The blinding light of midday slowly passed. The audition, which had taken a brief lunch break after announcing the results, was resuming.

“Whew− I’m nervous again.”

“Try drinking some water.”

The role auditions were conducted quickly with both existing and new members, and among them were those who had been judging earlier. The sound of pointe shoes hitting the wooden floor filled the room, along with the piano accompaniment.

Emilia gently patted the back of Juliana, who was taking deep breaths with a tense expression. Juliana, who made it onto the list of regular members, was overjoyed, but her tension from the morning auditions intensified in the afternoon role auditions.

“Just do it as you practiced.”

Emilia whispered softly and handed her the water bottle beside her. At that moment, the piano stopped and those who were judging stepped to the side.

“Good work. We will now proceed with the next order! Juliana Perilli, Mandra Are……”

Juliana, who was reaching out with trembling hands, abruptly stood up at the sound of their names being called in order. Emilia looked at Juliana’s back as she walked away, sending a concerned gaze, wondering if she would be alright. Then, a chilly voice was heard from behind.

“Seriously, how can she do ballet while being so nervous? Her talent is mediocre, yet she’s lucky too.”

It was Eva Fabera. She was one of the 12 members who made it as a regular member, and she had a look on her face that showed it hurt her pride to be in the same position as Juliana.

“Perhaps mediocre is referring to you?”

Emilia muttered indifferently.

“What? What did you just say?”

“If you didn’t hear it, then never mind.”

“This……. Did you really ask because you couldn’t hear?”

At the agitated whisper, people waiting nearby looked over. They seemed displeased with the noise disrupting their concentration, as it was important to observe how others danced. Even the brazen Eva couldn’t endure those gazes and shut her mouth tight, glaring at Emilia.

Regardless of whether Eva was staring or not, Emilia gazed at Juliana, who was earnestly taking the test. After the designated choreography ended, there was no trace of tension on Juliana’s face as she followed the choreography shown by the lead choreographer. The corners of Emilia’s well-defined lips curled up slightly.

Eventually, the piano accompaniment stopped again, and the next order was called.

“Eva Fabera, Emilia Este, Monica Bert……”

Emilia made eye contact with Juliana, who was coming in wiping her sweat, and calmly walked to the designated spot. Seeing her, Eva’s brow furrowed slightly.

She thought Emilia would obviously audition for a lead role, so she couldn’t understand why she applied for the ensemble. New members could participate in role auditions, but only existing members and principals could audition for lead roles, so envy and irritation stained Eva’s blue eyes.

“Begin.”

After a moment, the piano began to play. Smiles immediately bloomed on the faces of Eva and Emilia as they began dancing to the lead choreographer’s cue. Her movements, lively as if she were truly enjoying the situation like the characters in the play, were very light.

The movements weren’t very difficult, but they weren’t easy either. The judges, who were watching intently as every fingertip and toe tip moved in time with the beat, nodded their heads and wrote down their thoughts on the papers in front of them.

The lead choreographer, who had been standing and directly demonstrating the choreography, approached the assistant director and muttered softly.

“This is unexpected. I thought she would audition for a lead role.”

“I know. She’s definitely good. But……”

“She stands out too much.”

The gazes of the two were directed at Emilia. Her every movement was flawless, naturally drawing attention. Her eye contact was good, and even the spacing of her movements was satisfactory. As Emilia spun gracefully, people’s gazes gathered one by one.

“Isn’t her hang time quite long?”

“Yeah. But it’s not like she’s off-beat either.”

“She looks really light. She must have good agility.”

Even the small murmurs of the participants, as if they had momentarily forgotten it was an audition, could be heard. It was the dance they had practiced too, but somehow it felt different.

It was as if Emilia was the lead and those dancing with her became the supporting roles. It seemed as though all the attention and spotlight were being poured solely on her, to the extent that even those dancing together could feel that atmosphere.

Eventually, the smile on Eva’s face, who had been dancing brightly, stiffened slightly. It hurt her pride, but this was why she didn’t want to audition together. Of all things, they had to be in the same order. Emilia must have done this on purpose, expecting to be the center of attention.

‘Detestable thing……’

But regardless of Eva’s burning heart, the piano performance continued, and the gazes gathered on Emilia wouldn’t fall away.

“Should we tell her to just audition for a lead role?”

