Chapter 57: Choking the Throat of Fate (Major Update)

  11:20 in the board of directors' office on the third floor of the Musicians Association.

  Othello's serious light gray eyes stared at Viktor in front of him: "Viktor, you should make a decision now. For twenty whole minutes, can't you choose the music that satisfies you? They are the crystallization of your musical inspiration for more than 20 years."

  Viktor's face was deathly pale, his expression wooden as he sat in the chair across from Othello, the table before him cluttered with sheets of music that belonged to him, but his eyes gazed past them, unfocused, as if staring through the notes at something else entirely - perhaps the first violin of his life, or maybe a cold and gloomy graveyard.

  After hearing Othello's words, his lips trembled slightly and he spoke with difficulty: "May I think again? Othello, be wise."

  "Wolf, sitting opposite Othello, laughed with strong irony: "Think again, can you think of a better tune? Victor, okay, don't force it anymore. Maybe you think there's also good music in mediocre works? Don't waste Othello's time, he's waiting to have lunch with the princess."

  Othello nodded, took out a pocket watch and glanced at it: "The princess's invitation to have lunch together is at 1 o'clock. The carriage ride from the association to the Lataxia Palace takes 15 minutes, but last night's heavy rain has not stopped until now, many places have severe flooding, need to take a detour, should leave at least 10 minutes in advance. Before that, I will also take an hour's nap to prevent fatigue from making me lose my demeanor. Viktor, you don't have much time left, the last 10 minutes, if you still can't decide, then let Wolf replace you, he has just received an invitation from Count Lafati to hold a concert and has no problem coordinating with the orchestra."

  The Palace of La Chaux-de-Fonds was the seat of the Princely Court of Neuchatel.

  Wolf's eyes shone with extreme enthusiasm and longing, relying on his connections in the nobility. As long as he could hold a concert in the Sacred Song Hall, as long as there were no major problems with the concert, he would be able to advance further on the path of music. In the future, it was very likely that he would become a director of the association. He took a deep breath and looked at Viktor: "Viktor, I don't want to take away your performance opportunity, but for the sake of the association, you must make a decision now."

  Victor withdrew his gaze and stared at the sheet music on the table for a full two minutes before extending his right hand to point at one of them: "This one."

  Such a simple action and such a simple sentence seemed to have drained Victor of all his strength, causing him to slump into the chair. But once he had made up his mind, although Victor was filled with disappointment and frustration, he still felt a slight sense of relief in his heart. At least he no longer had to rack his brains and burn out his soul thinking about that new piece of music, which had been torturing him for nine years without being completed.

  "Perhaps it's a good thing, he won't be tormented every night and unable to fall asleep." Viktor thought numbly and desperately.

  Othello clapped his hands in satisfaction: "Victor, I'm glad you can make a decision, but your mental state is a bit of a problem. If you can't recover before the concert, I have some medicine here that can help, although it will have a slight impact on your health. Alright, you two go out, I'll take an hour's nap."

  Wolff walked out of the office with Viktor, who seemed to be having trouble even walking, his disappointment palpable. As the wooden door closed behind them, Wolff shot Viktor a venomous glance: "Enjoy your last concert at the Saint Cecilia Hall, don't disappoint your wife in Heaven's Mountain."

  "You..." Viktor couldn't accept others using his own wife to attack him, and he glared at Wolf in anger.

  Wolf spread his hands, snorted coldly and said sharply: "Why are you staring at me? It's you who will disappoint your wife, not me, Viktor."

  After finishing, he left with a cold smile. Viktor was like being hit by a fatal blow, covering his face and squatting on the ground, causing Lotte, Phyllis, and Hierode to rush over in a panic and quickly help him up.

  "Let me go to the rest room and calm down, we'll start practicing all the pieces this afternoon," Viktor said in a weak voice.

  Lotte, Phyllis and Hierodeus exchanged a bitter glance, now it was time to think about how to cheer up Mr. Viktor.

  …………

  Leaving Victor's house, Lucien held an umbrella and ran in the heavy rain. The rainwater was blown into the umbrella by the strong wind, wetting Lucien's clothes again, making his still unrecovered weakness even more apparent.

  The road, shrouded in a white mist stirred up by the heavy rain, was very quiet with few pedestrians and carriages coming and going, allowing Lucien to run quickly without worrying about obstacles. However, after running for a while, Lucien had to stop to catch his breath due to his physical weakness, and the strong wind blowing against his umbrella hindered his progress.

  "Perhaps if I had arrived a few minutes earlier, I could have stopped it before the list was handed to Princess Natasha." Lucien skirted around the deepest puddles, walking slowly on the ankle-deep flooded street, panting heavily before taking off in a run again.

  As he ran, Lucien's umbrella was blown backward by the strong wind, and his weak hands could hardly hold onto it.

  "Anyway, the clothes are already wet." Without hesitation, Lucien put away his umbrella, tucked it under his arm, and let the heavy rain pour down on him as he ran quickly.

  This time, without the hindrance of an umbrella, Lucien dashed through the heavy rain with even greater speed.

