Silent Crown

An hour had passed since they started the test.

The examiners checked their own areas and students, and were very satisfied with the current progress.

“This year, the kid from the Adrian family did a good job,” someone whispered in praise.

In the silence of the examination room, Banner answered the questions on his test paper, emotionless, his pen flying effortlessly. It seemed that was not stressed about the difficult subjects on the test.

“In the end, he is from a well-educated family.” Ben nodded. “He deserves to be the next generation inherited from the age of darkness. Of course, he is also good at hunting and theology.”

“It’s not right,” somebody said quietly.

Someone else was aware of it too. “His speed is too fast.”

“Huh?”

“That white-haired boy, what’s he doing?”

Ben was surprised for a moment, watching the white-haired boy not far from him.

In the gloomy examination room, the white-haired boy was so happy, almost dancing out of his seat. As if he had taken drugs, his eyes were glistening. He held the pen in his hand, writing at an incredible speed. It was so fast that the proctors could not see his hand moving clearly. Besides the first two pages, which he needed time to think about, he was racing through the rest of the test.

“The reform of the church swept by, the rise of the School of Choir rushed by, St. Gregory’s achievements…he had filled almost half the page without thinking.

The only thing he spent a long time on was the question about Runes’ and common grammar because he wrote at least one a half pages without stopping!

It did not seem like a boy taking an exam, but rather a fox happily slipping into a chicken coop.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Ben’s face was gloomy and looking to the side.

“I don’t know.” The teacher who had written the questions gulped. “He must not be scared of the problems. Maybe he is answering them all incorrectly.”

“This is not a political analysis. As long it provides a full answer, he can get some basic points.” The female examiner contemptuously glanced at the teen, and said coldly, “If it’s just chicken scratch, he cannot get any points.”

“But what if he answered them all correctly?” someone softly asked.

Everyone’s expression was gloomy. The white-haired brat was the target that they had been instructed to ‘take care of.’ If he passed with ease, the vice Principal would be upset.

Breaking the silence, a man whispered, “Do not scare yourself. How could that untouchable little know any theology?”

“Yes, I designed the exam in accordance with the difficulty level of teaching staff’s guideline.” A middle-aged proctor shook his head, “They should not be too easy to answer. Even if it were an open book exam, there shouldn’t be people who can easily pass.”

“Do you think he’s really writing down wrong answers?”

“I think so.”

After hearing what others were saying, Ben’s face eased up. He nodded, “A messy answer will disqualify him. I bet the Principal will not be able to say anything about it.”

“He answered them all correctly,” someone murmured from the corner.

A white-haired old man looked up, his eyes hazy, his face stiff. Rather than mocking the nobles, he was stating a fact.

He said, “All the answers are correct.”

－

In the examination room, Ye Qingxuan’s pen was flying like the wind, quickly sweeping through the subjects one by one.

Now that he had come to the last question, the seven guidelines of hymnists…This was the common question for singers, yet outsiders would have no idea.

But these seven criteria were regarded as part of the ‘reformation’ and recorded in the sixth chronicle of the History of the Church. It was considered as one of the biggest achievements of the sixth generation of Pope Louis.

The rise and representatives of the School of Choir?

The answer to the question was just putting together the contents of some chapters from Church Music History and Saints’ Biography! And in order to make sure that he did not miss anything, Ye Qingxuan even added a chapter from Praise Thirteen!

Seven questions made by Hermes?

A century ago, Hermes’s era was called the Development of the Art of the Church! Almost all of the artists in that era were all devout believers. They simply made a significant contribution to the development of religious art.

The seven questions were officially recorded in the Theory, and could be easily found in the book!

As for the difference between Runes’ and common grammar, Ye Qingxuan knew this well because Father Bann had made him a copyist for three years.

The more Ye Qingxuan wrote, the more he could not help but want to laugh and dance.

Good man!

Everyone was a good person!

It was so good to have a recommendation letter!

While Ye Qingxuan was writing, his heart spoke to Wolf Flute, “You were afraid I could not take the exam, and you must have found someone to change the examination questions, thank you!”

It was an unbelievable privilege.

—

“… he answered it all?” one of the proctors whispered.

“Yes, all the questions are done …”

“Bullsh*t!” Ben roared, interrupting his words.

