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Chapter 288: Testing

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

"A clown-looking man? What did he ask you?" Lucien frowned. He wondered if someone here had known the fact that he was a sorcerer already.

Grace shook her head seriously, "I have no idea who he is. His creepy look made me beyond nervous. I'm sorry, Mr. Evans… I failed to resist… He asked me how I met you in Sturk, how I got your help and how you introduced me to Mr. Christopher and Victor. Right… he also asked me whether at that time there was someone else with you… I'm really, really sorry, Mr. Evans… I was afraid that he might kill me, so I told him all of it. I knew this might bring you trouble, but I really could not control myself at that time…" apologized Grace sincerely.

Lucien listened carefully and slightly nodded, "In my eyes, this might bring trouble to you. Now, someone else has known that you once used my name to promote yourself without my permission. But since this thing happened a long time ago and now you're already a well-known musician, I can earn some good reputation out of it. Other people'll know me as being generous and forgiving."

Grace grinned and then she said, "Fortunately, I did not tell the clown that, in order to have your forgiveness, I was asked by you to send the message to Granneuve. Instead, I told him that you had mercy on me, and… and we spent a night together… I told him so because I was afraid that he would not believe it that you forgave me just because of generosity."

When she was saying, Grace carefully observed Lucien's facial expression.

Lucien responded seriously, "There was nothing really to hide. I was just trying to help a friend of mine reach Mr. Granneuve at that time. What you said can do no harm to my reputation."

As long as Viscount Wright was still there, and as long as Granneuve was still hiding his true identity properly, even if Grace told the stranger the whole story, they should be fine. Lucien told Grace to keep this a secret at that time mainly for being careful with Granneuve.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Evans. I was the one who had a dark mind." Grace hurriedly apologized again, "I thought hiding this secret for you was very important, as you asked me to do so."

"It's okay." Lucien's facial expression was kind, "I understand. Just don't do this ever again."

"You're definitely a generous and forgiving musician." Grace relaxed a little, "I have to go back to the living room now, or they would think there's really something between us."

Watching Grace leaving the corridor, Lucien's put on a calm smile.

In his mind, Grace was never a strong-willed person. Instead, although she was relatively talented in music and piano playing, she could fall prey to temptation from time to time. Also, Lucien did not think Grace would put her life under risk because of her appreciation toward Lucien.

Therefore, Lucien would not believe that Grace was able to hide the key part in front of the life-threatening danger.

Going into the washroom, Lucien thought to himself, "Night Watch? An investigator from the Hand of Paleness, or Argent Horn? An intelligence man from the duchy?"

Lucien reasoned that the man should not be an investigator from Argent Horn because Argent Horn would not wait until Grace came to Aalto.

Also, because the intelligence department of the duchy was now under Natasha's control, there was no need for her to investigate Grace.

For the remaining two, either Night Watch or Hand of Paleness came undoubtedly without good intentions. Still, since when they noticed the connection? What happened over the Feast of Death should only be among the necromancers and Viscount Carendia.

Therefore, Lucien made an rough conclusion. He believed that those people still had not got accurate evidence to prove that the great musician was a sorcerer, or he would not be able to enjoy the temporary peace right now.

Wiping his hands with the tissue, Lucien put aside his many thoughts and went back to the living room.

…

Over the pleasant lunch time.

"Lucien, so, aside from Moonlight and Storm, do you have other new compositions?" Victor took a sip at his wine and smiled, "I'm sure folk music has greatly inspired you. We're all looking forward to it…"

Hearing what Victor said, all of the people around the table looked at Lucien with great expectation, except Iven, who was still sticking to dinning manner in a restrained way.

"I do have another two pieces of symphony. One of them is almost done, but still requires some final touches according to the outcome of the band performance," Lucien answered, while thinking about what happened earlier. "Because the inspiration comes from folk music, the new symphony has a less strict structure. Maybe it will receive broad criticism."

Because of their conversation before lunch, Felicia now felt more comfortable talking to Lucien, "Among the many titles you have, Lucien, I like the Innovation the most. We're always expecting you to create something new, instead of sticking to the common path."

Three years later, she was now more approachable as a noble lady, and also more humorous now.

"Yes, Evans, I'm really looking forward to your new symphony. Your aunt and I grew up in the south of the duchy, and we've never really left Aalto after we had decided to live here. So I really don't have many chances of learning music from other countries." Talking about music, Joel felt sincerely happy, as his face was glowing with excitement.

As an common instrumentalist, Elena was still shy to talk in front of other people. After they all made their comments, Elena asked Lucien with a sweet smile, "What about the other music piece? Are you going to hold your coming-back concert until after you finish it?"

For a great musician like Lucien, as long as he wanted to hold a concert, the Psalm Hall was always available.

All of them looked at Lucien, and even Iven also put down his folk and knife.

"It's almost there, but I still need some time… Maybe two or three weeks…" said Lucien, whose mind was full of thoughts about the clown.

"Awesome!" said Grace excitedly. "There're countless people waiting for your second concert."

Lucien's relatives and friends around the table all grinned and nodded.

After this lunch, the news that the talented young musician, Lucien Evans, was going to hold his second concert in a month would be known by everyone in Aalto.

…

After saying goodbye to Elena, Grace came back to the garden villa she rented in Gesu. In Sturk, she had saved quite a sum of money.

Ignoring her servants' greetings, Grace hurriedly walked to her bedroom and locked herself in the room.

As soon as she closed the door, Grace collapsed in the bed. Extremely fine black threads retreated from her body like tides.

After a while, Grace left the bed and murmured to herself, "Why do I feel so tired today? Did I get too excited seeing Mr. Evans? Why was I acting like that toward him? In my mind, I was trying to… seduce him…? That's not right… Although I admire him, I'm actually also afraid of him…"

…

In a random house.

A grinning clown face suddenly took several gasps. It was very consuming controlling a person remotely for a long time.

"Leader, did you find anything?" A gentle female voice asked eagerly.

Chapter 289: Seizing the Chance

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

The creepy smile on the clown mask never changed, but the voice coming from behind it was rather deep, "Not really. Lucien Evans seemed to be quite frank and open with why he sent the message to Granneuve using Grace. Maybe he's not the one we are looking for."

"You really think so? He is the only one we can investigate right now who is directly related to Professor," said the battle priest, Juliana, who lowered her head in dismay and held some of her black hair in her hand unconsciously.

Professor was just a code name, and it had not been used much anymore. If they lost the clue here, they had to rely on using the spies in the Congress of Magic to steal files for them, which the grand cardinals would never allow them to, since it was such a waste of resourses.

Minsk, the Red Dragon, growled like a real dragon: "Impossible! Lucian Evans for sure has something to do with Professor! At least he knows who Professor is! Professor first appeared because there were apprentices asking him information. Then Professor dragged us into the fight against Argent Horn. He killed the traitor, and also, Lucien Evans' uncle and aunt were rescued. During Lucien's absence, Professor never showed up again…"

Hearing Minsk's words, both Juliana and Lend slightly shook their heads. Minsk was just trying to justify his opinion, and what he said was not completely true. For example, after killing the traitor, Professor had already never showed up, and Lucien left Aalto almost half a year later.

"Although Minsk's reasoning isn't that persuading, we shall not forget the message from Djibouti parish. Felipe and Professor, the two famous men on the Cleansing List, once showed up together on the land once possessed by Wilfred," said Clown.

Before, the Church did not know about the Feast of Death. However, the fact that Felipe forced his way through Storm Strait leading a whole bunch of sorcerers pissed the Church off, and they also noticed that they were all necromancers following the ancient magic system, thus the Church started to intensively investigate the area once possessed by Wilfred, since it was the only place that could gather so many necromancers.

Even if Felipe did good preparation before they set off, facing the Church's focused searching, finally a magic apprentice was caught by the Night Watch. Therefore, although the Inquisition

failed to get the name list for the Feast of Death, they still got the basic information from the apprentice—there were two famous men attending the event. One was Hand of Rehabilitation, and the other was Professor.

Involving two men on the Cleansing List, Djibouti parish sent the information to the Holy City, Lance. Then, the cardinal in charge passed on the message to all the parishes and inquisitions.

"Others may not know, but we've been watching Lucien Evans for so long! He was in Djibouti at the same time, exactly in the Wilfred area! That was the exact time when Professor attended the Feast of Death!" Clown raised his voice angrily, "But when we reported this to the Violet Inquisition, they did not care at all! They said that there was not enough evidence, and they even did not bother doing some investigation! Don't you know why?"

"I think, like the inquisitor said, the biggest chance should be that the princess sent Professor to protect Lucien Evans on the way," said Lend, the Devil Hunter Knight, who was not as emotive as Clown.

A parish's inquisition had three main positions—Executer, Censor and Arbiter. However, powerful parishes, in order to control all the inquisitions, always sent a cardinal to each inquisition, who was the one who really got the power.

Minsk growled, "Plus all the coincidences? If Lucian Evans doesn't have anything to do with the Professor, I'm willing to be sent to hell! Lend, I'm telling you… those people in the inquisition do not want to piss off the princess… that's why. Princess Natasha was a faithful follower, the future duchess of Violet, an important weight in balancing the power between the nobles and the Church! The inquisition just won't investigate her sweet lover just because a middle-rank mage killed some useless night watchers!"

"You tell me, Lend… Have you forgotten Salvador's death? He died on his way saving Natasha, and his body was reduced to ashes!" said Clown with a sad voice, "At that time, only a few grand knights were chasing after Natasha. Salvador could fly, and he had powerful divine items, but he was just killed like that, before anyone could come to help. Guess who he met at that time, and who killed him?"

The muscles of Lend's face twitched a bit and he buried his head. "I don't know."

