WPFAMT-19

His Precious Artwork6a6b4f2506433abb

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“Let’s eat first.”
As soon 4180d23d8b as Enrico 5a6ffb7932 finished speaking, b6c82b9e31 the servants e8d3e80a2f waiting outside efb36a481d began to 8716667ddc bring out ab977d1533 the food. Emilia unfolded a napkin 53e391a2ab and placed it on a56ed0e7a5 her lap, then reached efee7e1150 out for the plate 06efff2aa5 handed to her by 6e5123c511 the servant spreading bread. There were c3c1319447 many dishes 6dd3162430 she had dcbe112ec5 never tasted 85d86bc228 before. She had felt 98e8aa1afa this before, but 6d997f6655 there seemed to b197790638 be quite a a199d69d97 variety of dishes dee698a443 from different countries.
She quietly ate the 294a87f144 lobster bisque, beef sirloin, 5982a57795 and turbot with garnishes. Usually, she 9c8f743eb1 had simple 0c5b2bb4c5 lunches because b6462a5d9d she practiced ba0a4102bb ballet in a2660b97eb the afternoons.
So, she 023186f28f tried to 01d25f73a8 eat steadily, cb76c51fb9 even though a46b035c80 she didn’t e554b9bbca have much b644ddae4e of an 03b512f7f4 appetite, knowing b91a43ef3b she would 8b9f481d55 eat heartily 151ceedc0c in the 5adf994068 evening.
She realized 27805c02ee that they b12feacb41 ate more a66699ded9 luxurious dishes 0edf974bfa at the bced50aa9e mansion than cffd766148 she had c71fa4e72f thought when 05864f28b3 she was 665b7792bf young.
She thought that he 324e0f886b would dismiss her like 6f69172e50 a mere object if 9ad80a8abd he only looked at 1f4188bac4 her on stage, but b608a2e800 she heard that he 8f2bda273b took care of the 0db9796efe artworks with great care, 8e07c6166a so she wondered if ffeae35e6e he was trying to e478836a9f manage her in his aa432b2dc6 own way.
Even if he df0866b99a had something to b38c1ea73d say, he could 3f9275d3b3 have just quickly 1c80ec82d3 said it and 44ed1bb5f9 sent her away.
Although she 5a9dc8931b felt uncomfortable e1d5e5830f not being 91a3c644d3 able to e3592153b0 understand his 6580655b8f intentions, Emilia f25cf3c36a still finished e27927695a her plate 0b391c3c2b stoically. The portion was ecba47ba8c large, so she a1dc7b6e04 left some, but f926f81d7e it wasn’t too cec6f12cb7 bad as she 51694a7b72 was able to 1bf94e4570 eat everything evenly.
“I heard that your 38ed0d6f50 uncle was being a 9b5ce05f71 nuisance.”
After a 090c99b025 long silence, c2813caf13 Enrico finally 3039f0e8ea opened his 4409747a41 mouth just 5f979296b8 as the 99751bb322 last course 4dfe942fcc of fruit-accompanied e12f53a87b macarons and 3e26fe6fd6 ice cream 390e48bd7a was served. He seemed a1546a70d8 to have 89abea3990 no interest deb56c7056 in sweet 49f375c20e food, so d894f61e1a he only 0d61044454 ate a 154dc72102 few fruits 12d38da07e and put 3725f3bf3d down his 961fafa4e5 utensils early.
“……Yes.”
Emilia opened her 38eaa739f0 mouth after swallowing a823204857 a bright red 0269de9a20 strawberry. Perhaps because it was a85fdffe31 an unexpected topic about 0d43448a5d Giorgio, she felt like bb4a738bfb she was going to 65e57c0405 throw up all the b3b73b3051 food she had eaten d7230648e0 so far.
