Hibiren Flowers And Recital (8)

“Hmm?”

There was something about that confidence, an aura that seemed to surpass even the Emperor’s, which made Duke Delian startle and rise from his seat.

“Your Grace? What’s the matter?”

Surprised by Duke Delian’s sudden movement, Count Michel also hastily stood up from his seat.

Duke Delian did not respond to the question. Instead, he stared blankly ahead for a moment, let out a nearly inaudible sigh, and then sat back down.

“Black hair is unusual. Could she be a half-breed? Make sure she’s not playing Regana alongside insignificant common nobles. It’s unsettling.”

Loriana said this while looking at Count Michel, prompting him to hurriedly search through his documents.

“They say the Emperor is her patron, so it seems she’s some distant royalty.”

“Distant royalty? What does that mean? How could there be royalty that the Delian Duchy is unaware of…?”

Loriana tilted her head in confusion, but Duke Delian remained silent.

He just sat back down, repeatedly making a short “Hmm” sound.

Loriana glanced at the duke several times, but as he showed no signs of agreement, her voice lost some of its strength.

While Loriana was trying to read Duke Delian’s mood and the duke was deep in thought, the black-haired beauty who had entered the preliminaries glanced at another black-haired man, smiled, and placed her hands on the keyboard.

But then she suddenly stood up and ran over to the man, saying something quickly. In response, the man pulled at both of her cheeks.

But soon after, he gently patted her on the head.

Then, she tapped the floor with the tips of her toes, spun around in circles happily, and returned to the keyboard.

“What is she doing…?”

Loriana grew angry at the improper behavior in such a sacred preliminary setting, but this time, Duke Delian gestured directly at her.

He was telling her to sit quietly.

Duke Delian was very interested in the black-haired woman’s performance. So after calming Loriana, he focused intently on the performance for the first time since the preliminaries began.

However, that focus…

…was shattered in an instant when the black-haired woman struck the keys.

-BAM!

She hit the keys hard before playing anything, producing a bizarre sound.

Naturally, Loriana’s face twisted with disgust. She looked as if she couldn’t believe such a person dared to enter the preliminaries.

The black-haired man watching this also put his hand to his forehead and began shaking his head.

The duke, however, watched this and faintly smiled.

The music that followed was also at a beginner’s level, unworthy of listening to.

Watching this, Loriana could no longer stand the sight of such uncouth behavior.

“What are you doing? Are you just going to let them continue?”

Loriana shouted at Count Michel, who immediately nodded and was about to signal the guards. But Duke Delian stopped him.

“No. Let them be.”

“What? Uncle?”

She wasn’t even disguised.

The man listening to the performance from the back was the one who had saved the Capital when it was mercilessly ravaged by the dragon’s battlefield. At that time, all three dukes except Duke Taemuran were present with the Emperor.

In the Empire, only four people knew El’s true identity. Later, Duke Taemuran was added, making it five.

So the woman’s identity was obvious. Hence the smile. A sense of relief. Duke Delian wanted to confirm this very fact.

Of course, he had already heard about a dragon participating in the competition. The issue was whether the dragon would retaliate if it didn’t win.

The Emperor had assured that there would be no retaliation if the selection was based on skill alone. With El’s presence, who had stopped the war, that promise would be kept. Duke Delian knew the Emperor was that kind of man. But if something were to go wrong, it would be troublesome.

The dragon might ask why it wasn’t chosen as the winner. And if the dragon was skilled, it would be problematic in many ways. Ultimately, if the dragon had even a little skill, it would have to be chosen as the winner.

But now, those worries were gone.

If the skill level was as bad as this, there was nothing to worry about.

If such a poor performer were chosen as the winner, all the criticism would fall on the Emperor. With such a clear difference, the Emperor would naturally bear all the responsibility.

Therefore, the dragon could be excluded from this competition.

And if, by any chance, the dragon was chosen as the winner, it would give them something to criticize, which was also a good thing.

The fact that they wouldn’t have to resort to the childish act of drawing lots if the dragon won was making Duke Delian smile.

With such an overwhelming lack of skill, that is.

Duke Delian chuckled inwardly and spoke to Count Michel.

“Pass them.”

“What?”

“Uncle?”

“There are political reasons for it. Of course, they’ll be eliminated in the finals, but let them pass the preliminaries.”

“……”

Seeing Duke Delian’s firm expression, Loriana kept her mouth shut, thinking they must be some hidden-ranking royals.

Though Count Michel looked puzzled, an order was an order.

“Number 29, passed!”

At Count Michel’s declaration, the black-haired woman playing the Regana stood up triumphantly and approached the man, shrugging.

She wore an expression that said she was the greatest in the world.

Duke Delian’s inner thoughts were consistent: he just wanted them gone, though he couldn’t express it.

But rather than leaving, the black-haired woman turned to the man with pleading eyes, like a child asking for praise.

Who in the world are they?

Count Michel wondered but knew well that if Duke Delian didn’t explain further, it meant there was no need to know.

