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To Ekaterina, the “Evening of Music” was, frankly speaking, just a class social gathering with a fancy name.

It was the same vibe as the after-party for a choir competition she’d participated in back in high school—when they’d rented a karaoke room and had a lively, boisterous time together. Even so, some strange complications arose that left her confused, but the preparations themselves went smoothly, and the event ended up taking place as scheduled.

She had expected an audience beyond just her classmates, so she had borrowed a few chairs from other classrooms and set them up. However, once the event started, those chairs weren’t nearly enough, and the audience—or rather, the onlookers—spilled out into the hallway outside the music room.
What was supposed to be a casual class karaoke contest ended up feeling more like a proper recital.

Yikes.

No, it’s fine. In my past life, competitions were held in places like the main hall of the community center. The audience might have numbered in the thousands. Compared to that, this is nothing—I’m totally fine.
Or so Ekaterina tried to convince herself, but she soon forgot her anxiety. Her older brother, Aleksei, had arrived with Nikolai.

A path quickly cleared before the two of them. Aleksei, who was both a student at the school and the “Duke of Jurnova,” was a celebrity. To the students who had gone out of their way to attend Ekaterina’s class event, he might be famous in a different sense, though.

“Onii-sama!”
“Ekaterina.”

Aleksei gently embraced his sister as she greeted him.

Kyaah!

“Kyaah!”

Huh? Again?
As she looked up with a slight sense of déjà vu, the group of third-year female students who had been crowding the music room window quickly retreated.
So, it really was the older girls from Onii-sama’s class…

Feeling that it might be best not to get involved, Ekaterina decides to ignore them.
But upon reflection, she wonders how appropriate it is for a noblewoman to throw herself into her brother’s arms within the academy. Might she be tarnishing the dignity of the dukedom or her brother’s prestige?

“What’s the matter?”

Noticing the cloud of worry on his sister’s face, Aleksei gently touched her cheek. Ekaterina lowered her eyes and said with a troubled expression.

“Lately… I wonder if I’ve been relying on you too much, Onii-sama. As the daughter of Jurnova, shouldn’t I maintain my dignity a little more and set an example for those around me?”
“You should just act however you wish. Your kindness and grace are already an example to those around you.”

Aleksei declared this without a moment’s hesitation.

“The joy and light that fill my heart when you walk toward me with a smile, you are my Queen of the Night and my Goddess of Light, my Ekaterina, please shine as you please. To make the world a brighter, more beautiful place.”
“Onii-sama…”

The brightness adjustment function on his siscon filter has really evolved! Just as I expected from Onii-sama!
For the villainess that I am to be called a goddess of light… Onii-sama’s siscon is so extreme I don’t even know where to begin. As a little sister who adores her brother, I must strive harder to catch up to Onii-samar’s level of devotion. Though I’m not sure if I should even want to catch up.
Anyway, as long as it makes Onii-sama happy, I’ll gladly throw my arms around him!
Come to think of it, it’s a bit late for that now, isn’t it?

“It’s wonderful to see you two still getting along so well…”

Ah! Nikolai-san looks so distant standing next to Onii-sama! I’m sorry!

“Welcome, Lord Nikolai. Lady Marina is scheduled to sing third, so please enjoy the performance.”
“Yeah, thanks. I’m sorry to subject you to the screeching of a monkey.”
“Onii-sama!!”

Just then, Marina arrived and let out a shriek of anger.

“How could you be so callous, Onii-sama! Compared to the beauty of His Grace’s words, you’re far more of a monkey that I am! No, you’re worse than a monkey—you’re a toad! Please become human at once!”
“You little! You really want me to speak like the Duke⁉︎”

At Nikolai’s words, Marina fell deep in thought, as if caught off guard… Then she gave a faint, warm smile and glanced sideways at her brother.

“I’d absolutely hate that..”
“…Figures.”

Ekaterina watched the Krymov siblings bickering affectionately once again with a smile.
She couldn’t help but feel that this pair, too, though they expressed it differently, had a touch of brocon-siscon sentiment about them.
.

Despite that little incident, and after Olga had finished her cleaning duty and returned from the dorm, the Evening of Music began.
Ekaterina was the one to kick things off, fulfilling her role as the de facto organizer. That was precisely why she’d started to feel anxious when she saw the turnout was larger than expected.

“Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I am delighted to be reunited with all of you this second semester. I hope this modest gathering will help deepen the bonds of our class even further. And to all of you who have gathered here, though our skills are humble, I hope you will enjoy the performance.”

Warm applause erupted in response to the greeting delivered in an elegant tone by the duchess’s daughter, who stood gracefully and with dignity—a sight that made it impossible to believe she was secretly nervous.

“Tonight, we will be performing in the order in which we volunteered to participate. Therefore, if I may be so bold, I shall take the first song.”

Ekaterina smiled and extended her hand, and Flora, who had been waiting, stepped forward and took it.

“I will sing a duet with Lady Flora. It may be a bit rough, but please listen.”

Seeing the tension on Flora’s face, Ekaterina gently squeezed the hand she was holding.
It’s okay, it’s okay. After all, there are only a handful of people here—just a few dozen at most. It’s just a class talent show. Even if we mess up, it’ll just be a funny story!

How presumptuous of her, considering she was nervous herself.
But Flora smiled.

Synchronizing their timing with a glance, the girls began to sing.
The Empire is currently in the season of lingering summer heat. Amid the twilight breeze, a song of snow and howling winds began to flow.

.

—This song is a global smash hit, but…

Apparently, the Japanese lyrics differ quite significantly in nuance from the original English version. The English version apparently focuses more on expressing the emotional anguish of a lonely protagonist.

In contrast, the Japanese version has been reworked to convey a bright, powerful feeling of letting go and embracing one’s true self.

Although this song has been translated into languages around the world, I once read in an online article that the Japanese version’s content is unique and was highly praised when introduced to the world. Furthermore, I’ve heard that in the Japanese version of the movie itself, the translations of various lines were tailored to match the nuances of the lyrics, giving it a different impression from the English version.
It seems that’s the reason why that movie was such a huge hit in Japan.

For this translation to Imperial, I used the Japanese lyrics as my source material. To be honest, I don’t remember the English lyrics that well.
Besides, the Japanese lyrics are exactly what I wanted Flora-chan to sing!

Flora, a soprano, sings the main melody. Her radiant, clear voice is beautiful and carries effortlessly to those who can’t fit inside the music room.
Ekaterina, a mezzo-soprano with excellent pitch, wraps and supports the main melody with beautiful harmonies. At times, she sings solos to add accents to the song.
Even though they are singing a cappella without accompaniment, their stable pitch leaves no room for anxiety or uncertainty. The transitions from beautiful harmonies to individual solos, along with the melody shifting keys and evolving one after another, surprise the listeners and draw them in deeply.
The two girls occasionally held hands, leaned into each other with smiles, and executed turns drawing on their previous experience with the first dance. With their visually dazzling choreography, they captivated the audience.

This is a school. The audience consists entirely of adolescent boys and girls. As the sons and daughters of the nobility, they all feel a sense of burden and constraint—though the weight varies from person to person—and they also feel oppressed.
For them, how compelling must lyrics that sing of self-affirmation be?

When Ekaterina and Flora finished singing and took a bow—
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause, and despite it being the first song, they gave a standing ovation.