Before Nate’s treatment, Melissa asked Josh and Rose, “Do you know how to become an imperial pianist?” The reason she asked this before the treatment was that Melissa, who was nervous about placing her hand on Nate’s face, wanted to prolong the time before the treatment as much as possible.

“I don’t know much about the Empire, but I’ve heard that anyone with talent can become a court musician. Also, I’ve heard that the imperial court musicians are considered the emperor’s property, and if they’re killed, it’s not classified as murder but as property damage. Although, since they are the emperor’s possession, the punishment seems to be as severe as murder.”

Josh’s eyes widened in surprise before he shared some slightly off information. He smiled while giving a warning about murder, but after thinking for a moment about whether he was looking from the perspective of the perpetrator or the victim, he decided that it didn’t matter right now.

The idea that anyone could become a court musician – does that mean foreigners or commoners are eligible too? And how much freedom does someone have if they are the emperor’s possession?

“Miss! I need to step out to retrieve something from the room. Is that alright?”

Upon receiving permission from Rose, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed, and after a while, Rose returned, panting and carrying a thick flat bag.

“This is a music score I had a friend buy for me in Reeves. I had prepared it as a gift to celebrate that you’ve learned to perfectly control your magic, but I gave it to Nate last night, so I was planning to give it to you tonight.”

Reeves is a frontier barony next to Lawton, which borders the Empire. Melissa had been talking about imperial music scores while riding in a carriage from the royal capital to Lawton. Rose must have remembered and obtained them for her.

“How many are there? It seems like there are plenty of men who would be willing to go to Reeves for you, Rose.”

“There are eight! Some people even bought more than two scores each.”

Rose is quite popular in Lawton. She answered Josh’s question brightly, but in the end, how many people went to buy them?

“Seven are music scores, but one is a book introducing composers and pianists. I just skimmed through it, so I don’t really know what’s inside, but I hope there’s some useful information in there…”

She handed the flat bag with the book inside to Melissa.

“Thank you, Rose.”

Even when she suffered a concussion and no one from her family came to visit, Rose had patted her head. She had come all the way to Lawton, three days by carriage from the royal capital, to be with her. When Melissa left the Johnston family, she made a silent vow to ensure Rose would never be blamed.

The four of them looked at the book Rose had brought. The title was “Modern Court Musicians of Telfort,” and Telfort is the name of the Empire.

–A court musician is the highest rank of musician who serves in the Telfort Palace for the emperor’s enjoyment and various banquets.

The description of court musicians was only this simple. The book introduced musicians one per page, and it covered not just pianists but also composers, conductors, violinists, trumpeters, and even performers of instruments Melissa had never heard of.

“This ‘Telfort International Music Competition’ seems suspicious,” Josh remarked.

The book included brief biographies, and Melissa noticed a mention of the ‘Apollon Prize’ awarded at the Telfort International Music Competition. Apollon was a great composer from the Telfort Empire who was renowned as the father of music even outside the Empire. Anyone whose family name was not listed or whose name sounded clearly foreign always had this Apollon Prize listed.

Feeling reassured by Josh and Rose’s friendly responses, Melissa decided to tell them her plan.

“I want to leave the Johnston family and become an imperial pianist.”

She explained why she wanted to become a pianist in the Empire, rather than in her own country, just as she had explained to Nate the night before. She told them with sincere eyes.

“Josh, I’ve decided to leave the Johnston family. Could you possibly hire me here, even without a letter of introduction?”

Upon hearing her explanation, Rose asked Josh for help. Although the Lawton manor was in Johnston’s territory, only Josh and his son had direct contracts with the Johnston family; the other servants were employed by Josh.

“That’s a bit premature. But if it becomes necessary, of course, I’ll hire you. If worse comes to worst, we could marry and change your family name, and no one would notice. Rose could change her family name in three days, I’m sure.”

The salary and social standing of a duchess’s maid compared to a rural manor servant are incomparable, but would Rose really be okay with that?

