Chapter 394 Surprise Guest
"Your Majesty the Queen, today my granddaughter Sara has brought her violin. How about we listen to some music to calm our hearts?"
"By the way, I heard from Andrew that Ms. Sara is good at both piano and violin."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen. Crown Prince Gerhart was so impressed by her performance that he said he wanted to take Sara home right then."
"That sounds exciting. It's strange that Rebecca's student has such musical talent."
'Ah, the Queen knows about my mother's lack of musical ability. I guess that's not surprising.'
"That child can do most things well, but music is really not her strong suit. She was so bad at singing that I worried she wouldn't be able to sing lullabies to her future children."
"Then I will sing to my younger siblings."
"That would be better."
The Queen smiled with a sigh at Sara's word, her gaze distant. She might be remembering the commotion from ten years ago and her days with Rebecca.
"Could you tell her to show her face once in a while? I feel like my time is running out, and I want to see her when I can."
"Please don't say such things. Your Highness is still quite young."
"Haha. It's funny to be called young by an 8-year-old. But well, it seems like everyone in Grandchester is ageless."
The Queen glanced at Edward and then pierced Sara with a sharp look.
"Now, how old are you really?"
"Honestly, I am 8 years old. I will be 9 soon."
"There's no doubt that Ms. Sara is 8 years old. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I'm sorry. I can't grasp Your Majesty's intention."
"Well, let's leave it at that. For now, I'll enjoy Ms. Sara's performance."
"Understood."
Everyone moved to the next room, and Sara received the violin from the attendant while Sophia sat at the piano.
"So, Sophia is the accompanist. Does that mean Ms. Sara's music teacher is Sophia?"
"It is true that I taught her the basics, but she learned a lot on her own. While I was traveling to different countries for the merchant guild, I could only check on Miss Sara now and then. I provided her with instruments and textbooks. Adelia had some skills too, but I think she wasn't as talented as Miss Sara."
"I see. That's really amazing."
Sophia, the golem, told a big lie casually. Of course, it was a story they had agreed on beforehand, but since golems don't have emotional fluctuations, it only sounded like the truth.
"Do you have any song requests?"
"Not particularly. But I would like to hear a song I've never heard before. How about you, Olivia?"
"I want to hear the song from the music box that Andrew brought back live."
"The song that Mother likes is Rondo Capriccioso, right?"
"Understood. Then for Your Majesty the Queen, I'll play a song not included in the music box, and for the Crown Princess, Rondo Capriccioso."
'Hmm, since Carmen is done and we're doing Caprice No. 24, I guess I'll go with Mendelssohn here.'
Sara chose the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto from her sheet music and gave the piano score to Sophia. Usually, she would prefer to have an orchestra play with her, but today they would only perform the first movement with piano.
'By the way, I haven't written the orchestral score for this. I should do that sometime.'
After Sara and Sophia exchanged glances and finished tuning, they began their performance quietly. Sophia accompanied Sara on the piano as she played a melody that was both intense and sad. The King was surprised and opened his eyes wide, while the Crown Prince listened with his eyes closed. The Queen and the Crown Princess were initially surprised but soon became captivated by the music.
However, Sara felt that the sound of her violin was lacking. The richness of the sound was different from what she expected, but she realized she might be the only one feeling this way.
When the first piece ended, the Queen stood up and gave Sara a big round of applause.
"That was wonderful. I can see why Crown Prince Gerhart wanted to take you home."
"Thank you for your kind words."
"No, it's not too much at all. In fact, my limited vocabulary makes it hard to express just how amazing the piece was. When I heard about it from Andrew, I thought it was 'exaggerated,' but it was not exaggerated at all."
"I'm honored to hear that."
Being praised this much made Sara feel a bit shy.
"Well then, could you play the song I requested next?"
"Of course. Actually, the Rondò Capriccioso included in Spieluhr skips the introduction due to the size of the magic stone. Would it be alright if I played it with the introduction today?"
"Of course! I would love that."
