“What aspect do you think would match well?”
“I thought perhaps the aspect of freedom. Both of you seem similar. Pursuing what you want without being bound by each other, it could be a very good relationship.”
“Freedom, huh… Wouldn’t that suit our nephew? Ah, unless it’s not a casual relationship, given you have a fiancée.”
Alessandro’s lips twitched slightly. Despite smiling, I felt like he was holding something back.
“Haha, you still don’t have a knack for jokes, do you?”
“I don’t joke around.”
Enrico muttered nonchalantly and released the hand he had been holding and wrapped his arm around Emilia’s shoulders again. Emilia glanced at Enrico again and then returned her gaze to the front, thinking that around the shoulders was better than the uncomfortable position they had been in before.
Alessandro’s light purple eyes seemed somewhat cloudy. Was it because of the mask’s shadow? Emilia glanced at Alessandro, who looked slightly different from the affectionate figure she had seen a while ago, before returning her gaze to the front.
Is their relationship not as good as it seems? Although they address each other respectfully as ‘our uncle’ and ‘our nephew,’ the atmosphere didn’t seem very pleasant. It wasn’t something she deeply pondered, but since it happened right in front of her, she observed the two.
“The wine is too sweet. Come to thik of it, why the princess of the Carrent Kingdom?”
Enrico instructed a waiter to bring him a non-alcoholic beverage and picked up one of the wine glasses from the tray. Enrico, who slowly sipped on the white wine, soon frowned as if it wasn’t to his taste.
“…Perhaps in this day and age, countries need to unite to move forward.”
“Ah, unity. A good pretext.”
The waiter quickly brought a new glass filled with a different beverage and held it out in front of Enrico. Handing the glass to Emilia, Enrico let out a soulless exclamation.
“But isn’t the Carrent Kingdom where trains were first developed?”
“That’s correct.”
“And I heard the parts manufacturing environment is well-established, which would be quite helpful for automobile development. It must have been a boon for the Count.”
TL/N: I changed the word “steam carriage” to “automobile” to be more historically accurate and I’ll give y’all the reason at the end of the chap♡
Alessandro narrowed his eyes at the abrupt change of topic. Count Vallemont, who suddenly found himself under Enrico’s gaze, widened his eyes and showed his vigilance.
“I beg your pardon, but I don’t know why you’re suddenly bringing me up.”
“Why are you pretending not to know now? Rumors about the Count’s love of automobiles are spreading all over the place. Didn’t you think there was no need to hide it?”
“Well… When you’re in business, rumors spread unavoidably. But I’m curious why you’re associating automobiles with trains.”
The Viscount awkwardly smiled, licking his dry lips with his tongue. Seeing him like that, Enrico chuckled briefly.
“Because automobiles have parts too. I just asked if any of the materials used in trains might be used in automobiles?”
Looking at Enrico, who cheekily teased him, the Count forced a smile with a frozen face.
“Ah…You just asked… Haha.”
“And it wasn’t even at a level where rumors spread widely. Count, did you actually spread it on purpose with the intention of monopolizing automobile investments?”
“N-no, that’s not the case.”
“There’s no need to hide it. I’m not really interested. I was thinking about investing in it a while ago, but it’s been a long time since I pulled out because there was already an investor. But the investor’s stake must be pretty big, so have you received a bond transfer?”
Enrico asked with a truly indifferent face. As if he didn’t care either way, he just seemed curious about the process. Count Vallemont, who had been hesitating for a while, opened his mouth.
“It’s planned to be soon.”
“Soon? So you haven’t received it yet? It would be a big deal if you didn’t.”
“Oh, I can definitely get that. I’ve provided so much help, after all.”
As they continued to talk, Count Vallemont’s stiff face loosened, as if his guard was down. Emilia listened quietly to their conversation, barely managing to organize her confused thoughts.
‘So, you’re talking about transferring the automobile investment now? Wasn’t it said that my parents had the biggest stake? Is that stake going to someone else?’
She felt like she had to find out who was giving it to them. The undisguised greed was clearly evident in Count Vallemont’s eyes. Seeing Count Vallemont, who always showed his true colors when he was not careful, it seemed like now was the best time to ask him anything.
“I see you’ve done a great favor. I’m sure the automobiles must involve a considerable amount of money.”
“Oh, no exaggeration, you can think of it as if I’ve changed my life. So I won’t regret giving it anything. Ha ha ha.”
Count Vallemont responded with a proud smile to Emilia’s natural question.
