Chapter Twenty: Performance

"Forgive my rudeness, Duke, but will the next pieces you play all have the same atmosphere?"

For the sake of his and Ciri's lives, Joshua had to confirm this before listening to the rest of the performance.

If the subsequent performances were also dominated by this cold tone, Joshua might become the first Chaos Demon in history to 'freeze to death while listening to music'.

As for Ciri... well, even if the Bone Duke didn't continue playing, without finding Ciri a heater or a bonfire, she wouldn't last long.

Zennas hadn't been allowed into this place by the Bone Duke. Otherwise, with Zennas's portable heater, Ciri would have been much more comfortable.

"That's right. These pieces all come from this music score. It's the only one I possess."

The Bone Duke picked up a music score whose cover was already quite tattered. Judging by the aged marks on it, this music score had been in the Bone Duke's possession for many years.

Was he an excellent musician but not a composer?

"Then... Duke, may I play a piece?"

Joshua made another presumptuous request. However, the Bone Duke didn't get angry at Joshua's 'disruptive' behavior. Instead, in the Bone Duke's dancing Soul Fire, Joshua felt a gaze named 'mockery'.

"Your Highness, this piano is my old friend. Its temper is far worse than mine. If your performance doesn't satisfy it, it will devour your soul! Even I won't be able to save you then."

The Bone Duke placed his hand on the piano. As if in response to his words, the piano emitted a few notes, as if mocking Joshua's overestimation of himself.

"I am willing to try."

Honestly, even Joshua himself didn't believe it. Joshua's father had always wanted to train him as a pianist, so Joshua started learning piano at the age of six.

He only practiced for half a year, and in the end, he didn't even pass the proficiency test. He then gave up.

The main reason for giving up was... like many people's childhoods, he was too addicted to games.

After so many years without touching a piano, Joshua should have forgotten everything. But after merging with the memories of one of the Third Princes, Joshua's own memories became terrifyingly clear.

He even managed to recall the 'muscle memory' he had developed from playing the piano as a child.

Therefore, Joshua believed he could play a piece without any problem.

"Are you sure? The last person who challenged it was a rather famous composer from the human world."

The Bone Duke didn't recall this Third Prince having any musical achievements. The title 'despicable human' was definitely not a good nickname in the Demon Realm.

"My music will satisfy your friend."

Famous? No matter how famous, are they as great as Beethoven, Mozart, or Chopin? Joshua didn't believe that if he played "Moonlight Sonata," this piano wouldn't obediently applaud.

Oh... Joshua forgot. Pianos don't have hands.

Joshua had the backing of countless classical music masters from Earth. If it came down to a live classical music competition, Joshua truly feared no one.

Bone Duke stopped talking nonsense. He walked off the performance stage and went to a corner of the room where a table was placed. He picked up a glass full of red wine from the table, looking as if he was ready to watch a show at any moment.

"Keep your body temperature up, don't fall asleep."

Joshua rubbed Ciri's cheeks with his still somewhat warm hands, wiping away the frost that had condensed on her eyelashes.

Her body temperature showed no signs of recovery, and coupled with her drowsy state, if Ciri fell asleep, she would never wake up again.

There was no heater in the room, and Zennas was unable to enter due to Bone Duke's orders. Ciri could only rely on herself to regain her lost body heat.

But her clothes were soaked from the melting frost, and so were Joshua's. In this state, it was almost impossible for her to regain her body heat on her own.

"Dying while listening to a performance is too pathetic. I won't die so easily."

Ciri shook her head, pushing away Joshua's hands from her cheeks. Joshua's intimate gesture seemed to displease her.

"Then please hold on for another ten seconds, Miss Mage."

Joshua withdrew his hands and walked towards the piano.

He hadn't touched a piano in almost eighteen years. Even with the familiarity he regained through memory, Joshua didn't know if he could play it well.

Joshua pressed the first key on the piano, and then felt a part of his soul being torn from his body...

This piano was indeed strange!

But Joshua didn't feel afraid. Soon, his hands were on the piano, and he began to play.

This was a piece of music that made one feel as if they were standing in the sun, basking in a spring breeze. And then... Joshua truly felt the sunlight!

It wasn't an illusion. Joshua felt a warm sensation of sunlight on his body, and a gentle breeze blowing past.

It was as warm as lying in a field of blooming flowers, basking in the sun on an afternoon!

Ciri, who was suffering from the cold nearby, froze when she heard the notes Joshua played.

A faint warmth instantly dispelled the cold from Ciri's body, as if a pair of hands were slowly embracing her. It was an incredibly comfortable and heartwarming feeling.

Ciri couldn't quite describe this warm feeling, but... she felt like crying, and her nose began to sting.

She thought of many things: the days she ran away from home and lived alone, constantly telling herself to live strong, yet feeling wronged and unable to vent her loneliness and helplessness.

Until her gaze fell upon Joshua, who was playing the piano. She gently touched her cheek with her hand. The warmth Joshua had left on her cheek seemed to still be there.

Immersed. Everyone present seemed immersed in the notes flowing from Joshua's fingertips, in the gentle and heartwarming melody.

Even Bone Duke was no exception. He stood there, completely unaware that the cup in his hand had fallen to the floor.

Music could truly awaken many things within a person. Unlike movies, novels, or paintings, which require a long time to move someone, music only needs an instant, a single note, to stir a person's emotions.

Just as this gentle melody was about to reach its climax, it suddenly stopped.

The Bone Duke also snapped back from the warm atmosphere.

"Continue! Why did you stop!" the Bone Duke asked loudly.

"Uh... I don't know how to play the rest."

Joshua removed his hands from the piano. Although he hadn't taken any proficiency tests, Joshua's piano skill was between Level Three and Level Four. The latter part of this piece, while simple for a piano master, even super simple, was beyond Joshua's ability.

"You don't know how to play?! You!"

After so many years, the Bone Duke finally tasted the feeling of being stifled again. The stifling feeling of the music coming to an abrupt halt just as it was getting good made the Bone Duke so angry he wanted to hit someone!

"What is this song called!"

More than anything, the Bone Duke wanted to know what this song was called.

"Canon in D Major. It originally meant melody. The composer was Johann Pachelbel, a great composer," Joshua said.