mijobooks Chapter 52 Father and Brother
Chapter 52 Father and Brother
If you were to ask about Miss Cecilia, the only daughter of the Lawrence family, the people of Mondstadt would simply tell you that they have never seen her, only by name. If you are lucky enough to ask one of Lawrence's servants, they might be able to tell you something.
Compared to her brothers, this young lady's presence was far too inconspicuous. They could only stammer that Miss Cecilia was a very obedient and well-behaved young lady who listened to Mr. Lawrence.
They're absolutely right; Cecilia is exactly that kind of person.
She obediently grew up according to her parents' wishes, but the repressed emotions in her heart never stopped sprouting and growing.
She initially thought her dreams stemmed from a longing for the outside world, but as she discovered that the things in her dreams were becoming clearer and more traceable, Cecilia realized something was wrong.
Therefore, after secretly going out with Wendy without telling anyone, she politely declined the schedule for the next day that the maid offered her to review: "I need to see my father tomorrow, could you please make some time for me?"
The maid looked at Cecilia's packed schedule with difficulty: "Miss Cecilia, this is not something I can decide. Perhaps you will have to wait until the butler arrives tomorrow..."
"It's alright, I'll tell the housekeeper myself tomorrow." Cecilia smiled reassuringly. "I remember Father is only available tomorrow afternoon, right?"
The maid replied, "Yes, yes. Master will be going hunting with Young Master Buck tomorrow morning and won't be back until the afternoon."
"Thank you for telling me all this. Go back and get some rest."
The maid felt her face burning from her laughter, quickly lowered her head, agreed, and left.
Miss Cecilia is so kind. She thought, she was completely different from her brother, Master Buck, who was both handsome and considerate, while he was fat and annoying.
Thinking about the upcoming badminton festival, she unconsciously frowned. But no matter what she thought, she was just an ordinary maid and had no way of interfering with what would happen next.
The maid felt sorrow and thus thought of their gods.
Barbatos, the god symbolizing freedom, left after blowing away the snow for the Mondstadt people, choosing to truly hand over the kingdom to them. But he probably didn't expect that this would only make it easier for the nobles to control the common people...
How difficult it is to achieve freedom!
*
The butler's reply came quickly, and Cecilia was able to see him soon after.
Just then, Mrs. Desserin finished her lesson. The butler knocked on the door and came in: "Miss Cecilia, the master has returned. He heard that you wanted to see him and wants you to go see him now."
Cecilia lifted her skirt to bid farewell to Mrs. Deselin before following the butler to Mr. Lawrence's study.
On the way, the butler reminded her, "When Master and Young Master Buck returned together just now, they didn't look too good. It seems the young master angered Master. Miss Cecilia, although I don't know what you want to say to Master, please be careful not to upset him again."
"Yes, I understand, don't worry." Cecilia smiled, then pushed open the study door and resolutely walked in.
As the patriarch of the Lawrence family, Mr. Lawrence's study was decorated in a very luxurious manner, but this did not seem to make the ruler happy at all. His face was as serious and ruthless as ever, even though the person in front of him was his only daughter.
"Father." Cecilia was already used to his demeanor. After a calm greeting, she got straight to the point, "I would like to ask you about the family trials."
Mr. Lawrence's expression grew increasingly serious. He beckoned to her, gesturing for her to stand beside him: "Cecilia, why did you suddenly think of asking this?"
Cecilia considered whether or not to reveal those dreams, but before she could speak, Master Lawrence shook his head: "The family trials have always been shrouded in mystery. We only know that they originated from the Lawrence family's matriarch, Lady Vanilla, and that every member of the Lawrence family will experience them after reaching adulthood."
"If that's the case, why have I rarely heard of anything about family trials?" Cecilia asked, puzzled.
Lord Lawrence explained, "Because all those who fail forget everything related to the family trials afterward. Starting about six hundred years ago, very few members of the Lawrence family have successfully passed the family trials, and the existing records are all left by ancestors who successfully passed the family trials before that time."
Seeing the thoughtful expression on the person beside him, his tone softened: "Cecilia, you've only recently come of age, so your sudden question suggests you've already sensed something. However, if you don't want to talk about it, your father won't press you. Just remember, it's best not to leave the Lawrence family home during this time, in case anything unexpected happens."
Cecilia's heart skipped a beat. She almost thought that he said this because he had discovered that she had secretly gone out last night. However, Mr. Lawrence's attitude was almost the same as usual, and he did not seem to have discovered it at all. She could only comfort herself that she was probably overthinking it.
"Yes, Father," she replied obediently. "Then I'll be going now."
But then Mr. Lawrence called her back: "Wait a minute, since you're here, why don't you wait a little longer? I have an appointment with your vocal coach today, he should be here soon."
Cecilia barely managed to maintain her composure by fidgeting with her hands, and asked with difficulty, "Why would Father suddenly want to see Ms. Wendy?"
