Chapter 18
In the silence, Kid’s brutally low voice echoed.
“Keep playing until I tell you to stop.”
Keep playing until he says stop? What kind of new torture was this?
Of course, I was lucky my head hadn’t been chopped off on the spot, but I still couldn’t figure out what was going on in Kid’s mind.
Hesitantly, I placed my hands back on the piano. Honestly, I was a little glad he told me to continue. It would’ve felt disappointing to end after just one piece.
After Debussy’s Clair de Lune, I decided to play Arabesque next.
As I pressed the keys, I glanced sideways at Kid. He was sitting slanted on the couch. At a glance, he looked like someone quietly enjoying a performance. But I had no idea what he was actually thinking.
‘He almost looks like he’s asleep.’
He didn’t mock me or provoke me. He simply breathed quietly.
‘He said to keep playing until he tells me to stop.’
If he fell asleep using my playing as a lullaby, when exactly was I supposed to stop?
For a moment I considered playing my entrance exam piece—Chopin’s Ballade No. 1—to wake him up with a loud bang midway. But I gave up on that idea. I wasn’t brave enough.
Ignoring Kid, who seemed to be dozing off, I focused on the piano. The sensation of the keys beneath my fingertips sent a thrill through me. The exhilaration of hitting every beat perfectly made chills run down my spine.
Before I knew it, I had forgotten Kid’s existence again. After finishing one or two pieces, I had glanced at him, waiting for an order. But after that, I just kept playing without thinking.
Just like that, I performed seven pieces without a break. It was about the length of a full piano recital, including encores. The situation felt strangely surreal.
‘Who would’ve thought I’d end up holding my dream piano recital in a place like this?’
My shoulders and arms were starting to ache.
Only then did I realize I had forgotten about Kid once more. I cautiously looked in his direction again, massaging my arms as discreetly as possible. The music had stopped, but he didn’t say a word.
‘What on earth is he doing?’
I carefully turned only my upper body to try and see his face. It was too dark to make out even his sharp gaze.
In the pitch-black room, sight was useless. So I switched strategies and sharpened my hearing instead.
In the quiet room, all I could hear was soft, steady breathing.
‘Soft… breathing?’
Wait. Was he actually asleep?
I widened my eyes and stared at him again.
I lifted myself slightly from the piano bench and leaned forward. In the spot where his face should’ve been, I could faintly make out the back of his head.
When Kid still didn’t react, even after all this, I gathered my courage and took one small step closer.
I could see him now—head tilted down, completely still. Looking closer, his body rose and fell gently with each breath. He was unmistakably asleep.
‘He’s really sleeping?’
I never imagined I would ever witness Kid sleeping, so I felt a little bewildered.
Why was he sleeping? He was the one who told me to keep playing until he said stop.
Watching him sleep gave me a strange feeling.
Maybe it was a sense of novelty. Or maybe just the small realization that, despite everything, he was still human—someone who needed sleep.
‘Even if I punched him right now, he’d probably wake up instantly.’
I stood there, caught in that indescribable emotion.
‘More importantly… what am I supposed to do now? Can I just go back to my room?’
Watching him sleep made me sleepy too.
I had played the piano to my heart’s content, and now I just wanted to crawl into bed with a clear mind.
‘What time is it now?’
Kid had come around 3 a.m., so it must have been a little past 5 by now.
The sun would be up soon. Maybe it would be okay if I quietly slipped away.
Technically, sunrise was still more than two hours away, but I really didn’t want to just sit here and wait. I took the tiniest steps toward the door. Kid didn’t move at all.
Before I knew it, I had reached the door. All I had to do was grab the handle.
Just as I silently reached for it—
Rustle.
A small noise came from Kid’s direction. I froze like a rusty tin doll and stiffly turned my neck.
‘This is driving me insane!’
I stared at his vague silhouette. But seeing no further movement, it seemed he had just shifted in his sleep.
Even after confirming nothing was happening, fear kept me from opening the door.
In the end, I bit my lip and sat back down on the piano bench.
‘Just give up. That’s the safest option.’
I rested my arms on the keys and buried my face in them.
Trying to wake Kid by playing more piano felt too risky. Falling asleep here seemed far safer than going back to my room and getting caught.
Even with Kid right beside me, I forced myself to close my eyes.
* * *
“……Vivi.”
When had I fallen asleep?
I felt someone gently shaking me. I was sleeping so well—why wake me? And I’m not Vivi.
As my body moved, faint piano notes rang beneath me. Why was the piano making noise under me? Oh… had I dozed off while practicing? I hoped I hadn’t damaged the instrument.
“Vivi, wake up.”
I told you, I’m not Vivi. But… Vivi? That name sounded familiar.
Wait a second—Vivi?
‘That’s me.’
