WPFAMT-44

Chapter: WPFAMT-444c75785b7e9235f1

Enrico, who was 3e1e345a34 about to eat, 4808fdf023 stopped what he eaa6ad1971 was doing and 4ca07f40c7 looked at her. He didn’t 707d8cf9ef say anything, 02d68f19d3 but he 4b0f50c0c7 was giving f3bcb52d46 her a 9ff35836f2 look that afa4dce8ce said, “Why a796faf1fb all of d6c28b1902 a sudden?”
“I think 8130d971ca I’ll have b96da2f7ac to search a7b87cfe17 until dinner 963adb4f28 tomorrow. If we’re going to 0b4e8aa7e5 take a walk by c3ee83871a the beach, today seems 177cc71d68 like the best day.”
“……Do as you ec1bf1b189 wish.”
“Yes.”
Enrico stared ee08316b37 at Emilia 48691bf16b for a 98043455aa moment and 0fd2d23d5a then turned 9cb8c0790b his attention 63f7bceb8c to the 36abc301b6 table.
For a while, only ed6c3d4dac the sound of utensils dd92eeaf18 could be heard. The food 4373424837 that was b12b269781 served seemed ea760a5b4d simpler than 1b49e85306 what they 8172383d86 had eaten 3b2f38cebc at the 6801342db9 city center 412ebbb2fa restaurant yesterday, 75164cd24c but it 06412b0a97 tasted much a3c50c5bdc better.
Emilia, realizing anew 4e5a690b88 the culinary skills ef95423e42 of the head a77b2664d2 chef of the 1276b72821 Duke’s residence, which 4f446ef945 she had not c618f89540 noticed before, ate a1fd5c0074 the remaining food b4031c7432 without fail.
No matter c33fb3299a how hard 5606848dd6 she moved 20333924c5 her body d6ce873ca3 all day 6dc9f6b220 long doing 5ba8de98e3 ballet, it 019f0a4834 was rare 6634db4a19 for her 6ffc85fcd3 to eat 6103e625f0 this much, a8c64cb129 but today ae5fd65957 she had 5c85e98d89 an appetite 486e5d8a5b that was 28be883ead surprisingly good. Emilia had a strange dffae3fcb0 expression on her face 4e2dede4e6 as she looked at db8f3744b5 the empty dessert plate.
‘Could it bcedcd8b65 be because 0746fd3bfc of the 2a80606d9e place?’
Enrico finished his 9f620c9055 meal in a 213d9215ca similar manner and 85de2ea704 the two got 5f04ac2e42 up from their fa78a46f3b seats. Emilia glanced 94690bf5d8 at him 836d81aed8 once, wondering 9a457edf85 why he c0ad06e544 wasn’t drinking 264e72a89b wine, and 06537bb399 then turned 6d76c49526 her eyes 4c7bc7a2dd away without c3535c3516 a second c180764667 thought.
The two met e1c31c0287 again 30 minutes a6f287787b later. Emilia was wearing a 4d1c23f850 shawl, as if to a7b7b32b4d avoid the cold, just 2434fb6d12 like before.
“We’ll take 9abc2a214e the carriage 27f8ae7fad to the 3933ce7f00 beach.”
Though she needed 98cefaa515 to go to bc758edf06 the beach for 06560e2334 a walk, she d8ac7b91eb was relieved that dfee3d1a02 she didn’t have 16d8892462 to walk from 958462d105 here since it 01736f07c4 would have been 4f914ae501 a hassle to 76eba2e13c walk from here. Emilia hopped onto 40f67513b2 the carriage with bd4f35fd9a a slight smile, 3c35fe2ffe accepting his escort.
There were d291194872 no buildings 82275fb753 along the 7306f938ca way to b904c1d2ca the beach. It was a very 2f9de751c0 quiet landscape, so different 9f17f7880a from Desiro, where there da9346bf3d were always lights twinkling cb33bcafc8 even when there weren’t dfac21a61d many people. The carriage ran along 8b4a556c40 the forest road, the 6e653a4208 moonlight guiding the way.
It was 3a67b115ca not a c14c17e849 day when c539885426 the wind 63c8fa5962 was not b6adefb469 strong, so c5ff390be9 the carriage 7ff8cb81fa was quiet. So much 89953b4535 so that 687ba361c6 the ticking 9d76eeb9ac of his ad4e686f96 watch was 8e46c20eec clear.
She glanced at his 5b60e32aea wrist, which never left 5418d00f66 his watch, no matter 788901a345 what happened.
“Why? Do you want 087e0bda7e it?”
