Chapter 140
"Now then... let's begin today's music class."
Clael, who had arrived at the music room, announced the start of the lesson.
Seated at the desks in the music room were mostly girls, at a ratio of about eight to two.
Even though it's an elective subject, the imbalance is quite significant.
Among the female students, there were a few familiar faces whom Clael had tutored after school.
"Mmm..."
And then... from the corner of the classroom, a legal shota glaring at him.
Luei Biscuit was glaring at Clael.
(Good grief... he really hates me. It's not like we've even interacted that much...)
With a sigh, Clael decided to just get on with the lesson.
"Ahem... I'm sure most of you already know this, but due to certain circumstances, Mrs. Veleno, the music teacher, will be taking a leave of absence. Until she returns, I, Clael Byrne, will be filling in. I look forward to working with you."
Applause rose from the classroom.
The ones clapping were mostly the female students he had tutored.
At the very least, it seemed he was being welcomed.
"Now then, as before, we'll start from where we left off. Regarding the assigned piece, 'March of the King'. Please break into your respective instruments and parts and begin practice. If you need any guidance, feel free to come see me."
Fortunately, music class heavily emphasized self-practice.
Clael only needed to occasionally offer advice to students who came seeking it.
"Hmm..."
As expected of students from the Royal Academy.
Their instrumental performance was fairly high-level, so there wasn't much need for instruction.
"～～～～♪"
However, amidst that, a discordant sound echoed.
Luei was playing the flute... but there was noise mixed into it.
"...Biscuit-kun, are you alright?"
"...Not really."
When Clael spoke to him, Luei turned his face away with a sulky expression.
It was like the gesture of a child caught playing a prank.
A madam with a taste for younger boys might find that cute... but Clael could only think, "whatever."
"If you'd like, may I offer you a bit of instruction?"
"No thanks. I don't need your guidance."
"Don't say that. Let me do my job... You're troubled about something, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"When you play the flute, bad memories come flooding back... is that it?"
"Wha...!"
When he pointed it out, Luei stared at him in shock. It seemed he had hit the mark.
"You may be able to hide it with words, but the sound gives it away... the deep confusion in your heart."
That was a lie.
He knew it from the game—Luei's strong emotional attachment to the flute was causing his performance to falter.
(When he plays the flute, he remembers his mother... both the fond memories and the despair of losing her. And also his father and brother, who mocked him for doing something so 'girly'. He overcomes that trauma through his bond with Reina.)
However... since Reina hadn't made any progress in capturing Luei, that trauma likely remained unresolved.
(Responsibility as the one who altered the scenario... yeah, I don't really feel that.)
If he were uninvolved, he'd leave it alone... but Clael was now the music teacher.
As a teacher, he had a duty to guide his students.
To help remove the cause of Luei's disrupted sound, he decided to offer just a bit of advice.
"You should take a moment to reflect on yourself. Also... that flute seems damaged. The sound quality has deteriorated."
"Huh... Mother's flute..."
Luei looked down at the flute he had been playing.
A precious memento of his mother... being told it was damaged, he hurriedly checked for any broken parts.
"I know a good instrument repair shop. If you'd like, why not take it there for repairs?"
Clael told him the location of a music shop in the royal capital.
Luei probably didn't know... but that shop was one his mother used to frequent.
The person who made that flute ran the store.
(And... it was also where Luei's real father worked...)
Torn apart by his powerful adoptive father, Luei Biscuit's real father now ran a small instrument shop.
Meeting his father could help Luei overcome his trauma.
"Please try going once. I'm sure it'll help you."
"............"
Luei glared at Clael in silence for a while... but eventually, he opened his mouth as if giving in.
"...Come to the student council room after school today."
"Hm?"
"Prince Eric has something to discuss. He asked me to tell you... though I wasn't really planning to."
Luei turned his face away with a "Hmph!" and said nothing more, bringing the flute to his lips.
"...A summons, from Prince Eric?"
"Mr. Clael—, can I talk to you for a sec—?"
"Ah, yes. I'll be right there—"
With a puzzled look, Clael turned around to face the female student calling out to him, ready to get back to work for now.