Sara quietly began to play, but soon the music started to unfold dramatically. However, when Sara plays this piece without thinking, it often ends up feeling like a brave scene on a battlefield for some reason.
'Hmm. I wonder why?'
It's probably a personality thing. But Sara would definitely not admit that.
"Wonderful. This piece is definitely better with the introduction!"
"I think so too."
"Do you think you could sell a version of Spieluhr with the introduction?"
"That would depend on the Sophia Merchant Guild. There are also issues with arranging the magic stones."
"Ah, that makes sense. Still, it's amazing."
"We do sell the sheet music, so how about having the court musicians play it?"
"Then how about a collaboration between Ms. Sara and the court musicians?"
"That would be too much of an honor. Please forgive me."
"Oh, that's too bad. Don't you think so, Your Majesty?"
The Crown Princess turned to the Queen.
"Olivia. You shouldn't push Ms. Sara too hard. Otherwise, she might reject you like Roisen's Crown Prince."
"That's true. Hehe. Ms. Sara, I'm sorry."
"P-Please don't apologize."
"Because I don't want to be disliked by Ms. Sara."
"Thank you for your kind words. If it is Your Highness Crown Princess's wish, I will perform with the court musicians."
"Oh, how wonderful!"
'Oh no, I've been set up.'
Chloe, who was watching this exchange, sent a look of disbelief to Sara. Sara understood that this was a moment where the difference in social experience showed.
"Haha, I finally got to see Ms. Sara's childlike side."
"Oh, I'm honored."
As the queen laughed happily, the Crown Princess smiled brightly as well.
"Hehe. You will play your favorite piece for us today, right?"
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
"Then, please play the song that Ms. Sara loves the most."
While waiting for the attendants to finish setting up a child-sized piano pedal, Sara adjusted the height of her chair and sat down. She began to play Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17, third movement, "Tempest," without using sheet music.
Her performance was unexpectedly emotional. As the technical difficulty increased, she became more expressive, playing quickly and creating a stormy atmosphere.
After she finished, the audience was silent for a moment, captivated by the quiet yet intense and melancholic nature of her performance.
...Upon closer inspection, they were really frozen.
'W-What's going on????'
Then, a familiar voice came down from above. It was Marcato.
"Sara, you know I love music, so why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't know how to call you. By the way, are you stopping time around us?"
"I was moving normally until the performance ended. I stopped it for just a moment right after. I wanted to share my thoughts and give you a little warning."
"I don't care about your thoughts. Just give me the warning."
"You're still so cold. By the way, I'm the Creator God of this world, you know?"
"My soul wasn't created by you."
"Well, that's true."
Suddenly, Marcato appeared in front of Sara. Seeing the cloth wrapped around their head, they probably still had that messy hair and the word "fool" written on their forehead.
"Can't you change your appearance even though you're a god?"
"It's Gaia's fault. Her status is higher than mine."
"So gods have ranks too."
"I don't want to admit it, but the stronger ones have higher ranks."
"Hmm."
"You're not interested at all, are you?"
"Yeah."
Marcato clearly slumped down in disappointment.
"I don't care about that pose, so just tell me quickly."
"Um, the performance was amazing. If possible, I'd like to hear a Chaconne next."
"Forget that, just tell me the warning already."
Sara moved closer to Marcato and pulled off the cloth on their head. Just as she thought, their hairstyle and the doodles were exactly as she expected.
"Hey, stop it."
"Say it quickly."
"Okay, okay. Actually, there was a time when souls from your world fell here."
"Huh? You mean reincarnators?"
"...Not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not the one who brought them here; they just fell from Gaia's hands. It's not Gaia's mistake. Sometimes, there are souls that jump out of the cycle of reincarnation."
"What happens to those souls?"
"Usually, they get caught up in the whirlpool of reincarnation where they land, but this soul possessed a human in this world."
"Possessed? You mean it's taking over?"
"That's right."
"What happens to the person who gets possessed?"
