FYERIL - Chapter 7 < A Funeral Song For You >

What she took out was an instrument the size of a palm.

Dante raised one eyebrow.

Many composers rushed to him, willing to offer up their bodies, saying they wanted to sell their songs.

However, no one had brought such a small instrument without an orchestra, singers, or even a piano.

Was this confidence or recklessness?

'We'll see.'

The instrument, which seemed to be a miniature piano, had neatly arranged silver keys.

Fingers that were more delicate than the keys began to slowly caress them.

Was it because the continuous movements were as natural as flowing water?

The woman had the power to make her actions, even though they were out of the blue, feel completely natural.

Ariana's performance began like that, out of the blue.

"..."

A clear and beautiful sound resonated through the space.

Delicate and soft, like water droplets spreading out.

Before the first lingering sensation had even faded, she plucked the next note. And once more, and once more.

With each movement of her slender fingers, a splendid sound followed like footsteps.

Ariana casually wove together a combination that no art school professor would teach as harmony, and then again she tossed it around like a mirage.

He heard his aide, who took a deep breath, cover his mouth.

Dante slowly rested his chin on his hand and stared at the woman.

Her eyelashes, which were directed toward the keys, were neatly aligned. A calm and composed expression despite playing a heartrending note that seemed to dazzle the ears.

Her delicate features and her fingers danced neatly on the keys.

Ariana’s movements were like a series of paintings drawn by a master with elegant brushstrokes.

Ten seconds, and then another ten seconds. And countless more ten seconds passed by as if melting away.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced.

“Hey, if you can’t sleep... Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?”

The young voice that came like an uninvited guest mixed with the music, creating dissonance.

The performance ended at the same time as he frowned.

It was an abrupt ending as if the snowflakes had melted away the moment they touched his hand.

“...”

Ariana slowly raised her head. Her calm gaze turned silently to Dante.

The last trace of the note had subsided, and the silence that had found its empty space was damp like the moisture left after the snowflakes melted.

Ariana swallowed quietly.

Dante didn’t say anything.

I hadn’t wanted applause, but I had expected at least some appreciation.

The silence was a little longer than I had expected, no, much longer.

Finally, I quietly came to think this.

‘Surely... it wasn’t that bad?’

I thought back to my old memories.

Today was the first time I had met Dante in this life, but it wasn’t like that before I died.

“The real ‘master’ of the Lopez Opera House. You, right?”

The voice that had casually dug into a secret that no one knew.

“Lady Lopez, why are you letting your idiot bloodline ruin your treasure?” 

The only person who knew that the music of the Lopez Opera House was actually all produced by Ariana Pedegrin, the opera house’s ‘jobber’ who no one paid attention to.

I thought that he would recognize it this time too.

‘Was it my arrogance?’

Furthermore, this song, ‘The End of Snowflakes,’ was one of the most explosively received songs among all the songs she had composed.

‘But art is ultimately... a matter of taste.’

No matter how many people praised a piece, it wasn’t necessarily the same for everyone.

It’s a matter of taste, isn’t it?

I had that thought as I unconsciously lowered my gaze.

“Rio.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I raised my head at the sudden voice.

Dante was staring at me even as he called someone else’s name.

He slowly brought the cigarette to his lips. Without lighting it.

Then he nodded to the young man called Rio.

“Ah, four!”

Rio moved quickly and took out a piece of white paper and a pen from his briefcase and handed it to the man.

Dante scribbled something on it and pushed it in front of me.

I looked down at the paper on the table and opened my eyes wide.

I saw numbers drawn in strong, extended handwriting.

Numbers with an unimaginable number of zeros.

'...500 million?'

100 million cadinas is the annual salary of a middle-class person.

Five times that amount.

I was blankly staring at the check with 500 million written on it and the signature written underneath when Dante said,

"Hand it over. Including the score and the part score."

***

I looked at Dante with surprised eyes.

"..."

500 million cadinas for just one song.

It was an unbelievably extravagant treatment.

Of course, I knew that my song was worth a lot.

However, it was extremely rare for a song to be traded for hundreds of millions.

Only the best masters of the time would sell the song for that amount.

