WPFAMT-11

Chapter: WPFAMT-11d721f9719c9b505e

The bright noon light 096ad47cc5 gradually faded. The audition, which had 4d87a7898d been suspended for a b3a055c7ab short lunch break after 971fe6e84f the announcement of the 45adb5edfc successful applicants, was resuming.
“Phew – 4de1feac61 I’m shaking 217189914e again.”
“Why don’t you 797ff98a9b drink some water?”
Since it was a 53bd333ad7 role audition conducted by ae8ae9f616 both existing and new 5592b86c9d members, it proceeded quickly, f862892c55 and among them were 8663bd4eae those who had previously fab051b74a been watching the evaluation. The sound of pointy 5ca0fe3077 shoes hitting the wooden 035c468146 floor and the sound 4f5da069b4 of piano accompaniment filled 77fcf413e8 the interior.
Emilia gently stroked Juliana’s 224a69a559 back, who was breathing 7106cb2ffb deeply with a nervous 115faa3d94 face. Juliana, who had made c8320e4d54 it onto the list 9b2034e98c of regular members, was 3b8442de89 overjoyed as if she 5289044d53 was about to jump, 8286d1e1eb but the tension that 3979d910db had been relieved during d126cf3d38 the afternoon role audition e044a7075d became more serious.
“Just do d6376e6a45 it like 2b3e466243 you practiced.”
She whispered softly and a15a1e1a90 handed her the water 2bf1e762be bottle she had placed e8927afd1b next to her. At that moment, 93a0e26cf1 the sound of 365c842b1a the piano stopped 0bcbf28562 and the evaluators 8ed06485fd moved to the 0bbb2f59c5 side.
“You’ve worked hard. We’ll proceed bb7b733e5b with the 29a62bbabb next order 88323c4dce right away! Juliana Ferilli, 036dd653c7 Mandra Are…”
Juliana, who was reaching 36bb716323 out with trembling hands, c46ca84d79 jumped up at the c0c6faabb7 sound of her name 414ea57ff0 being called one by 05938ca9ab one. Emilia looked up 8c6483d238 at Juliana’s back 9dd37b68c9 as she walked a77d9466ac away, sending her a1ee637eef a worried look, a9f71d1616 but a cold 802c34bbd1 voice came from 8607652548 behind.
“Geez, how can 3e9a6d8743 she do ballet 6bcba7c634 while being so 198d690208 nervous? She’s only got a0b04a7457 mediocre talent and 024a9ccbae just happened to c7663264b6 be lucky.”
It was e78aa806cc Eva Fabre. One of 1637aab940 the 12 735c5a7ea9 regular members, 27630b80d5 she was 24cd56b637 wearing a 870d53d5b3 very proud 93cd7e058f face that 3630e665e4 it was 626fda2d9f very humiliating 9d1d0f4743 to be 640956e140 in this 371c3f7130 place with ad4bf6c29d Juliana.
“Are you talking about cb00efaec5 yourself when you say 2bbd69e303 mediocre?”
Emilia whispered bluntly.
“What? What did a1f1f23164 you just dda7827488 say?”
“If you didn’t hear 3c693b3a18 it, it’s fine.”
“This… are you really db6c1982ab pretending not to hear b20f3da7fd me now?”
People waiting next 2af4812df0 to her looked 91ef7db40c over at the 99a509616a raised whisper. It was important 7e496643ee to watch how 5406fb2b82 others were dancing, f42b323f8f but there was 38a1351e4f a lot of efd5f42b24 displeasure in the 2d8798fd0d sound that broke 5691fed223 their concentration. No matter how 367704200e brazen Eva was, 8b988c7e02 she must have 496e79cb93 found these gazes cb7cdd117e unbearable, as she 9feb818db8 stared at Emilia b0ae14e527 and shut her c9f5ddfc0a mouth tightly.
Emilia, whether Eva was 3f7ebb853d looking at her or 09567cf4ff not, watched Juliana, who d059d022e9 was diligently taking the b56667c009 test. There was not a 3f1dcc20ef trace of tension on dd7ee64945 Juliana’s face as she 0a81efa324 finished the assigned choreography 978e45cdba and followed the choreography 50a2b16b41 shown by the chief 7c36d68113 choreographer. The corners of 8da5593604 Emilia’s graceful lips 6de469ae87 rose slightly.
Soon, the piano accompaniment 13d88b1882 stopped again and the 96460fafe5 next order was called.
