Emilia sighed inwardly as she got into the carriage. She hadn’t noticed during practice because she was focused, but as soon as the ballet schedule ended, her body began to feel unusually cold. Was she coming down with a fever?
Her body felt cold, yet her forehead was constantly covered in cold sweat. The only consolation was that her ankle wasn’t hurting like it had in the morning, but of all days, it had to be the day she was meeting Enrico. Everything seemed to be going wrong.
She worried that her body wouldn’t move as it should, and that he, being so particular, would disapprove. This wasn’t a personal appointment; it was work.
Not feeling well wouldn’t be enough of an excuse to avoid going on stage, and considering his usual demeanor, he’d likely criticize her for not taking proper care of herself.
The desire to uncover her parents’ truth as soon as possible mixed with the fear of giving him any reason to reprimand her.
‘We’re almost there anyway, so I can’t just say I need to rest today…’
With a worried face, Emilia looked out at the swiftly passing scenery. The carriage, oblivious to her feelings, sped along and soon arrived in front of Duke Michele’s mansion.
“You’ve arrived.”
Why was Enrico standing outside the mansion? Unlike usual, when he waited in the drawing room, his smooth face was the first thing she saw as soon as the carriage door opened, catching her slightly off guard.
“……Your Grace.”
“Get out.”
Enrico extended his hand as if to help her down. Emilia hesitated for a moment, but with him standing there, she had no choice but to take his hand. Feeling his gentle grip on her fingertips, she disembarked from the carriage with a heavy heart.
‘How strangely uncomfortable.’
Since the day she had embarrassingly shed tears in front of him, they hadn’t had much contact. He hadn’t mentioned that day, simply watching her dance as usual and then sending her home. It was all too clean-cut.
They didn’t always dine together, but he’d usually make small talk, and his sudden silence made her feel uneasy.
It was good that he was only interested in her dancing, but if he suddenly lost interest, that would be a problem too, which made her anxious.
‘Ugh, why am I even worried about this? Now my head hurts too.’
With an inscrutable expression, Emilia stopped glancing at his profile as he escorted her and frowned. She took a deep breath, thinking how heavy her head felt.
‘I need my body to hold up until the performance is over…:
What she thought was a mild fever was worsening in the cold wind. Even after entering the warm mansion, her headache persisted, and now she felt a fever coming on.
As soon as she stepped inside, she tried to let go of his hand to head to the room where she always prepared for her performances. But his grip didn’t loosen, and instead, he held her fingertips more firmly.
“Emilia.”
“Yes?”
“Look at me.”
Half-turned, she hesitated and then glanced back at him. His eyes were narrowed as he looked down at her.
“Can’t I start preparing for the performance right away?”
“No.”
Displeased, he grabbed her hand as if he didn’t care about her resistance. Emilia was pulled into his arms by the sudden force. She reflexively pushed against his chest and stopped in front of his nose, but to others, it looked like she was almost about to be hugged.
“Duke, what are you doing!”
“Stay still.”
He didn’t pay attention to her sharp reaction. Instead, he raised her chin and made her look up at him.
Her face was flushed from the cold wind, but overall her face was hot. Her body temperature was so high that it felt warm when he was close.
His handsome eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you running a fever?”
“……I tend to run a little hot.”
“You weren’t like that when I touched you before.”
“That’s… Your Grace?”
He suddenly bowed his head. She tried to back away from the suddenly close distance, but his hand, which had been holding hers, was now wrapped around her waist. Her eyes snapped shut.
“……!”
She felt a strange sensation on her forehead. When she opened one eye slightly, she saw him facing her forehead. The distance was so close that she could clearly see his downcast violet eyes.
“……You have a fever.”
His cold voice brought her back to her senses. Emilia belatedly pushed Enrico’s chest hard. Fortunately, this time he stepped back obediently, but the look on his face was not good.
His gaze was so intense that she couldn’t help but lower her eyes.
“Were you going to go on stage in this condition?”
