“Only a part of the property?”
Enrico stood up and stood beside Emilia. At his sudden movement, she forgot about her tears and opened her eyes wide.
“That’s also something to investigate in the future. I’ll let you know as a reward once the truth is revealed.”
Emilia’s eyebrows drooped slightly. If it had been her usual self, she would have narrowed her eyes in displeasure, but today, her expression was subtly forlorn. Enrico licked his lower lip at the sight of her.
Enrico knelt down on one knee and gently wiped her wet cheeks with a handkerchief. She tried to pull her head away in embarrassment as if to avoid his hand, but his hand was quicker, grabbing her slender shoulder.
She could feel the warmth of his body through her clothes. Enrico’s hand moved up her shoulder line, stopped between her chin and cheek, and pulled Emilia’s face closer to him.
“Your Grace?”
“……Is it over now?”
A faint scent of wine wafted from him.
“Yes, thanks to you. So please let go of me.”
Emilia felt her tears, which had stopped in surprise at Enrico’s sudden action, welling up again and grabbed his wrist to push him away. Her eyes narrowed slightly as his body didn’t budge.
“That’s a shame. It was nice to look at.”
“Huh?”
He waved the handkerchief in front of her as if asking her to take it. She hesitated, looking back and forth between him and the handkerchief, and then carefully took it, wondering if he would leave if she did.
But contrary to her expectations, he watched her for a while and then got up and However, contrary to her expectations, he watched her for a while and then got up and reached for the table.
“Stay here. I have something to give you.”
His hand, which was still holding the edge of her cheek, didn’t let go.
She could see him pick up a rectangular jewelry box that had been pushed to one side of the table.
Emilia blinked, wondering what it was, and looked back and forth between Enrico and the box, seeing the diamond earrings and necklace inside the open box.
Enrico, seeing her look as if she didn’t understand, quickly picked up the diamond necklace with a somber expression.
“Why is this…?”
“I don’t skimp when I give.”
“It’s okay. What you said earlier is enough.”
“Do you think I bought this to ask your opinion?”
Enrico whispered lazily and the hand that had been holding Emilia’s face slid down and brushed the hair on her shoulder back. Then he used his fingertips to lift her chin. Tilting his head, he lowered the back of his hand down her neck again, his expression unreadable.
For some reason, she felt overwhelmed by his strange atmosphere. She just shrugged her shoulder once at the unfamiliar sensation and felt a cold sensation wrap around her neck where his hot hand had touched her.
She felt like she should refuse him right away. She thought that if she waited any longer, she would never be able to get him off. She carefully grabbed his arm.
“I told you. Put away that stupid pride.”
TL/N: MY BLOOD IS BOILING!!!!
But her strength waned at his words, which echoed like a warning. She felt like he was already at his wit’s end because of Giorgio, and she didn’t think she should provoke him any further.
The slowly approaching necklace felt like a rope tightening around her neck. His fingertips slid from her neck to her collarbone. At the ticklish sensation, a short breath escaped her lips, whether it was a sigh or a sob.
“……It looks okay, I see.”
She was gradually becoming accustomed to the humiliation of being called a work of art by him and not even being treated as a human being. What could she do now that she had asserted her pride and had no intention or courage to break the contract?
‘But… no matter what, I’m not an emotionless doll…’
In the end, Emilia closed her eyes tightly, as if denying reality, and lowered her head. His hand fell from her chin. Enrico, as if engrossed in dressing up his own doll, brought the other earring and put it on each of her ears.
Her neck and both ears were too heavy. Soon, her head slowly lifted at the touch of his hand on the tip of her chin. Her trembling eyelids were lifted, revealing dry, resigned eyes. The sight of him lowering his head filled her vision, but Emilia didn’t move a muscle. It was like a calm forest.
“……Your tears have dried up.”
Enrico didn’t like that seemingly indifferent reaction for some reason. Even though it was only a few minutes ago that she was crying, she was now putting on a different face as if she hadn’t even cried. He had expected her to shine with diamonds and light, shining under the chandelier, but showing such dead eyes was not what he expected.
