Bab 22: "Bethy's Debut"

"Who are you?" The tavern manager asked.

"Uhm… I am a traveler. My name is Bethy," she smiled at him, "I would like to sing for everyone."

But the tavern manager looked at her with disdain. He stared at her freckles and dark circles, "How can I let an ugly woman like you perform in front of the customers? If you are the one who's going to sing, I might as well close the tavern."

'Ohh, how harsh,' Ely thought. But she's a pro singer, who had already gone through harsh treatment in the entertainment industry, so she was not affected by this. Besides, she's confident in her talent.

"I can just turn my back on the audience," she said.

As soon as she turned her back on them, Ely started singing. She sang a famous old song in her world, "Cry me a River" (popularized by Julie London) in acapella.

"Now you say you're lonely… You cry the whole night through… Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river… I cried a river over you…"

Throughout the song, the audience remained quiet, mesmerized by her voice.

And as soon as the song ended, there was a big round of applause!

The tavern manager quickly approached her, "I've never heard of a voice like yours! If you're free… I would like to ask you to perform with the tavern's band-"

"I object!" The harp-playing woman said, "Why should we replace Karla with this stranger?"

"Yes. And as the band leader, I object too," said the young lad who held the lute.

"Sir, I am merely a traveler… I sang because I wanted everyone to stay calm… Effective, isn't it?" She smiled at them, "But I never intended to hurt anyone's feelings. Everything's settled, right? I should go now. I still need to find a place to stay."

"Why don't you just stay here for a while?" a young lady with waist long, steel blue-colored hair, medium brown skin, and captivating cornflower blue eyes, started walking towards the stage.

"Karla!" the tavern manager called, "What happened to you?!"

"I apologize, I think I ate too many snacks," she chuckled. "Anyway, why don't we let her stay here? I can share my bed if there's no vacant room."

"Karla, no! What if she-"

"Vienna," Karla shook her head, and the blonde woman pursed her lips. "What is your name?" she asked Ely.

"I am Bethy."

"Right. Bethy, from now on, sing with our band."

"Oi, Karla, are you crazy? As the leader of our band, I don't permit-"

"Nerion, just focus on improving your lute and let me handle this. Okay?" and she winked at her.

The tavern finally closed, and everyone who attended was satisfied with Bethy's song. Ely was introduced to the tavern staff before she was brought upstairs. In the exclusive dining room, they were served with grilled potatoes, stir-fried asparagus, and thin slices of sweet ham.

"I want to properly introduce the tavern band members," the tavern manager said, "This is our singer, Karla of the Faustin clan, and beside her is her brother Rainier, the one who played the congo drums…" he then pointed to the other side of the table, "The lute player band leader is Nerion of the Rime clan, while the other one is the harp-player, Vienna of the Lorienst clan."

Ely gave a wide smile, "Nice to meet you all. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Nerion uttered, "We don't mind, as long as you won't steal Karla's position," and Vienna nodded with him.

"Ahaha, no, no, you're all mistaken."

"Okay, tomorrow, we will all start to learn a new song," Karla said, "Bethy, I want you to sing with me."

"How is that possible? You heard her voice later, she will steal the show from you-"

"A duet. Let's do a duet, Karla," Ely suggested.

"Duet?"

She nodded. "I will not steal the show. Let's make a performance wherein everyone's skills can be highlighted!"

They didn't know what she meant until their practice day came.

It was hard to convince Nerion and Vienna at first, but because they saw how Karla was determined to improve the performance, they also did their best. She was also able to sing alongside Karla by blending her voice beautifully with hers. Rainier was the quietest and the most obedient to Ely, but whenever his bandmates make mistakes, he speaks up and corrects them. Each of the instrumentalists was given time to shine by having short solos in each song, which they joyfully accepted.

Ely felt that it was such a long time ever since she felt this excited. She was actually teaching them about the things that she knew about music, which were the results of years of training as a professional singer.

After seeing Ely's potential, the band decided to make her rearrange the songs. She was given a special, separate bedroom in the tavern with a comfort room of her own, to convince her to stay with them. She agreed, since in the meantime, she needed to stay in her disguise every day, so she needed privacy. Besides, as long as the mercenaries do not loosen the security at the city gate, she could not escape Leoniva City.

It went on for a week. Ely performed with them as well, and the great performances of the band reached the Ministry of Culture. The tavern became very famous in the whole city.

"Good news! Good news!" The tavern manager hurriedly went to the dining room one morning, "I received an invitation from the Ministry of Culture," and he raised the scroll.

"What is it?" Karla asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Nerion responded as he took a slice of ham on the table.

Ely, Vienna, and Rainier just stared at the tavern manager.

He excitedly exclaimed, "The Ministry of Culture is inviting us to be one of the performers in a nobles' event... in The Great Leoniva Palace!"

Everyone cheered when they heard the fantastic news, except for Ely, who almost choked from the piece of meat she just ate.

PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
AinaWang

Thanks for reading this book~ <3

While waiting for updates, you can check out my other books as well:

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More books to come~

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