Chapter 77

Chapter Fifty Moonlight

The wind had stopped.

People fell silent too.

I didn’t know what was happening.

Maybe it was because I was about to leave, or perhaps long-term yearning had made him suffer inside. His strong emotional appeal to his daughter received no proper response from me, so he said those words of remembrance.

But I didn’t know how to respond.

Even though I understood that this body essentially belonged to Peyalo.

But… could I just call a stranger—well, not exactly a stranger—I acknowledge that he has been very kind to me, and I will keep this kindness in my heart, but if I were to call him father…

Sorry, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

But what else could I do for him… How could I make him happy…

Suddenly, I remembered what the Duke had told me before.

“Miss Silviga, do you like music?”

“…Whenever I encountered something unpleasant, she would always pull me over and play some pleasant tunes…”

So let’s do that then.

“Duke Uncle.”

My soft, sweet voice, perhaps reminiscent of his memories.

I held his hand.

Due to his lifelong dedication to metallurgy research, the Duke’s fingers were thick and knotted, and his palms felt quite dry, somewhat like old tangerine peels—yet they were warm enough.

He looked at me with surprise.

“Come with me.”

“…What is it?”

“Back.”

Then he pulled me quickly towards the direction of the castle.

The hunters in the distance shouted to us.

“Oh~ Leaving already!”

“Little Pepe, you worked hard today too!”

“Eat less dessert, or you’ll get fat!”

I rolled my eyes, feeling rather bored, and waved at them half-heartedly.

“Shut up, did you all finish your training today!”

At the Duke’s shout, the hunters were startled and quickly pretended to start training again, which made the Duke shake his head repeatedly.

“I think Hoover, that old guy, wants a scolding. Look, he’s turned everyone into such a mess, it’s outrageous…”

Although these were scolding words, his tone was quite cheerful.

I laughed.

The sun was warm, even on this cold winter day, still shining warmly on my face.

A graceful young girl held an old man’s hand, walking through the towering fortress, passing through the exquisite corridors, drawing the gazes of countless hunters who watched eagerly.

Finally, we arrived at the piano room on the fourth floor of the castle.

Creak—

Pushing open the slightly ajar door, stepping onto the soft carpet.

There was a wooden three-legged piano covered with a cloth not far ahead.

It seemed like it hadn’t been used for a long time.

I released the Duke’s hand, turned around, and wanted to speak to him.

“Duke Uncle…”

“I’ll sit here.”

“…Okay.”

The Duke smiled and sat down in a chair nearby. I walked over, lifted the cloth, opened the lid completely, and gently sat down on the bench after adjusting my dress.

Adjusting the seat height, then opening the keyboard cover, the familiar scent wafted towards me.

Actually, I had confirmed this place before. The piano in this world was indeed identical to the one in my previous life. The eighty-eight keys, black and white alternating, were clearly reflected in my eyes.

I glanced at the Duke, saw his expectant expression, and he nodded lightly at me.

I took a deep breath, having already decided what I was going to play.

Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” a piece I knew by heart.

In fact, this piece should be played when it’s quiet at night… But it doesn’t matter now.

Slowly raising my arms above the keys, my fingers danced in the air a few times before swiftly descending.

Playing the first chord.

Gentle and lyrical melodies began to flow smoothly, and the Duke tapped out the rhythm with his hands and legs, enjoying the tender whispers.

I closed my eyes, as if immersed under the bright moonlight, hearing the sound of birds chirping.

Images appeared in my mind.

In a tranquil room, a pure white girl, delicate and ethereal, with skin like white jade. She sat elegantly at the piano, playing softly under the flowing moonlight.

The corners of her mouth carried a faint smile, her body swaying gently with the melody.

I wanted to go to her side, touch her weak back, but she suddenly looked up at me and gave me a sweet smile.

That was a face similar to mine, yet slightly more youthful.

The music flowed like water, slowly rising, and my vision suddenly turned white. The scenes buried deep in my heart transformed into notes, sweeping over me.

I saw silver-white hibiscus flowers, with a little girl smiling brightly within them.

“Dad, Dad! Look at me, look at me quick!”

Behind the little girl, a radiant young man was walking forward.

“Be careful.”

“Look at me! I’m going to fly!”

“Run slowly, don’t fall.”

“Wah~”

The small body fell to the ground.

“Haha, I told you to slow down, didn’t I… Let me see, are you hurt?”

“My butt hurts… Don’t laugh at me!”

“I won’t laugh, I won’t laugh… Pfft… Don’t be mad! I’ll rub it for you.”

“No, I’m already a big girl…”

“What nonsense are you talking, little one.”

“I’ve grown up! See, I’m not crying!”

“Okay, okay, our little Pepe has grown up!”

“Giggles~”

…

I saw a huge castle, where a little girl with pigtails rubbed her eyes and cried loudly, and a young noblewoman hurried over.