Hearing Clown's words, Juliana was the saddest one among all the night watchers. She sobbed, "No inquisition cares. Our leader, a level five pastor died, and no one ever tried to investigate this thoroughly. The princess was only imprisoned for three years. The life of a devoted guard of God only deserve that? I chose to be a night watcher because of the sentence in the Canon—at the foot of God's throne, all his devoted lambs shall be equal. But now… I finally realized that lambs are never equal… Although I'd still rather believe that this isn't the will of God."

Hearing that, while crossing in front of their chest, they all prayed, "Only truth lives forever." The way Clown and Minsk drew the cross was closer to the classic cross before the Saint Calendar.

"Next, what should we do with Lucien Evans?" Lend calmed down a bit after praying.

Clown turned around to look at Lend. "We directly attack Lucien Evans to see if he's a sorcerer or not."

"What?!" Lend did not expect Clown to be this crazy, "This would annoy Natasha so bad. Right now she is a radiant knight with the well-known title, the Sword of Adjudication! And the Blue Tide, Camil, always follows her around. The two can directly destroy the entire Night Watch in the duchy, and the inquisition is not going to protect us for sure…"

After becoming a radiant knight, Natasha also got her own honor title.

Clown laughed, like a real creepy clown, "Sure, they can, but they cannot always keep an eye on Lucien. I'm a level five grand knight, I have my own way of doing this. No matter who Natasha sent to protect Lucien in Aalto, they should hardly be above grand knight level. They would not notice how I approach Lucien. Don't forget how they called me before—I was the Killing Puppet in the Dark Mountain Range. All I need to do is to secretly enter his place, control his mind and get the information I want. If Lucien only has the power of a knight in training like what we know about him, this should be just a piece of cake. If he casts magic spells, that's exactly what we're waiting for…"

Looking at the creepy clown mask, Lend could not say no. He nodded lightly.

…

A few days later, late at night.

An almost invisible figure secretly entered the garden villa owned by Lord John. The guards from the Intelligence Department did not notice anything special.

On the corridor, a maid was walking downstairs holding a candlestick. Earlier today, she left a piece of her accessory in the living room, so she hurriedly got back and tried to find it back.

The dim candle light and the early spring temperature made the maid a little scared. Suddenly, the wind lightly swayed the curtain and the maid shivered. She saw some illusion-like figure flashing across, like a ghost!

However, a second later, when the maid looked around, there was nothing there.

The maid hurriedly went back to her room, drawing a cross in front of her chest. She decided to come to the living room the next day.

The door of the guest room where Lucien lived opened silently, and a creepy clown mask appeared in the darkness.

Clown, wearing a colorful costume and plain black gloves, lifted his hands and started to move his fingers like playing piano, as if he was looking for the invisible threads in the air.

Suddenly, in the bed, Lucien's body bounced up! His arms and legs looked distorted. However, silver light shimmered around his hands, and the invisible threads were pulled apart.

"Level five grand knight?" Clown was very surprised. At one moment, he got nervous, because facing a grand knight, he might not have much chance to win.

However, soon Clown realized that the power came from an extraordinary item that Lucien was wearing. No matter who, either Professor or Natasha, gave Lucien this, that was very generous.

Seizing the chance. Lucien's left hand pulled apart the threads on his throat and shouted out loud:

"Assassin!"

The young musician's voice spread well.

Although he tried, Clown failed to completely control the musician. Instead, Lucien managed to grab the blue sword to protect himself from the many threads in the air.

Knowing that the power only came from an magic or divine item, Clown was confident that he still had the chance to fulfill his task.

However, the secret guards from Intelligence Department, before Juliana and Minsk could do anything, had already lit the signal flare. The firework light lit up the sky.

Staring at Lucien's face for two seconds, Clown decisively turned around and jumped out of the window. He ran as fast as he could in the darkness, since he knew that if he wasted another second, the princess or Camil would definitely come after him.

Lucien did not use magic. Right now he was using the sword to cut the puppet threads. The threads could not only control one's body, but could also poke into the body to hurt the organs.

"Are you alright, Mr. Evans?" A guard ran into his room and asked concernedly.

A thought flashing across, Lucien started coughing hard to let the blood come out from his throat, "I'm okay… just some small injuries…"

Chapter 290: The Last Movement

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Seeing that the corner of Mr. Evans' mouth, chin and chest were covered with blood, the guard insisted, "Hold on there, Mr. Evans. Have you got any medical potions? I have one here. Take it. If you still don't feel good, I'll ask for the bishop's help from the Golden Cathedral!"

Of course Lucien did not want the bishop to come over, so he painfully took out a bottle of healing potion and slowly drank it. Then, he waved his hand and said, "Not a problem at all. I'm also a knight. No worries. The assassin didn't really hurt me."

Hearing that Lucien was still able to talk fine but only coughing a bit, the guard felt more relaxed. He pulled out his sword and stayed with Lucien, in case there would be another assassin coming for Mr. Evans.

The guard also reminded Lucien, "Mr. Evans, some dark powers are creepy. Although sometimes one doesn't feel badly injured, one's organs could be gradually corrupted or poisoned. And when it shows, it'll be too late. Even a red-robed cardinal would not be able to do anything with it. So, Mr. Evans, you probably still want to have a bishop to check it for you tomorrow."

"Thank you. We'll see then." Lucien pretended to be rather stubborn.

"Alright." nodded the guard.

Many people were just like this. They were afraid of death, but they were also afraid of visiting doctors or bishops. They worried that they might have some problems, but they also did not want to know what problems they had.

A while later, Alisa and Joel, followed by their guards, rushed into Lucien's room. Seeing that Lucien was okay, they released a long sigh of relief.

"Who's the bastard?! The bastard wanted to kill you?! You're only a musician…" Alisa had tears in her eyes, "Wait… Did one of your competitors send the assassin?"

"Stop, Alisa. It's impossible. No musician could afford an assassin of a grand knight level." Joel got some information from the guard, "What did you see, Evans?"

At this time, Natasha and Camil arrived. Natasha smelled the air, then she became really serious, "Lucien, did you see the assassin?"

"I saw only a figure… It felt familiar… Maybe he's from Argent Horn." In front of other people, Lucien did not say exactly what he saw. He put the blame on Argent Horn because of what happened before.

"Argent Horn?!" Alisa's face turned pale, and she took a step backwards. She could never forget the day when one of her fingers was cut off.

Joel's fists tightened. His deep voice sounded extremely angry, "They're still coming after you…"

In fact, Argent Horn really did not have anything to do with that.

After sending Joel and Alisa back to their room and dismissing all the guards, Natasha looked at Lucien and asked with a bit of a smile on her face, "So, what happened? Was there really an assassin? Or it was just part of your plan to kill the musician identity?"

"There was really an assassin. Probably a level five grand knight, wearing black gloves and a clown mask," said Lucien honestly.

"Ummm… sounds familiar…"

"The night watchers' leader, Clown," said Camil seriously. "I've seen him a couple of times."

A night watcher's information was strictly sealed, and only the leaders of an inquisition or cardinals of a parish could have access to it. Night watchers called each other by their pseudonyms.

Those night watchers had been walking in the darkness for a long time, shading their faces with masks and hoods. So Natasha was not sure who Clown was, and neither did Lucien. Lucien had no idea, during the fight between Argent Horn and the Night Watch, how many night watchers actually survived and who they were.

"I see…" Lucien had mixed feelings hearing that. On one hand, he felt worried, since he knew how those night watchers would act once he became their target; On the other hand, he also felt a bit relieved, because the way Clown came over and tried to test him showed the fact that those cardinals were not part of this thing, or those cardinals could easily use divine spells to examine Lucien, say, over a feast or concert, and directly draw the conclusion.

"He's one of the night watchers who survived that night in Melzer Black Forest," said Camil with a cold face. She totally disliked Professor.

"Now I remember…" Natasha clapped her hands.

Lucien finally realized why those night watchers were stilling tracking him. The loss he brought to the night watchers was massive.

"This can be a good thing. I was going to have someone else conduct the concert to make people know you're sick badly. Then, after the concert, we would be able to announce your death," said Natasha. "So you won't be checked by some red-robed cardinals who suspected you during the concert. Now, we do not need to bother."

"That's good. Although I could suppress the power in my soul using Blessing in the Psalm Hall in front of those red-robed cardinals, in front of Sard, the Saint Cardinal, I won't say I'm gonna be lucky. Last time when I saw him I was only an apprentice, so the difference could be ignored, but now I'm a fourth-circle. I really don't feel secure standing in front of him…"

Natasha looked serious, "Since the Grand Cross collapsed, the Saint Cardinal never really showed up again over any events or concerts. He only attended the grand cardinal conclave once. So, you don't need to worry. Even if he comes, you still have enough time to pretend to be sick and have someone else conduct for you."

She seemed to worry about Sard's health condition.

Then, Natasha's facial expression changed. Rubbing her chin, she asked surprisedly, "Wait… You said you are… a fourth-circle sorcerer?"

Because this was related to the secret of the World of Souls and Rhine, Lucien did not mention this to Natasha during their conversation.

"Sometimes great danger could awaken one's soul potential, like what happened to me down in the sewers," explained Lucien, which was quite a good excuse.

"Good for you! You're still two months away from turning twenty-one, but you're already a fourth-circle! Even in the a hundred years when the Congress has been producing lots of talents, you're one of the most outstanding ones!" Natasha felt sincerely happy for her friend, "You must have great gift in arcana, and I'm sure your future path will be even brighter."

Lucien smiled, "This is nothing compared to what you've achieved. I remember that when you were eighteen, you were already a grand knight, and then you've reached level five when you were twenty-one."

"I'm glad to hear your compliment, Lucien. But for knights, although strong willpower and knight spirit are important, the Blessing also plays a significant role. I was trained in a hard way, but my mixed Blessings helped me more at that time. So I would say that I was more proud when I became a radiant knight, which was better evidence to show my willpower," said Natasha honestly.

