[V9C6] A Wailing Musician Separated From His Soulmate

It had only been a few minutes since introductions, and the atmosphere between Elliott and Ryn was already tense.

Elliott made no attempt to conceal his displeasure, while Ryn looked completely unconcerned. In fact, she probably didn’t care at all.

His aura of irritation caused Monica to develop a knot in her stomach. But in this situation, she could do little aside from praying for Benjamin’s quick arrival.

However, even after the scheduled time came and went, there was still no sign of Benjamin.

Elliott glared at his pocket watch and frowned.

“Dammit Benjamin… I know you’ve always been lax with schedules, but you’ve never been this late before.”

“Is that the name of the musician who will be accompanying us?” Ryn asked.

Elliott completely ignored Ryn’s question, as if saying the maid was not worth his time. Nevertheless, the unfazed Ryn simply went on to point at one of the trees behind them.

“Someone has been singing behind that tree for a while now. Perhaps they might be related to the person you are looking for?”

“What!?”

Elliott turned toward the tree and groaned.

Monica followed suit, and there was indeed someone behind the shadow of the tree. The few strands of hair that were visible seemed to match Benjamin’s flaxen hair.

The enraged Elliott approached the tree with long strides, with Monica jogging clumsily behind him.

As they got closer to the tree, the faint sound of singing became audible. Although the lyrics were still indistinguishable, the song seemed to have a melancholic tone.

“Benjamin!!”

Elliott quickly pulled Benjamin out from behind the tree and into the open.

As far as Monica knew, the musician Benjamin Mordin was usually seen standing tall with confidence, or perhaps gazing at the sky as if enraptured by something. He would often wave his fingers like a conductor’s baton.

However, the current Benjamin had a hunched back, looking completely and utterly dispirited.

“Oh, it’s you, Elliott… I might be done for… I’m in a complete slump. The music isn’t coming to me anymore…”

Benjamin mumbled with a feeble voice, causing Elliott to grimace.

“You can just play an existing piece. That won’t be a problem as long as you’re not writing any new songs.”

“No! Never! How can one claim to be a musician if their notes do not come from the heart! I’ve finally been abandoned by the god of music! If only I could express this heart-rending agony through music, but unfortunately, I’ve already been separated from my soulmate…”

Soulmate? Monica tilted her head in confusion.

With his temple twitching, Elliott probed for additional details.

“…Surely you don’t mean…”

“I pawned off my beloved violin to escape the debt collectors.”

After muttering “you damn idiot” under his breath, Elliott took a deep breath to suppress his emotions.

“…I’ll arrange for a new violin.”

“Elliott. A violin is like the other half of a musician’s soul! It takes time for a new violin to blend with these hands, fingers, and my entire being! Just like it takes time to cultivate a passionate love with a woman you’ve just met, conversing with a new violin requires…”

“Who the hell pawned off their soulmate in the first place?!”

After yelling at Benjamin, Elliott turned to Monica with a bitter frown.

“…First time seeing him like this, huh? I assure you, he’s always been this way. Everyone in his family is a spendthrift through and through. They’re practically always neck-deep in debt.”

Monica let out a quiet gasp as Benjamin slicked back his hair and let out a feeble chuckle.

“Hahaha… No, Elliott. All musicians are like that.”

“Apologize to all the musicians who aren’t you. Immediately.”

Despite his cutting remarks, Elliott seemed unwilling to abandon Benjamin. After all, the performance of the popular musician was one of the festival’s main highlights.

“Alright, fine, I get it. A piano, then. You can’t complain if you get a properly tuned piano, right?”

“No! How could I possibly discuss love with a piano when I’m in such a slump…!”

“Slump or no, I’ll make you play, no matter what!!”

Elliott grabbed Benjamin by the collar and began literally dragging him along. He only paused for a moment to turn to Monica and say, “Come on, we’re leaving!”

Monica frantically chased after him, while Ryn followed the group with her usual calm demeanor.

(T-This seems… very, very bad…)

All they had were a maid who failed to understand humans, a musician in a slump, and an introverted Sage. This was a recipe for disaster.

