Hibiren Flowers And Recital (9)

“Let’s move on, Mother.”

Greek released Berna’s wrist as she nodded and began walking.

Of course, he paused to wait for Berna as she followed.

Berna walked up beside her son. Though still not in good shape, her expression had slightly improved thanks to Greek.

However, because she was walking with her head down, she collided with a woman in a hallway that bent at a right angle.

Before Greek could stop her.

-Thud.

The woman in front of them staggered before regaining her balance and glaring at Berna and Greek.

“Are you blind?”

“I-I apologize!”

In this concert hall, there were only two types of people: the staff who managed the hall and the nobility. The woman’s elaborate attire made it clear that she was a noble.

“Is ‘sorry’ all you have to say? Kneel. I almost fell, and I am Loriana Delian, a high noble!”

The Delian Ducal House.

A name that had troubled him several times during this visit to the Capital. The name Delian meant she was of royal blood.

Berna’s face turned pale, and Greek clenched his fists. But he quickly knelt before her.

Legally and according to noble etiquette, kneeling was entirely unnecessary. But it was a royal command. Moreover, Greek didn’t want to cause any more trouble. It was clear that it would worsen Berna’s already fragile mental state.

“Judging by the fact that I’ve never seen you in society, you must be some country noble. Remember, in the Capital, not all nobles are equal.”

Loriana Delian flipped her blonde hair and turned away, disappearing with nothing but contempt in her eyes.

“It’s okay, Mother. We can’t afford to offend a member of the royal family.”

“Yes…a member of the royal family…a member of the royal family…”

As expected, Berna’s condition was worsening.

Greek smiled as if nothing were wrong and led Berna forward again.

“It seems she’s forgiven us and left, so nothing will happen. I want to become a more confident noble. We can’t do anything about our situation now…but Mother, there’s no need to feel so down!”

Finally, it was Rurin’s turn.

I was guided into Hall 2 by an official dressed as a butler.

Hall 2 was also a concert hall. Though it wasn’t as large as the Central Concert Hall, it resembled a small amphitheater.

A stage with the Regana and tiered seating similar to a movie theater.

The judges were seated somewhere in the middle tier.

I saw a familiar face.

I remember him as the most prideful of the dukes. Of course, there’s an unspoken rule between us never to acknowledge each other.

I made that clear on the day I retired, and fortunately, the duke was adhering to that rule.

The Emperor also never shows his fear of Rurin in front of others.

Of course, neither the duke nor the Emperor mattered to Rurin. She confidently walked toward the Regana.

But it had only been two days since she learned the Regana.

Her skills had indeed improved a bit, from the level of a toddler learning to walk to that of a kindergartener.

But the preliminaries were today, and there wasn’t enough time for a kindergartener to grow further.

Of course, there was still a week left until the finals.

So there was still time until the finals.

If only she could pass these preliminaries.

Rurin sat down in front of the Regana, looked back at me, and began to smile. Only then did she take in her surroundings.

She then frowned, jumped up, and ran back toward me.

“You, you, you, you!”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Why do I have to play in front of those human scum over there?!”

“…You said you wanted to win, right?”

“I know that. It’s that Emperor guy who chooses the winner. Well, he’s the human king, so I can understand that. I don’t want to, but I have…have.. a goal! I’ll win and then, uh…never mind! Forget I said anything. Anyway, I’m going to destroy them!”

“Whoa…how did it come to killing them?”

I grabbed Rurin’s cheeks and stretched them out as she spouted some suspicious words and came to a bizarre conclusion.

They stretched well.

Her face, with the stretched-out cheeks, looked plump and cute.

“Enough, if you want to win, then participate properly.”

“Ugh…win…! I guess I have no choice.”

As I patted her head and said that, Rurin, who seemed to have a goal beyond just winning, tapped the floor with her foot and turned back to the Regana.

I thought she was competing to win the Hibiren flower or because I wanted it, but could she have another motive?

If so, I’ll have to dig deeper.

Into that motive.

Anyway, Rurin, as expected, didn’t wait for any signal to start and began playing the keys in her own way.

KABOOM!

And as always, her start was explosive.

I can’t take this.

Rurin seemed to really enjoy pounding the keys like that before starting.

She liked the way the intense sound echoed.

Then followed the clumsy performance.

The problem is this clumsy performance. The question is whether she can pass the preliminaries with it.

Of course, there was a chance.

Considering the tendencies of Duke Delian and the other judges, I thought there was a good chance.

They wouldn’t dare fail a dragon.

They’re the type to shift all the blame onto the Emperor if things go wrong.

Seeing Rurin’s current level of skill probably reassured them even more.

“Passed!”

As expected, shortly after, Rurin came over to me, pushing her head forward with a smug expression, as if to say, ‘I’m amazing’.

