Chapter 149: The Newspaper

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

"Can I get a ticket to your concert?" Betty also asked Wise with excitement.

"Sure. Not a problem, Betty. Thanks to the protection from all of you, I can still hold the concert." Wise smiled, "Even if you had not asked, I would still invite all of you."

Then, Wise turned to Lucien politely, "May I ask why you’re going to the a.s.sociation, Mr. Evans? I mean… If there’s anything I can help you with, please feel free to ask."

"Yes, please." Mars also nodded to Lucien out of grat.i.tude. Thinking of the fact that he spent quite a long time with those filthy husks and the evil baron in the castle, sweat would still run from his forehead. Thus, he was very grateful to Lucien, who saved his life.

Betty, Simon and Joanna, while being quite excited about Wise’s invitation, also felt a bit surprised that this resourceful Mr. Evans even had some connection in the Musicians’ a.s.sociation.

"Thank you, Mr. Wise, and thank you, Mr. Mars." Lucien slightly shook his head politely, "I’m not heading for the a.s.sociation for anything special, but just sending some letters to my friends. After all, the branches of the Musicians’ a.s.sociation across the continent have the most frequent communication between different countries, and sending letters through them always takes way less time than through a common messenger."

Although there were messengers in that world, no convenient postal system could be found there, especially between different countries. Ordinary people could only rely on caravans and travelers to send letters.

Mars smiled and nodded, "That’s really true. Although the a.s.sociation definitely will not refuse the request from a knight serving the princess in the Duchy of Orvarit, they will still charge you a lot. More importantly, they will not send a Hearthmeer to deliver your letters, Mr. Evans."

"Hearthmeer? What is it?" asked Lucien. He had never heard the name before.

"Hearthmeer is a special kind of eagle originated in Djibouti. Those huge, powerful creatures, after training, are the best delivery birds, known for their great sense of direction. It only takes them ten days to do a round trip between Korsor and Aalto. And that’s why the Musicians’ a.s.sociation in Djibouti can always receive the latest Music Criticism and Symphony News every month, around the fifth to the seventh day," explained Mars, the old musician. "If you don’t mind, I can ask someone I know to help you get your letters sent by the eagles, Mr. Evans."

"Thanks a lot and sure, I’d love to, Mr. Mars. I’m just sending my letters to Aalto." Lucien nodded. He felt sorry that he would miss the latest newspapers to possibly gather some information of Natasha and Victor since he would not stay in Korsor until the newspapers arrived.

"The honor is mine, Mr. Evans." Mars smiled.

When Lucien was about to pay Simon, Joanna and Betty the last day’s salary, Betty said to Lucien cheerfully, "I think it’s not the time to part ways yet, Mr. Evans."

Then she turned to the two musicians, "Mr. Wise, Mr. Mars, can I have the chance to visit the a.s.sociation as well?"

Although both of Wise and Mars were a bit surprised, they soon smiled and nodded, "Sure, welcome."

"Mr. Simon, Mrs. Joanna… Would you like to come as well?" asked Wise.

"Well… yes, sure." Although Joanna was a bit p.i.s.sed off with Betty, she was curious about the a.s.sociation as well.

...

Although Korsor was a major city in central-southern part of the continent, it was only about one fifth of the size of Aalto. The architectural style of the four-storey building of the Musicians’ a.s.sociation was older and simpler than the one in Aalto.

Furthermore, the guards there were also more strict than that of the a.s.sociation in Aalto. Standing in front of the iron railings, they would not let any stranger go in unless the visitor was some well-known musicians such as Mars. One of the guards was sent by Mr. Mars to report to the director of the a.s.sociation because Mr. Wise, the invited musician, also came.

A variety of beautiful crystal ornaments, huge pictures of different famous musicians, soft dark-red carpets, and a bright and wide s.p.a.ce together const.i.tuted the hall of the Musicians’ a.s.sociation in Korsor.

While Betty, Joanna and Simon were looking around out of curiosity, a middle-aged man dressing in black showed up, followed by a couple of his colleagues, to welcome them.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wise. Thank you so much for having your concert here in Korsor and welcome! I’m the director of the a.s.sociation, and my name’s Caspar. These are my colleagues and some of our musicians. Welcome!" Caspar shook hand with Wise with great pa.s.sion. After all, Wise was known as one of the most talented young musicians in the duchy.

Wise, in contrast, remained quite calm, "Thank you, Mr. Caspar. You already make me feel the pa.s.sion of the city."

