My Perfect Omega - Chapter 4

Having a keen interest in artists, Lucas had followed the sound into the establishment, wanting to support the violinist. However, he couldn’t see the performer even though the music was playing.

The delicate melody coming from behind the stage seemed to dictate not to pull back the curtain, forcing Lucas to wait until the performance ended.

That first day, when the music stopped, Lucas couldn’t immediately stand up, stupefied by the performance still lingering in his ears. It was as if a silent rain was falling on parched land, a sorrowful yet sweet melody deeply resonating within him.

When he finally came to his senses and tried to look for the violinist, they had already disappeared, and he couldn’t find them. Each subsequent visit ended in vain. The bar owner wouldn’t reveal the identity of the performer, likely mistaking that Lucas intended to take them away. But at the same time, Lucas could not he reveal his true identity here.

As Lucas reminisced about the day he first encountered the performance, the carriage stopped. He casually entered a shabby costume shop and emerged dressed as shabbily as the shop itself.

“Your Grace, perhaps I should accompany you. It’s getting late.”

Lucas responded with a grimace.

“As if it’s fine to see you all day, having you with me even during my leisure time would truly make me a miserable man.”

“Is it that… displeasing?”

“What I can’t understand is you. Wouldn’t you think to hurry home if your boss disappeared at such a time?”

“…Considering the mishaps you might get into later, I thought it best to stay close, so I haven’t even thought of going home.”

“You speak as if I’m some kind of troublemaker prone to getting into a lot of mischief.”

“Of course, I know you’re not… but haven’t you gotten into other kinds of trouble, Your Grace?”

“Artists have their own stories. There’s no such thing as an artist without a backstory. To call listening to their circumstances and helping them out ‘trouble’ is just pitifully narrow-minded.”

“That’s because you were caught by journalists and unnecessary articles spread.”

“Fine. I’ll be careful this time.”

Hearing Lucas’s firm response, Philip realized he had no more grounds to dissuade him and quietly stepped back. Lucas, wearing a rare satisfied smile, said,

“This is why I like you.”

He left a brief compliment for Philip, who knew when to step back, and quickly disappeared. Watching the spot where he had vanished without a sound, Philip murmured softly,

“Who’s worrying about whom.”

Realizing he had been needlessly worrying about the duke, unmatched in swordsmanship throughout the empire, Philip directed the Bavenberg family’s carriage to head back to the mansion.

***

“Where are you going with that shabby violin at this late hour?”

Leila, quietly leaving the mansion with her cane, stopped at the sharp voice.

“…You know I enjoy playing.”

“How can I trust whether you’re really going to play or doing something else?”

Leila felt a wave of exhaustion at her younger sister Amelie’s words. With trembling hands gripping the violin case’s handle tightly, she turned her head and said,

“If you’re that curious, follow and see for yourself.”

“Why should I bother with that? It would be simpler if you just didn’t go out.”

“It’s something Father has permitted.”

“What? Just because Father allowed it, you think everything’s fine?”

Amelie replied irritably to Leila, who wasn’t giving her the answer she wanted.

Leila sighed softly at her sister’s persistently annoying behavior, but this only made Amelie even more agitated.

“Are you sighing because you find my words funny? You don’t know that this problem would affect you more, Sister, do you? Huh?”

Switching from an outright disrespectful tone to respectfully calling her ‘Sister’… Amelie’s capricious attitude was familiar, but Leila found it harder to endure her incessant nagging today.

Normally, she would have ignored her, but today, unable to suppress her chronic anger, Leila coldly retorted,

“If my going out bothers you that much, you can talk to Father about it. He is the only one here who can restrain me.”

Faced with Leila’s unwavering stance, Amelie’s displeasure grew. She smirked bitterly and said,

“Did you ever think I might be worried about you, Sister? Why does a blind cripple like you keep insisting on going out? Are you trying to upset me on purpose?”