Thump.
Late at night, everything was quiet, but my ears were loud with the sound of my own heartbeat. I looked up at the dark ceiling and took a deep breath.
Come to your senses, Ariana.
I pulled the blankets tightly over me and laid down on my side. The vast bed was too wide to reach. I changed my position and closed my eyes, but my mind did not become quiet.
"Haaah."
I let out a sigh for the hundredth time and curled up. It seemed that my lips still had some feeling. I shouldn't be swayed. I told myself. I had something to focus on, and more than anything, this wouldn't be a big deal to him.
'That must be why he's so good at it.'
I remembered his hands moving down my cheek to the nape of my neck as he kissed me. His eyes were filled with increasingly deep passion, his breathing becoming rougher, his gaze looking at me without any composure. And...
"I was so angry that I forgot, I tried to endure it until you remembered..."
"This is almost torture."
What would have happened if his aide hadn't knocked on the door at that moment?
I furrowed my brow in a serious mood. Before I died, five years from now, a shocking rumor would start to spread in social circles. It was the rumor that Duke Heigenberg, who was known to invite female singers to his bed every night, was actually impotent. The tip-off was a soprano who was quite famous at the time, and the tips continued to come out one after another. At first, many thought that it was a rumor maliciously spread by women who had been dumped by the Duke, but when the Duke's side took no action, it soon became a fait accompli.
Dante Heigenberg was impotent. That was a secret that everyone in the social circle knew. But could a man with a physical defect react like that... like that?
I bit my lip in embarrassment as I recalled the presence I felt from his waist.
"... Let's go to sleep."
I forced myself to close my eyes. I hadn't finished a single note of the score today. To be exact, I had written a lot, but I had erased it all.
'How dare you have the guts to be lost in other thoughts on such a topic?'
I tried to fall asleep, recalling the melody of the harp I had heard after a long time. Soon, the water began to rush in, swaying. When I opened my eyes, I was running through the forest again.
'This is a dream.'
Since I had this dream not long ago, I recognized it right away. However, unlike my consciousness who realized it was a dream, my young body ran through the forest in a hurry.
The dark forest and the smell of blood bothered my nose. A nightmare whose source I couldn't figure out. But this time, there was something different.
"Little lady, come here."
I looked back at the strange voice and was startled to the point of faintness. I saw a monster wearing a pure white mask looking around in the distance, searching for something. As I ran away, holding back a scream, I stumbled and fell into the cold water with a splash. As with all dreams, it was an improbable development. Even as I thought that my young body continued to struggle steadily. Nevertheless, my body continued to sink. While struggling painfully, I wondered if I would wake up from this dream if I ran out of breath.
"...Hey. Wake up!"
Someone reached out to me. At the same time, I heard a scream that couldn't be heard underwater. I blankly looked up. Someone was trying to save me from sinking. A boy with black hair fluttering over his white face. My eyes slowly grew wide.
"...Gasp."
I took a deep breath and woke up.
'The forest... It's that dream again.'
I had the same dream twice. I had a feeling that it wasn't just a simple nightmare. Maybe it had something to do with the memory Dante had told me to recall.
Dante. As soon as I thought of that name, the face of the boy I had seen in my dream came to mind. He looked young and youthful, but his facial features definitely resembled someone I knew.
"Ha."
I walked to the terrace and got some fresh air. Even as I breathed in the cold air, the image of the forest I had seen in my dream wouldn't leave my mind. The forest in the middle of the night was creepy and mysterious. I thought I wouldn't forget that image for a long time. Just as scary ghost stories lingered In children's minds all night long, rather than beautiful fairy tales, and nightmares are remembered much longer than happy dreams...
Ah. I suddenly opened my eyes wide as I thought that far. My steps, which had been meaninglessly strolling along the terrace, suddenly stopped.
"Perhaps..."
Music that lingers in people's minds for a long time, and can send ripples through their hearts the moment they hear it. I thought that perhaps it existed in a completely different coordinate than what I had thought.