Lucien grinned, "There are people who are born with mixed Blessings but never manage to awaken the power."

"Sure, I'm gifted as a knight." said Natasha proudly.

Then they started to talk about their following plan.

…

In a house.

Wearing the creepy mask, Clown entered the chamber gloomily.

"Leader, what did the Arbiter say?" asked Juliana hurriedly.

Lend and Minsk also looked at Clown in a worried way.

It was totally out of Clown's expectation that Lucien had a very precious level five extraordinary quality item and a sword of at least fourth level with him. Clown failed. What was worse was that Lucien saw him, his mask and black gloves. The inquisition soon received Natasha's serious complaint.

Clown shook his head, "The Arbiter said it was Argent Horn pretending to be a night watcher. After all, they don't want this to be known by more people. They want to hide it as much as possible. But the Arbiter also did not listen to me. He gave me the most sever warning. If this happens a second time, I'm gonna be put on the secret court."

"Are we giving up just like this?" Other night watchers asked, feeling rather reluctant.

Clown looked out of the window and said in a low voice, "I awakened in the darkness. Following God's words, I became a night watcher. No matter how crazy I was, ever since I became a night watcher, I've been fighting against the evil. So, even if I cannot get the support from the Church, I won't give up. I cannot just let Professor enjoy his life after killing so many of us. My belief won't let me give up."

At first, Clown felt that Professor made him lose his face, but now, his primal belief and faith was challenged.

The other three also agreed.

Clown turned around and looked at them, "Okay. Then we'll wait until another chance comes."

…

Lucien's bad cough made Franz, who was helping Lucien with the lyrics using a long verse, feel very concerned.

"Shall we take a break, sir?" asked Franz. "We can continue when you feel better."

Lucien's face was pale, but he shook his head firmly, "The last movement is almost there, and I feel the even stronger passion and inspiration coming out from my life. I don't want to stop, and I can't. You understand, Franz?"

Chapter 291: Everyone's Waiting

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Franz totally understood. When he was under poor health condition, many times he still pushed himself to an even further limit just because the passion and inspiration could not be shut down at that moment.

Therefore, Franz nodded with a sincere smile, "I see, Mr. Evans. I'll try my best to help you. When I first heard the fourth movement of the symphony, the chorus movement, I was totally shocked by its beauty and grandness. And the idea of adding chorus in a symphony is a great innovation! It's my great pleasure to be part of this helping you complete this masterpiece. It's gonna be one of the most memorable things in my life."

In order to fit the long verse in, to avoid those parts that were disrespectful to God, and to keep its original linguistic beauty, Lucien and Franz had spent a lot of time and thoughts.

Franz was a very dedicated musician and a great fan of Lucien. In front of his idol, Franz praised the movement with great excitement.

Lucien coughed hard and then asked in an excited way, which was a bit strange, "Thank you, Franz! Now our job's almost done! Then, the lead singer and the chorus shall start practising and provide us with feedback. Do you think it's… too hard?"

Franz shook his head, "It's hard, but I wouldn't say it's too hard. Any changes would take the beauty away from the movement. A great singer and a chorus should be able to handle it."

"I think so too." Lucien grinned.

At this time, someone knocked at the room door, and then the door was gently opened. It was Victor. Lucien and Franz were now in the piano room of the Musicians' Association, on the fourth floor.

"Mr. Victor, we just finished our work." Lucien smiled.

"I really picked a good time. Congratulations, Evans." Victor smiled. Then he took a step aside and introduced, "This is Mr. Fabbrini, a great singer. Mr. Fabbrini's the lead singer of the Golden Cathedral Chorus."

Before Ode to Joy (The Symphony No. 9 in D minor from Ludwig van Beethoven) was completed, Lucien asked for Victor's help to find him a great singer and a chorus.

Mr. Fabbrini was in his early twenties, had blue eyes and blond hair, looking like an angel serving the God of Truth. Unlike most men, Fabbrini was wearing light make up. In his fancy clothes, Mr. Fabbrini had this sense of feminine beauty.

Lucien was not too surprised, because most outstanding musicians were castrati, not to mention a lead singer of the Golden Cathedral Chorus.

Lucien smiled, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Fabbrini. Hope we can work well together."

Here in this world, castrati were very popular. A countess in Gusta crazily loved their voice and once even started a war for a castrato.

"Mr. Evans, I'm going to meet the chorus and we'll be waiting for you there in the concert hall. You don't look very well, sir. Please take care," said Fabbrini in his gentle voice.

After Fabbrini left, Lucien started coughing very badly, as if his lungs were going to come out.

"Are you alright? You still haven't recovered, have you?" asked Victor concernedly. "Maybe we can put off the concert until you feel better."

Lucien shook his head firmly, "It's okay, Mr. Victor. I'm a knight, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Maybe the fact that Lucien was a knight really assured Victor, so he nodded, "We're both musicians, so I do understand. But as your teacher, I still think having a doctor come over is necessary."

"I will. Thank you, Mr. Victor." Lucien was confident that he could deceive a doctor and have the doctor believe that although the injury could not be cured shortly, it would not be a life risk.

…

After more than a week, in the middle of the Month of Flower. In the concert hall on the fifth floor of the Musicians' Association.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Fabbrini?!" Lucien pretended that he was a bit out of control, "Why do you keep making mistakes here?"

Fabbrini looked at Lucien's pale face and hurriedly explained, with tears in his eyes, "Mr. Evans… This part's too challenging… I need… need more practice…"

"But we've practiced a lot!" Lucien waved his arms.

Fabbrini took a deep breath and said, "Still not enough, sir. Please give me some more time, or maybe you can alter this part to make it simpler."

"No way! This is perfect, and I'll never allow it to be ruined! Fabbrini, just try harder. I believe you can do this! We can put off the concert a few days as long as…" Lucien started coughing very bad. And he squatted down beside the stage.

Franz hurriedly lent a hand to Lucien. Fabbrini also comforted him, "I'll try even harder, Mr. Evans. I won't let you down."

At the end of this rehearsal, when he walked down the stage, Fabbrini, in his black shirt embroidered with golden threads, somehow looked back at the stage, as if he could still see Mr. Lucien standing there, acting crazily but full of passion.

…

"…Maybe at that time, Mr. Evans already had the hunch, so he was that pushy and strict, which was not at all like how people commented on him as being polite and gentle." A few years later, Fabbrini recalled what he remembered of Mr. Evans when preparing the concert. "He was that dedicated, that hard-working, and that crazy… as if he was trying to burst out all the energy and radiance left in his life to leave no regret. I was blessed by God, so I was lucky to know Mr. Evans at that time, and finished the symphony with him. I saw, as the brilliant musician he was, his great passion towards music, and his piety to God."

…

Glinton, the merchant that Lucien met in Massawa town, headed for the north after leaving Aalto.

In the Kingdom of Syracuse, he sold all his goods and then again bought some Syracuse goods, ready to leave for the fortress in the north of Violet.

This morning, when he was having his greasy breakfast, a glance at the newspaper suddenly stopped him from cutting the brisket. He could not believe his eyes, and he double checked a few times.

He was very surprised, but also a bit upset. He did not expect that Mr. Evans would come back as soon as he left Aalto.

"May twenty-sixth… the Psalm Hall… 'Return' Concert…" Glinton murmured to himself. He wondered if he should spend sixteen days going back to Aalto. Right now, it was already May fifteenth.

Putting down knife and fork, he took a few steps back and forth. Then he finally made the decision. He had missed Mr. Evans' first concert, so there was no way that he was going to miss the second one, not to mention the fact that Mr. Evans just came back from his three-year trip.

Glinton decided to leave right now and leave the goods to his butler. He was not going to sit in a coach, but would ride with several guards. If he was quick enough, eleven days probably would be enough. Knowing quite a few nobles, Glinton was confident that he should be able to get a ticket. At least, he should try.

…

When Glinton arrived in Aalto, it was already May twenty-eighth, thirteen days later.

He was not upset at all, because he heard that the concert had been put off to June first.

Without taking any rest, Glinton directly headed for the Psalm Hall.

"What? Sold out? But… but there're still four days!" Glinton was a bit pissed off, "I know Knight Mitch of the Hayne family, and…"

Glinton started listing.

The man sitting in the ticket office pointed at the many citizens around and said, "I'm sorry, sir. The tickets are sold out. There are just to many people waiting for the concert, and as far as I know, even Knight Mitch also failed to get a ticket."

Glinton was very discouraged. Looking back, he saw crowds around the Psalm Hall.

In the corner, a journalist from Aalto Weekly quickly wrote down what he saw on his notebook, "Except for Aalto Music Festival, we've never seen a concert like this that can attract these many people to come to Aalto, as if they have forgotten that the Psalm Hall tickets are not usually for common folks…

"Lucien Evans has become an idol that the whole city or even the whole duchy has been crazy about…

"This has become a phenomenon. Maybe we should create a new word for this…"

Chapter 292: Moonlight on Everyone's Heart

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Seeing the crowd, Glinton was very upset. It was totally not fair that those important nobles and pastors were directly invited to the concert without buying tickets.

Turning around, Glinton saw the grand Psalm Hall. For the first time, he felt the coldness underneath its magnificent appearance. This place was never for the devoted followers, but for those nobles and pastors up there.

Glinton murmured to himself, "Not all lambs are equal…"

When most of the people were leaving with great disappointment, a black horse rushed over here and gradually stopped in front of them.

Then the knight on the horse said out aloud,

"All civilians, Her Highness, Princess Natasha, Violet Duchess, believes that music should not only belong to nobles, but for everyone. Therefore, Her Highness has decided to offer support at her own cost to the Church and open the divine circles for Mr. Lucien Evans' return concert on the Municipal Square, so that everyone could enjoy the great music here in the city of music!"

