Ch.49Under the Flowing Stars (4)

It was a sound that couldn’t be heard. At least at this lakeside, where there were no buildings, it was a sound that couldn’t be found.

Magic. The story about this lakeside that Sir Chris had mentioned tangled in my mind, feeling sticky.

“If I get a chance to go out with the young lady, I think it wouldn’t be bad to visit a place called Siren.”

“Siren? I think I’ve heard of that lake.”

“You never know, they say a dragon sleeps there. How can you tell if something magical might happen?”

Magic, I’d heard, was something that realized miracles that humans could barely imagine.

I thought it was just a rumor, that we would only be sightseeing.

Plunk- plink-

This sound lingering in my ears was clearly a piano.

I walked as if entranced. Walking along the dirt path that bordered the lake,

walking through a forest I certainly hadn’t noticed before, and then in the middle of that forest.

In that place illuminated solely by moonlight.

I saw a piano sitting there alone.

I stared blankly at the empty piano, as if its recent performance had been to announce its presence,

then carefully approached and gently pressed the clearly visible keys.

“Why is there a piano here?”

“…I don’t know either.”

Ting-

I was certain I’d heard music playing just moments ago,

but the white keys of the piano, with its lid open but no one there, were definitely responding.

The hammer strikes the string and resonates.

As the clear sound, more pure than the wind rustling through the forest, spread around us, a laugh escaped me involuntarily.

I thought it was absurd. What on earth was a piano doing at this lakeside?

Clearly it was impossible, magical even, just as Sir Chris had said.

Yet somehow I found myself sitting on the bench as if entranced, gently running my fingers over the white keys.

It had been so long, hadn’t it? Since my hands were ruined, I hadn’t seen a piano,

yet here I was seeing one after entering the world of a novel.

The piano’s surface was cold and damp, as if it had been exposed to the wind for a long time.

Moisture isn’t good for pianos. Yet despite this, the sound was clear,

as if proudly proclaiming its excellent condition, and I quietly raised my head at the sound that echoed throughout the forest.

The sunset was gone.

The time I’d spent walking to the forest had been enough to push the already quickly disappearing sun completely into darkness.

The round moon had risen, surrounded by stars forming the curtain of night. I stared at it blankly before looking at Irene and quietly closing my mouth.

There was a legend. They say the lake where the dragon sleeps sometimes creates illusions.

That it brings forth what a person yearns for, what a person desires, what a person has lingering attachments to.

I didn’t believe it. Even in a world where magic existed, I thought it was just a rumor.

But could I still think that after seeing these things that appeared like magic?

It didn’t feel like an illusion. I could feel it. The touch of the wooden piano, the smooth, gleaming white keys.

How could this be called an illusion when it made such clear sounds when my fingers touched it?

“Do you know how to play the piano?”

Irene asked casually, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the question.

Know how to play? There was a time when I would play through the night.

I had talent, and luck was on my side. I was even called a genius, but I laughed involuntarily at the question of whether I knew how to play.

“…I don’t know why you’re laughing like that. I just asked because you seemed to know a little from what I just saw. I’ve played the piano a few times myself.”

“A little.”

I paused for a moment, then continued with difficulty.

“I know how to play a little.”

What exactly was this lakeside trying to show me?

Showing me my greatest lingering attachment like this, what answer was it demanding from me?

My mind was complicated, but I slowly positioned myself. It had always been this way.

When my mind was troubled, didn’t I find answers by playing?

My hands on the keys were white. No burn scars, no bones protruding from breaks.

They were just clean, as if I was looking at my hands from before.

The past, lingering attachments.

Or perhaps it created this because I was with Irene, telling me to properly celebrate her birthday.

Maybe that was it. I had been quite worried about how to give her a gift.

Ting-

Time had passed. The years that had gone by while the pianist I was became Evan Fried,

and was formally knighted.

But this melody remained unchanged.

This melody, which remained unchanged despite hundreds of years passing and countless people playing it.

