At the backstage

Veteran and Viridiana sitting in the back of the stage, enjoying their meal provided by the composer. "What was the relation between you and sir Wagner? I heard he called you his nephew but you didn't look similar to each other." Question asked by Viridiana.

"Indeed, we not connected by blood, he saw my teacher as his brother that's why he called me his nephew. He has always been so emotional and willing to expose it, no matter hate or love. I hope you can forgive him for his xenophobia, he grew up in Hellandia, the most oppressed place in this country." Vaterian described the background of Wagner to Viridiana, he put down the sausage he eating and kindly informed Viridiana about the province of Hellandia.

"Lots of people come from that province had a lot of hate toward foreigners, the pirate's haven in the far west ruled by Angles noble for hundred years until liberated by the kingdom of Helland." Veteran quickly give out the information about the province at the west tip of the kingdom, it let Viridiana doubt that there had nothing he didn't know about.

"How about Igor? Isn't him from Hellandia?" "He just a minor exception, he hates those Angles but not the other foreigner, he… Wait, how do you know he from Hellandia?" Veteran found out he might underestimate this girl a bit. "Mister Wagner did state Igor as an Angles, right? I think it was obvious he came from there."

*Sign* "Seems like mister Wagner had sold me out in this issue, but he didn't coordinate with me, so no surprise." Viridiana smiled after she get the confirmation from Vaterian, another victory she gain against Vaterian.

"Just remember not to mix up Igor with other people from there, he only lived in Hellandia for 6 years, so he has not been influenced by the environment"

"But he was a big fan of [Uptown Girls], wasn't he? I thought he obsess about the Angles culture." Viridiana asked Vaterian over the contradiction in his statement, Veteran stayed silent for seconds and answer it carefully. "The novel bears a special meaning for him, it's the only thing his mother left for him. That's why he read it over and over again. It's his only way to find the connection with his mother."

The room falls silent afterward, neither of them knew how to continue the topic, time slowly passed while Igor struggle to survive.

_____Back to Igor___

"I will remember this, Vaterian." Igor run out of the Inn, he was surrounded by a bunch of men just after he went down.

"I wonder how he doing right now, I hope he would have a nice time with the old man. That guy never liked me just because of the blood flows within me." Igor stretched himself, the wind didn't blow as hard as yesterday so he didn't wear the mask as they did before.

"Maybe go to find the cute little waitress." Igor walked straight down the street, he didn't know where to go, he just wandered around the city until nightfall, as he always did since he was a kid.

______At Musikverein___

"The music had started, Miss Viridiana. I don't think you want to be rude to the musician by sleeping while they are playing." Veteran woke Viridiana up and give her a notice about how long had she slept.

"Where had you been previously?" Viridiana asked about where Vaterian went, he was away since they finished their lunch. "Practise, of course. No one can reach perfection without any hard work, Miss Viridiana." Vaterian stared at Viridiana like she was an idiot, she still haven't fully woken up from sleep.

Viridiana saw Vaterian dressed up in a traditional Helland suit, he was well prepared for the performance. "The cloth suit you well, I would recommend you to wear a suit like this rather than the old, dull clothing you wore."

That was not a lie or a fake compliment from Viridiana, Vaterian was one of the most good-looking guys she ever met, but he tend to hide it with his hood or bad clothing. More importantly, the person always following him was Igor, who looked better than anyone else.

The suit was well fit for Vaterian, his long raven-black hair has been combed and tied well. Pair of glasses were placed on his eyes, making him look more gentlemanly. Viridiana sure he just wore it for fun, Vaterian never straggled when looking at the tiniest details.

"Mister Wagner wanted me to wear that glasses, he said this pair of glasses allowed me to draw more attention from the ladies. But I don't think it was useful." Vaterian told Viridiana about the reason behind it with a smile on his face, it seems he didn't hate Wagner caring about him.. I can't wait to see Friedrich's reaction when he saw me, it's been a long time since we meet." Vaterian sat down on the couch, his mind starting to fly toward the past."I hope he will grow up and not to be an amateur anymore, but according to what Wagner had said he might still stay as he used to be." Vaterian remembers the day they play piano together, it was a joyful time for him.

"Who is Friedrich? You never explain that to me, was he a personal guard of the heir?" Viridiana was curious about the person, she predicted the person might be Vaterian childhood friend.

"You never heard about it? Seems like you haven't done enough research in this land. Friedrich von Nassau, the "avant-garde prince", legatarius of the duchy of Niederwester, and the heir of family of von Nassau. You might need to remember his name, in the future he will become Duke Friedrich ll, controlling the marine time trading of this Nation." Vaterian laid out the title of his "childhood friend" Friedrich. Viridiana was obviously not prepared to meet such a high rank noble, she was shocked and stunned for minutes.

Viridiana felt like she started to capture the true identity of Vaterian, but she still missed the most important clue. Before she even get the answer, she had been interrupted. She felt someone was dragging her hand gently. She raised her head, she saw Vaterian standing up with a smile on his face. "Miss Viridiana, there is still a greater show waiting for us. Your first experience on our opera, did I have the privilege to watch together with you?"

The orange hue from the lamp cover Viridiana's sight, the only thing she saw was the bright blue eyes from the teenager through his glasses.

"It did work."Viridiana spoke silently.