The crowd suddenly became quiet, and then people wild with joy started to cheer like crazy.

"Her great Highness!"

"God bless you, Highness!"

"Long live her Highness! Long live Violet!"

Among the people, Glinton was very excited as well that he also cheered together with them. He was glad that he made the right decision to come back to Aalto.

…

The first day of June was a happy day, at least for people in Aalto.

After welcoming the grand duke, the princess, Mr. Christopher, President Othello, and Mr. Victor, Lucien was now preparing at the backstage surrounded by Franz, Grace, Fabbrini and some of the instrumentalists who he was familiar with.

Lucien picked the band which once worked with him before, but the lead instrumentalist was no longer Rhine.

A bit away from Lucien stood other instrumentalists, castrati, and kids from the choir.

"Mr. Evans, I can already imagine the great shock that the Symphony in D minor would bring to the audience. I can't wait to step on the stage. God bless us. It's is the most breathtaking music piece I've ever heard! I'm afraid I might have tears in my eyes later…" said Fabbrini out of great excitement before the performance.

Tonight, Fabbrini was wearing a red bow tie, and his lips were as red as fire.

The symphony Fabbrini was speaking highly of was called Ode to Joy, by Lucien Evans. As their several rehearsals went better and better, Fabbrini's heart was now filled with admiration toward it.

Hearing Fabbrini's comment, Grace looked at Lucien out of curiosity, "Is it that impressive? It seems that Ode to Joy can win over Fate?"

"They're different. People might have different opinions. But I do think it's a great music piece." Lucien smiled, as if he was commenting on someone else's music.

Franz relieved a long sigh and said, "Actually, I was quite worried about the Symphony in E minor would not be accepted by most musicians and critics, although I like it quite a lot, especially the beginning of the second movement. I mean… its structure's just too advanced to be recognized. But now because we have Ode to Joy as the finale, everything will be just fine."

"Music comes from one's heart, and structure is only a tool," explained Lucien. "When the tool starts to become a burden, we shall be brave to get rid of it and find a new one."

Lucien was actually talking about the transition from classical music to romantic music.

In fact, compared to most music works in the later period of Romanticism, Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony, which had been renamed here by Lucien as New Country Symphony, was already close to traditional classical music. After all, Antonín Dvořák was still deeply influenced by classical music.

Hearing Lucien's words, Franz nodded thoughtfully. Maybe he was reflecting on his own composition.

The violoncellist, Thomas, also commented, "I think New Country Symphony's a great piece of work. Although it can receive some negative comments, I believe anyone who really understood music and appreciates its beauty can see the great value in it. Time will prove that New Country Symphony is a masterpiece. Both Ode to Joy and New Country Symphony are masterpieces, I should say. You have my greatest respect because of your courage for inspiration and revolution, Mr. Evans."

Thomas was very sincere, and he believed that the concert would be the greatest success ever. He also could see how much he was going to benefit from this concert. After playing with Mr. Victor and Evans, the band Thomas was in was now already the best one outside of the palace, and also the most expensive one.

"Thank you all for the encouraging comments, but we still have to see after the concert." Lucien smiled, "It's time now. Let's go."

After taking a few steps, Lucien added with emotion, "In the following four hours, let's forget everything, and live for music!"

"Live for music!" All the instrumentalists, band members, and singers responded aloud.

Lucien adjusted his bow tie and grabbed the baton. But at this time, he suddenly started coughing badly.

"Mr. Evans?! Are you alright?"

Lucien gasped, then waved his hand, "I'm okay. It's been a while like this. I'm fine. Let the band out to get prepared first."

"You sure, Mr. Evans?" Thomas did not leave with the band but asked again out of concern.

Lucien took out a small bottle of pink potion and drank it all. Then, his face was no longer pale. He said to Thomas, "I've got the potion. Don't worry."

Seeing that Lucien was still able to talk fluently, Thomas was relieved. Then, he left the backstage to get prepared.

After Thomas left, Fabbrini asked gently, "Mr. Evans… This… doesn't look like some simple potion for cough-relieving. A potion cannot work this fast."

As the lead singer of the Church's chorus, he knew more than most people.

Lucien was now totally refreshed, and he said to Fabbrini with a smile, "A bit something else in it to bring out the best of me in the following four hours. It's okay. I'll take a good rest after the concert."

Then Lucien grabbed the baton and walked out of the backstage in an elegant manner, leaving the rest of the people behind with a straight and impressive figure.

Fabbrini did not say anything for a while. Mr. Evans' determined smile was still in front of his eyes.

…

On the municipal square, when people saw Lucien walking to the center of the stage in the Psalm Hall, they started to applaud, and then the applause became louder and louder. No matter if Mr. Lucien Evans could hear this or not, all of the people were expressing their joy and excitement. They were welcoming the talented young musician, and also showing their gratefulness to Her Highness' generosity.

In the history of Aalto, there was never a concert like this that could receive such warm applause before it even started!

Glinton was now standing along the edge of the square. Looking at the crystal screen, he felt joy and was very satisfied. Finally, he could be here and enjoy Mr. Evans' live performance with his own ears and eyes.

The repertoire was already available: the concert would start with the famous Symphony of Fate, followed by a piano solo of Moonlight and Pathétique. Next, Mr. Lucien Evans was going to show his playing skills by doing an improvisation playing. Then it would be the symphony called New Country, and later Ode to Joy, the Symphony in D Minor, would serve as the ending of the concert.

When the first several music notes jumped out, the familiar melody awakened everyone. They became very quiet, waiting for the feast of music.

After Symphony of Fate, Christopher smiled to Victor and said, "After the three years, now Evans' conducting is even better. He used to be a bit crazy when conducting, but now he knows where to let the emotions out and when to restrain them. His personal features are still there, and serves a better support and guidance of Fate."

Lucien's conducting was no longer inexperienced but mature. Now his conducting matched the great symphony piece.

"He's the one who never forgets to work hard." Victor also spoke highly of his own student, "Among the so many times Fate was played, only when Lucien conducted did the music have the most impacting power."

After a ten minute break, the band left the stage for now. The whole stage was left with a black piano and Lucien, who also dressed in black.

The divine power circle focused on Lucien, covering Lucien with a dim layer of light.

Sitting in front of the piano, Lucien closed his eyes. He knew that this concert was a farewell to the people who liked him. In order to make sure that his relatives and friends were safe, and knowing that, sooner or later, his name would be put on the Cleansing List, he had to let the young musician die, and say goodbye.

He did not know what kind of choices uncle Joel, aunt Alisa, John, and Iven would make, and he was also not sure whether if one day he could still be able to see Victor, Elena and all his friends again. He had no idea whether one day he would still be able to come back to Aalto without hiding himself carefully…

Maybe… maybe after becoming a senior-rank mage, Lucien would be able to take a look at them from afar…

The great sorrow seized Lucien's heart, and his hands pressed down on the piano. The peaceful and gentle melody flowed like a stream in the Psalm Hall, and it brought everyone back to the lake that was shining under the moonlight, just like a dream.

People were immersed in the peace and quietness. They were enjoying every second of the heartfelt sweetness, gracefulness, and also sorrow.

Underneath the sweetness of the melody, they did somehow feel sad.

Felicia noticed that Elena, who was sitting next to her, wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and murmured, "I don't know why but… I feel like crying…"

Chapter 293: A Master's Piano Playing

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

The touching melody revealed the complicated emotions and feelings in Lucien's mind perfectly: there was tenderness, melancholy, and lots of thoughts, just like a shimmering lake under moonlight, bringing the audience to a dream-like world filled with Lucien's sentiments.

People forgot the anxiety and agitation they were usually under most of the time and started to contemplate. Many had tears in their eyes…

The first movement ended, but the cheerful second movement immediately followed, as if it was comforting people's heart. The emotions changed perfectly.

Many musicians present exchanged a surprised look. They were more sensitive than those unprofessional nobles and common citizens. They had noticed that there was no pause at all between the two movements, but it brought people the excellent transition and the sense of fluency.

Those musicians did not dig into it but continued to listen to the playing carefully, because this was a great opportunity for them to listen to Mr. Lucien Evans' playing of Moonlight here on the stage. The only thing they wanted to do was to appreciate the beauty of music.

The cheerful second movement slowly became more restrained, but just when people were about to take a break to enjoy the following exciting movement, Lucien directly led them to the third movement.

The melody full of passion immediately seized people's heart, and they felt the great enthusiasm and tension, like picking flowers along the cliff.

They saw Lucien's hands jumping around and dancing on the keyboard, as if they were blessed by God with power, and therefore a touching and infectious passion flowed. His silhouette on the stage had great charm, and the passion he had now was totally different from the mood he was under when he played the first movement, which formed a sharp contrast.

The signature high notes ended the playing. As soon as people were relieved from the intensity of Lucien's playing, warm applause followed like tides.

Betty, with a short bow on her back, said to Joanna and Simon full of joy, "Compared to Mr. Evans' playing, the versions of Moonlight that we heard before were nothing. Only Mr. Evans could present the great passion, the sadness and the joy in the song!"

In the past three years, she had grown more professional in appreciating music.

"That's true. After all, Mr. Evans is a musician, not a common instrumentalist." Joanna looked at the crystal wall on the square and smiled, "Betty, I remembered that Mr. Evans once promised you that he would play a song for you. Is it right?"

Betty's face flushed, "Don't make fun of me. I know I still have a long way to go before awakening my Blessing, but I'll work very hard!"

Lucien once promised that he would play a song for Betty if she could awaken her Blessing and become a knight.

"The Duchy of Violet is a perfect place for us to awaken our Blessings. It's very close to the Dark Mountain Range," said Simon. In the past several years, he had made much progress in training himself as a high-level squire. Now, he was much closer to awakening his Blessing.

