Chapter 75 (1/2)

4 (3) – 2A hollow, high pitched tune echoed in that vacuous cellar.

It was intended to have a bright and cheery tone, but it ended up coming out quite lonesome instead. Even though she was surprised that she managed to play the tune until the end, even if it was a little poor, there was no one there to congratulate her or play alongside her.

Sitting all alone in that cellar, Finne’s lips separated from the flute. She wondered just why she was here, practising fruitlessly all by herself.

There was no one that would hear her play anymore.

“Yo, you sure got better, huh?”

Then, from behind her, she suddenly heard an unexpected round of applause.

“Just when did you manage to play that tune till the end? Nice job!”

“It’s still not nearly good enough. She’s out of tune, her rhythm is all over the place and she never hits the highest notes properly!”

“Hey, come on now, one hurdle at a time alright?”

As that happy voice full of praise and the slightly harsher one critiquing her mingled together, Finne looked behind her at the source of those familiar sounds.

“Been a while, right? So I guess the true culprit of the underground noise this time was just Finne?”

The first person she saw was Klaus shrugging his shoulders. Beside him was Camilla, her eyes as sharp as ever. A little behind those two were Alois and Camilla’s maid, Nicole, still making their way down the stairs.

Finne blinked in silence, suddenly being confronted with the appearance of people she never thought to see again. But rather than surprise or relief, the feeling that beat in her heart was excitement.

Suddenly, that cold and lonely basement burst into life.

〇

Over the past few days, Finne had snuck out of her family’s home to play once again.

“I haven’t seen the other four at all. My family doesn’t want me to see them either, they say they’re a ‘bad influence’…”

When Klaus asked her about what had been happening, Finne told him that with a sullen voice.

“Everyone else is probably in a similar situation. Victor might especially be in trouble since his fiancée Mia’s house isn’t very wealthy at all. I heard my parents discussing that maybe it was Mia who told the vigilantes where we were, maybe everyone else’s parents think the same thing…”

“What a farce.”

As Camilla frowned, Finne nodded sadly.

“We started doing this because we wanted to, right? But because it was for the sake of Mia’s wedding, our parents suspect her. Apparently, they’re even talking about the engagement being annulled. Or at least, that’s what my parents said…”

Hearing that unpleasant story, Camilla’s glare deepened. She didn’t find the irony of a marriage being put in jeopardy because of a band practising a song to celebrate it amusing at all.

“We really should have stopped when Mister Klaus found us out after all… We should have understood the danger.”