CH 1.6

“What?”

Hans lowered his head and said, “It wasn’t me who did the Third Empress’ sculpture, Your Highness!” 

“You didn’t? But the palace manager said you sculpted it.”

“While it’s true that I sculpted it at first, it wasn’t me who earned your high regard, Your Highness. This humble servant is not talented enough to be able to embue a soul in it.”

With that, the Crown Prince looked at Hans in scrutiny. ‘Come to think of it, they have a different build.’ 

The sculptor he saw in the rain yesterday was supposed to be petite. Like a skinny girl. 

Of course, there’s no way that the sculptor was a woman, but it didn’t match Hans’ stocky build.

“I see. Then who is the sculptor? I’d like to reward them handsomely.” 

“…I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“I genuinely don’t know. Someone secretly sculpted it last night, so I have no idea at all. It seems like an angel went to visit.”

The Crown Prince frowned. What did that even mean?

“Almond.” 

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Can an outsider enter the palace without permission, when it’s late at night?”

“Absolutely not. If that happens, we will immediately arrest or kill them.” 

“Then it means that the sculptor is within the palace.” The Crown Prince nodded and ordered, “Find out who made that piece. I really want to meet them.”

***

However, contrary to what Rael thought, finding the sculptor was not that easy. 

“No one?”

“Yes. It’s been confirmed that none of the men working in the palace fit the description you’ve given,” said Almond with a troubled expression.  

Rael frowned. “No it can’t be. I certainly saw them with my own eyes.” 

Meanwhile, a young man who was listening to their exchange, spoke with interest. “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong, Your Highness?” 

The Crown Prince turned his head. ‘Oren.’

Duke Oren, lord of the Sovien Duchy, came from one of the most powerful families in the empire. He was a strategist who rose to prominence by assisting the Crown Prince during the civil war. 

He was also the current Prime Minister of the Empire and an advisor to the Crown Prince.

“No, I certainly saw it right.”

“But it’s strange. As Your Highness said, they’re built like a skinny girl.” Duke Oren shook his head. He was a handsome man with curly blonde hair and a sunny  disposition. “There’s no way a woman carved that sculpture.” 

“You’re right.” The crown prince nodded. There were no female sculptors, not only in the empire, but throughout the continent. 

“Hmm,” Duke Oren stroked his chin in contemplation. “Then how about this? I’ll try to find the sculptor myself.” 

The Crown Prince looked surprised. “You?” 

“Well, Your Highness is burning with curiosity, and as your most loyal subject, I cannot just stand by.” 

He playfully twisted the corner of his irresistible lips. “I’m also just curious about  who did it.” 

Just like that, Marie the maid, inadvertently attracted the attention of the two most powerful men in the empire. 

*** 

“Achoo!” Marie sneezed loudly as she assisted the landscapers. 

‘Who’s talking about me?’ She murmured, sniffling. 

“Marie, you’ve got a bad cold. You should go and get some rest,” said Hans worriedly. 

“I’m okay. *Sniff*” Unlike before, the atmosphere in the garden was pleasant. It’s because His Highness the Crown Prince was satisfied with the sculpture. Currently, the garden only needed its finishing touches. 

‘What a relief,’ thought Marie. 

Everyone else thought the same. However, one problem remained, and it was the mystery of who finished the sculpture. 

“Marie, are you sure that you didn’t see anyone that night?” asked Hans, who knew Marie went to the garden that night. 

Caught off guard, Marie quickly shook her head. “No, I didn’t see anyone. I immediately went back to my lodging.” 

“Is that so?”

Marie kept her silence. Of course, how would she explain that she manifested an ability? She would be out of her mind if she said that.

‘The Crown Prince must never see me.’ She was scared to death when she heard that His Highness the Crown Prince was looking for the sculptor. Of course, by now, there would be little chance that they would find out that she’s the Princess of the Cloyan Kingdom. 

Several years had passed since then, and because she was an illegitimate princess in the first place, only a few people knew what she looked like. Even though her father, the Cloyan King, was forced to bring her to the palace, he had qualms with showing her around due to her shameful origins. 

