Silent Crown

Chapter 244 Waiting for the Right Moment

The room was silent. Now, everyone looked at Abraham. When they looked at that expressionless and plain-looking old man, their eyes were filled with awe as if looking at a blinding sun.

He passed? He passed just like that?!

Since the birth of the academic world, there had never been someone who dared to directly refuse a question and still pass! This guy…where did he come from?

Ingmar’s expression grew livid. He glared at Abraham as if looking at a demon and cursed under his breath, breaking out of character.

"Yeah, that’s my teacher! My teacher!" Overjoyed, Charles grasped a reporter’s hand and would not let go. "Write a few more words! Write a few more words! This is the Royal Academy of Music’s best teacher. Ingmar or whoever is nothing compared to him! Look, look, that guy’s face is all green from this jab, do you see?"

"Uh, senior, you should stop insulting him for your own safety."

Charles whistled and made an annoying face at Ingmar, causing Ingmar’s expression to grow even uglier.

-

The appraisal council discussed for a bit before deciding to enter the next segment. Just as Sergey prepared to ask questions, a hand reached over and took his notes.

"Let me do it," Grandmaster Heisenberg, who had been silent, finally said. His scarred face had a slightly chilling aura. "Sergey, you drag things on too much."

Sergey scoffed. "In my opinion, it’s better to go steadily when things regard a scholar’s reputation."

"So you still believe that a quickly-produced musician could decipher the Voynich Manuscript? For these obvious matters, going steadily is just being indecisive."

Heisenberg glared coldly at the podium. His voice, ruined by drugs, sounded like a broken bellow. "Mr. Abraham, next we will investigate your interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript. If you cannot answer those questions either, then we can stop wasting time."

Abraham just nodded. "Please begin."

Heisenberg scoffed. Raising his voice, he asked, "When did you start deciphering the Voynich Manuscript?"

"One year ago," Abraham answered calmly. "My student Charles couldn’t understand the textbook and came to ask me. I realized that the explanation in the textbook was wrong, so I wanted to create a more accurate version."

One year ago? So he had gone from nothing to deciphering the Voynich Manuscript in just one year?

Hushed discussions instantly started in the room; the scholars all had incredulous expressions. Ingmar’s expression grew uglier once again.

Of course his expression was ugly! The Revelations textbooks were written by him and the other professors. If Abraham said the theories in the textbook were incorrect then he was practically slapping Ingmar’s face in public!

Hearing this, Heisenberg was silent for a bit before his lips curled into a mocking smile. He seemed to be tickled by this outrageous moment. He hit the gavel to silence the room.

"I noticed that, other than the conclusion of both yours and Mr. Ingmar’s interpretation content, the style is different as well. Even if some ideas are…absurd, they all seem able to be self-justified. I still have a question though." Heisenberg stared coldly at him. "You aren’t even a Revelations musician and never advanced in that direction, am I correct?"

Abraham nodded, answering, "But my translation method found its inspiration from the School of Revelations."

"Really?" Heisenberg wrinkled his forehead. "That’s odd. Your translation method contradicts with the core principles of Revelations! How can you explain that?"

"Actually…this is what I think," Abraham said slowly, seriously considering his every word, but his answer was like a bomb. "Since the principle contradicts with the truth, then the principle might be wrong?"

Silence. No matter if it was a scholar outside or an appraisal council member, all thought they had heard incorrectly. The music theory had been edited hundreds of times by saints and verified by countless musicians for centuries—it was tried and true. If there was a mistake in the theory that all was built upon, the sound of hearts of countless Resonance level musicians would probably collapse hearing this!

"Blasphemy!" a scholar retorted. "Outrageous!"

"The biggest joke of the century!"

Many scholars could not stand it anymore and protested loudly with furious expressions.

"Silence! Silence!" Heisenberg pounded the gavel forcefully and stared down the podium with blazing eyes. "Abraham! Are you overruling the music theory body of the School of Revelations?"

"I just think that the music theory still isn’t perfect and can’t be used in every situation." Below the podium, Abraham’s expression was still wooden. "Furthermore, the Voynich Manuscript records the research of classicist musicians toward music theory. It’s logical that there are errors when using modern music theory to understand it. If you cannot let go of the principles, you’ll be at a dead end.

