The prince playing an instrument in front of people was a disgraceful act, which would cause others to gossip. What was more was that it just had to be a piano. The act was unacceptable for her, who wanted to wield power by setting her son up as emperor.
In the past, Arya had chased the musicians away. Valore, who had ended up playing the piano alone, had finally quit playing under her cold eyes and left. It was the same again this time. As he played the piano to the tune of the band, Arya ordered the band to step down.
The band members began to leave their seats with their musical instruments in tow, but Sienna approached one, who was holding the violin, and said, “I’ll just borrow this for a moment.”
She knew that a musical instrument was like a lover to a musician, so they wouldn’t lend it to others, but she couldn’t help it. Sienna told the musician she would use the instrument with the utmost care and return it soon, supporting the violin between her chin and shoulder.
Valore’s performance slowed down as the other instruments stopped playing. He seemed to be starting to wonder if he should stop playing there, but Sienna stood by the piano before his eyes moved to Arya. Then, she began to play the violin to his music.
As Valore’s eyes met hers, Sienna faced him and smiled. She wished he had heard her voice saying, “Come on. Don’t be scared of those cold eyes.”
Sienna’s performance matched the pace of the tempo that had already slowed down. She knew the music being played, so she played the violin accordingly.
She hadn’t played the violin in a long time, so it was far beyond her ability to keep up with him at first. But soon, the sounds of the two instruments began to blend well, beginning to sound like the sound of one instrument. Valore led the notes with dexterity. Had it not been for the prince’s status, he might have made a great name as a musician.
People in the banquet hall began to rush in and around Sienna. Although some might have thought that they couldn’t miss the rare sight of the prince, who was not a musician, playing the piano, his skills were far superior than anybody realized. Whatever his status was, his feat of drawing people’s attention was amazing.
Although Sienna jumped in to pick on Arya, playing along with the notes he played was really pleasant. So eventually, she forgot why she had joined the performance in the first place and enjoyed his company.
Valore’s playing was different from what she had seen before. That young man who had always looked at Arya with his shoulders hunched while staying alert of her presence was nowhere to be found. His piano-playing skills as he led the notes seemed more courageous than anyone else and contained more masculinity than ever before. Unlike the soft notes he was playing, his bright smile seemed more vigorous than anyone else’s.
The performance was coming to an end, so Valore winked at Sienna to announce the end of the song. The finishing part was played fast with more colorful techniques. The sound of the piano and the violin’s performance exploded, shaking the banquet hall, and it ended in splendor.
After a brief pause, one by one the people around them started to applaud. The sound soon filled the banquet hall. Sienna found Carl staring at her and Valore with a stiff expression among those clapping. She questioned his angry-looking face, but soon, he smiled and shook his head from side to side.
ICarl’s angry face wasn’t new. What had been rather unfamiliar for her had been the times she had seen him make expressions of pain due to his injury while he was passed out at the temple, him sweating cold while sleeping, and him smiling at her mischievously while shaking a bottle of wine. Carl’s face Sienna knew had always held contempt for her.
Aside from that, Carl didn’t show anything else to her, except a smile sometimes when he and Bluebell were seen together. Nevertheless, she thought he was the most beautiful, most eye-catching, most noble man in the world.
As she stood eye to eye with Carl, she imagined and felt the warmth of grabbing his fingertips. When she turned around, she saw Valore and gave him a nod. It was a sign that they should say hello together. Still, the applause did not abate. They greeted the crowd while Valore held Sienna’s hand, and Sienna curtsied accordingly.
After greeting the crowd, Valore kissed the back of Sienna’s hand and asked her name. Before Sienna could answer, Arya pierced between them.
“Prince Valore.”
The cold voice hardened Valore’s body. His eyes, which had just given off an intelligent energy, were clouded once again. He walked out of the banquet hall alongside Arya with his shoulders dropping. Sienna’s wrist was captured by someone while she was looking back achingly at Valore.
“Your Majesty the Prince!”
Without an exclamation from him, Carl led Sienna to the balcony.
The first prince leading the way while grabbing onto a person of nobility whose name wasn’t known drew lots of attention. Naturally, many people turned their gazes to them. Sienna covered her face with her hands to avoid the prickly glances.
The fact that she had been led by Carl’s hand would certainly get to the Empress’ ears. Those who wanted to make Valore the emperor would tell her even the smallest things related to Carl.
What Arya wanted next to Carl was a powerless, rural girl who knew nothing about politics. Sienna was worried that what happened might affect her marriage to Carl.
‘No, that’s not it. There’s no substitute for me.’
Arya couldn’t bring in any of the irretrievable ladies who knew of nothing and place one of them by Carl. Since he already had a fiancée named Bluebell Fair, she had to have someone else to put forward rather than have Bluebell be presented as Carl’s companion. She couldn’t find a replacement that would measure as well as ‘the only daughter of a duke.’ At least, she couldn’t one within the Laifsden Empire.
Carl didn’t much want to be part of the banquet. However, it was hard to miss a debutante banquet. That was to be the biggest banquet of the annual events, and it was a good opportunity to attract young talents who were not yet part of the powerhouses backing Empress Arya.
In particular, he had to draw in the children of the local forces. There were no new figures in the capital to draw to his side as of yet.
Therefore, he participated in the banquet early on and talked to those who dreamed of writing about the Imperial Family and instilled hope in them. Having been busy recruiting them, he hadn’t even known that Sienna had entered the banquet hall.
It was the Valore’s performance with her that enabled him to find her. People crowded in to see Valore playing the piano in the midst of the musicians. It was a pathetic act in the eyes of the nobility for a prince to play an instrument in public, and it was also not a virtue as an aristocrat.
It was like he was playing with white, delicate hands, as if those hands had never held a sword before, making it seem impossible to find any calluses on those hands of his. Even his performance was hesitant since he played conscious of his mother’s gaze.
“Ignorant fool!”
As the band members packed up, people left their seats one by one after the increasingly dull performance. It was also time for Carl to turn around, but then, he saw a familiar figure going toward Valore. It was Sienna, lit up by a chandelier and with gold-lit red hair and provocative bird-blue eyes.
She looked different than usual. All the times they had met before, Sienna had looked messy. When he had been hurt, her clothes had been stained by the medicine she had concocted, along with some of his blood that had sprayed on her. When he had opened his eyes from sleeping, she had seemed disheveled. At the National Day Festival, she had been wearing a skirt that she had tied up to her waist, so he had seen her undergarments.
Carl was a little surprised to see Sienna dressed up for the day. She was wearing a beautiful, blue dress with her hair neatly tied up, which accentuated the characteristics of her white neckline and even the pale freckles on her nose, which was not covered in makeup.