“Of course. As things are now, if the Johnston family asks me anything, I can’t avoid answering. I wanted you to know that I’m willing to leave the Johnston family if it means you can become a pianist… Also, if you’re able to live without worry, I thought about staying here in Lawton permanently. I was planning to stay with you until you told me you didn’t need me anymore, but in the end, I thought I would return to this beautiful lakeside.”

Since she was with the Johnston family, Rose had always answered Melissa’s questions honestly, even if the answers would hurt her. Since coming to Lawton, their conversations had increased, and Melissa realized that Rose had been fulfilling her duties and wouldn’t have shared sad truths unless Melissa had asked. It was precisely because Rose was so earnest that she must have decided to help Melissa leave the family.

Melissa felt ashamed of herself for doubting Rose before consulting her.

“Miss, Nate, Rose, this is a secret between the four of us. No one else can know, not even the other servants. It’s not because I suspect anyone, but to avoid burdening the servants with guilt. If we ever need help from someone, we’ll always consult the four of us first. Though, secrets are hard to keep, so let’s not worry too much about it.”

Thus, Josh and Rose agreed to help Melissa become an imperial pianist.

After Josh spoke, Nate, who had been silent the entire time, finally opened his mouth.

“My aunt works for the border baron family in Reeves. I haven’t seen her in six years, but she once sent me a book on imperial sweets when she heard from my mother’s letter that I was helping at a bakery. She might have some information about becoming a court musician in the Empire.”

Until coming to Lawton, Nate had never revealed anything about his past. The fact that he spoke about it for Melissa’s sake made Josh and Rose realize Nate’s feelings for her.

“Then, shall we write a letter to your aunt? We can tell her that one of Nate’s very talented friends wants to become a court musician.”

Nate grimaced at Josh’s words, and Melissa understood that he was feeling anxious.

“My aunt is my mother’s younger sister, but I haven’t told her that my mother passed away a year and a half ago. And I’m not sure she’ll help me since I disappeared without a word. I lost my only family in a fire, was kicked out of the house for not being able to pay the rent, and I decided to go to Reeves instead of bothering the bakery owner. On the way, I collapsed from untreated burns and woke up in the orphanage here in Lawton. After that, I didn’t know how to tell my aunt about my mother, and I couldn’t hold a pen because of the burns, so I kept putting it off. By the time I could write again, it was too late to contact her, and I ended up staying here, relying on others.”

“You should just write that. I’m sure your aunt is worried about not receiving any letters from your mother. Your mother must have been waiting for her to mourn her passing. See? Children shouldn’t overthink things! If your aunt says something awful, I’ll comfort you,” Josh said.

“I don’t need that!”

Nate must have been so anxious when he was kicked out of his home, a child with severe burns, left alone. Melissa had lamented being abandoned by her father, but compared to Nate, her hardships felt insignificant.

Nate seemed to have some difficult circumstances regarding his mother and aunt, but Melissa decided to wait for him to speak about it when he was ready. If he didn’t need to share it with her, that was fine too.

“Anyway, Nate will write a letter to his aunt. As for me, I’ll postpone reporting to the Johnston family about how I’ve learned to control my magic so that it doesn’t leak out. We don’t know how it will turn out.”

“About that, Miss, I didn’t want to make you sad, so I didn’t mention it earlier, but I don’t think you’ll be sent back to the royal capital even if it’s reported that your magic no longer leaks. I don’t think Lady Amelia would make you undergo training to control magic just so you could return to the royal capital… If you don’t perfect it, you can’t graduate from the magic academy, so most students train hard at the end, just before graduation. When I was a student, those with a lot of magical power had it especially hard, so I kept quiet because it wouldn’t be a wasted effort in the long run… I apologize.”

Melissa was taken aback by the fact that she had been the only one who hadn’t realized that controlling her magic perfectly wouldn’t necessarily change anything. She had been easily manipulated by Amelia, and she felt that perhaps she wasn’t cut out for being a noble. However, unlike when she was still young, she now had Rose and Josh’s support, and her decisions were finally starting to change.