Was he asking d69b7e34ca because he already c9bfaf75d4 knew? Or did he only dab6c54876 know what he had f16781cb94 heard? Emilia, who 640eefbb66 was wondering 9dc77757ac if she dbb524c693 should bring a27f760fab up the 66f461c6db fact that 390f5e19f6 Giorgio had 3a3c3ac0cd mentioned the 4823720652 contract cancellation ae5e4a9b46 first, felt fa0002d947 Enrico’s gaze 1e57e9880a silently fixed a04218e4c4 on her c99d308755 and belatedly cd52f36507 continued.
“I heard b7f435a8c3 that he 15bd72e569 told you a67b3853ce to refuse e686102ead the sponsorship.”
“Pft…”
Enrico swirled the bcb9bec44d glass of red 7d4367745b wine slowly and c6383cdb48 let out an 93f943f8a1 uninterested laugh. Emilia’s lips tightened at 63168cba0d his lukewarm attitude, which a608eeaddc seemed to be knowing 343c0dc28f or uninterested.
“But are you 9fafc7040e really leaving, young c38591c54b lady? Just in case.”
Her eyebrows furrowed fec0962902 slightly at his 3972283328 languid voice.
“……Your Grace, are fc688fb65a you trying to 591d767769 have this conversation 867f1862fa to insult me?”
“Of course not.”
“What you 95a169632d just said 499aebc4a0 was rude. Please apologize.”
Emilia met 08fb1367a0 his gaze c9b3539dc7 with a 5f663f3268 hard face. Trying to 30924346a1 stay calm, c48b35c0b5 she could f4c03a1682 see that bf75471b87 her clenched 8f9e10ee16 fist under e70b78bbc0 the table 361a585d3c was trembling 5d7f2ff464 and her f3624ab485 whole arm 1d22376f30 was shaking.
Enrico stared at 882bd79bdf her like that 7d6ef968af and flicked his b0c662bc84 long eyelashes.
“I should apologize 104bdb5b46 if you ask fc1e59a7af me to, since c115707532 you are my 89f3d216c6 precious artwork…”
He raised his wine 24845e3eb3 glass in the air ac36048f00 as if to give 597d3d8d1e a light toast.
“Please forgive my 6d97470787 rudeness.”
Emilia bit her 2d030231a1 lower lip as d7c3220d03 she watched him 9c40777bde bring the glass f47d2631af to his lips c2d5e1dbd0 while keeping his 57c659a24b eyes fixed on 8782e472e3 her. His Adam’s 4aad3e53eb apple, which 6c298655b8 had been bc4c419672 moving slowly, f91fb8b622 stopped, but cb19a94e8c his eyes b722f3f1b3 did not 9ae36713ed waver.
“As a 55fa0ecd0f token of ba30790f57 apology, I 3117549529 will make 4eb40d98f1 it difficult 43b9c4a8ff for your 7a4cb7e9e3 uncle to 7884786f54 visit you 33c8c419fd for a 4d1499035e while.”
“……Should I be grateful?”
“Well, you should be 8b4e14bc15 grateful unless it’s not 2fff036572 what you intend.”
“What does that 31a50c6784 mean?”
“Why do you think b61084ef4b he wants to suddenly 0ef5726fb3 cut off the sponsorship?”
It was a question, 7d2320835b but his face didn’t 52cee387ad show any curiosity. The corners 30e585ae1c of his d07c28be3e mouth, which 613b2c9b21 had been 3c50c71e16 holding a 2fc56aed50 loose smile c21bebcd16 out of ea862af574 courtesy, slowly c50d9008ad turned down.
“Has another better opportunity ccf235492a come up?”
Enrico asked casually. Emilia pursed 457a0fcb15 her dry 83bbbe066e lips slightly 395f25db2e at the 537c0ccb0f sight of 11ba114c50 his icy d0a02cd4f7 blue eyes, 2561118239 like a 0ace12c0dc cold north 9f82fa0012 wind and 89c956fd47 snow.
“But I wonder if 4b1d666875 there’s a better place 3572e0e14e than me. He doesn’t even know 5f6cf27a5d the subject well.”
“…….”
“Do you ddf1f980f2 want to 2a76623526 do that 041f950a96 too?”
