FMV 13

Chapter: 13

‘I understand.’

That woman hates me.

Even though I am someone so outstanding that she, of all people, shouldn’t be capable of hating someone like me, a mere young woman.

In that case, all I have to do is make it impossible for her not to like me.

For Leonard, that was easier than anything else.

Having reached that conclusion, Leonard was able to regain his relaxed smile.

Her deeply furrowed brow, his own reflection visible in those clear green eyes.

And the thought of what might be going on inside that little head of hers.

“If you tell me what you want, will you give it to me?”

Before Aurelia could even answer, Leonard released the wrist he had been holding as though he had no intention of ever letting it go.

She had been asking him to let go, yet now that he actually had, she looked flustered.

Watching her expression change from moment to moment was amusing.

‘I’ve never enjoyed something like this before.’

Leonard’s world contained nothing but melodies, staves, and musical notes.

It was a world that did not even allow in terms that indicated tempo or the atmosphere of a piece.

He had no need for such things because Leonard could understand and perform sheet music perfectly without them.

And then, suddenly, a cat whose origin he couldn’t even fathom had appeared in that world of his and was playing with everything that existed there as though they were toys.

‘How irritating.’

A brownish cat with green eyes was playing with everything he had built up as though it were a toy.

Of course, Leonard did not think this emotion was anything particularly significant.

Caring for and finding amusing the one poor, shabby girl who was the only pitiful figure in his otherwise glamorous life was merely a small source of entertainment.

“Let’s hear it. What is it that you want?”

“I want you to look at this.”

She had not even intended to give him any attention, yet here she was, trying to get his attention.

That was all there was to it. That was why he kept thinking about her.

Who wouldn’t covet those green eyes that seemed to believe everything was her fault even though she had never done a single thing wrong?

“I’m enjoying this situation far too much right now.”

At Leonard’s words, Aurelia’s expression twisted.

She could not understand why he was hiding her hat and holding her there simply because he found it amusing.

In the first place, what exactly was the relationship between her and that man?

Weren’t they practically strangers?

“You don’t want to get that violin back?”

At Leonard’s words, Aurelia met his gaze with wide eyes.

She had resolved to get it back even if she had to offer him something worth more than what he had paid, but she had never expected him to bring it up first.

“If I say I want it back, will you return it?”

“That won’t do. I paid for it and took possession of it.”

Leonard smiled faintly as he thought of the violin he had not even taken out of its case yet.

He had never intended to return it in the first place.

He had merely been curious about how far the woman standing before him would be willing to go for that violin.

“Even if you brought me a fortune, I have no intention of selling a violin that is already in my hands back to you.”

At Leonard’s words, disappointment spread through Aurelia’s eyes once again.

Watching each of those changes was quite entertaining.

“I just can’t understand it, no matter how much I think about it.”

“What part?”

“It’s an instrument made to produce sound. Did you really intend to let an instrument like that rot away inside a safe for the rest of its life?”

Aurelia nodded.

Rather than having it sold to a man like this and treated as though it were worthless, she would rather have it kept in a safe with perfectly controlled temperature and humidity, where it could receive affection every day for the rest of its life.

“My opinion hasn’t changed. I’d rather leave it there for the rest of its life than let it go to you.”

“Why?”

“Because that violin contains countless things that you can’t see.”

And she was certain that she alone was capable of seeing what was contained within it.

She had never expected such an arrogant man to recognize those things and treat the violin according to its true worth.

“Hmm. That sounds convincing.”

“It’s not something that merely sounds convincing. It’s the truth.”

Aurelia’s words sounded quite convincing even to Leonard.

Of course, he said they sounded convincing; that did not mean he agreed with her.

He was a musician, while the woman before him was the daughter and an employee of the owner of the Bernhard Instrument Workshop.

It was simply a relationship in which money was paid and an object was handed over.

“A craftsman has the right to refuse to hand over something he made to someone who isn’t worthy of it, no matter how much money they offer. I’ll acknowledge that.”

That was simply how instruments were.

‘So-and-so bought an instrument from such-and-such workshop.’

From the workshop’s perspective, who purchased an instrument was extremely important.

In the end, it was the reputation of the musician, and no one else, that determined the value of the instrument they had made.

But that was when one was a craftsman.

“You’re not one, though. A craftsman.”

Therefore, what that woman was saying could only be an argument dressed up to sound convincing.

‘And I’m not just a musician. I’m a genius. Loved by everyone in the world.’

Aurelia was talking about whether he was worthy to someone who was more qualified than anyone else.

As if to say, You aren’t worthy of owning my violin.

“Who exactly do you think would agree with you?”

The greatest musician of his generation, receiving love calls from all over the world.

Who would acknowledge that someone like him was not worthy of owning a single violin that was neither made by a master craftsman nor even by an ordinary skilled artisan?

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks. What matters is that I, the person who made that violin, think so.”

It was absurd.

If the world learned that a mere workshop owner’s daughter had belittled him this much, everyone would surely laugh at this woman.

‘No wonder she gets on my nerves.’

That was why Leonard had no choice but to show this woman.

Just how extraordinary a musician he was, and why that violin ought to belong to Leonard.

She would have to pay the price for daring to question whether he was worthy.

“Then how about this?”

Leonard’s gaze moved from Aurelia’s eyes, over the straight bridge of her nose and slender neck, before settling on the hat held in her thin hand.

A ribbon the same color as Aurelia’s eyes was tied around the hat.

Before Aurelia could stop him, Leonard reached out and tugged at the ribbon.

“Come listen to me perform. Then you’ll understand. You’ll understand why it had to be that violin, and who the person truly suited to that violin is.”

“Why should I….”

“Because then you’ll at least be able to get the ribbon back. This is collateral. The tickets to my recitals are rather expensive.”

It wasn’t bad.

These new experiences.

Things that did not simply belong to him without question just because he wanted them, but things he had to take away from someone else and claim for himself.

‘Pleasant experiences make good music.’

Perhaps he had grabbed that absurdly flying hat in the first place because he wanted to enjoy this kind of amusement.

“Fine. But don’t expect anything.”

Unlike Leonard, who was savoring the pleasure brought by this new form of entertainment, Aurelia still had the same sharp gaze that had been completely out of place when they first met.

“I’ve never even heard your music before, but I’ve decided that from now on, I’m going to hate anything you do, whatever it may be.”

The title said to be reserved only for the greatest musicians of the age.

‘Virtuoso.’

Even if the music of this man, who possessed such an undeserved nickname, were loved by the entire world—or even by every last small animal—Aurelia had no intention of becoming one of them.

“If you can, then do it. It would be rather enjoyable if there were at least one person who didn’t like my music.”

Leonard did not lose his smile even at Aurelia’s words.

If anything, he simply gave her a bright, sunny smile that suited his golden hair glittering in the sunlight and his eyes so blue they seemed almost transparent.

“Then I’ll grow even further so that I can earn that person’s recognition.”

No matter how Aurelia behaved, everything would be a source of amusement for Leonard, so it didn’t matter.

No, in fact, it seemed like it would be wonderful if there were someone who did not like his music, which had always been showered with praise.

He had never once experienced what it meant to have a limit, and he was nearly going mad with curiosity over just how much further he could grow for someone who was nothing more than a young girl.

‘What an irritating man.’

His radiant smile, and the demonic thoughts hidden behind that smile, looked nothing but disgusting to Aurelia.