When Pride Falls at Your Feet - Chapter 38

I almost let out a sigh. The only person who would send such a message was Enrico Michele. He didn’t say anything when I performed at the ducal residence last time, so I don’t know what he’s doing now.

Whether he has a long aftertaste or has mastered making people upset. Anyway, Emilia was relieved that at least he didn’t write a name and sat on the opposite side of the flower basket.

“Isn’t it meant for a ballerina who danced hard?”

“Then just for all of us?”

“Oh, is that so? Well, if it was for an individual, they would have written a name. And who would give such a lavish bouquet to corps members, not the lead role?”

“Then is this sent by mistake? Is this the right dressing room?”

“Yes, I was asked to deliver it to the corps de ballet.”

The staff member bowed and left. The dancers gathered around the basket, giggling excitedly and smelling the flower fragrance. Since they never receive such flower baskets, they were just amazed.

“Could it be that one of us has a sponsor?”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“But why hide it? It doesn’t matter as long as it’s not an insider.”

Even though it was just casual conversation, Emilia felt uneasy for some reason. She pretended not to hear and approached the makeup artist, waiting for her turn while deliberately looking at the flower basket with blurry eyes.

One by one, as the makeup finished, the dancers stretched a bit and looked at the darkening sky outside. Some were peeking out the window, listening to the murmuring sounds from the first floor.

Emilia scanned the audience gathering at the brightly lit Avaliante Opera House and moved to the back of the stage.

The dancers with important roles were getting final instructions from the chief choreographer while tying their pointe shoe ribbons tightly. Emilia looked at their backs strangely before mixing in with the corps de ballet group.

As she was rubbing rosin on her pointe shoes and breaking them in on the floor to prevent slipping, the orchestra’s performance echoed through the theater.

Finally, the curtain rose.

Since she wasn’t a lead role, there wasn’t much attention on her. As advised by Deputy Director Silvia before, she paid attention not to stand out while matching the rhythm with the surrounding ballerinas.

A little lower than usual jumps, a little slower than usual turns. Emilia had to be much more careful than when dancing solo to blend harmoniously with her surroundings. The bright lights illuminated the protagonists in the center.

Emilia acted as a perfect supporting role behind them, but she couldn’t help feeling empty even though it was the position she chose.

After such a regretful performance ended, dancers with mixed feelings of relief and disappointment like Emilia were standing in the corridor and dressing room, chatting. They were greeting those who came to encourage and congratulate each other.

Not only acquaintances but also nobles of high status often visited, but when someone appeared at the entrance, the buzzing atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Feeling the unusual atmosphere, Emilia, who was talking with Juliana, looked at the visitor.

‘…Why is His Highness the Crown Prince here?’

Alessandro Treano had come to the backstage. He might have come to find someone else, but somehow his eyes looking around seemed to be searching for her.

As soon as she thought that, their eyes met. Seeing his face about to smile, Emilia turned around quickly without even thinking it might be rude.

“Emilia? Where are you suddenly going?”

“Ah, I’ll just go upstairs for a bit.”

Juliana nodded, saying she understood, with a bewildered face. Emilia quickly moved towards the emergency stairs.

Just in case, Emilia went up one floor and looked around. The staff were busy cleaning up the stage, and since the dancers were gathered backstage, there was no one in the emergency stairs. Emilia finally caught her breath and sat down on the stairs.

‘Why did he come all the way here?’

He was clearly holding a bouquet. Could it be that he brought it to give to her? To her, who’s just one of the corps members, not even an important role?

It was just the kind of behavior perfect for starting rumors. Alessandro appeared in such an embarrassing way that it made Emilia re-evaluate Enrico, who sent an anonymous flower basket.

Emilia wiped away her cold sweat and tightly wrapped the shawl she was wearing.

‘But when should I go out? Should I just go to the changing room and change clothes?’

After pondering for a moment, she decided it would be better to go home quickly and stood up, heading for the third floor. And just as she was about to open the door, it opened from the inside first.

“Ah. You were here indeed.”

It was Alessandro again. Emilia quickly scanned behind him.

“There’s no one else. You left because of the attention, didn’t you?”

“…Would you come this way for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Alessandro, who entered the emergency stairs, lowered the ends of his eyebrows as if he had become embarrassed.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that when dancers are with someone of high status, they often receive unwanted misunderstandings.”

“Ah, thinking you might be a sponsor?”

“Yes.”

Alessandro looked down at the bouquet he was holding and then drooped it down.

“I understand your desire to hide for now. I’ll take this back.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But I’m curious about something.”

Emilia just stared at Alessandro instead of answering.

“Why aren’t you the lead role?”

“…Pardon?”

“I may not know much about ballet, but I can tell your skills are outstanding. My eyes were drawn to you more than the lead roles.”

If that was true, then she had ruined today’s performance. Even though she tried to restrain her movements while matching the rhythm, did she stand out? Emilia blinked her eyes with a surprised face.

“Was there any unfairness in the process of selecting the lead roles?”

“No. I auditioned for the corps de ballet position.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you’re being pressured from above?”

“What?”

“If that’s the case, I’ll sponsor you. With your skills, anyone would line up to sponsor you, but it might be different if I, a royal, do it. And if there are any irregularities, it would be good to root them out now.”

Emilia was dumbfounded watching him get so angry. She was already being sponsored by Enrico, but she couldn’t say that. Seeing Alessandro take a step forward aggressively, Emilia took a step back with an ambiguous expression.

“I seem to be apologizing to you several times today. I want to rise slowly with just my own skills. I’ll gratefully accept your sponsorship in spirit only.”

“Ah… That’s a shame.”

Alessandro really did look disappointed. He lowered his head and smiled bitterly before looking at her again.

“I think I reacted too strongly. Of course, you can rise on your own, so I can’t insist too strongly.”

He smiled awkwardly and slowly took a step back, bowing politely.

“Then I’ll give you these flowers when you become the lead role next time.”

It was such a clean goodbye that the awkwardness from his sudden visit was soon forgotten. Emilia also curtsied slightly to show respect.

While pushing back the worry that he might come again tomorrow−.

The performances continued smoothly.

The problem was that the worry she had carelessly dismissed on the first day of the performance became reality. Enrico and Alessandro visited the theater every day Emilia went on stage. Although they didn’t send flower baskets or appear with bouquets like on the first day, their presence itself was undeniably burdensome.

Because many people started to focus their attention on them visiting the theater.

In the newspapers, the successful ballet performance was briefly mentioned, while the Crown Prince visiting the dressing room was greatly highlighted.

They were busy digging into who exactly he went to see, and curious about the haughty ballerina who boldly rejected the Crown Prince, who returned without giving the bouquet he had brought.

“Who was His Highness the Crown Prince looking for?”

“Seeing how he left right away, wasn’t he just in the wrong place?”

“With that bouquet? No way…”

For the dancers, Alessandro was undoubtedly the center of attention. If there was anything fortunate, it was that thanks to Alessandro’s eccentricity, less attention was paid to Enrico.

Emilia was more tired of these rumors than being on stage. To the point where she wished the performance would end soon.

She was already worried about the next important role.

The performance schedule was very busy. They performed 4 consecutive shows, rested for a week, then performed 4 more consecutive shows for a total of 8 performances. In the mornings they had full rehearsals, and on days without performances, they practiced again. Three weeks filled only with ballet passed quickly.