“So… he just gave the violin to you?” Lucas asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“He didn’t just ‘gave the violin’ to me. He gave the violin to me as a way to perpetuate his legacy. Not like I expect you to understand” I scoffed. Lucas rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored my comment.

“Well, then it’s a good thing you can actually keep it. It will be more convenient than just travelling with a borrowed instrument” he said, examining the violin, the worn wood and small scratches and indentations in it. I knew it wasn’t exactly on top form, but the way Lucas was looking at it made me feel defensive. My hands itched to take it away from him.

Instead, I glanced away and asked the question I’ve been dying to ask all day. “Have you come up with an excuse for us to leave? Now that I got the violin, that’s the only thing that’s keeping us here.”

“As a matter of fact, I have” he answered, surprising me.  But before I could ask, he passed the violin to me. “Before that, though, why don’t you play something? One thing is getting the violin successfully, but we need to see if you can focus your magic on it so it can calm the demon, otherwise, we’re as stuck as in the beginning.”

“You’re right” I gave him the reason, reluctantly. I still wasn’t very good with my magic, or at least not enough to feel confident that I could do it. My main affinity, sensory magic, completely eluded me still. How could I perform magic music in my first try when I still had problems with my affinity?

The first step is trying, I guess, I thought with a sigh, placing the violin on my shoulder and heeding Lucas’ instructions. It was late at night, and we were at the barn, where I could play without waking up the rest of the family. Of course, I felt very uncomfortable being in the same place where I tried to, unconsciously, kill myself, but we didn’t have many other options available. So, despite my dread, here we were, and I tried very hard not to let the memories come back to me as I concentrated.

First, I had to feel the magic and tap onto it. Second, I had to extend it from my body, give it form, and envelope it around the violin. I found that it wasn’t as complicated to ‘extend’ my magic as I thought, but giving it shape was giving me trouble. Worse, I wasn’t one of those people that could multitask. Playing and extending my magic like a force field required intense focus that I was unable to place on both activities at the same time. So, if I played, I couldn’t extend my magic, and if I extended my magic, I couldn’t play.

This would be a problem.

“We’ll have to do it until it comes naturally to you. So you don’t have to think about extending your magic and concentrate only in playing” Lucas sighed, crossing his arms. “It seems we will have to resort to the inn’s piano in the meantime.”

So, that meant we couldn’t leave just yet. Great, I’ve always hated things I had to make an effort to achieve. This would be fun.

We spent the next few hours in the barn, and not once could I play at the same time as I used my magic. I noticed, however, that it was easier to manipulate it the longer I tried. Still not quite for it to become unconscious, but enough to hold for longer, and for the shape to remain in place without strain. That was progress, and it encouraged me enough to keep trying.

In the end, we had to stop before it became too late, with Lucas still not telling me his plan for us to leave without my parents having a seizure. I slept with Lucas and Thomas again, this time finding rest more easily due to my accumulated exhaustion, and the only indication of the demon I got was a whispery voice flitting in and out from my mind, but other than that, everything was peaceful.

The next night, I was able to play a few notes while maintaining the magic.

The night after that, it was a part of a melody.

Every day before the sun went out, we walked to town and Lucas played something on the piano, when business was still low. The owner of the inn, knowing me since I was small, didn’t ask the reason for us being there and instead enjoyed the simple tunes Lucas would play. The owner’s daughter, who had been a friend of mine for the same amount of time, accompanied me and made eyes at Lucas that he was completely oblivious to.

That was our routine for around a week.

And then, one night, I finally did it. I played a whole song, unconsciously maintaining the magic throughout it.

As soon as the melody ended, I blinked, looking down at my own hands and at the violin, amazed that I could actually play and use magic at the same time. What seemed so impossible only a week ago now didn’t look so difficult. Managing to do this, I felt a new wave of confidence flowing through me. Excited, I raised my head and looked at Lucas to celebrate.

Only to find him asleep on some nearby yarn.

I swiftly stood up, walked up to him, and kicked him to wake him up.

“W-What?!” he sputtered, his body jerking up with confusion. I crossed my arms, glaring at him.

“I just managed to play a whole song while using magic and you fell asleep! How rude is that?”

“Wait… wait…” he shook his head to dispel the last signs of grogginess, still not fully awake. He blinked, once, twice, before focusing his gaze on me. “I’m sorry… you managed to play the whole song? That’s fantastic. I don’t remember falling asleep though…”

That’s fantastic? That’s all the praise I was going to get? Sighing to myself, I decided to cut him some slack and returned to my seat, grabbing the violin again and adjusting my grip on it. Lucas was still shaking off the last of his stupor when I pointed at him with the bow. “I’m going to play again, and this time, don’t fall asleep on me! Pay attention and praise me afterwards, get it?”

“Yeah, yeah… sure” he yawned, and although that bothered me, I ignored it and concentrated. I was afraid that my success was a onetime thing; however, when I started, the movements and flow of magic came naturally to me, just like before. It was easy to focus only on the movements of my fingers and let my magic envelope the violin, allowing the sounds coming out of it to reverberate throughout the space. I could feel the magic modifying the music, the notes carrying across the air, weightless and fluttery. My heart relaxed with it, though whether as an effect of the magic or simply because I was able to play without restrictions again, I didn’t know.

