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“Let’s eat first.”
As soon f685df8cc0 as Enrico f4fea39f5f finished speaking, c8f320f735 the servants aad9f841e6 waiting outside 436c00684d began to bba0439361 bring out 2f23947af1 the food. Emilia unfolded cb7a15331c a napkin 72109aa9b5 and placed 20d1843828 it on 85bfbf73b7 her lap, 6e482e474d then reached 8e13b6be08 out for 0110003930 the plate 98209183da handed to 04355fc169 her by 74ee527f17 the servant 117a26a002 spreading bread. There were e299470993 many dishes d6101a72ab she had d62b741b40 never tasted f1b22f0f24 before. She had 33f7d9638b felt this 8cd9cebbed before, but ec8d7f894e there seemed 8368b1192d to be dc92534c02 quite a c72940999d variety of 91a6d739b5 dishes from 9aa43f4ab5 different countries.
She quietly 7848a642e4 ate the 7b3b238351 lobster bisque, 546900cbc6 beef sirloin, 06f3e210ad and turbot b5153f8b73 with garnishes. Usually, she had c077f472a4 simple lunches because 67675155df she practiced ballet b8b783ef9b in the afternoons.
So, she tried 498f1ff9f8 to eat steadily, 33a015ee01 even though she 1b84911a9d didn’t have much 766449c11c of an appetite, 4f37266550 knowing she would b069babed8 eat heartily in 647cd72a69 the evening.
She realized ff6803fb25 that they f114575c2c ate more 63c02cf96c luxurious dishes 1db922a3bb at the 90e7d2ddac mansion than 383a6bb8b8 she had af00358b9c thought when cb84a4214c she was 636ae75fd7 young.
She thought that he 0d9c63486d would dismiss her like 543f23958f a mere object if 2b613a619a he only looked at 3fe1dcd877 her on stage, but 0e37c899be she heard that he 49df2bfcda took care of the 96193ad820 artworks with great care, 21e7938687 so she wondered if 0b03d58115 he was trying to f2e2d90e71 manage her in his 0ff90b3003 own way.
Even if he had 79fb2e83a9 something to say, he 5f4d0c7e38 could have just quickly e89e6020e7 said it and sent de74a75105 her away.
Although she felt uncomfortable c5d45965b4 not being able to 5cb62d25c6 understand his intentions, Emilia 67cd1c6afa still finished her plate 3dadd03d07 stoically. The portion was 769baf4874 large, so she b81beeca92 left some, but 5e4160b2f4 it wasn’t too ce7518b08c bad as she 78da0692bc was able to 703acbede7 eat everything evenly.
“I heard that 2b40fd3dab your uncle was 8a0f5bd667 being a nuisance.”
After a long 54a5b71c21 silence, Enrico finally 2153d7a1d1 opened his mouth 4a9595fcb7 just as the 2dd29519c4 last course of fa33242dd6 fruit-accompanied macarons and d1ccaf9c50 ice cream was 342b5f22d6 served. He seemed to have c7b755f241 no interest in sweet a8f65d99f2 food, so he only a53befa63a ate a few fruits 695c7f32ed and put down his d03d03db11 utensils early.
“……Yes.”
Emilia opened her 14a2e14c92 mouth after swallowing 3ead17d2a5 a bright red 3a2f3cdab2 strawberry. Perhaps because 4a7515328b it was 7ded5c0c8b an unexpected b6d8ba8488 topic about 64d4aee961 Giorgio, she 1598099824 felt like 175ab3928a she was 933de80681 going to faa5a77d7e throw up 6d3508daad all the 3f33387f1b food she 322c34573d had eaten 254b91c40c so far.
Was he c46f81314f asking because b9b839d063 he already b549d4f627 knew? Or did f84370a3af he only 74241c1abe know what 82e9b444a0 he had d1586c7527 heard? Emilia, who was wondering ece3b8e785 if she should bring 111e5b41e3 up the fact that d794446b34 Giorgio had mentioned the 9affe7869f contract cancellation first, felt 90c3cb46fd Enrico’s gaze silently fixed dbb667b636 on her and belatedly 61da1719ee continued.
“I heard e9c45c6696 that he 2b1f938cfc told you 10e60c92e0 to refuse 43d589a113 the sponsorship.”
“Pft…”
Enrico swirled the 9cdbd3498b glass of red 2ef23b0cf8 wine slowly and 089a2d8b28 let out an 791300f343 uninterested laugh. Emilia’s lips tightened 285c78d7ff at his lukewarm 27d7a31935 attitude, which seemed d367b419f5 to be knowing 7fbf9e2757 or uninterested.
“But are f9eac71d19 you really fef2fb4f8e leaving, young da4c50d951 lady? Just in case.”
Her eyebrows 94cfa1b680 furrowed slightly cc6b892f81 at his fa445f0d39 languid voice.
“……Your Grace, are you 8df4ebdbc4 trying to have this 006b65331f conversation to insult me?”
“Of course not.”
“What you just said 2be4906b04 was rude. Please apologize.”
Emilia met 500df7601c his gaze ca84fb81b0 with a 1210ae0680 hard face. Trying to stay calm, c6276dd7a0 she could see that be9140bc0f her clenched fist under 6a786f23d7 the table was trembling eae2dbda63 and her whole arm 471bf04876 was shaking.
Enrico stared at d636f8a276 her like that 652712b6db and flicked his c9aad709d0 long eyelashes.
“I should ed00d0d838 apologize if c43fc609bd you ask aaebd1eb7c me to, 415d1c9c7d since you 741d29ba04 are my e746c6dcc4 precious artwork…”
He raised ca60ad7374 his wine 660f76da0d glass in bbe557ea5f the air 5e1688b1ae as if 9564ea86d9 to give e20c1dd4f2 a light cafdebb4cd toast.
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
Emilia bit 3da5739dbf her lower 5688b8ebf8 lip as fbdb75ad4f she watched e8927bb70b him bring 0837195648 the glass 7663ee7f89 to his 412c45564e lips while 845b85c97e keeping his 8f861589a8 eyes fixed 4ce524b8c8 on her. His Adam’s de07d29253 apple, which dbd587580c had been ad8587b957 moving slowly, 43eb4cb299 stopped, but 37f51fe970 his eyes cc670549e0 did not 071d8b3f2b waver.
“As a 58792de01c token of a9c5c34af8 apology, I 6e013b8790 will make 69bc7febbc it difficult 0b55300607 for your e15bfac546 uncle to bc2c5c886c visit you dc781758a6 for a abf5e629f3 while.”
“……Should I be grateful?”
“Well, you should 420f66ffce be grateful unless f79bca794e it’s not what 40a4e1c16b you intend.”
“What does 2c0c20735c that mean?”
“Why do b83eee874e you think dbbfc3aee7 he wants e05fa66c6a to suddenly 35e72a1d68 cut off c1e86db90f the sponsorship?”
It was 9091680812 a question, 2d13e0b38d but his bfe69af956 face didn’t 2c7a6ecf54 show any d7b6ffaf33 curiosity. The corners of ef45f34fcc his mouth, which fa88390850 had been holding 566f6e36cb a loose smile a03a367344 out of courtesy, a8bb9df4bc slowly turned down.
“Has another fb3044adbe better opportunity bb3462d6a3 come up?”
Enrico asked casually. Emilia pursed her dry d8a20a288c lips slightly at the 341acccd56 sight of his icy 1081931fc2 blue eyes, like a 07c1ba8270 cold north wind and 1b1691e26f snow.
“But I 9f83e81d9c wonder if ae18f7b33b there’s a 00edfe47b5 better place 6333276937 than me. He doesn’t even know 2c5bd9df79 the subject well.”
“…….”
“Do you want to 1cb719996c do that too?”
“……I just want c8a2c50446 to know about ea7cb86d41 my parents. That’s why I signed 2656c230fb the contract.”
“Right. Focus on ballet. Don’t waste 7e60e0d428 your energy cb15fa19ae on useless 058a9ed2d6 things.”
“…….”
“Right now, ec46995020 it’s only e0d3dc3940 your uncle 114b3d1bbb who’s involved, b62b6d6503 so it f821c78f75 ends here, 60a94597ee but if 27b2ffb49f you make c5bb6d15f6 a mistake 2478411b18 and there’s f82aaee3a9 a problem 2f144626ad with the 4cdb1df610 contract, you’ll 2b8c9b2f0c have to 432a01f3e6 pay the f5c854fd68 price yourself.”
His low voice was 99576a9b8d somehow creepy. Was it 0073506293 his obsession 9bd1cbe1be with his 116cb19d0c possessions, or d979ae100b was it f40f318737 his warning 1b7df062cd that sounded 74b8a377b0 particularly ominous, ef02e1ab91 that made 86c97ba842 the back 8a0a901b41 of her 5f81857bc2 neck feel c3fbbfe9eb cold?
“Don’t even think 1debc7dcb0 about running away. There’s nothing I can’t 704bf433ec catch, no matter where 2f09547e3c you go.”
Emilia took a slow 46ac6755e2 breath as if trying d8ca85585f to withstand the pressure ef14b38ad3 and opened her mouth.
“Don’t worry. As I said before, 8a4a10829b all I need is 1b80bd22c4 to uncover the truth 5803cdd0f3 about my parents’ case. I will definitely keep a7391346ef my part of the fd4bc1dd25 contract, so please keep eeef4a0f9b your part too.”