It always made me realize that I myself existed.

On a moonlit night, with stars flowing and removing the shadows of this forest in this brilliant moonlight, the most fitting piece wasn’t one that required technique.

Beethoven, Sonata No. 14, First Movement.

‘…Moonlight.’

It cuts through. This rhythm that praises the quiet stillness began to spread slowly along the shadows of the trees.

Moonlight isn’t as bright as sunlight, so its light always seeps in slowly.

So imperceptibly that by the time you notice, you’re already bathed in its light, standing under its brightness.

It wasn’t a piece where fingers move dazzlingly. Sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, I would sneak out and play this piece.

The past.

I couldn’t easily deny that I was immersed in lingering attachments.

Memories of the past that came to mind when I looked at Irene. The glory and happiness I couldn’t protect.

Can I protect them this time? Perhaps that’s what this lake wanted to show me, I thought.

To accept my life as Evan Fried.

To completely forget my past life, to stop comparing Irene and Rofena to my past. That might be what it was saying.

So I smile. My trembling fingers continued to play.

Adagio sostenuto, the feast of sound filled without empty spaces as each note was pressed sufficiently, sometimes making it hard to breathe.

But I liked that. This feeling of suffocation, of being about to choke, reminded me of a very familiar sensation.

Should I forget now? Is it okay to forget the past? Can I proudly say that I no longer blame myself, that I no longer regret?

Chirp-

The sound of insects naturally mixed with the piano’s resonance.

It rings out. I naturally raised my head at the sound echoing in the forest’s silence.

Music began with capturing the sounds of nature.

The sound of fire burning, clouds moving, wind howling… so when playing music sincerely.

When that music reaches its peak. The sound is no longer distinguishable from nature.

It becomes so “natural” that it harmonizes with its surroundings.

Moonlight, that cold light made no sound. So I could only express it.

Expressing it through sound based on white keys, black keys, and the seven basic scales.

When I played like this, I would glance at the audience and smile once.

Because it was cute to see my sister giving a thumbs up despite not knowing much about music.

I wanted to keep that image in my eyes forever, so I would glance at the audience.

Now Irene was in that place.

Standing to one side, just staring at me blankly, with a rather surprised face, what was contained in those eyes was admiration.

My hands feel lighter. The blurry memories of the past slowly fade away, buried in light,

and all that fills my vision completely are the flowing stars and Irene.

And quietly, looking at those blue eyes, I mutter to myself.

…This time, I won’t lose.

No matter how much I made my name known in the world through piano, no matter how much wealth I gained more than anyone else.

In the end, I couldn’t prevent my beloved sister from dying.

Money, my fame. None of it helped treat my sister’s illness.

The day my sister died. I ran out of the funeral home alone and destroyed the piano in my house.

I tore up sheet music. I broke the trophy I received when I first won a competition,

and I pounded the floor until my hands were crushed and broken.

When the doctor told me I could no longer play the piano with my damaged hands, I left home alone and got a semi-basement room.

What changed me, who lived without any more glory, fame, or light.

It was from the moment I became Evan Fried.

I met a person named Irene Yuris and became a knight. I wielded a sword and fought, shedding blood.

At first, I moved only by the mission of being a guard knight, but at some point, I think I wanted to protect her myself.

That she wouldn’t collapse like I did. That she would take off that cold mask and smile brightly.

And when she smiled brightly, I realized that she had seeped into my heart.

I couldn’t run away anymore. As if threatening me, whenever I thought of leaving, her face would inevitably flicker before my eyes.

Regardless of such thoughts, the performance continues.

The first movement, then the second movement. And when the performance that continues to the third movement reaches its climax and finally approaches its end.

Suddenly my sister’s face came to mind, blurring my vision. But I no longer wavered.

‘…It’s okay now.’

It was still a face that made my heart ache.

My vision blurred and turned white, and it was still a memory that made me frown, like back then.

But now I could bear it. Now I had someone precious again, now I had the strength to protect.

