FMV 07

Chapter 7

As Leonar had said, Aurelia’s duty as someone helping with her father’s workshop was to sell instruments to people who wanted to buy them and receive a suitable price in return.

The fact that there was not a single thing wrong with his words made Aurelia feel even worse.

“You can at least try playing it as much as you want. Mr. Deimus will also need to play several instruments himself before he can make a decision.”

David also could not find anything wrong with Leonar’s words, so he had no choice but to coax and persuade Aurelia. Perhaps he also did not understand why Aurelia, who always greeted customers with a bright smile no matter what happened, was acting so stubbornly today.

In the end, at David’s words, Aurelia hid her dissatisfaction and began climbing the ladder.

‘It’s not that I don’t want to admit that Mr. Deimus is right.’

She knew that what he said was right, but she simply did not want to give it to him.

She did not want this violin, which was precious to her, to become nothing more than an ordinary violin that was not very precious to him.

As if proving those feelings, she moved slowly with every action she took to take out the violin.

Even though she knew that, in this small vault, it would not take long before the violin ended up in Leonar’s hands anyway.

“As I told you, this violin was not made by a skilled craftsman.”

Leonar, who received the violin, only nodded once at David’s words.

Since it had not been made by someone who had properly learned how to make violins, it was only natural that it was rough and poor in quality.

When the bow held in Leonar’s neat hand touched the strings, a delicate and detailed sound soon filled the vault.

“I didn’t expect you to be able to play a piece like this….”

Of course, since it was a performance by a man famous for playing any sheet music perfectly, his performance was flawless.

Even though the piece he played was only a practice piece that children played when they first learned the violin.

“I’ll take this violin. I think it will suit my upcoming recital well.”

Naturally, it was not an instrument that produced an especially beautiful sound.

It could make a delicate and fine sound, but there was something awkward and incomplete about it.

But to Leonar, that imperfection was an advantage.

He did not know what kind of beginner had made this instrument, but whoever had made it must have had a delicate personality.

‘The next violin they make will probably be able to produce an even more delicate sound.’

That was why Leonar had chosen this violin, which no one else would probably even look at.

There were countless instrument makers in the world who could truly be called “masters.”

And Leonar had always played violins of the finest quality, made by such masters.

“There are many better violins.”

“No. This is enough.”

The awkwardness mixed into the delicacy stood out especially clearly, like a lost child.

It was the very first work of an instrument maker who might one day become famous.

For Leonar, it was more than satisfying to present it at his first recital in Zerphium.

“No.”

Unlike Leonar, whose lips curved smoothly upward as he was pleased with the imperfect sound of the instrument, Aurelia looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

No, it was not merely that she looked like she might cry. Tears were already welling up in her green eyes, like rain falling over a forest full of lush leaves.

‘I don’t want to cry.’

Even though having her violin sold to him should have been a great honor, she could not stop the tears from coming.

All the hardship and effort she had put into making that violin.

And even the dreams she had dreamed while making it.

All of it felt far too precious to let go.

“In fact, that violin was the first one this girl ever completed. Just as a first is precious to anyone, this was the first violin she made with her own hands, so she must have grown very attached to it. Aurelia, I need you to run an errand. Mr. Felton will be arriving soon, so go check the condition of the wood and pay him.”

In the end, David sent Aurelia, who looked ready to cry at any moment, out of the vault.

Most men tended to find women’s tears troublesome and irritating.

After leaving the vault at her father’s words, Aurelia finally let the tears she had been holding back fall.

‘Why does everyone keep doing the opposite of what I want?’

She had entered Zerphium Conservatory because she did not want her talent as a pianist to go to waste, and because playing the piano made her so happy.

From the day she entered until now, she had never once lost the top position.

Aurelia’s dream of becoming a pianist was not simply an arrogant dream.

“I didn’t even ask for that much.”

The vault door could not block out Aurelia’s sobs.

Inside the vault, Leonar found the awkward silence and the woman’s crying that leaked through it extremely unpleasant.

Even from his narrowed brows and slightly raised lips, it was obvious how displeased he was.

“Mr. Bernhard. As you already know, I am a very busy man.”

“Yes. How could I not know?”

So he wanted to stop both the unnecessary argument and the childish woman’s crying.

He could not understand why a person who was paying his own money to buy an instrument had to feel uncomfortable.

“I’ll buy these two—the one here and that violin over there.”

“But….”

“Of course, this crude violin will never appear in my future recitals. I cannot stand on stage holding a crude violin made by someone who is not even a craftsman, not even a skilled maker, and who made it for the first time.”

Of course, it was disappointing.

Except for the fact that it was the first instrument made by a woman he had disliked from the first moment he saw her, this instrument was a perfect match for the recital he was planning.

It was special because it was different from the instruments he had handled until now, and because of that, he could not get rid of his regret.

‘A woman’s first work.’

Of course, there was no rule saying that a woman could not become a master instrument maker.

But there were simply too many things lacking for him to hold her in high regard.

Regardless of his regret, something that was lacking was still lacking.

“I have a temperament where I must have whatever I want. In fact, this is the first time someone has ever tried to stop me from getting something I wanted.”

Leonar stopped speaking for a moment and looked around at the many violins inside the vault.

As expected, no matter how many times he looked, there was nothing he wanted more than the one in his hands.

“There is more than one workshop in Zerphium that handles violins.”

Even if it sounded cowardly, he could not help it.

For the first time, there was something he wanted so badly that he was willing to sell everything he had been born with just to possess it.

He did not yet know whether what he wanted was simply a childish dream she had once dreamed without knowing anything, or the violin itself.

“I will pay you a fair price. If you want, I can even pay twice the price of the most expensive violin here, or more. So I would appreciate it if you could make your decision as quickly as possible.”

At Leonar’s final words, David seemed to think for a moment before eventually nodding.

There would not be many people who could refuse when someone was buying two violins and even offering a higher price.

‘With that money, I could put a piano in Lily’s room.’

Knowing what his daughter wanted but being unable to give it to her had always weighed on David’s heart like a fish bone stuck in his throat.

Even though the Bernhard family’s workshop was the most famous one in Zerphium, the Bernhard family did not make violins for profit.

Because of that, they only earned enough to get by, and they could not afford to put a piano in the room of their daughter, who had never once lost the top position.

“Very well. But it would be best if you left the workshop before Lily comes back.”

Although Aurelia had been crying without even trying to hide the sound, she seemed to have gone to finish the task David had given her, because her sobs could no longer be heard.

It was fortunate, considering that if Aurelia saw her violin being sold, she would not have simply stood by.

“That won’t be difficult. Then I’ll do that. I’ll send someone to pay the full amount before this evening.”

“Yes.”

Worried that Aurelia might finish her task and return, David hurried as he wiped the violin with a cloth and placed it inside its case.

While David cleaned the violin and put it into the case, Leonar chose a bow that fit perfectly in his hand and handed it to David.

“Then, I’ll be going. I think I’ll be pressed for time even if I leave now.”

“Yes. You must always be busy.”