Victor was very satisfied. Lucien's learning speed was still as fast as it was a few days ago. Within fifty minutes, Lucien had completely memorized the rest of the grammar rules. It seemed that Lucien was not only smart and talented in languages, but also had a great memory.
Victor was in a good mood. He hummed a short melody and clapped his hands, "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be tired after such a long study. How about having some afternoon tea and some fruits?"
After that, Lucien walked upstairs, intending to record the melody.
Taking a sip of the black tea, Lucien realized that he had gotten used to the strange taste of the tea. Rubbing his temples, Lucien tried to ease the headache caused by the high-intensity study in the past few days.
"Phyllis, when are you going to invite us to go hunting in your manor? I miss the charming fresh smell, and the bouncing rabbits and fawns. "
Annie, another noble girl, suddenly smiled. She had beautiful blonde hair and emerald eyes, but her facial features were not very good. Also, her family was not in a good situation either. Her father was the most inconspicuous one among the many children of a baron. Not only did he have no hope of inheriting the title and land, but he also had no chance of inheriting any manors or real estates. She had to rely on her income as a court clerk and the annuity from the baron's family to make a decent living.
In comparison, Phyllis's father, a member of the Count family, one of the most powerful families in the Duchy of Orvarit, did not inherit the title and land of the Count. However, before his death, the old Count left him a big manor outside the city of Aalto, which was surrounded by forests, orchards, vineyards, and even a stone quarry, as well as a real estate in the city of Aalto.
Therefore, Phyllis's family was the most well-off among all the nobles present.
In the hot summer, they could go hunting in the manors in the suburbs and enjoy the delicious wine made by their own family. Lot of them, including Lucien, were envious of them. Therefore, Annie was trying to please Phyllis.
"Really? Miss Phyllis, your family's manor has adorable rabbits and beautiful deer? "The commoner girl, Reyne, interjected with a look of curiosity and yearning.
On the first day of Lucien's study, Renee tried to get close to Phyllis, Lot, Annie and other noble students by talking about music, and it worked very well.
Encouraged, she managed to get some knowledge about music theory from somewhere, and then pretended to ask Phyllis or Annie for advice. After much effort, she finally became familiar with them and was able to join their circle of communication.
With her as an example, Colin and David, the two commoners, also tried to find topics to talk about and approach the noble students. The effect was also obvious. Only Lucien was focused on his studies and did not even say a word.
Since Lucien did not take the initiative to get close to him, no matter if it was the noble students like Lot and Phyllis, or the common students like Renee and Colin, they would not lower themselves to talk to him. They still maintained a cold and distant attitude.
"I miss those animals too, but Mr. Victor's symphony is only three months away. Lott, Herodotus, and I have to go to the Musicians' Association every weekend to help Mr. Victor rehearse his music piece and practice our own instruments. We really don't have time to go hunting in the countryside." Felicia nodded, "Of course, I do." She nodded, "It's just that Mr. Victor's symphony is only three months away. During this period, Lott, Herodotus, and I have to go to the Musicians' Association to help Mr. Victor rehearse his music piece.
Phyllis was very satisfied with Annie's flattery and Renee's yearning, envy, and flattery. Who wouldn't like this feeling?
Lucien listened to their conversation. Of course, he also wanted to have his own manor. But the most important thing now was how to ask Mr. Victor to borrow the Lingua Franca dictionary, and how to flip through the thick dictionary in the hall and store it in the Library of the Soul.
While Phyllis, Lot, Annie, Colin, and Renee were talking to each other in a reserved or flattering manner, Victor walked down with a faint smile on his face. Obviously, he was very satisfied with the melody just now.
Just as Victor was about to continue teaching, the butler Ace opened the door and walked in. He whispered to Victor, "Master, your guests have arrived."
"Oh, I forgot. Damn it, I was addicted to music this morning." Victor shook his right hand, looking a little upset. "Let them in."
After Ace walked out respectfully and elegantly, Victor turned to look at Lucien and the others. He spread his hands and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, dear ladies and gentlemen. I forgot about the guests today. Can you come back tomorrow at two o 'clock to make up the rest of your homework?"
Victor was so polite. Lot, Phyllis, Annie, and Lucien weren't unreasonable at all. But Lucien decided to borrow the Lingua Franca dictionary from Mr. Victor for a few days while he was apologizing.
Just as Lucien was about to speak, Ace had already led the guests in. One was a handsome silver-haired man wearing a red shirt and a black coat, and the other was a white-haired old man carrying a wooden box with both hands.
"Mr. Rhein …" Lucien and Phyllis said at the same time.
Phyllis blushed slightly, while Lucien was completely surprised. He didn't expect that Rhein, who was just a minstrel, would become a guest that Mr. Victor valued so much.
"Hi, Phyllis. Hi, Lucien." Rhein smiled and greeted them gracefully.
Phyllis smiled shyly. Then, she realized something. Like Lot and the others, she looked at Lucien in surprise. He knew Mr. Rhein?
"Lucien, you know Mr. Rhein?" Victor asked with a smile.
Lucien nodded. "I've seen Mr. Rhein once. I didn't expect to see Mr. Rhein again in your house, Mr. Victor."