“Wah—, wah—!”

“What happened, who bullied you?”

“I… My brother, they went to the snow… mountain to play, and they don’t want… don’t want to take me! Wah—, they don’t take me!”

“…Those two rascals, sneaking off to the mountain again… Pepe, don’t cry, don’t cry, wait till I deal with them.”

“Mom, you will… you will punish him

“Should we stand?”

“Yeah! Make them stand for the whole night!”

“And… spank their butts, spank them hard.”

“Definitely!”

“And you promise… to spank them harder, I won’t cry…”

Her tear-streaked face was very serious.

“Yes, listen to our Pippi~”

“Yeah!”

…

I saw three young figures sneaking around in the snowy mountains with huge rocks towering over them.

“Sis… Sis Pippi, aren’t you cold… hic…”

“Not cold… Achoo!… Sniff, keep your voice down!”

“Let’s go back? There’s no silver fox here.”

“There is! Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“If we wait any longer… Grandpa… hic… will find us.”

“Paracel, are you scared?”

“…No, neither do you want to be punished, right?”

“I won’t be punished.”

“Why?”

“Because you two tricked me up here.”

“Huh?? Didn’t you say there was a silver fox and insisted that we come up to catch it?”

“I don’t care.”

“You…”

“Pippi, who told you there was a silver fox here?”

“…Uncle Hoover.”

“…Then it’s fine, let’s go back.”

“Why? Brother, you haven’t caught a silver fox for me yet, you promised!”

“There’s no silver fox here.”

“But Uncle Hoover said there was.”

“That was when he was little. Since the expansion of Schentel Castle, most animals here have moved away.”

“…Oh, how could this be…”

“Let’s go back.”

“…Okay… Maybe we should wait a bit more…”

“I’m leaving.”

“Wait for me!”

…

On the ramparts of Schentel Castle, Hoover looked puzzled at the castle behind him.

“Huh, did you guys hear this song before?”

The hunters beside him all had thoughtful expressions.

“Yeah… I don’t think so?”

“It’s not… The style of the music doesn’t seem like ours.”

“Probably Miss Pippi learned it somewhere else.”

“Yeah… I think it sounds nice.”

“You know nothing about music. This might be called something… what’s it called again…”

“Captain Hoover, I think we should stop pretending to be sophisticated. Knowing it’s good enough.”

“…Shut up.”

“The captain is angry!”

“Hahaha!”

…

In the music room, on the piano keys.

Fair and slender fingers raced across the keys, and the melody entered a high point after four continuous glissandos, the sound flowing down like water.

The tune suddenly changed.

The warm scene before started to distort, shatter, until it vanished completely.

The air turned gloomy and cold.

In the darkness, a girl covered in blood lay on a protruding cliff, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“…Grr… Ugh…”

The snow beneath her was stained with a large patch of crimson.

She struggled to move, only managing to shift her arm slightly, her face showing extreme pain.

“Cough… Cough…”

Blood poured from her mouth, the girl weakly gasping for breath, feeling her body temperature rapidly draining away.

Pain spread throughout her body, numbing her.

“Grr… Ugh… Is anyone… there…”

These murmurs were impossible to hear.

The girl struggled to take a breath.

“Grr… Cough… Is anyone there! Help me…”

“Is anyone there… I… I can’t move… I’m stuck…”

“Edward—!”

“Edward! Cough! Can you hear… me!”

“Edward! I’m okay, I don’t blame you… Don’t leave… I can’t move… I hurt so much… I can’t move…”

There was no response.

After a while, the girl, enduring deepening pain, rasped out a desperate call.

“Edward… Come back… come back…”

“Help me… I’m in pain… Think of something… help me…”

The cold wind pierced through her bones.

Gradually, the girl lost sensation in her limbs. Her once rosy lips had turned dark purple.

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

“Ugh… Ugh… Ed… Edward… I… am still alive… Ugh…”

“Wah… Wah…”

“Edward—”

The stifled sobs faded into the darkness, without even an echo.

Soon, she could no longer make a sound, only uttering humble and timid whispers.

“Edward… I… won’t… tell father… or mother… Please save me…”

“I’ll… listen to you… It’s my fault… I was wrong… I’ll do anything… Save me… I’m dying… Please, save me…”

“I don’t want to die… I’m scared… It’s so dark here… I’m so afraid… Don’t leave me here… I want to go home… I want to go home…”

Time passed, no one came to save her.

But slowly, the girl felt no more pain.

However, she was so tired.

“…Dad… Mom… I’m sorry…”

“Wah—”

“Why… Why… I was wrong… Wah… I was wrong… I’m sorry… Wah wah…”

“Why… kill me… Don’t kill me… Why…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Why…”

The last image in her memory was a faint light in the endless night.

The final note faded.

I slowly opened my eyes.