Chapter 59: Helping Christopher (2)
Lucian sighed, closing his eyes. "Let's just wait for them to arrive, then." The fate of Christopher's heart, and the safety of Lucian's own newfound peace, rested on the successful performance of 'Love Story.'
---
In a different section of the grand academy, in the quiet administrative wing, Christopher stood nervously checking his watch. It was 6:00 PM precisely.
'Bingo! About damn time!' he thought, feeling a mix of relief and terror. The plan was in motion, and there was no turning back now. He quickly smoothed down his uniform, wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, and marched toward the Deputy Professor's office.
He could already hear raised voices before he even reached the door—the distinctive sound of Professor Clarice lecturing her sister, Marice, the innocent object of his affection.
Christopher paused outside the thick, mahogany door, listening to the muffled argument.
"Sis, I told you! They try to offer a date, I would reject them anyways! There's no need to trying killing them off!" Marice's voice was clear, if slightly desperate. She sounded exhausted by her sister's constant, extreme protection.
"I'm your older sister, and it's my responsibility to look out and protect you!" Clarice's reply was sharp, stern, and utterly unwavering. "And I don't trust those guys! Even if you try to reject them, they will still come to you and force you to have a date with them! We know how those arrogant nobles work, especially when they think they can buy affection with their family name and money!"
"But still, Sis, there's no need to go that far! They're just trying to be nice!" Marice protested, clearly trying to defend the reputation of her peers, even the ones who were pests.
Marice was still arguing with her older sister when they suddenly heard a frantic, loud knock on the door—Christopher's planned cue.
"Who the hell visits in this hour?!" Clarice snapped, her temper already frayed. She strode to the door and yanked it open, her ocean-blue eyes instantly narrowing when she saw Christopher standing there, looking genuinely distressed.
"It's me, Professor! I need your sister's help, my friend is in danger!" Christopher blurted out, trying to appear as panicked and sincere as possible.
Professor Clarice, usually cold and unreadable, was momentarily thrown by his appearance. "What happened to your friend, and why do you need my sister? You know we're in the middle of a conversation!"
Christopher forced a teary look into his eyes—a trick he'd practiced in the mirror all day. "I really need your sister's help, Professor! Your sister has Nature Healing abilities, right? They're fast and potent! I really need her to heal Lucian!"
He looked past Clarice and directly at Marice, then dramatically clutched his hands together in a desperate plea. "Please, Lady Weldenbud, you need to save my friend! He's in danger!"
Marice immediately stepped forward, her gentle nature overriding her caution. "Can you tell us what happened to your friend, Sir Christopher? Which friend is it?"
Christopher nodded quickly, his voice tight with urgency. "You know Lucian always goes to the music room to practice late, right?"
The two girls nodded, Lucian's reputation as the academy's mysterious musician being well-established.
"Lucian is injured! Someone deliberately put a magical trap on the music room door, and it injured my friend badly when he tried to unlock it! We don't know who did it, but he needs powerful healing right now, and the infirmary is closed for the evening! I really need your help, Lady Weldenbud!"
Marice, with her kind and empathetic nature, and her beautiful blue ocean eyes, looked at Christopher's frantic expression and couldn't help but want to rush to the aid of an injured peer, especially someone as reclusive and strange as Lucian.
She turned to her older sister, whose hair and eyes matched her own perfect ocean blue shade.
"Can I help them, Sis? Please, it seems they really needed help. Lucian isn't bad; he just keeps to himself!" Marice pleaded, emphasizing Lucian's quiet nature to dispel any notion that he deserved to be injured.
Professor Clarice was torn. Her instincts screamed that this was a ruse—another noble's pathetic attempt to lure her sister. But the name Lucian Blackstar confused her. Lucian was notoriously cold, indifferent to the opposite sex, and he was too terrifyingly competent to be involved in a silly love plot. Furthermore, if he truly was injured, and she prevented her sister from using her unique healing magic, it could cause immense political trouble. She was a siscon, but she wasn't a fool.
"Are you absolutely sure your friend is injured?" Clarice demanded, her voice dangerously low, drilling into Christopher's eyes. "Because I swear, if you lied to me and this is just a setup to try court her, I will surely kill you, Christopher! And I promise you, neither your father nor your general's title will save you from what I will do to your family name!"
Christopher was terrified, his legs shaking, but he clutched his hand and replied, "It is true, Professor! I saw the blood! I need her help! Please, can I really borrow her for her to heal my friend?"
Professor Clarice looked at both Marice's desperate, pleading face and Christopher's fear-stricken, yet sincere, expression. She sighed, utterly frustrated, but relented.
"Fine. You both can go now. And I'm busy anyways. I still have to review new warding protocols. Go! But if this is a trick, Christopher…" Clarice let the threat hang in the air.
Christopher then thanked the professor profusely, his voice practically cracking with relief. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Professor! I owe you!"
The professor waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, just hurry up. I still need to talk to my sister on something important, but I can't now. Get out of here."
Christopher didn't need telling twice. He nodded quickly, then grabbed Marice's hand—a move that was partly accidental and partly genuine panic—and hurried off, disappearing around the corner and out of Professor Clarice's sight.
Clarice closed the door and leaned against it, shaking her head. "Sigh, these kids these days. They don't even know how to care for themselves. Lucian Blackstar… injured by a simple trap? That boy is a monster. Something doesn't add up. I'll check on this later."
