Just moments ago, the surrounding stares that had bothered her so much now felt nonexistent. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice when Enrico approached her.
“Why don’t we have a dance?”
“Your Grace?”
“If you only dance with the Crown Prince, who has a fiancée, strange rumors could spread. But if you dance with all the royals, the papers will only call you the most attention-grabbing lady of the ball.”
The more she listened, the more sense it made. Emilia, caught off guard, took his hand and began to dance. However, as the engagement mentioned by Alessandro earlier continued to bother her, she began to wonder if there was really any difference between dancing with Alessandro and with Enrico.
“…But, Your Grace, don’t you also have a fiancée?”
“I’ve never had one.”
“No, but aren’t you supposed to have one soon?”
Enrico’s eyebrow arched at the probing question, as if she knew something.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Emilia hesitated for a moment but decided there was no need to keep it a secret.
“His Highness, the Crown Prince, just mentioned that you might be entering into a political engagement.”
“Ah…”
“You’ve been busier than usual lately. If that were the case, it’s only natural you’d be occupied.”
“The reason I’ve been busy lately isn’t because of that.”
“…Yes?”
“I have to find evidence in the Viscount and Viscountess Este case, set up things, and lay traps. I barely have enough time.”
Wait, why traps all of a sudden? Emilia let it slide, choosing to ask cautiously.
“Then you haven’t discussed anything with the princess from the Kingdom of Carrnet?”
“I haven’t even met her, and there’s no way there could be talk of an engagement.”
“…Why not?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
His answer was somehow anticlimactic. She had a feeling that if he disliked something, he wouldn’t do it, no matter what. Still, this was a matter involving a nation—could such important decisions really be made based solely on personal feelings? Yet, his response was so confidently arrogant that she couldn’t help but believe him.
Perhaps it was because his hands, holding her waist and arm, didn’t feel as uncomfortable as before. She soon found herself agreeing with him.
“But why? Does it bother you?”
“Yes?”
Emilia blinked a couple of times.
“I’m asking if the idea of me getting engaged bothers you.”
“…That’s…”
“That’s?”
“Well, if you get engaged, I might feel awkward about visiting the mansion…”
She hastily made an excuse, but she felt confused inside. She couldn’t understand why she was so fixated on the idea of his engagement, to the point where it dampened her mood. It wasn’t as if she could blame it on their contract, because when she asked him about it, she hadn’t thought of the contract at all, which made it all the more perplexing.
“…Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
But she couldn’t bring herself to tell the whole truth. Maybe it was because her mind was so cluttered by today’s many surprising events that she hadn’t had time to think about it.
Emilia began to rationalize that what bothered her wasn’t his engagement but rather her instinctively calculating the potential damage she might suffer.
A hint of melancholy flickered in Enrico’s violet eyes as he looked down at her. Observing the slightly subdued mood between them compared to before, the onlookers began to lose interest, commenting that the two seemed too uncomfortable together and didn’t seem to have much going on.
Enrico furrowed his brows slightly before noticing Alessandro watching from afar and then relaxed his expression. Although Alessandro tried to hide it, he couldn’t completely conceal his dissatisfaction.
“But why did the topic of the fiancée come up?”
“Oh, I was suggesting to His Highness the Crown Prince that he should go to his nice place with his fiancée, and then the Duke’s name came up.”
“Wait, you told him to go with his fiancée?”
“Yes? Yes. I thought his fiancée might be upset, so I didn’t want him to suggest it to me.”
At her response, he let out a brief laugh, a low, amused sound that was quite pleasant to hear.
‘What? Pleasant? What am I thinking all of a sudden?’
Emilia blushed, startled by her own thoughts.
“Well done. It’s better to reject all proposals fairly. Otherwise, I might have thought you were being unfairly harsh on me.”
“When was I ever harsh to you…?”
Where else could he find someone as accommodating as her, and he thinks she’s harsh? She felt a bit wronged.
Despite her slightly sulky tone, Enrico seemed to be in a good mood. Observing how his emotions seemed to swing every five minutes, she decided to give up and just focus on the next dance.
Hoping that the Second Prince would be a sane person.
* * *
The ball ended in a chaos.
While it was a relief that the Second Prince didn’t approach her for a conversation during the dance, the people’s unrelenting gazes felt like sitting on a bed of nails.
