FMY 5

Serge wittily explained to the momentarily frozen audience, adding humor to the tense atmosphere. Especially the part where he called himself a ‘lacking person’ drew favorable laughter from the crowd. Who other than himself would dare attach the modifier ‘lacking’ to the son of the Duke Arthur family, second only to royalty, even as a joke? Thanks to Serge’s lighthearted joke, the quiet place became even more cheerful.

A glimpse of Gabriel’s face was quite a sight. Seeing him play the piano strangely, starting from the low-note keys in a way that was not typical of a normal performance and moving back and forth regularly, he must have misunderstood that Serge was deliberately trying to ruin the stage.

“I will now begin my performance.”

Serge sat properly on the piano bench again.

There was no awkwardness in his posture, sitting on the edge of the bench with his back straight. Even the angle of his shoe as he extended his right foot to gently press the end of the pedal for resonance was nothing short of elegant. It was a moment that made Gabriel’s anxiety and worries seem pointless.

As he pressed the keys using four fingers, a beautiful chord resonated throughout the greenhouse.

Serge’s head was tilted slightly towards the empty space above. It was neither towards the music stand where the sheet music would normally be placed, nor in the direction of an unskilled person looking down to check the position of the keys. He had his eyes gently closed, as if he were wandering in some beautiful dream.

As the heartbreakingly poignant melody progressed, the eyes of everyone in the room who was listening to the performance melted with emotion. Words of admiration that could not be held back flowed from their lips, and they even clasped their hands in front of their chests.

‘Did he think I wouldn’t have mastered a single piano in the modern era?’

In the life right before returning here, Serge, born in the modern era, had remembered his past life in his childhood.

By the time the mature memories of his previous life faintly returned to his young body, both his parents had already passed away, and his only guardian was his frail maternal grandmother. Unlike when he lived as Serge d’Arthur, it was an economically very difficult and miserable life. But he never gave up.

He looked into the support benefits for the vulnerable, and he found and received everything he could. He also diligently sought out and took all the welfare and support classes for low-income students at school, investing time and effort to make them all his own. Playing a musical instrument was one such result.

His after-school teacher, seeing him work harder and be more talented than anyone else, did not just teach him the basics but took extra time to teach him advanced courses. Serge sometimes even cast aside his pride and cried and begged for help with his difficult situation.

<How could I just let a student who works as hard as you go?>

All the teachers who had taught him had said so, praising his brilliant mind and talent. It was truly something made possible because he was lucky beyond just his efforts.

But was he really a genius in all those fields?

No.

It was just that as someone who remembered his past life, and as someone who had foolishly wasted that prosperous life being intimidated and minding what others thought, he could not just live life carelessly.

Serge regretted wasting his past life like that to death.

And he also knew that he could not do anything just by living ‘diligently’. He knew all too well that it was not enough to cross the invisible ladder of social class, and that reversing one’s life was also difficult. So he lived so hard that he could have coughed up blood.

He did not waste a single moment, and he always shed sweat and tears.

Did God help him after seeing such a desperate figure? Fortunately, he always met good people, and luck followed. It was a life where he reached the pinnacle as an actor, achieved through a combination of luck and effort.

Especially the piano, he learned it diligently for a very long time separately from an excellent teacher, so much so that when he was in arts high school, everyone mistook the piano for his major or minor. Serge did his best in everything like that.

‘I was able to land more roles with this.’

Having many special skills as an actor acted as a huge advantage in certain genres. This was especially true for music or sports genres, where an actor performing directly without using a stunt double could provide a greater sense of immersion and liveliness to the audience. This was also one of the reasons why Serge was able to become a top actor in his past life.

Liszt’s piano sonata echoed beautifully inside the greenhouse.

B minor, Opus 178. It was a short part belonging to the second development section of the piano sonata that the composer Liszt had dedicated to Schumann when he was alive. This part begins simply and quietly, but becomes more complex and faster as it progresses. It was a short yet perfect piece that could show both a sad melody befitting a minor key and brilliant technique.

Bang!

His performance finally ended at the same time as he powerfully pressed the last key.

Serge kept his eyes closed.

“Haa…”

Playing for the first time in a while, the beautiful melody that entered through his body, passed through his blood vessels, and reached his heart made his spirit boil. The afterglow remained very strong. And as if everyone who was listening felt that afterglow, the surroundings were also holding their breath, sympathizing with the emotion.

Fortunately, it seems that masterpieces transcend time and space. Serge let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

Clap, clap, clap.

Someone burst that bubble-like state of silence with the sound of applause.

“Very excellent. It’s like listening to a performance by the principal pianist of the Royal Orchestra. No, the expression of the piece was even better than that. Isn’t that so, my younger brother Raphael?”

The crown prince, who was sitting in the more senior seat of the two, burst into a greatly satisfied laugh as he sought agreement from the second prince, Raphael.

‘Damn it…. I went too far trying to put that Gabriel kid in his place.’

Serge grumbled quietly to himself. At that moment, an unwelcome remark stuck to him, who only wished to return to his seat quietly after finishing his performance.

“Who are you, the one who played? I’ve never seen your face before.”

‘I’m doomed…’

Not only did he properly recognize him, but he was also showing interest.

Serge’s body, which had been about to slyly return to his seat, tensed slightly at the crown prince’s question. But he soon changed his mind.

‘How many noble young lords like me would the crown prince show a fleeting interest in? I just need to greet him naturally.’

