Marie's eyes teared up seeing Eli and then her friends standing up and applauding her proudly.
And in their cue, the rest of the audience snapped out of their trance.
Following Eli's suit, they also stood and applauded her proudly. All the more when she saw that even the Emperor and the three princes themselves were clapping in approval.
Her heart stirred, she took another bow and a glance at her mentor, Princess Evelyn, backstage with a grateful expression.
If not for her and Eli believing in her talents, she might not be able to experience this kind of thing in her entire musical career.
But here she was.
When she heard the jury's thanks, she then exited backstage. Her eyes were focused on her mentor as she could no longer hold her tears up.
But as she walked towards it, she heard a voice passing beside her saying, "Your music is good, but not good enough to beat me…"
She paused and saw a delegate violist from the Vanderford Empire preparing to be called onstage.
Surprisingly, Marie was not even affected by her provocation. Instead, she smiled and answered, "I know… but you are not the one I defeated."
"Who I defeated was myself!" Marie proudly answered, her words were heard by all the people backstage.
She did not look at the Vanderford delegate with contempt. Instead, she had a peaceful smile on her face.
As if she has gained something more valuable than getting the top spot for the competition, and that was -
Her confidence!
"I am so proud of you, little one!"
Princess Evelyn was over the moon, not only because of Marie's phenomenal performance but because of how graceful her reply was to her competitors.
"Thank you, Your Highness, My mentor! It's all thanks to you and everyone's support!" Marie finally wiped the tears of joy falling on her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?! Look! You made me tear up too…" Evelyn's voice quivered as she quickly took her handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"Look at yourself, young lady! Your eyes will be puffy when you receive your award later on!" Princess Evelyn continued.
Marie looked at the stage and saw a glimpse of the strong, domineering performance of the last contestant, who was coincidentally the one who told her off earlier.
"I might not bag the championship anyways…" Marie chuckled lightly, but her eyes were not filled with disappointment. But her eyes were full of contentment and liberation.
"Well, even so! I don't believe you won't be within the top three with your stunning performance!" Princess Evelyn huffed proudly and rubbed Marie's head like she was treating her as a little sister.
It was as Marie and everyone expected.
The champion was the last contestant from the Vanderford institute, however, the crowd cheered when Marie got the trophy for second place.
Cheers from the students of the Farauld Magic Institute were all over the place, it was as if she was the one who actually won!
Realizing that, she blushed shyly, feeling that the trophy was heavier than when she first received it.
–
After a short intermission, the competition proceeded to the Cello section.
Now everyone from the bunch was giving Hailey their words of encouragement before she proceeded to go backstage.
"Big Brother… do your best and make sure you have Hailey's back!" Raya mischievously elbowed Desmond's side.
"Hah… Of course! After you pestered me to the fullest, how could I now make our efforts futile now? Hailey just play to your heart's content, I have your back." Desmond answered lightheartedly.
When they chose their competition pieces, Hailey, Raya, and Marie carefully planned their for them because they did not want to tire Desmond too much for the accompaniment.
They tried to find pieces that would not require accompaniment so as to not burden Desmond who also had his own piece to play.
In the end, Raya and Marie both found the solo pieces to play for the entire tournament and only Hailey ended up with a requirement of accompaniment for her final piece.
This was already the best arrangement for them however, it is a balance of not giving up their own chances while also helping Desmond have his own time.
Soon, the cello finals came to a start. This time there were only five contestants and Hailey drew the last slot to perform.
Like the case with Marie, she was the only one representing the Farauld Magic Institute, and the roster was dominated by the Vanderford delegates.
"It seems like Vanderford had already anticipated their loss in the magical division."
"They sent in so many candidates for the music and fine arts side to ensure that they could still rack up enough points to compensate for their performance in the magic division."
Eli commented after noticing the profile of the finalist.
Even if Farauld gets the top of the score, in the end, they only have one representative.
Having multiple representatives increases the possibility to rack up points for the score to determine who will be the overall champion of the Grand Tournament.
"Well, we still have the other events. Besides, the top rank still gives more points than the other ranks, and our research team is strong as well." Dean Athena commented.
She firmly believed that Farauld Magic Institute still had a chance to accumulate enough points to become at the top once again. Especially now that none of the delegates from the mathematics event were eliminated.
She believed that they would get enough points and dominate the Academic division because they were trained according to the ideas and knowledge that Eli had brought into the Academy.
Watching the cello competition play out, Eli also did not forget to remind Lainie to quietly take note of the inspirations she would accumulate through the immersion of music.
It might not help her in the competition because of the time constraint, but Lainie understood that Eli was letting her do it for her improvement as a composer.
Finally, it was time for Hailey to come on stage.
Just like Marie, she looked stiff when she entered the stage which made her friends in the audience clasp their hands in prayer.
'Oh, heavens… let not Hailey be overcome with pressure and nervousness…' Her friends prayed.
On stage, Desmond and Marie saw the stiffness in Hailey's back. But since they were already onstage, it was not appropriate for them to act beyond the roles they were assigned to.
Desmond waited for Hailey's signal, only then did he and Marie, as the page-turner flashed an assuring smile.
Hailey seemed to have come to her senses and finally found herself relaxed. With a nod, she signaled Desmond to finally start the piece.
A warm and energetic tone came from Desmond's playing, but he saw to it that the upcoming repetition from Hailey's cello will not be overpowered.
The piece they were playing was similar to Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major's first movement.
The moment Hailey moved her bow, a proud and dignified melody rang in the entire hall that immediately engaged the jury and the audience.
The melody of the piece is a mix of youthful and energetic fast notes, but what gives it more character was the varying intensity of Hailey's bowing on the chords along the piece.
Sometimes the phrase would portray it as something light and warm, which Hailey would ensure that her notes would project properly with the middle and high notes.
When the phrase is required to exemplify pride and dignity, she will put the appropriate amount of pressure on the bow and embellish it with vibratos.
Throughout the entire piece, the audience felt like they were in the banquet halls, listening to the orchestra playing joyous music for everyone. It was merry and beautiful at the same time!
With Desmond's awareness to keep the accompaniment full and balanced, as well as Marie's support in page-turning, the audience soon became immersed in the music, making them forget about the previous cello performances earlier.
This was the first time they heard a cello concerto piece that seemed to sound complete and beautiful without an orchestra's accompaniment.
A music perfect in its current form!
When the music ended, like Marie, Hailey earned a standing ovation from the judges and the audience.
The three young musicians triumphantly exited backstage with great satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment in their hearts.
In the audience's seats, the people started discussing how the Farauld Institute's musical representatives came stronger despite the well-known fact that the area of study was on the verge of being discontinued.
Comments about how the education of the mentors of the institute would most likely revive the dying department in the Farauld Institute soon emerged.
It made everyone also interested to send their children to learn as long as Farauld Magic Institute decided to keep it open.
"What do you think, Eli?" Dean Athena whispered at her after hearing the people's opinions.
"Our mentors were from the Imperial Family and even Randel is affiliated with another influential group. As for me, I already have enough on my plate."
"However, let's not decide on it hastily. Let's see how everything plays out, especially on her highnesses' end," Eli responded calmly.