Mr. Lawrence sneered, "The Lawrence family doesn't hire useless people. If you hadn't been so musically challenged, and hadn't failed to learn despite having many prestigious vocal teachers, I wouldn't have lowered the standards and even agreed to let commoners apply for this position."
"Your current vocal coach approached me on his own initiative. He promised to show me your progress in three months, and now it's time for the assessment. Actually, even if you hadn't come to me today, I would have gone to you anyway, so this is just perfect timing."
Speak of the devil, and he appears. Almost as soon as Mr. Lawrence finished speaking, there was another knock on the study door, and the person Cecilia had been longing for appeared outside.
Upon seeing the two people inside, Wendy greeted them with a smile: "Good afternoon, Mr. Lawrence, Miss Cecilia."
"Forget the pleasantries, Mr. Wendy." Mr. Lawrence gave him a disdainful look. "You should know why I called you here today."
"Of course, Miss Cecilia is very intelligent, and her teaching results over this period of time are quite good. Please feel free to assess her." Wendy was completely unconcerned about the malice implied in his words and met his gaze calmly.
However, his composure did not rub off on Cecilia. When Wendy uttered the words "any test," Cecilia's eyes lit up with panic. She kept giving him meaningful glances, hoping he could come up with another solution, since she still couldn't sing along with the sheet music.
If Mr. Lawrence were to produce a score, we would be doomed!
Unfortunately, Wendy was quite confident in her. He simply winked at her, and the Eye of God at his waist transformed into a xylophone in his hand.
Before Mr. Lawrence could even begin to explain how the assessment would be conducted, he interjected, "How about Miss Cecilia sing you the first piece I taught her?"
The wind elemental delivered a roll of sheet music to Cecilia, who opened it only to find it completely blank.
She roughly guessed what Wendy was planning to do.
Mr. Lawrence glanced at the sheet music casually, and seeing that Cecilia's expression remained unchanged, he quickly looked away and turned back to Wendy: "In that case, let's leave it at that."
Then the piano music began, the very tune they had sung on the windowsill not long ago, the only tune Cecilia could improvise without worrying about anything else.
She took a deep breath and spoke.
Perhaps the scene was too embarrassing, with her teacher and father both present, waiting to hear her sing. Cecilia's face turned bright red, and she sang almost entirely on instinct. In the end, she didn't even know what had happened, only remembering that her father's expression seemed very satisfied.
She listened in a daze to her father's praise of Ms. Wendy, and then he pulled her outside.
As soon as she stepped outside, Wendy waved in front of her: "Hey, time to snap out of it~"
Cecilia was finally able to breathe a long sigh of relief. Although the blush on her face hadn't faded, she was a little more awake.
She covered her face and said weakly, "This is so embarrassing..."
Wendy patted her shoulder reassuringly and encouraged her, "What's there to be embarrassed about? I think you sang very well!"
Cecilia was preparing to argue with him about just how disgusting such behavior was, but before she could even open her mouth, she heard a disdainful snort from behind her: "Cecilia, don't you feel disgusted letting filthy civilians touch your body?"
Cecilia recognized the voice; it was her brother, Buck.
In front of outsiders, Cecilia usually maintained a noble demeanor, but when faced with Buck's abusive words, even she couldn't help but turn cold: "This is my vocal teacher, Buck. Please show him some respect."
Buck seemed to have come to apologize to Lord Lawrence for the unpleasantness of the morning, followed by a string of servants, each carrying several valuable treasures.
Having already suffered a major hemorrhage, he was in a bad mood, and upon hearing this, his brow furrowed immediately: "Is this how you treat your brother! Cecilia, it seems I need to have a serious talk with Father about your upbringing! Not only do you mingle with commoners, but you also show absolutely no manners towards your brother!"
He invoked the authority of Mr. Lawrence, and Cecilia, naturally, didn't hold back, retorting, "If you think Father will still listen to you at this juncture, then of course you can go. But if I may be frank, Buck, Ms. Wendy is the teacher Father found for me. Do you really think he'll mind Ms. Wendy's background?"
Of course he would. Lord Lawrence's disdain for commoners remained unchanged, but Buck was unaware of this. He only knew that with this relationship, Lord Lawrence would never mind the two of them being in contact, and his complaint would naturally have no basis.
Moreover, Cecilia was Mr. Lawrence's most beloved child.
(End of this chapter)
The author says: It's incredibly cold today!
I'd rather curl up in bed and roll around like a maggot than type, but since I haven't updated yet, I had to make a surprise phone call to my dear friends and family to cry it out.
Relatives and friends: Yes, you are pitiful, but I'm just setting up a stall. (Cold and indifferent)
Me: You know I can't live without you helping me sort out the details QvQ
Relatives and friends: Yes, but I have a stall in the mall (emphasis)
Me: Can you tell me in ten minutes?
Friends and family: I want to set up a stall! Until 8 PM!!
Me: Then I'll wait until 8 o'clock! Let's post it at 9 o'clock today~
My relatives and friends didn't get home until 10 o'clock, so I'm only just finishing writing and posting this now (hehe).