Up until now, the music Elise had known had been nothing special. The light, twinkling sound of a lute being plucked by a minstrel.
The delicate, fragile trembling of a harp heard in banquet halls. Or the excessively solemn and heavy pressure of a cathedral organ.
That was it. No, that was barely all the music Elise had ever encountered.
But the music she was hearing now was different…. The sound pouring from the black machine in front of her—the “piano”—carried weight.
A primal sense of impact from striking to produce sound. Yet the lingering resonance stretched long and soft like silk.
From the man’s fingertips gliding over the keys flowed a rhythm the world had never heard before.
Melancholy. A desperate yearning as if endlessly waiting for someone. And the desolate rustling of late-autumn fallen leaves.
Elise unconsciously swallowed dryly. Her heart began to pound on its own.
‘What… is this?’
A ripple stirred in her weary soul. As if entranced, she shifted her gaze to the performer.
‘He looks ordinary.’
To be honest, he wasn’t a handsome man. Common brown hair that could be seen anywhere in the Empire, and unremarkable features.
Compared to the dazzlingly beautiful men who frequented the imperial palace, his appearance was utterly shabby.
That… should have been the case. Yet right now, the way Aiman sat before the keys struck Elise as entirely new.
Tap, tap, thump-thump-thump.
Every time his fingers pressed the keys, invisible waves rippled through the air.
Aiman’s eyes were half-closed, the corners of his mouth faintly lifted.
Should she call it the expression of someone who had left the space of reality behind and was wandering through a dream only he knew?
‘I’ve seen it before.’
Elise knew exactly what that expression was. It was pure passion. Or in other words, the look that only someone who had achieved their dream could wear.
That expression which seemed to say there was nothing in this world left to envy…. That expression one could never encounter in tedious daily life.
Something on a completely different level from the fake smiles of high society or the greedy, glittering eyes of those hungry for power.
The music continued. The melody that had carried sorrow paused for a moment before shifting into a bright, lively major key.
As if recalling a happy moment spent with a lover…
On the other hand, Haruna wasn’t paying attention to the melody itself.
Her hands still held grease-stained gloves, and what she was fixated on was the piano.
‘This… I made this?’
She couldn’t believe it. All she had done was cut the wood to the dimensions written on the blueprint and stretch and secure the steel strings.
Several times she had felt crushing self-loathing. While building that enormous piece of furniture.
It wasn’t a sword, it wasn’t ironwork—it was just carving wood… Could she even call herself a dwarf anymore?
And when Aiman had brought her the blueprint, she remembered how her pride had been terribly wounded at the thought of faithfully following a design handed over by a human, and how she had almost refused.
And then finally, the completed giant piece of furniture. To anyone’s eyes, a useless lump. And to that useless lump… Aiman had breathed life into it.
Tears welled up in Haruna’s eyes. All her life she had been scorned as a half-baked blacksmith lacking creativity.
But… the emotion she felt in this moment… could not be expressed in a single word.
‘I can do it too.’
She felt that she, too, could create art.
And the last person present. The figure hiding in the deepest shadow of the workshop.
Anna, who had been holding her breath while escorting Elise, swallowed dryly.
That man—Aiman, was it? And the music he created. The title… For Elise….
‘No way… Did he know in advance that Her Highness the Princess would appear? No, that can’t be. But… is this all really just coincidence?’
Anna’s pupils trembled.
To play a piece called “For Elise” the very moment the princess arrived—was this truly mere coincidence?
***
The piece passed its climax and returned to the opening theme. The passionate surge of emotion gradually subsided into calm.
The repeated introductory melody now approached with a completely different feeling from when she first heard it.
I steadied my breathing. The rebound of the keys transmitted to my fingertips.
The faint vibration as the hammer struck the string and bounced back traveled up my fingers, through my elbow, and straight to my heart.
‘It’s over.’
The final measure. My left hand descended toward the lowest keys.
Thump—
The deepest octave note resonated through the workshop floor. It wasn’t a sound heard with the ears—it was felt with the entire body.