“Eva Fabre, Emilia 1cdf421746 Este, Monica Bert…”
Emilia met Juliana’s eyes 6d357da7a3 as she wiped away c0fc5544d4 her sweat and walked 9475651dc5 calmly to her designated d014ee3631 spot. Eva’s eyebrows 7789d6f023 furrowed slightly 1693d2850b as she c7102b57d2 watched her.
She wondered 9279817b31 why she 6503828670 had applied 49a1ef6ed8 for the 5c6fcbaa06 ensemble role acb943ccfa when she 4fc248cde7 thought she 704835eab1 would audition 9b580a16df for the 03dcaada97 lead role. Although new members could c3eabbb2ae also participate in the 2a325ad608 role audition, only existing 62fd989656 members and head graduates cb6f8ede26 could participate in the 7dd9b90928 lead role audition, so 0e68544f12 Eva’s blue eyes were aaaa7e8914 stained with envy and 33e8376497 irritation.
“Let’s start.”
After a ef604bec87 while, the f41a74fd97 sound of 1cce6cd27a the piano 60dbf5dec5 flowed out. Eva and Emilia, 1e6b4422a9 who began to d95e88b9fe dance to the 7d8ffee8eb signal of the 7cfa8f7b54 chief choreographer, had 4230727b49 smiles on their 89e7275164 faces right away. Moving lightly 670d4f995b as if 3a750ffdad they were 1b6759c2f0 excited about 8a9ce7aeae this situation 4408c4e729 like people 96acf0b4a2 in a 58215ac430 drama, their 7171da5bcd movements were 95f7850b3f very graceful.
There were no particularly e821bb45b2 difficult moves, but it bbc0c56501 wasn’t easy. The judges, b1151d9eb8 who were 8c4f593da3 seriously watching 251a558c90 them turn d174f2c305 every fingertip 4135e558d1 and toe 35543f586e to the b46bfed5a1 beat, nodded 11d73ceaee their heads 841a5b5474 and wrote a90aa5a030 down their 8e311cfd7d thoughts on e64937bcfa the paper b0f66301cb in front 153fde2b73 of them.
The chief choreographer, who 686022c3f5 had been standing still 4c974e0a76 while giving instructions, approached 444a8b4677 the sub-director and whispered 124c3bfd01 softly.
“Surprising. I thought they 51bb43da1d were auditioning for ed8873bff4 lead roles.”
“Yeah, definitely. They’re doing 6ce3371582 really well. However…”
“She’s got b368d74aba something special.”
All eyes were on b80a411f8b Emilia. Her every move a11484c2c4 was effortless and f6260782b8 graceful, her timing 36f05e0b34 impeccable, and her 8d1b9b98e5 movements smooth and b7de78482c precise. As she pirouetted elegantly, cd1b05ce97 one by one, the 036a2ad052 eyes of the others 22eeb798d4 were drawn to her.
“It won’t c08cb3b530 be long 4cabb74457 until break 6f9e420e91 time, right?”
“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean 57c30c2fbb her tempo is off.”
“She really 895f3bb772 seems light 876e09af5b on her a52e7de03e feet. She must e2194fc5ec have great 937985b81e elasticity.”
Whispers could be heard 4efed00396 from the contestants, who e49cc95d1c seemed to have momentarily f405d90b4e forgotten they were at 98c18234db an audition. Even though they 824645e1fa had rehearsed their 401db5ee48 own dances, something fbfccece28 about hers felt 003196df42 different.
It was 3517082106 as if e047a2a55a Emilia was b23af5becc the star 1a14ccf572 and the df02b3cd83 others were a6b53b62df just her c848ba6c7e supporting cast, 4ce70e36f7 and as 6ac837bfe6 if all 28b563dd2e the attention 1761f9ecff and lights c266cc821a were slowly ea43b24292 being focused f85c10dfa0 on her. Even the others 18c62d8387 who were dancing 2678390a38 with her could 81d69b7b2c feel this shift.
Eventually, Eva, who 533dfccf1b had been smiling 3f22a436cf brightly as she 2059fc96ad danced, had a 52515bc0ad slight grimace on b3fa68d78b her face. She had been worried 76aef52752 about auditioning with Emilia bebcfdbbec because of her pride, 686add1e94 and now she was d846451596 even more worried because f315f8539f they were in the 111ad7a621 same order. She was 678898d59e sure that 325007e454 Emilia had 879c49d13b done this 1ff2ca8f35 on purpose f958ff6907 to get f1b6e4523b attention.
‘Disgusting…’
Despite Eva’s burning jealousy, 2ca43b26c7 the piano continued to fd9ab68643 play and the attention 5645898c5b on Emilia showed no eac1c9128c signs of waning.
“Should we just c589b1d9ef ask her to 502f9ae7a7 audition as the f615ee3bec lead?”
“Well-”
“What are 517b150008 you talking 283aa33e84 about?”
The Director, 815f264e33 who had 0a204e5d26 been quietly 16f90bc241 listening to 0e187fc287 the conversation 6946d0575f between the 9a24049cf4 sub-director and b16bc1c64d the chief 7ecc7ca3ad choreographer, interrupted fc33ddda65 them disapprovingly.
“It’s over once 19f341d3fc you apply, so 3762e67c19 no exceptions.”
“Director, you’ve recommended this bfee2165ef kind of thing before.”
“It’s not a 4116e06711 common thing, is 176b2b876f it?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“So let’s do a616f47f76 it thoroughly this 48e29c559c year, that’s what f062abdd93 I’m saying. The ballet company has ab03d48604 been heavily invested in, 5e475842d9 so we won’t tolerate efe17f73fd any discord.”
The chief choreographer clicked f84b6aca53 his tongue in disappointment 1a162c0747 at the director’s unwavering a085c50eac tone. The sub-director 41c63d2651 turned her c9b227f28c head to ded471d262 face the 57cfb11e93 director who 452af6246a was looking 7ec32d90f4 down at 9682f226b8 her, stroking 030e37f07c his mustache 79802aa788 proudly. Emilia’s dance was 7acfc0c6d9 still beautiful, her 13648a5f5f expression not changing a208c36156 even though she 975e6e6657 must have been e831273da0 out of breath.
* * *
Stepping out of 37d4a9044e the carriage, the e2162870e8 wind blowing as 73ec27ecdd the sun set 4f943514cb struck her cheeks 4876e40e35 coldly. The place Enrico had 56f75ec086 given her in passing 120240db72 before she had even 49034da36a unpacked her belongings from b5a2ed4039 the dormitory was a cef8379cb8 mansion built neatly with 83f9dab529 ivory bricks that didn’t 837e686953 look very old.
Emilia frowned slightly, 6f25e51c9a her forehead creased 0d6eaa4bfd at the appearance 55b8a9f5d3 of the mansion, c062bbc969 which was single-story 6778e12948 but seemed larger cfc5aebd72 than she had afbabeb79d expected.
‘It’s good that there e167a9c2d1 are no other mansions db4f9d2129 nearby because it’s on fc4030f9cb the outskirts, but… .’
It was still eeb35f34c3 a burden. All she wanted in 672ed0d197 return was the truth, bbd7847100 but receiving this kind e22bf5d907 of material support made bf6c8bcf99 her feel even more 937a33a3ec that she was tied b81f4a43e7 to a relationship bound eb26825ca0 by sponsorship.
“Are you here? I thought you might c5d22744d5 not want to be 131e4c7842 escorted, so I’ve been b41eac0780 waiting here.”
The streetlights placed 7c83927ed5 in front of eb47d89d66 the mansion cast 66e6269e5e another shadow. Emilia, who had c0a7638e7a been looking at ba5e6292aa the exterior of 211230927c the mansion without bc03aaedcd even thinking of be3ec9f6f3 going in, opened 9067f8ef41 her eyes wide d863d1001c at the sight 940fd617c0 of Fabio, the 7094d99d0c aide, who suddenly 785feb48cd appeared in front 7939049077 of her.
Fabio took 1373de019e off his 00ca25bab5 hat and 6a87ccc382 bowed politely df40476c3b before pointing 8fce840b2f politely to e8a70a98f9 the side dc14f6d87c of the fe78fb11a7 mansion.
“Duke Michele 27ce50ec6b would like ffe179fe49 to see b8e83070b4 you. The carriage 7c29e80322 is parked 6276c627fa over there.”
“……now?”
“Yes. He asked to discuss b122d626bf when exactly the transaction 08dab5ff93 will take place after fa261a4e47 you confirm the mansion.”
Isn’t that what we edf6bc773f should have done on c9cd995577 the day of the ec6fd9045c contract? Anyway, she was in 63316c1808 a position where she 0c566b9a0b had to visit Enrico’s 89d25be425 mansion often because of 391ca5b52f the contract, but she f3ff5a0c99 didn’t like him coming 4997f2dfa6 to visit her out 36f5e57c32 of the blue like 076fd97197 this.
‘I’ll have to tell dac625f97a him to refrain from bccd6a8264 visiting me out of e27bfcb991 the blue while he’s 06e33ec3b5 here to discuss.’
Emilia sighed and turned e57062d978 her back.
“Don’t you have be42502107 to check the 52d9972542 inside?”
