If they were to ruin the September performance of [Cinderella] as well, it was possible that fewer performances would be allocated to the ballet company in the future.
Perhaps inspired by the officials who were preparing with all their might, the dancers also began to focus on practice, putting aside casual conversations for now.
Time flew by, and even as the rainy season passed and the heat intensified, the dancers’ passion showed no signs of stopping.
“Ah, it’s so hot……”
As soon as the afternoon practice ended, Juliana lay down on the floor, panting.
“Isn’t time moving too fast? It’s already August.”
“Yeah. We should be careful not to get heatstroke.”
“Don’t you not get affected by the heat that much?”
“Yeah. I’m talking about you, not me. Make sure to drink plenty of water.”
Emilia handed the water bottle next to her to Juliana with a slight smile.
“Oh, is that so? Thanks.”
Juliana gulped down the water and put down the bottle, then glanced at Emilia. After quietly observing her staring blankly into space, Juliana suddenly asked.
“By the way, Emilia, is something going on these days?”
“Huh?”
“You look like you have a lot on your mind.”
“Just. I guess it’s because I have a lot of things to do here and there.”
“Ah….. Is there any progress on what you were investigating?”
“Not yet. What I told you then is all there is.”
Emilia leaned her head back, placing her hands on the floor.
As she sighed heavily as if feeling stifled, Juliana was just patting her back sympathetically when she suddenly saw Deputy Director Silvia appear, opening the door, and her eyes widened.
“The Deputy Director is here?”
“Huh?”
Emilia, who had been leaning back, straightened her head and followed Juliana’s gaze to look at Silvia. Silvia was scanning the interior as if looking for someone, and her gaze stopped right where Emilia was.
“Emilia.”
“……Yes?”
Emilia got up from her seat hesitantly, her eyes wide.
“Could you spare me a moment?”
“Yes.”
Emilia roughly draped the shawl she had taken off to one side and followed Silvia, who had already disappeared into the hallway.
What could this be about suddenly? Since it was rare to be called out like this, Emilia’s eyes were full of curiosity.
Silvia silently climbed the stairs towards the Deputy Director’s office. Emilia had thought they would just talk in the hallway, but to think they would come all the way to the Deputy Director’s office.
As Emilia sat on the sofa, she tilted her head slightly, wondering if there was something urgent to say about Enrico like before.
“I thought we should be somewhere without listeners, so I called you here.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Duke Michele’s assistant contacted us.”
So it is about Enrico after all. Not knowing what it could be about, Emilia just nodded quietly.
“Viscount Giorgio Este has passed away. They asked me to relay the message for you to come to the Duke’s residence by carriage now.”
“……Pardon? What did you just say?”
“Ah, you must be very surprised. I think I got straight to the point too quickly. I don’t know the details, but it seems he passed away due to a sudden accident this afternoon.”
Emilia’s forehead furrowed. While she had thought before that it would be nice if Giorgio disappeared, this was too sudden no matter how you looked at it.
“Let’s see, tomorrow is… Sunday. Then you won’t need to take a separate leave, and let me know if you need Monday off as well.”
Silvia maintained her usual businesslike attitude, as if she didn’t mind knowing that Emilia was a noble lady.
“Ah….. One day tomorrow will be enough. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Don’t mention it. Wrap things up quickly and go home.”
Emilia nodded once and slowly got up from her seat. Giorgio died in an accident? How? Her steps gradually quickened as she left the Deputy Director’s office in bewilderment.
[This is the timeline separator]As soon as Emilia arrived at the Duke’s residence, she looked for Enrico. She had never sought him out like this before, but momentarily forgetting the recent awkwardness, she headed to the study guided by the butler.
It was her first time in Enrico’s study. As she opened the door, she saw him sitting at an elegant mahogany desk, looking at documents. Busy, he pointed to the table without even raising his head and didn’t get up from his seat for a while.
Emilia drank the cool fruit juice placed on the table in front of her, calming her urgent feelings.
“When was the last time you met Giorgio?”
Enrico asked as he sat down across from her, seeming to have finished his work. With the top buttons of his shirt undone, he hooked his index finger between the open gap and stretched it slightly as if even that was stuffy, then picked up the water glass in front of him.
“The last time was when he told me to break the contract with the Duke. He hasn’t come to see me since then.”
