Prologue

From the minute she opened her eyes, she was startled by a clatter of noises and a hustling crowd. The roadway was lined with stalls, while carts and carriages bustled in the center. Despite the din, she remained unaffected as she watched the crowd's attire and actions. The skirts of the women were somewhat flared, with gores on the sides and fullness in the back, and the sleeves puffed at the shoulder. The men were dressed in a formal coat and a slip waistcoat. The front of the dress coat is cut straight across the waist, while the rear incorporates dangling tails.

Her body shivered when she realized where she is. She's in France of the 19th century. 19th century extends from the French Revolution, and was governed by Napoleon I as First Consulate. This is also when the First French Empire happened that was under Napoleon I as he proclaimed himself as the Emperor of the French. Though in the start of the 19th century wearing of wigs were abandoned, she can still see some nobles with a mediocre social status wearing a wig.

With the reason why she's here, Prim herself, don't know either.

But Prim recognizes the ridiculousness of what is currently taking place. She should experience the fear and worry that comes with being in an unknown setting. For the fact that she came out of nowhere is something that she has to be feared about. But all she can feel is excitement, but to be honest, she can also feel a little dread, however excitement still reigns supreme inside of her!

What difference does it make if she time travels? This is the most exciting period of her life! Who would even think that in a blink of an eye, you would travelled to the past?

Prim took a closer look at the man's wig. She placed her hand on her chin as she confirm that these gentlemen were not wearing a powdered wig. She had heard terrible things about powdered wigs. They stunk horribly and attracted lice, so men could only apply powder to hide the wig's flaws in terms of appearance and smell. However, she is aware that powdered wigs and periwigs are no longer commonly used in the nineteenth century, after declined in popularity in the late 18th century. As a result, she doesn't have to be concerned about seeing them.

She's from the 21st century but she travelled back from the 19th century. How did she end up here? What brought her to this century? Though the thrill of time travel and experiencing the past of the French is thrilling and astounding, she is nonetheless concerned about being here. She has no acquaintances here, and history also has a grim edge. Despite the fact that she no longer has any family, she still has friends.

While she was engrossed in her thoughts, she heard someone shouted. "Paer! Happy New Year!" The man was wearing a frock coat but its coat sleeves were puffed up, chests swelled out and waistline narrowed to an extreme degree, just like an hourglass. He had this tall, beaver hat that are often see in French men. The man hugged Paer as if they haven't seen each other for a long time.

"Paer?" Prim whispered to herself as she think of where did she heard that name.

"Why does his name sound so familiar?" she inquired as she continued to observe the two men. Paer laughs and pats his longtime friend on the back.

"Oh, Marshall, we're already in February. The New Year is already a month ago." Paer said and corrected his friend.

Marshall shrugs jokingly, "Is that so?" He put his arms around Paer, "You know, I suddenly began to be forgetful these days. Perhaps it will go away if we can have a welcome party to commemorate my return to Germany." He said and raised his eyebrows teasingly. "And of course~~ it's your treat." Marshall continued without wasting any time on swindling his friend.

Paer rolled his eyes and put away Marshall's arms, "You just want a free dinner. It's been a long time and you're still stingy as ever."

Marshall smirked as he thought of an idea. He slowly straightened himself away from Paer and then slowly put his hands together. Prim was seeing his movements in slow motion in her mind, and then something he did made her want to cleanse her eyes with holy water!

Marshall put his hands together and waved his shoulders childishly. "Come on, let's celebrate!" he cried in a slightly pitched voice that stunned Paer and Prim, who were watching them at the time.

Prim gasped and covered her mouth, "W-what did I just saw? Is this aegyo but in the 19th century?" She noticed how the other people stared at the two guys, particularly Marshall, because of his behavior. "Oh my gosh, I can't watch this." Prim said and covered her eyes. But her two fingers were away from each other as she peeked out between them.

"Where did you even learn that Marshall? You just went in a foreign country and you're acting like this?" Paer asked as he laughs. "Are you perhaps mentally sick?" he continued and Marshall eventually stopped. "I'm just kidding!" Marshall giggled.

Marshall glanced at the building behind Paer and inquired coldly, "By the way, I heard you're planning to retire?" He heard some things after arriving from Germany and it didn't look very great for Paer's situation. The sudden change of expression from the childish man earlier deeply shocked Prim.