She thought, ‘Thanks to that, I was able to survive by becoming a maid.’ If a lot of people knew her face, no matter how much she pretended to be a maid, she would have been immediately caught. Ironically, working in the palace while avoiding other people’s eyes and enduring their abuse was a blessing in disguise, since it enabled her to survive. 

‘I still have to be careful though.’ Especially with the Crown Prince. She didn’t want to attract his attention, even if she never got credit.

“Did God really send an angel?” said Hans as he looked up at the sky. 

Marie smiled sheepishly. Except for the unresolved mystery of the sculptor’s identity, it was a happy ending for everyone. 

That night, Marie fell asleep peacefully. 

But then, she had another dream. She was dreaming of a young man, and his name was <Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart>

***

The heat had subsided, and autumn was fast approaching. The festival was right around the corner, as the fields turned golden and bountiful. 

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s festival.” 

“I know, the harvest’s good too. Last year, there’s no festival at all.”

The subjects of the Empire talked excitedly about the upcoming festival. Due to the horrific civil war that broke out amongst the princes when the emperor fell, festivals hadn’t been held for years. Since it’s the first festival after the peace was restored, everyone had high expectations. 

And as the large-scale festival was fast approaching, its organizers became frantic, including the imperials maids. Apart from the street festival for the general public, the Imperial Palace will also host a separate banquet and festival. The maids, of course, were in charge of the preparations.

“Chop chop! There’s not much time left until the festival, so wake up!” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

“Alright, everyone, go to your assigned locations and follow the instructions!” 

Except for those tasked with maintaining the palace, all the maids in the Lily Palace scattered to prepare for the festival.

‘Once again, I have to assist with the preparations elsewhere,’ thought Marie. As the Rose Palace’s garden was near to completion, she had been reassigned to another place. However, when she heard about her new workplace from her superior, Susan, she looked confused. “The… Crystal Palace?” 

“Yes. Is there a problem?” When Susan asked with a puzzled look, Marie shook her head in a hurry. 

“N-None.”

“Then you can go as soon as tomorrow. It won’t be particularly difficult, you’ll just need to help them there and clean up afterwards.”

“Understood.” 

Smiling, Susan said, “The landscapers were praising you a lot when you were still at the Rose Palace Garden. So just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“T-Thank you.”

Marie sighed as she headed out. ‘The Crystal Palace?’ 

It wasn’t that she’s worried that the work would be difficult. As what had Susan said, she just had to do simple errands. However, she remembered the previous dream she had. 

<Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart> 

The reason why she felt troubled was that the Crystal Palace was the place where the orchestra was scheduled to perform.

Of course, she had no problems with running errands for the orchestra, which was rehearsing for their festival performance. However, it was confounding that an ability would manifest whenever she had a strange dream. 

‘Will something happen again?’ 

Mozart. 

The name from the dream became stuck in her mind.

***

Sure enough, Marie had another dream. She became Mozart, the musical genius who descended from heaven!

She had already dreamed of him twice.

“Mozart! Mozart!” The young woman raised her voice and called ‘her’ Mozart. The ‘her’ in the dream waved his hand. “Ah, older sister!”

“What are you doing? We have to leave for Paris right now. If we delay any longer, we’ll be late for the concert.” 

“I’m looking at the scenery.” 

“The scenery?” The girl frowned. She noticed that that girl was Nannerl*, Mozart’s older sister. 

She’s actually Maria Anna but Nannerl is her nickname

“Yes, the scenery.” The girl followed his gaze. Under the walls of Rothenburg, a serene and pastoral landscape loomed before them.

“What of it?”

“Can’t you hear the music?” 

“What music? I hear nothing at all.” Mozart frowned at his sister and closed his eyes. 

Suddenly, ‘she’ experienced an unexpected phenomenon. There were no instruments but the sound of music reverberated in his mind; the gentle sound of the breeze, low streams, pastures and trees, ringing across the place. All of them were music to his ears, the notes and melodies flowing into a musical score.

His sister then nagged at him. “Stop talking nonsense and let’s go. Father is waiting.”

“Yes, alright. Let’s go.” Thus, he went to Paris while listening to countless sounds of music. As usual, the concert in Paris was a huge success.