“Hmm….. So it’s been quite a while.”
“Yes, is it true that Uncle… I mean, Giorgio has died?”
“Yes. He was found dead by suicide at the mansion.”
“Suicide? The Deputy Director told me it was an accident…”
“Oh? I guess Fabio deliberately said that. After all, suicide doesn’t make for good rumors.”
“So he really took his own life?”
“That’s the current situation, at least.”
Enrico spoke nonchalantly, fiddling with the glass he had put down.
“He left a suicide note. It said he kept accumulating debts at gambling houses and it became unmanageable.”
“Gambling debts?”
“Yes. The problem is that it’s now recorded as the Este viscounty’s debt.”
This was more shocking than Giorgio’s death. Emilia opened and closed her mouth several times, as if at a loss for words.
“Once his death is officially processed, the debt claims will come to you, now a member of that family.”
“……What? You mean me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Ha….. Well, I don’t know how much the amount is, but couldn’t we immediately sell the Bacorta mansion and the townhouse I’m currently living in at below market price? Wouldn’t that be enough to hold out for a while?”
Enrico twisted his lips slightly.
“It would be enough to hold out. But that’s why Giorgio committed suicide.”
It was too suspicious. The Giorgio that Emilia knew was not someone who would ever choose to end his own life. He was a person desperate to enjoy life as much as possible, so to suddenly take his life like this made no sense.
Then could it be that someone deliberately killed Giorgio? But why?
Enrico’s lips curved into a smile as he quietly observed Emilia’s confused face.
When they parted last time, she had been flustered by his unfamiliar expression, but today, perhaps because of the shocking news, her thoughts were clearly visible on her face.
Enrico continued speaking, unknowingly showing a satisfied look.
“There’s a high possibility it’s fabricated. But I hear the police are trying to wrap up the investigation quickly.”
“Surely not on purpose?”
“Yes. I’ve ordered a separate investigation, but it’s hard to say for sure if it will proceed well.”
“If that’s true, why on earth would they kill Giorgio?”
If they killed him at the gambling house, it would have been more profitable to make him a fallen noble and put him to work instead.
“Either to hide a secret, or because he’s no longer useful.”
Emilia blinked slowly. Then, looking down at empty space, she muttered to herself.
“It could be both.”
“Would Giorgio ever be useful? But come to think of it, if they went so far as to install him as the viscount of our family, it means he must have been useful for something…”
“Given that they manipulated administrative office documents to place him in the Este family, Giorgio wasn’t useless.”
“That’s true. Then could Count Valemont possibly be involved?”
“Maybe. We haven’t found any traces of the car investment rights so far.”
“But at the masquerade ball, he spoke as if he could get the investment rights.”
“You were fooled by a lie. Giorgio probably didn’t know anything to begin with.”
His tone was confident. Given how he had been providing her with information, it seemed he had quite extensive connections, and she wondered if he had planted an informant on that side as well.
Since all the circumstances so far had pointed to Count Valemont, she naturally thought of him, but hearing Enrico’s words made her completely certain.
A person with many secrets and no use. That described the current Giorgio perfectly. Maybe she should have just persuaded Giorgio and asked him directly.
But Giorgio wouldn’t have listened to her, and there was no point in talking about someone who had already gone to heaven.
Emilia rubbed one cheek with a complicated expression.
“I’ll let you know the investigation results on whether it was suicide or murder. And I’ve taken care of the debts Giorgio incurred for now.”
“What? You did, Your Grace?”
“If left as is, you’d become a fallen noble before even discussing the family’s survival, and you’d completely lose the Bacorta house.”
“Ah….. Thank you.”
It felt like being hit on the back of the head by something she hadn’t realized. Although Giorgio’s existence was useless, the Este family could have been maintained because he was a man.
But what about a family where that man has disappeared? As soon as the survival was discussed, their future position would become uncertain due to the lack of an heir.
“I’ll repay the money somehow. If I finish this year’s performances well, next year’s contract terms will improve, and if I sell the townhouse Giorgio was using, I think I can repay faster.”
Emilia placed her trembling hands on her legs, trying to stay calm. She was grateful for his help, but she couldn’t rely on him for everything.
While her parents’ matter could be considered entangled due to contract issues, she couldn’t naturally accept his goodwill for family matters as well.
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.
