Unlike her stifled heart, the wide open space was filled with well-groomed flowers in full bloom. As she quietly watched the fragrant flowers and their delicately colored petals, she closed her eyes tightly for a moment before looking back at him.
“That trust, wasn’t it something you were never going to have anyway?”
Enrico blinked his eyes and then chuckled. It was just a small laugh, but strangely, it seemed as if the fully bloomed flowers, which made one forget the desolate winter for a moment, were merging with him.
“Why do you make such a quick conclusion? You’re more prejudiced than I thought.”
Emilia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Seeing him lean against the table as if he found the situation interesting, she instead pressed her back tightly against her chair, as if to avoid him.
‘How could I not be prejudiced?’
She now understood that his claim of following her wasn’t because he was worried she would run away but simply out of curiosity. Who could ever trust someone who constantly exploits weaknesses and inflicts humiliation at every opportunity?
TL/N: SOMEONE=ENIRCO
Even if the world turned upside down, Enrico was certainly never going to change. It was unimaginable that such an arrogant man would trust others or bend his opinions.
Swallowing a sigh inwardly, Emilia took a sip of her sweet juice. She wasn’t even angry anymore. She had reached a point where, unless it was an exceptionally unreasonable demand, it was easier to just go along with it.
“…Then, shall we meet in Vacorta?”
“No. At the train station.”
So he wants to travel together by train. At least it will be comfortable. Knowing Enrico, he would undoubtedly reserve the best VIP cabin at the very end of the train, so she decided to think of it as a comfortable trip back to her hometown.
As if suddenly enlightened, Emilia nodded indifferently and fiddled with the glass she had placed on the table. Water droplets that had formed on the crystal surface slid down onto the table.
Watching her overly indifferent attitude, he leaned back in his chair, clearly displeased. With a slightly turned posture, he crossed his legs and took the wine glass he had set aside back into his hand, calling the servant who had been waiting.
“Aneda Mountain.”
Whether it was the name of a wine, the servant brought a new bottle and filled his glass with red wine.
“Come to think of it, you seemed close to the Crown Prince. Were you aquatinted?”
It was unclear whether he was asking because he didn’t know or because he knew and was teasing her. With Enrico, he always seemed to know things in advance, but regarding the Crown Prince, she thought it might be difficult for him to find out since her encounters with the prince were limited to a few occasions at the royal palace long ago.
“We used to meet at the royal palace when we were young.”
“At the royal palace?”
“Yes. I used to visit Desiro with my father. But we didn’t meet often and we’re not close.”
Enrico lowered his gaze and slowly swirled his wine glass.
“Well, for someone who doesn’t like to be the center of attention, you sure were receiving a lot of attention. I saw the commotion you caused at the theater.”
“What commotion are you talking about?”
“He brought a bouquet of flowers. He brought them for you, didn’t he?”
His eyes met hers again, but there was no trace of the smile that had been there moments before.
“I didn’t accept it.”
Her firm voice made him raise an eyebrow.
“Then why does he keep coming to see you?”
“What am I supposed to do about him coming to see me? Besides, he only came to my dressing room the first day.”
Although she never understood why she had to make such excuses, Emilia answered with a sigh in her voice, knowing Enrico would keep provoking her otherwise. Enrico’s face now showed no expression as he slowly opened his lips.
“Draw the line yourself. I have no intention of sharing what’s mine.”
In the end, he still treated her like an object. Knowing this, it always made her feel a tightness in her chest when he spoke to her in such a matter-of-fact way.
Emilia impulsively started to speak.
“Really, Duke…”
But when it came to actually saying something to him, she felt it would just prolong the conversation and yield nothing. Even if she added that it was nothing, he would likely keep pressing her until she spoke up again.
His arrogant purple eyes regarded her indifferently. He slightly raised an eyebrow as if urging her to continue.
Unconsciously, she clenched her fists, her grip tightening.
“You always manage to lift people’s spirits.”