The moonlight scattered, and the light illuminating the piano and me began to fade.

Perfect darkness, but my hands remembered the keys. They move, remembering the notes lined up on the staff.

Little by little, playing lively staccato notes without pause for a while.

Plunk-!

Silence returns.

The sound of the blowing wind flows into my ears, and I realize the performance has ended.

The notes written on the staff in my mind were no longer drawn.

Moonlight was over. But the light began to shine again,

so I raised my head from looking at the piano and stared blankly at the moon shining on me.

Certainly when I started playing, my chest felt so tight I could barely breathe,

but now I just felt relieved without any tightness.

My sister’s face that had flickered before my eyes was no longer visible.

Perhaps it had scattered and disappeared with that moonlight. As I wiped my wet eyes with the back of my hand for a moment, a voice in my ear broke my thoughts.

“Evan.”

Slowly shifting my gaze, there was Irene.

I smile at that face looking at me as if about to burst into tears.

Perhaps because I put too much emotion into the performance. Looking at those rippling blue eyes, a bitter taste spread in my mouth.

“I think I played too depressing a piece.”

“…That’s not it, just how-“

She looked like she had many questions. But I didn’t want to hear them.

Soon it would be Irene’s birthday, and it’s too good a day to see her crying.

So with a somewhat relieved heart, couldn’t I play a slightly brighter piece?

As I brought my finger to my lips,

Irene, who had been moving her lips, frowned at me.

While playing Moonlight, I had let my past flow away with that moonlight.

Yet the fact that the piano still remained meant that I had a wish I wanted to fulfill.

Carefully touching the box in my pocket, I moved my hand back to the keys.

Several pieces came to mind, but I thought this one piece was the only one that could convey this night and my heart.

“…Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”

A serenade for the night.

#

‘…Just how.’

I wanted to ask what kind of life he had lived. At first, I was amazed.

Saying he knew how to play the piano a little,

the melody that came when Evan pressed the keys was a performance that even musicians called first-class could not easily show.

Yet his relaxed expression suggested he could play even better.

But as time passed, as that tone echoing through the forest grew deeper.

I began to wonder what his intention was in playing.

Why was it so sad? Even though it was just a performance, why did my heart flutter so much?

When the moonlight breaking through the trees illuminated Evan,

I realized that what was cast on his face was a sadness that could not be expressed in any way.

It was surprising. That he, who had never shown such an expression in front of me, was making such a gloomy face.

That what dwelled in the inner mind of the guard knight who always smiled at me,

was a sadness that even I could not easily guess, made my mouth taste bitter.

My hand, stretched out without my realizing, cut through the air.

The unwetted ripple touched my hand and scattered hopelessly,

and when I grasped the empty air. I suddenly realized I was biting my lip.

I couldn’t help him.

The fact that I couldn’t approach the performer and say anything, that I couldn’t offer any help to someone making such a sad face, made my heart ache.

The melody conveyed through the keys being struck without pause felt more beautiful than anything.

I clutched my chest at the sound that entered my ears and soaked my heart, causing continuous ripples in my fluctuating heart.

Does he know that the moonlight becomes more brilliant as the performance continues?

In the sky without a single cloud, stars were flowing and illuminating him.

When my eyes suddenly stung, I realized tears were flowing from my eyes.

What I felt in the gentle melody was the sadness that Evan held, and tears flowed in sympathy with that heart.

And around the time that performance stopped, the moonlight that had been briefly dimmed illuminated him.

Unlike before, he looked completely relieved and smiled faintly at me.

As if saying he was fine now, I moved my lips as I looked at him who quietly pointed to my eyes.

“Evan.”

Even though my trembling voice reached him, Evan did not easily open his mouth.

He just said it was his fault that the mood had become gloomy, and quietly put his finger to his lips.

Was it something he couldn’t tell me?

I frowned in disappointment, and then his fingers began to dance on the keys again.

Plunk-

My eyes widened at the lively tone that was incomparable to just a moment ago.

