Chapter 48Ā
The process of making the drum wasnāt as smooth as Iād hoped.
All the artisans I approached refused to make such a strange instrument, saying they had never seen or heard of anything like it.
In the end, I had to pay extra to get them to make the drum, but even then, the craftsman who made it was ashamed of the result, saying it was a tuff.
Well, they donāt know whatās coming.
Soon, Iāll be sitting on a pile of money as the first drum craftsman in this world.
Anyway, after all the trouble, the drum was set up on the underground stage of the salon, and now Sabrina was teaching the musician who originally played the cymbals how to play the drums.
Bang! Boom! Clash!
“See, itās easy, right? Try it!”
Sabrina struck the drum a few times with sticks and handed them to the man.
The man, however, looked clearly dissatisfied.
“Why do I have to hit it like that?”
“No, just try hitting it, okay? Is it that hard?”
Sabrina showed them again.
As she hit the cymbals with the sticks, the man couldnāt hold back any longer.
“Cymbals arenāt meant to be hit like that! And hitting a drum like this, Iāve never seen such a thing!”
“Iām just asking you to try it this once!” Sabrina said.
“This is an insult to musicians!” he protested.
Finally, Sabrina lost her temper.
“Just quit already!!”
Whoa, Sabrina…
She had been holding back a lot until then.
Sabrina, still fuming, snatched the sticks from the man and shouted.
“Move aside!”
At her loud command, the man, who had been awkwardly sitting at the drum, stepped back.
Sabrina plopped down in his place and glared at him, then started frantically pounding the drum.
Bang! Boom! Clash!
Everyone froze as Sabrina, seemingly releasing her frustration, went wild on the drum.
“Is this too hard? Huh?! Just hit it! Hit it like youāre smashing it!”
Bang! Boom! Clash! Crash! Clash!!
Wow…
Sabrina swung the sticks so fast they were barely visible, and with a final dramatic hit on the cymbals, she exhaled heavily.
The orchestra musicians watched, mouths agape.
As everyone stood frozen, I nodded and clapped enthusiastically.
Looks like Sabrina will be taking care of the drums for now.
***
The weekend was approaching.
The day of the hidden event at the Clina Salon, the day of the final showdown.
As usual, the front of the salon was crowded with noble carriages.
Sabrina, who had been pretending to wait in line with Hectorās gang, whistled.
“Phew, looks like there wonāt be any room to breathe today.”
Her cheerful voice made me feel happy too.
Nobles were lined up, waiting to enter. To me, they all looked like walking money.
Just then, a dark carriage stopped among the crowded carriages.
Sabrinaās shoulders suddenly stiffened as she stared at the black carriage.
“Damn it.”
I looked at Sabrina with a puzzled expression.
Sabrina continued to glare at the dark carriage.
“Itās the Duke of Valerianās carriage.”
“What??”
Surprised, I turned my gaze to the black carriage Sabrina was staring at.
The carriage door opened, and a man wearing a black suit and a black mask stepped out.
Even though he was wearing a mask, he gave off an unmistakable dark auraāhe was definitely the villain.
I hadnāt sent an invitation to the Duke of Valerian…
It was surprising, but then I realized that if the Duke really wanted to, getting an invitation to the salon wouldnāt be hard for him.
“I didnāt expect this.”
The villain, who had gotten out of the carriage, was looking around as if searching for something.
Seeing him act like a thief, Sabrina gasped in surprise.
He was wearing a mask, so it wouldnāt be easy to recognize her, but…
“I-Iāll go down to the basement!”
With that, Sabrina quickly vanished into the salon.
It was obvious she was trying to avoid being seen.
That only made her behavior look even more suspicious…
Shaking my head, I clicked my tongue when suddenly, the villain looked directly at me and started walking toward me.
Had he recognized Sabrina just now? That couldnāt be…
I pretended to be casual and avoided his gaze, but he kept walking straight toward me.
Finally, unable to take it anymore, I quickly turned around.
“To hell with it. Iāll just run for now!”
I rushed into the salon to avoid being caught by the villain.
Glancing behind me, I saw the villain holding up an invitation and following me into the salon.
Even in the midst of the crowd, he was clearly focusing on me.
“Yikes!”
Why did he have to chase after me too?
Meanwhile, Sabrina had disappeared so thoroughly that I couldnāt even see a strand of her hair.
The villain, with his long legs, quickly closed the distance between us.
I had no choice but to push through the crowd, trying to lose him in the mass of people.
As I was making my way through the crowd, I ended up accidentally bumping into someoneās chest.
Feeling a hard sensation, I instinctively grabbed my nose and quickly apologized.
“Oh, Iām sorry!”
In a hurry to move away, I bumped into someone behind me and lost my balance.
At that moment, the man I had bumped with grabbed my waist to steady me.
“Th-thank you.”
Today, the salon seemed even more crowded than the opening day.
As I thought about that, I looked up to see a tall man wearing a navy-blue mask.
He was not looking at me, but at someone behind me.
Following his gaze, I saw that the villain had gotten very close and was now searching for me.
“Yikes, this is like a horror movie!”
I was sweating nervously, and the man looking down at me quietly asked, “Need help?”
“What?”
I was confused for a moment, but before I could react, the man grabbed my wrist and quickly pulled me toward a corner of the salon.
He then placed his hands on either side of my head, blocking me with his massive body.
To anyone else, it would definitely look like we were lovers sharing an intimate moment.
Thanks to the man, I was able to hide from the villain’s gaze, clutching the man’s chest until the villain passed by.
Curious about who the man was, I glanced up.
His ocean-blue eyes were looking down at me.
As I stared into those familiar blue eyes, I suddenly thought of someone.
“Mathieu…?”
“You’re quick to recognize me today.”
His gruff response made me freeze in surprise.
Wait, how does he recognize me, even with all these people around? And he’s wearing a mask!
“How did you recognize me?”
He looked down at me for a moment before placing his hand on my shoulder and gently touching my hair.
“Hair color like this isn’t common.”
Wasn’t he the one who called my red hair “tacky” last time?
And why is he so close to me today?
Once I was sure the villain had completely disappeared from sight, I pushed against Mathieuās chest with an annoyed expression.
“Move. I’m busy.”
“What’s so busy?”
He didnāt budge, still looking down at me intently.
Whatās going on? Didnāt he say he was done with me?
“Claire, I need to tell you something…”
Just as I was trapped by his persistent gaze, I heard a familiar voice.
“There you are, Lady.”
It was the voice of my savior.
