Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Pachelbel, Canon (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The nobles gathered in front of the theater.
They exchanged conversations with faces full of anticipation.
Perhaps because this was the first solo concert held immediately after the celebratory performance for the send-off ceremony, the reaction was much hotter than usual.
“Don’t push!”
“Wasn’t I here first?”
Scenes of people cutting in line were witnessed here and there.
“Listen well and learn. There’s a rumor that this performer is a cut above the academy’s professors.”
Sights of family heads instilling early education into their children were also captured.
“Hahaha! I’m truly looking forward to today’s concert.”
“I heard from Edward that it is said to be the highest level among the pieces released so far.”
The clamorous voices made it feel like a marketplace.
Among them, the topic that rose most actively was, as expected.
“By the way, have you heard the news about the limited edition scores being sold starting today?”
“What!”
“It’s an item that only the audience members who watched the concert can purchase, and it’s only available for five days.”
“Is that so?”
Dominic Alman, the head of a local baron’s family, who had been quietly listening to the nobles’ conversation, twitched the corners of his mouth and raised them.
From anyone’s perspective, it was a look of barely suppressed laughter.
‘My apologies. I will buy all of those scores.’
He had received a contact from a merchant guild not long ago.
Thanks to that, he learned faster than anyone else that limited edition scores would be sold at the concert.
“My Lord, this is an opportunity.”
The guild master had prepared the funds and handed them to him.
There was only one request.
“Please acquire as many scores as possible. If we sell them on the black market, we can make at least ten times the profit.”
“Ten times? Do you, a guild master, not know the law of supply and demand? Sell them at a hundred times the price!”
The funds were prepared in abundance, so clearing out the scores was not a problem.
There wasn’t even a word about purchase limits.
‘I see the money!’
Just as Dominic was spewing out a wicked thrill, the theater doors finally opened, and entry began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“I will leave a message at the workshop. Young Master, please do not worry and focus only on the concert.”
“I’m counting on you.”
As he said, first and foremost, he had to give the audience who came to the theater a good performance.
Johann Pachelbel’s Canon, which he had arranged with Erdi.
He left the aftermath to Edward and took the stage.
He bowed his waist in a greeting and then sat down at the piano.
His two hands were on the keys.
First, a chord to calm the mind.
A simple yet beautiful melody was added bit by bit, gently embracing the listener’s body like an incoming wave.
Clear and warm, leaving an endless afterglow.
The solemn and restrained bass created by the left hand.
The right hand, moving as if dancing, draws a simple yet splendid melody.
Like reproducing a quiet dawn with sound, a tranquil resonance and peace bloomed like smoke.
And several variations.
More abundant and splendid.
A subtle sense of change felt within the repeating flow.
It felt like a song of comfort, consoling everyone weary from life.
The waves of emotion swelled.
The charm of the Canon was nothing else.
A melody that captures the ear and appeals to the heart.
There was no outstanding technique or spirit of experimentation.
It simply depicted an overwhelming narrative with nothing but a plain and pure melody.
As the audience carefully caught their breath, nostalgia unfolded in their sight.
The rhythm dyed the depths of their hearts with longing.
A past that cannot be returned to.
Or someone they can never meet.
They silently faced the scenery slowly appearing before their eyes.
Before long, the performance ended.
There was no applause, no cheers.
Only quietly.
The sight of the audience covering their faces and sobbing.
An experience beyond simple music.
They had become one with the music.
After quietly watching that sight, he descended from the stage.
A standing ovation rang out in the empty theater some time later.
Behind that lively response, he moved on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The aftereffects were brief.
The inside of the theater became noisy again.
The audience flocked to Edward, who was waiting.
“The commemorative score is ten silver coins per copy!”
“Give me one!”
A rather high price for a score.
But with the merit of being a limited edition and the inspiration from the performance, the nobles formed a huge crowd, each trying to buy at least one.
In the midst of the bustling, chaotic scene, as if they had come to an auction house, one person raised their hand and spoke.
“Give me all the remaining ones!”
It was Baron Dominic.
“Hey! Didn’t you say ten silver coins per copy?”
Several lords, knowing his financial situation, shouted urgently.
Even if it was a limited edition, there should be enough in stock for the audience to purchase sufficiently.
To buy all of them, silver coins wouldn't do.
He would need at least several hundred gold coins.
An amount that far exceeds the annual living expenses of a commoner household.