I shot upright as my senses returned. I hurriedly looked around to grasp the situation. But Seniel, who had called my name, was nowhere to be seen.
What?
I instinctively looked down.
“……Why are you like that?”
Seniel was kneeling beside me, looking up at me.
The sharp, cold eyes from last night were gone. All that remained were gentle, kind ones.
Seeing that face, I couldn’t bring myself to snap, “I almost fainted in fear because of your other personality.”
His previously dry eyes slowly began to fill with tears. It wasn’t exactly the right moment to think this, but the sight was so beautiful it felt like a painting. I found myself staring at him in a daze.
“No matter how much divine power I poured in… you wouldn’t wake up… I was so scared…”
In response to my question, he gave an unexpected answer. Judging from the fear and confusion swirling in his eyes, he clearly wasn’t thinking straight.
Calming him down could come later. First, I needed to get him off the floor.
‘Both the heroine and the male lead… why do they like sitting on floors so much?’
It wasn’t good for their health.
I grabbed Seniel by both arms.
“I just dozed off a little. Let’s sit here and talk.”
He let himself be pulled up by my weak grip. I guided him onto the piano bench.
The bench wasn’t really meant for two people, so sitting side by side felt cramped.
I tried to shift away a bit, but it was impossible. If I turned to face him, our knees touched. Since it wasn’t intentional, I decided to ignore it and focus on the situation.
Pointing at the couch, I asked,
“Did you wake up on that couch this morning?”
“…Yes. I even heard piano music in my sleep.”
Huh? Since when?
I blinked at his unexpected reply.
“There’s no one in this house who plays piano, so I thought it must’ve been a dream.”
Kid and Seniel didn’t share all memories. Maybe the piano stirred some strong emotion? Or perhaps Kid had left in the middle of the night and Seniel had returned?
As we spoke, Seniel’s eyes began to cloud over again. Tears threatened to spill at any moment.
With a despairing voice, he continued.
“When morning came, I found Vivi collapsed over the piano.”
I had just been sleeping, but from his perspective, I probably did look like I had collapsed.
“I checked that you were breathing, but you wouldn’t wake up, and I thought I had done something again…”
His lips trembled.
How could such a fragile person become Kid?
Thinking about how Kid had treated me like a music box last night, I knew I should be angry. But what was the point of getting mad at someone who couldn’t even kill himself? It would only tire me out.
Seeing Seniel trembling so pitifully, I felt more sympathy than anger.
“Okay, okay. Let’s calm down first.”
It would be best for both our mental health to wrap this up quickly.
“Follow me—take a deep breath. Good. Hold it… and now breathe out slowly.”
Seniel silently followed my lead.
After three rounds, he looked calmer.
Seeing he was ready to listen, I began explaining.
“The piano music you heard last night wasn’t a dream. I played it.”
I wanted to pretend it had all been a dream, but then explaining why we were both here would be impossible.
“Kid asked me to play.”
“…What?”
Seniel’s tears vanished instantly.
“I played because he told me to. Then we both fell asleep. That’s all.”
At my simple explanation, Seniel seemed speechless.
After thinking it over for a long time, he frowned and objected firmly.
“Kid would never make such a strange request.”
Oh, you know him well.
“But he did,” I replied with a shrug.
His pupils shook.
“Anyway, nothing else happened.”
I added lightly,
“As proof, I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
Technically, I survived because of that absurd threat to seduce Seniel—but I couldn’t tell him that.
He looked confused.
Without thinking, I poked the wrinkle between his brows with my finger.
“Don’t think too hard. That’s really all that happened.”
He stared at me in surprise.
“…I don’t understand Kid at all.”
“Who does?”
My bitter reply darkened his face.
Trying to change the mood, I tapped the piano key.
“By the way, I didn’t know this room existed.”
“This room is usually locked. Even the servants don’t know about it. I’ve been the one cleaning it.”
I turned to him in surprise.
“No wonder it’s so well maintained.”
Then I asked carefully,
“Will this room be locked again?”
No answer.
“So… could I play just one more time before that?”
Still silence.
Just as I was about to stand, Seniel rummaged in his pocket.
“…Ah. This is Kid’s key.”
Apparently they didn’t share keys.
Then, suddenly, he stood.
“Please wait a moment.”
He rushed out of the room.
A few minutes later he returned, slightly out of breath.
Without a word, he held out his fist toward me. Instinctively, I opened my palm.
A small object dropped into it.
A key.
“I’ll give you this room key.”
“…What? Why me?”
“So you can play whenever you want.”
I stared at him in confusion.
“It’s better for someone who can play to have it.”
I looked between the key and Seniel.
‘Only three days until I escape… should I accept this?’
But I wanted it. I really wanted it.
‘Oh well.’
I closed my hand around the key.
“Thank you! I’ll use it well.”
I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face.