Who on earth changed his life? She might have to ask Enrico to thoroughly investigate Valmont’s past actions. Although she nodded outwardly, inwardly, she decided to be more wary of Count Vallemont.
She wanted to ask who it was outright, but she wondered if she should tell everything to someone who didn’t even reveal his identity, and she thought she might be suspected, so she closed her mouth. It was a shame that she came along out of curiosity and didn’t seem to be able to find out anything herself.
Of course, it was good to hear this directly from him. But if she hadn’t heard it herself, she might have had to wait for Enrico to tell her piece by piece, and it could have taken a long time.
A strange atmosphere flowed for a moment, and it was Alessandro who broke it first. He was smiling softly, completely devoid of the dark atmosphere he had a moment ago.
“It seems like the greetings have taken too long. I hope you have a pleasant time.”
Emilia bowed her knees slightly in courtesy as she watched Alessandro bow his head politely. Count Vallemont quickly said goodbye, smiled slyly at the woman in the corner, and disappeared quickly.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
While she was unable to take her eyes off Count Vallemont’s back, her scarf caught on Alessandro’s arm as he passed by. Emilia, feeling the thin fabric that was wrapped around her back and arms slipping down and trying to catch it by bending down slightly, stopped at the voice whispering softly.
“I have something to tell you. I’ll contact you on Sunday, Emilia.”
TL/N: SHIT.
Alessandro, who naturally picked up the scarf and passed it on as he passed by, called her name. As if he had known who she was all along.
He nonchalantly returned the scarf, saying that it hadn’t fallen to the floor, and stood up. It was so embarrassing because it happened so quickly. How did he find out? Was the mask crooked? She fumbled with the mask carefully.
‘It’s still on… How on earth did he recognize me?’
Emilia lowered her hand and stared blankly at the spot where Alexandro had been standing just moments ago.
Enrico, who had been quietly observing Emilia’s slightly unsettled state, stopped his hand on her shoulder as he heard the changing music. He then took her left hand and led her to the center of the ballroom.
Pulled along by his hand in a daze, she realized she was among the dancing people and tried to get away, but it was too late. A subtle smile appeared on Enrico’s lips.
“Smile. So that others can see it too.”
There was no hint of a smile in his narrowed eyes. Emilia sighed inwardly at his seemingly gloomy demeanor, wondering if another one of his sudden mood swings had taken hold.
‘What can I do? I’ll just have to do as he says.’
It was regrettable, but it was her own fault.
Emilia’s pink lips twisted reluctantly. His large hand wrapped around her waist, and her delicate hand gripped his broad shoulder.
Only when she got closer to him did she feel the surrounding gazes. Amidst the incessant sound of music filling the ballroom and the laughter of pleasure-filled people mingling, he still managed to captivate the attention of those around him.
Even though his face was covered by a mask, it was only his eyes that were hidden, and that wasn’t enough to conceal his identity. After all, his high nose and sharp jawline were ominous. And it was true that his suit made him look even better than the others.
‘Oh, this is going to be problematic…’
The glances that continuously flickered toward him were mixed with curiosity about her as well. There were murmurs probably wondering who the woman who came with Michele was.
Emilia pressed her face closer to his chest. Despite wearing a mask, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. After all, It wasn’t a ball where all the nobles were invited, so there was a chance that no one would recognize her as a ballerina who was considered to be of lower status.
“…Can we leave now?”
Emilia whispered very softly, trying not to be heard by the dancers around them. Enrico lowered his head and leaned closer to her face. He even slightly twisted his head, a posture that could be misunderstood as if they were about to kiss from a distance.
“No, why are you getting so close?”
Emilia pulled her head back and whispered again.
“I couldn’t hear you.”
He chuckled, twisting his lips. Seeing his smile, Emilia felt convinced that he heard her but was deliberately acting this way.
* * *
After I did some search abt rhe the automobiles and the steam carriages time of their invention, I found that automobiles are historically more accurate:
Earlier accounts often gave credit to Karl Benz, from Germany, for creating the first true automobile in 1885/1886.
In 1801, Richard Trevithick built a road carriage powered by steam — the first in Great Britain.
And looking back at this chap I found this:
Thanks to the fact that Enrico had some of the latest inventions that were being developed in priority as part of his investments, he was able to use the phonograph better than others because he had one of the few remaining ancient magic materials. (CH.15)
The first phonograph was invented in 1877 at the Menlo Park lab by Thomas Edison.
* * * *
If you want to support the Translator, Translator’s Ko-Fi:
