Emilia turned around, surprised by the voice that suddenly interrupted.
“Christina?”
“But don’t you think being overly humble can come off as deceitful?”
Emilia blinked. She had never spoken to her before.
Lately, Christina had been looking increasingly unstable lately, so much so that she couldn’t even interact with others as she seemed to be constantly frustrated with her own skills.
But since it was Christina, who had always looked at her with an uncomfortable gaze, Emilia was a bit taken aback.
Juliana seemed equally taken aback, glancing at Emilia before looking up at Christina again.
“It’s because we have some talent that we’re dancing here, right? And among us, our skills vary depending on our effort.”
Christina smiled as Emilia and Juliana exchanged glances and slowly nodded.
Seeing Emilia and Juliana cautiously nod their heads, Christina smiled softly.
“But only a genius can reach the top through effort. No one can beat a hardworking genius.”
“Huh? You don’t have to be so certain about that—.”
Christina raised her hand as if asking Emilia to hear her out. Emilia hesitated and closed her mouth.
“So I’ve decided to just accept this reality. I’m sorry for being so hostile toward you all this time.”
It was an unexpected turn of events. Everyone around, even those who had been casually eavesdropping, stared at Christina in astonishment.
“It’s because your dancing was so amazing. I guess I was just so envious of that talent, something I’ll never be able to have in my lifetime.”
“Oh… Thank you for being honest. But Christina, didn’t you said it first? That we’re dancing here because we have talent. Maybe there’s still a lot more for your talent to blossom.”
Emilia spoke sincerely to Christina. Christina stared at Emilia, who had spoken kind words in a calm voice, with an unreadable expression for a moment. Kristina’s emotionless face, like someone whose feelings had all evaporated, gave off a strange sense of unease.
“…Yeah, sorry.”
Sorry? Emilia stared in confusion as Christina gave a faint smile and walked away. The other dancers started teasing Christina, saying it was admirable how she’d owned up to her flaws. Christina waved them off dismissively as she exited the practice room.
“Maybe she’s embarrassed,”
“Did you see how fast she left? I never thought I’d see this side of Christina.”
People chatted cheerfully, commenting on how Christina, who always seemed like the aloof one focused solely on practice, had surprised them by revealing her vulnerabilities in public. She seemed like a different person.
“Emilia?”
“I’ll just step outside for a moment.”
With a troubled expression, Emilia left Juliana behind and walked into the hallway. After checking both directions, she headed toward the dressing room and saw Cristina coming out. Emilia slowed down, studying her face.
“Heading to the dressing room?”
“…Yeah.”
“Alright. I’ll go ahead first.”
As Christina passed by, looking as if nothing was wrong, Emilia wondered if she had been overthinking it. But then, deciding to follow her gut, she called out hesitantly.
“Uh, Christina.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?”
Christina’s smile remained, but it was eerie—like a doll’s lifeless smile, giving off an unsettling vibe.
“No.”
Her reply was firm. Emilia didn’t feel like pressing the issue any further. Christina’s cold, calculating gaze resurfaced as her smile vanished. What could Emilia say to that?
As she watched Christina walk away, Emilia spoke calmly.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
She couldn’t help but say that because Christina’s appearance reminded her of Eva for some reason. Christina paused for a brief moment but then resumed walking. Emilia’s eyes deepened as she watched Christina’s retreating back.
TL/N: THAT WAS KINDA WEIRD, DON’T Y’ALL THINK?! IDK BUT I THINK IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO W THAT BASTARD ALESSANDRO!
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Emilia blinked slowly as she looked at the dressing room vanity.
“No bouquet today? There used to be one every time I was on stage.”
“…Yeah.”
The bouquet that usually arrived during makeup time never came, even after she was done getting ready. Emilia awkwardly smiled and stood up.
Should I apologize to Enrico?
She wasn’t sure. It was true that she had misunderstood and brought up his engagement, leading to a discussion about the contract, but his subsequent words had really cut her to the core.
It wasn’t the first time he had treated her like an object, so why did it hurt more this time? And why had she been so worked up about his engagement?