“I’m just a little feverish. It won’t affect my dancing. It’s okay-”
“Emilia.”
His cold call made her mouth shut involuntarily.
“I don’t need anything that’s not perfect.”
Her downcast eyes turned back to him. The reflection of his face, devoid of any hint of a smile, was clearly reflected in her trembling eyes. She couldn’t say anything in the face of his ominous aura. She felt like she was going to lose her mind with a ringing in her ears, even thinking about what would happen if he broke the contract like this.
A suffocating silence hung between them for a moment. And the silence was broken when Enrico, who had been looking down at her arrogantly, turned his back.
“Living beings, who are like this, are such a nuisance.”
His sarcastic tone pierced her heart. Somehow, she felt like a mere pet in front of him, playing tricks. She had been prepared for this all along, but when it came down to it, she was unsure.
Enrico would really just abandon her if he didn’t like her, wouldn’t he? And maybe he would even break the contract as punishment for displeasing him.
Emilia watched his retreating back as he gave instructions to the butler. Her eyes were now empty, as if all emotion had been erased.
* * *
Under the chandelier that resembled the stars in the night sky, candles illuminated the darkened stage. Enrico, seated in a crimson velvet chair, gazed intently at the stage. In the midst of the silence, the only sound was the ticking of the clock on his wrist.
He listened intently to the ticking of the clock. He enjoyed being alone, but ironically, he disliked being surrounded by silence. If it weren’t for the ticking of the clock, he would have turned on the music, even if he didn’t feel like it.
He couldn’t remember when it started. Perhaps it had been since he was born. The second son of the late king and queen, he was always alone.
The late queen, whose health deteriorated rapidly after childbirth and never left her room, and the late king, who stayed by her side, were oblivious to Enrico’s existence. With only the servants who occasionally looked after him and waited outside, Enrico was accustomed to being alone.
‘Enrico, you are the shadow of your brother. Just be quiet and don’t think of anything.’
Despite having everything except one thing, his surroundings were always quiet.
The late queen occasionally allowed him to visit, but only when the current king, Matthias Treano, was present. Then, she would always warn him, brainwashing him in front of him.
To appease the firstborn’s anxiety and to prevent the secondborn, who had been destined for a certain position even before he was born, from becoming ambitious. Having had a son of the king’s bloodline late in life, only Matthias was important to her, who couldn’t bear to eliminate him.
Thus, the brainwashing continued until the late king and queen passed away.
Matthias, perhaps because the late queen’s appeasement had worked, did not restrain Enrico even after the late king’s death, but he had no intention of becoming close brothers.
He simply received reports on what Enrico was doing at regular intervals and gradually lost interest in him, hearing that he was mostly alone or occasionally interested in art.
‘Your Grace, I have purchased the paintings and porcelain you mentioned. However, I think you should consider expanding the exhibition hall of the Duke’s residence.’
‘Send the old ones to the estate.’
Art was something he had started collecting as a way to show the king that he was disinterested in politics, as he had no interest in the throne to begin with, and it was the only thing that held his attention for any length of time.
Beautiful things could satisfy his heart for a while, and even if he got bored with them quickly, he could always fill the void with something else.
So he bought endless works of art, even if he only liked them a little, but the problem was that he didn’t have any particular ownership of them.
‘Find out about that woman.’
But then, for the first time, something he wanted to see multiple times appeared before his eyes.
Emilia Este, that was her name.
He had never paid attention to a living being before. So he became even more curious and had no hesitation in buying her. He even thought it was worth getting involved in the Este Viscount couple’s affairs, which he had ignored as a hassle, if it meant that she would satisfy his heart for even a short while, even though he would soon get bored.
And he was quite satisfied with the contract. It was not an inanimate object, so there were occasional unexpected situations, but nothing that upset him too much. The sight of his own doll dancing for his own amusement, rather than watching it in a crowded place, gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
He was starting to wonder how to deal with Giorgio Este, who had been getting on his nerves.
‘He wants to cut off the sponsorship.’
* * * *
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