Chapter 103: Lucien, The Historian
Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion
"Well… although Astrology is totally strange to me," Lucien was pretending that he knew nothing about astrology, while, in fact, astrology was his speciality and he clearly knew that there was a constellation named Thanos in memory of the King of the Sun, "I read some similar poems before in the princess’ study. So, I’m guessing it might be a prophecy poem."
"I don’t think so. The folks told me that what the poem described really happened many, many years ago." Deroni denied Lucien’s first guessing.
"I see." Lucien nodded, "Dramatic as the poem seems to be, if it’s not a prophecy, then I think it is a poem describing a catastrophe or something similar to that."
"Umm… that makes more sense." Mr. Deroni nodded.
"The War of Dawn lasted for more than four hundred years, and before that, there were also countless horrible disasters and many great wars happened on this continent. Huge meteorites, earthquakes, landslides and even battles could lead to the same scene. I read about them before in Heroes’ Epic, The War of Syracuse, Saint City, Confession, Saint Continent Chronicles, and many more."
"Interesting. I think Lucien makes a good point here." Natasha nodded, "War or natural disaster, that’s our direction. What I can contribute here is that a good fight between two legendary masters could easily cause this damage to the whole continent."
"That’s why I’m this curious. I want to know what eventually caused this catastrophe," Deroni said to them.
"‘The red water was now up to the lips…’, this part is kind of unique." Lucien was still thinking, "Has any of you ever heard about the significant topographical change that happened several hundred years ago in the northwest of Aalto?"
Silvia and her father slightly shook their heads and were waiting for Lucien’s further explanation. At this time, Natasha said to Lucien with a bit hesitance, "Are you talking about how Elsinore Lake was formed, the lake that lies in the northwest of Aalto?"
"That’s right, Your Grace. A book from your study named Marius’ Ma.n.u.script described a similar scene." Lucien nodded, "A hundred and fifteen years before the implement of the Saint Calendar, one day Aalto’s sky suddenly turned dark, although it was still day time, and huge stones fell down from the sky. These meteorites destroyed the city called Elsinore and even part of the mountain range in the northwest. The lake was named after the destroyed city."
"Oh my…" exclaimed Silvia. "Was it a natural disaster?"
"The book didn’t mention." Lucien slightly shrugged, "However, the book did mention that, at that time, the ground cracked all over, and a weird red liquid surged up through the cracks."
"Lava?" asked Deroni.
"No. It was mentioned that the liquid was not hot, and it inundated the whole area. But the blood-like liquid ebbed very fast as well."
"Then what about this Thanos’ Palace?" asked Deroni eagerly, "How do you explain this?"
"It is said that when Thanos, King of the Sun, reached the legendary level, the capital of the magic empire was covered by pure darkness for three entire days." Natasha expressed her own understanding.
"I see…" Deroni slightly nodded, "Anything else can be found in this poem, Your Grace? Lucien?"
They both shook their heads. That was as far as they could go.
Looking rather disappointed for a second, Deroni then smiled, "I think that’s enough information for my curiosity. Thank you, Your Grace. Thank you, Lucien. It is amazing that you know this much about the remote history. Actually, even Mr. Bake doesn’t know it."
"I told you, Mr. Deroni," said Natasha with pride. "Lucien’s not only a musician, but also a historian."
While Lucien was trying to explain, "I’m nowhere close to being a historian. I just happened to read a few books. That’s all."
Then, dinner was served.
"You have to try all the dishes tonight, Lucien," Natasha said to him. "One of the cooks here comes from Tria, who makes awesome Syracuse dishes. Way better than our food in Aalto… Ours is all about beef and potato, potato and beef…" As a big fan of different cuisines, Natasha complained.
All of a sudden, Lucien felt very hungry. The princess felt the food here in Aalto was no good, and of course, he felt the same way. The cook Lucien had now was not very impressive. Like what Natasha just said, the cook always provided the same food.
"You know what? Food in Holm and Rentate is even worse. I went there before when I was a kid, and I’ve never wanted to go back." Natasha got a bit excited.
Lucien never heard the name of these countries before, and thus he wondered if they might be two of the countries across the strait.
The dinner was indeed impressive. Following the appetizer, foie gras, and the soup made of a special kind of Tria fish, the main courses were roasted lamb and white wine stewed tripe, accompanied by vegetable salad. There was also Syracuse special pudding cake for dessert.
Both Natasha and Lucien ate a lot.
...
The freezing wind was whistling on the street in the Month of Ice(December). Natasha, Lucien and Camil were taking a walk after dinner. Silvia wanted to walk with them, but it was too cold outside for a gentle lady like her.
"If it were in the north, it should be snowing now." Reaching out her beautiful hand, Natasha somehow looked a bit sad.
"It doesn’t snow much in Aalto." Lucien looked up at the silver moon.
"If you’re ready, Lucien, I want to recommend you to hold a concert in the Psalm Hall during Aalto Music Festival." Natasha turned to Lucien, "During that period, lots of musicians from all over the continent will come to Aalto and celebrate the festival with us."
Aalto Music Festival was the most important music festival across the continent. During the festival, the Psalm Hall would hold a concert every day.
"My concerto is almost ready." Lucien considered a bit and answered seriously. Facing the fact that he was leaving soon, all of a sudden, Lucien felt a bit sad.
"I trust you, Lucien. I’ll talk to Mr. Christopher about it." Natasha smiled, then she switched the topic, "You know what, after I played the serenade you wrote for Silvia last night, I did not know what to say to her. I was nervous and a bit embarra.s.sed."
"Um…?" Lucien’s mind was still occupied by the slight sadness. He would be leaving Aalto soon after the concert, if everything went well.
"I’m thinking… what I could have said to Silvia to touch her heart the most," said Natasha with a smile.
"Well, you know I’m not experienced," answered Lucien.
"I know… but you’re still a man, Lucien." Natasha slanted her head and looked at him.
"Then, I guess… Marry me." Lucien was thinking.
"Umm…That’s still a problem between Silvia and me, but I’ll work on it." Natasha paused a bit, "You gotta work on finding someone you like as well, Lucien. Music is not all you need."
...
On the first Sunday of the Month of Beginning(January), a piece of news on Music Criticism caused quite a stir in Aalto:
"A Bagatelle Worth a Manor.
At the New Year Ball, the princess played a piece of bagatelle named For Silvia, which was composed by the young talented musician Lucien Evans. This elegant, pure, gentle and also joyful music piece won Her Grace’s great affection. Thus, Princess Natasha awarded this young musician, who just recently gained popularity in Aalto, with a beautiful manor in the suburbs.
People are saying that For Silvia might be the most expensive piece of bagatelle ever in the history of music."
Another thing about Lucien is that somehow many musicians from the a.s.sociation started to call Lucien a "historian". They started to ask Lucien questions about history and poetry, and Lucien always tried his best to answer the questions for them.