  It's only by doing one's best that one can look back without regret, and at this moment, Lucien's persistence, hard work, dedication, and stubbornness were all fully revealed.

  The raindrops, as big as beans, hit my face, giving me a slight stinging sensation.

  …………

  It normally takes more than twenty minutes to get from Victor's house to the Musicians' Association, but Lucien made it in just six minutes.

  12:41, outside the Musicians Association gate, Lucien had his hands on his knees, back arched, panting heavily, with wet hair stuck to his face and water droplets falling onto the mosaic stone floor, his clothes were completely soaked, looking extremely heavy.

  After slightly calming down, Lucien pushed open the large door and walked into the hall.

  Irena was startled by Lucien's appearance and walked out from behind the wooden cabinet: "Lucien, is it raining so heavily outside? You're soaked to such an extent even with an umbrella?"

  "Nothing. Irina, where is Mr. Viktor?" Lucien asked hastily.

  Elena thought for a moment: "He should be in his rest room, I saw Phyllis taking lunch upstairs."

  "Thank you." Lucien handed the umbrella over to Elena and thanked her before hastily turning around and running up the stairs.

  Irina looked at Lucien's back strangely: "What's so urgent?"

  …………

  The frail Lucien climbed the stairs with difficulty and speed, and arrived at Viktor's rest room in a minute, knocking on the door with a bang.

  It was Lott who opened the door, his face looking very bad. Seeing Lucien, he just nodded and didn't ask him to come over.

  Lucien walked into the rest room and saw Viktor sitting at his desk, his face buried in his hands as if he had lost all enthusiasm and hope, with no reaction to someone knocking on the door, like a colorless oil painting.

  Phyllis, Hierodotus and Rhine who had rushed over after hearing the news sat silently on the sofa next to them, with a simple lunch in front of them that remained unchanged.

  "Has Mr. Viktor finalized the playlist?" Lucien asked them.

  Lotte, Phyllis and Hierode didn't have the mood to answer, only Rhein nodded: "Yes, use the original one."

  Lucien took a deep breath, suppressing the rising disappointment and frustration, walked up to Viktor, placed his hands on the desk, and said loudly: "Mr. Viktor, I've written an amazing piece of music, I hope you can listen to it, I think it will definitely give you inspiration to compose a perfect symphony. Can we change the confirmed program?"

  There is still a glimmer of hope, but Lucien's urgent tone and careless wording make him sound powerless, and some things are said too bluntly.

  "Have you composed a melody?" Herodotus, in a tone of disappointment and sorrow, heard Lucien's words and retorted with a mix of anger and amusement. In this solemn and mournful atmosphere, this guy was still going crazy! Without a shred of humanity!

  Phyllis's beautiful ruby-like eyes, ablaze with anger, turned to Lucien, clearly expressing her discontent and indignation. This was no time for nonsense!

  Lotte walked over and prepared to pull Lucien away, so as not to provoke Mr. Viktor further.

  Viktor seemed not to have heard Lucien's previous words, a weak and tired voice came out from the palm of his hand: "It's useless, ten minutes ago, Osiero had already gone to Ratasia Palace for lunch with Her Highness, it can't be changed now, there is no hope."

  "Is it already too late for things to change?"

  Lucien heard that Osero had gone to the Lataxia Palace, and suddenly a huge sense of frustration rose up. He was lightly pulled away from his desk by Lot: "Lucien, stop playing with your little cleverness, be quiet, you must be quiet!"

  Although he felt a strong sense of failure, Lucien still thought there was a glimmer of hope. As long as he tried harder, there should be hope. So while being pulled back by Lotte, he said urgently and sincerely: "Mr. Victor, let's try again! With such heavy rain, we might make it to the Osello concert!"

  "It's useless, it's all useless." Viktor muttered to himself, his head still hung low, as if he had no strength left to support himself, only despair was wrapping around him.

  Even if they thought Lucien was going crazy, being so sincere and working hard to strive for it, it still made Lotte, Phyllis, and Hierod feel the same way. However, thinking that things were already destined and fate had been arranged, they felt a deep sense of powerlessness, like Victor, weakly scolding Lucien:

  "Don't delude yourself anymore, Lucien. Although we also want to strive for it, it's useless, and we can only give up."

  "It's come to this, Osorio's men may have already reached La Tasajera Palace. No use, Lucien, give up."

  "Even if Osorio's affairs have not yet arrived, how long will it take for new scores to be written? Playing well the current pieces may also lead to success."

  In an atmosphere of disappointment and giving up, Lucien retreated a few steps back, feeling extremely exhausted, disappointed and self-blaming: "Perhaps it's really the arrangement of fate that I got injured and asked for leave, if..."

  "It doesn't matter anyway, it's not my problem, let it fail then." Infected with despair, Lucien seemed to have also become like the others in the rest room, colorless and a dull gray.

  But immediately, Lucien thought of Victor's care and attention to himself over the past few months, thought of his own three-week-long, hopeful, and unwavering piano practice, thought of his perseverance in braving the storm, and then saw Victor's seemingly lifeless state, saw Lotte and Phyllis' disappointed but unchanging expressions, Lucien felt an even stronger emotion rising up within him:

  That's a deep sense of regret, having made so much preparation and effort, can I just accept such a result?