"Although I've only met him once, Lucien left a deep impression on me. Hehe, you're really starting to learn how to read. Well, I admire young people with ambition and dreams the most." Rhine's smile was a bit charming, and she added, "Although I've only met him once, Lucien left a deep impression on me.
Thinking that Rhein seemed to be attracted to both men and women, Lucien couldn't help but shudder.
Victor smiled and introduced, "Mr. Rhein is the chief of the symphony orchestra that I work with. He has an extraordinary understanding of music. It was because of my communication with him that I was able to write a satisfying piano concerto full of inspiration."
"He, he actually became the chief of the symphony orchestra?!" Lucien was almost stunned. A few days ago, Rhein was still living in the Copper Crown Tavern in the slums.
In the past few days, from the conversations between Phyllis, Lot and the others, Lucien compared a few books in the library and learned that the composition of the symphony orchestra in this world was roughly the same as that on Earth. He also learned a lot of knowledge and understood the position of the chief in the symphony orchestra. He was the first violinist and had to be responsible for conducting and coordinating when there was no conductor. How could such an important position be given to a stranger who had just come to Aalto and had no experience with the orchestra?
As if seeing Lucien's surprise, Rhein smiled humorously and said, "Because the former chief fell in love with a noble lady and eloped with her to Syracuse a few days ago. He had no choice but to let me take over."
Phyllis couldn't help but interrupt, "Even if the former chief is still alive, Mr. Rhein's ability is enough to become the first violinist. He only needs to practice a few more times to cooperate with the orchestra."
"Yes, Mr. Rhein is one of the best violinist I've ever seen. He has his own unique understanding of music." Victor also praised, "Meeting him is my biggest gain in this period of time."
Lucien looked at the smiling and enigmatic Rhein and felt very strange. It seemed too coincidental. A wandering bard who came from Syracuse with a harp became the first violinist of a symphony orchestra in just a few days. It was really hard to believe and inexplicably strange.
Rhein pressed his right hand on his left chest and bowed slightly to thank Victor for his praise. Then he introduced the white-haired old gentleman next to him, "This is Mr. Xavier, one of the best harpsichord makers in Aalto. He should be able to help Mr. Victor complete the modification of the harpsichord." The harpsichord was also called a plucked piano.
"Welcome, Mr. Xavier. I called you here because the current harpsichord can't meet the requirements of my new piano concerto. I hope you can make some changes." Victor greeted him warmly as he led Rhein and Xavier to the second floor. He didn't even give Lucien a chance to ask for the dictionary.
However, he seemed to have forgotten to ask Lucien, Annie, Colin and the others to leave. Steward Ace, on the other hand, was unsure of the relationship between Lucien and Rhein, so it was inconvenient for him to ask them to leave directly. Therefore, the curious Annie, Colin and the others quietly and quietly followed Phyllis and the others to the staircase.
Lucien hadn't borrowed the dictionary yet, so he naturally didn't want to leave just like that. So he followed them.
On the second floor, Victor led Rhein and Xavier into his harpsichord room.
"Mr. Xavier, I hope that the harpsichord can be freely and accurately controlled through the pressure of my fingers. I also hope that the range of the sound can be wider, louder, more vigorous, more delicate and clearer." Victor made his request as he watched Xavier open the harpsichord to reveal the complicated mechanical devices, plucked pipes, and strings inside.
Since the invention of the harpsichord, its flaws had been very obvious. It was difficult to change the volume of the sound with the help of the pressure of the keys. However, many musicians and producers had tried and modified the harpsichord by adding other devices, such as pins, pegs, keyboards and so on to achieve a similar effect. Finally, the harpsichord became an instrument that could barely control the volume of the sound. It was because of this precedent that Victor wanted to modify the harpsichord to meet his requirements.
Xavier frowned, "Such a request cannot be fulfilled. After more than three hundred years of development, the harpsichord's modification has reached its limit. At most, there will be some minor improvements based on experience."
Victor and Rhein didn't expect that Xavier would give such an absolute answer. They both fell silent, especially Victor, whose face turned pale. If the harpsichord couldn't meet his requirements, then his new piano concerto would not be able to be performed perfectly. For him, who was performing in the Psalm Hall for the first time, it meant that he had failed before he even started. He would have to rewrite or compose a new piece of music, which was unacceptable.
The silence lasted for a long time, making Phyllis and the others feel suffocated.
"Why don't you change the plucking of the pipes to the hammering of the strings?" Lucien thought for a long time. After weighing the gains and losses and whether or not he would give himself away, he suddenly spoke in the silence.
It seemed that the modern piano, which was known as the "king of musical instruments", had not yet been born in this world. If Lucien could help Mr. Victor complete the modification of the harpsichord to the modern piano, Lucien would be able to save on his tuition fees, and it would not be difficult for him to borrow a dictionary.
In Lucien's Library of the Soul, as soon as Victor made the request, Lucien opened the two books, Piano Making and Tuning and Principles of Modern Piano Mechanics. After skimming through the first ten pages, Lucien had a general idea.
Xavier looked at Lucien seriously, "What's the difference between this and the harpsichord? Although you can control the volume with the strength of your fingers, the volume is too weak, too soft, and too thin. It's only suitable for a family room, not the Psalm Hall. "
As a citizen of Aalto, the City of Psalm, Lucien, Xavier, Rhein, and Victor did not find it strange that he knew the differences between the two pianos.
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