At this moment, the seemingly precious right to choose felt a bit like a hot potato. Mei's breathing was a little ragged, but she still suppressed the faint restlessness in her heart.
"I..."
But just as she was about to answer, the Herrscher interrupted her.
"No need to answer just yet," he said, and then changed all the scenes before her.
The scene changed, and the people before her also changed. Only the mother and son remained on the stage.
[The final note of the piano had just faded. Amidst thunderous applause, the boy, his face somewhat numb, lifted his hands from the black and white keys. He then leaped gracefully from the piano bench and stood at the front of the stage.
In the thunderous applause from below the stage, a white-haired woman in the front row was the most enthusiastic.
"What amazing skill... to have such a level at this age, no wonder Master Ludwig chose him..."
"This must be talent... so many others study with him, working hard, yet none have achieved such success..."
Hidden within the applause were scattered whispers. The boy lowered his eyes, listening to these praises, and actually felt a sense of relief.
Unlike the boy, the mother, listening to these seemingly casual praises from below the stage, could hardly contain her joy. She reveled in these compliments, even though not a single word of them mentioned her.
The middle-aged woman's satisfaction was so simple, just a few words.
"It's just a pity..." a slightly regretful voice sounded. In an instant, the mother's gaze shifted.
The applause, all the other various praises, the host's introduction on stage—all sounds fell silent at this moment. The entire world seemed to be left with only that one voice, making it exceptionally sharp.
"That such a child is only second..."
"The first place winner of this piano competition is—Miss Frélle Cages!!!" The host's loud and clear voice fell like a judge's gavel at this moment, shattering the silent world.
A jumble of even more enthusiastic applause rushed toward him. Even though the boy had retreated to the side, the overwhelming pressure still squeezed all the remaining air from his lungs.
He looked up in a panic, staring in disbelief at the faces below the stage.
Everyone was laughing, giving their praise without restraint. Only the woman with the messy white hair showed a disdainful and even disgusted expression.
And his mother?
She was clapping along with the crowd, but her expression had turned cold.
It's over... the boy thought to himself.]
The scene ended there. There was no need to continue. Just from the look in the woman's eyes, Mei could already imagine what would happen next.
"They set a direction for us, set goals that are like performance metrics. Our world and theirs have always been different. The time and effort we spend are just for a picture in their minds, or even just a few casual words."
It was still the Herrscher who spoke first.
"Just words, of course it's not difficult. The biggest difficulty they can think of is how to not repeat their insults after we fail to meet their ideals..."
"It's not an insult," Noah interrupted the Herrscher. This time, his voice was a little rushed. "In a state of excitement, anyone can speak without thinking. There's no benefit in belittling us. She knows that!"
"..." The Herrscher fell into a moment of silence, but Mei sensed that something was wrong.
"Hehe... hahaha—!" Suddenly, the Herrscher's voice let out a loud laugh. "She knows, of course she knows! But is it rare for her to do something she knows is wrong? Has she not scolded us enough?!
"She has never tried to understand how difficult it is for us. She just says 'get first place this time' in her spare time, and then begins to expect and then be disappointed on her own!
"She only says 'is that so hard?'. Has she tried it herself? Has she ever reached that position herself? She speaks shamelessly, using the cliché, unrealistic 'if' to put herself in a position of righteousness!
"What, in her ideology where everyone can be generalized, did she exclude herself first?!"
A long silence followed. This was different from the Herrscher's previous silence. This was true speechlessness.
"She... has her own things to do..." In the end, Noah could only squeeze out this one sentence. "It's already very hard for her to support us..."
["Mei, why did you only get second place this time?" The report card was pushed in front of Mei. Ryoma rested his head on one hand, sitting opposite Mei.
He was still backlit, and Mei lowered her head, not daring to look at Ryoma's face.
His voice showed no sign of anger, but at this moment, even such a calm voice made Mei's heart palpitate.
"I'm sorry, Father..." Mei wanted to say something, to explain herself, but after she opened her mouth, this was the only sentence she could manage.
"Did something happen to you recently?" Ryoma asked faintly. Each syllable made the tip of Mei's heart tremble.
"No, Father!" Mei's head lowered even further. She quickened her speech involuntarily, as if afraid of some misunderstanding if she was slow to deny it.
It could also be that she felt guilty...
The hand supporting Ryoma's head came down, tapping lightly on the table, making a crisp sound.
"No?" he asked back. Mei didn't move. The immense pressure made it impossible for her to tell if Ryoma wanted an answer or was simply asking a rhetorical question.
"In other words... this time it was your own problem?"
Mei's hands clenched slightly.
There were other problems... but that wasn't the whole reason. Mei knew that if it came down to it, she was indeed responsible for this failure.
She didn't dare to argue, because her father could definitely see her problem. She was afraid of leaving the impression of being someone who liked to argue and make excuses in Ryoma's eyes.
After a long silence between the two, Ryoma let out a cold snort, waving his hand at her as if his patience had run out.
"Go to your room and reflect. Then tell me what you're going to do."
"...Yes... Father..."
Mei bowed slightly and said respectfully to Ryoma.
"Don't forget your kendo practice."]
Here it comes again... this inexplicable memory...
Mei clenched her fists, watching with some difficulty as her past self didn't even dare to look back while closing the door.
"It's not... like that..."