"Therefore, you must change your direction and find another solution that can be paired with the changes in music theory for targeted translations. At least, that’s what I think."

"So your translation method was born from this?"

Abraham nodded.

"No wonder," Heisenberg scoffed. "A mechanic and dull theory without any spirit or aesthetics. No offense, but I don’t recognize its effectiveness or rationality. Its existence is a stain to the spirited theory of the School of Revelations.

"Every year, there are dozens like you who excitedly publish those outrageous and ridiculous theories for attention. They often cannot withstand the tests and have hundreds of flaws. They don’t even deserve to be jokes. Hmph, the academic world wouldn’t be so polluted without you folk musicians!"

Abraham remained silent; he could not reply.

In the audience, Charles rose angrily but was pressed down by Ye Qingxuan.

"Senior, calm down." The youth glared at the mocking Ingmar. "We don’t have the right to speak here. Don’t do anything that negatively affects our teacher."

Heisenberg took one last glance at Abraham from the podium and threw down his notes. "My questioning is complete."

The gavel slammed down; the echo was heavy.

Abraham looked down. As he returned to his seat, he brushed shoulders with Ingmar. In that moment, Ingmar tidied up his clothing with a taunting smile on his lips.

"Abraham," he whispered in the old man’s ears, "I said that I’d destroy your reputation and throw you back to the garbage dump. Remember to take your failures of students with you."

The council members did not hear, the audience did not hear, and Abraham did not seem to hear, but Ye Qingxuan did. He did not move.

-

Next was Ingmar’s turn to answer, and he acted how a renowned scholar should. The questioning round ended easily and they finally came to the conclusion. In the audience, Ye Qingxuan did not listen and just spaced out.

"Ever since my teacher passed away, I took over his unfinished work. For six years, I poured my heart into the Voynich Manuscript and tried countless wrong methods. But, as everyone can see, my hard work has finally paid off. I successfully interpreted it. But I never expected…"

Ye Qingxuan spaced out.

"Something like this is a disgrace to the Royal Academy of Music! Gentlemen, this is unprecedented humiliation! It’s an unprecedented ripple in the academic world! And this was all due to my research results. For that, my heart hurts!" Ingmar’s expression was heavy, depressed, and angry. "I don’t wish to think so badly of others and think that their intentions are evil! This entire time, I thought that perhaps Mr. Abraham’s results were similar to mine or that he had some unspeakable hardships, causing him to do something so heartbreaking. But I was wrong!"

Ye Qingxuan continued to space out.

"After this event occurred, I tried to compromise and kept silent, hoping that Mr. Abraham could understand my intentions. To quell this unreasonable fight, I was even willing to write Mr. Abraham as an author of the study! But as you all can see, I was very, very wrong!"

Ingmar slammed a fist down on the table. He uttered in a tragic voice, "My tolerance and concessions were taken to be weak and powerless. Abraham followed closely as I yielded, tossing the entire academy into this storm. Not only did the academy lose all dignity, he also created such a humiliating storm.

"Now, this is no longer about my own glory, but the three-hundred year old glory of the School of Revelations and the name of all grandmasters. They cannot be ruined in my hands and should not be tarnished by the slander of an evil and petty man! I hope all council members will make the correct decision today."

Ye Qingxuan continued to space out. He looked but did not see, heard but did not listen.

Tap tap tap… tap tap tap… tap tap tap…He tapped his finger against the table. The taps were soft and gentle but spread soundlessly. Like icy rain falling from the sky, they chilled one to the bone.

Tap tap tap… tap tap tap… tap tap tap…Rain fell endlessly.

Until a reporter with a gray fedora flinched and slowly widened his squinted eyes. Looking like he had just woken from a nap, he yawned and off-handedly murmured, "Sir, the Shaman’s gift has been prepared."

And so the rain sound dissipated and Ye Qingxuan looked up.

"Senior."

"Yeah?"

"Can you go get a delivery for me?" Ye Qingxuan looked down and organized the notes on his table. He said softly, "It’s almost time for our counterattack."

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