Everything felt so unfamiliar and unlike her. He was just being his usual fickle self, alternating between being kind and cold, as he always did.
Perhaps she and he had been too close for comfort. Originally, they had a contractual relationship where she would perform on his private stage in exchange for information, but somewhere along the line, that boundary had naturally blurred.
‘Not that he hasn’t done me favors because of that…’
Continuing this relationship and getting information wasn’t a bad option, but she was also worried about having her ankle examined after this performance. And she was concerned about when her feet, which didn’t meet his standards of beauty and were confined in pointe shoes, would be discovered.
For now, she could just pass it off as a minor adjustment, but as soon as something went wrong with her body, the scales would tip completely in his favor. The more favors he did for her, the more involved he became in her life. Maybe now was the right time to distance herself…
‘Ugh, I don’t know what I’m thinking anymore.’
Emilia rubbed her chest with her palm as if trying to release the frustration, then took a deep breath.
‘Let’s just focus on finishing the performance.’
Her thoughts were a tangled mess, especially when it came to Christina, whom she had to share the stage with. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, and she’d need to stay alert.
‘She wouldn’t do anything weird, would she?’
Suppressing her unease, Emilia walked toward the stage. With summer approaching, the heat in the theater lingered much longer than before. She spotted Christina already at the wing stage, rolling her ankle as she waited for the maestro to start conducting. Emilia quietly moved to the side, studying Christina’s face.
Christina, expressionless, stared at the stage, her gaze eventually shifting upward toward the ceiling. A slow, eerie smile crept onto her lips as she looked at something.
The unsettling sight made Emilia step back quietly and glance up to where Christina had been looking.
There was only the beautiful chandelier, the scattered lights, and the stage set.
Emilia took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, and dusted some rosin onto her pointe shoes. When she looked up again, her eyes met Christina’s, who had turned around. Her amber eyes appeared strangely gloomy and sunken.
‘It must be my imagination.’
Emilia turned away and headed toward the staff, hoping they’d check everything one more time for peace of mind.
The orchestra’s deep, rhythmic music filled the room, shaking the walls. Emilia, watching Sylphi and the male lead dance, prepared for her next scene. When it was her turn, she reached out to Antonio, who played the village man in love with “Effie,” and danced with him. She pushed him away as he rubbed his cheek against her palm, expressing his unrequited love, before returning to the male lead, hovering around him with concern, as if she really were Effie.
The performance built to a climax. Emilia, having completed her wedding preparations, approached the male lead when a sudden cracking sound echoed in the theater. Mixed with the music, it was hard to distinguish, so the ballet continued uninterrupted. Emilia, spotting a scarf on the sofa center-stage, approached it with joy, thinking it was a gift from the male lead.
At that moment, she heard something falling from above. Emilia looked up and her eyes widened in shock.
She heard someone shouting from afar to get out of the way. Emilia saw not one but several small stage lights falling and quickly tried to get out of the way. Since she was in the center of the stage, the other dancers hesitated to approach her, realizing it was too late.
Emilia hurriedly dashed to the side, avoiding the falling lights, but but her feet got tangled, causing her ankle to twist. As she fell, the last light came crashing down directly toward her. She tightly squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a force pulling her arm.
Bang!
The sound of a gunshot ripped through the air, followed by the shattering of the light above. Glass shards rained down, scattering everywhere.
Emilia’s eyes flew open. Juliana and Antonio, who had pulled her out of harm’s way, stared in shock at the direction of the bullet. There, standing with his gun still raised, was Enrico Michele.
Although the light shattered by the bullet was scattered everywhere, that wasn’t the big problem. Seeing Emilia bleeding from her shoulder, people started screaming and panicking, and the staff quickly lowered the red curtain to cover the stage.
Emilia’s whole body trembled uncontrollably. Overwhelming fear and pain surged through her.
“Emilia!”
“Get over here quickly! She’s losing too much blood!”
“Emilia, stay with us!”
She wanted to respond to the voices calling her from every direction, but the strength was fading from her eyes. As her vision darkened and the burning pain in her shoulder became unbearable, Emilia surrendered to the unconsciousness and collapsed.
TL/N:
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