Chapter: 02
‘There they go again.’
The sneering remarks from the male students, laced with contempt, were not exactly easy to ignore, but Aurelia had no particular desire to fight with them either. She simply regarded it as jealousy from people who were neither exceptionally talented nor willing to practice as hard as she did.
Besides, no matter what they said, the fact remained that Aurelia was receiving the same education as they were.
‘Don’t pay attention to them. They’re only saying things like that because they want me to make even one mistake. There’s no reason to let them get to me.’
Aurelia soothed herself as she climbed the stairs and finally reached the last step.
She greeted the professor sitting at the very front of the spacious concert hall with an impassive expression by bowing her head, then sat down on the piano bench.
Aurelia took another deep breath before her fingers came down forcefully upon the keys.
‘Strongly, and then immediately softly.’
The sheet music she had traded with her classmate was a sonata with a solemn and heavy atmosphere. It began strongly, then quickly became soft, and as the softened melody gradually grew stronger again, she had to carefully control everything from the force with which she pressed the keys to the use of the pedals.
For this short performance of less than ten minutes, Aurelia had practiced while cutting into the time she should have spent sleeping and eating.
To such an extent that even her classmates, seeing Aurelia, would shake their heads and say that a person who already had everything was going too far.
“You’ve improved your expression quite a lot.”
Professor Schneider listened to her performance all the way through without interrupting before murmuring his brief assessment.
Normally, Aurelia would have happily responded to such a precious compliment, but because she had exerted herself so intensely to give the performance a grand feeling right up until the final moment, she was breathing so heavily that she felt as though she had just run a race. She couldn’t manage much of a response.
Professor Schneider seemed to be contemplating something as he lightly tapped the thin pen against the paper bearing Aurelia’s name.
“You certainly have talent. It was a perfect performance. Well, what more is there to say? Aurelia, you’ve always been perfect.”
“Thank you.”
Just as Professor Schneider had said, Aurelia’s performance had been perfect.
To her, that perfection was only natural.
Aurelia believed in her own talent, but that did not mean she neglected hard work.
‘I… want to give a performance even more perfect and magnificent than the talent I was born with.’
That was Aurelia’s true feeling.
“That will be all. You may leave.”
After bowing her head once more, Aurelia finished her farewell and descended toward the waiting room with lighter steps than when she had gone up onto the stage.
Professor Schneider might have been a strict person, but since she was the only one who had performed the entire piece of sheet music from beginning to end, it seemed reasonable to hope that she would take first place in this practical exam as well.
“How was it? Still, it’s fortunate that I’m right after Aurelia. Since Professor Schneider just heard Aurelia’s performance, maybe he’ll be in a slightly better mood?”
“I know. It’s just like Aurelia. Of course, the moment he hears your performance, Professor Schneider’s mood will probably become terrible again.”
Aurelia gave a faint smile at her classmates’ conversation and went to sit in her empty seat.
There were only a few students left to perform after Aurelia, so the exam would probably be over soon and the practical examination would come to an end.
The reason most of the students who had finished their exams remained in the waiting room was to hear the announcement of their grades. Professor Schneider was famous for announcing the results immediately after the exam ended.
Once even Maria, who had been last in order, had finished her exam, Professor Schneider also came down to the waiting room.
“I’ll leave the rankings here, so you can check them yourselves.”
When Professor Schneider placed the grading sheet on the small table in the waiting room, the students swarmed around it like a swarm of bees, busy checking their grades.
Professor Schneider waited until the commotion caused by the students had died down, then clapped his hands once to draw their attention.
“I hear that the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall is adding a piano to its lineup this time.”
It was an uncommon opportunity.
There had been occasions in the past when pianists performed piano concertos together with orchestras, but they were merely guest performers for orchestras made up, literally, of string, wind, and percussion instruments.
Among the changes taking place in Zerphium, those related to music tended to become trends throughout the world. Perhaps this could even become an opportunity to become the first piano member of an orchestra.
“Of course, they wouldn’t offer a student a position as an official member. But with a limited budget, they can’t exactly hire two established pianists for an experiment when they don’t even know whether it will succeed. Well, hiring a supporting performer for the piano in the first place is rather amusing.”
