Hibiren Flowers And Recital (7)

Rurin’s reaction after listening to the performance was peculiar.

“Ooh?”

“How is it?”

Instead of answering, she glared at the Regana.

That glare could easily be interpreted as the resolute look of a general preparing for a final, desperate battle, or the wary gaze of someone facing a formidable enemy.

“I don’t know!”

Moreover, the words she uttered were far from positive. After sending away the court lady who had demonstrated the playing, I sat beside Rurin and explained the basic knowledge about the keys, even though she still had that combative look in her eyes.

“Look, this is Do.”

My fingers pointed to the keys in order.

“This is Re. Like this…”

But Rurin just tilted her head in confusion.

BANG!

Then she slammed down on the keys, producing a loud noise.

Her expression was filled with anger, as if she wanted to blow the Regana up and everything else.

But the Regana remained intact.

Rurin took a long, deep breath, glanced at me, and then shook her head wildly.

Then, like the protagonist in Munch’s famous painting The Scream, she covered her face with both hands and spoke.

“Ugh, it’s a hassle…a hassle…! So, this is what they call Do?”

“Uh, yeah? That’s right.”

Contrary to her expression and actions, she asked a question about the lesson while suppressing her destructive instincts.

Honestly, it was surprising behavior.

“I mean, it took several observations before I could cut hair. And even then, I made mistakes. Your head… Pfft, hahaha.”

Then she started laughing to herself, holding her stomach as she remembered the patch she had left on the back of my head.

Annoyance surged within me as I recalled the painful efforts I had made to cover up that patch.

I conveyed all that pain through my expression as I looked at Rurin and spoke.

“Does our dear Rurin want to get scolded?”

As I pulled her ear, she grimaced and let out a groan.

She waved her hand confidently, signaling me to stop because it hurt.

“Anyway! With a little more observation, I can do anything. Don’t worry! The victory is mine. Hehe.”

As I released her ear, she made that declaration and turned her attention back to the keys.

When she pressed a key with her fingertip, a sound emerged. She repeated this, slightly flinching each time, as if something about it surprised her. It was cute, in a way.

“Well, once you learn the basics and listen to the performance again, you’re part of a race that’s basically genius, so you’ll pick it up quickly.”

Of course, when it comes to the Regana, I can’t teach you the basics. All I know is Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do.

“Hmph.”

Leaving Rurin with her odd response, I went outside and asked them to summon the court lady again.

After returning, I sat beside Rurin, and we continued the Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do pressing game until the court lady entered the room.

So, I passed the baton.

I surrendered my seat to the court lady so that Rurin could receive a proper lesson.

Under the Emperor’s orders, the court lady seemed unbothered by Rurin’s blunt manner of speaking, having been told that we were distant royals. Fortunately, the lesson proceeded smoothly.

Above all, Rurin was surprisingly obedient.

When it came to receiving the lesson, that is.

Surprisingly, the obedient lesson continued for several hours. The explosion came about three hours later.

“Enough! I’ve learned everything! You can go now. The mere fact that you’re next to me is enough to get you killed, but I’ll let it slide for now!”

I couldn’t tell if she’d really learned it or not, but thinking it was a royal’s order, the court lady hurriedly stood up.

Of course, she couldn’t completely hide the bewildered expression on her face.

“I’m sorry, her personality is just…”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I shall take my leave now.”

I apologized to the innocent court lady, but she remained humble. After sending her out, I returned to Rurin.

Gorororong.

And what do you know.

Rurin had shut the lid on the keys and was lying on top of it, asleep. The time it took to send the court lady out and return was about a minute.

If it’s surprising that she could fall asleep in that time, then it is.

What was peculiar was that, even while asleep, she let out a distinctive sound and was clutching the Regana tightly in her arms as she slept.

Rurin, who stepped up for me.

That action was heartachingly tender.

Of course, even for a dragon, I honestly don’t know if she can learn from scratch and win in such a short time.

This isn’t something magical, after all.

But it doesn’t matter.

She said she’d participate in a human competition first, so I just want to watch over her.

The Hibiren flower is important, but it’s not more important than Rurin. And even if Rurin doesn’t win, I can just pay the rightful price to the winner and obtain the Hibiren flower.

Since the Emperor has already designated it as a prize, there’s nothing I can do about that, but I can meet any reasonable demand the winner has and obtain the Hibiren flower.

Of course, if they insist on keeping the Hibiren flower no matter what, then I’ll just have to let it go.

In that case, I’d just have to find another Hibiren flower, which is something I had already decided to do when I met withbthe Emperor.

I thought about all this as I gently stroked Rurin’s head, who had suddenly fallen asleep.

Her soft hair.

And Rurin’s face as she lay on her side.

And her lips, which somehow seemed more alluring lately.

“Rurin. Wake up? You should sleep in the bed.”

But Rurin didn’t respond.

In times like this, I do what I always do. I carefully picked Rurin up in a princess carry and moved her to the bed.

The bed was right there, so why did she fall asleep so quickly on the keys instead of lying down?

I laid Rurin on the bed, and she grabbed on to me.

