episode_0014

Under the scenery of a beautiful moonlit lake,

The performance of the night sky began.

-Ding~.

The first note is long, softly.

A continuing calm and elegant melody.

A slightly slow yet stable series of notes,

And the scenery of the lake illuminated by moonlight intertwined,

Creating a dreamy atmosphere.

“Ah….”

In an atmosphere that seemed to suck the soul out of the listener,

Flora unknowingly let out an exclamation.

‘So, this is what it means to be intoxicated by the atmosphere.’

As the sentimental performance continued with notes that were not strong,

The princess became increasingly immersed in the music.

‘But what is it, this feeling.’

The deeper she became immersed in the music,

A corner of Flora’s heart gradually ached.

‘It’s just music….’

Why does my heart hurt like this?

As I listened to the song, something kept flickering before my eyes.

‘Why do I keep thinking about Father.’

Before Flora’s eyes, the image of her father, whom she hadn’t seen in years due to studying at the magic tower, kept appearing.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve visited the Imperial Palace.’

Between the bitter taste in her mouth and the empty heart, several other faces bloomed.

Colleagues who studied magic together.

Servants who followed her to the magic tower.

Servants who are still in the Imperial Palace.

As the images of these people flickered before her eyes, her eyes became inexplicably teary.

However, Flora tried hard to deny the feeling of longing.

‘Let’s get a grip. I am the princess of the Empire.’

I can’t be swayed by emotions like this forever.

Like that, love and longing,

Feelings of loss and loneliness, etc.

She was swept up in various emotions and tossed about in a waterfall of notes.

How much time had passed?

A change appeared in the atmosphere of the music.

‘The music… has become a little more cheerful.’

Unlike the soft but somewhat melancholy atmosphere of just a moment ago, this time the song developed with a slightly rhythmic and cheerful atmosphere.

A tempo that even felt somewhat cheerful.

The intense and colorful notes felt somewhat playful yet elegant.

It was a melody that gave Flora, who had been surrounded by gloomy emotions just a moment ago, a bit of peace.

‘Listening to it makes me feel at ease….’

A neat and lyrical atmosphere.

But this atmosphere did not last as long as the first melody.

Not even half the length of the first melody,

The atmosphere of the song had already changed again.

Completely different from before,

It felt like playing a completely new song.

‘What, what is this technique?’

The notes were played at a fast speed,

But the accent, which was played emphasizing the unique rhythm, seemed to require tremendous technique at first glance.

In fact, Serena’s hands were moving at an incredible speed.

A continuous cycle of tension and relaxation.

Flora completely lost her mind to the godly control of pace and completely entrusted herself to the torrent of music.

A fast tempo felt in the flow of the melody.

A rhythm and accent that continued to be emphasized.

But a control of strength that didn’t tire the ears.

A sub-climax that was played with slightly reduced power,

And the real climax that exploded the emotions that had been gathered afterwards.

Flora was swept up in a different emotion than when she first heard the melody.

‘What is this feeling?’

The feelings I felt earlier were: loneliness, loss, longing.

But the feeling I’m feeling now is…

That’s right.

This is definitely-.

‘Freedom.’

I am now,

Feeling the emotion of freedom.

Although she was only 10 years old, Flora usually lived with many worries.

A sense of responsibility as a princess.

An ambition to develop her skills.

But the fear of not being able to meet them.

A desire to play like her peers.

Loneliness from the thought of longing faces.

But at this moment,

Flora felt completely liberated from all her worries.

‘Why have I been living with these worries until now.’

After all, life is,

Like the lake illuminated by the moonlight, flowing gracefully.

Even if a strong wind blows for a while and shakes the surface of the lake,

Eventually, over time, it returns to its original calm state.

‘My heart is the same.’

Even if I get caught up in the many negative emotions now,

Over time, I will eventually return to ‘the original me’.

Amidst a rather philosophical realization for a 10-year-old,

-Deeing…

Serena’s intense performance came to an end.

Sweat was flowing from her whole body like rain, as if it required a considerable amount of concentration.

Flora looked at Serena with calm eyes.

“Hoo, hoo….”

Serena, who took a moment to catch her breath, asked the princess with her usual beautiful smile.

“How was it, Your Highness?”

The princess, who took a moment to choose her words, said.

“It was a shame.”

Serena paused for a moment,

This time, Flora added with a beautiful smile.

“I was so sad that the performance was over.”

