I’ve been displeased from the start. How dare this youngster act as my equal! It’s preposterous! When a superior speaks, one should meekly say ‘yes,’ but every time, she opens her eyes wide and responds with such directness. No wonder she can’t get married, being so assertive!

“Director, your words are too harsh!”

“Choreographer, let it be. Let’s see how much filth she spews.”

“W-what? Filth? Are you calling me filth−”

It was utter chaos. The dancers were murmuring, and the superiors were busy breaking up the fight. Just as I was wondering how this confusion would end, the door burst open loudly.

Bang−! With a sound like the door might break, an old man appeared. Despite his abundant white hair and wrinkled face, the old man seemed very sprightly, thumping his cane on the ground as he strode in.

“The, the theater owner?”

I thought I’d seen him somewhere before, it seems he was the theater owner I’d seen in the newspaper. Emilia turned her head from the enraged theater owner to the suddenly quiet judges.

Director Carlo pushed aside the chief choreographer who was blocking his way and came forward, almost bowing.

“Theater owner! What brings you here?”

“Is this a marketplace?”

“I apologize. It seems our voices got quite loud while educating a subordinate.”

As if proving his thick skin, Director Carlo naturally glanced at Deputy Director Silvia with an embarrassed expression. The theater owner, who had been staring at him, trembled his cheek and ground his teeth with an indignant face.

“You’re not in a position to educate anyone, Director.”

“What? What do you mean? If not me, then who…”

“I mean, how dare you raise your voice when you can’t even conduct yourself properly!”

Surprised by his sudden words, Director Carlo widened his eyes and raised his voice.

“What do you mean I can’t conduct myself properly? Where did such baseless rumors come from!”

As if exasperated by Director Carlo’s reaction, the theater owner let out a hollow laugh and beckoned to the employee who had followed him in. The employee quickly handed one of the papers he was holding to Director Carlo.

Looking suspiciously between the employee and the paper, Director Carlo lowered his eyes with a disgruntled expression.

“It’s a dismissal notice. The reason is written there, so read it yourself.”

“D-dismissal notice? This is absurd! What possible reason could you have for doing this to me? I’m being wronged…”

Director Carlo, who had been shouting after only reading the dismissal part, froze as he saw the reason written below.

“Eva Fabera. You come out too.”

“…Pardon? Did you just call me?”

Calling Eva? At this timing? Emilia felt like she knew what was happening. Eva, who had been clutching her chest with an anxious face, was pushed forward by the dancers standing around her.

“Come closer.”

The theater owner clicked his tongue briefly at Eva, who was standing far away. Eva, looking completely different from the person who had been so excited earlier, shrank her shoulders. The theater owner, after placing Eva near Director Carlo who had turned to stone after seeing the dismissal notice, gestured as before.

The employee held out a paper to Eva, who had turned deathly pale. As she shook her head jerkily, the employee stoically placed the paper directly in her hand and stepped back. The paper fluttered like it was being blown by the wind. Eva slowly raised her trembling hand with a face that showed she didn’t want to look.

“Gasp…!”

Eva put her hand to her mouth and widened her eyes. The dancers who had been quietly watching began to murmur in confusion.

“Don’t tell me Eva is being fired too?”

“What on earth is going on? Does anyone know?”

The coaches and choreographers were also watching the situation with stunned faces. The only one who remained calm was Deputy Director Silvia.

Seeing her reaction made it feel even more apparent. It was surprising how the theater owner had intervened to the point of coming in during the audition based on whatever report he had received. Emilia looked back and forth between Eva and Director Carlo in puzzlement.

“I, I’ve been wronged! This must surely be someone’s false accusation! Who said I was meeting with Eva? Do you have any evidence?”

“Director! How can you say that out loud!”

“Be quiet! If I don’t explain this right now, I’ll just end up being humiliated in front of everyone, and unlike you, I’m a person with a social reputation!”

“W-what did you say?!”

Eva shouted with an indignant face. Director Carlo, as if he didn’t care about Eva, approached the theater owner and pleaded as if he was truly wronged.