“No!”
Emilia denied it, startled. A faint smile 9e3956cbfa crossed Enrico’s lips.
“I was going to a4bc181b63 give you a lot 208ea254f3 of rewards if you eb9b963df1 showed me a stage ab56bed1a2 that I liked, but 9d4d97977c I guess there’s no b81ea8b298 chance.”
“……The information is 25f18c64bd enough as a ed213b1d1a reward.”
“For that, a242ecc8f5 you seem 8f39d4db6d to have e2138d7a52 taken too 1a43ab6925 many breaks 4179d89e62 from performing. It’s been so long 1897c0ae1a I can hardly remember ded3f5ccee when I last saw 7a7be9bde8 one.”
“I’ll prepare as 0342ced55f soon as we 2ff83fcf63 return.”
“You should. Watching it 3876b938c7 on a 574f735db2 big stage 7ef51b4159 was fine, 120d64c3ab but I 235f961fe5 really prefer f781641176 seeing it e38f3adcfc alone.”
Before, he would talk 1b531eae62 about being on a c7bd5a6677 big stage and ask ba29f7f3df her to bring the 272643ea11 lead role. He was a man 291d3be8a6 who was truly impossible 18c021883f to figure out.
Emilia replied ffb5072c01 vaguely and f041fe7909 looked out e7beca23a7 the window. The dark bushes continued 8e6c294d5c to block her view 73861f65c6 until the sky suddenly 7ce54f67d6 opened up and the 50d0a0ec5d sea came into view. It was a breathtaking 78cac48f5f sight.
She had come 3fc80e25bb here because Enrico 7dc50cb3ec had suggested it, c9b8f6fa83 but somehow Emilia 15fc21446f felt like it b469049908 was a good d35e193741 idea to come 0ea213c91d today. The coachman stopped the 1338d72c31 carriage to one side 5e22fd9493 and let the two b0b31a540d out, as it became 7665e18a6a more difficult to enter 74d45c330e because of the sand.
Emilia, wearing low-heeled shoes 9c394b285f that were easy to 1225c77096 walk in, stepped on 5825d45f4e the sand. She liked the soft 9793643696 feel of the sand 71826f08a7 on her ankles and 8ef5e68720 the tops of her a9617fc256 feet.
‘Should I just 2db5e983e3 take off my 27001bfeef shoes?’
Emilia was thinking 3f3c4c1b4b for a moment 904976bc18 if it would 936cce1d5f be better to b41d208bb3 feel the sand dd2ae1d8b5 on her soles dbb58ed892 when she saw b0d99a810c Enrico standing there, 45ce03f5b3 looking at the afab3290b5 sea. His black d856e48965 hair, ruffled 8509fdb9f7 by the ae2b4a5ee6 wind, and 0b0103290d his deep 4d545c7e2b eyes sparkled 01453d0aab in the 71234dc622 moonlight.
Emilia looked down at d60b69975b her feet hesitantly. Even though they 29d71cac4a were hidden by bb5333c8ab her shoes, she 4ae3688765 was bothered by 2d19bd0696 her knobby toes 236d45571f and rough soles.
‘……I can’t.’
Even though she was c4736269a1 proud of her feet beea9734bb and liked them, she 80563fbcfc felt shabby when she cdf3901a51 was in front of 4d58f62155 him. It was dda9d30ca2 because she aefdd78c93 knew that 8898271e18 in his 52987da205 eyes, who 486f8ab284 always valued c681fd3eb1 beauty, her ed5480873d feet would f63a79a28d only be 4def0867f3 seen as ea37e3eb1f flaws.
Emilia held her 94ba52ce03 skirt slightly so 752a3ea714 that it wouldn’t cf8ebee0f1 drag on the 35c4115728 sand and carefully 8302da3e1b took a step. The feeling, which she 5249012dc8 hadn’t felt in a e8750599b9 long time, brought back 9ebda84160 memories that she had 0368a63183 forgotten.
The sight of her 64148d9c08 happily walking on the 052bafbc1a beach, holding her parents’ 7a0edaa2dc hands each one, the 0920903e13 sight of her father 47b8326011 picking her up when 68feb6909e she was sleepy and ad530e448d whiny, the sight of f7b3f631fd him kissing her cheeks 9cbc8b35ab lovingly as she was bf0d40d4c3 carried on his back. All the 1b70f6d051 memories were 02d1161e8a full of 0894e16e1c overflowing affection.