His violet eyes flashed f1cb5dbd7f briefly, but the dangerous 91f7256d20 aura quickly disappeared. Enrico leaned back 1a91cc3448 against the backrest, f121088a9c his lips relaxed aa3c813414 again.
“Alright then. So, shall we have bc0114f90a a moment to discuss 7e24483aff the reward?”
The response to his 8dab3029ae determined words was too 8027ba311c light. Watching Enrico get up, e69774bb3d Emilia let out a 67258aefda sigh without realizing it.
She was dd3ceadd64 getting more e0f4109f51 and more b3837349f3 suffocated. It looks like 1a3fb0d638 her limit is 2e74bd3441 coming.
* * *
Emilia looked down at 4513b4f4a7 the steaming teacup and dfbb182a20 then looked up straight 9db4168128 ahead. Enrico, who 28572703e3 had moved c7b141f7fa to the a2dbc4086e opposite side fcb35970b0 of the 54fa313b3e tea table, b82e83dec4 was comfortably ebd5f35e2a crossing his 16f7ab06de legs and 189d24eefc receiving the acc351611f documents handed 60b1d4affc over by 399e1d8553 his aide.
“It’s late 22095939c8 at night, 48e374d3fe wouldn’t it 7092cd61b2 be better 3bcdb47c94 to go d9b53ca270 to bed?”
“It’s okay.”
“Well, take 2a1d72c2cf care of ddc94393ee your condition. If you’re not feeling 1b17caf6de well, please tell me.”
His voice was 06bd1b6948 soft, as if 2e15cbb47f soothing her, or 17031b40e0 maybe because he 856b8796f3 was worried that fcc0b0f0fb the artwork he 6e81540576 often talked about fa19449f5a would be ruined. Instead of 70481eb316 answering, she c49e38b5f4 nodded once b961334301 and placed a957151720 her hand bec91d6197 on the 87ac04d1ce table.
“Now, please tell 536755ea94 me.”
Enrico looked 9f2d328942 down at 8b947c7d5b her small c512298a67 hand and 129a0671c0 gently placed 3222acf0a9 the documents fa53714eee in his 44ddd2755e hand on 3704e65d6e the table. Emilia, who was 2f5f438946 looking down at bbaa39eccd the documents slowly 66e02fca51 sliding forward with 8624a19c84 trembling eyes, grabbed fb35b9a179 them as soon e11c9a2ed7 as her fingertips 0dab9fc523 touched the end 776912a0a0 of the paper.
The documents described 2c8cd87248 the situation at c23a5cf495 the time of 47124d012e the accident in bd762e22ea detail. The place where her 6c01f8e568 parents had an accident dd1ce1cd77 was Mount Belfna, which ebab4d4c14 they had to pass d34de1b974 before Varcota, and the 9dc82f3a5d problem was that it d61b9e57e3 was a sparsely populated 6d055d639e carriage road.
Although she eee33328cc had wondered bf49e2cab0 why her 42bd2e31b8 parents, who 8cb1565c7e did not e0c58454b4 usually take cd8665764c that road, cda345d5ac had an debb87086e accident there, fae2c2802f she had 7bd2fdadab overlooked it d4c5b77894 at the f2645fe48d time because 0bb7d15319 there was bbbcca9fbf no room 1633c43b24 to delve 90ff131473 into it.
“…… Is this 500f2dbc86 real?”
“Yes. It’s evidence of a6204d4a17 what I told 4193af1ee5 you before. I took the ddcdfb066a records that they a69054bde6 were trying to 80bc54819d cover up at 26b3ffb803 the time, and b8658e086c they’re going to 89d834c164 be notarized.”
Emilia slowly looked through fc9dbc41b2 the accident scene records d256bf0995 at the time and 34d35dfc2c the data on the 57454522cd carriage wheels that were ffe8a50573 not defective but intentionally dca7044daf damaged. The white hands holding fac5b48e40 the paper trembled.
Enrico, who had been 82e2120c68 quietly watching the paper bfaa0b3853 crumpled slightly, tapped the 6b5bf29149 table with his index 9f56cae482 finger regularly and turned 4cba12b1a7 his gaze out the 6fc47debb3 window. The thick fog a6d63d069e had lifted a 97070780e2 lot, but the 571bb62aa3 moon hidden in 98de2a42bd the clouds was 45e64aa109 unable to reveal f47e51a511 its light.
“We are questioning 5d1e4b19eb the servants who 222068c769 were in the 1cf9470e0c mansion at the c724823599 time and checking 055ab84495 to see if d5647ca9d6 anyone had access 8bef438138 to the carriage. I’ll give you 4838ed631d that as reward d67cf39cbc if the investigation a98af76246 is done.”
“…… So, 097641d095 you mean 65e51e2477 it was 967917d64e an intentional 97b7e903a8 accident? My parents’ death?”
