Chapter 79
There's a saying that you can tell a promising tree from its first sprouts.
Beethoven's life was the same, and Kim Yul had diagrammed the early part of it very simply and stuffed it neatly into the opening serialization arc.
His grandfather had been a court music director, and his father a tenor.
In cliché terms, that meant he was born of extraordinary stock.
But the grandfather who seemed like a reliable patron died quickly, and instead he began being worked to the bone by an alcoholic father who wanted to exploit his son for fame.
But if you were only going to make readers choke down hardship with an unhappy background,
you also had to deliver a cathartic payoff by giving them a fateful encounter.
Then, as if to overturn the somewhat gloomy opening mood, what appeared was.
the teacher who would become Beethoven's lifelong mentor in his heart.
Christian Gottlob Neefe.
- Beethoven. People may call you a prodigy and applaud you, but the performance you're giving now is nothing more than playing to make money. Take music in with your head and your heart, not just your fingers. And feel it—the harmony, the order of music.
To Beethoven, who until then had been a puppet of his father and had never been able to properly display that dazzling genius.
Neefe taught him the basics of music.
And further, he taught him the foundations of composition that would make him an immortal master of music.
Thanks to that meeting, Beethoven's path to becoming a true musician was compressed into a tidy arc.
At first, because it dealt with the life of a musician that was somewhat unfamiliar to ordinary readers.
Some people were even reluctant to read it because the setting wasn't based on an empire or a holy kingdom, but instead lived inside the author's original worldbuilding.
Exceptional talent.
A somewhat unfortunate environment.
But then a teacher appears, he awakens, blossoms.
And success follows.
Because it was built around a plot not much different from a novel starring a typical hero.
'Beethoven' gradually began to gain popularity.
"Harmony theory, rhythm, and all that—it's terribly complicated...."
"But the protagonist pulled it off again, right? This time he became a proper organist, right?"
"It's difficult, but it's nice to see him forging ahead. For Elise, was it? That piece is pretty good too."
Even by modern web-novel standards.
People who read medical fiction aren't reading for the medical descriptions themselves, but to see patients brought to life at the protagonist's fingertips and the praise surrounding that miracle.
In Kim Yul's hands, who understood that psychological structure to some degree.
Beethoven's life, though somewhat commercialized, was reborn in broad strokes faithful to the facts and began unfolding across Fantasy Land.
Even more so.
"Oh my, oh my! This is it, right? There's something there, right!"
Scenes began to appear little by little that were enough to make Roselyn, finally rewarded for all her anticipation and devotion, go into a frenzy.
By the time the protagonist Beethoven, who had grown up so well, turned sixteen.
- Hello, I'm Eleonore. Please just call me Lorhen.
- Hello. I'm Ludwig…… van Beethoven.
with his first meeting with Eleonore von Breuning included.
In Kim Yul's hands, who would groan for eons if told to give birth to as many characters as he had killed off, a proper romance arc finally unfolded with delicate emotional nuance.
Such freshness, impossible to believe it came from the hand of Ulysses, the author whose only painstakingly crafted love scene had been the affair between Jojo, the dog who loved married women, and Mr. Choo!
"I thought he only wrote kill-or-be-killed scenes well."
"This kind of everyday development is pretty good too."
"But what's the difference between an organ and a piano?"
Along the way he won recognition as a performer, composed piano sonatas, and was acknowledged for his composition as well.
The story continued, firmly delivering readers the dopamine hit of vicarious satisfaction.
.
.
.
Of course, if you asked whether all of that was Kim Yul's doing, at least one person could not deny it.
"That wasn't mere passion. The left hand slammed down hard on the keys, and melancholy and rage poured out. A rebellious spirit against the world exploded through the keyboard. The air in the drawing room trembled, but Eleonore did not look at that scruffy Beethoven with contempt. Not pity, but admiration. To a young girl, Beethoven looked wild—so much so that Beauty and the Beast fit him perfectly."
"That metaphor is a little ambiguous."
"I see. Indeed, Beauty and the Beast is Disney──"
"Stop! If you say that name, I feel like the demon of copyright will be summoned from beyond dimensions……. Anyway, describe the boy-and-girl feelings as a little fresher and more delicate."
"Lorhen sincerely praised Beethoven. Beethoven stared blankly at her. She was the first girl—indeed, the first person of the opposite sex—to call his violent, unrefined feelings beautiful. A small crack formed in the wall of caution that had been firmly built in his heart. It wasn't merely a crack……."
Unfortunately, Kim Yul had never once formed a proper romantic relationship across both his past and present lives.
He was far too dull a person to understand the fresh, bittersweet emotional flow between a boy and a girl in that early stage of mutual attraction.
And so.
Just like Moon In-seop, the great modern Korean man of letters.
Because of the author's lack of experience and skill, Historie's help had been indispensable for anything related to date plans and the psychology of romance between men and women!