“That’s why I’m telling you to give them to me! Give me all of them!”
Dominic pulled a leather pouch from his chest and shook it in the air.
When opened, it contained several handfuls of gleaming gold coins.
“What are we supposed to do if you buy all the scores?”
The nobles, dumbfounded by the unexpected situation, urgently called for Edward.
It was a request to at least impose a purchase limit.
However.
“Since you spoke first, it is right to sell all of them to the Baron.”
“What is the meaning of this!”
“Hahaha! Quickly load them onto my carriage!”
The victor was Baron Dominic.
And so, the limited edition commemorative scores sold out on the very first day of release.
The remaining nobles had to return empty-handed.
“When did that guy have so much money?”
“I was expecting something since it was a limited edition, but what a shame.”
They did not know.
Baron Dominic knew even less.
That they had already become part of a plan set by someone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“As expected of the Baron!”
As soon as Dominic returned to his territory, he handed the scores over to the guild master.
“If we sell these on the black market, we can all become wealthy!”
“Shall we hold a banquet?”
“Hahaha!”
He had burned through over five hundred gold coins to purchase all the scores.
But no problem.
If he resells them to the nobles at a high price, he will be able to pocket a profit dozens of times greater.
A monopoly on the market.
Indeed, the first day yielded a decent profit.
He sold ten copies each to the nobles in nearby territories who had made reservations in advance.
But that was the end of it.
“Why aren’t these selling suddenly?”
A day passed, then two, then three.
Not a single person came to trade the scores he had put up on the black market.
“Did I raise the price too much?”
Even when he lowered the price, the situation was the same.
‘Souvenir’ and ‘Limited Edition.’
These were the words nobles who enjoyed showing off and indulging in luxury loved the most.
They must surely be wanting them enough to go crazy for them?
There was no other reason for the sales to be poor.
“It seems the rumor hasn’t spread enough yet. Instead of waiting, I should take action myself.”
Dominic and the guild master loaded the carriage with scores and headed for the capital.
“It’s been a while, Baron! We were in the middle of a lord’s meeting, so your arrival is timely.”
A lord’s meeting.
A type of social gathering where lords managing nearby territories gathered to build friendships and plan for the future.
‘This is perfect!’
It was a tremendous opportunity.
If he brought out the limited edition scores here, he could sweep up money and also gain a foothold among the lords.
“Would everyone please take a look at this?”
“Hmm?”
“Isn’t this the new score by Anton Tilberg? It seems the Baron has purchased one as well.”
“That’s exactly right! It’s a commemorative item sold only for five days...”
“Sold only for five days?”
“Pardon?”
The count he was talking to stood up from his seat, went to a drawer, and soon returned holding a stack of papers.
“...What is this supposed to be?”
“What else? It’s obviously the new score collection Anton Tilberg released this time. It contains a piece called Canon, and it is truly a masterpiece.”
“We have a copy at our house as well.”
“Us too. My daughter loved it.”
Dominic stared blankly at the score in the count’s hand.
It was much more splendid and high-quality than his own.
‘What is this?’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the first place, planning a limited edition had a simple reason.
He wanted to give a more meaningful gift to the audience who came to watch the concert.
But things went awry.
A single greedy baron bought up all the commemorative items, couldn’t he?
And he even tried to release them on the black market to satisfy his own greed.
Truly, there is no one crazier.
Of course, he had laid the groundwork for it to happen.
“The Young Master is a more frightening person than I thought.”
“He doesn’t hold back when the other side strikes first.”
There is a saying that a beating is the cure for a madman.
So, he simply treated the limited edition commemorative items as if they never existed.
“This time, let’s add some gold foil to the cover as well. And once it’s complete, send all of them to me.”
“All of them?”
“They will have my personal signature on the inside.”
“Such a grand intention!”
Thanks to the Baron buying up all the commemorative items, he made quite a bit of money.
Since he could now decorate the additional printed scores more splendidly, he would like to extend his thanks.
By the way, what will he do with all those scores?
That’s not my problem.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Of course. I feel like I could fly.”
A short time later.
Canon scores with my personal signature began to flood the market.
And in huge numbers.
“While you’re at it, send some to the newspaper company, the monastery, and scatter them everywhere.”
“Hahaha! Understood.”
It was now to the point where one could say there was no Imperial citizen who did not possess this score.
The era of Canon had arrived.