“Hehe, I don’t like being judged, but at least those scum know how to listen. How was it, you?”

“You’re still far from perfect.”

“What! That can’t be!”

Don’t pretend to be that surprised. I wish I could play a recording for you.

“It definitely can be. This is a good chance. Let’s go sit in the back and listen to the other contestants’ performances. You might learn something.”

“What studying? I’m already the best!”

Ignoring Rurin’s nonsense, I led her up to the highest tier of the concert hall.

“The exit is that way. This area is restricted to authorized personnel-”

A noble who had been standing next to Duke Delian tried to stop us, but a look from the duke let us pass without issue.

We settled in to listen to the other contestants’ performances.

“Huh?”

After several performances passed without hearing anything impressive, I was about to leave when I spotted a familiar face.

Someone I never expected to see here.

What could have brought that person to participate in such a farcical competition?

Although I did change the nature of the competition a bit.

It wasn’t intentional, but things were definitely getting interesting.

The contestant is probably Berna.

If that’s the case, how is her skill?

If she passes the preliminaries, it would be like having an insurance policy.

An insurance policy that could make obtaining the Hibiren flower easier.

Greek knows all about the situation with Selly.

“Rurin, come here.”

“Huh? Are we leaving already?”

Rurin, who had surprisingly been paying attention to the other performances without complaining or getting bored, tilted her head but let me lead her without resistance.

They can’t see us from over there, and we can’t see them from here.

Well, we can still hear their voices and music, so it’s fine.

I suddenly hid because I didn’t want to show that I was sitting confidently in the upper tier where the duke was. Also, I wanted to keep my involvement hidden.

And since the contestant could be Rurin’s rival, it made sense to know the enemy while hiding my own involvement.

“What’s wrong, you?”

I pushed Rurin toward the wall.

Then I slammed my hand against the wall.

I placed my hands on either side of Rurin’s face, effectively trapping her against the wall. It unintentionally became a classic wall-slam (kabedon) pose.

“Wait a moment. Berna Dedran?”

“Oh, that’s her maiden name.”

“Uncle, isn’t Count Dedran the disgrace of the nobility we don’t even mention?”

I heard voices as I was pinning Rurin against the wall. It seemed to be coming from the blonde woman who had been standing next to the duke.

Come to think of it, she was the same woman who had been muttering something when Rurin played the Regana.

She must have left for a bit and now returned to cause more trouble.

“Ugh, she dared to touch me with that filthy body?”

I heard the sound of the woman descending the stairs as she said that.

Smack!

Soon after, I heard what sounded like a slap. It seemed like Berna had been struck.

“Count Dedran has nothing to do with my Mother. Please stop!”

“How ridiculous.”

Since she was next to the duke, she’s probably his niece or daughter, which means she’s royalty.

So, of course, she’s in a position where she can verbally abuse Greek without consequences.

“You’re disqualified. Leave immediately. Just being in the same space as you is disgusting.”

I wondered how Greek would respond. The woman’s behavior was arrogant, but I was curious about what political decision Greek would make.

“Loriana! Come back here.”

But surprisingly, it was Duke Delian who ended the situation.

“Uncle?”

“Never mind that, start the performance. Count Greek?”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

Greek, likely checking on Berna after she was slapped, responded loudly.

I peeked into the hall, still pinning Rurin against the wall. Greek couldn’t see us from where he was, so it was fine.

I checked the situation and saw that Berna had just placed her hands on the keys. But something was off.

Her hands were trembling violently, and soon the tremor spread to her entire body.

“Uncle, look at her, she can’t even play properly.”

“Be quiet!”

Surprisingly, Duke Delian loudly silenced the woman again.

“You!”

Rurin tapped my arm at that moment, so I turned my head to look at her.

“You, what is this position? Is this another form of ‘skinship’? It’s making me feel…strange.”

Rurin started saying something weird, and at the same time, I heard voices from the hall.

“Enough! Count Greek, take her and leave.”

“Please wait, Your Highness! Give her a chance. Just a moment to calm down, and she’ll be able to play beautifully!”

“Enough. She’s passed. Show that skill in the finals. You’ve passed, now go.”

“What?”

Just by his voice, I could imagine how stunned Greek must have looked.

Why did they pass her?

Berna didn’t even press the keys, so her passing was strange. The duke didn’t know about my relationship with Greek.

And there’s something else that’s odd.

Berna’s trembling was somewhat unnatural.

It seemed like there might be some underlying issue.

Nervousness alone wouldn’t cause someone to react like that.

Even though they’re technically enemies, those two are as good as my people.

It seemed necessary to investigate the situation – from why those two were participating in the competition to why Berna was trembling like that.

I’ll have to make sure her talent shines and hope that Rurin performs a miracle.