There was no way he would take a particular liking to an ordinary brown-haired noble young lord like him. Based on his experience so far, that was the case. How many Omegas would there be who would throw off their clothes and run to him if he just gave them a look? So there was no need to be nervous at all. He just needed to give an extremely ordinary impression.

And creating that ‘ordinariness’ was also an act Serge would perform. Like an extra passing behind the main characters. He just had to play a character that would not remain in anyone’s eyes.

Serge straightened his shoulders and turned his body smoothly. His gaze was subtly lowered below the other person’s lips, with no life in his eyes. This would make his impression even fainter.

‘I’m a pro. A pro. And right now, I’m playing Manager Kim, a master of soulless kindness who has worked in the service industry for 10 years.’

Serge imagined an ordinary, fictional character jaded by all the affairs of a non-existent capitalist world and raised only one corner of his mouth.

“Serge, the eldest son of the Duke Arthur family, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

He barely managed to suppress the urge to start with a greeting like, “Hello, customer,” and finished his introduction with an android-like face. Please let this introduction be the end of it…. Serge prayed earnestly in his heart.

“Young Duke Arthur…! The one who was my partner at the ducal ball a few days ago.”

“Ah… yes…”

Serge’s face contorted slightly.

‘Damn it…. His memory is good too.’

Although Duke Arthur had forced him into the position of his partner, they had not even greeted each other on the day of the party. He thought the crown prince would have just forgotten since they couldn’t meet because of the mess with Gabriel… It seems he remembered him as his partner, even if he was forcibly paired with him by someone else.

“But I understand that you have a deeper connection with my younger brother than with me.”

The crown prince winked his handsome eyes playfully and pointed to the man behind him.

“You two, why don’t you say hello?”

My younger brother… Fortunately, the crown prince did not seem to have any intention of talking to Serge further. Did the dull acting succeed?

Serge finally raised his gaze and met the second prince’s eyes. The one who, despite being his younger brother by only a year, was taller than his hyung, forcing him to look up even more.

“Sir Arthur.”

“…It’s been a long time, Your Highness Duke de Bernadotte.”

“Hmm, to just say it’s been a long time… I’m flustered because you look like a completely different person from our academy days. Yes, it has been a long time.”

As it was a sound that came from a solid and thick torso and neck, it was a low and deep voice.

A face he had seen constantly while attending a prestigious private school in his boyhood. But they were not simply on friendly terms like fellow alumni. They were nothing more than acquaintances who knew each other’s faces a little from passing by, as they had always had their names listed together in the top ranks because they both had good grades. They were just one of many students to each other.

That was all.

Sharp and piercing gazes were exchanged between the two.

Serge found himself unwittingly scrutinizing his appearance for the first time.

Come to think of it, he suddenly thought that he had never properly looked at the second prince before. They hadn’t faced each other properly much during their long boyhood, and he was a being above the clouds, belonging to the highest echelons even in that prestigious academy full of those with high noses.

His handsome face came into full view as he looked up.

Blond hair that sparkled like the sun, and eyes as blue as the deep, wide sea, a straight and high nose like a painting. His eyes, which resembled those of a large feline, were slightly sharp, but even that only made his handsome face all the more charming.

It was a moment where he suddenly understood the countless Omega schoolmates who had admired him since their boyhood.

‘His looks really wouldn’t lose to anyone anywhere.’

Some people said they were rivals, seeing their overall rankings go back and forth at the top.

‘As if that even makes sense.’

To be considered friendly competitors, the two of them treated each other as indifferently as one would a cow and a chicken.

No, to be precise, the worlds they lived in and the circles they belonged to were completely different.

Let’s use a modern school as an example. If he was the star of the school, a major among majors, like a quarterback in a teen movie or an upper-class rowing athlete attending Oxbridge, then Serge was the nerd himself, wearing glasses so thick you couldn’t see his eyeballs and scribbling the Big Bang theory formula on a corner blackboard in a sitcom.

So, although they knew of each other’s existence and had greeted each other a couple of times, they had treated each other as completely invisible. As people they didn’t need to pay attention to because they lived in different worlds.

But now, that was all in the past. After becoming adults, Serge had gone on to the prestigious Sorbonne University, and the second prince, Raphael, had entered a military academy, unlike royalty.

“So, Young Duke Arthur has a connection with my two sons.”

At the queen’s voice, Serge took his eyes off Raphael and simply offered her a painted smile. He did not want to agree, but he also did not want a further explanation or conversation to ensue by adding a denial, so the only option available to him was a vague smile.

The queen slowly walked over and stood between Serge and Raphael. A seasoned look, as if it could see through the truth, flashed in the eyes of one who had reigned in high society for a long time.

“Your performance was very impressive.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I was so moved that I feel a desire to see you for a long time. Sir Arthur must attend the Salon des Carnolets that I will be holding from today onwards.”

“Pardon?”

He was so surprised that he dared to ask the queen back, ignoring royal etiquette. Serge’s eyes widened. The queen’s words were not a suggestion or a simple invitation. They were closer to a coercive command.

“I am very much looking forward to the skills you will show in the future.”

She very naturally extended her right hand, encased in a lace glove, in front of Serge. The act of offering her hand elegantly, with the back of her hand showing, meant only one thing.

‘Obedience.’

“…I will gladly attend.”

Serge gently took the tips of the queen’s fingers, kissed the back of her hand, and gave her the answer she wanted. In order for his future not to be ruined as before, acceptance was inevitable.