Chapter 56: Live To Sienna Pt.56 The Banquet
The experience of playing with such a person was great. Even though she did it to get on Arya’s nerves, she had completely forgotten her existence there and turned as one with the violin after the performance began.
“I think my brother Carl is very blessed to have a wife like Lady Sienna.”
“Thank you for saying that. But I’m sure he, himself, would think otherwise. Valore is a blessed person. You have a beautiful partner, Princess Marie, as your wife. I’m from Heidel, far north of the capital, but I could hear from faraway lands about her beauty.”
Valore’s wife was of the Panacio family. Marie was quiet and had little outdoor activity. She attended the banquet steadily along Arya but was a woman of faint presence. Although her appearance was beautiful and bright like a fairy, it did not attract people’s attention to a surprising extent.
“Yes, she is a beautiful person.”
Valore’s expression was not as good as Sienna’s words.
“My wife… No. She’s a good woman. She’s quiet and she’s like a mother to me.”
He seemed to answer grudgingly, but she didn’t say much.
“I have prepared a wedding gift for Sienna.”
He beckoned and the door opened and the servants entered. They moved a large piano into the room.
“I was going to prepare a violin, but I thought Sienna might like to play the piano, so I prepared it.”
The piano was really beautiful. It boasted a smooth white surface, but it seemed it was made of white marble, not wood.
“I’ve been airlifted by the father-in-law of Arcacin.”
“It’s not a two-day workpiece.”
“That’s right. I’ve spent fifty years trying to get this done. It was a very difficult rescue because there were a lot of aristocrats who wanted it.”
“Can you give me something so precious?”
“Yes. I’d like you to accept it.”
Sienna swept the keys. There was a clear sound. She was not interested in the piano, but it was shared. Just it being there was like a piece of art. The notes on the piano were wonderfully clear. She was not good at playing the piano, but she wanted to play with the keys down.
“If it’s something like this, it’s just…”
His gift was so great that she was reluctant to accept it.
“Then will you play a song in return? I’d like to hear the sound of the piano played by Lady Sienna.”
Unable to ignore the big gift, Sienna got up from her seat and approached the piano.
“I’m not confident in playing the piano, but if Valore asks me to play it, I’ll play it with a great heart. It may be too humble for a gift in a gift in return, but please listen with generosity.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t that she couldn’t play the piano at all. The piano is the base instrument to learn out of all the instruments before learning them. She thought about what sheet music she had memorized. It’s been so long since she hasn’t played the piano, so she didn’t have much to play without music.
She thought of something that could be composedly euphemistic. Fortunately, there was one thing that came to mind. It was a song that she enjoyed playing in harmony with the atmosphere of Heidel. Sienna pressed the keys down carefully.
The song, “Winter Wind,” was a sudden change of pace, like a storm that first flowed gently and then stormed. It was good to be able to show various tricks to her listener.
Sienna’s fingers began to move glibly on the keyboard. The song, which started out lightly like dripping water, quickly produced a rapid ringing and then went on in a flash. There were some mistakes in between, but she still managed to play something that could be heard in nice tones.
Clap, clap, clap! When Sienna finished playing, she kicked and clapped. She thanked him with an exaggerated gesture.
“It was a great performance. Sienna is very good at the piano as well as the violin.”
“That’s too much.”
“Did you write your own song for the first time?”
She gave her hand in a hurry so that he wouldn’t misunderstand.
“Is that possible? Absolutely not.”
“It was a great song. Can I know who the composer of this song is?”
“I don’t know the song’s composer. I only heard that my master got this song when he had gone for some drinks.”
“It must have been a huge drink. I can’t believe he got this song from a drink.”
“He used to say he was really lucky. I was curious about the composer, so I asked him in detail, and he said he didn’t know. He said he couldn’t remember the face of the person who played this song because he was really drunk.”
“It’s a shame. I wish I could have met that person once in my life as a musician in our country. But I’m glad I got access to this song through Sienna.”
“I am grateful to Valore for such a generous gift.”
“Well, Lady Sienna…”
He stepped on and opened his mouth hesitatingly.
“If you don’t mind, can I visit you once in a while to listen to the songs played by Lady Sienna?”
“Of course. If possible, I ask Sir Valore to play for me as well.”
The words were sincere. Valore’s performance had a great power to make any listener cry. She thought he was a genius who would have appeared once in a century.
The Banquet
“Uh-huh!”
“Hain, I’m sorry!”
“This is a huge issue. You haven’t improved so far. The banquet is tomorrow.”
Kitrol said anxiously. The month-long royal courtesy special event came closing in fast.
Since Sienna’s learning speed was fast, Kitrol has not been worried at all. Rather, she was optimistic that all etiquette classes would probably be over in fifteen days, not a month. But at the end of the day, as she practiced dancing, she realized how foolish her idea was.
“Uh! Your Highness, Princess.”
“Hain… I’m so sorry.”
Because she couldn’t practice ballroom dancing with a man, Hain, the tallest out of them all, together with the ladies and maids, became her dance practice partner. Once into a verse, Sienna’s foot continuously fell to the foot of Hain.
They were all dressed up in the same dresses and the same shoes because they said they all had to be dressed in the same manner. The shoes Sienna was wearing were wooden shoes with hard soles. Feeling sorry for her continuous blunder, she asked if she could practice barefoot, but Kitrol refused.
It’s been fifteen days since she’s been practicing like that. Even though it was the fifteenth day, her dancing skills did not improve at all, and the heels of the Hain were so swollen that her usual shoes did not fit.
Clack!
“Don’t look down! Send your eyes over the opponent’s shoulder.”
Kitrol’s whipping hit her back as Sienna tried to look at the floor for fear of stepping on Hain’s foot.
“Don’t move like a charred calf in a saury, and move gently as the brook skips through the rocks, Your Highness.”
Her voice recoiled. This time, there was no doubt that she would have a whipping.
“It’s too late. Let’s stop here today.”
She was so glad to hear it, but she was worried. Tomorrow’s debut banquet will be a great embarrassment.
“Don’t try to dance too much with your head. It is most important to leave your body to the other person. His actions are like a warrior who goes alone to kill the king. It’s too energetic.”
At her words, Hain nodded furiously. Sienna’s brisk foot hurt so much.
“I hope you will become the flower that blooms on the walls tomorrow. It’s a shame you can’t be asked for a dance at the banquet when you’re the main character, but if you show those kinds of dance skills, you’ll be literally humiliated.”
It was insulting, but Sienna could not refute Kitrol’s words. Because there was nothing wrong with what she said. Sienna, who saw off her teacher, headed to her bedroom as Kitrol left the palace with a worried face.
“Your Majesty, may I help you change your clothes?”
Sienna answered, opening her bedroom door.
“No, I can do it by myself. Rather than that, Hain, we’d better start with a steam on your feet.”
She said, unable to look at her face as she held much regret. Sienna closed the door and leaned against the door and sighed deeply at the ceiling.