Christopher, still clutching Marice's hand, ran through the academy hallways. Marice, blushing deeply because of how Christopher was clutching her hand so frantically, was breathless but focused on the emergency.
Christopher looked down at his watch as they approached the west wing. It read 6:30 PM precisely.
'Just in damn time!' he exclaimed internally.
Marice, slowing her pace slightly, managed to speak, her voice soft and slightly flustered. "Umm, Sir Christopher, can you let go of my hand, please? We need to focus on healing your friend."
Christopher instantly looked down and let go, scratching the back of his head because of the awkwardness. "Ah, hahahaha, sorry, Lady Weldenbud! Force of habit. I was panicked."
Then Marice spoke again, her compassion overriding her shyness. "Can we go inside already so we can save your friend?"
Christopher then nodded, smiling a secret, nervous smile. He reached for the handle of the music room door, turning it carefully.
"Sure. And please, don't be surprised, Lady Weldenbud."
Christopher opened the door, stepping aside.
Instead of seeing someone injured, covered in blood, and desperately needing her powerful Nature Healing abilities, Marice saw a massive, gleaming grand piano. Seated gracefully at the bench was Lucian Blackstar, his face illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the tall window. He was playing the piano, and the sound that filled the room was not the sound of pain, but a melody of deep, moving beauty.
Lucian had looked at the time a moment earlier. It was already 6:31 PM, and he heard the distinct sound of the door latch turning.
"Finally, about damn time they arrived," he muttered under his breath.
Lucian sighed one last time, centered himself, and then started playing the opening chords. He began singing "Love Story", letting the melody and the lyrics weave the perfect romantic tapestry for the moment.
---
Lucian's voice, usually cold and toneless, was unexpectedly rich, a deep baritone perfectly suited to the melancholic longing of the ballad. He poured all the complex, bottled-up emotion of his lost love and his terrifying new affections into the performance.
He sang the first verse, his eyes closed in concentration, channeling the memory of an idealized, simple romance that had always been out of reach.
[Verse 1]
We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts I'm standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, "Hello" Little did I know
Marice stood frozen in the doorway, her mouth slightly agape, the initial shock of the deception giving way to the overwhelming beauty of the sound. She realized instantly that Christopher had tricked her, but the magic of the moment was too powerful to reject.
Christopher, seizing his moment, stepped in front of her. He got down on one knee, his eyes fixed only on Marice, and waited for Lucian to finish the pre-chorus before speaking.
[Pre-Chorus]
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet" And I was crying on the staircase Begging you, "Please don't go," and I said
Lucian's voice swelled with the emotion of the chorus, the piano notes perfectly executing the simple, driving rhythm.
[Chorus]
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"
As Lucian sang the final, compelling word, Christopher spoke, his voice clear and heartfelt.
"Lady Marice Weldenbud, can you be my partner for the upcoming birthday party of the Crown Prince?"
Marice, already flushed from the music and the shocking setting, blushed even deeper. She was overwhelmed by the combination of the man in front of her kneeling and the perfect musical backdrop asking her to a date—not a life of eternal partnership, but a simple dance.
Marice instinctively took a step back, her surprise exploding from her lips.
"WHAAAAAAA!!!!!"
Lucian, hearing the surprised shout, didn't miss a beat, continuing his performance, now fully into the second verse.
[Verse 2]
So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while, oh, oh
'They are really suited on each other,' Lucian thought, sparing a quick internal glance at the kneeling couple. Christopher was blushing crimson, waiting anxiously. Marice was stunned, her hands covering her mouth. 'This is far better than my initial plan of just playing simple background music. The full performance makes it a spectacle. This is exactly the kind of simple, grand gesture that appeals to a pure heart like Marice's.'
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet" But you were everything to me I was begging you, "Please don't go," and I said
Lucian leaned into the piano, the music gaining intensity. He was not just playing for Christopher; he was playing for the memory of the happiness he once had, the kind of uncomplicated, forbidden love the song described.
[Chorus]
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"
Romeo, save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but it's real Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"
[Post-Chorus]
Oh, oh
As he reached the bridge, Lucian imagined the internal conflict of the protagonist—the waiting, the doubt, the fading faith. It echoed his own feelings after Seoryeon's death, the years he spent in a desolate, emotional limbo.
[Bridge]
But I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town and I said
The music softened, becoming incredibly tender for the final section, focusing entirely on the moment of resolution.
[Chorus - Final]
"Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think" He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, and said
Lucian expertly switched the final lines of the song to perfectly match Christopher's actual proposal and the atmosphere he had created. He sang the final lines with powerful conviction, even though Christopher didn't have a ring, the gesture of kneeling was enough.
"Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby, just say 'Yes'"
[Outro]
Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you
Lucian finished the song on a single, resonant final chord, allowing the sound to linger in the room. He kept his head bowed over the keys, not wanting to intrude on the critical moment of Marice's decision. He knew he had fulfilled his part of the deal. The entire room, under the soft, gentle illumination of the moonlight and his music, was a perfect, self-contained romantic stage.
Lucian waited. Christopher was still kneeling, and Marice was still staring, but now her expression was shifting—from shock to overwhelming happiness. The hardest part was over.