***
Time passed quickly, and the razor-sharp midwinter wind began to feel a little warm. The National Foundation Day was just a month away. Before a large-scale festival like the National Foundation Day was held, small-scale parties were held here and there.
Tea parties, balls, salons...
The nobles attended various parties and spent time exploring the season's trends and each other's strategies in advance. Countless invitations flew into this house and that house. Some invitations were ignored, some were so welcome that they were sold for a high price, and sometimes some invitations were a hot topic in and of themselves.
The banquet held at Count Lopez's residence was exactly that kind of thing.
"Count Lopez is holding a banquet? That's a bit funny. Did he get permission from the Imperial Bank?"
"Oh, didn't you hear? I heard he paid off all his debts. There's a rumor that he paid off the entire amount in one go with a promissory note."
"Really? Why did he take so long to pay off the money that was supposed to be paid so quickly?"
"I don't know. I heard that he's prepared a special souvenir for this banquet, perhaps to restore his reputation."
"A special souvenir? What, maybe he's throwing out gold bars? Hahaha."
It was a well-known tactic for unpopular banquets to scatter expensive items as souvenirs. It was effective in attracting visitors, but behind the scenes, it was ridiculed as a trick only used by nouveau riche who were desperate for social connections. However, even the nobles who used to scoff at such tricks could not help but open their eyes wide at this souvenir.
"They say these are notes that Count Eduardo Lopez himself wrote while he was alive."
"Huh? You mean notes written by the great musician?"
"Oh my. He's giving away such precious things as souvenirs?"
"This year marks the 10th anniversary of the great musician's passing. I heard that he's giving them away so that people can remember him for a long time."
"I see..."
Some people noticed Edward Lopez's plan.
'It seems Count Lopez is planning to hold a big concert soon.'
This year was the 10th anniversary, so it was a good time to hold a memorial concert. If he was giving away Eduardo's belongings to create buzz before that, it would be a good idea. Count Lopez was using his brain despite the risk of bleeding.
"Souvenirs are interesting. I guess there must be people who would stop by at least once."
"Well, the reason the stage was ruined back then was because the contract with the orchestra went wrong. It was a big mistake, but it was the first mistake he made... It's unfair to be kicked out just once."
"That's right. He's also the grandson of a music master. Who knows? The grandson who inherited his blood might also become a giant in the music industry."
Amidst all this talk, the Count Lopez banquet opened.
"Welcome, it's a beautiful night. Thank you for coming."
Elena, dressed in splendid attire, greeted the guests at the entrance of the banquet hall. Next to her, Adolf stood guard, showing off his well-groomed face.
"Hello, Countess Rowena. Here, a souvenir prepared with gratitude."
The noble ladies who entered to the warm welcome exchanged glances.
"I've been seeing Miss Elena Lopez a lot lately."
"There's no banquet she doesn't attend."
Elena, who had once been swayed by a dirty scandal, was now thriving in society like a fish in water. Recently, there was a rumor that she accompanied Adolf to a card game room where only men attended, and showed all kinds of cuteness and cheering for her fiancé. It is said that Adolf's shoulders were so high that they went through the ceiling that day.
"But is that explanation really true? Lucas Pedegreen unilaterally assaulted Miss Elena, and Miss Elena was hiding it because she was afraid of hurting her sister..."
"Well, I don't know if it's true, but considering that Lady Ariana doesn't refute anything, I think that's what they agreed on?"
"That's true. Miss Elena attended the Duke and Duchess's wedding as a guest. The Duchess generously accepted her younger sister."
"But even though they've reconciled, there hasn't been any communication between them at all?"
A noblewoman shrugged her shoulders in response to someone's question.
"Well, I guess it's not all Miss Elena's fault. Lady Ariana has been shut out of the ducal palace for over a month now. She has not interacted with anyone, not even Lady Elena."
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