Dien took Pablo’s guitar skillfully. Although he was flustered by the man’s behavior, he calmly stood up and headed for the stage. Having plenty of busking experience, he wasn’t afraid to perform in front of an audience.
Soon, in his own style, he stood on stage and greeted the crowd.
“You must be very surprised, aren’t you? I’m just as surprised as you are.”
Unlike his words, Dien didn’t lose his relaxed smile.
“Since you all came to enjoy Baron Pablo’s performance, some of you might be dissatisfied with me playing instead. To those people, I have something to say… I’m sorry, but refunds are not possible. Since I’m playing for free, please don’t feel like your money is being wasted. And if there is anyone who hates my playing so much they want to throw a stone, please throw it at Baron Pablo Celler over there. After all, he’s the one who made me do this.”
“Hahaha.”
Gentle laughter rippled through the audience at Dien’s witty remark.
“Then, I will begin. I’ll be playing a song that fits this chilly weather.”
Finishing his speech, Dien sat down and plucked the strings. They were perfectly tuned. After giving Pablo a satisfied smile, he began to play.
‘♪♪♪’.
Dien began to pluck the strings rapidly. He started a brilliant performance, mixing Arpeggios and strokes. Today, Dien intended to pour everything he had into the performance. That was his way of showing respect to Pablo, who had waited for him and even composed a piece for him.
Colorful notes burst forth from his guitar, beginning to enchant the ears of the audience.
“Whoa…!”
The audience members, hearing the sound of a guitar for the first time, were left agape by the rich sound. It was as if the music was being painted as a picture before their eyes.
To think that a single instrument could fill such a large concert hall. Before they knew it, the audience saw white snow falling and radiating light, and they felt their bodies tremble as the snow thickened.
‘♪♪♪’.
Dien’s playing grew faster, and transparent snow began to swirl around him. Dien was creating air currents that moved the snow. His wrists moved even more violently, and the snow in front of the audience soon became a blizzard, sweeping through the concert hall.
“Unbelievable.”
“How can this be…”
The audience felt as if their hearts were freezing at his cold performance. Their hearts were so frozen that even breathing felt burdensome. As Dien began to sing along to the accompaniment, the swirling snowflakes instantly turned into ice crystals, lighting up the surroundings.
Before long, the concert hall transformed into an ice palace. And there, only Dien’s voice and the sound of the guitar could be heard.
“The snow that fell tonight has covered the whole world…”
Dien’s voice, released with a hint of loneliness, pierced through the notes. It was a shimmering light like a colorful aurora, different from the light of the ice. The audience barely managed to soothe their frozen hearts as they watched Dien’s performance with bated breath.
Gradually, Dien’s song began to reach its climax.
The rhythm began to overflow with a sense of urgency. Dien hit the high notes cleanly, letting his emotions explode. The audience held their breath, frozen by his passionate singing.
Though his warm voice followed later, acting like a chandelier and a bonfire to melt their hearts, their hearts—frozen from the shock—showed no signs of thawing. Furthermore, the ice palace created in the concert hall didn’t look like it would melt even if a Meteor fell on it.
Finally, both the passionate singing and the performance came to an end.
Even after the song ended, the silence continued. The people, shocked by Dien’s song, could not yet open the doors of the winter kingdom that had imprisoned them.
*Clap…*
Just then, a single sound of applause was heard. It was from that moment that cracks began to appear in the walls of the kingdom. Soon, the people rose from their seats and poured out thunderous applause. They had finally broken the lingering impression they had received from Dien.
“Whoa!”
A great cheer that started without anyone knowing who began it spread through the concert hall like wildfire. Starting from the front seats, the audience began to stand up, and soon everyone in the concert hall was on their feet, clapping.
“Thank you.”
Dien greeted the audience with a wistful look in his eyes. At that, the fading applause began to grow loud again.
Dien knew very well that this applause was a request for an encore.
“May I do one more song?”
“Whoa!”
A loud cheer erupted from the audience at Dien’s question.
“For the next song, I think I’ll play one I used to do often during my street performances. Since winter has come, spring should follow. It’s titled ‘Spring, Love, and Cherry Blossoms.'”
At Dien’s words, a few audience members who knew the song screamed. Dien’s guitar began to play. Hearing the sound, Pablo came behind Dien and grabbed his baton. When he raised the baton above his head, the members of the Orchestra picked up their instruments as if they had made a promise.
‘♪♪♪’.
The members began to play according to the speed of Dien’s performance. Hearing the sound, Dien looked back and felt his heart flutter. To think that so many musicians were playing along to his song.
Dien’s eyes met Pablo’s, and Dien knew what he was trying to say with his gaze.
Dien soon put down the guitar and focused only on singing.
It was a song sung over a brilliant orchestral accompaniment. As the level of the stage’s perfection rose, the ecstatic expressions of the audience deepened.
The concert hall was more boisterous today than ever before. Those seeing Dien’s performance for the first time were beyond shocked, while those who weren’t became even more enthralled by his playing.
Dien sang as many as four more songs today due to the continuous encore requests, and every time a new song came out, Pablo’s hands grew busier and busier as he recorded Dien’s songs into sheet music.
Thus, the concert that day ended as Dien’s concert rather than Pablo’s.
Even after the performance was over, the audience couldn’t move from their seats for a while and didn’t head home, wanting to feel the deep lingering emotions even more.