“That would be−”

“What are you saying?”

Then, the director, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the assistant director and the lead choreographer, cut off the conversation, seeming displeased.

“If she applied for it, that’s the end of it. I’d prefer no exceptions be made.”

“Director. We have made such allowances before.”

“It’s not a common occurrence, is it?”

“That’s true, but……”

“So let’s be thorough starting this year. As the ballet company is receiving a large investment, I will not tolerate any discord.”

At the director’s resolute words, the lead choreographer smacked his lips regretfully. The assistant director stroked his mustache ostentatiously and turned his head away from the director, who was looking down at him. Emilia’s dance was still beautiful, her expression not faltering in the slightest despite what must have been shortness of breath.

As she stepped out of the carriage, the wind that blew with the setting sun slapped her cheeks coldly. The place she had rushed to before taking her luggage from the dormitory to check the house that Enrico had practically dumped on her was a mansion that looked like it had been recently built with neatly stacked ivory bricks.

Although it was a single-story building, the exterior of the mansion looked wider than she thought, and Emilia frowned slightly in embarrassment.

‘It’s nice that there aren’t any nearby mansions since it’s a bit on the outskirts, but……’

It was still burdensome. The price she wanted to receive was just the truth, but receiving this kind of material support made her feel more strongly that it was a relationship bound by sponsorship.

“You’ve arrived? I thought you wouldn’t want me to come and escort you, so I was waiting here.”

The street lamp placed in front of the mansion created another shadow. Emilia, who had been looking only at the exterior of the mansion without even thinking of going inside, opened her eyes wide when Fabio the secretary suddenly appeared before her.

Secretary Fabio took off his hat, politely greeted her, and then politely pointed to the side of the mansion.

“Duke Michele wishes to see you. The carriage has been parked over there.”

“……Right now?”

“Yes. He said that once you check the mansion, you should immediately coordinate exactly when the transaction will begin.”

Shouldn’t that be done on the day of the contract? Although she was in a position where she had to visit Enrico’s mansion often because of the contract, she didn’t like him popping up like this out of the blue.

‘I’ll have to tell him to refrain from dropping by unexpectedly while coordinating.’

Emilia sighed and turned her back.

“You don’t need to check the interior?”

“I just came to see what kind of place it is, so I don’t need to see the inside.”

“I see. I have prepared everything so that you don’t need to separately equip anything, but if there is anything you need, please let me know.”

Emilia’s brow furrowed more at Secretary Fabio’s smooth words. Somehow, it felt like the debts she didn’t want to receive kept piling up.

The place Emilia was guided to was the dining room. The table, where no one was present, was set with all sorts of food.

In the middle of the table, there were nicely roasted salmon pies, thick cuts of meat that looked to be of good quality, and a fresh salad with white asparagus, in such large quantities that it seemed as if more guests were coming.

“Why are you doing this?”

Emilia covered one ear and turned around sharply at the sudden whisper in her ear. She hadn’t sensed any presence, but Enrico was already standing close behind her, looking down at her.

A soft touch grasped the elbow of Emilia, who stepped back with a startled expression. Enrico’s eyes, the ends slightly lowered, curved narrowly as he watched her look at his face and hand in turn, fluttering her eyelashes.

“Are you waiting for me to seat you?”

“You’re mistaken. I was just, since Your Grace wasn’t here−”

“My, that’s not it? Then let’s go with me wanting to seat you.”

As if he had no interest in Emilia’s intentions from the beginning, Enrico cut off her words and moved the hand that had been holding her elbow as if sliding it. Her soft, small hand was caught in his large hand with prominent veins.

Startled, Emilia tried to pull her hand away. But before that, strength was firmly applied to his hand, pulling her towards his body. Her nose stopped precariously before touching his broad chest.

The top buttons of his shirt, which had no tie, were comfortably undone, revealing his bare skin. For a moment, her mind became hazy from his heavy yet soft body scent.

What kind of situation was this? His other hand was placed on the shoulder of the girl whose body had stiffened in great perplexity, and soon, as if winding up a doll, his languid touch twisted to change her direction.

Emilia’s mind, which had been blank for a moment, returned. In response to her gesture of shaking off her shoulder as if the unnecessary contact was uncomfortable, he seated her on the chair without any reaction, as if dealing with a squirming ant.

“Your Grace!”