Later, the ballet troupe gathered around, questioning why she had danced with the royals, but Emilia couldn’t provide a clear reason. She just gave a vague answer, saying it seemed like they asked her to dance because she was there.
The early spring passed in a whirlwind, and now June, with the [La Sylphide] performance approaching, was nearly here.
During that time, the investigation into her parents’ case revealed that two of the three letter recipients couldn’t meet because they couldn’t agree on a date.
As a result, there weren’t any significant questions answered, and it seemed they didn’t know much about her father either. So, finding the recipient of the last letter became the top priority.
It seemed that finding a lawyer would help break through the obstacles, but it was proving more difficult than expected.
‘No articles about it today. That’s a relief.’
Emilia folded the newspaper and placed it aside, gazing out the window. She hadn’t had the habit of reading the newspaper daily, but after the serial murders, it had become part of her routine.
The loss of innocent lives was deeply tragic, and it was frustrating that the police hadn’t been able to make any progress on the case. Even though it was a relief that no new incidents had occurred, she could only hope that if another tragedy were to happen, the culprit would be identified as quickly as possible.
‘Perverted bastard… I hope he gets what he deserves.’
She felt a strong urge to go back to the temple she hadn’t visited since childhood and offer a prayer.
Emilia packed her things as she approached the theater. Today was a full dress rehearsal, so it was important to warm up thoroughly. Her ankle, which had been in a fairly good condition lately, seemed unlikely to cause any problems. As the carriage stopped and the door opened, the warm sunlight greeted her. It was one of those days that naturally brought a smile to her face.
* * *
The rehearsal room was filled with the sound of heavy breathing. They had repeated the full-dress rehearsal until it felt just right, as if it were a real performance, so the number of repetitions had increased.
As soon as a break was given, everyone collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, either sitting or lying down. Emilia sat down on the floor, massaging her ankle while taking a rest.
Despite everyone being worn out and resting, Christina continued practicing in the middle of the rehearsal room. It was easy to understand why people said she was incredibly hardworking.
Ever since the [Cinderella] audition, she seemed to be practicing with even more intensity, to the point where it was worrying that she might collapse from exhaustion. Moreover, pushing herself so hard wouldn’t lead to effective practice, as her movements were becoming forced and strained.
Emilia quietly sighed. She was concerned that Christina’s obsessive practice and overexertion would prevent her from properly immersing herself in the role and executing the right movements.
“Christina, take a break!”
A fellow dancer finally raised their voice, unable to watch any longer. The season, which was approaching late spring, was already sending warm breezes. Although the windows were open, the cool breeze wasn’t as strong as last week, so the heat inside the practice room lingered without dissipating quickly., and the heat lingered inside the rehearsal room.
“Yeah! Your posture won’t change drastically if you keep going. Take a break already. It’s making me uncomfortable just watching you.”
“Last time it was Emilia, and now it’s Christina.”
“But Emilia didn’t practice to this extent. This is just too much.”
Despite the other dancers’ attempts to get her to stop, Christina continued her practice, prompting more and more of them to click their tongues. Their expressions were a mix of exhaustion and concern, and their voices gradually lowered.
“That’s how she rose to the lead role, though. But now that she’s lost it for the next performance, it’s no wonder she’s pushing herself so hard.”
“Still, I don’t get it. I believe that no matter how talented you are, you can be caught up to if you don’t put in the effort. There’s a saying that you can’t beat a hardworking genius.”
“But they don’t just pick one lead, do they?”
Typically, the schedule was set for the first and third weeks, with performances running five days in a row. It was challenging for a dancer to be on stage every day, so to accommodate this, two lead roles were usually cast to alternate performances, and sometimes, in rare cases, even three leads were selected.
“The problem is that the two leads are overwhelming. It’s rare to cast three leads for a production, so there’s no guarantee you’ll be selected.”
“…That’s true.”
The current issue was that “Belluce Sorpia,” who had held the position of principal dancer for three years, was the leading candidate to become the next prima ballerina, while “Emilia Este” was recognized internally as a rising star, making it a tough competition for Christina.
There were even rumors that Christina had only secured the lead role because Emilia hadn’t auditioned for it directly. It was likely a blow to Christina’s pride to be immediately pushed out of the lead role in the next audition.
* * * *
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