Betty first nodded, then she looked at the young musician on the stage who was taking a short break and said with a sweet smile, "I know that Mr. Evans was just trying to encourage me. I'm not really expecting him to play for me. Having a chance like this to be on his concert is already enough for me. But I'll still work hard and always keep this encouragement in my heart."

Glinton, while applauding, said to people beside him, "It's just awesome! Listening to Mr. Evans' playing Moonlight already made me more than satisfied with this concert. I believe no one can compare with Mr. Evans when it comes to playing Moonlight! This is how a master of music plays!"

In the noble balcony in the Psalm Hall.

"I see… So there should be no pause at all between each movement. Then the contrast of different moods can be more defined and the structure can be perfect," murmured Natasha. "No wonder when I was playing, I always felt that something was missing… He did not mention this in the letter…"

"Maybe he thought that Your Highness could figure this out," joked Christopher.

Since Lucien left Aalto and started his traveling, he only wrote letters to the princess. Even those letters to his family were all first sent to Natasha and then delivered by her. Although many would concede that this was the most convenient way, there were still lots of people who believed that there was something between the young musician and the princess, just like the rumors said.

Natasha did not mind the joke but continued to talk about how one's personal style mattered when playing music with Mr. Christopher.

Hearing their discussion, the grand duke was pulled out of his sweet and sad memory brought by the music. When the grand duke looked at Natasha, his eyebrows slightly frowned but he also had a relieved look on her face.

Those musicians and instrumentalists were comparing Lucien's playing with their own versions and trying to improve their own skills, but they were not going to just copy Lucien's version because Moonlight varied in everyone's mind.

…

After taking a short break, Lucien started to play Sonata Pathétique.

It felt very familiar, but compared to the first time Lucien played the sonata, the belief that one should never give up hope despite the many great difficulties in life was more prominent, and people now also had a better understanding to appreciate the theme.

When he finished playing Sonata Pathétique, Lucien coughed hard on the stage with his right hand covering his mouth. Franz, Grace, Fabbrini and many who knew about Lucien health condition suddenly felt rather worried.

Fortunately, Lucien stopped coughing soon. With flushed cheeks, he stood up as usual and thanked the audience. Then he sat back on the piano bench.

"What is Mr. Evans going to play to show his skills?" asked Fabbrini. Because this part was a solo playing, Fabbrini had no idea what this part would be like.

He thought Franz, as Lucien's assistant, and Grace, as his student, should at least know something about it.

Franz shook his head, "Mr. Evans never rehearsed this part in front of us. No one can ask a great musician like Mr. Evans to go through the whole repertoire for the concert. So neither of us know what he is going to play."

"That's true," agreed Grace. "But the teacher said that this part is for showing a pianist's skill, so I suppose it's going to be very challenging."

At this time, the whole Psalm Hall and the square quieted down, because they saw that Lucien had put his hands on the keyboard.

Then, Lucien started to play.

Immediately, they thought that they heard countless bumble bees flying and buzzing beside their ears.

Faster and faster, the sound of bumble bees flying around filled in the space. People were shocked to see how fast Lucien's hands could move — they were too fast to belong to a human being!

Faster and faster, people started to become crazy with the great passion for music.

Although Flight of the Bumblebee lasted for only a few minutes, when Lucien pressed down the last key, people took a couple of seconds to recover and then started to cheer aloud for this great young musician!

They had never heard something like this before, but they could feel the freedom underneath the playing skills.

Seeing Lucien's excellent playing skills, those musicians including Christopher, Victor, and Othello all nodded with satisfaction, but at the same time, they felt that this part was a bit too strange and creative for them to accept for now.

Natasha, however, spoke highly of it and whistled, "Awesome! I wonder if he could be even faster!"

She understood that being fast was not all that mattered. As a radiant knight, speed was not a problem. However, if one wanted to play very fast and still bring the audience the beauty of music, this was not easy, but a great test to a musician.

…

After the solo part, the audience started to talk to each other when taking a short break, because there were still two long pieces of symphony following.

Some of them were phrasing Lucien's outstanding conducting and playing skills; some were trying to recall how fast Lucien's hands moved; and others held great admiration toward Lucien's inspiration…

Fifteen minutes later, Lucien, in a black tuxedo, came back to the stage. He first bowed to the audience, then came to stand in front of the band.

Christopher stood straight and his mind was full of expectation just as other musicians and the audience. They wondered what kind of symphony New Country was.

For music in Aalto, symphony was the mainstream, the most shining and precious gem on the crown of music.

Lucien slightly closed his eyes, and the baton in his right hand started to stir. The band followed his instruction and started to play. The gentle but profound melody was like a long story gradually unfolded.

This was Lucien Evans' music! It seized people's heart immediately and made all the musicians present nod out of satisfaction.

The latter part of the introductory movement suddenly became intense and full of surges. The trumpets were indicating a more passionate theme of the symphony.

However, the following first movement made most musicians frown, as it was just so folk-music style and away from the traditional symphony structure.

Chapter 294: Nostalgia

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Facing this unique style, most musicians subconsciously felt a little bit uncomfortable. However, the composer was Lucien Evans, one of the top musicians, known for his spirit of reform and innovation, so they still listened very carefully.

Soon, most musicians who were not originally from Aalto found that the passion in the music was contagious. It reminded them of the busy life they lived when they first arrived in Aalto.

The life back in the days was beyond busy. They had to run around every day just to make a living as an instrumentalist. During their very limited spare time, they were either pulling hair seeking for a piece of melody or playing instruments despite the pain in their hands. They could only find peace in music.

Then, they heard a brand new style of music, which came from another country's exotic folk music. The new world of music brought the audience great shock, just like when they first arrived in Aalto and heard the music there. The totally different style let them have a new understanding of music and expanded their horizon like never before.

Christopher's knitted brows gradually unfolded. He had lots of memories in his mind.

With his music dream, Christopher left his hometown and finally arrived in Aalto after going through great difficulty. However, Aalto was a place that never lacked talented musicians and instrumentalists. Christopher knew it well that without outstanding talent and accomplished playing skills, it was going to be very hard for him to stay here in this city.

Therefore, Christopher had no choice but to play music on street. At that time, he lived on very little money given by strangers. During the countless nights, Christopher studied the music from Aalto crazily. At the same time, he was also saving money to learn how to read and to borrow books.

By chance, he met Mr. Lessing, a person who changed his life completely and opened the gate toward symphony for him.

When he first listened to a symphony, he felt that he had arrived in a brand new country.

Christopher had to say that Lucien's music perfectly reminded him of his past experience, Despite the stereotype he had in his mind towards the music style.

Then the band started to play together. The melody was full of passion like strong waves, and the two secondary themes were revealed. Flute and oboes brought out the sadness and feeling of alienation in the two themes.

The new structure of the music surprised the musicians present. At the end of the first movement, they finally found how the recapitulation part was arranged in such a unique way. After several turns and delays, the recapitulation part finally started.

Most nobles and common folks did not have this strict sense of structure. Although they had some feeling that this symphony was different from the ones they listened to before, and some could even tell which parts were different, they all agreed that New Country was an outstanding and touching masterpiece.

They were listening to the music using their ears and heart.

After pausing a bit, Lucien raised the baton again, with his eyes slightly closed. The bass part brought out the mysterious yet gloomy atmosphere. Lucien had lots of memories in his mind, and those memories had all turned into many pictures that he missed:

He missed his family and friends, and the memory of them together was still so fresh; Mr. Victor, who was always nice, kind and upright, had offered him so much help and support; uncle Joel and aunt Alisa took care of him just like his mother and father, who lent him all their savings and tried their best to protect him from the gangsters; his friend, John, chose to fight with him facing the gangsters; Natasha, the humorous and generous princess, had helped him so much wholeheartedly, and they had gone through a lot of things together…

He missed the shabby shanty in Aderon. Lucien fixed the wood door himself, and underground there was a ruined magic lab. Living in the shanty, Lucien learned how to read, fought against the heretics of the Argent Horn, and became an apprentice…

He missed his garden villa, although he only lived there for a few months. He remembered clearly the stone bricks and vines covering the walls. In the garden villa, Lucien played For Silvia and Moonlight. There, Lucien got to know the existence of the Congress of Magic from Mr. Rhine…

He missed the Musicians' Association, its soft and thick carpet, quiet atmosphere, big library and well-designed instrument rooms… They had all witnessed the countless times of practicing and how Lucien came all the way there until today…

Those pictures were all in Lucien's mind, but what was even clearer was the fact that he was going to say goodbye to all of these.

The sorrow had been turned into the music notes flowing along Lucien's baton.

Then, the oboes played the melodious part, filled with mixed joy and sorrow. The melody seized the audience's heart.

Christopher felt that he was in a dream. For a moment, he felt that he was brought back to his small hometown. He wondered whether the classic two-storey buildings still looked the same old and a bit gloomy, and whether the ghost stories were still being told. He also wanted to know if the river running along the town wall was still that clear and if the apple tree in front of his old place could still produce fruits… and also, whether the lady he admired when young now had wrinkles all over her face just like him, and whether his families were still visiting their ancestors' graves…

The melody brought Christopher great nostalgia like never before.

Betty, Joanna, and Simon also lost in their thoughts listening to the music. They thought of the mountains and winding roads in Djibouti, as well as the horrifying stories about those necromancers. They missed their childhood friends, their parents, and their old house…

Betty and Joanna's eyes started to get full of tears. They suddenly wanted to go back home.

The music reminded Joel and Alisa of the small town in the south, the patio that carried their love story, and even trees and stones there. They still remembered the moss in the corner of the stone wall and the taste of the cuisines…

In the music, Grace saw Sturk. She saw the stone bridges over the rivers, the boats with a pointed tip, and the wax statues in the museums. Also, she saw her parents who were getting old day by day and her elder brother, who labored all day…

In the weeping-like beautiful melody, all of the people present, no matter nobles, musicians, businessmen or common folks, had been overwhelmed by the great sense of nostalgia.