As Professor Schneider said, in the case of the piano, there was normally no need to hire a supporting performer.
However, considering the performance schedule of the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall, the orchestra must have decided that having only one pianist would be difficult and asked the Zerphium Conservatory to recommend a talented student.
“So the Zerphium Conservatory has decided to select one student with outstanding ability and recommend them as a supporting performer. Since the honor of the Zerphium Conservatory is at stake, we can’t just choose anyone.”
Professor Schneider’s sharp eyes slowly swept across the students in the waiting room.
It seemed that he was somewhat troubled over whom he should give the position to.
“From now on, the students whose names I call will follow me. The rest of you may go home.”
At Professor Schneider’s words, the students’ eyes lit up.
They had not graduated yet, and even if they were selected, there was no guarantee that they would actually be given an opportunity to sit at the piano. But joining the resident orchestra of Symphony Hall, which was considered one of the finest in Zerphium, even before graduating would be an extraordinary addition to one’s career.
‘If it’s based on rankings….’
Aurelia was just as hopeful.
When it came to opportunities like this, grades always came first.
It was only natural for Aurelia to believe that she, who had never once lost the top position from theory through practical examinations, was more than qualified to represent the Zerphium Conservatory as a member of the orchestra.
“Ryan Ford, Alexander Blake, Jeremy Howard.”
But Aurelia was not among the names Professor Schneider called.
Aurelia opened her mouth to say something, but whatever she had been about to say was drowned out by the joyful cheers of the male students whose names had been called.
“Well then, you may all go.”
Professor Schneider left the waiting room without another word.
Watching the three classmates follow behind him like ducklings, Aurelia felt a wave of injustice wash over her.
“That makes no sense. In every respect, shouldn’t your name have been called, Lily?”
While Aurelia nervously bit her lip, she could see Maria’s mouth moving as she approached and said something, but Aurelia couldn’t hear a thing.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand it at all.
Ryan, Alexander, and Jeremy were all students who consistently ranked near the top. But if the names had been called according to their grades, then no matter what anyone said, Aurelia’s name should have been the very first one called.
“Anyway, Professor Schneider’s favoritism…. Don’t be too upset. It’s not as though you didn’t already know he was that kind of person. Anyway, the exam is over, so how about we go to Mr. Karman’s bakery and have some chocolate cake?”
“I’m sorry, Maria. I’m really sorry, but could you go ahead? There’s something I need to check for a moment.”
After saying that, Aurelia briefly took Maria’s hand before letting it go and leaving the waiting room. She then headed straight for Professor Schneider’s office.
The office door was firmly closed, presumably because the students whose names had been called were inside, and the sound of quiet conversation drifted from within.
There must have been some kind of mistake. No matter how bad Professor Schneider’s reputation was, it made no sense for him to deny an opportunity even to a talented student.
All the way to Professor Schneider’s office, Aurelia repeatedly told herself that there had to be some kind of mistake.
‘He even praised me today for having improved my expression so much during the practical exam….’
Praise from other professors was certainly a pleasant thing as well, but Professor Schneider’s praise felt different. He was normally such a stiff person that he seemed as though he didn’t even know how to give compliments.
‘Could there have been some kind of mistake? I really was the only one who played the entire piece of sheet music.’
Aurelia desperately tried to maintain a bright expression, refusing to let go of hope.
“Aurelia?”
“Ah, are you finished talking? I have something I want to ask the professor.”
How long had she been leaning against the wall and lightly tapping the innocent floor with the toe of her shoe?
The male students who had finished speaking with Professor Schneider opened the door and came out, only to flinch when they saw Aurelia.
“Are you finished talking?”
“Uh, yeah. The professor is inside. We’re going first.”
Fortunately, the male students did not ask Aurelia anything else. They merely patted her shoulder a couple of times before leaving.
It could only have been a few seconds from the moment she knocked on the door until she heard the invitation to enter, but to Aurelia, that short span of time felt like an eternity.
“What is it?”
“The thing is….”