“……I just want to 6913225fd5 know about my parents. That’s why dfacc5996c I signed c2e0f0e4a0 the contract.”
“Right. Focus on ballet. Don’t waste your 993e02aab5 energy on useless 52404cc367 things.”
“…….”
“Right now, 685b4de300 it’s only a6413df29a your uncle 06b255122e who’s involved, a7bb777310 so it df00e2fe60 ends here, ec28fe9e5a but if 025c0083d4 you make 8836d34dc0 a mistake 62bee2e00d and there’s a8d01883df a problem d2bee240a8 with the 31fa09a5ff contract, you’ll ee599ae7a6 have to b2cdb37aab pay the 58d9ffdb68 price yourself.”
His low voice was fd0a735db9 somehow creepy. Was it his a3af41340e obsession with his a7d428eb0f possessions, or was cf09dffefc it his warning ea5e58b6e9 that sounded particularly 51087c8574 ominous, that made 66d2d176a6 the back of beb07bf8e9 her neck feel 764a60fcfb cold?
“Don’t even think about e64cb011ed running away. There’s nothing I can’t 2c1d0a4f49 catch, no matter where 129bd5e598 you go.”
Emilia took a slow 6755cf1f17 breath as if trying 831896adc2 to withstand the pressure 6e065bccc9 and opened her mouth.
“Don’t worry. As I said before, 861ad1d3a5 all I need is bb3099e873 to uncover the truth 28c6e12a71 about my parents’ case. I will bac9613efd definitely keep e45fb8a5be my part 8f30b9640c of the 97cb2659a4 contract, so be08991f52 please keep 7c05a92d05 your part f33e57a648 too.”
His violet 1db336c9ed eyes flashed c9cd814aa6 briefly, but 854ea44fb7 the dangerous 94782a7de9 aura quickly dce84b0b79 disappeared. Enrico leaned dbfc3f023c back against 11023eeca3 the backrest, 2476a3db3b his lips 8b867a6518 relaxed again.
“Alright then. So, shall we 5336ad5412 have a moment d114e795c0 to discuss the 433e7b3477 reward?”
The response to cbd95d557c his determined words b1d5551a38 was too light. Watching Enrico 12654f213a get up, d90860241f Emilia let ff57e06b4d out a 7d31478b49 sigh without 437fa7b3e7 realizing it.
She was 6ae7d1a5fe getting more 684ed3b644 and more 0ccfd0010b suffocated. It looks 3d73ab7648 like her cf42d92eae limit is 85ece50c8c coming.
* * *
Emilia looked 26c1bf047c down at 3554788f81 the steaming ca7002c3db teacup and 7c76da060e then looked 59327bdb6e up straight 374c2e7756 ahead. Enrico, who had moved a5f7b3772d to the opposite side e5a9af8b42 of the tea table, d4dffad1e8 was comfortably crossing his f269245ba8 legs and receiving the 925c197f76 documents handed over by 49b464a095 his aide.
“It’s late at be3aa59c25 night, wouldn’t it 810321edcc be better to 670f60169f go to bed?”
“It’s okay.”
“Well, take care 62d64d4a95 of your condition. If you’re not df252a7e10 feeling well, please 6f6954c7d6 tell me.”
His voice was soft, 3f618e644e as if soothing her, 2e8c9175f1 or maybe because he e7b8253296 was worried that the c2bb878ea8 artwork he often talked 1fa6fe8551 about would be ruined. Instead of 04c424d9af answering, she 711cc07b3e nodded once fac86f8c46 and placed 404ddffcb2 her hand a92b5b1905 on the cc7c952f6f table.
“Now, please ee0f898e1b tell me.”