As a result, tonight became the first night in history that the concert hall doors could not be closed.
***
After the concert ended, Pablo and Dien were looking at each other behind the fallen curtain, smiling.
“To think that you were Young Master Dien of the House of Portran… I never imagined that the street musician so nearby would be you.”
“Lord Pablo, please call me comfortably. I am still just a student attending the academy.”
“Hahaha, a great musician deserves to be treated properly! Even if you were a commoner, Dien, I would have used formal speech.”
“To receive such treatment from the Court Musician, Lord Pablo! It is an honor.”
“Hahaha, what are you saying! I am the one who is more honored.”
A conversation with the street musician he had dreamed of. The usually taciturn Pablo raised his voice in excitement.
“By the way, it’s truly a relief. If you hadn’t come to the concert, Dien, I would still think of you as just a drunkard.”
“Hahaha, Lord Pablo! I wasn’t just a drunkard! You should also add the modifier… ‘who doesn’t know concert etiquette’.”
“Well now, kuku-kuku.”
Dien and Pablo burst into pleasant laughter, thinking about their first impressions of each other. Soon, a different light began to flicker in Pablo’s eyes.
“Is that… still impossible, I suppose?”
“Hahaha, yes. I think it would be difficult.”
Pablo had asked Dien to join the Orchestra. Even though he had heard the rumors that Dien was a promising talent in the Chancellor’s office, he had still proposed that Dien join.
“Music is, of course, a big part of my life, but I intend to fulfill my duties as an administrative official. In fact, the reason I stopped the busking was to prepare to become a good official. I know you’ve made me a more than generous offer, Lord Pablo, but I must graciously accept that proposal in spirit only.”
“Hahaha, I understand. I shouldn’t be any more stubborn than this, should I?”
“If you were, Chancellor Persian over there might draw his sword.”
“Ah! Hahaha! It was a joke. A joke.”
Pablo flashed an awkward smile as he saw Persian approaching from a distance.
“Then please, at least let us have some musical exchanges.”
Pablo bowed his head toward Dien. Seeing this, Dien also bowed his head in the same way and said, “The gates of the House of Portran are always open to you, Lord Pablo.”
“Then I shall have to visit every night!”
“Hahaha, well, that’s a bit…”
Dien and Pablo never lost their smiles until the end.
And just then, Persian, Zalz, and Dorothy approached Dien’s side.
“Dien.”
Persian had a dumbfounded expression, while Zalz looked surprised.
And…
Unlike at first, Dorothy couldn’t take her eyes off Dien.
“You, just how long are you going to keep surprising me! I thought you were someone far removed from music! To think that the street musician who turned the capital upside down was you!”
“I am merely an official under you, Count.”
“There’s truly nothing you can’t do!”
“Hahaha.”
Dien scratched the back of his neck as if embarrassed. It was because it was awkward to have it revealed so dramatically that he was the street musician.
“Instead of finding a musician for you, I should attach musicians to you to promote the cultural development of Delos!”
“You flatter me too much, Chancellor!”
At Persian’s excessive praise, Dien waved his hands to stop him.
“This has worked out quite well… hehehe!”
“Huh?”
Following Persian’s strange laugh, Dien felt a strange chill down his spine. Persian’s bizarre laugh, which he had never seen before, sounded like a goblin’s laugh while chasing prey.
“I like you very much!”
Persian patted Dien’s back with loud thumping sounds. Then, he smiled as he looked back and forth between Dien and Dorothy.
“Zalz! Step out for a moment! You are not the priority.”
“What?”
The excited Zalz also tried to approach and talk to Dien, but Persian stopped him. Zalz had a puzzled expression, not understanding Persian’s intention.
“Let’s step outside for a while!”
“Pardon? Yes…”
Persian burst into laughter again as he looked at Dorothy and Dien. He knew that Dorothy had more to say to Dien than he or Zalz did. Thus, they quickly moved away from Dien and Dorothy.
“To think the street musician was Dien! It’s like icing on the cake.”
Watching Dien and Dorothy talk from a distance, Persian couldn’t lower the corners of his mouth.
***
Dorothy kept her mouth firmly shut. Looking at her, Dien slowly opened his mouth.
“Whenever I performed on the street, there was always someone who sat in the front seat and cheered for me. I never imagined that person would be you, Lady Dorothy.”
At Dien’s words, Dorothy didn’t say anything and just stared at Dien’s mouth. There were so many things she wanted to say if she ever met the street musician she adored, but now that he was right in front of her, her mind went blank and she couldn’t remember anything.
Despite her lack of response, Dien continued.
“The Count must have been strict. Weren’t you scolded for staying out so late at night to watch the performances?”
Still no response. However, her gaze was very different from before. The current silence was not the silence of ignoring him, but simply the silence of awkwardness.
Dien let out an awkward laugh and was about to speak again. But fortunately, her voice reached his ears first.
“Why… don’t you do street performances anymore?”
“I couldn’t go because I had a lot of work to do. I’m currently balancing academy classes and successor lessons…”
Dien looked at Dorothy and suddenly stopped talking. It was because tears like beads were falling from her eyes.
“La… Lady Dorothy!”
Dien didn’t know what to do as Dorothy sobbed. He paced restlessly, his hands moving awkwardly as they found nowhere to go.