The conservatory ended up becoming ‘their place,’ to some extent—most of their days out alone so far have been there, at least. Rene wondered if it happened to be somewhere that Adelinde rarely went with Aurik; she imagined it would be easier to start in a place that didn’t already have memories associated with it. The general privacy, with more space than if they stayed in the palace, likely helped.

The weather warmed up a bit by late February. Still, the air in the garden felt like April or May. Adelinde sat behind the piano as usual; Rene watched her, leaning on one corner pillar.

She knew she must be smiling like a complete idiot, but she honestly couldn’t help it when she watched Adelinde play now—she vaguely recognized it as a combination of noticing how Adelinde played, and that she was specifically experimenting with songs that were for or about Rene.

“You always look so…elegant when you sit there,” Rene said eventually. “I know I say this every time now, but the music’s beautiful too.”

Adelinde slightly blushed, smiling a bit. “I had lessons as a child. At one point piano classes were essentially interchangeable with etiquette—one was used to encourage me to do the other, since otherwise I didn’t stay still long enough to learn how to sit straight or nod a greeting—so that’s likely why.”

“Do you know how to play anything else?” Rene asked curiously.

“The violin,” Adelinde replied with a nod, although she did frown a bit. “My association with it is…strained, however.”

Expecting a further question, she continued on despite a small pause in her current playing. It shifted a bit into something she didn’t play as often—something sadder, unlike the cheery or slightly romantic melodies Adelinde seemed to prefer when with Rene.

“My mother first taught me how to play it; by her request, I played it at her funeral. The last thing my father heard was a song Mark and I played with the piano and violin, itself being one of Mother’s works. It turned out to be Aurik’s instrument of choice, and…” She sighed, then tried to offer a sad smile. “You know that story.”

She paused for a second, apparently noticing the kind of song she absent-mindedly played and taking a moment to transition it back into something more familiar. Rene didn’t think she’d ever get used to hearing that familiar deep note, emulating a heartbeat—it turned out to be an element present in most of Adelinde’s songs that involved Rene now.

Adelinde glanced at her, a more natural smile returning.

“What about you?” she asked kindly. “I’ve never seen you play anything.”

“That’s because I’m terrible at it,” Rene replied, shrugging a bit. Adelinde laughed, making Rene smile despite her half-joking protests. “No, really, I’m not kidding. You saw me on that piano when we first met—I haven’t touched one since. I’ll sound worse than Matteo.”

Adelinde smiled, stopping from playing entirely and giving her an amused look.

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“I’m curious if you’re exaggerating,” she said.

“I swear I’m not. Trust me.”

“Please? Just a few seconds.”

Rene laughed, and feigned some unwillingness as she walked over to take Adelinde’s place at the piano. She played the first few notes that came to mind, with no particular reason for why she chose them, creating a simple melody of three or four keys near the center.

Adelinde’s expression during the short display went from teasing, to almost captivated, to thoughtful. By the time Rene finished what she intended to show, Adelinde had left the piano’s side. Rene turned around just to see her making sure the guitar in one corner was tuned properly.

When she finished, Adelinde looked up at Rene with a kind of inspiration.

“Humor me by trying this?”

Rene cast her a slightly skeptical look, but still agreed. They switched places again, Adelinde resuming a spot behind the piano and Rene carefully picking up the guitar. Rene started playing after Adelinde gave her a confirming nod, following the same method as earlier.

She personally didn’t feel much different until she noticed Adelinde opening up one of the score books she brought with her and writing down the notes she heard.

“You really think this is good enough to write down?” Rene asked skeptically.

“Just keep playing for a bit longer,” Adelinde replied, looking up to smile at her for a second. “You look beautiful now. I want to make sure I write down the song for later, even if you’re making it up as you go.”

It came Rene’s turn to blush, half wondering if this was one of the first compliments Adelinde paid her since they started dating. If nothing else, the look in her eyes—the inspiration stemming from love, not even hiding behind typical manners or lessened by hesitance—was pure enough that Rene almost forgot to keep playing.

“That’s it,” Adelinde announced as she wrote down the last note. She closed the book and smiled, still having the same look as before.

Rene nodded, ending off her extended playing and setting the guitar back on its stand. She barely noticed that Adelinde stood up until a hand lightly brushed her cheek and Adelinde kissed her. Even without expecting it, Rene offered the same in return.

It was gentle but without a single trace of hesitance. She honestly couldn’t ask for anything more.

It took a few seconds before Adelinde pulled away, albeit without any change in her expression.

“When can you come out again?” The question itself was soft, like speaking too loud would reveal it to be some kind of illusion or dream.

“I’ll be busy for the rest of the month,” Rene replied similarly, albeit regretfully. She hated that she had to ruin the good moment, but she continued to explain, “I was asked to run some errands for Lord Dazuz.”

Adelinde seemed disappointed, but understood; Rene brought it up the possibility earlier as a preemptive apology. She wasn’t worried about the risk anymore—she would gladly trade dull days in the mansion to even just a few hours with Adelinde and Matteo—but she would rather be informed and in between loyalties than fully gone with no knowledge of whether or not they wanted to use Rene or Matteo for anything further down the line, at least for now.

After a minute, Adelinde spoke up again.

“Will you be free by the third of March?”

“I should be,” Rene replied. “Is that a date, or..?”

“Matteo’s birthday,” Adelinde said, smiling. She shifted back into ‘professional mode,’ in a sense, although that loving look of hers only dulled instead of completely faded. “He’s getting old enough to appreciate parties—he’d be happy to see you come out.”

“I’ll try to make it,” Rene promised.

Adelinde offered another light, quick kiss. “Thank you. I hope to see you then.”

She fully stepped away and offered a wave, picking up her score books before leaving. Rene watched her go, for a few seconds, then waited for the euphoria to fade before she went back to the Dazuz mansion.