“Ah….”

“I mean it. It was probably the most beautiful music I will ever hear in my life.”

The princess, who held her hands tightly in front of her chest and smiled, looked genuinely happy.

‘Really, the princess is definitely very beautiful too.’

The sharp look she had when I first saw her was nowhere to be found in Flora now.

The peaceful face and subtle smile told of her current calm state of mind.

-Softly.

Flora approached Serena and wiped away her sweat with a handkerchief, saying.

“Thank you.”

“Hehe. This much is not difficult.”

“I’m not just talking about the performance just now.”

“Yes?”

“Just, just… thank you for everything.”

Flora, whose eyes were slightly watery, forced back tears and continued.

“I don’t have the gift of gab, so I can’t express it well. Sniff.”

“Oh, oh. Y-Your Highness?”

“B-B-But. No matter how much I think about it, sniff. I think I have to say it.”

In the end, the princess, who failed to lock her tear ducts, burst into tears and said.

“I, I, I was so annoying. I must have been really annoyed. Sniff.”

“Oh, no. Calm down first. Calm down.”

“Sniff, boo-hoo. Really, what to do. Sniff. I’m so sorry, hic.”

Serena was the one who was flustered when the princess showed the appearance of a 10-year-old girl whose emotions had exploded.

‘No, was it that much?’

Subtle emotion amplification magic,

Maybe it’s more amazing than I thought?

-Serena was momentarily thinking about such trivial things, but right now she had to comfort Flora.

“Stop. I really wasn’t bothered by Your Highness at all.”

“Sniff. Reeeaaally?”

“Of course. How cute is our Princess?”

“Sniff.”

“Of course, you were a little bit stubborn….”

“Heeeee….”

“Just kidding, just kidding! Stop crying!!”

“But, but… I’m sorry to the other maids too, sniff.”

With the handkerchief she used to wipe Serena’s sweat,

Now, the conversation continued while wiping away Flora’s tears and snot that kept pouring out.

“Hey. You can just apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for being grumpy~. Like that.”

“…Will that be okay?”

“Of course.”

Serena stroked the princess’s hair and said.

“You’re still young, right? Your Highness.”

“…Pft. Lierre is 3 years younger than me.”

“Ahem. I’m just unique?”

“Unbelievable.”

How much more time had passed like that?

Around the time when the low crescent moon floated right above her head.

“Ahem. I’ve calmed down now.”

Finally, Flora’s emotion release show(?) was over.

Serena even applauded and congratulated her.

“Congratulations, Your Highness.”

‘This is so tiring….’

Flora, who smiled softly, asked as if she had thought of something.

“Oh, right. So, what’s the title?”

“Yes?”

“The song you played for me. There must be a title.”

“Ah.”

The original title of the song is, .

It is a song composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, who was called the music saint when his ear disease, which he suffered from, gradually worsened.

‘But I can’t tell you the title is Piano Sonata No. 14.’

Fortunately, this song is known to people by a much more famous name.

“The name of this song is, well.”

A title that goes well with the fact that Ludwig Rellstab, a famous German music critic, described it as “like a boat on a moonlit lake.”

“Moonlight Sonata. It is.”

“Moonlight Sonata….”

Flora, who savored the name for a moment, said.

“So that’s why you brought me here.”

Saying that, she looked around the lake.

The moonlight emitted by the bright crescent moon reflected on the wide lake.

“It’s really fantastic.”

Flora, who was admiring the moonlight for a while, suddenly remembered something and turned to Serena and said.

“Oh, right. The wish ticket I used today is invalid.”

“Yes? Invalid, what do you mean by that…?”

Flora, who was flustered by the question, put her hands on her hips as if it was obvious and replied.

“Isn’t it obvious? In fact, the young lady cheered me up today, and I’m not such a shameless princess as to make her use a wish ticket for something like this.”

“But….”

“Ahem. Are you going to disobey the princess?”

Serena looked troubled and made a ‘groaning’ sound.

Looking at her, the princess smiled and said.

“Hehe. You’d better think a little more carefully about this wish.”

“I have decided.”

“Yes?”

“This time, I’ve definitely decided on a wish for me.”

I can’t believe you thought of it this quickly.

Flora was surprised but asked as if it was interesting.

“Okay. Tell me.”

Serena looked at her with clear eyes and said.

“My wish is.”

What came out of her mouth then,

Was something the princess had never imagined.