“Theater owner, this is really not true! After all the years I’ve dedicated here, how can you cast me aside like this!”

“When I established this place, I made this clear. I don’t mind personal sponsorships, but I said I would ruthlessly expel anyone if even the slightest scandal circulated within the theater.”

“That’s…”

“I’ve repeatedly emphasized this to all senior managers, as you know. Especially you, Director, you’ve been here for a long time, so you should know better than anyone, yet you dare to have an affair with a ballet member in my theater!”

“That’s why I’m saying we need to clarify this. How can you trust words without any evidence! We have no relationship!”

“You’re shameless to the end. How many witnesses are there! How careless were you to be caught like that! Do you know where I just came from? I came from the newspaper office! They showed me the article they’re going to publish tomorrow, and I was so appalled!”

Director Carlo, who had been speaking shamelessly, shut his mouth tight. If he had come from the newspaper office, it was understandable that the theater owner would rush here, if only to resolve this issue immediately.

Eva sank to the ground with a dazed face. The faces of the two people who had been so arrogant until just now changed in an instant to look like they might die at any moment.

“Both of you, pack your things and leave this place immediately. This is a restricted area for outsiders.”

Thud, Director Carlo also seemed to lose strength in his legs, sinking to his knees weakly.

The audition resumed as soon as the two were dragged out by the security guards on the theater owner’s orders.

Deputy Director Silvia proceeded with the audition smoothly, with a face more composed than anyone else’s, and somewhat relieved. The rest, except Emilia, barely finished their auditions in the midst of the chaotic atmosphere.

And that was just yesterday.

Emilia came out of her room with a tired face, donning a blue indoor robe. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the house, perhaps indicating that a meal was being prepared.

Though she always wakes up late on Sundays, the time is so consistent that now Zabeta has made it a routine to prepare meals to match that time.

“Good morning.”

“My lady, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Not a single ache anywhere.”

Since the day she visited the Duke’s residence, Zabeta’s question had become the same. Emilia felt somewhat bitter, wondering if Zabeta had been instructed by Enrico, feeling as if she was being watched by him even at home.

Emilia watched Zabeta busily moving about, then turned her head. Thinking that it was natural for her to follow Enrico’s orders from her position, and deciding to at least help with meal preparation, she walked towards where the tableware was kept.

But then the sound of a carriage outside caught her ear. As this was a relatively remote area where people rarely came, Emilia turned towards the window with a puzzled expression.

“Huh…”

A gasp of disbelief escaped her. Enrico, who absolutely should not be here, was getting out of a carriage.

Enrico’s figure, his long black coat fluttering as he alighted, was like a painting come to life.

Whether it was due to his sculptural face revealed in the bright sunlight, or her mind wanting to perceive him as a painting in denial of this reality, she wasn’t sure. But unfortunately, as Enrico spotted Emilia through the window, she realized she couldn’t deny that this was real.

Although this was quite a nice house, it seemed too humble with Enrico nearby. Enrico approached the door quickly with his long legs.

Knock knock, at the polite knocking sound, Emilia gulped. Zabeta, who had been busily working behind her, belatedly noticed the carriage outside and approached Emilia with a surprised face.

“My lady, please change your clothes first.”

“Ah…”

Although she had washed up roughly, she was still very much in the appearance of someone who had just woken up. Emilia nodded hastily and quickly headed to her room. Behind her, she heard the sound of Zabeta opening the door and Enrico’s voice.

“Where is Emilia?”

“She went to change clothes.”

“Ah…”

Emilia briefly considered changing slowly, but decided to greet him quickly and send him away rather than face a tiresome situation by disturbing his mood.

She took out a white blouse and a long green skirt two-piece dress from the wardrobe. It was easy to put on by herself, so she changed quickly and tied her hair up in a simple ponytail.

For a moment, she felt absurd about why she had to do this. However, as much as he was obsessed with art and pursued beauty, she didn’t want to give him any reason to frown and regret the contract by showing him her disheveled state right after waking up.