CH 1.8

How long had she been doing it? 

While she was finishing the piece in her head, someone called her. “Miss Marie? Miss Marie??” 

“A-Ah, yes Maestro!” 

It was Vahan, looking at her with concern. “Do you feel unwell?” 

“No!” 

“Are you sure? You’ve been standing there in a trance.” 

Marie gaped in shock when she looked around. The practice seemed to be over, as everyone put their instruments away. 

‘Oh my God, have I been spacing out for an hour?’ 

As she looked in shock, Vahan said in a gentle voice, “Don’t push yourself too hard. If you feel unwell, tell me right away.”

Eventually, the orchestra resumed practicing. Marie racked her brain as she listened to their performance. ‘The piece… is finished! The Country Symphony is divided into four movements in total.’ 

To think that she, a maid, could complete a symphony in her head in such a short period of time. It was a kind of story one would never believe if she told them so. 

But it wasn’t a lie. Even now, the sheet music was still flowing inside her head.

‘But what should I do?’ Marie was at a loss. 

What should she do with the symphony she had completed in her head? She couldn’t just bury it in her head, but she also couldn’t rashly tell Vahan about it. First of all, she’s not sure how he would react to it. She didn’t think he would disregard it though. Based on Mozart’s standards, the symphony she created was flawless. 

Moreover, she’s worried about drawing too much attention. How could she, a lowly maid with no musical aptitude, explain that she finished the symphony? She was well aware that they would find it unusual.

‘How should I proceed?’ Marie turned to look at Vahan. He and the orchestra were still practicing the frustrating piece.

***

“Thank you all for your hard work!”

“See you tomorrow!” 

The day’s practice was eventually over and everyone packed up their belongings. 

“I’ll clean it up right away.”

“Thank you. Then see you tomorrow, Miss Marie.” 

“Yes, thank you for your hard work!”

It was Marie’s job to clean up the rehearsal room.

While cleaning, she caught sight of the conductor, Vahan. He was standing in the corner of the rehearsal room, peering down at the five-line staff of the sheet music. Marie deliberated for a long time before approaching him with caution. 

‘His unfinished symphony is pastoral themed.’ 

Thanks to Mozart’s ability from the dream, in just one quick glance, she could tell what kind of music the sheet music contained. 

“Oh, Miss Marie? What’s up?” Sensing her gaze, Vahan turned to her.

“Miss Marie?” 

He was perplexed when Marie hesitated and did not respond.

Eventually, Marie tightly closed her eyes and asked, “M-Maestro, I have a question.”

“What is it? Feel free to ask.” 

Marie drew in a deep breath and opened her mouth. “I was wondering… What if… What would you do if someone help you complete The Country symphony?”

“…!” Vahan’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean? Someone helping me?” 

Due to nervousness, Marie talked nonsense. “Um… what if an angel from heaven descended and finish the symphony?”

“An angel?” 

“N-No, I’m not necessarily saying an angel will actually help you, but what what would you do if something like that happens…”

Vahan erupted with laughter. “I must have looked very distressed for you to say that. Thank you for consoling me.” 

“Oh, I’m not…”

“Of course I’d appreciate it if someone could help me,” said Vahan with a smile. 

Marie inquired once more. “Would it not… make you feel awful?”

“Why would I?”

“I see. But it’s your work, Maestro. Won’t you be offended if someone else helped you?” Marie asked, thinking of the musicians’ enormous pride.

But he calmly shook his head. “Well, you may think so, but not in my case.” 

“…?”

“I’d rather see my symphony finished than keep my pride. I want that more than anything. If I could, I would sell my soul to see it finished.” 

“…I see,” Marie nodded with a thoughtful look in her face. 

Vahan grinned. “But why do you ask, Miss Marie? Will you finish it for me?” 

“N-No!” She quickly shook her head.

Vahan cocked his head at her awkward behavior. “Anyway, I’ll head out now. Thank you for your hard work. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work as well!”

When Marie was left alone, she finished cleaning up the rehearsal room and murmured, ‘Yes, let’s help him in secret.’

If Vahan didn’t want help, she would respect his wishes. However, he desperately wanted the symphony to be finished, no matter what. 

‘I bet this won’t even reach the Crown Prince’s ears.’

She recalled the image of the Crown Prince. It seemed that he, a cruel monarch, would not even care about the orchestra’s music. 

Chwaak!*

*sounds of liquid spreading around 

She laid a roll of paper on the floor of the rehearsal room. Then she knelt down and began frantically writing on the sheet music. 

‘I will have to write the essential parts only.’ Although it was possible to write down the theme for every part, she was short of time. 

‘Besides, if I write down everything, it won’t be Mister Vahan’s work anymore.’ 

All she wanted to do was help. It was enough to fill in the blanks for Vahan. The rest he’ll fill in on his own way.

‘Let’s wrap it up before anyone arrives. And if I secretly put it in Mister Vahan’s place, no one will suspect that I did it.’ 

Unless they see it with their own eyes, who would think that a maid did it? It wouldn’t be a problem as long as she didn’t get caught.

‘I must finish it as soon as possible,’ thought she as she busily scribbled on the sheet music. 

***

Meanwhile, in the Lion Palace, Rael, the Crown Prince, was talking to the Royal Physician.