Everyone went completely silent. Ben was crazily pounding on the table, glaring at the dark face of the middle-aged man. “What is going on here?”

“Maybe…he had peeked at the exam beforehand?” the examiner answered timidly.

“Why did you assure me?” Ben wanted to kick him. “Can you tell me how the little devil is coming up with correct answers?”

He remembered the promise he had made to Mr. Sidney. He felt his internal organs twisting into one piece. He was livid.

“Maybe our exam was leaked?” Under the intense pressure, the middle-aged examiner’s brain began to search for answers. It seemed that he had realized that life-saving possibility. His pale face turned blood red. “Someone must have leaked our exam to him!”

“He’s cheating!”

“It seems that the people from downtown only know how to cheat.” Some people sneered, “Or is he the student of the School of Choir?”

“Cheating?” Ben’s face relaxed a little. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” the examiner was angry, his eyes full of contempt. “Based on his inferior status, how could he have had access to church classics?”

“We need to punish him,” another examiner suggested.

“Yes, to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.” Ben rubbed his palms, his eyes were dark. “We do not need to continue the examination and give him…”

“He did not cheat,” the low voice came from the corner, interrupting Ben’s words.

The room was suddenly silent. Ben’s expression became more and more miserable.

The stiff old man just looked at the examination room, not noticing the change in the atmosphere around him, his eyes focused.

“His writing methods and writing habits are unique to the church. His ring finger holding the pen is also a unique way of writing, which is how the kind of special font changes could be seen in the church’s announcement and clergy letters.” He continued, “You can see the calluses on his hands that only long years of writing could leave. He must have received training from the church. Maybe he is a clergy…”

“Enough!” Ben interrupted his words, livid, “Mr. Abraham, pay attention to your words. There is no room here for your foolishness.”

The old man finally felt that the atmosphere was not right. He slowly closed his mouth and lowered his head, embarrassed.

Under the cold gazes, he scratched his gray hair in shame with his prosthetic hand.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

Ben looked at him coldly, and ignored him.

“It’s about time.” Ben took a deep breath and opened a box on the side. “Let’s move on.”

The violin made of glass reflected light like a dream. Ben cradled the violin, holding the bow on the string. His voice was dripping with evil, “Now let them take a real exam.”

As the subtle music played, his eyes were cunning and demonic.

–

In the examination room, Ye Qingxuan hummed the praise poems. He finished the last question with the ease and grace of moving clouds and flowing water.

Just after rechecking all his answers, he nodded with satisfaction. It was nearly perfect.

‘If I do not seriously answer the questions, then I would disappoint all of the people who helped me!’ Ye Qingxuan could not help but want to laugh. But taking into account that he was in the examination room, he had to hold back his emotions, and could not laugh loudly.

He looked down at the only blank part of the test. He could not help but wonder, “There is no question on this page. What is it used for?”

Much time has passed. The cicadas noisy sounds came from the distance. Ye Qingxuan could not help but yawn, feeling his vision blur as he got more tired.

He was so sleepy.

On the blank test paper, a silver pattern subtly flashed. He froze for a moment, looked down, but found that there really was a pattern on the white paper. It was a fine, inconspicuous, and complex pattern like a watermark, slowly becoming more noticeable. Its stripes, like tangled thorns, were complex enough to make people dizzy.

Ye Qingxuan carefully squinted, but as if his sight had failed as if swept away by the patterns.

In the blur, a series of low voices sounded in his ears, like the other drowsy candidates were on his paper, speaking to him.

Then he did not know anything.

Suddenly the examination room filled with pain and loss. At this moment, a sudden silence fell over the room. Everyone was silent, and fell into a sudden deep sleep.

In front of them, that blank paper reflected slight silver lights in silence.

Amid the silence, a vague voice echoed in the air. It was thin and small, like water dripping. It infiltrated the silence, mixing in with the sounds of breathing, clothes rubbing together, and people’s voices from the distant square. Finally it united with all the other sounds, seamlessly blending into a melody like silk.

The dripping sounds blended together, like a spring gurgling water, flowing in everyone’s ears. Cold and clear water poured into everyone’s heart, quietly infiltrating the stress caused from the test.

It was knocking on the secrets in the deepest bottom of the hearts!

Fantasia No. 97, the piece born from the Disaster Overture.

Its name was the Shadow of Interrogation.