“It’s okay. You can keep looking.”

“No. I’ve seen it all.”

“Right. By the way, there was a lot of commotion on the day of the performance. We even got scolded.”

“Mm-hmm, I guess that’s why it left quite an impression.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m curious too. I’ve heard a lot about sponsorship, but I don’t know much about the conditions. Usually, there would be some rumors, but it’s too thorough. Maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“Are they asking for something strange?”

Juliana covered her mouth slightly with her hand and widened her eyes.

“You know, they say some nobles even demand… bedroom favors.”

“No way… Couldn’t it just be pure sponsorship?”

“Well, it could be. Tsk, I just said whatever because it’s a bit strange that there’s no talk about such a famous person. If it’s really for a pure purpose, it would be great for the recipient.”

Pure purpose… Emilia nodded with a bitter smile. For now, Enrico only asked her to dance, but from the start, proposing a contract involving her parents was far from pure.

What should she do? Should she try to escape again? Or should she go to submit an application to join the Avaliante Ballet Company tomorrow? He only gave her two days to think. The time given to her was not long.

Emilia looked out the window with worried eyes. The sunlight that had squeezed through the clouds was now casting shadows in the room.

Maybe because too many things happened in such a short time, she had forgotten the most important thing.

“What kind of relationship do you have with Duke Michele?”

Emilia swallowed a deep sigh as she looked at Giorgio Este standing in front of her.

Had she really lost her mind? After going as far as running away in the middle of the night to avoid her uncle, she had only been concerned about Enrico Michele. If she was dragged back like this, the situation would become even more complicated, regardless of the contract. She had been too naive.

Moreover, contrary to her expectation that he would send a servant, he came to the art academy himself. Since people here naturally perceived her as from a poor distant branch family, Giorgio’s sudden appearance was inevitably awkward.

‘At least it’s fortunate that it’s during the vacation period.’

She had quickly pulled Giorgio to a secluded path near the back gate of the art academy before people could see, but she wondered for a moment if this was really a good idea. After all, she might end up being dragged away herself.

But…

“Duke Michele?”

She was a bit puzzled by the unexpected first words, mentioning Enrico Michele out of the blue.

“Yes. His aide came this morning. Said he would invest in a business.”

The deserted alley was gloomy. The evening glow burning in the sunset had passed, and twilight was about to settle, but eyes already accustomed to the darkness could sufficiently read Giorgio’s expression.

“… Business, you say?”

“I’ve been struggling to find investors, but he came knowing everything already, no… You don’t need to know this much. Anyway! The reason I’m asking this is because you’re included in the investment conditions!”

Giorgio narrowed his eyes, twitching his mustache. It seemed like a gaze trying to scrutinize every little suspicious detail. Even without candlelit street lamps, his brown hair soaked in oil and moss-colored eyes were noticeably glistening.

“Please, tell me more details.”

“He said he would invest on the condition of not interfering with your ballet. You cunning thing, since when have you been receiving money behind my back? And you say you want to get married? Did you eat it all up by yourself?”

Emilia’s expression became extremely calm. While it should be a good thing if an investment came in, it seemed he had rushed here in person because he was upset, thinking she might have pocketed the money alone.

As someone obsessed with money, it wasn’t so surprising anymore. Rather than that, it was more surprising that he had offered a conditional investment. As if someone had prepared everything in advance.

Suddenly, she remembered Enrico Michele calling her to the carriage the other day. Come to think of it, he seemed to know something about her from their first meeting.

From waiting with a carriage near the art academy in the middle of the night, to giving her a knowing look when he saw her with packed bags. He might have even known what Giorgio Este had demanded of her.

If the last thought was correct, then even this situation was probably meant to hold Giorgio’s leash for the future. However, it seemed that rather than intending to give her some time, he had done this thinking she would naturally contract with him, to wield her without restrictions.

After a moment’s hesitation, Emilia shook her head.

“…We’re not like that. I only met him for the first time at the performance venue the other day.”