Deep, dark, and long-lasting reverberation… perhaps that described it.
I didn’t lift my finger from the key. Not until the vibration of the strings had completely stopped.
I waited until the very last floating note in the air had sunk to the floor and vanished.
At last, complete silence arrived.
Only then did I slowly lift my hands from the keys and rest them on my knees.
“Huu….”
The breath I had been holding escaped in a long exhale. Beads of sweat that had formed on my forehead trickled down my cheeks.
It was laughable to be sweating after just three minutes of playing, but I really was drenched.
Perhaps because it was a piano made purely from memory, without a proper score?
The tuning wasn’t perfect, and the key action felt subtly off… but still, I had played it to the end.
‘Yeah, this is it.’
I lifted my head with a satisfied smile. I felt refreshed. It was as if fifteen years of built-up frustration had been swept away.
From now on, whenever I’m bored, I’ll just play the piano at home for fun. I stood up and spoke to Haruna.
“How was it, Haruna? Pretty good, right?”
There was no answer. It was quiet. Too quiet. I couldn’t help but flinch at the heavy silence.
Haruna was staring at me—no, at the piano—with a dazed expression.
And the woman in the robe sitting on the chair—she too was frozen, not moving a muscle.
For a moment, a chill ran down my spine.
‘What’s wrong? Why are they reacting like this?’
Was the music too unfamiliar and they didn’t like it? Or did I make some weird face while I was too immersed?
Maybe the piece didn’t suit this world’s sensibilities? Should I have played something softer, like a lute piece?
How dare a commoner play such a song for a noble! Was my head about to roll right now?
Just as such ominous thoughts crossed my mind—
“That piece….”
The silence broke as the robed woman’s voice rang out. It was trembling ever so slightly.
“Did you… compose it yourself?”
Of course… it’s not my composition. It’s Beethoven’s. If I said that out loud, I’d be treated like a lunatic, wouldn’t I?
I offered a silent prayer to Beethoven in my heart, and just now, big brother Beethoven had granted me permission.
‘Thank you, hyung-nim.’
I gave a small nod and answered.
“Yes, I composed it. It took quite a long time of agonizing to complete the melody.”
Of course, the agonizing was over the piano itself. But the fact that I agonized over it for quite a while is true, so I have zero shame!
Having heard my answer, the noblewoman (presumed) asked again.
“Then… the title as well….”
Her voice had grown even more emotional.
“Did you name it yourself? That… ‘For Elise’ title.”
I nodded casually, without much thought.
“Yes. It’s ‘For Elise.’”
“Ah….”
A short gasp escaped the woman’s lips. Was there something special about the title “For Elise”?
I had no idea. The noblewoman (presumed) covered her face with her fan and gave a small cough.
“Ahem. Hm.”
She straightened her back as if trying to regain her dignity. But her trembling eyes remained fixed on me.
“It’s wonderful. Truly… astonishingly wonderful. I never imagined I would hear such beautiful music.”
Wait, is it really… that good?
“For someone with such talent to be hidden away in a place like this—it’s nothing short of a loss to the Empire.”
Her tone had changed. The initial curiosity was gone, replaced by the characteristically haughty yet elegant speech of nobility.
‘That’s seriously terrifying.’
Of course her words sounded like praise… but it’s commoners like me who can die on a noble’s whim.
‘She’s probably loaded, right?’
If she was moved by my performance, maybe she’ll give a really generous tip?
There was still a hefty balance left to pay Haruna for the construction. This might solve that.
With a mix of fear and anticipation, I waited politely for her next words, my expression half-and-half.
I’d lick her boots like a dog for just silver coins—would she maybe give gold?
“As promised, I will give you your reward. I swear on my name that it will be the greatest reward you can possibly imagine.”
I bowed deeply at once.
“Thank you! I’ll gratefully accept anything!”
“You….”
She paused for a moment, then declared in a resolute voice.
“I will buy you.”
“… Pardon?”