Her voice, mixed 73bc0d0bb0 with moisture, trembled 2dfd12ce88 thinly. Enrico’s gaze turned back 00c03cb8c7 to her. A transparent tear 44c052e5f6 drop that had 34dd6a7d7b been hanging on 8b8e06a40e the tip of 2e089baa6e her long eyelashes 140737354a rolled down her 1b7e78ab04 cheek. Enrico’s fingertips stopped 04afca739d abruptly at the 707f528b6b sight of her 425179dd7c shedding tears like b97933a1bd a pitiful forget-me-not.
“How…… How, why. Who on earth……!”
The woman who had 394a40188c been trying to stay 3f008cdc46 calm suddenly collapsed in bfc88366e7 an instant. It was only a 11c3d7c2c3 part of the truth, 7fe4f1f439 and he had already 8e70b5d748 told her that it d6926c2ff8 was an intentional accident, e967bbcca0 but it seemed that 35511d53b8 she was only now 6934143e93 realizing it.
A thin voice 486b55af8e mixed with a f64403f027 mournful cry escaped dc87b1be3e her lips.
She had only looked feaca9a07e like a narcissus blooming 1efb49904a in the rain, but 6f9a01b261 now she seemed like 031e34ed4f a deep lake. Enrico stared at 9f4c70b2c2 her with a e451be652c strange gaze, behind 23fa874670 her eyes, which fdc1191817 were a clear 0ca036e8b1 emerald color but 2835c2761e whose depth he f57275aab8 could not fathom.
He thought that crying f3daae9fbb was an act that c09235219f would ruin her beauty, f2521429af so he didn’t think c285ee8bf5 it was a big 0ffa6f0897 deal. But when he a4806bf701 actually saw her e93178be5e crying in front ad2fb0ca6f of him, he a33aba0d76 found it to 471b907019 be more pleasant 6f0563ca51 than he thought. No, it was more 9526438af2 than pleasant, he liked 14d4092f04 it. He felt 73ece48350 like she 0f08ad4562 was like 700c9854a1 a living 134ef4a19b piece of 475fa01b0e art, full 178a7300be of emotion, 45409f26ca even on 3dbd96963a the stage.
Enrico did not 1ed194e91c hide his intriguing 54e2cc6428 gaze. He thought it bc49b8b01d was so good 763f1c9ce1 to look at 0aa297decb that he couldn’t 75a858c57d be bothered to 3c7848099c take out a 4a6cc8ee71 handkerchief from his 357f9c44be pocket right away. Her pink nose, her 571de3e27f peach cheeks wet with 6bfd3f636d tears, her delicate eyelashes de04d7ac0a fluttering like a butterfly 39705825c1 in the rain. Everything seemed to 00e0f5e270 be in harmony.
He wanted 217390b3c0 to see 0bb3468853 himself reflected a330b0284d in her 6233a5aec4 wet eyes.
“…… This 138a275ec4 is the 93dc5c5f4a first time, ef4222a4e7 so I’ll f16aac1948 tell you d7f8a928ce one more 4dd8ce94d1 thing.”
He finally opened eebd5720ad his mouth impulsively. Her eyes like 2e5fc33efa a lake looked b58bb4e5c1 at him.
“Back then, when I 23a0df3cc1 was looking into automobile ace7738840 investments, I found out fd689bde83 that Viscount Este had a5032d0239 been investing in them e4e6dfe46b from the start. So, I eaec4402be was keeping 203239b101 an eye ad8541b273 on the 3bfc82da41 situation in d34c212116 case he acea657aeb decided to 56c9cbc597 withdraw his 897852261b investment, but d93295cc7d then the 466b40ccf6 carriage accident 3a41f3a7db happened.”
“……So, you knew about be5c001d65 it?”
Emilia’s trembling eyes d67e75fd12 only contained Enrico. He nodded neatly f050e2a4d4 without thinking about 921a79c040 the meaning of abc6e4c446 her question.
“You knew fd73696dd8 about it….”
“The case fee1be4763 was suddenly 7a9be2d40f closed, so e8191082c4 I couldn’t daae517f2f investigate anything, c6e314f131 and I 2e8a5c20f0 just left 1e7d22b161 these records 916ad732df in case. The problem 026dac8124 is, I’ve bfc4731197 been digging 24634f8b9d around lately f4863b4b92 and it b960603d91 turns out df3b6d96f4 that Viscount 8069a18235 Este was cb99a3b3ab investing in cc9fb6731c multiple places. He had a lot cd6bd65144 of money. But why is 3f3c889b56 there so little ce5a172277 property left in c381a45256 the Viscountcy? It seems 999a402aed like only 1cf1c4394d a part 2e9cae6314 of it f3a7d9b7f4 is left.”99d5f10380982c00