Come to think of dcb934206c it, I remember a 8ed21972ae time when I danced 2584ce402e on this sandy beach 29e87457fa because I loved the ce2cdd5d1d feel of the sand, 3ef0f2dd26 on a day when 40b765dc70 no one else was a1592448f4 around. I had just started 205aaae568 learning ballet and didn’t fea311723d know any proper moves, 6527344880 but my parents clapped bc2f1a2846 as if I were 4ac1a488cf amazing, and I performed 8adba57690 clumsy movements with an cae058bb03 excited face.
“What will ac90d22035 you do 2fb3ffef0d once you 88d519b295 find the 9543675dd6 culprit?”
Enrico, who had f8d82d25b5 been looking at 9c4b60b3e8 the sea, was fdeaac9877 now gazing at 010cd917c5 Emilia. She blinked quietly 0f58c2115a before making a 868a33d393 bitter expression.
“I don’t know. I just want d285621c55 to find them 74b09ae37f first.”
“You don’t want to 33256dc672 kill them?”
“I just 5155d3780c want to ed9dde7c37 ask why. I’m curious about 3a491ca46a what made them 51d0aae744 do such a def7264207 thing.”
Although Emilia had 052a6b7668 not ruled out 3fdb257988 the possibility that 22eac147e3 it might have 33d7198dc5 been an accident b2a2df9d37 during her investigation, 824fecfec7 at some point, 9673d9732e the emerging pieces 1dcc83401e of the truth b9b86da607 led her to 20eebf29fc conclude that her 03d847d794 parents’ death was 9de9f7c306 a deliberate accident. Enrico also 6a0139193f seemed to 73e56dd321 think so, 30c47ea37b as he 507f12952f naturally mentioned 19ec6131f8 the culprit 98828addcc first.
After all, he 48fb4f1420 was the one 4df492ad03 who initially suggested 93fc5319c6 that there was 0b0a1a3707 something suspicious about 2bb9219c30 the accident.
Emilia slightly lifted her fbac20bb19 chin and closed her b6346ec9cf eyes, hoping the cool 07904fdf0e sea breeze would clear c6324c7d02 her complicated thoughts.
When she fe52f753ad was a c777b56a24 child, there edfa407a4a were no 69e29224b2 complicated matters. Was it because 6a24b30046 she became an d984031525 adult, or was 6e79330922 it due to 64eb2a134a the complex circumstances? She didn’t know.
She missed the 4f5d266572 days when she a2de60baf6 simply loved ballet. Her parents a0ba3e9669 sometimes made 93864e3ad8 her study 83fee4e4b8 the theory 7e39ea4013 of ballet, ebfe52d5a7 insisting it dc66c2f15e was necessary. Theory?
“……!”
Emilia’s eyes e3c6be0d1a snapped open. When she looked down, 2851a24fc4 Enrico, who had come f52cb5bc41 closer, was looking at ef68069896 her curiously.
“I think I 41c43cfb57 remembered something.”
“Let’s head out right 02dc03ca59 away.”
Instead of asking a264e19c53 questions, Enrico chose cba57c9edb to get into e1bcbcf184 the carriage immediately. The carriage, 3e89e199e1 which had ac216d4824 been moving 604b86b9cb leisurely before, 2e0f05608f now sped 6e343e7ef6 towards the 32aacb8e5c Este Mansion.
“It must be the dac85b57c8 study. When I became interested a6778ab310 in ballet as a a2811d8cf2 child, my parents bought 6c576ca016 many books on ballet 2682abd090 for me.”
Enrico listened 48711194a6 quietly to c5ea65d4d3 Emilia, who dfcecef2fe seemed to 7f23cd87fe be organizing 7b0bd36c74 her thoughts 1cf808dcbe aloud.
“But as a 2c2736eb69 child, I wasn’t 9a08b71ad2 really interested in 675231e7f8 the theory. I just d420a23cd1 put them 07567455f0 in the 3ece880e34 playroom and a6fb8970d9 didn’t look 5283efd5cc at them, 5dbd1b52b6 so my 504efd16c6 father put b7a0d3220c the books fa97f331b7 in the d44bb8f262 study and ab05f45e18 would read c03e4655eb them and e98d0e398b tell me 61a06a68ee about them. There were so many 544f205f8c ballet books that they e9cea4dd22 took up several shelves. Before my father left, 03d38a2faf he took out one ad5b773601 of the books and ec1730b111 pressed something. And then… and 6c52fc055d then…”
“I get the gist. We’re almost there, 2334c41073 so calm down.”