He forgot that he had warned her not to show her emotions under the stage, and thought the opposite, which was ironic.
“Is your family that important?”
Seeing Enrico not close like last time, Emilia opened her mouth softly.
“……Yes. More than anything.”
“Then why have you been quiet all this time? You forgot and lived well.”
She laughed self-deprecatingly at his words, which mercilessly touched her sore spots.
“That’s why it’s more important. I’m so sorry that I’ve been ignoring it for so long, making excuses for reality and just running away.”
She knows too. Even if she had known, her parents were already dead, and it would have been difficult to investigate at that young age. But letting go of her parents so easily then made her regret everything.
“So I have to find out the truth about the incident.”
In the first place, her obsession with ballet was a memory of her parents and the last way they had provided for her, so she clung to it even more.
But if she could find out the truth about her parents’ accident with this ballet, what couldn’t she do? As she talked to him, her eyes lit up again with determination.
Enrico slowly raised his upper body. He was indifferent, then his emotions fluctuated, and then he calmed down again. The more he looked at her, the more fascinating she was.
It was a strange sight for a woman who danced as if she might die the moment she came down from the stage, burning all her vitality. It was strange that she could be so desperate for someone, sacrificing herself for the dead.
What would happen if this desperation, which left no room for loneliness, was directed at someone else?
Enrico’s eyes sank deeply with a sudden curiosity. The deep night, revealing the faint moonlight, was heralding the dawn.
* * *
Emilia, who had stayed until the end of the day again, was stretching and practicing her ballet moves. Her body, which had repeated the same movements dozens of times, immediately went on to the next one. The sweat that had accumulated on her forehead and cheeks and dripped down to the tip of her chin fell to the floor with a thud.
‘The closure of the case and the quickly sorted out circumstances suggest that a high-ranking official might be involved.’
Her mind was spinning as fast as her moving body. She was supposed to focus only on the movements, but she had been having more distracting thoughts lately.
Especially since her visit to Enrico’s mansion three days ago. She had read the case materials he had given her whenever she had a spare moment, and she had memorized them so well that the contents kept swirling around in her head.
‘So he knew the day my parents died. He just watched and covered it up…’
She knew it wasn’t Enrico’s fault. But she couldn’t help but feel an unnamed resentment towards him.
What if he had been watching them all along? Could he not have saved her parents immediately after the accident? The records said they died instantly, but maybe there was still a chance. Or maybe he could have done something, even a little, to prevent the case from being covered up.
She knew that all of this was her own guilt, but as she deduced the identity of the culprit, she found herself naturally directing her anger at him. It was a truth she would have lived a lifetime without knowing if it hadn’t been for him.
Emilia continued to perform her movements as if to vent her complicated feelings. She spun around with all her might on one leg. As if trying to blow away all her thoughts with a fouette, she turned her head quickly to the front and spun, watching the changing scenery blur by.
Her heart was pounding as if it would burst. Her head became light as her breath reached her throat.
Bang!
At that moment, a sudden noise jolted her back to her senses. She barely managed to regain her balance and stand still, her center of gravity almost collapsing.
“Please practice diligently when others are around. Don’t stay behind and show off.”
She looked back to see Director Carlo standing there, his voice gruff. The source of the loud noise seemed to be the door, which was still creaking under the force.
“Keeping the lights on just for you and wearing out the floor faster is not good. It’s all a waste.”
“……I’m sorry.”
She knew it wasn’t something she should apologize for, but it seemed to be the only way to get his grumbling to stop. Director Carlo, seeing Emilia’s meek demeanor, had nothing to say, and his mouth twitched once before he closed it.
“Anyway, stop and go back! Also, this fuss…”
Emilia didn’t move a muscle until his figure, looking her up and down, turned and disappeared.
‘What the….’
She froze in embarrassment. She had thought so during the audition, but it seemed like Director Carlo really didn’t like her. She had thought she might have been mistaken when he had looked at her with a disapproving look even then, but judging by the situation now, it seemed she had been right.
‘Is he just disgusted by me? Why on earth?’
* * * *
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