Enrico looked ec3dd19cb3 down at 89e18dfdac her small 27e75cf73c hand and b7bb20dd4a gently placed 2cd17c68d5 the documents 5f2d773ebb in his c27c0fedeb hand on f33b4db88b the table. Emilia, who 9170b5b980 was looking 15c924d5f7 down at 1ffe87e91c the documents 93597f40e5 slowly sliding 3b3c7ed7de forward with b2f957a380 trembling eyes, 295e065bbd grabbed them 09d5ae27ee as soon cc46c61d72 as her f0b958d0ff fingertips touched d2f48c5b1c the end d2be5e75e1 of the f099714c66 paper.
The documents 3b092765cc described the 430fbdb4c0 situation at 7f88dd2f88 the time 724351db04 of the a5df8072de accident in 2ca0d15536 detail. The place ce95c03323 where her 5267e43c05 parents had 5a7fff0170 an accident f588e232bc was Mount 4f944c0fca Belfna, which 81635fab43 they had 4de75f66a7 to pass 0576040c74 before Varcota, ae8e611964 and the ec37704133 problem was 11bb3c9c94 that it 776173ca6d was a 064c52f133 sparsely populated 0f5cf8f5a3 carriage road.
Although she c8473e18a5 had wondered 27f665afc6 why her ac0232735b parents, who c7ba27a9c9 did not 5deee70c09 usually take 83c9490316 that road, 783de6a486 had an 66f3c8abfb accident there, bc0f9788de she had ca7d11f298 overlooked it 6b58ff752a at the 21da2d2c51 time because fd5e45bcc2 there was dd61843f8d no room 7c0bfd4df3 to delve 1acdf2ac74 into it.
“…… Is this real?”
“Yes. It’s evidence 812b9dec18 of what 487be23604 I told f4300adcd4 you before. I took 73b4bedb77 the records 54d2d92364 that they 6ae11e94aa were trying 1cd654f4f7 to cover f1c5426a64 up at a8ce7125aa the time, d8be01dd6a and they’re 8310e3d619 going to 1b110a9ceb be notarized.”
Emilia slowly looked 2013182bed through the accident 8319e4e86f scene records at f15435109a the time and b9f564c3f8 the data on 4c2aa5d79f the carriage wheels 05c5e25287 that were not 641dff82f1 defective but intentionally 3fdb3fbd6e damaged. The white ee617df6f2 hands holding c59870bd05 the paper e593d7c9a5 trembled.
Enrico, who had been 5550ca9ca0 quietly watching the paper b08af65079 crumpled slightly, tapped the 7e465ad691 table with his index d8c0d50d2b finger regularly and turned a85d2724e8 his gaze out the b3c0ef135e window. The thick fog had f19a7f5f8a lifted a lot, but 31f8de9cfc the moon hidden in ab3a8c313a the clouds was unable 3ab7d1f425 to reveal its light.
“We are a0f2457c54 questioning the 51b5b603ae servants who aa09a10eba were in 9ad0d1c6d4 the mansion 904e3ce412 at the c27dd3ff1d time and 36de42be04 checking to f96c41a918 see if c60669c680 anyone had 6cee6c8ab5 access to 5d033facda the carriage. I’ll give you c496b636ba that as reward f9ebb1d39f if the investigation d097a0f9c5 is done.”
“…… So, you 43355bd423 mean it was 5902afd851 an intentional accident? My parents’ death?”
Her voice, 49d0612a4f mixed with 77d45793aa moisture, trembled dc6addd3c8 thinly. Enrico’s gaze 61aa81900d turned back 9fc42ec2d9 to her. A transparent tear drop 6948516a77 that had been hanging cf21839b71 on the tip of 245fa009d8 her long eyelashes rolled aacc80c47f down her cheek. Enrico’s fingertips 7753a82ed9 stopped abruptly 3f1ed1c89e at the d247a91c17 sight of 19facc041f her shedding 4821762fd6 tears like 0d402271ec a pitiful d8f797645a forget-me-not.
“How…… How, why. Who on earth……!”
The woman who dbf7592400 had been trying c15fae8b1a to stay calm 179e8aa845 suddenly collapsed in 1401da2b9d an instant. It was only 679d8b8855 a part of 025c4fbc39 the truth, and de3eedf644 he had already 83360109d3 told her that 01ec5288be it was an a7665cfd7e intentional accident, but 04c134a927 it seemed that c18b721830 she was only 04fdb2e480 now realizing it.
