CH 1.9

“…!” Oren’s eyes widened. However, he soon realized in admiration that the Crown Prince was just looking out for the empire’s best interests.

“I see. If you bring Princess Morina on your side, the Cloyan people who support her will naturally submit to Your Highness. That’s brilliant.”

“Exactly, so you must find her.”

“Understood!”

Oren lowered his head when a problem occurred to him. He asked, “But, Your Highness,”

“What?”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“What are you on about?”

“You have no idea what kind of person Princess Morina is. Are you willing to get married right away?”

The Crown Prince laughed at his question. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Oren. I will be the ruler of this empire, so the only thing that matters is whether it benefits the empire or not. When it comes to accepting a woman, my feelings are irrelevant.”

It was an answer worthy of a Crown Prince.

Oren asked for the last time, “Then what would you do if Princess Morina refuse to be Your Highness’ wife?”

The Crown Prince answered curtly, “Then I will have no choice but to kill her.”

After he further discussed the affairs of state, Oren left the room.

“Huu.”*

*sounds of huffing

The Crown Prince took off his mask and place it on the desk. Was he weary because of the conversation he had with Oren earlier or because of his terrible insomnia?

”Shall I ask for whiskey?” as if sensing his mood, Almond, the Guard Knight, offered.

“No, I don’t think I’ll sleep better if I drink. I’d rather go for a short walk.”

“I’ll escort you.”

“No, it’s all right. I’ll go quietly.”

“But…”

“I’ll be fine.” With that firm tone, Almond shut his mouth.

Almond was aware that the Crown Prince’s sole relief was to go for a clandestine walk, but he was concerned for the Crown Prince’s safety.

“Stop worrying. What would happen to me when I’ve already done this countless of times before?”

His words carried weight*. All those who attempted to assassinate him in the imperial palace lost their lives. Not in anyone else’s hand, but his.

*direct translation: it was a word with bones. it means that the [subject] might be meaningless on the surface but actually contains a hidden meaning underneath.

In the end, Almond sighed. “Be careful.”

And so, Crown Prince Rael went for a solitary walk. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he changed into something simple.

‘Where should I go?’

Feeling the evening’s fresh summer breeze, it seemed that the stress from dealing with the affairs of state had eased a little.

As he looked around, he noticed a building in the distance that still had its lights on.

‘Ah, the Crystal Palace. Are they still practicing for the concert? It’s already late, how admirable.’

He thought, ‘Shall I go and listen to the music for a while?’

Right behind the Crystal Palace was a hill facing the concert hall. If you lie down on the hill, you can enjoy the music without going inside.

As a child, he would often furtively listen to music.

‘I used to always doze off while listening to music. Sister and mother would often scold me.’ He smiled softly at the memory.

‘I hope the music is as relaxing as I remember. Listening to soothing music might help me fall asleep,’ thought Rael, heading to the Crystal Palace.

However, unfortunately for him, the orchestra was not present. Marie, the maid, was the only person in the Crystal Palace.

“I’m done!” Marie exclaimed, looking at the score she had composed. It didn’t take long because she made it as simple as possible, adding only the essential themes.

“At this rate, Mister Vahan should be able to finish the rest.”

She swiftly folded the paper and put it in Vahan’s space.

‘No one has seen me, right?’ she thought as she glanced around. Fortunately, no one appeared to be around.

She headed out of the rehearsal room after turning off the lights.

But as she was heading out, her steps faltered.

There was a piano located in the dark.

‘A piano…’ She came to a complete halt.

Was it because Mozart’s spirit was still present? Suddenly, she was enveloped in a strange sensation.

— Play it just once.

An impulse that felt like Mozart was whispering in her ear.

— You’ve never even heard of the symphony you just composed. Perform it on the piano. Don’t you want to play it yourself?

She was eager to give it a shot.

She wanted to heed the urge, but she hesitated. ‘Will it be okay?’

She’d been in the rehearsal room for too long. At this point, if someone came now, they might think it unusual.

— There’s no one here anyway, so play it just once.

In the end, she succumbed to the urge and sat in front of the piano. ‘Just once. I’ll try it once and go.’

Thus, she started playing.

The low but clear tone began to reverberate across the rehearsal room and outside the Crystal Palace.

Was it a mere coincidence or was it the work of fate? The Crown Prince, Rael, was there.

“Is that the sound of music?” Rael murmured.

He intended to go inside the Crystal Palace but then decided to return when the lights went out.

But suddenly, a stream of melodies burst through the darkness.

‘Is that a piano? Did they arrange the symphony into a piano version?’

While listening to the music, he unconsciously remarked, “How nice. Truly…”

His heart was moved by the low but clear tones. Rael, who’s well versed in music, observed that the performance peaked at the highest level imaginable.

‘What an incredible virtuoso.* Was there a piano player of this caliber in the Imperial Court Orchestra? Who was it? Was it the conductor?’

*i did not translate this, he literally said that word.

But little did he know that the real surprise hadn’t even started yet.

Inside the Crystal Palace, Marie’s right hand moved rapidly, raising the octave.

Rael’s eyes widened.

’What’s this?’ The melody of the piano flowed like a river. It wasn’t just the latter. There were also warm wind, deep sea, and vast meadow.

The scenery came to him, mingling with the sound of piano.

‘How heart warming,’ thought he. It felt like being soothed. He found solace in the sky, the river, the wind, and the sea.