Monica could not help but worry about the difficulties of the road ahead.

＊　＊　＊

The carriage bound for Rainfield was filled with a gloomy air.

Elliott was clearly in a bad mood, and Benjamin hugged a cushion while constantly mumbling to himself about the music not coming. In contrast, Ryn sat perfectly upright with a face devoid of all emotion.

(I wanted to ask about the magical dedication ten years ago, but… I don’t think I can right now…)

Trying to break into this atmosphere was too much to ask from the timid Monica.

She could do little aside from gently massaging the knot in her stomach. Noticing this, the adjacently seated Ryn turned to Monica using only her neck. The rest of her body was still facing forward.

“Silent Witch-dono, are you feeling motion sick?”

“Um, w-well, maybe…”

“If you so desire, I am capable of ending your suffering by putting you to sleep. Would you like that?”

Although Ryn probably had good intentions, the way she phrased it sounded like a declaration of murder.

“N-No, I’m fine…”

“Please do not hesitate to inform me if you require my services.”

Monica decided that Ryn’s services were largely unnecessary, going back to massaging her stomach.

Following this exchange, Elliott crossed his arms and stared daggers at Ryn.

“Hey maid. Why do you address your master like that?”

“Is there a problem with my method of address? Elliott Howard-dono.”

Ryn’s response caused Elliott to raise an eyebrow. It was quite inappropriate for a servant like her to address a noble in this manner.

The Seven Sages were rather lenient in this regard, probably because they understood that Ryn wasn’t human. However, Elliott was a staunch believer in the class system.

The concerned Monica tugged on Ryn’s sleeve and scolded her in a hushed voice.

“R-Ryn-san, you shouldn’t, um, call him like that… Maybe you could use ‘-sama’ as the honorific…”

“I recognize that ‘-sama’ is an honorific used for guests and individuals deserving of respect. In which case, appending ‘-dono’ can be considered fairly respectful when compared to using no honorifics whatsoever.”

“Ryn-san…!?”

According to that logic, Ryn did not particularly respect Monica, let alone her real master Louis. Well, come to think of it, she didn’t seem to have much respect for him.

Since Ryn was a spirit, she likely considered humans to be on the same level by default, whether they were commoners or nobles. Adding ‘-dono’ was simply her normal level of politeness.

As Monica quivered her lips in panic, Elliott glared at Ryn in disdain.

“Hoh? So you mean to say I’m not worthy of your respect?”

“It appears that you are dissatisfied with being called Elliott Howard-dono.”

“I’m telling you to know your place and behave accordingly!”

Even as Elliott shouted in fury, Ryn remained completely unfazed.

“Understood. In that case, I shall call you…”

Ryn gave a single nod and stared right back at Elliott before continuing.

“Elliott-bocchama.”

The entire room froze. Everyone went silent.

Elliott was expressionless, and Monica knew why. When someone’s emotions exceeded a certain threshold, all of the emotion would vanish from their face.

They reached Rainfield several hours later, and every second of the silence was utter torture. Monica half-regretted not asking Ryn to knock her out so she could sleep through it all.

Monica began attempting to escape from reality as a coping mechanism. Perhaps they could simply agree that the conversation in the carriage never happened?

Unfortunately, Ryn was not a considerate enough spirit for that. After exiting the carriage, she extended her hand to Elliott as if it were only natural.

“Your hand, please, Elliott-bocchama.”

After glowering at Ryn with spite, Elliott cracked a sarcastic smile.

“Thank you for your concern, Nanny.”

Ignoring Ryn’s outstretched hand, Elliott leapt out of the carriage and walked off with the still-slumped Benjamin in tow.

After sending them off, Ryn turned to Monica with the same expressionless face as always.

“I have succeeded in making Elliott-bocchama feel a sense of familiarity. The mission is progressing very smoothly.”

Monica desperately clung onto her staff to prevent herself from collapsing to her knees.

As a side note, Ryn considered Rosalie Miller worthy of respect because she was formidable enough to become Louis’s wife. Leonora was also worthy of respect since she was Rosalie’s daughter.

However, Louis has yet to do anything to earn her respect.

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