Is she not sleeping?

Her eyes were still closed.

For some reason, I had that thought. I moved closer to Rurin’s lips, which had been on my mind for a while.

Especially after thinking about how endearing Rurin had been today.

But just then.

Something unexpected happened.

Rurin suddenly opened her eyes and covered her lips with both hands.

“Huh?”

I was so taken aback that a word slipped out. Rurin removed her hands from her lips, turned her head, and pretended to sleep again.

What was that?

Was I just rejected?

She just covered her mouth and turned her head without saying anything?

Usually, Rurin would crave a kiss, and when the mood was right, we’d naturally end up kissing.

If there was one thing that was certain in all those cases, it was that Rurin had never refused me. In fact, she would often shout “Coo!” instead.

“Rurin?”

I called out to her, but there was no answer. I was sure she was asleep just a moment ago.

Why would she so obviously pretend to sleep?

I approached her again.

I lay down on the bed, getting close to Rurin’s face. Then she mumbled and turned her head away.

She definitely moved her lips away just now.

She kept pretending to sleep. I tried to grasp the situation for a moment, but I couldn’t figure it out.

Could she be upset about something?

There was nothing that could have upset her. I couldn’t understand Rurin’s behavior.

Everything was the same as always, except that she had refused the kiss. She was the same Rurin as ever.

Wondering what was going on, I lay down beside her. Her breathing, even though she had turned her head, was as steady as always.

Feeling strange, I kept looking at Rurin.

After some time passed, and maybe she had really fallen asleep, Rurin subtly moved closer to my chest.

What is this strange mood?

It’s already late at night.

It’s time for my eyes to close too.

I was a bit perplexed, but it seemed like she was planning something, so I decided to get up and figure out what she was up to, then closed my eyes.

As time passed, the next morning arrived.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was already pointing to noon. I had slept very poorly, feeling as if I only fell asleep just before dawn.

I scratched my dazed head as I sat up.

Then Rurin, who was in my arms, also stirred and sat up. She clung to my neck and shoulders as if she were riding on my back.

“You’re up?”

“Hehe, it’s strange that we woke up at the same time. They say couples start to look alike, and I guess it’s true!”

“Couples look alike…? And who did you hear that from? Wait, who said we’re a couple?”

Rurin slid down my back and landed on the floor, standing up.

“That’s just something I’ve heard! Hunya. But I’m still sleepy.”

“Well, it’s already past 1 PM, so it makes sense to be awake by now, but it’s surprising you’d wake up so easily.”

“That.”

At my words, Rurin pointed a finger towards the Regana.

“That? The Regana?”

She nodded in response and walked straight towards the Regana.

And then, bam! She slammed down on the keys, and a grand sound echoed through the room.

I don’t know why she insists on pressing down on several keys at once with such force.

Anyway, Rurin’s playing resumed.

It’s still clumsy, but it’s different from yesterday when she knew nothing at all.

A dragon is a dragon, and like a page from the legend where a dragon excels at any human task it takes on, Rurin was proving it.

If we were to describe it in terms of human growth, she went from being a newborn yesterday to being able to walk on two feet today.

The Emperor and the great nobles successfully concluded their negotiations, and a few days later, the newly restructured content of the competition was announced to the world.

The preliminary rounds of the competition were held.

The grand building in front of the Imperial Palace, where the Regana was set up, served as both the concert hall and the place where the Emperor would listen to the performances and select the winner in the finals.

Naturally, the preliminaries were also held here.

This large concert hall had several different halls with Reganas installed, aside from the central hall.

Today, the preliminary rounds were being held simultaneously in various other halls to select the finalists who would compete in the prestigious central hall.

Of course, all the participants were nobles, but when you gathered them all together like this, the number was quite considerable.

Duke Delian was the head judge in Hall 2.

He sat in the most prominent seat in Hall 2, with his niece, Loriana Delian, whom he trusted completely, seated to his right.

On his left sat Count Michel, the duke’s right-hand man.

“Uncle, there’s no need to worry. Their skills are all more or less the same, so I’m not sure why you decided to come in person.”

“There was something I wanted to confirm.”

Duke Delian answered his niece’s question indifferently, then crossed his arms. The tedious preliminaries continued, and as they did, the situation became more and more boring. The duke stifled a yawn and spoke to his confidant.

“If by any chance an extraordinary talent appears, give me a heads-up.”

“Among these participants, Sir?”

“The Emperor only gets involved in the finals, doesn’t he? Anything can happen in the preliminaries.”

Loriana tilted her head at those words.

“Do you think I could possibly lose to these insignificant people? That won’t happen, Uncle.”

Loriana said this as she swept her blonde hair back, and Duke Delian just nodded.

Well, he believed that to be true.

“They say your skills once moved a neighboring king to tears with emotion, didn’t they?”

“You’re too kind.”

Loriana nodded calmly, a light smile following on her face.

That smile was filled with a great deal of pride in her Regana skills.

With the great nobles, brimming with pride in their birth and skills, sitting before them, the judging in Hall 2 continued, and this time, a black-haired woman walked in.

Her strides were incredibly confident.