Evan’s face, which looked much more relieved, had a refreshing smile on it.

Perhaps he was being shy, I looked at the small blush for a moment.

Then the tone that followed began to tickle my heart.

An elegant yet lively melody crossed and wrapped around us.

A soft tone like a shy whispering lover knocking on the chest,

I stroked my heated cheeks and then closed my eyes tightly.

Was it so easy to stir a person’s emotions? No, surely it wasn’t.

Even though my heart had been aching enough to wet my eyes just a moment ago,

why was my heart pounding just because the melody changed?

…Evan was smiling. As if the sad expression he had shown until just now was all a lie.

My face heated up at the sight of him smiling so brightly.

Who was he thinking of while playing like that? Who was he thinking of while smiling so brightly?

It was a meaningless, unnecessary thought, but it bothered me and I smiled bitterly.

I was bothered by the complicated expression Evan had when he heard the fortune.

Who exactly was the object of his affection? If it was me.

‘…No way.’

I shook my head. When we first met, I treated him so coldly,

why would he have such feelings for me? Dozens of letters were delivered to him every day.

Without my knowledge, he might have matched hearts with one of the ladies who sent those letters…

Plunk-

My excited heart settled, and the moonlight that had seemed so bright gradually seemed to lose its color.

Stars no longer flowed in the dark forest.

A monotonous melody flowed, and the flush on my face began to fade.

Why was my mood so strange? When Rofena boasted about her necklace,

why was I so upset when she said Evan had given it to her?

‘Perhaps.’

No, it must just be an illusion. I didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Even if I already knew, I didn’t want to be conscious of it.

If what was in that person’s heart wasn’t me. I didn’t know how much loss I would feel.

The melody fades. The sound that was so lively gradually diminishes, and the end of the flowing music begins to appear.

“…This is.”

When I finally raised my head, my eyes widened at the gradually blurring scenery of the forest.

I had thought it strange that I hadn’t seen this forest from the beginning, but the forest was blurring.

However, the scene that continued to unfold was even more surprising and brilliant,

so I could only stare at it blankly.

Plunk-

The moment the key was struck, signaling the end of the music,

the piano that had been continuously flowing with melody began to scatter finely.

Like fireflies spreading, it scattered with brilliant light around it, and Evan also stared blankly at the sight.

The forest scatters. Bright light particles flew around like sand blown in the wind.

Stars.

…Stars were flowing.

The light particles carried by the wind spread across the sky, and eventually began to sparkle like gold embedded in the dark night sky.

Those lights flowing in the wind and decorating the sky looked like stars.

Just as moving quickly looks like stars flowing, my mouth opened slightly at the sight that could only be seen in imagination.

My complicated mind felt like it was clearing up.

That beautiful scene, which made my stuffy chest feel relieved at once, seeped into my pupils.

I reached out wanting to see those brilliantly shining lights a little more,

but the light particles that barely touched my fingertips just scattered hopelessly.

“…Ah.”

After staring blankly at the dimming lights seeping back into the night shade for a moment,

I turned my gaze to the silence settling around.

The forest was gone.

Only the lake I had seen at first remained.

Where Evan was sitting was just a rock, and the scene until just now had all disappeared instantly like an illusion.

How could everything be gone when the performance I heard was so vivid?

“There is a legend passed down about Lake Siren.”

“…A legend?”

“It helps people let go of their past and fulfill their wishes.”

Evan, who had muttered quietly, slowly got up from the rock and began to approach me.

He rummaged through his pocket and finally pulled out a very small box.

Clutching it, Evan looked at me and smiled once.

“The first piece I played was my past. A past that no one knows about now.”

Dong- Dong-

The sound of a bell ringing was heard. The sound heard at the hour,

but at the sound of the bell ringing twice at midnight, I realized it was past midnight.

“And the second piece I played was what I wished for. Since the first one I played was too gloomy, I wanted to play something like that.”

