temporary. Our children, grandchildren, and their offsprings will finally come back to the throne,” said Natasha confidently.
After leaving Ratacia Palace, Lucien and Natasha headed for the city wall. At this time, a person in a red robe walked out of the nearby noble manor. It was their acquaintance, Gossett.
Since they were ready to leave, Lucien and Natasha only slightly changed their looks and did not hide their air.
Gossett saw them, and his eyes suddenly opened big!
“Lucien Evans… Natasha Violet?!” Gossett felt his body totally numb, and he could not breathe. He wanted to run away, but he was unable to; he wanted to cast divine spells, but he was unable to.
His legs were shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly, he saw Lucien turning around and looking at him, smiling. His black pupils were as deep as a lake. Cold sweat covered his forehead.
After a long time, when Lucien and Natasha walked out of his sight, he could finally breathe again. Gossett hurriedly contacted Philibell, the Grand Cardinal.
“Your Excellency, I just ran into Lucien Evans and Natasha Violet! We can still catch them if we turn on the defense circles!”
It wasn’t until he started speaking again that he realized that his voice had completely become dry and hoarse, as if he had not talked for a hundred years.
Philibell was astonished, and he soon found Lucien and Natasha using the divine circle. They were slowly walking toward the city wall. In front of them, there was a boundless universe.
Then Philibell’s eyes squinted slightly, and he said to Gossett seriously, “You got the wrong person!”
