Throne of Magical Arcana
chapter-102

Although Lucien had completed the serenade called For Silvia and had given the music sheet to the princess, he was still allowed to go to Natasha’s study to read the books under her permission. She was hoping that the classic literature works might inspire him to produce more excellent music pieces.

Thus, every Tuesday and Thursday Lucien arrived two hours earlier than before, to read some books and then meet the princess.

......

"What are you doing here?" Bake was walking around in the study after translating for a long time, and he asked Lucien with curiosity.

"I’m taking notes," answered Lucien briefly, "for future reference."

Actually, there was no need for Lucien to take any notes at all, but Lucien’s super outstanding memory surprised Bake a few times in the past two months. Lucien was a bit concerned that Bake might report this to the princess or someone else. In order to attract less suspicions, Lucien needed to do something to justify his great memory.

"Can I take a look at your notes?" Bake asked.

"Sure." Lucien pushed a pile of notes toward the scholar.

Bake picked up a few pages and glanced at them, "Interesting. I’ve never seen anyone taking notes like this. It looks like you’re following a time order, from the Dark Era to the Saint Calendar, but you also wrote down the many stories in a biographic way."

"Yes, to serve my purpose." Lucien nodded, "For me, the stories are more valuable as resources providing me with inspiration than a mere historical timeline, although time’s still important."

"I see," Bake said to Lucien. "No wonder you have such good memory. I was very surprised with how fast you can remember all the things. Actually, this method can be a brand new way of recording history."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Bake." Lucien put on a smile on his face, knowing that it was not his credit. He just borrowed this method from somewhere else in his original world.

"It seems like you’re becoming a historian now, Lucien." When they were talking, Natasha entered the study.

"Your Grace," Lucien and Bake saluted together.

Natasha pulled Lucien out of the study with a big smile on her face.

"It seems Silvia likes the serenade, doesn't she?" Lucien also grinned.

"Oh my! She likes it? She loves it!" Natasha was excited, "Silvia did not have a party for her birthday last night, but she said the serenade was the best gift."

"I’m very glad that you ladies like it," said Lucien.

"And I did not lie to Silvia. I told her that For Silvia was your work." Natasha’s eyes were shining with joy, "Silvia appreciates your effort very much, and she wants to invite you for dinner tonight, at her place."

"I appreciate Silvia’s kindness, but it’s not necessary…" Lucien was a bit hesitant.

"Come on, Lucien." Natasha insisted, "I don’t want to let Silvia down. And it will be a small, personal, family dinner. Only Silvia, her father, lady Camil and I will be there."

"Well, the thing is…" Lucien scratched his head a bit, "I thought Silvia would be mad at me. You know, after all, I was being your ghostwriter."

"No worries. Silvia’s always sweet and considerate. That’s why I love her so much." Natasha did not give up, "She knows that I’m not good at love-themed music, and she still appreciates my effort of practicing the serenade and playing it for her on her birthday."

"All right." Finally, Lucien nodded.

......

At seven in the evening. No. 78, Gesu District.

Silvia lived in a two-storey, light yellow house. There were a few kinds of cold-resistant flowers still blooming in the garden.

"Welcome, Lucien." Silvia and her father were waiting for him.

"The princess and lady Camil are in the living room," said Silvia, who was wearing a long white dress, with her beautiful long hair hanging down her shoulders. Silvia would be like the dream girl for most men.

Lucien handed a small gift to Silvia and said "Happy Birthday" to her, then greeted Silvia’s father, Mr. Deroni.

Mr. Deroni was wearing a black suit. Although his black moustache made him look a bit old and gloomy, Lucien still could tell that Mr. Deroni should be pretty good-looking when he was young. However, Lucien felt a bit weird when he saw Silvia’s father for the first time, and he did not know why.

"Good evening, Lucien." Deroni greeted him slightly lowering his head. "Although we both live in Gesu, we’ve never seen each other before. You’re even younger than I thought," said Deroni as he led Lucien to the living room.

Before having dinner, the five of them chatted casually. Mr. Deroni started to ask Lucien about the serenade in D. "We’re really looking forward to the complete version of it", said Deroni.

"Actually, I already finished it," answered Lucien. "It’s a piece of string quartet."

"Awesome." Natasha winked to Lucien, "I hope you can play both the quartet and For Silvia on the new year ball. So I can… you know, that."

Lucien knew what she was talking about. Natasha was still waiting for a chance to reward him with a manor. Unfortunately, Lucien preferred the knight sword than a manor.

"Since For Silvia is a piece of personal music work, I don’t think I should play it on the new year ball, though," Lucien stated.

"Why not?" said Silvia in a gentle voice, "It’s your music work anyway, and it’s very beautiful. People should have a chance to appreciate it. The only thing that you may want to change is the name of the serenade, or people would think that you’re pursuing me."

"I don’t mind." Natasha shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "After all, most of the musicians in the association who are still single are pursuing you. By the way, Lucien, before you came we were talking about poems and tales from different places in the duchy. I know you’re an expert, and maybe you can help us here."

"Expert?" Mr. Deroni looked surprised.

"The princess’s just joking." Lucien waved his hands, "I’ve indeed read a few related books recently, but I’m nowhere close to being an expert."

"Don’t be too humble, Lucien." Natasha laughed, "Mr. Deroni’s a very successful businessman and also the director of the Association of Accessories. He’s been traveling a lot on the continent, and we were discussing about one of the folk poems that he heard before."

"What’s this one about?" asked Lucien with a bit of curiosity.

"Well… not many people know this poem." Deroni rested his chin on his hand, "But the scene the poem described was very unique. I wonder where and when the poem originated and what happened at that time."

Then Deroni started to slowly recite the poem:

"When the sun entered Thanos’s Palace,

Huge fire balls fell down from the sky.

The earth was crumbling,

And in no time, the city, as well as the magnificent tower, turned into ashes.

...

The ashes covered everything,

From the earth to the sky.

In the dark pit lived the devil.

...

Look, look! The red water was now up to the lips.

......"

"As you can see, Lucien," Natasha commented, "the poem’s not rhetorical, but what it described is very weird. As far as I know, Thanos’ Palace is the name of a specific position of the sun, where it shows a unique scene."

Besides Natasha’s interpretation, Lucien remembered that, according to the literature he read, Thanos was also the name of a previous chief magistrate of the magic empire, who was known as "the King of the Sun".