  That's still an idea worth trying out, why complain about things that have already happened and instead strive for the present and future?!

  No matter how big the obstacles and troubles are, we must face them, overcome them, and grasp the hope. How can we give up now?

  Lucien took a deep breath, looked around the lounge and found that piano. It was a new musical instrument remade by Viktor and Rhein, so it was given to the association as a gift. It was placed in the lounge just for decoration, symbolizing Viktor's contribution to this instrument.

  Wrenching free from Lotte's grasp, Lucien ran quickly over and sat down on the piano stool, opening the lid.

  "What are you doing?! Lucien!" Lot and Hieronymus thundered in unison, while Phyllis got up and walked behind Lucien, as she was closest to the piano.

  Only Rhein looked at Lucien's movements with a curious and amused expression. What kind of music could there be in three weeks?

  Lucien didn't say a word, with intense emotions, he pressed down heavily with both hands.

  Dong dong dong dong, dong dong dong dong.

  Fearsome, powerful notes filled with shock resounded in the rest room, Viktor's hands trembled, unable to support his head, and he suddenly sprang up straight, staring blankly in the direction of the piano.

  Phyllis, Lotte and Hierodeus' hearts skipped a beat, they stood still for a moment before remembering to stop Lucien.

  And then, as if a stormy aftermath, the subsequent melody began to emerge with Lucien's playing, fast, intense and shocking. Such melodies continued one after another, just like merciless hardships, like the mad giant waves in the ocean, like the bugle calls on the battlefield, the tide of enemies came rushing without giving anyone a chance to breathe.

  Occasionally there is a brief soothing melody, but it often brings about even more intense, desperate and difficult situations, as if it were the brief calm before death.

  But in the face of such great difficulties, in the face of such deep setbacks, no one gave up. They all persevered with determination and fought bravely, making people anxious and worried. It was as if on a vast stormy sea, every sailor on a small fishing boat worked together to manipulate the sails and oars, fighting against the harsh environment, floating up and down without capsizing. It was like on a battlefield where blood splattered everywhere and corpses littered the ground, each phalanx formation stood firm in the face of arrows and flying spears that filled the sky, with those in front falling and those behind filling in, maintaining their neat ranks.

  This heart-stirring melody caused Phyllis, Lotte and Hierod to stop abruptly, filled with doubt and confusion as they gazed at Lucien's profile, his face still dripping with water droplets. Meanwhile, Laine suddenly stood up, seemingly unable to suppress the emotions in her heart.

  Lucien gritted his teeth and strummed:

  Why give up? Why give up?!

  You can still go after Baron Osiero, even if you can't catch up, you can also find Princess Natasha to ask for a song change, even if she doesn't agree, you can still use the charm of music to convince her, why give up? Why give up?!

  As long as there is still a glimmer of hope, you can't give up!

  Emotions merged into the music, and the first movement of the Symphony of Fate grew more intense, causing Lotte and Phyllis, who had stopped beside them, to tremble all over.

  Was it fate that made you give up, or did you give up on yourself?

  Was it fate that defeated you, or was it difficulties and setbacks?

  A series of intense and shocking melodies seemed to pierce through Viktor's soul like sharp arrows, causing him to unconsciously straighten up, feeling as if he was being interrogated by the Lord.

  Lucien's hands flew swiftly over the strings, his emotions resonating with the music, and then became even more intense as he was infected by the music, recalling his own tumultuous experiences of the past few months.

  I want a peaceful life, I want a warm family, I want to love my parents and relatives, but somehow I crossed over, lost everything, filled with pain, and also saw witches being burned to death, forced to go on an adventure in the sewers.

  I want to learn and improve my life, but I was blocked by a gang and beaten up by them.

  I want to study magic in peace, but this is Alto, where the church's power is extremely strong. I can only risk my life, constantly wandering on the edge of darkness and light, facing death again and again.

  Did I give up? Did I give up?!

  I haven't given up!

  As long as I am still alive, I will struggle, I will change my life, and I will change my destiny!

  Lucien's emotions grew more intense, his movements wild and frenzied as if a heart attack was imminent, the turbulent melody filled with unyielding meaning.

  Is it fate that makes you lose hope, or did you choose to give up on hope yourself?

  Is it fate that makes you surrender or did you submit to "fate" yourself?

  Is it fate that determines your life, or did you choose your fate?

  No, as long as I am still alive, I can think, I will not choose to give up. I want to grasp the throat of fate, I want to face setbacks and move forward, I want to defeat all hardships!

  In the midst of the surging notes, Viktor couldn't help but stand up, his fists clenched.

  P.S. The several parallel sentences about fate come from my good friend, Qi Si Mao. I happened to see him write these sentences and felt they were better than what I originally prepared, so after obtaining his consent, I used them instead. Thank you very much.

  Also PS: 5,000 words big chapter, equivalent to an extra update!