She noticed what Marshall had done and turned to face the building behind her. When she saw the familiar words, her mouth gaped open. "Theatre-Italien?" Prim muttered as she turned around to see the two. The name Theatre-Italien or also called Comedie Italienne was officially used in 1860. In 19th century, this theatre was entrusted to Angelica Catolina by King Louis XVIII. Because of Napoleon, the king's plan was disrupted causing the actors from the theatre to stayed at the Theatre de L'imperatrice.

When King Louis XVIII restored his power, Angelica joined to the troupe but went in a tour to the Europe, leaving control of the power to Paer. Paer presented the first Rossini opera to performed in Paris, but was accused of attempting to sabotage Rossini's reception in Paris.

The Paer she's seeing is really the theatre's current director! Paer, Ferdinando! Prim's mouth was again covered with surprise. That's why his name is so familiar. However, she had heard that he is about to retire. Does it mean Rossini will now be the next director? Prim nodded her head as she understood everything. She will express her enthusiasm later, but she must first listen to their conversation. If this is the 19th Century and Ferdinando is here and particularly, he's about to retire, her conclusion can only be one thing....

"I still have a few months to wait before I can retire," Paer said with a smile. Marshall furrowed his eyebrows as he suddenly thought, "Why did you have to delay your retirement?" he asked. "It's not that I'm delaying my retirement, it's because someone wanted me to teach someone from Hungary." Paer replied.

"And do you know when you can teach him?" Marshall asks. Paer shakes his head, "It's very unfortunate but they're still not sure about the teaching since he's still in the middle of attending to his concerts."

"What do you mean, not sure? Do they have to hold you back like that? They must have think that's because you're not gonna be the director anymore and people looked down on you it means they can do whatever they want!" Marshall angrily said. Paer stiffened a little but he laughs and pat Marshall's shoulders, "Don't worry, it's not that they looked down on me. The child is still busy. If the teaching goes on, it would be an honor, that child is a prodigy!" He exclaimed.

On the other hand, Prim heard what they're talking about. It's really here, Paer is about to teach someone from Hungary. And it could only be that one person, "It's Franz Liszt." She weakly said. The Hungarian Composer that mostly everyone is familiar with and the greatest piano virtuoso of all time. The person that you can only read in history books will be coming here in France where she currently is...It took a long time before Prim can snapped out of her thoughts.

"OMG, OMG. It's Franz Liszt!" Prim covered her mouth as she paced back and forth.

"Okay, okay. Control yourself, Prim. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale." Prim told herself as she held herself from not showing her excitement too hard. Prim take a deep breath when she saw someone running towards her direction. "Lady Prim, there you are!" a woman and a man suddenly came at her as they called her name.

Who are they? Lady Prim? Is she some sort of a noble or something?

"Where have you been? We're all looking for you." the woman said as she bend her knees to face Prim and checked her body for injuries. Prim remain standing while looking at them in confusion but she hide it from them to avoid suspicion. She caught a glimpse of the man in the back and noticed that they were both panting heavily and had concerned expressions on their faces. Are they her biological parents?

"Mother?" she asks while looking at the woman in front of her.

The woman nodded and said, "Yes, the Madam is looking for you. You just suddenly disappeared when you two were walking in the market." The woman thought that her lady is asking for her mother, so she explained that her mother is looking for her. Prim formed an 'O' when she realized that this woman is not her mother. She put her hand on her nose as she hide her embarrassment.

"Come on, let's get back to the house right away, and let her uncle know that the lady has been located." The woman said to the man behind her and and he nodded before walking away. " In this case, I'm afraid you will be prohibited from leaving the house again," the woman stated as they walked into the carriage.

Prim immediately looked at her, "What?"

"Well, my lady, you just disappeared, so Madam and Master would be terrified of you going out again," the woman weakly smiled when she observed her reaction.

This can't be good.. She had to leave the house because she had no idea when Franz Liszt would be in the country. Prim immediately formed a plan in her mind on how to persuade her parents for leaving the house again. She can't complain to this woman beside her about the inequitable treatment she had when she just arrived here and she's not sure if the last 'Lady Prim' knew who she is.

She had to first investigate her own background and persuade her so-called Madam and Master, or else.

When Prim looked in the direction of Paer and Marshall, she noticed that they were approaching the Theatre-Italien. Or else, she won't be able to meet her idol, who will be arriving in the country shortly. She looked at the woman next to her and realized that she could question her about the latest gossip in town, whether it was about politics or not. In particular, the Theatre-Italien. She knows how much women enjoy gossip.