Many of them had tears in their eyes.

Then, the first theme of the symphony slowly pulled people back to reality—the reality that they were all alone in a strange place by themselves.

The violin ended the second movement with the chord.

There was no applause. People were silent. People were lost in their thoughts and their own memory of the past.

The third movement burst out the great passion that was full of different colors, bringing people the beauty and charm of the new country.

Then the fourth movement was grand and exciting, and it reviewed all the previous themes again with the movement's unique power—the power from people's wish to go back home and the belief that they would go back home one day, with a better life!

Like a flowing river, the fourth movement ended the symphony in joy and hope.

And the new country slowly faded away.

The strong feelings in the symphony won the heart of everyone present. Thunder-like applause burst out of the crowd. And people started to cheer for the young musician and the symphony.

The applause just would not stop. Lucien had to keep bowing to the audience.

People were still applauding, although their hands felt numb, and their faces were covered with tears.

Lucien's music expressed the nostalgia and their wish to go back home for them!

Christopher said to Othello, Victor, and Natasha in a gentle voice, "Tomorrow, I want to go back to my hometown to take a look."

After pausing a bit, Christopher added, "This is the most touching lento I've ever heard in a symphony, and I forgot to focus on the structure… Maybe when a person gets old, he misses his hometown even more…"

Chapter 295: Feedback and Expectation

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Lucien bowed to the audience in the warm applause for nine times, and then went back to the backstage to prepare for the ending symphony, the most important symphony piece of tonight's concert.

On the municipal square, people were still immersed in the great nostalgia. An old man in his late sixties said to a stranger next to him to let off his emotion, "Maybe you don't know, but I'm from the Kingdom of Shaq. That's a country in the south part of the continent, close to the Federation of the Free Cities. We have the great navy, and I was in the navy, too, fighting against the pirates… The thing in Aalto that I'm the most unhappy with is that the liquor here is not strong at all, not even close to the liquor called Peled in my hometown. When you take a sip of it, the burning feeling in your throat and stomach is just… I cannot describe it with my words. Also, we have a special kind of white wine made from the grapes growing in the high mountains. No one who's ever tried it can forget the sweet and refreshing taste. But only Count Lucio and the king could enjoy the wine… You know how I got the chance to taste it? It was on Count Lucio's wedding. At that time, I was a guard, and I was lucky to find some of the wine left in the glass… Come on… don't go. Just let me finish. You know the pork paste made in Lucio? Also we have goat cheese, the best honey and roasted lamb… Girls in Lucio are like glowing flowers and they are as passionate as fire! They like brave guys who can beat bulls…"

The middle-aged man was not interested at all. Slightly shaking his head, he felt quite bothered, since he also missed his own hometown.

The old man did not know what to do after the middle-aged man took a few steps away from him. Then, he started to murmur to himself, "I haven't mentioned the small house I have in the countryside in Lucio. The green vines must be covering the entire wall, and the light yellow flowers are more beautiful than any other flowers. The floor in the corner must be crooked now, but I cannot go back to fix it…"

The old man had been away from his hometown for more than thirty years. He was afraid that he would die on his way back to his hometown.

His voice became deeper and deeper. Tears came out of the corner of his eyes. He kept asking himself, "Go back? Shall I go back?"

Then, suddenly, he made up his mind. His fists forcefully waved and said out loud, "I'm going back!"

Glinton was a bit startled and asked, "Are you alright?"

The old man grinned, "Yes! I'm going home!"

His face was glowing.

Then he added, "Before I die, it is such a great blessing that I have the chance to listen to this symphony here from Mr. Evans. This is a masterpiece as a combination of folk music and symphony! After I get back home, I think I'm gonna miss Mr. Lucien Evans and his great music pieces!"

Glinton hurriedly nodded and agreed, "You're definitely right! When the first movement came out, I was a bit hesitant. I wasn't sure how to comment on it. But after listening to the second movement, I can say it for sure that New Country Symphony is more than just outstanding. It's going to be a classic masterpiece! Maybe just this little behind Symphony of Fate…"

Glinton used his two fingers to suggest how close New Country Symphony was to Symphony of Fate. In his mind, Glinton still preferred the latter, probably because he could always go back home from time to time.

Then Glinton sighed, "I wonder what kind of symphony can be used as the ending piece if even New Country Symphony isn't qualified."

It was totally within people's expectation that Fate was played at the very beginning, because it represented Lucien's past accomplishment, however, in their mind, they felt that this masterpiece, New Country Symphony, was totally enough for being the ending piece of the symphony, but it was not.

The old man smiled, "Maybe it's even better than New Country Symphony. I believe in Mr. Evans."

"Me, too." Glinton turned to look at the crystal wall again.

They were not alone. People were waiting for the ending piece with the great expectation and the belief in the young musician in their mind.

…

In the Psalm Hall.

Elena wiped off her tears and said to Felicia in a low voice, "I can tell how much Lucien missed his hometown, relatives, and friends in the past three years. The feelings are so real in the music, and the true feelings are beyond touching."

Felicia's eyes also looked a bit red from her tears, "It reminded me of my trip with Mr. Victor. At first, I did not feel much, but after a month, I started to miss my parents and my bedroom like crazy. I tried to turn this emotion into music, so I wrote the piano piece you heard. But it can never be compared to Lucien's presentation. His music has greatly inspired me again… Maybe, maybe I started to admire Lucien…"

As a student who studied music with Lucien together in Victor's class, although Felicia was surprised and even shocked for a few times with Lucien's talent and the music pieces he wrote, and she also respected him as a great musician, she never felt this admiration in her heart right now.

"Me, too." Elena smiled.

Felicia put her right hand in front of her chest and said, "Let's wait for the last piece of symphony. Let's admire Lucien even more!"

"Grace said to me that both Mr. Franz and Mr. Fabbrini praised Ode to Joy very highly, even higher than New Country Symphony," said Elena. "Lucien won't let us down. When I get old, I can tell my grandchildren by the fireplace that I am a friend of the legendary musician…"

…

In the balcony for the nobles, after hearing what Christopher said, Natasha asked, "Mr. President, are you leaving before finishing the religious music piece?"

"Maybe my hometown could inspire me even more." Christopher smiled peacefully, "Your Highness, did Lucien ever mention New Country Symphony to you in the letters? You look the same impressed as we are, as if it were the first time you heard it."

Natasha slightly lifted her brows and said, "It is my first time. He was good at keeping secrets. But I am not surprised with the theme because I could tell how much he missed Aalto from his letters. Of course, I have different feelings toward New Country Symphony, after all, Aalto is my hometown, and my memory belongs here. Lucien's music reminded me more of my childhood when I was traveling in Holm."

The grand duke agreed. Although the symphony provoked lots of memories in him, as a man born and raised in Aalto, he did not feel much nostalgia.

"I feel the same way, but I did feel the nostalgia when I was doing the tour concert." Victor nodded and spoke highly of his own student, "At that time, I missed Aalto a lot. I missed the place that Winnie and I built together. But my Love Symphony is not about this, and I also don't think I can compose such an excellent music piece…"

Othello slightly shook his head and said, "I have mixed feelings toward the symphony. I like the second movement a lot, but I don't like the structure of the other parts. I hope Ode to Joy can be more consistent."

"It must be a great piece of music that can be compared to Symphony of Fate." Natasha had faith in her friend.

Although it was not hard for her to listen to Lucien's rehearsal beforehand, she restrained herself from doing so and left all the excitement for today.

Victor also nodded, "I'm sure Lucien won't let us down."

"Don't put too much pressure on a young fellow." Christopher grinned, "But I have to say that I'm very, very excited as well."

The grand duke said with mixed feelings, "Let's wait and see."

Count Hayne, Count Rafati, the cardinal Gossett and many others were all waiting for the ending piece of the concert.

…

In the backstage.

Lucien's coughing was getting worse.

"Mr. Evans, are you alright? Maybe we should have Mr. Franz to conduct…" suggest Fabbrini gently.

Lucien covered his mouth and shook his head, "I'm… alright. It's just temporary. I've been doing fine for almost three hours, and I'll be still fine in the last hour. After all, I'm a knight!"

Because Lucien had been coughing quite a lot, but nothing big really happened, people in the backstage listened to Lucien and were not very concerned.

Lucien looked at Fabbrini sincerely and said, "There's no excellent baritone singer in Aalto, so… please, Mr. Fabbrini, although I know it's hard."

Opera was not as popular as Symphony in Aalto, therefore, it was also hard to find really good opera singers here.

Mr. Fabbrini's face flushed a bit under Lucien's gaze, "I assure you, Mr. Evans. I've been practicing a lot, and I won't let you down."

Using some secret techniques from the church, Fabbrini now could make the best use of his throat to sing different parts, which required a lot of practice time.

Lucien nodded and stood up. He looked around at the singers and chorus members, and then raised his arm, "My friends, let's forget the same old platitudes and sing for joy!"

"Sing for joy!" All of the people in the backstage repeated out of great passion.

When Fabbrini and the chorus members were prepared, Lucien adjusted his suit a bit and walked out of the backstage with confidence.

Chapter 296: Glory

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

On the municipal square, around the crystal walls, when the several famous singers walked out from the backstage together with the adult and children chorus and stood behind the band in a half circle, people were very surprised.

"What is this? Why is Mr. Fabbrini also here? Is this a chorus?"

Being informed that the last piece was Symphony in D minor, people had no idea what was going on there.

Betty asked Jonna, "Is Mr. Evans gonna add the chorus part in it?"

"Impossible. I've never seen anything like this." A man who was a symphony fan cut in.