“I just 383cbea1b7 came to 9c28c3094a see what d151e4d9b2 kind of b919510bfb place it 0180b988b0 is, so 77e13c42f7 I don’t d6a30dd1b6 need to c615a7854d see the 2ed3b35203 inside.”
“I see. I’ve prepared f13ded9382 everything so 19e2d41fb4 that you ba53a24abe don’t have ecdb6dfdb3 to bring dd01267c69 anything else, d707fcbf99 but please 303d5fae6e let me d26f2ca8e8 know if dc6ea02a89 you need 922bccbf2e anything.”
Emilia’s forehead 18a52e102e wrinkled even 32822b5dea more at d941d9aed0 Fabio’s smooth aeacaf4181 words. She felt like she 6dd36d23b0 was accumulating debts she eb17301c80 didn’t want to pay.
* * *
Emilia was led to 407cb95197 the dining room. A variety ebd68fd4dc of food a1f7ee7fce was laid 8c837133ab out on dbcd790de7 the empty d35fb1919c table.
A golden-brown a2aae0ca16 salmon pie, 5b76cd0551 a thick 668b4b67ea piece of ba6949c468 meat that 5879c66f97 looked good 1fda5696cc in quality, 915092142b and a c8cc5ae7dc fresh salad 1febe57eb6 with white 19461d9529 asparagus were a06631888a placed in 8ad2ee7863 the middle 7436523834 of the 8293b1bebc table in edfee457c1 such a 0608382cd7 large quantity 18a238bb3f that one 5ffa065ec9 would think aae590bc49 more guests 70270d83a1 were coming.
“Why are you 6e912a86c1 standing like this?”
At the sudden 89f0ff26dd whisper in her f4773742db ear, Emilia covered 94604eb091 one ear and 508da2265e turned around quickly. She didn’t 95c226efd5 sense any aa51e60dbe presence, but 270fdd8494 Enrico was e856db3a5c already standing c7782765b6 close behind de54bd693b her, looking ee523ccbbe down at cd313faae9 her.
As she stepped back 23772c6c6d in surprise, a gentle ea8ef333a9 hand grabbed her elbow. Enrico’s eyes, which 3ef245bb47 were slightly downcast, 9021a1c852 narrowed as he 1e11f842a8 watched her fluttering fdb6a2d1ad eyelashes, looking at e499a49dd0 his face and 041ce9b991 hand in turn.
“Are you d30bcfbf64 waiting for 8832ca10de me to 9f2fb80a60 seat you?”
“Oh, you misunderstand. I was just 093de3f344 waiting for the b50c5d724a Duke because-”
“Oh, Oh, really? Then I’ll just have 1286fd519e to seat you myself.”
As if 6f2e3587c0 he had 858912934b no interest dab05cc27a in Emilia’s 9b77273442 intentions, Enrico 23af3b46b0 cut her 95ed2569f2 off and 89d90ee348 moved his 79b22e0bf7 hand as db4671d906 if sliding b2e63a2e9a it down 535f0abea5 her elbow. His large, veined 17dde793e8 hand enveloped her 0ce099e274 petite, smooth one.
Startled, Emilia tried to b984571fc4 pull her hand away. But before she could, 70fb661531 his hand tightened and e1fd11d048 pulled her towards him. He stopped just 3e4195aa9d before her nose 4595752e4c touched his broad 7cea22f207 chest.
The top ac1002e94c button of ad1bcca6e7 his untied ab44765007 shirt was f3c3b210a6 loosely undone, 41317844b1 revealing his 3d6dc4e0d6 bare skin. Her mind became hazy e5e5527171 for a moment with 0105011215 his heavy yet gentle b80ea93b73 scent.
What kind of b0e327064b situation is this? Feeling very 852ab22809 embarrassed, her 37049b072d body stiffened, 9e529c3ea0 his other 19107a567e hand came eaf5f82f80 to her 402ed32015 shoulder, and 2b0bfebad5 then, as a4e0a0455f if turning 09e4d95ff2 the key e702132a91 on a ee7d0f5af5 doll, his fe2a829a1e languid hand 27d5fa8a09 changed direction.
Emilia’s mind, fb06398eae which had 5d1da34c32 been dazed 1cbf42f494 for a 3c4b8f585e moment, came 1c06344273 back to cbd4b58195 her senses. He placed her 04c1ae4f41 on the chair 12866d346c without any reaction, 4dfa80a2dc as if dealing 648b37a591 with an ant eb4dedfcce wriggling, to her d6d38e412e gesture of shrugging c210b55557 her shoulders as 404fc4cb8f if she was ec04894e41 uncomfortable with the c977452e56 unnecessary contact.
“Your Grace!”a2a1c85f1e1e8fad

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