“You say you’re not involved, yet he comes to me talking about you? Are you playing word games with me now? I thought you were acting obedient, but you’re trying to stab me in the back like this? As expected of a group of people without proper roots, did you learn to sway your body lewdly instead of dancing?”

“Uncle!”

“How dare you look at me straight in the eye?! You should be grateful to me for maintaining your penniless family of empty fame in place of your parents. Huh? If it weren’t for that money, I would have long ago— Ahem! Anyway! You need to earn money. Remember that no matter how much you’ve become an adult, as long as you’re in the family, you can’t escape from me. But what, sponsorship? Do you think I’ll be satisfied with just that?”

Emilia’s body swayed like a branch in the wind from the force of Giorgio grabbing and shaking one of her arms. She glared at the thick hand gripping her arm, then squeezed her eyes shut.

‘I’m sick of this…’

She should have just run away. Regret suddenly washed over her like a flood.

She wanted to demand an apology right away. No, she wanted to slap him. But a sinister premonition that she wouldn’t be able to escape from his hands until she died sent chills down her spine.

She felt suffocated by the reality of not being able to do anything against his behavior of trying to wield her as a possession, let alone taking over the family as if it were natural.

“So what kind of relationship do you have with the Duke! Can’t you speak properly?”

Now even the certainty about escaping was crumbling. As the thought that she would eventually be dragged back to this hellish place even if she left crept in, she wondered if she shouldn’t have anything until she died.

Her parents, ballet, and even herself. It felt like demons were pouncing on her, trying to take everything away somehow.

‘It wasn’t the same place, it was real hell.’

If this reality of having to go to a person who wants to own her like a doll in a music box by using her parents to avoid a person trying to sell her off isn’t hell, then what is it? As the last spark of hope went out feebly, a belated realization killed her heart.

Emilia’s delicate eyelashes trembled pitifully like flower petals in the rain as she lowered her gaze. Gradually, her eyes reddened like a burning flame, and her deeply inhaled breath trembled as it scattered out of her mouth.

‘… If it’s a life where I can’t have anything anyway, wouldn’t knowing the injustice done to my parents at least be a reason to live on?’

That is, if what Enrico Michele said was true. If he was just trying to use her parents, she would not live alone in hell.

Giorgio was already spewing vulgar words during Emilia’s long silence. As she raised her head, her ears, which had been muffled as if submerged in water, opened again, and Giorgio’s figure, growing more excited, came into her blurred vision.

“It’s really not like that.”

Even if she expressed herself emotionally, it wouldn’t solve the current situation, and if she provoked him like this, he might cause a commotion enough to draw in non-existent people. He was a beast-like human who didn’t even know what shame was.

“I met the Duke for the first time after the performance ended. And that’s when he proposed sponsorship to me.”

A sigh was buried at the end of Emilia’s words as she struggled to regain a calm expression. As she did so, she grabbed Giorgio’s wrist with her other hand and was about to exert force to remove it, but quietly returned her arm to its place as his hand loosened unexpectedly easily.

“What kind of sponsorship? You didn’t just gobble it up alone?”

“No. I only received the proposal and haven’t given an answer yet.”

“What? He’s already saying he’ll invest in my business just from a proposal? Then if you agree to the sponsorship, even more…? Ahem. But why didn’t you accept it right away?”

His voice, somewhat softened, asked belatedly.

“…Because I’m an Este. The family should benefit through me, and you shouldn’t be unaware of it, right? So I was going to consult with you, but it seems Duke Michele has already made a move.”

“Right, that’s correct. I should know. But the Duke is showing that much interest in you? Hmm… So what do you plan to do?”

“Well, I told you that there might be several offers after the performance, didn’t I? But since it’s Duke Michele, I wonder if it can be compared to other nobles. Of course, getting married might be the priority, but if the Duke’s sponsorship brings great benefit to you as well, don’t you think it’s worth considering?”

“Hmm…”

Giorgio stroked his petty mustache and closed his eyes tightly. After a moment of silence, Giorgio spoke slowly.

“…Indeed, we can’t dare refuse the Duke’s offer.”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.