Throne of Magical Arcana
chapter-107

"Are they back?" Lucien was very surprised. He never expected that Argent Horn, after such a great loss, would bounce back so quickly.

"Yes. The Church has sent a Night Watch team out, as well as a bunch of pastors, even some bishops." Natasha nodded, "I wish I could go, too. Those heretics are just crazy…"

Lucien did not answer. He felt that some enthusiastic followers of the God of Truth were crazy as well.

Natasha sat down on the couch, "Aalto is super busy right now. Our security check can’t be perfect, especially when we are actually short-handed. Please be careful, Lucien. I’m still eager to attend your concert."

"I will. Thank you for reminding me, Your Grace," answered Lucien. "Also, I have Alert. Unless they send someone who’s of a grand knight level or above, they cannot get the jump on me that easily. Still, I’m just a nobody."

"Come on, you’re not a nobody." Natasha waved her hand, "Your concert draws a lot of attention. We’re all looking forward to it."

"I’m flattered, Your Grace." Lucien paused a bit, "I think I’ll be fine. But uncle Joel and his family…"

"No worries. I can take care of them." Natasha immediately understood.

"Thank you so much, Your Grace," said Lucien gratefully.

"How’s your preparation for the concert going, Lucien?" Natasha changed the subject and asked Lucien casually, as if they were close friends, "I’m curious."

"Well… not bad," answered Lucien honestly. "I Just need more time to practice with the orchestra. After all, it will be my first time as a conductor. I’m feeling a bit concerned about that, but that’s my only concern."

"You have a really good understanding of music, and your Blessing has been awakened. I don’t think that will be a problem." Natasha looked at Lucien with her beautiful purple eyes, "What about the repertoire of the concert?"

Lucien happened to be going to meet Mr. Othello later to have his concert repertoire registered, so he answered directly, "Symphony of Fate. Serenade for strings in G major. Piano Canon in D major. A piano solo recomposed from Violin Sonata in G minor. A piano sonata in C minor named Pathetique, which is a piece of theme music."

"Quite different than I thought," said Natasha with a bit hesitation, "The whole concert is dominated by piano and piano only. I’m afraid that the lack of symphony might make your concert less solemn and grand."

However, before Lucien made any explanation, Natasha smiled and said to Lucien, "But anyway, it’s your own concert. You know what you’re doing, Lucien. I trust you."

Lucien was encouraged. With the support of the princess, he believed that even Mr. Othello would not be able to say too much about his repertoire.

"By the way, Your Grace," somehow Lucien’s mind was dragged back to the previous topic, "Argent Horn happened to be detected around the time of Aalto Music Festival… It seems to be too big a coincidence."

"I know your concern, Lucien." Natasha did not seem to be worried, "We’ll handle it."

Lucien simply nodded without making any further comment on that. He clearly knew that he was not the only smart guy in Aalto.

...

After Natasha and Camil left, Lucien ran into Othello, the director of the association, on the stairs.

This time Othello’s student, Mekanzi, was not with him. He had been receiving lots of negative comments since last time, when he accused Lucien of being a demon follower and failed. Thus, Mekanzi has not showed up in the association that often recently.

"Lucien, are you ready for the concert?" Othello looked a bit tired, "Is your repertoire ready?"

"Oh Yes, Mr. Othello. Actually, I was about to hand in the repertoire list to you later," said Lucien. Then, he took out the list and handed it to Othello.

Othello read the list with his brows wrinkling, "Too many piano solo. They are not enough for a grand concert, I would say. I know a genius always has a lot of novel ideas, but Lucien, are you sure about it?"

Lucien nodded, "I’m confident, and Her Grace agreed on the repertoire as well."

"Well, I see… I hope you don’t feel too stressed." Othello was still a bit worried. In his heart, Natasha’s decision to directly assign the last and most important concert to Lucien was not really wise. Othello believed that the final concert for the music festival required a musician who was way more authoritative and experienced than Lucien.

Later, when Lucien was walking upstairs to the practicing room, he met a few of his colleagues, who greeted him in a concerned manner. They were also worrying that Lucien might be under too much pressure for hosting the final concert.

As soon as Lucien stepped on the fourth floor, he saw a lady rushing toward him. Luckily, he was agile enough and made a sudden dodge to the side.

"Silvia? Why are you in such a hurry?" Lucien was a bit surprised.

"Oh hi, Lucien! Nothing really important, actually." Wearing a light yellow dress, Silvia’s cheeks slightly flushed from rushing, "I heard that your concert is on the last day. Good for you and… don’t stress yourself out."

"I’m fine. Thank you, Silvia." nodded Lucien, "You’re not the first one today telling me I should not feel stressed. I appreciate it, though."

"I bet." Silvia smiled, "You handle pressure pretty well. And Natasha trusts you very much."

...

Rhine and the orchestra were already waiting there when Lucien arrived.

Picking up the baton, he said to them, "Ladies and gentlemen, let’s start."

After the first round rehearsal, Lucien felt pretty good. When he was about to continue, Othello and another two young men entered the practicing room.

Lucien knew one of them, Count Verdi, having seen him twice in Ratacia Palace. The other, a grey-haired young man wearing a fine bright red jacket, was totally strange to Lucien.

"This is the prince of the Kingdom of Syracuse, Prince Michelle. The prince’s very interested in our association." Othello introduced politely.

After Lucien and the other musicians saluted, Prince Michelle said to them a bit shyly, "Am I disturbing you? Don’t mind me. I’m just looking around." When he was introduced to Lucien, Michelle looked quite excited, "Mr. Lucien Evans! It’s a pleasure to meet you." Then, the prince reached out both of his hands and gripped Lucien’s hands regardless of the royal etiquette.

Lucien could feel the young prince’s strength when he was shaking hands with him. Obviously, Michelle had awakened his Blessing. Lucien bowed slightly to him and said politely, "It’s my great pleasure, Your Grace."

...

On Lucien’s way home, he came across Silvia’s father, Mr. Deroni, who was talking to a middle-aged man that Lucien had never seen before.

The man was in his forties. He had tall nose, brown hair and dark blue eyes. Wearing a decent suit, the man was well-mannered.

Deroni nodded to Lucien and introduced, "This is Rogerio, my relative and also my business partner. And this is Mr. Lucien Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Rogerio," greeted Lucien politely while reaching out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Evans." Rogerio sook Lucien’s hand, "You’re famous even in Sturk. I’ve been hearing your name all the time."

"I happened to meet a band from Sturk earlier today." Lucien smiled and shared with them some of the interesting stories that he heard from the band.

...

Several days later, the most exciting music event on the continent, Aalto Music Festival, finally kicked off.