"They might change their personality without realizing it, or do bad things even if they don't want to. Oh, but some souls might make them do good things instead."
"Can they share memories with the person they possess?"
"No, they can't. In fact, no one can see or hear the possessed soul. The soul should realize that no one is paying attention to it and naturally enter the whirlpool of reincarnation. However, this soul stubbornly continues to possess."
Marcato had a troubled expression and walked over to the king.
"This man is the victim of possession."
"He's the king of my country."
"Since he came to this world around the same time Sara was reincarnated, people probably think his personality has changed in the last few years."
"I might have heard something like that. Everyone seems to think the king is just getting older."
"That's not it. This is clearly a state of being contaminated by the possessed soul. However, this soul heard Sara's performance earlier and is starting to suspect that Sara was in his world."
"But a soul can't do anything by itself, right?"
"It can have some influence. That's why personalities can change. I don't know what this soul thinks of Sara, but it's better to be very careful."
"I have no idea what exactly I should do, but I get that the king is in big trouble. By the way, can't we do an exorcism?"
"Even though you two're souls from the same place, why? Are they so dangerous?"
"Well, if they haven't been reincarnated, they're like ghosts, right? They should enter the cycle of reincarnation for their own sake. They need to move on."
Sara said with a huff. In fact, she believes that they should be born to parents in this world as soon as possible, just like she was. If not, it would be better for them to go back to the other world.
"It feels like the king's soul is stuck to them, like they're glued together. If we try to force them apart, the king's soul will get hurt."
"So what should we do?"
"The soul has to want to enter the cycle of reincarnation."
"What kind of person was that soul in the other world?"
"Oh, are you really going to ask that?"
"If I don't ask, I can't come up with a plan. We need to convince them, right?"
"...Well, that's true."
"So they were someone hard to deal with?"
"They called themselves a financial broker. But in reality, they were the head of a pyramid scheme, the leader of a stock fraud group, and secretly controlled a new religious group."
"Sounds shady."
"It seems they tried to possess the king, but the truth is, the king of this country is really capable and strong-willed. In fact, ten years ago, he worked hard to protect your mother, Rebecca, from a neighboring country."
"I've heard about that."
"That's why the possession didn't go well. But as time goes on, the king's resistance is getting weaker."
"So the king not abdicating is because of..."
"Exactly. This soul is getting in the way."
"How awful. I'm sorry for thinking of him as a nasty old man."
"Well, the current king, whose soul is fused with another, is definitely a dangerous guy. Also, it seems like they realized Sara is a reincarnator from that performance."
"Yeah. It's all from the songs."
Marcato suddenly looked serious.
"I don't know how this soul will affect the king in the future, but I can't see it turning out well for Sara. There's a high chance it will become hostile. I know Sara is strong, but your family isn't as strong as you are. Since he's technically a king, he might put some pressure on noble families."
"That's possible."
"I'm not the one who created this soul, and I haven't gone through the cycle of this world like you all, so I can't influence anything. I'm sorry I can only give you this warning."
"It's okay. Your divine rank is low, right?"
"Wow, isn't that a harsh way to say it?"
"Was I wrong?"
"Not really..."
Sara felt sorry for Marcato, who looked downcast.
"Come on, don't be so down."
"Because Sara is teasing me."
"Don't sulk, God. Can you bend down a bit?"
"Huh? What?"
Sara activated healing magic... or rather, regeneration magic towards Marcato. In no time, Marcato's hair grew back, and the mark on their forehead disappeared.
"I can't believe it. Does that mean your magic is better than mine? I'm technically a god in this world, you know."
"It must be closer to Gaia's divine rank. After all, she's the god who created my soul."
"Really, I can't compete with Gaia. Well then, I'm off. If you ever want to call for me, just sing. I'm sure Sara's song will reach my ears, so sing with your prayers."
"Got it. Thanks for the warning."
"You're welcome. Oh, once I leave, the time freeze will automatically be lifted, so don't worry."
"Understood."
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