The words came out, sounding like a compliment but with a strange undertone of sarcasm. She had just intended to speak nicely, but she couldn’t help but let her emotions show. Emilia looked at him languidly, his lips curled into a half-smile, half-smirk, wondering how he would react.
“That’s the gentleman’s virtue.”
Enrico responded with shamelessly ambiguous words. Finally, a small, sardonic laugh escaped Emilia’s lips.
* * *
Time flowed like a river, and before anyone knew it, and soon the season for laurel flowers to bloom had arrived.
As the fresh scent of flowers lingered in the air and the green leaves began to fill the once-bare trees, the missing blonde woman’s case, which had taken a new turn with a murder, quietly faded away without any significant progress in the investigation.
Juliana, who had been closely following the case, angrily folded the newspaper she had been reading.
“Ugh, it’s frustrating. What will they do if another incident happens?”
“Exactly.”
Emilia, sitting next to her, responded while stretching. Juliana, having tossed the newspaper aside, turned to Emilia with a stern look.
“Emilia, be careful just in case.”
“Huh?”
“They say he targets blonde women. You’re the prettiest blonde, so you need to be extra cautious.”
“I don’t go anywhere except home and the practice room. I always take the carriage, too.”
“That’s true, but Easter is coming up.”
“Easter? So what?”
“You’re going to be home alone during the holidays, right? It’s good to rest, but such a case makes me feel uneasy.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I won’t be in Desiro during the holidays.”
The problem was that she’d be with Enrico. Despite Alessandro’s previous warnings about being cautious around the Duke, she found herself traveling to Vacorta with him.
Could she really trust him completely, the man who suddenly approached her, mentioning her parents’ deaths?
“Oh? Are you going on a trip?”
“Uh, well, sort of.”
Emilia blinked and answered weakly. Even if she started doubting now, she had shared too much with him.
If he was connected to her parents’ case, she believed the truth would come out no matter how much he tried to hide it. If his approach was out of pure interest, he would just be someone who observed the incident without intervention.
‘Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter much…….’
Feeling a bit melancholic, Emilia fiddled with her ankle.
“What do you mean, ‘sort of’? Are you going somewhere? Oh, they’re here.”
Juliana, frustrated with Emilia’s vague answer, stood up quickly as the door swung open. Emilia turned to see Sylvia, the sub director, entering with the chief choreographer.
As the dancers gathered in the center of the practice room, the two and the coaches took their places at the front. Sylvia stepped forward and slowly surveyed the dancers.
“Great job on the performance, everyone. I’m very pleased with how the first performance of the season went. Don’t dwell too long on what could’ve been improved; let’s just focus on the next performance.”
“Yes.”
“I have some announcements about the upcoming schedule. As mentioned before, there will be an opera ball at the end of April. We’ll host sponsors, present a short gala performance, and perform a group waltz. We’ll primarily focus on [La Sylphide] rehearsals while also preparing for the opera ball.”
Sylvia glanced at the paper in her hand and looked at the dancers again.
“Our next performances will be [Cinderella] in September and [Giselle] in December. Auditions for [Cinderella] will be in May, so please apply for your desired roles after Easter.”
Up until last year, they only had two or three ballet performances a year, but it was clear that there was more investment this year. Sylvia mentioned that the detailed schedule would be posted on the bulletin board and then left. Her gaze lingered momentarily on Emilia, but no one noticed.
At the coach’s words to start practicing, the dancers moved to the barre in the center. Emilia’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed the barre. [Cinderella] was a role she had always wanted to try.
‘I used to feel burdened by lead roles, but not anymore…’
She thought it made sense to aim for significant roles if she was going to be in the spotlight anyway, recalling the times she had graced the newspaper during performances.
Thanks to Enrico’s encouragement to go for the lead role, she made up her mind without hesitation. As the piano music filled the practice room, she began her barre work, hoping the audition would come soon.
* * * *
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