"……But, um, doesn't it feel like the writer changes a little only when it gets to Lorhen's psychological scenes……."
"Well, maybe because the emotional line is different. The style definitely feels a little more feminine too. Could Ulysses be a female author?"
"I'm suddenly getting interested in the novel."
Of course, there were a few readers who felt something off, though.
The readers of this medieval fantasy land could never imagine an over-technical idea like cranking out a first draft with a click of TTS.
* * *
[Title: Beethoven] [Currently Serialized: 21 Chapters]
[Historical Accuracy: Consistent] [Quality Assessment: Fine Work]
[Public Evaluation: Very Positive] [Daily Readers: 3,691]
[Daily Readers Needed Until Next Skill Acquisition: 1,309]
[Must Be Maintained for More Than 30 Days. (Current: 11 Days)]
[Expected Skill Acquisition: [B-rank] ■■Beethoven's heart■]
"Hmm……."
Although it fell a little short of earning the title of Novelpia's flagship serial, the run itself was pretty solid.
The public evaluation, which usually stopped at "generally positive," had also climbed one step higher.
Even the upward trend in reader numbers kept going, so if I can just handle it well when the deafness arc hits…….
"What kind of skill would Beethoven even get?"
"I…… hmm, can't make it out. Either way, wouldn't it be a music-related skill?"
"That would be a little disappointing."
Still, considering the gap left by Three Kingdoms, it's something to be grateful for, and if need be I could always use it as fusion material.
I did write stage-adaptation novels here and there, but if I serialized something as long as Three Kingdoms, I'd inevitably end up regretting points like this.
Beethoven should be short and sharp—100 chapters, and done.
"Come to think of it, the thing I asked you to prepare?"
"It's ready."
"As always, thanks, Historie."
"Hieek."
The moment she heard my heartfelt greeting.
Historie suddenly started hiccuping.
What?
What is it implying?
"……It's awkward when you call me by name, Kim Yul."
I flicked the forehead of the little tin can who had finished her descent into corruption.
Anyway.
There isn't a sane person around me. Not one.
.
.
.
"Why is the score so thick? What a waste of paper, hyaaaah!"
This elf, whose appreciation of art also scraped the bottom, was no different.
How could a piano miniature and a piano concerto possibly be the same thing?
To punish her for insulting art with a line like some director trying to save on the electricity bill, I smacked the tip of her pointed ear.
Thanks to that, the malice packed into the elf's head blew away for a moment.
Chloe, who had about the same bean-sprout-level sheet-music literacy as I did, furrowed her brow as she slowly flipped through the score.
"But why isn't it Beethoven? Mozart? Who was that again? Had he appeared?"
"He had, elf."
To explain Beethoven's musical world,
I couldn't avoid bringing up Mozart, the musical genius of the age.
Especially the score now in the elf's hands.
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466.
Because it went beyond the balanced beauty of Classicism and fully captured Romantic passion, I'd wager it must have moved the young Beethoven's heart.
Not only did Beethoven include it in his own performance repertoire, he also composed and left behind his own cadenza.
It was more than worthy of being called a representative work of the era.
"But if it's a concerto, why is there only a piano score? What about the other instruments?"
"Oh. So now you've even got that much eye for detail?"
Chloe puffed out her nonexistent chest and struck a smug pose.
"As the president of Novelpia, making the effort to understand my authors' worlds is essential! I did study up on my own, desuwa, hoho!"
Your effort is admirable, so I'll let you off with a pat this time.
"Ah, ngh."
Clearly expecting her ear to be tugged, Chloe squeezed her eyes shut.
What a feeling, wavering between the abuse side and the doting side.
"Concertos are hard, and it's a bit awkward to perform one under that peach World Tree over there, so this is an arrangement for piano."
"Aha. Come to think of it, the arranger has a separate name too. Charles-Valentin... what was it, Grandpa-Valentin or something—ahh!"
Mr. Charles-Valentin Morhange.
Are you watching?
I shall personally punish the elf who insulted you.
After fine-tuning the serialization manuscript, the music release schedule, and other details with Chloe.
"By the way, the musicians?"
"I've booked them all. But every one of them says, in unison, that they absolutely want to meet Kim Yul."
Hmm…….
I was practically a layman when it came to music.
But if I were a musician, I think I'd feel the same.
The moment you see that score, the moment you play its melody.
Wouldn't you go crazy wondering who composed it?
"Then I'll set up a separate schedule. Ah! And there's someone else who wants to meet Kim Yul too."
"Who is it?"
The elf handed me a business card.
[Republic First University Graduate School of Language and Literature, Demon Language Research Lab]
[Professor Sordinang Pesil]
"This person specifically said they wanted to seek guidance regarding demon language. I looked into it a little, and they're very famous in academic circles."