Rael closed his eyes. ‘How cozy. It’s the kind of music that heals the heart.’

It’s been so long since he felt peace like this. It seemed like listening to that music over and over again would cure his tedious insomnia.

‘Who on earth created such music like this?’

But then, the music style changed, with gradual slowing down of the ritardando.

It felt as if twilight had fallen over the meadows. And at the end of that, stood two people.

They were commoners. People who lead a completely normal life, sometimes happy and laughing, sometimes crying and sad.

The low pitched music seemed to express that life was not always easy, and that it could be unpleasant and sad at times.

Regardless of that, the fact that they’re looking at each other with smiles on their faces despite facing difficulties seemed to express that loved ones make life worthwhile.

“…”

Crown Prince Rael bit his lip quietly.

He once had people like that, too.

People who made each other’s lives better by being together. His heart ached when he remembered them, the ones he could no longer reach.

“Haa,” he sighed.

‘What is this music…’

It’s just music, yet it’s incredibly heart-wrenching.

‘What the hell…’ Rael was rooted to the spot even after the music had stopped, feeling overwhelmed by its lingering effect.

He still seemed to hear the piano in his head.

Then eventually, he came to his senses.

“Who’d done it?”

He needed to see them for himself. He raced to the rehearsal room, not wanting to miss them like what happened with the sculptor.

‘Which way should I go?’ He looked around after entering the Crystal Palace.

Of course, the Crystal Palace had many rehearsal rooms, so he wasn’t sure which path to take. Moreover, most of the lights were off, making it difficult to navigate.

’What if I miss them again?’ He frowned.

As he was walking briskly, something bumped into his chest.

“Kyaaa!”

“…!”

Surprisingly, it was a young woman. She looked about 17 years old and had a cute and innocent appearance.

“Ouch. That hurts.”

The frowning girl, who had been sitting on the floor, suddenly came to her senses and lowered her head.

”Ah! I’m sorry I couldn’t see properly.”

Rael thought, ‘Is she a maid?’

Her attire suggested that she was a junior maid in charge of menial tasks. She had a cute and innocent appearance but it didn’t catch Rael’s attention. Instead, his mind was consumed by the musician who delivered a miraculous performance.

Rael extended his hand to the maid who had fallen because of him.

“Are you alright? Get up.”

“Ah, T-Thank you.”

Marie, the maid, hold his hand and stood up, blushing slightly. ‘Wow, he’s really handsome.’

He had soft golden hair and lovely facial features. He possessed a face that would be more appropriate to call beautiful than handsome.

His cold eyes were a flaw, but even that added to his beauty, making him almost ethereal.

‘Who is he? He doesn’t look like a nobleman, considering his simple attire. Is he a servant?’

Since he always covered his face with an iron mask, she never would have guessed that he’s the Crown Prince of Blood.

Suddenly, the man asked her. Even his voice was lovely. “Where is the orchestra’s rehearsal room?”

“Ah! It’s over there!” Marie pointed in the direction she came from.

“I see.” The Crown Prince nodded.

Then she immediately moved out of the way.

Not once had he imagined that she was the musician he was looking for.

“Have you seen someone coming this way?”

Marie shook her head. “No one came this way but me.”

The Crown Prince soon arrived at the rehearsal room.

“Oh!”

As expected, no one was there. In the empty rehearsal room, only the piano and brass instruments remained.

“Where did they go?” said he as he looked around.

In addition to the passage he came from, there were several other ways. ‘They must have gone through another passage.’

There was no one in the passage he came from, except for the junior maid. So it won’t be that direction. Thinking so, Rael went out through another passage. He would not miss the musician this time.

“Where did they go?” He already looked around, but no one was there. None at all!

“What the hell?”

Just to make sure, he double-checked with the servants and guards stationed nearby, but no one had seen them.

Rael frowned. ‘It can’t be helped. I have no choice but to summon the orchestra members tomorrow and have them checked.’ Since there was no other way, the Crown Prince chose such course of action.

‘Of course they must be a member of the Imperial Court Orchestra. It’s most likely the conductor.’

Was is it because of sculptor? For some reason, he had a bad feeling. But the Crown Prince immediately shook his head.

‘The performance they just played was the best performance imaginable. Few musicians have this level of musicality in the Imperial Palace, so it should be easy to find them,’ thought he.

“I should also summon the maid I met earlier and ask her again. She was near the rehearsal room, so she must have heard the performance. She must’ve seen them,” muttered Rael to himself, recalling the cute little maid he had met earlier.

t/n: i’ve been laughing at this comment but it kinda makes sense.

[+100] Is he “Right [Oreun]”* because he’s the Crown Prince’s right hand?!! 

*Oren’s name in korean means Right so yeah.

im not sure if she’s just talking to her subconscious but if she isn’t and she’s really talking to mozart’s spirit, i can’t. this is too much. now we dealing with his ghost now? it’s heading to clown territory im sorry but that is so funny

meanwhile rael keeps making my heart ache. the way he yearns for what could have been… his poor sister and mother… and the fact that both had violent deaths… in a way marie & rael are kindred spirits cause both suffered at the hands of their blood relatives and both had their loved ones taken away; the only difference is that one led a darker path but nonetheless both cared for their subjects in their own way. anyway im not sure if the one-sided hide & seek was a result of sexist gender norms or he’s just dense. either way, both sucks.