FMV 04

Chapter 4

It had already been several days since Aurelia had locked herself in her room, doing nothing and spending each day in tears.

In the end, David broke the lock on her door and entered her room. He picked Aurelia up, wrapped in her blanket, and carried her outside.

He did not know what had happened to his daughter, but he could not simply let her stay locked in her room forever.

“I’ll understand whatever you decide to do. But I can’t let you waste away in your room like this.”

David forced Aurelia to sit at the dining table and fed her soup. His eyes were already filled with anger toward his daughter, who had completely lost her will to do anything.

David thought he had made the soup thin enough, but Aurelia’s stomach had been empty for days, and even the soup made her feel sick.

In the end, she ate the soup her father fed her like a baby bird, only to run to the bathroom and throw it up several times. Only after repeating this did she finally become able to keep the rest of the soup down.

“You don’t have to go back to the conservatory. What does that school matter, anyway? But instead of locking yourself in your room like this, come to the workshop and at least learn the work there.”

“I don’t want to do anything.”

“Then are you going to live like a parasite forever? Even after I’m dead?”

David had always tried to do whatever Aurelia asked of him.

He had raised his daughter without a mother, doing not only the work of a father but also the work of a mother, just in case she might feel the absence of one while growing up. But this time, he had no intention of giving in to his daughter’s wishes.

She may resent me now for forcing her out and making her sit here without understanding how she feels.

But someday, when his daughter became more mature, he believed she would understand why he had no choice but to do this.

Bernhard’s Instrument Workshop.

It was his father’s workshop, standing in the same place since before Aurelia was even born.

Aurelia turned over the sign that said they were temporarily away, showing that someone was inside, then picked up a dry cloth and began wiping the shelves in an attempt to clear her mind of all the thoughts crowding it.

She had only come out because her father had forced her to, but now that she was here, she felt that it was actually better than staying locked in her room. If she worked hard, at least she would not have time to think about useless things.

Her hand tightened around the dry cloth.

Ding—

A cheerful bell rang through the workshop as the door opened, interrupting Aurelia’s thoughts.

“Welcome. This is Bernhard’s Instrument Workshop.”

After speaking, Aurelia’s eyes naturally turned toward the customer who had just entered.

He had blond hair that shone even more brightly under the light, and blue eyes the color of the hottest flame.

“I came here on Aiden’s recommendation, but it seems the owner of the workshop is away.”

The late afternoon sunlight pouring through the open door made his hair shine even more.

Even the boredom in his relaxed voice suited his appearance so perfectly that Aurelia could not take her eyes off him.

How can a person be that…

Beautiful?

“Oh, my father just stepped out for a moment.”

It was only when Aurelia saw the man, beautiful enough to be mistaken for a statue, walking straight toward her that she came to her senses and managed to say what she needed to.

Standing before someone who seemed to shine as if the sunlight touched only him, Aurelia was finally able to bring some life back into her green eyes, which had been slowly losing their light after she heard Professor Schneider’s words.

She had done nothing since then and had only just been dragged out of her room by her father to work against her will. It had been a long time since her eyes had held even this much light.

“When will the owner of the workshop be back?”

While Aurelia stood there absentmindedly, Leonar stepped farther into the workshop and asked with a slight frown.

The coldness in his voice, as if it stirred up the dust in the workshop, finally brought Aurelia back to her senses.

“He’ll probably be back soon.”

“How soon?”

Even as she wondered if he might not be from Zerphium, Aurelia’s hands moved to find a notebook and quill.

“Are you in a hurry? If you tell me your name and where you’re staying, I can—”

“Leonar Deimus.”

“Leonar Deimus?”

The moment Aurelia heard his name, she unconsciously pressed the pen against the notebook. She had only written as far as “Leo…” before she suddenly looked up.

As someone involved in music, the name “Leonar Deimus” was far too familiar for her not to know who he was.

The greatest violinist of the current age.

How could she not know the name of the man who was dominating an entire era?

The Devil’s Talent.

Those were the words Professor Schneider had repeated dozens of times just a few days ago when he had cruelly hurt her with his words.

He had said Leonar had stolen the Devil’s Talent and become such an extraordinary musician. Otherwise, there was no way a human could play music that was so monstrously difficult without a single flaw.

Even though they played different instruments, the man standing before her had already seized the position she so desperately wanted. The moment she saw him, Aurelia’s mind completely stopped working.

This person standing right in front of me is the one who has the Devil’s Talent?

“So I suppose this workshop just calls its customers by their names like that?”

It was only after Leonar’s emotionless words reached Aurelia that she realized she had casually called him by his name.

She covered her mouth in shock, but once the words had left her lips, she could not take them back.

I’m crazy. I’ve completely lost my mind.

Virtuoso.

It was a title given only to the greatest musicians of the age.

And the man standing in front of her possessed that ridiculous title, one reserved for only the most extraordinary musicians. He was the kind of person who seemed to have been born with that fame already in his hands.

I should have realized it when he mentioned Aiden.

“No apology, either.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got distracted for a moment… And you’re such a famous person. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Forget the empty honor. My being famous doesn’t give you a reason to casually call me by my name.”

“About that… I’m sorry.”

She thought he was holding onto it a little too long, but he was right.

“Could you sit and wait for just a little while? He really will be back soon. I think he may have stepped out to buy something.”

At Aurelia’s words, Leonar waved his hand as if shooing away an annoying insect.

Aurelia pulled out a chair for him, but Leonar did not seem interested in sitting.

I’m nervous.

Even though she lived in Zerphium, it was not every day that she got to see a young and promising musician from such close range. Aurelia was more nervous than she had ever been.

“I’ll have a look around.”

Leonar slowly walked through the workshop, examining the violins displayed outside one by one.

He looked over the instruments David had made with great care, and even nodded as if satisfied.

At the sight of this, Aurelia unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

She had thought Leonar would only look at the violins displayed in the most visible places, but his steps continued deeper into the workshop, all the way to a somewhat secluded corner.

That’s where the violins I made are.

They were not made with exceptional skill, but Aurelia’s instruments were still popular among children who had just begun learning the violin.

Wondering how Leonar would react, Aurelia swallowed nervously.

“It’s a mess.”

Leonar ran his hand over the dust in a place Aurelia had not yet cleaned, and his brows furrowed.

The moment he called the place a mess, Aurelia bit her lip and hurried over to his side.

“I haven’t been able to come to the workshop for the past few days. Since this is a place where we work with wood, dust builds up like this if we neglect cleaning even for a little while. My father has been too busy to—”

She wanted to say that he had no time to clean, but Leonar silenced her with a finger pressed against his lips.

“Could he really be busier than me? Aiden praised this place so much that I decided to come and see it for myself, but I have to wonder if violins made in a place this dirty and covered in dust can really produce a good sound.”