Chapter 291: The Pianist in My Heart

Ding-dong-ding-dong……

Long and powerful fingers danced over the keys.

The beautiful melody of "Für Elise" began to rise slowly, with notes dancing at the fingertips. The graceful figure wrapped in thin gauze seemed to be bathed in a golden glow under the light of the fireplace.

The final notes echoed softly.

Duniko Fengxinzi lifted her hands away, letting out a barely perceptible sigh.

Behind her, the maid holding the evening gown asked in a low voice, “Miss, don’t you want to attend tonight’s banquet? Sir Richard is waiting for you to dance the first dance.”

“I’m only eighteen, Luya, you understand? I’m only eighteen. I don’t want to get married so early. Why is this Richard pestering me and the Fengxinzi family like some lustful old man who hasn’t known a woman in fifty years? Can’t he just wait for two more years? He came to pester us before the festival and now he’s back again after the festival!”

“Miss, Sir Richard is deeply in love with you.”

“Oh, what a joke. This is merely a marriage of convenience, devoid of any emotional connection. Fengxinzi pulled off the thin gauze covering her body, exposing her perfect form completely as the maid Luya helped her change clothes. Moreover, he doesn’t meet my aesthetic standards.”

The maid Luya asked, “Then what kind of nobleman does Miss like?”

“Elegant, indifferent, handsome, and able to play beautiful piano melodies... Only those free from ulterior motives can produce truly moving music.”

“Are you talking about Baron Liszt, Miss? You play ‘Für Elise’ every day now. But the Master doesn’t seem very happy. He’s quite angry about your affairs at Tulip Castle. You should try not to anger the Master.”

“He’s trying to win the favor of the Pineapple Green family. Many believe the Longtaro family is on the decline, so he’s eagerly looking for a new patron. But I don’t want to let him have his way. Brother Meopo will get through this, and the Longtaro family will still rule Red Crab Island.”

Duniko Fengxinzi finished changing her undergarments and tied her hair up, regaining the noble lady’s graceful elegance. Her face carried a hint of nostalgia. “I simply wanted to relax at Longtaro Castle. I never expected to meet Liszt. His carefree attitude while playing the piano was a kind of reckless freedom I had never seen before.”

“Yes, Baron Liszt is even a little bit more handsome than Sir Meopo.”

“I spent one of the most delightful evenings of my life at Longtaro Castle, Luya. You can’t imagine how strong he is, and how... merciless!”

“No wonder you can’t seem to forget him, which is why you play ‘Für Elise’ every day.”

“No, I will forget him; the moment he left Longtaro Castle, I began to forget him. I want to make some changes to ‘Für Elise’. This piano piece has several flaws. It seems like an improvisation... I guess it was something Liszt played on the spur of the moment. I could tell how indifferent he was during the ball.”

“Then why don’t you write him a letter for advice?”

“I’ve already taken the initiative once and don’t wish to do so again. I am the thorny rose of Red Crab Island, not a common daisy.”

The evening gown was already changed.

Duniko looked at herself in the crystal mirror, still blooming like a rose. She took a deep breath and put on the standard smile of a noble lady. “Let’s go.”

……

“Triplets of Rubber Tree Spirit Bugs?”

Seeing the reward for the smoky mission, Liszt found it unbelievable. He had never heard of spirit bugs being born as twins or triplets.

As the essence nurtured by plants, spirit bugs always appeared as single individuals.

At least, in the information he possessed, there had never been any mention of twin or triplet spirit bugs. Not even in those absurd knight novels had any author been imaginative enough to describe multiple spirit bugs.

“The result of this mutation is really... something!”

Regardless of whether there had ever been multiple spirit bugs before, at least now, the result was exciting. He had originally expected just one, but suddenly there were three.

Just like a buy-one-get-two promotional offer.

"Perfectly timed, now that analyzing rubber has become increasingly important, having three spirit bugs means the cultivation of rubber trees can be significantly improved, and rubber production will also increase."

This was an excellent variation, and Lisszt was very satisfied with the result.

He contained his excitement and started focusing on the new mission.

"Mission: A performance of 'Für Elise' spread the fame of the Piano King Lisszt across Red Crab Island, and stirred the emotions of a certain young lady. You think a night of passion is the end, but there might be a chance for another round. Please write a letter to Duniko Hyacinth. Reward: A melody from memory."

After reading the content of the Serpentine Smoke text clearly.

Lisszt's earlier surprise was quickly replaced with absurdity. "What nonsense!"

The Piano King Lisszt?

When Lisszt touched the piano at Longtaro Castle, he thought his music could stun the world, but he never intended to become the Piano King.

And although he occasionally recalled the spiritual and physical union of that passionate moment with Duniko, he had no plans to stir her again.

What further frustrated him was that the reward was just a melody from memory. What was the point?

He wished he had just been mistaken.

But the Serpentine Smoke mission, clear and unmistakable, engraved content he couldn't ignore. He truly had to write a letter to Duniko, and then receive some melody, which might be a popular song or a piano piece.

In his previous life as an IT worker, there was a time when he coded while listening to "70 Famous Piano Pieces," a playlist he always looped.

After a moment.

He relaxed.

He accepted the reward content of the Smoke Mission; useless or not, he'd deal with the next mission. He acknowledged the mission content too; if there was a chance to be with Duniko again, why not seize it?

What he was pondering was why.

Why would the Smoke Mission release such bizarre content and offer such a mundane reward? "The Smoke Mission comes from the Smoke Dragon, a force of destiny driving all this... What does fate represent? The birth of spirits within the territory, a mermaid in danger, the invasion of the Formless Dragon, Parris sneaking in, these are all things that may or may not happen."

But they eventually do happen and are grasped by Lisszt in the form of missions.

There are also missions that stem from the desires of the territory's residents, pulling at the strings of fate. For example, Kosto wanting to sail the seas, Renard wishing to bake bread, Carrasco aspiring to be a master builder, and even Hiddleston wanting to unleash magic.

Furthermore, there are things the territory already possesses, such as a super-small saltpeter mine, fragments of a Fire Dragon bone, and the magical beasts of Thorns Ridge, and so on.

"Thus, the triggering of Smoke Missions, or the activation of fate, occurs in three ways — the first is something already present in my surroundings, and fate guides me to obtain it; the second is something that may or may not happen, and fate guides me to acquire or make it happen; the third is that human desires and wishes can also tug at fate?"

Thinking of this.

He examined himself in the mirror once more: "Having tasted the marrow, wanting another round with Duniko is nothing to be surprised about... Deep down, am I really a pianist at heart?"