BXBX NOVEL Chapter 356 Timely Chance
"Lainie! Are you sure about that? What if the deans become disappointed in us when we fail?" Marie asked, she was surprised that Lainie was persuaded so easily.
"What can go wrong? Besides the Great Inventor is right, it still depends on the teachers if they would accept us to become their trainees. If not, we could all go back to the lives we had previously.
But as for me, I want to grab this opportunity, even if there's little hope for me." Lainie answered sincerely.
"Screw it! I'm tired of carving cheap wooden blocks! I'll join Lainie tomorrow!" Max was the second to persuade.
"Well, there's no harm in trying. They even said that they will not pressure us to win. They will just need us to be proper representatives of our school… I believe that I have gone through enough insults on a daily basis to get intimidated by the rivals…" Raphael shrugged as he looked at Anna who also had an expression of agreement.
With the four agreeing, only the piano quartet members remained. This could not be helped too, because the quartered have been together ever since they found out that they were collectively abandoned by their masters.
And so they decided to just put up the quartet as they try to get by with how many shinies they were able to gain in a day of playing who knows how many pieces.
The three of the quartet looked at Desmond to try to figure out what his decision was. But Desmond remained silent.
In the end, they let the day end without coming up with a decision.
The next day, Lainie, Max, Anna, and Raphael eagerly dressed up to meet Eli and the so-called teachers to audition.
"Lainie, I am feeling nervous…" Anna clutched her chest nervously as they took breakfast before heading out.
"Everything will be fine… think of all this as just trying our luck…" Lainie was also equally nervous yet in her heart the sense of anticipation is continually growing as the designated time of the meeting gets nearer.
"Let's eat a not well enough so that we won't think of anything but the auditions later on. Whatever happens, happens. We are just trying." Max eagerly took the bowl of soup and the rye bread that they ordered from the inn.
Raphael also did the same, in their eyes a fiery look eager to take on the challenges which they firmly believe might change their life to something a little better.
As they were eating, they were started as they saw four neatly dressed figures approaching them calmly. They paused in surprise as they recognized who they were - the Piano Quartet team.
"We've made up our minds…" Desmond calmly declared as he sat at a nearby table across them, signaling the innkeeper to serve them meals. The other three also had the same determined look on their faces.
Lainie and the rest smiled in relief. Eight of them have gone through something none of the students in Prasinos might ever experience and each one of them hoped that they would pull through together.
Now that they all tried to take the chance, all they had to do is to showcase everything they got through sheer hard work and passion.
"We have decided to not stress ourselves with the tournament for now, that we will take things step by step…" Marie added.
"That's how it was supposed to be!" Raphael gave a sunny smile as he looked at them happily.
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While the eight young people prepare for their auditions, Eli and the three deans including Grandpa Ben went busy welcoming the important guests they had for today - the women of the Imperial Family.
At first, Grandpa Ben and the rest thought that Eli was a little reckless for thinking that she could ask not only one but all the Imperial women in the palace to become the teachers of their students!
What's more, the people they had to teach were commoners!
However, Eli didn't seem to see the situation as something problematic. Instead, she immediately asked for Leon's support for the matter and quickly organized a meeting with the women.
Too nervous that Eli might incur the ridicule of the Queens and Princess Consorts, Grandpa Ben and Bramwell and the three Deans insisted on accompanying Eli in case everything would go sideways.
When they finally met the Queens and Consort, they were completely dumbfounded about how the women treated Eli differently.
"Oh, young Eli! You're finally here! It's good to see you too Grandmaster, Vice Chairman, and Deans!" Queen Tehila smiled amicably. In her eyes was an unmasked pleasure to meet Eli once again.
"When we saw your letter saying that you wanted to discuss something for us and that it was something fun, we couldn't wait for this day to come…" Queen Lucia also greeted them gently. She had a smile that showed that Eli's presence was genuinely welcome in the palace.
"Yes! You kept me awake for a few nights, I was thinking what kind of thing you had for us that would take away our boredom!" Evelyn seconded.
"Indeed, I am excited too.." Arielle who was the shyest among the four also said her piece.
Eli let out a light chuckle and reciprocated the women's welcome like they were old friends. Shortly they moved to discuss the matter with the women.
Explaining everything from start to finish, the Imperial women did not talk for a little while which made Grandpa Ben and the rest become nervous.
Eli on the other hand remained calm and confident. Her expression says that she believed that the Queens and Consorts would accept her proposal.
"So… what would be your compensation for this Lady Eli~~~" Evelyn who was slowly gaining back her sociable personality, looked at Eli teasingly.
"Of course, I did not come unprepared." Eli sipped her tea before taking out something from her pouch.
Everyone's eyes opened wide as they saw the things Eli had taken out. It was a bunch of books and a few booklets probably regarding the women's interests.
"This…" They stood up and inspected the books.
The next thing that Grandpa Ben and the rest saw was the women gasping in interest as they looked at the books excitedly.
"That was just a taste of all the collections I have… This is just a show of my goodwill, it's yours even if you declined my request." Eli calmly told them as she gave the books one by one.
Only then did Grandpa Ben and the rest realize that the books that Eli gave were the rarest books of painting and music from their respective instruments.
The women quietly took the book and browsed its contents slowly. The more they read through the pages, the more the sparkle of interest appeared in their eyes.
"If you ever agree, I would be even willing to donate more of these books to the exclusive Imperial Library." Eli squinted cunningly as she finally took out her biggest and strongest bait.
For the short time she interacted with these women, Eli concluded one thing - they were extremely bored. With Carolina and her minions out in the palace, they were able to finally relax and live more freely.
But years of being completely suppressed by her, forcing them to live like hermits in their own palaces had completely changed their habits.
And so, they all found themselves feeling useless unless their spouses needed them around.
With that, Eli took time to get to know them more as part of her preparation for making Little Han enter the palace and figured out their interest. Coincidentally she needs people who will help the students become prepared for the tournament.
So why not engage them to cure their boredom and regain the student's confidence at the same time?
True enough they all agreed with the excited look on their faces. In fact, they pressed Eli and Bramwell as to when they would see the students.
If not for Eli saying that they must first assess if these students are worth the effort, they would have asked Eli to immediately summon the students the next day.
And so they were back at the present time, still quite nervous and in disbelief that the women were really accepting Eli's request to teach the young ones.
Eli on the other hand looked at Randel who was already waiting calmly in the hall, "Randel, thank you for accepting my request. You don't know how much relief I felt when you accepted my request."
"It's all good. Besides, Master has been going at me aggressively in making me find an apprentice to teach. He said that I could no longer grow if I remained by myself and not look for someone to teach." Randel nodded as he replied to Eli.
For some people, it looked like Randel was rather cold towards Eli but only those who were familiar with him knew that he was already treating Eli gently.
"Well, I admit that there's a lot of things you'll learn when you start teaching others. Maybe it's also time for you to figure out what those things are. Isn't this chance timely?" Eli replied with a smile.