New Life, New Task: I'll Be A Mom Then!!!

The crowd was in an uproar as they could not get over the stark difference between the two interpretations.

Even the conductor of the Haven Light Symphony was bewildered about the outcome of Lainie's arrangement.

It is not that he was not able to analyze the piece properly.

In fact, because Lainie's party advertised that the Prokofiev was a lost piece, he required Eli and Lainie to provide him with enough information about the writer and the era where the music was played.

Although the two interpretations threaded the same theme, he himself would agree that Lainie's arrangement had more depth and meaning.

She understood the piece well and was different from him.

Of course, he did not know that Eli hid some information about the piece that would never connect in the current world because the happenings about 'Prokofiev' did not happen in this world.

On the other side backstage, there was a deep look at Fredius's face. He intently looked at Lainie's shy and relieved look as she bowed to the crowd before exiting the stage.

No one knew what was in his mind, and so his members thought that he did not like the outcome of the other party's performance.

Now both sides were nervous because the fight this time was very close.

Fredius's piece and Lainie's piece were both executed and performed well.

Even the audience looked at the jury with sympathy, because they thought that they would have a hard time choosing who would remain the winner.

Indeed, the jury was having a hard time choosing who would win first place. In the discussion room, there was a great debate between those who favored Fredius and those who favored Lainie.

"I think that Student Lainie is a better conductor because she was able to build such a united orchestra in just a few weeks when the majority of her members were not from her hometown."

"Indeed! Besides, she was able to transform that piece into another level!"

"No, I disagree! Even if you think that Student Lainie performed better during the interpretation, do not forget that Student Fredius's piece was written by himself!"

"That's right! He performed well too! Do not forget that he also had to adjust at the last minute with his ensemble since most of the members of his orchestra were also from the other dissolved ones!"

"But that's a different matter, all in all!"

"Clearly Student Lainie was able to lead her orchestra with the better music!"

"No, we have to take into account Student Fredius's creativity for having a piece that could hold ground with the lost piece!"

"But this competition is a conductor's competition, we have to judge them based on their performance not on the other matters!"

"Yes indeed, and we both have control over this through Haven Light's performance. So you all know who did a better job!"

"I still do not agree. In the end, we have to take into account the musicality of the two! And clearly, it was Student Fredius who was better!"

When they voted, it also came to a stalemate. Because of some abstained votes, the voting for the two parties was a tie.

"Sigh…" The chairman of the jury was in distress.

He did not expect that this seemingly simple competition would cause a great debate among his colleagues.

"What do you think, Maestro Gustav?" The chairman had no choice but to turn his eyes to the conductor who led the Haven Light Orchestra, Maestro Gustav.

"Hmm, if you really cannot decide, we will announce both of them as the winners. In my eyes, they are of the same level of ability and both deserve to be in the first place."

"Or you can think of a tiebreaker for them… if and only if you like to go through the inconvenience of it all." Maestro Gustav waved his hand profoundly.

In his eyes, he did not care about who would win. All that was on his mind was that those two were worth watching and he was excited about their growth.

``The Prasinon music will be in good hands with them heading the next generation of musicians!' He thought.

As for who won, he knew that whatever the result, this would never hinder the growth of the two young conductors. These men around him were educators after all. They know music but do not genuinely care about it as he did.

His impression of Fredius was already good from the start, for he came from a well-known musical family in Vanderford.

But he did not expect to find a conductor like Lainie, whose sense of music was strong enough to smoothly give justice to legendary arrangements such as his. She was a surprise, along with his controversial mentor, whom he believes was also not simple.

'Lainie and Lady Eli… hmm' Maestro Gustav's ever-strict expression softened upon realizing that his trip in the Seirende Empire was all worth it.

"This.. ah…" Hearing the Maestro's uncanny opinion, the Chairman awkwardly answered.

He paused and taught deeply. With Master Gustav's words, he then led the judges on another round of deliberation.

With the perspective that the two young conductors both deserve to win, the flow of the discussion tilted in a different direction. Now they started to evaluate them more objectively.

"Alright, it is decided then." As compared to their expressions earlier, the jury looked satisfied with the outcome.

Outside, the two young orchestra conductors were waiting nervously to hear the results.

Behind them were their members who were also praying for their success.

During the deliberation, they heard the discussion of the people. They realized that this fight will not be easy.

For Lainie's party, the fact that Fredius presented a piece that was written by him could not be dismissed, making it the greatest hurdle for their win.

For Fredius's side, they could clearly see the stark difference between Lainie's arrangement as compared to the Haven Light's performance.

To them, she was a genius in music, and though she and the Maestro used the same musical score and notes, her's appealed better to the listeners.

And so they developed a sense of fear in having to be matched on a musician like her.

At the thought that at any moment, one of them would be declared the winner and one would be left the loser, left a bitter taste in their hearts.

"Don't worry too much. Whatever the outcome is, you have proven yourself in the entire world." Eli gently patted Lainie's back and smiled.

In truth, even she was not able to predict the outcome. The two performances were really strong in their own way. She could only hope that everything would end in the best scenario for their party.

After some time, the judges finally came to the stage.

"Finally! We can know who won!"

"Looks like they had a tough time deciding the winner. I sympathize with them!"

The people could not help but sigh as they waited for the judges to announce the winner.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's time for the moment of truth!" The emcee immediately stood in front of the jury and calmed the crowd down.

Then with his queue, Fredius, Lainie and their respective themes and mentors went to the stage for the result.

The crowd cheered loudly as they called their favorite conductors, making the young musicians feel like they were drowned in the sea of people.

"Let's hear the results from our very own judges!" The emcee respectfully stretched his hands to the platform for the Chairman to announce the results."

The chairman of the jury smiled gently and scanned the crowd. Subtly clearing his throat he then announced,

"First of all, we apologize for the long delay in announcing the results. This was because our two youth orchestras really performed beyond our expectations and gave us a hard time deciding who would come as the final winner."

"In the end, we had to turn to the top expert in the room, Maestro Gustav to guide us on how to look into the decision."

"After a deep and thorough deliberation… We announce that…."

The crowd held their breath.

Fredius, Lainie, and their companions felt their hearts stop.

"The two orchestras would be announced as winners by a tie!"

"Woah!!"

"That's unexpected! But they both deserve it!"

"Yes! Now that I think about it, it was the best outcome for these two groups!"

On the stage, the two youth orchestras looked at each other. Their expression said, 'We both won?'

Only when they saw the juries bring forth the gold medals and hung it on their necks one by one did they finally accept that they were convinced.

"You two young orchestras both deserve it!" The jury smiled and congratulated them happily as they awarded the shocked students.

Slowly, even the ever-prideful Vanderford students all cried. They thought, they really thought that they would lose.

In fact, they started to prepare their minds to hear their loss. Because the wins brought by Raya, Desmond, Marie, and Hailey made them accept that the Farauld Institute's candidates would naturally win.

But now… holding the golden medal resting on their chest, their eyes become blurry and hot.

It feels good to finally win… and be recognized.

It really is!