New Life, New Task: I'll Be A Mom Then!!!

Raya and the rest of the students were taken aback at Desmond's sudden reprimand. Eli and the rest of the mentors, however, looked at Desmond with approval. It seems that Desmond was chosen as their leader for a reason.

"Today is the preliminary rounds, the goal for today is to make it to the next stage. Then after that next stage, that's when we will worry about how we can strive to get on to the next and see how far we can go."

"Sorry Big brother…" Raya contemplated Desmond's words, and so were the other members of the team.

"Desmond is right. Our goal today is to pass the preliminary rounds. There's a time to recognize the pressure of beating a certain component, but clearly now is not the time for that. Because before you face the Vanderford delegates, you have to qualify for this round first." Queen Tehila patted Raya's shoulders as she supported Desmond's words.

"We understand, Mentor, Desmond, everyone… I apologize for worrying you all.." Raya, Marie, and Hailey looked at everyone with an apologetic expression. But everyone could see that they no longer carry the tense feeling in their heart.

"Alright… close your eyes and take a deep breath. Focus and maintain a good state of mind." Eli looked at them and advised.

"In thirty minutes, the string competition will start. It is  a shame that we will not  be able to watch all of your performances but we wish you well." Dean Athena briefed everyone.

The contenders nodded at Dean Athena as they went with their respective mentors and assistants to  wait for their turn.

"As for Lainie, you could start to go around to scout for possible members of your ensemble as I accompany Desmond on the piano division. Should it end early, we will join you afterward…"

"I will do as you say, Mentor!" Lainie's eyes flickered in excitement, Eli was right, since she would have to work hard to find foreign delegates to join her ensemble, she had to go around and start as early as today.

After saying their final thoughts, the music division started to disperse and go to their respective audition rooms.

Because the volume of the contestants was too much to handle, they were divided into clusters and would have to attend their auditions separately.

The highest number of contestants would be for the strings and piano competition. As for the other musical instruments, they would be scheduled in the succeeding days.

Desmond and Eli soon reached their room number. There were already a bunch of students waiting around for their numbers to be called.

"I am number 14, it might take time for me to finish the auditions." Desmond looked at the number on his card and informed Eli.

Seeing the busy and noisy corridor, Desmond was quite reluctant to let his mentor stand with the crowd to wait for his turn. She is not only his mentor and the legendary inventor, but also the future Third Prince Consort.

Desmond frantically looked around to see if there was any space they could go to. His youthful face frowned as he could see that there was really no place to go.

"Mentor, would you like to stay in your waiting lounge first? I think I can manage to wait here until my turn is up." He scratched his head with a complicated look in his eyes and sheepishly asked Eli.

Seeing the young lad in trouble, Eli chuckled and flashed a bright smile. She patted Desmond's shoulders and said in an assuring tone, "Do not worry about me. I have been through situations like this a lot and it's no big deal. It's better for me to stay with you since this will be your very first time performing for people other than me and your teammates right?"

"This… but…"

"No buts… now stand properly and calm your nerves, in no time you will be called. Don't blame me if your hands turn out to be stiff because you are thinking so many unnecessary things." Eli teased Desmond.

During the time they trained, Eli figured out that because Desmond acted like he was the oldest in the group, he had a strong sense of responsibility to the people around him. Most of the time, Eli had to talk to him a lot in order to remind him to become less of a worry wart to focus on himself.

But it is not too much that would make Desmond feel like he had become a different person. A young lad like him is hard to find, and his music is gentle, thoughtful, and deep, just like his personality.

They waited for more than an hour before he was finally called inside the audition area.

Entering the room, there was only a seat for the mentor or guardian and three judges. At the center of the room, was a full-sized grand piano.

"Delegate number 14, Farauld Magic Institute, Desmond." One of the judges looked at Eli and Desmond.

"Here, Sire!" Desmond raised his hand in acknowledgment. He took a step forward and handed his authentication card.

The judge tapped the card on a magic device and it correspondingly displayed Desmond's details. "Alright, you may get into your position." After checking he gave the card back to Desmond and handed him a folder as well.

Carrying the folder, Desmond sat on the sleek black piano bench and waited for the judge's instruction.

"In that is the piece of one of the legendary piano sonatas in Prasinos. You are to play one movement of the piece if you are not familiar with it, but try your best to play it as the score intended." The judge sitting at the center of the long table explained the instructions to him in an unhurried manner.

"This hourglass is about ten minutes. We will give you time to be familiar with the score sheet and after that, you have to play it as accurately as possible."

"I understood, Sires." Desmond gave a polite nod to the judge and Eli before he opened the folder to see what piece the organizers chose.

Moline Piano Sonata In E major.

Desmond's eyes flicked. Indeed they have chosen one legendary piano sonata. It was a sonata with four movements and the recurring theme of this sonata was the rigorous double octave lines coupled with a three-voice melody.

Without wasting a second, Desmond focused on getting acquainted with the piece while his hands moved to plan his fingerings. This was a technique Eli taught him to do when he encountered an unfamiliar piece.

First is to know the tempo and the overall flow and direction of the piece. It was the first part of the analysis.

The second is to know the author of the piece and when was the time he wrote it. This is important so that Desmond will be able to interpret the music according to the original author's intention.

This was also why Eli was adamant to let Desmond read almost all the biography and anecdotes of the most prominent composers in Prasinos. This is for Desmond to have an easy time figuring out the composer's intention during the time they composed the piece.

The third is to plan how to play the piece. With his two hands, he has to see which part of the piano piece would be quite challenging and from there, he would plan how he will press the keys using his left and right hands.

Eli looked at how Desmond immediately took out his pen and scanned the pages to encircle some parts of the piece. She figured out that Desmond was pointing out the trickiest part of the piece and he was planning how to execute it.

She looked at the judges and smiled as she saw that they were looking at Desmond with interest.

The intention of the challenge was not actually to gauge how technically inclined the pianist was. But to see for themselves if they have the most basic principle of a musician - knowing the piece you are about to play.

This means that as soon as the judges turned the hourglass to time Desmond's preparation, he had already been scored according to his actions.

The judges were indeed amused and surprised by Desmond's action. Seeing him looking intently at the piece, even singing some lines and marking around the sheet to scribble something, he was indeed different from the previous contestants.

Most of them immediately went ahead and tried to frantically sight-read the piece until the time was up, praying that they would be able to play a part or two of the first movement.

Some of them just flipped on the pages and chose to practice the part that they thought would impress the judges the most.

Only Desmond, so far, was the only one who manifested the intent to really become acquainted with the piece. He didn't even touch the piano keys until he had not figured out how the melodies were sung.

The judges straightened their backs in excitement. They looked at Desmond with anticipation. In their hearts, they wanted to know what kind of music would this young man create!