The musicians following Caspar also surrounded him, with the same pa.s.sion and eagerness to welcome Wise. They even started to exchange their ideas about music directly in the hall and discuss the repertoire that Wise prepared for the concert. Lucien, Mars, Betty and the rest of them were just ignored.

"Wow… It’s so great!" Although being ignored, Betty did not mind that at all. Her eyes were s.h.i.+ning, "It feels really good seeing them talking about music like this!"

"When we awaken the Blessing," Joanna murmured to her husband, "we will go back to our hometown. We’ll receive this warm welcome as well."

Everyone loved the feeling of being respected, and Simon was not an exception. He nodded seriously, "I’ll follow Mr. Evans’ words and stick to my practicing."

Lucie exchanged a smile with Mars. "Mr. Mars, I’m going to the counter to write my letters. Can you help me there?"

"I’ll go with you to talk to Christie," said Mars, pointing to the seventeen-year-old black-haired girl, who was standing on tiptoes with her neck stretched, trying to see the young and talented musician, Wise, who was surrounded by a bunch of people right now.

"Christie." Mars called the girl’s name when they got to the counter.

The girl did not turn around but waved her hands, "Wait. I’m busy here."

"Christie. It’s me, Mars." He coughed a couple of times, feeling a bit amused.

"Ah… Sorry, Mr. Mars. Good to see you! Anything I can do for you?" Noticing that it was the well-known musician standing behind her, she quickly stood straight and asked nervously.

Mars had just survived in the fight against the husks and now was in a pretty good mood, so the girl’s impoliteness did not bother him. Mar pointed at Lucian, "Provide Mr. Evans with some paper, pen and envelopes. When he finish his letters, send an eagle messenger as soon as possible to the Musicians’ a.s.sociation in Aalto."

"An eagle eats a lot of meat. Sending an eagle is expensive." Christie handed a pen, some paper and envelopes to Lucien, whispering.

"Not your business." Mars’ face looked serious.

Christie quickly stuck out her tongue for a second but did not say anything. And then she took out a stack of newspapers, "Mr. Mars, would you like to get the latest issue of Music Criticism and Symphony News?"

"The latest issue?" Lucien, who was just about to write his letters, raised his head and asked together with Mars.

Christie nodded, "This month’s issue was published earlier, and they just arrived at Korsor yesterday."

"Can I get one for each as well?" Lucien took out a Thale.

On the other side, Wise also noticed their conversation and walked to them with the the local musicians, "Beautiful lady, can I get the newspapers as well? And I’ll buy the newspapers for Mr. Mars and Evans."

Although Betty, Joanna and Simon were not literate, hearing the name of the two most famous newspapers, they also came close to the counter out of curiosity.

"No problem, Mr. Wise," said Christie. She handed the newspapers to Wise, flus.h.i.+ng, and then to Mars and Lucien.

Wise took a quick glance at the newspaper and amazedly said, "Mr. Lucien Evans composed another piece of piano sonata!"

"Yes, I read about it yesterday." Caspar nodded and praised, "Although only the first movement was published, it was as beautiful as a sweet dream."

Lucien was very confused. When did he just produce a new piece of piano sonata? Why he himself had no idea about that?

Turning the latest Music Criticism to the second page, Wise started to read the music score and hum the melody in his soft and gentle voice.

Immediately when he heard the familiar melody, Lucien recognized the first movement of Moonlight Sonata, and realized who published the sonata for him.

A smile appeared on Lucien’s face.

"This piano sonata was from the famous musician, Mr. Lucien Evans, during his trip. Although only the first movement was published, the combination of wonderful melody, the tranquil atmosphere created by the fingerings and the innovation made in the genre of piano sonata still catches everyone’s mind instantly without difficulty. Mr. Lucien Evans’s new music piece breaks the fast—slow—fast arrangements of the music genre, and brings us to the peaceful night, where the dream-like moonlight s.h.i.+nes on a sparkling lake…"

Below the review article, Lucien saw the familiar name, "Natasha Orvarit."

Although Lucien was glad to have some of his friend’s information from the newspaper, he was confused why, all of a sudden, Natasha published the first movement of Moonlight Sonata for him.

"Beautiful… but a bit sad." Listening to Wise’s humming, Betty praised sincerely, "Mr. Lucien Evans’ music is amazing. No wonder the major newspapers would publish earlier than usual."

"Earlier than usual…" Something occurred to Lucien and he hurriedly turned the newspaper to the front page, and he saw that the publish date of the newspaper at the top was printed red words, that were a bit bigger as well: June 26th, 816.

Lucien grinned. It was the princess’s way of saying "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Coming-of-age."