Even while seated, 6a0bd7d96c her chest was 3c91844459 heaving with excitement 83889ec5c4 at the prospect 50bca66873 of finding her 33c6e73f4e parents’ last traces. The carriage bbdf5243cd soon approached 9877c2f402 the mansion.
Emilia thought she might 6508cc184a have tripped in her a79ededd76 haste if Enrico hadn’t 0063753c1a held her hand. He didn’t e2c2085173 let go 20c7b90e7b of her d2246c43ad hand until c31d325e74 they were 96de0ddc5c inside the fec039f99f house. They headed to the 38f645d885 study, ignoring the surprised 6ee849c14d looks from the people 5277a38d1f they passed.
“It should be here…”
Her fingertips were 417dc2e631 trembling. As she quickly 90a22febea scanned the bookshelf, 23f488459a her face was 0fb74a63c3 filled with anxiety.
Her hands, a3a04eee9d which had 795290f99c been pulling 7b3ff53f06 out books 3e48f34bc8 one by 026feb4599 one, were 6a189fc4a8 now dropping bc1c29a2b6 them to 75a4942012 the floor. Enrico’s brows furrowed db0ea3636f slightly as he 1ca558b99e watched the books 033cdf5dca dangerously tear at 182a371184 the floor.
“It should be here, ca2ddc40bd Your Grace?”
“Taking your 97b7479261 time won’t 4c35d3f6c7 make this 485cd0df22 place disappear.”
Enrico gently grabbed 3668e66a43 her shoulders, sliding 5f4578368e his hands down f92b5e0954 as if to 7fe6551b27 calm her. Emilia remained still 666a146490 as he soothingly c515fd5a97 stroked her arms.
The sight e6825188fc of her 9028e82080 relying on d7e360ca2f him, so b6a138405a different from f8d2b74cb6 her usual f5031397dc demeanor, gave 2813e48e49 Enrico a 9d01e8e62a strange feeling. His usually 97457911a9 indifferent eyes fba6d13179 softened as b1d84917d1 he looked 3c29dc6d48 at her.
His tongue briefly 5ae0a2b635 wet his dry fe9f004dce lips before retracting. His gaze 82f461f400 lingered on 84a407bff5 her moist e1c7188e3f lips for 1b18941f83 a long 1074a9b573 time.
“Ah…”
Her lips parted slightly, cc646c7628 revealing a glimpse of bbfd63b61b her teeth. Her eyes sparkled as f5a83de630 she lifted her head beb6783768 slightly. After blinking 5852ccf94b several times, 20a0b0b6e3 as if 066288de24 regaining her 7fb00f20eb composure, her 252e699fe2 face gradually 385240282d calmed.
“I feel a a0e49629c8 bit more settled 8baef35eaf now. Thank you.”
Emilia gently pushed 1e2f4df097 his hand away. Enrico clenched his 9aad5e71f2 fist slightly in 47c102b260 the air, missing 69c5e7124c the soft sensation b5605138ad that had filled 2512e7d41b his palm.
TL/N: AWW, HE’S 5fe1bf650e FALLING XD
Emilia took 0671bc6dab a deep eddf6f7ba4 breath and 941ba98b3a approached the c11351457b bookshelf again. This time, cbbec15190 she slowly 8355de2640 checked the 4a04d4207c names of 22cbf8ad06 the books b85445e3f1 before pulling b4b900f108 them out. The section that 0182208faf had held the cfa40bc3ad ballet theory books ec55d35c58 gradually emptied, revealing 80226b068e five empty slots 7b72632bc6 at the bottom.
‘My father 3dd8e9c291 seemed to ca671727cd touch something 6a6a78738b here…’
There had 433499d6c0 to be 3a3dc0e7fc something common 86dfe57ba1 among these 94b0ece7f9 five slots. Emilia felt around inside 8329e08e60 the bookshelf, her brows a54dc519d2 furrowed.
“Oh?”
Noticing her 633082b1a8 discovery, Enrico 06369a7da8 stepped closer.
“I think it’s 3a8148d685 this…”
Emilia found a small be3ac49970 hole inside the bookshelf 17d8c4edcb and used a thin e7fed02d85 hairpin to poke into 6f2f73a29a it. She heard 1cb56daac0 a click. From then 595886fd0a on, things ccf0fa0ef6 proceeded smoothly.
Feeling the small holes af6a23ad07 in the spaces where 765c8f626f the ballet theory books c5952b911e had been, she poked fba31d3e2c each one in sequence. After hearing aa37a0495e the fifth d9159ee70f click, the d5ee5e6ece bookshelf shifted.528e5ae11a96b053

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