And Lucas was falling asleep on me again.

“Cut it out!” I yelled, abruptly ending the song with a scratch of bow against strings. Lucas bolted upright, wincing helplessly.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“You were falling asleep again! If you’re so tired, then just go to bed already, let me alone before I become completely annoyed with you, ok?!”

“If you don’t want me to fall asleep so badly, then stop playing a lullaby! Play something livelier, will you?!”

I opened my mouth, a retort just on the tip of my tongue, when his words registered. I blinked, taken by surprise, while my jaw hung open. Lucas took one look at my expression and scoffed.

“You didn’t realize that if you played a lullaby while using your magic you would make me sleepy? Really?” he asked with incredulity. I closed my mouth quickly and blushed.

“Ah…” was all I could say. Lucas sighed.

“The whole point of this was for you to be able to use magic music. I can’t believe it slipped your mind like that…”

“Well, excuse me… I was a bit more concerned with getting it right” I murmured, resisting the urge to pout. It was rare for Lucas to be so blunt. I glanced down, biting my lip. “But, even though it had such an effect on you, why wasn’t I affected?”

“What would be the point of this type of magic if it affected its caster?”

“I guess you’re right…”

Not wanting to continue with this course of conversation, I quickly decided on the next song to play. Since Lucas wanted something livelier, Oh Susannah should fill the quota, right? I played for a few moments, allowing my magic to affect the music, when Lucas abruptly stood up, startling me into stopping.

“Stop that. I won’t be able to sleep afterwards.”

“Can you decide already?!”

“Since you can use magic music now, I guess it’s as good a time as any to tell you what I came up with to tell your parents” he continued without paying attention to my outburst. But, it succeeded in shifting my attention. I tilted my head, looking at him and waiting for him to continue. “I wrote to the necromancer a few days ago. I still have a method to reach him, so unless he changed locations he should receive my letter and write back to us.”

I frowned, confused. “The necromancer? You mean Ezekiel?” he nodded. “Why would you write to him?”

“I explained the situation to him. My objective is to have him write us back with an invitation to his home so he can check on you. You know, to make sure you are completely 'cured' after everything that happened back in the viscount’s estate.”

“And you think having a letter from him would be enough to convince my parents to let me see him alone?” I asked, to which he nodded again.

“You wouldn’t be going alone, since I’ll go with you. But it allows enough secrecy that your parents wouldn’t be able to come with us.”

“That’s pretty… convoluted” I responded, glancing down. Lucas sighed.

“I know, but I had no better ideas. I think your father at least would have enough trust in the necromancer to allow you to go see him.”

“My father, maybe… but my mother would make everything difficult” I said while pursing my lips. “You know it wasn’t necessary a letter… my parents can’t read anyway. And they don’t know what actually happened afterwards… that I have this demon inside me…” I whispered.

“No, but they know something happened, even though they had left you… us alone about the matter until now. And I do think a letter is necessary. If not to convince your parents, then at least in case something happens in our way to the dukedom and we have to take a detour. The necromancer’s home is located in a forest halfway there, though a little off the path” Lucas walked towards me, before sitting next to me, bringing his hand up to my head. “I know you’re worried, but I’m sure everything will work out in the end. You see, we have a violin, and you managed to pull off magic music in just a week. I say those are all good signs, don’t you think?”

I didn’t say anything for a while. Lucas was being very optimistic, a little too much for my tastes, even, but perhaps that was what I needed. I was a little too pessimistic at times, so it was nice having him trying to brighten my mood like this. And besides, he was right. We didn’t have many more options. With a little bit of luck, we could convince my parents, and in no more than ten days, I would be free from this demon forever. That was a thought worth having.

Finally giving up, I sighed, before looking at him with a small smile. “Alright then, let’s try it. Though I’m already dreading trying to convince mom” I said while grimacing. Lucas’ expression reflected mine. “So, how did you get the necromancer’s address?” I asked, remembering what he said before.

Lucas blinked. “Family secret” he responded quickly. I frowned.

“I bet you sneaked into the viscount’s office and took a look at his documents.”

“…”

“That silence tells me everything” I sighed, mocking disappointment. Lucas flushed.

“Hey! I was trying to find important information that could help you at the time, so don’t go and try to make me feel bad about what I did. Besides, that man didn’t deserve any kind of respect at all” he said, huffing. I couldn’t help but laugh at his affronted behavior. I wasn’t accusing him of anything, but as always, Lucas was just too easy to rile up. It made me grateful to have him with me. I doubted I could have come up with all of this alone. I doubted I could have bear with the pressure on my own.

A.P.R.L.

The poll hasn't moved for a few days, so, I declare the option "change the title" the official winner. From the next chapter onwards the title will be "Reincarnated extra refuses to die" again. Just a head's up, so you don't get confused.