I realized once again how great Dante's distribution was... And, at the same time, this was.

'He acknowledged my song that much.'

It was like Dante officially acknowledged that my song had this much value.

Thump, thump.

My heart began to beat faster. The wave spreading through my chest was perhaps a feeling of joy.

'No. Don’t give it any meaning.’

That man is a businessman.

I provided the song and he simply set a price for it. There is no need for emotion in the process.

I learned through death that unnecessary emotion is useless.

I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head.

“Thank you, Your Highness. This is not the price I want.”

“Not enough?”

Dante raised one eyebrow.

I hurriedly shook my head once more.

“I mean, I don’t want money. What I really want is...”

This is where it gets real.

I took a deep breath and locked eyes with Dante.

“Your Highness’s wife.”

There was silence for a moment. A cigarette fell from the man’s lips. The man named Rio opened his eyes wide as if they were going to pop out.

After a few seconds of silence, Dante slowly lifted his face and looked at the ceiling.

“What is this?”

Dante muttered, glaring at the ceiling.

I felt my entire body tightening with tension.

Dante continued slowly.

“Will you dedicate a song to me and become my wife?”

“Somewhat, no. This may be absurd, but please listen to me.”

I continued quickly.

“Have you ever heard the music of the Lopez Opera House?”

“Opera?”

Dante furrowed his brow slightly.

“I’m not interested in such a fancy stage show.”

“...”

This answer was unexpected.

Before I died, Dante Heigenberg had come to me five times to recruit me.

‘Was he not interested yet at that time?’

“Still, I’ve heard that the arrogant nobles have been pouring a lot of money into it recently.”

That was all.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

“I composed all the music of the Lopez Opera House.”

“...”

Dante’s eyes cracked slightly.

He turned sharply to look at his aide.

The young man called Leo answered with a puzzled expression.

“It is known that Count Lopez is in charge of composing all the music at the Lopez Opera House...”

“That is not true.”

I said firmly.

“I composed all the music, and my brother Count Lopez only added a few subtle variations.”

Rio’s eyes widened.

I took a deep breath and said,

“I would like to use the music I played you earlier as proof.”

It was a bold statement.

I was confident that the level of the music I played would prove my words, almost reckless.

My heart pounded for a moment, but fortunately, Dante did not laugh at me.

Instead, he stared into my eyes...

“Ha.”

He let out a deep, empty laugh.

Dante leaned down. His red eyes, which had gotten even closer, flashed like a bird of prey.

“Yes. To be honest.”

“...”

“It does sound appealing. It seems fun, you.”

His earnest gaze caught my attention. As if it were going to penetrate my innermost feelings. My heart is pounding.

My heart trembled slightly, whether it was from anxiety or relief.

'Success. For now.'

I succeeded in dragging out ten seconds.

Whether it was five years in the future or now, everyone's opinion of Dante was the same.

A man who didn't even look at anything boring.

Strangely enough, like a ghost, things he found boring soon lost their vitality, and things he found interesting took flight as if they had wings.

Before the sparkling interest in Dante's eyes could fade, I quickly opened my mouth.

"I'll be honest with you. I want to get the music I composed back from my brother. But... You know, the Imperial law."

"Ah. That old-fashioned law."

Dante loosened his eyebrows.

"According to that law, unmarried women cannot form any personal property. Including copyrights."

I opened my eyes slightly wide. It was a statement that hit the nail on the head.

Dark eyes stared at me.

“So you’re going to make me your fence. So that the annoying imperial laws don’t steal your music and give it to your brother. Is that right?”

The voice that was catching the flow was as smooth as a low song.

“...You got it exactly right.”

With just a few clues, Dante had figured out a lot as if he had put a magnifying glass on our family’s situation.

Thanks to that, the conversation progressed much faster than I had expected.

I opened my mouth, mentally discarding the long speech I had prepared to explain my situation.

“But of course, that doesn’t mean I want to be your real wife.”

Dante furrowed his brows slightly, perhaps because this was unexpected.

“Just one year. You can keep me as your wife until I figure out a way to protect my music.”

And until I completely completed my revenge.

I kept my undisclosed feelings to myself.

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