Joanna responded, "Mr. Evans is known for being a reformer. His Symphony of Fate and New Country Symphony do not strictly follow the typical structure of a symphony either."

People were talking to each other, and they were getting even more curious.

In the Psalm Hall, when Christopher saw Mr. Fabbrini and the chorus showing up on the stage, Christopher said with a smile on his face, "He's gonna add a singing part in the last symphony piece… What a brave innovation."

Although Lucien tried to make it a secret, it was impossible to hide the fact from the many musicians in the association. Many musicians and instrumentalists already had a brief idea of what Lucien was going to do.

Being used to the fact that Lucien loved seeking for changes, most musicians were taking a neutral standpoint. At the bottom of their heart, they were expecting some new forms of symphony, especially those open-minded ones like Christopher.

"I heard that it's an excellent symphony piece!" said Natasha confidently, who was always on Lucien's side. In her mind, she blamed Lucien a little bit for never telling her anything about the new symphonies in the letters. After all, there was no chance that Lucien could finish composing both New Country Symphony and Ode to Joy within the few months after he came back to Aalto.

Othello shook his head, "No one has tried this before. We will see."

At this time, Lucien, who looked very handsome in his black tuxedo, walked out of the backstage and bowed to the audience.

The whole municipal square and the Psalm Hall became very quiet immediately.

This was the power of a great musician.

Turning around, Lucien stood at the center of the semicircle. He raised his hands and got ready.

Again, slightly closing his eyes, Lucien immersed himself in the memories. He remembered the day when he sat in the crate and saw Lazar wearing the black, double-breasted coat welcoming him, the day he finally arrived in Holm. That day was like a strong beam of sunlight that drove the dark clouds in the sky away!

Without enough life experience, a musician would find it very difficult to present a music piece in the way he or she wanted.

The baton and Lucien's left hand rose and fell gently in the air like they were trying to catch the original emotions and feelings from afar. Then, the deep and profound melody followed, and the trill part brought the audience the blurry picture of a distant view.

Victor felt thrilled with the trill in his soul, either from the excitement when he heard the melody or from the reverence in his mind toward the deep emotions lying in the music notes.

Victor was not alone here. Including the cardinals, the entire audience had this essential, deep and direct sense of feeling in their mind toward music. The music was grand and serious, as if there was growing power in it, and also as if there was some kind of gloominess hiding in it. It was the great difficulties that everyone must experience from one's birth to death!

Then, the power grew greater and greater. The strong rhythm shook the audience's heart like waves. The secondary theme made them feel retained, just like the feeling that no one would like to face the difficulties and one's fate. The two themes together presented the fighting spirit in the first movement, which was also the main idea of Fate and Pathetique.

From time to time, some more peaceful and gentle pieces of melody were used alternately, signifying the belief that darkness would definitely be overcome!

The first movement lasted for sixteen minutes, and the audience was completely lost in the music. Warm applause burst out. People applauded with great passion to show their appreciation to the movement.

"Grand opening! Profound and full of images! Very outstanding!" Othello finally spoke highly of the music.

Natasha agreed proudly, "If the following three movements can be of the same level, without doubt, Ode to Joy would be able to be compared to other classic masterpieces like Fate and the War of Dawn. What a great concert!"

However, the grand duke was a bit hesitant, "Although the first movement is for sure impressive, I feel that there's something missing here… say, a climax."

"That's true. The structure, techniques, the melody… are all perfect. But it's not as imposing and overwhelming as Fate, neither as touching as Moonlight and Pathetique," said Christopher. "It still needs a point that people can remember. Right now, the first movement is like an extinct volcano with magma boiling underneath. The emotions need to burst out."

"I totally agree." Victor nodded, since he also felt the sense of oppression, "I'm expecting that Lucien can push it forward in the following movements."

Count Hayne, Count Rafati and Cardinal Gossett found it hard for them to add any comments here, but they also had the same feeling.

The feeling was in fact shared by everyone.

Soon, the second movement began. Unusually, the second movement did not follow the tradition of using lento but adopted a cheerful and lively pace, as if an army was chasing after its enemy in the mood of victory under the blue sky and in the sunshine.

"Again, he's not following what we expected." Christopher had a spoiling smile on his face.

Othello first did not feel comfortable with it, but soon accepted the change here, since, according to the theme of the second movement, he did not have a better way to present the music other than using Allegro, and also Lucien's way of transiting movements was quite acceptable to him.

The ones on the square who had even a little understanding in symphony had all noticed the difference there, but they focused more on the music itself, instead of on its structure. To them, the second movement was simply beautiful, so the change in structure was deemed as being necessary in their eyes.

The victory continued, but the darkness approached again. Enemies came back again from all directions. People felt nervous again with the fast pace of the music.

The second movement ended in a sense of nervousness. The audience applauded warmly again to encourage Lucien as well as themselves, as if the warmer the applause was, the more powerful they could be to fight against darkness and evil.

No one talked. They were silently tasting the sense of oppression and anxiety deep in their hearts, where the volcano deep within was still gathering more terrifying power…

After a short break, Lucien waved his baton again, and the third movement started.

The sweet and gentle melody made people think. No one ever tried to argue whether this movement should be lento or allegro anymore. Instead, they were simply contemplating. They needed some time after the first two movements. They needed time to think—why were they fighting? What was the meaning of fighting? What did it mean by victory? How did they come all the way here?

Did they ever meet difficulties?

Did they ever feel the sincere joy after overcoming the difficulties?

Did they ever feel that the difficulties in life seemed to be endless?

Did they ever want to give up when facing the difficulties?

Victor recalled the hard time he experienced. It was never easy for him to become a musician. He had to forget everything and lock himself in the room to work on his music, and he had to force himself to socialize with other musicians and nobles to have a chance to hold a concert. However, his first concert was a failure, during which many people directly left their seats… At that time, he was surrounded by bitter taunts and great pressure. Luckily, he had Winnie's encouragement and then he worked harder ten times more. In the end, his dream was achieved, but he had never been able to see Winnie again…

Natasha recalled her own past. Although she was from a top noble family and had the most powerful Blessing, as if she was especially blessed by the God of Truth, her life as a princess was also not free of pain. Within a short period of time, her elder brother died on the battlefield, and her mom passed away. Therefore, she closed her heart and devoted herself to the hard knight training to escape from the pain. When she finally found her own knight spirit and decided to be brave for her love, the person she loved betrayed her and she had to kill that person with her own hands. Her cousin tried to kill her for power, but, fortunately, she was saved by her friend, Lucien…

While conducting, Lucien was also thinking of the great difficulties he encountered from before, as well as how his power grew out of the process. In the darkness, he never stopped running toward the sunlight and success with hope and belief.

Did they ever feel depressed facing the endless darkness in life?

Did they obtain power and lessons out of it and move forward with an even stronger will, or let themselves sink?

Did they long for brightness and success?

Were they prepared to face the challenges and pain on they way of pursuing them?

In the sweet and gentle melody, people were thinking and asking themselves these questions. They were still waiting, although their full-hearted emotions were almost ready to burst out. They were waiting for the very moment in the next movement to help them let it out.

The third movement ended. People could not wait any longer.

Lucien's movement of waving the baton suddenly became forceful. The beginning of the fourth movement set off like an erupting volcano, giving all the thoughts and emotions great power to explode and to beat the darkness and all the enemies!

The audience on the square and in the Psalm Hall immediately got encouraged and excited, as if they could see the victory and sunshine ahead of them!

However, the darkness was still lingering, and the great difficulties did not disappear on their own. The fourth movement repeated the first three movements in fragments, and thus again gave people this strong sense of tension.

Victory was not there yet. They still had to march forward! They still need to run toward the light!

The major melody of Ode to Joy was played by double basses, comforting people and giving them hope.

But it was still not enough! Not enough!

People had made their effort, and they were already right at the edge of darkness and light, but they were still not there yet!

The melody of Ode to Joy started to become the major theme of the movement. The different parts of the band were joining together and playing the same song, like countless streams joining together into a great current.

But it was still not enough! Not enough!

It was just like when Lucien first arrived at the port in Holm, but the lid of the crate that he was in was not yet opened. Everything remained unknown and was still in darkness.

All the audience, including Natasha, clenched their fists, waiting for the last moment of victory.

At this time, a baritone sang with his deep and profound voice, "O friends, no more of these sounds! Let us sing more cheerful songs. More songs full of joy!"

"Joy!"

"Joy!"

Like being struck by lighting, like seeing an angel falling, the thrill in the depths of everyone's soul surged and covered their whole bodies.

The whole space was filled with the passionate praise and the joyful and sacred melody. And the music was going to overwhelm and conquer everything!

"Joy! Joy!"

"Joy, bright spark of divinity, Daughter of Elysium,

"Fire-inspired we tread,

"Within thy sanctuary."

…

People finally could let out their many strong emotions from their heart, and thus everyone's soul became light and relaxed, full of the ultimate and sacred joy.

It was like after going through seemingly endless darkness and then finally seeing the first beam of sunlight piercing through the clouds and lighting up the world.

It was like Victor, that after experiencing lots of setbacks and difficulties, finally received warm applause and won himself the victory. At that moment, his eyes were filled with tears.

It was like when the lid of the crate was open, and Lucien saw the blue sky and Lazar's big smile. His heart was full of all kinds of emotions and he realized that he could finally be entirely free from those worries he had in Aalto. All his hard work and the risk he took finally paid off.

If there was no bitter taste, there was no taste of sweet.

If there was no pain, there was no gain.

If there was no hard work, there was no success.

If there were no great sufferings, there was no ultimate and pure joy like this!

At this moment, people felt that they were shocked deep within their souls, and they were lost in the melody sung by the four parts. They found the ultimate joy with tears in their eyes, praising for the blessing from the God of Truth!

"All creatures drink of joy,

"At nature's breast.