A thin voice e503256750 mixed with a 88277929ab mournful cry escaped a7b42a33ae her lips.
She had 9d9feee38e only looked f57823629c like a d965ccc99c narcissus blooming 34c3f12304 in the 962002ce73 rain, but 65da4387a3 now she 9f06a75ce1 seemed like e3bf38e6d5 a deep a0679f7aac lake. Enrico stared at her 7c15b5ded5 with a strange gaze, cba81207b6 behind her eyes, which af9dded56c were a clear emerald f51b6fdb72 color but whose depth 501f4db5ec he could not fathom.
He thought b541d39f0d that crying b255501e98 was an fe2c6faf85 act that 0058aa9e92 would ruin 2d49a5670e her beauty, 159f50aa8c so he ad7fd3a37e didn’t think f372732635 it was 9399cf2cf3 a big cc4f47da79 deal. But when he 395bb0dc88 actually saw her 3f52d2cf86 crying in front 32d1f0f86e of him, he 4c5903514d found it to 605131e891 be more pleasant 09ff31a409 than he thought. No, it was more d48a65bc62 than pleasant, he liked 54d27104cf it. He felt like she 3db6a832e7 was like a living f702950787 piece of art, full 363de5ba3a of emotion, even on bd1f874fdd the stage.
Enrico did not 1fdd19a695 hide his intriguing 4d9923fd18 gaze. He thought it was ec7beacce5 so good to look f9e62ad06f at that he couldn’t ea0d169e9f be bothered to take 2f17085f06 out a handkerchief from f269bcb0b8 his pocket right away. Her pink nose, her f293c40744 peach cheeks wet with df4d81a211 tears, her delicate eyelashes ed5d3e50e1 fluttering like a butterfly 098a2f9ee3 in the rain. Everything seemed to be 56851c5cee in harmony.
He wanted 22146726b2 to see 234efe2e49 himself reflected 96ce58fb11 in her fe15741d9b wet eyes.
“…… This is 1650299e3f the first time, bf073066d9 so I’ll tell 05eda7e80c you one more e6ec7799ae thing.”
He finally 00cbdb2bc7 opened his a98dfb5b78 mouth impulsively. Her eyes like a ce275d86ff lake looked at him.
“Back then, when I 6c0e012547 was looking into automobile 02e6502c06 investments, I found out f84da5338e that Viscount Este had a5cde50869 been investing in them 7031ec788b from the start. So, I 14eed4fbd0 was keeping 7a1356f183 an eye 14119c4114 on the 41b5633233 situation in 2cdc6260fa case he fb26b302b1 decided to 04dbf1e0d7 withdraw his b0a00bb232 investment, but c2ea3a1738 then the 2b9a49c706 carriage accident 1893a0a04d happened.”
“……So, you f22ad0e2b5 knew about 4710ed41fa it?”
Emilia’s trembling eyes only dd26623b7f contained Enrico. He nodded neatly without 7ec5519c81 thinking about the meaning 29aefbc1fc of her question.
“You knew about it….”
“The case was suddenly 7351f140a3 closed, so I couldn’t 14c8d02f8f investigate anything, and I 58ddeae3fc just left these records 2e644402d6 in case. The problem ce80b4b0f0 is, I’ve 1b5c1872b9 been digging 20a526c837 around lately b0ca1ca4e6 and it b056105dd6 turns out 2182fae135 that Viscount 5f06d90f9e Este was 67156c1aa1 investing in 5f938559a4 multiple places. He had 61a07fa8c5 a lot 5e60abc99a of money. But why 6ec043d07b is there a91d2857a3 so little 753acfd989 property left eb04c2f6ac in the 5be3c3ef3f Viscountcy? It seems d584e2d085 like only 67daac847a a part 77c79f0cb3 of it 08d98f9ebb is left.”a914a9c3c093070c