Having seen too many nobles who lost everything by sticking their noses where they didn’t belong, Count Michel simply followed orders and handled the matter.

Greek, hesitant about how to explain to Berna that participating in the competition might be futile, ended up saying nothing and simply retreated to his room, claiming he was tired.

Even then, the sound of Berna’s practicing could be heard.

Ah.

-Karma.

It really is karma.

The more Greek thought about it, the more his stomach ached.

It felt like needles stabbing his stomach – stress-induced gastritis, to put it simply.

As if that wasn’t enough, he also felt dizzy.

In that state of pain, he ended up spending the whole day without saying a word.

The next morning, his body still felt heavy. Greek slowly came out to the living room, still lost in thought.

“Master!”

At that moment, the steward, who had gone out with the chef to buy ingredients, came rushing back.

“Master, did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“They say the family of the competition’s winner will be granted tax exemption.”

Greek thought dismissively that such benefits would ultimately just circulate among the great nobles.

With that in mind, Greek replied indifferently to the steward.

“Really…?”

Despite Greek’s indifferent response, the steward continued speaking excitedly.

“Yes. A steward from a duke’s household I met at the market said the rules suddenly changed. Now, regardless of whether the winner is from a duke’s or an earl’s house, the benefit goes directly to the winning family. He was grumbling a lot, saying the household was in an uproar because they don’t have a strong candidate.”

“Huh…?”

Greek was startled and looked at the steward in surprise.

But there was only so much the steward knew, even if pressed. Greek quickly began to move.

“Let’s go to Duke Delian’s estate right away!”

And without further thought, he ran to the carriage. If what the steward said was true, it really meant that the winner could be determined purely by skill.

As for why the rules had suddenly changed, Greek figured he could indirectly ask while pretending to follow up on the previous day’s events.

With that thought, Greek hurried the steward, and they quickly made their way to Duke Delian’s estate.

“Mother, this way.”

“O-o-okay?”

Greek called out to Berna, who was walking in the wrong direction. Anyone could see that she was extremely nervous.

The last time she was here with her husband, she had been harshly judged and eliminated during these preliminaries. This place, which had become the root of her trauma, made Berna exceedingly anxious.

Trembling so much she was nearly dancing with fear, Berna was guided by Greek as they finally reached the registration desk.

“What brings you here?”

“We’re here to register for the competition.”

When they had gone to confirm with Duke Delian, they received a curt response confirming the changes, accompanied by an instruction to leave with a displeased look.

Of course, Greek wasn’t bothered by the cold attitude.

He was quite pleased with the sudden changes to the competition.

“Which family are you from?”

Count Molante, manning the registration desk, openly looked down on Greek and Berna, who were unfamiliar faces in the social circles.

“I am Count Greek. And this is my Mother, the contestant.”

“Count Greek?”

Count Molante’s expression changed from one of disdain to one of annoyance upon hearing the name Count Greek.

The tale of Greek City, which had amassed a fortune without serving any great noble house, was already well-known, and there were many nobles who were envious of the situation.

“Do they play Regana out in the countryside these days?”

“Yes, but what does playing Regana have to do with being from the countryside…?”

“Trembling like that?”

Count Molante pointed at Berna, who was trembling like a leaf due to her trauma and nerves.

“She’s just n-nervous…”

“Nervous, huh. Why don’t you just go back to the countryside instead of embarrassing yourselves here?”

“……”

Count Molante’s openly dismissive attitude was expected; Greek had no patron among the great nobles and was perceived with envy by the aristocratic society. Count Molante was among those who resented the rise of Greek City.

Despite this attitude, Greek just bit his lip and endured it.

It didn’t matter how they treated him.

If the Emperor had indeed strongly endorsed these changes, then his Mother had a real chance. No matter the scorn, as long as Berna had the opportunity, nothing else mattered.

With those thoughts, Greek forced a smile.

He was already accustomed to being looked down upon in the Central aristocratic society.

“We won’t embarrass ourselves. So we really want to participate.”

“Tsk.”

Count Molante, with a face that seemed to say, ‘Why can’t you just take the hint and leave’, filled out the paperwork and shoved it toward Greek.

“Go to Hall 2.”

After accepting the papers, Greek bowed and moved toward Hall 2. Berna, who had been watching the whole exchange from behind, uncomfortably tugged on his arm.

“Is this because of Father…? Could it be because the Dedran family caused such a big mess…?”

“No, Mother.”

No, it’s not.

Count Dedran and Berna had nothing to do with each other. With that in mind, Greek gently held Berna’s arms.

“This is just their way of keeping Greek City in check. It’s okay! Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on regaining your confidence and playing for Father again! I’ll take care of everything else. Everything!”

“……”

Berna said nothing in response. She suddenly felt proud and reassured at how much Greek, who used to cling to her as a child, had grown.

Of course, the trauma still made her feel like vomiting, and her nerves were at their peak.

So, forcing herself, Berna nodded to her proud son.