“How’s your insomnia, Your Highness?” 

“Still the same.” 

Baron Gordon sighed. “Please accept my apologies, your Highness, for my lack of medical competence.” 

Since then, the Crown Prince had been suffering chronic insomnia. Even if he stayed up for two to three nights, he still won’t feel sleepy. His eyes would stay open no matter how exhausted he felt. 

”It can’t be helped.” Rael shook his head feebly. 

“I will increase the medicine dosage slightly, Your Highness.”

“Alright.”

After the Royal Physician left, the Crown Prince reclined on his chair and closed his eyes for a while. 

He was completely exhausted. Due to his insomnia, he hardly slept last night. But before he could even take a breather, a servant announced the arrival of another person. “His Excellency, the Prime Minister Oren, has arrived.”

“Send him in.” 

Soon after, a handsome man with a cheery temperament entered the office, a frown marring his face. 

“What is it?” 

“Ugh, I can’t find him, Your Highness!”

“What are you on about?” 

“The sculptor! I can’t find him no matter how hard I look! Where the hell did he disappear?! Your Highness, I’m sorry to ask you this, but are you sure you’ve really seen him?” 

The Crown Prince grudgingly nodded his head. “I saw him clearly.” 

“But where the hell did he go?! Ugh! He’s giving this bloodhound a hard time!”

The Bloodhound. 

It was an epithet given to him during the civil war because he never failed to destroy the enemy he targeted. 

Oren gritted his teeth and said, “Once I find him, I will never let him go.” 

“I’m looking for the sculptor to express my gratitude, not to punish him.” 

“I know! But he’s making me suffer like this, so instead of rewarding him, you should punish him!

Duke Oren continued, “I’ve never met anyone who has caused me so much trouble since Princess Morina of the Cloyan Kingdom.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes lit up at the name. 

Morina de Branden La Cloyan.

The person who had been giving him a headache. 

He said, “It’s been three years since you started looking for her.” 

“Yes, Your Highness. I’m stumped as to where the hell she’s hiding.” Duke Oren sighed. “She’s not dead, is she?” 

“I don’t think so. No one has ever seen a body.” 

“But if she’s still alive, there’s no way she couldn’t be found, right? Not only did I scoured the entire Cloyan Kingdom, but the neighboring kingdoms as well. I feel like Princess Morina is not real but rather, an imaginary person. Only a few people knew what she looked like.”

”She’s not. If she were an imaginary person, she wouldn’t have left such a huge impact on her people in such a short amount of time.”

Princess Morina had not stayed long in the Royal Palace. Since it was only brief and she lived in hiding from her brothers, only a handful of people knew her face. 

Moreover, the only portrait she had was burned during the war.

‘Despite of that, she did the best she could for her people in only a short period of time. She’s amazing.’ 

She was know as ‘The Faceless Saint.’

When the Crown Prince first heard that, he was stunned. He thought, ‘She’s the only royalty I admired from that vile Cloyan family.’

Three years ago, Princess Morina was only fourteen years old. How could such a young girl covertly help others? Although of course, it didn’t do much. 

How much good could a powerless young girl, who was looked down by the royal family, do? Was it enough that she had her maid discreetly distribute her allowance to the needy and buy medicine for the sick? But it wasn’t even a substantial sum. 

While it wasn’t much, it wasn’t an easy thing for her to do, given that she wasn’t as well-off either. 

Thus, it’s only natural that the people of the Kingdom of Cloyan, who had suffered under the royal family’s tyranny, were greatly moved. It made Princess Morina lived in their hearts.

“The people of the Cloyan Kingdom still haven’t forgotten her. So, no matter how long it takes, you must find Princess Morina. Keep that in mind.” 

“Noted, Your Highness. But what will you do if you find Princess Morina?” asked Oren quietly. “Will you kill her too?”

Rael, the Crown Prince, paused for a moment before opening his mouth. 

“Worst case scenario, I’ll have to kill her. She’s innocent from any crime, but there are still people in Cloyan Kingdom who support her.” 

Such cold words worthy of the Prince of Blood. 

But Oren found another meaning in it. “What do you mean by worst case scenario? Does that mean you might not kill her?” 

The Crown Prince nodded. “Correct.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to kill her, the last bloodline of the royal family, in order to completely subjugate the Cloyan people to the empire?” 

“That’s true. However, it should only be the last resort. There’s a better approach to win the hearts of the Cloyan people.” 

“Which is?” 

The Crown Prince twisted the corners of his lips at the puzzled Prime Minister. “By making her mine.” 

“Come again?” 

“You heard that right, I intend to make her my wife.”

t/n: turns out the theme i was previously using was a bit cheeky; in exchange of using them for free, an unremovable ad plugin is embedded (if u pay for premium then u can remove it). so i was like, hell no, i have to manually change it. so there. say hello to the new ad-free layout.

btw i didn’t translate the symphony’s name [The Country], the author titled it themself in romanized english. 

rael is so nuanced, i just can’t find myself to hate him. and yes he had no qualms with killing her (to be fair, it’s only the last resort and a foolish one at that since it would make a martyr out of her = kickstart a revolution) and killed her family, but sometimes violence is necessary to fight injustice—just look at the french revolution! it has been repeatedly implied that the cloyan royals were awful & corrupt, so they def deserved it anyway.