"Just and unjust,

"Alike taste of her gift."

…

People believed that Ode to Joy was the praise to the God of Truth. Fabbrini also felt touched by the grandness and the divinity of this symphony. As he was singing, tears streamed down his face.

Since he was born, he suffered from the inhumane operation and forced himself to practice endlessly. For the first time, he felt the ultimate, pure joy given by the God of Truth. His tears were out of joy.

When he could take a short break when the choruses were singing, Fabbrini looked at the conductor standing in front of the band, watching how devoted this young musician was when presenting this great masterpiece to everyone.

What a great musician!

When it was his turn again, Fabbrini sang in an even more sincere and dedicated manner:

"Gladly, like the heavenly bodies,

"Which He sent on their courses,

"Through the splendor of the firmament,

"Thus, brothers, you should run your race,

"Like a hero going to victory!"

Listening to the lyrics, all the cardinals and pastors present, including Gossett, started to cross in front of their chests.

Again and again, the combination of human voices and the band was just perfect!

When the children chorus started to sing "Joy! Joy! Joy, bright spark of divinity, Daughter of Elysium" again, the audience was beyond thrilled when they let go of all their restrains and depression fully and delightfully.

They felt free. It was the ultimate freedom!

The sunlight kissed the whole world, and the world was filled with joy. Lucien's baton made the last movement, and the symphony ended there in a perfect way.

After a few seconds of silence, people started to get crazy. The applause beyond warm was like an erupting volcano, making the whole space tremble. They could not control themselves but tried to go forward to stay closer to the great musician. They had tears in their eyes. They wanted to kiss the great musician to show their crazy admiration and respect!

Many nobles in the Psalm Hall hurriedly stood up and ran toward the stage.

The people on the square stopped in front of the crystal walls and cried aloud:

"Lucien Evans!"

"Lucien Evans!"

"Lucien Evans!"

They believed that their cry could be heard by this young musician, so he could know how much they loved him!

No concert had ever been crazy like this.

For a second, Fabbrini felt it was like a dream, but soon he realized their great success!

"Mr. Evans… It's time to give your regards to the audience…" Fabbrini reminded Lucien, since he saw that Mr. Evans was still standing there with his head low.

Lucien slowly looked up, but his face was beyond pale.

After a big smile, Lucien turned around. His right hand was on his chest, and he started to bow.

To the great shock of Fabbrini and the audience, they saw Lucien falling to the floor like a swan that had lost all its strength in its wings.

The scene suddenly turned into black and white in Fabbrini's eyes. On one side, there were people crazily cheering for the great success of the concert like boiled water; on the other side, the young musician's body slowly collapsed to the floor.

Chapter 297: A Good Actress

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

On the streets around the municipal square, people were crying Lucien's name. Seeing that the crystal walls were slowly disappearing, they cried out loud, over and over again:

"Lucien Evans!"

No any other music pieces ever touched their soul like this, and no other music pieces ever won this much emotional resonance. They felt great pain and ultimate joy in the music. When Fabbrini started to sing, they were beyond thrilled.

This excitement lasted a long time even after the crystal walls disappeared. Although now they could not see the great, young musician who brought God's will to them, people on the square were still crazily showing their respect and deep affections toward Lucien.

However, in the Psalm Hall, the audience was completely shocked when seeing Lucien Evans collapsing to the floor like a falling angel, and they would never forget that moment.

Then, with a silvery-purple lightning flashing on the stage, the princess, Natasha, who was wearing a long purple dress, showed up beside Lucien and grabbed him with her arms before his head really hit the floor. Then, after turning quickly, Natasha took Lucien back to the balcony she was in within a second, leaving the nobles around the stage stunned.

The princess was quicker than anyone. When people realized what just happened, many started to feel certain that the rumor was true.

"Cardinal Gossett, please save him!" Although Natasha remained quite calm, her voice trembled a bit. Her hand held Lucien's hand tight.

Gossett nodded, "Only the most dedicated follower can produce this grand praise to the God. The God of Truth won't take away his life like this. I'll try my best to cure him."

Although Victor tried his best to come closer, Natasha was hugging Lucien in her arms like a mom guarding her own child. Staring at Lucien, Victor walked back and forth fretfully, until he saw the cardinal started to cast the divine spell on Lucien with the Saint Truth Badge.

Through holding Lucien's hand, Natasha infused her own power into Lucien's body, trying her best to disguise the differences in Lucien's soul when compared to common people, since he was a sorcerer.

Seeing that Lucien was not really dying, Gossett only used the most common divine spell for checking. Therefore, the cardinal did not notice much difference.

About a minute later, under the worried gaze of people, Gossett smiled, "He's alright. Mr. Evans just fainted, since he's been sick for some time and got too excited when conducting. Of course, if he does not receive any treatment for a week or so, he would probably die, even as a knight, but right now he'll be fine. God bless him."

The healing divine spells also had limits. From the Church's point of view, these divine spells could only work on the basis of one's life force. If a person's life force had been greatly lost because of some kind of long-time disease, the divine spells would also be ineffective. At that time, maybe only the God of Truth could save the person.

What Gossett did not mention was that Lucien Evans seemed to be a level-two knight. However, thinking of the relationship between him and the princess, he did not think it was a big deal.

"But why? As a young knight, unless being very weak or because of some kind of bad pestilence, he shouldn't get this sick." Hearing the cardinal's words, Natasha asked in a calmer way.

In fact, she was well aware of the fact that it was because Lucien cast the fourth-circle spell, Pestilence, on himself a few weeks ago.

Lucien did not do anything to treat himself after casting the spell on himself, instead, he completely relied on his own immunocompetence. As he wished, the disease brought by the magic spell slowly developed into a chronic disease, which was very hard for others to find out.

Gossett thought for a few seconds and said, "Maybe it's from his organ injury from before."

"I see." Natasha nodded, "Then please do something to help him."

Gossett reached out both of his hands and sacred light burst out. When the light covered Lucien's body, there were small, black clusters of miasma rising from Lucien's body, and the miasma clusters were seemingly made of invisible tiny worms.

Level three divine spell, Remove Disease. It was not a fancy spell, but sometimes worked very well.

Disguising the difference in Lucien's soul with her own power, when seeing the miasma slowly disappear in the holy light, Natasha put on a relieved look.

Seeing the look on Natasha's face, and the hands that held tight, the grand duke had mixed feelings in his heart. He had to say that he did not like the fact that his own daughter was going to leave him to be with some bastard boy, but also he was glad that his daughter finally went back to "normal", so the family blood would not die out.

Count Rafati grinned, "At least he has awakened his Blessing. Better than nothing."

The grand duke once told them that, no matter if the guy had awakened his Blessing or not, no matter whether he was a noble, and even no matter whether he really pulled Natasha back to "normal", as long as his daughter could get married and have offspring like a normal person, he would not interfere with Natasha's other choices too much.

The grand duke released a long sigh and nodded, "That's true…"

After Gossett cast another level four divine spell, Recover, Lucien slowly opened his eyes. He looked around confusedly and asked, "Why… What happened?"

Victor's brows tightly knotted together and he said in a very caring way, "You shouldn't have pushed yourself this hard. Health should always come the first place. Do you really think that it's right for you to hold this concert when you're sick like this? Couldn't you just put if off a bit?"

Hearing Victor's questions, Lucien was a bit touched, "I'm sorry, Mr. Victor. I was… just too excited about this concert, and I failed to stop. Now I'll take a good rest."

Gossett slightly nodded, "Mr. Evans, although the disease has been cured, you still have to take a long time to recover your life force."

"You almost made my heart stop beating, but I guess it was worth it. I was totally impressed by Ode to Joy, so I've got nothing really to complain." Seeing that Lucien was fine, Christopher joked a little.

Natasha released a sigh of relief and said to the cardinal, "I gotta send Lucien back first. Then I'll be back so we can have a conversation about his future treatment."

"Natasha, remember to tell people that I'm alright." Lucien reminded her.

"I got it." Natasha nodded. "You just take a good rest."

Seeing that Lucien was lying in Natasha's arms and their faces were so close together. Many people, including the grand duke, Christopher and Victor, put on an a slightly weird look.

After Natasha carried Lucien in her arms and left the hall, many nobles started to take glances at the grand duke, as if they were saying congratulations… The grand duke had no idea how to respond.

…

In the sky, Natasha said to Lucien with a smart smile on her face, "After you 'die', I think my father won't force me to get married for a long time."

Then her voice became a bit sad, "He knows how it feels to lose your beloved ones in a few years."

"I have to say that you're a good actress," said Lucien sincerely.

"Of course. I like drama a lot!"

"So when you suggested that I should let the musician die, you already had this plan to use me to get rid of the pressure from your father?" Lucien grinned.

"Come on… It just came to me…" Natasha put on an awkward smile.

"Friends don't lie. You can just admit it." Lucien lifted his eyebrows like Natasha.

Natasha switched the topic and looked around, "Well, we gotta get you back home first, so then I can talk to Gossett to make sure your next step of the plan can work."

Flying beside them and looking at them, with no facial expression on her face.

…

In the Psalm Hall, knowing that Lucien Evans was okay, the nobles were more relieved, and then they started to leave the hall, still feeling very excited.

What they did not know was that the moment when they saw Lucien slowly collapse to the floor like a black swan would in fact be their last look at this great musician.

After Christopher, Victor and Othello walked out of the Psalm Hall, when they saw the crowd that still lingered on the streets and around the square, they were very impressed.

Christopher said, "I've never seen something like this before. Maybe I won't be able to see this again before I die."

"Ode to Joy deserves this crazy affection," said Othello seriously, who just could not resist the power of this kind of sacred music. "As far as I'm concerned, Ode to Joy is the best symphony piece ever!"

Although he was right in front of Mr. Christopher, he still had to say so.