Rustle-

What was taken out of the box was a golden necklace shining in the moonlight.

I narrowed my eyes at the quite familiar shape for a moment,

and Evan, who had now approached me, smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“…I thought a lot about it. What gift to give you, what gift might make you a little happy… but I couldn’t think of anything else.”

“This is…?”

“Do you remember when we first went out? You were looking at the necklace those ladies were talking about.”

-Oh my, this is definitely!

-It’s a brooch made by designer Lev from the capital, it looks so luxurious just by looking at it.

-This is a sapphire necklace made by Pania. I can’t believe it!

My lips parted slightly. I had only briefly looked at that necklace, but the fact that he remembered it…

“It’s a sapphire necklace made by Pania. I was a bit tight on money to get a recent one, so I had to buy one from a little while ago… I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”

Just how.

Although my lips were slightly parted, no voice leaked from between them.

My heart was beating incessantly,

and the heat that spread to my face made me unconsciously cover my face with my hands.

“Why, why…”

I wanted to ask why he was doing this much for me, but proper words wouldn’t come out.

All sorts of emotions flashed through the rippling blue eyes.

Question, hope, then self-mockery, and then when I opened my sight through the gaps in my hands as my heart fluttered again.

Those green eyes, brilliantly shining even in this darkness, curved gently.

“…Because you’re my lady.”

Just, I cared a bit more, Evan added and then turned his gaze away as if embarrassed.

The sapphire necklace in his hand swayed, and the light sent by the moon broke and sparkled brilliantly.

That hesitating hand twitched in the air for a moment. Eventually it slowly approached and touched my neck.

Our gazes meet. After a moment of looking at each other without saying anything, Evan carefully opened his mouth.

“Would it be… okay if I put it on you?”

“…Pfft.”

“Ah, no. Just because I bought it myself. Since it’s your birthday, I just thought I’d put it on-“

“I’ll allow it.”

Where had that solemn appearance he showed while playing just now gone?

Laughter leaked out involuntarily at the sight of Evan waving his hands with a bright red face.

Slowly, as I raised my neck toward Evan, I felt a cold breath touch me.

That’s how close we were. When I closed my eyes tightly, all I could see was pitch-black silence,

and when his slightly trembling hand touched my neck, somehow that part just felt ticklish.

As if being considerate of me, my lips curved faintly at that very careful touch.

Click-

The necklace was placed around my neck, and Evan’s ears, who carefully separated his body, were bright red.

I noticed Evan scratching his cheek slightly.

…I wonder if he was like this when he put it on Rofena too.

For a moment I frowned at that thought, but then smiled again thinking it couldn’t be.

How many people in this world would know this side of Evan? I might be the only one.

Liking that, I carefully raised my hand and touched Evan’s cheek.

“Thank you.”

Just as he had done to me before,

this time when I did the same, a hot energy was transmitted from his cheek.

I wonder if he realized that this was how I felt back then.

The necklace, just receiving it from him was a gift meaningful enough.

It would surely be more precious than anything I had ever received from any nobleman in my life.

With that thought, I smiled faintly, and Evan, who had hesitantly stepped back, painfully parted his lips.

“…Um, that.”

“Do you have something to say?”

After removing my hand that had touched his cheek, Evan exhaled heavily after stroking his own face.

After our eyes met for a moment, Evan, who smiled once, muttered quietly in a trembling voice.

“Happy… birthday.”

At his gaze that quickly fell away, laughter escaped me again.

I hadn’t had many things to laugh about, but why did laughter keep escaping?

But I liked that.

That he was embarrassed over just a birthday gift,

that he still remembered such a trivial thing that I had set my eyes on.

And that what was reflected in those green eyes was only me.

I liked that more than any gift.

Under the flowing stars, under that night where the round moon shone brighter than the sun, wrapping the surroundings in light.

I smiled more brightly than at any other time.

Thinking that I would probably never forget this day for the rest of my life.

That’s how I held those green eyes in my heart.