When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 12



Only Krnovel

#12. Ballerina in the Music Box
2024.01.12.

With Emilia between them, his hands grabbed the ends of the chair one by one. He instinctively grabbed her shoulders, but she didn’t budge.

Instead, Emilia, watching him slowly lower his head, rubbed her shoulder blades against the back of the chair as if she wanted to keep retreating even though she had nowhere else to go.

“As much as possible.”

A strange, tense atmosphere surrounded the surroundings. The tips of her black hair brushed against her forehead. Emilia’s expression was reflected in her purple eyes that had gotten closer.

Their faces were so close that their breaths were almost touching, and her body, which was trembling, stopped because her lips were about to touch.

However, he had no intention of stopping, as their noses brushed against each other. It was a very slight touch that was barely noticeable, but his head tilted at an odd angle.

He dug in, maintaining the distance just before touching. Emilia’s hands, which had been holding Enrico’s shoulders, turned white.

“Don’t show off your pride. The only time you can show your emotions in front of me is when you dance.”

He whispered as his hot breath spread through her ears. The low voice mixed with the sound of breathing that seemed to scratch the depths of the earth sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes, which had been tightly shut without her knowing, opened wide.

“… … .”

“Should I tell you to heat up the food?”

The atmosphere that had seemed as if the string had been pulled taut suddenly stopped. Soon, he, who had been approaching her suffocatingly slowly, raised his head indifferently as if nothing had happened.

Her gaze, which had been staring at the empty space where his face had been, followed him upward. The moment their eyes met, he raised his eyebrows as if he found it amusing.

Unlike her eyes, which were a mixture of resentment and anger, her cheeks, flushed with shame, looked as soft as a ripe peach. He absentmindedly stroked her soft cheeks with his index finger.

“It seems like it would be bad if I lose more weight here. I have to feed him well.”

A tinge of ominous light flashed across his face. Emilia, who was quietly looking up at Enrico, her chest heaved once and then her gaze turned elsewhere. His body, which had been looking down at her for a long time, turned around.

Emilia closed her eyes tightly as if suppressing her complicated feelings, then slowly opened them. Don’t waver. This was something I had prepared for to some extent. I never thought he would make me dance purely in the first place.

A man who calls himself a work of art and shows strange possessiveness can’t be normal in the first place.

Even if she liked him now, there was no way he would know how long his whims would last. Even if it was written in the contract that he would continue to investigate, there would definitely be a big difference in the quality of information depending on whether he was interested or not.

‘Just one year… … . Just one year.’

The two hands clenched under the table tightened and then quickly released.

Meanwhile, the servants waiting outside moved quickly. They took away the cold food one by one and brought out new appetizers.

“Do you drink alcohol?”

The butler in the black suit carefully poured alcohol into the glass in front of Enrico. His long fingers touched the glass filled with transparent red wine.

“… … No.”

“Then, please feel better with a drink of a similar color.”

I thought he would force me to drink, but he backed away surprisingly blandly. He nodded to the maid waiting next to him, and the empty glass was filled with reddish purple water.

Even though he wasn’t close, he could smell the sweet fruity scent, so it must have been grape juice.

It was a fruit that grew in midsummer, but it was clear that it wasn’t particularly affected by the season. However, the juice was similar in color to the eyes of the man sitting in front of him. Perhaps because of what he had just seen right in front of him, he felt strangely reluctant. He

slowly reached out to the glass and circled it meaninglessly. The purple rippling inside the glass kept making his mind flutter.

“About your upcoming visit.”

The words she had been waiting for finally came out. Emilia pushed the glass away and looked at him.

“Yes.”

“Two times

a week, on Tuesday and Friday.” “Twice a week?”

“Yes. Since it’s Wednesday now, I guess we can start the day after tomorrow.”

“Ah… … Then, are you going to decide on the dances separately? Or can I prepare them myself?”

“You prepare them yourself. The ones you’ve danced before are fine, and the ones you’re going to learn are fine. Just dance a solo for about 20 minutes a day and leave.”

20 minutes. It would be a short time if it was a play where everyone danced together, but it was quite a long time to fill the stage alone. Of course, it wasn’t an excessive amount of time, so he understood.

The problem was that the number of times a week was a bit long because of the ballet company’s schedule, but on the other hand, if he wanted to know the truth, it was a good idea to fulfill the contract as soon as possible. If

he had to fill three times, he would have one piece of evidence. If it was for the truth of the accident that would definitely come to light someday… … .

“… … I understand.”

Enrico nodded once as if satisfied. I don’t know if he was satisfied with his silent attitude, but he gestured for me to eat the food that had been brought out. A

steaming potage was placed in front of him. The faint scent of butter that stimulated my sense of smell rose, but I didn’t feel hungry, perhaps because I had a lot to worry about. In fact, my mouth felt rough, but whenever I complained about my lack of appetite, I would starve myself, so I forced myself to pick up my spoon.

For a while, all I could hear was the sound of the dishes clinking. As I ate the food that the servant put on my plate, I soon felt full.

“You don’t eat much for your activity level,”

Enrico said, bringing his wine glass to his mouth as he saw his eating speed gradually slowing down. His throat sank as the wine went down.

“If I don’t have any important plans, I usually eat a little more than this.”

Emilia eventually put down her dishes and wiped her lips with her napkin. Now that she said that, she thought she didn’t have to pretend to eat more.

At her attitude, he raised one eyebrow slightly.

“Even if I eat more, it doesn’t seem like it will be a huge amount.”

“Most people are like this.”

“Be careful not to fall over while swaying.”

It was clearly a warning that his things might get damaged, even though it was clearly a concern. Emilia accepted that it was understandable since he only considered himself a work of art, and just drank the water.

“But why didn’t you audition for the lead role?”

She almost spit out her water at his unexpected question. Enrico slowly cut the steak, as if he didn’t care about Emilia’s flustered face. She could see the juices flowing from the thick meat.

“… … I think it’s still early.”

He looked at her as he put the meat cut into bite-size pieces in his mouth. It was a strange feeling. He

was just eating, but his gaze piercingly staring at Emilia was shining darkly as if he was going to swallow her. Emilia felt her mouth dry for some reason, so she picked up her glass of water again.

“I don’t know what you mean by early. The audition results won’t be that great either.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I won’t be able to do as much as I want. There aren’t many roles assigned to me.”

The audition was just a few hours ago, and he already knows the results? Emilia blinked her eyes in confusion. If he were to take the initiative to find out, it wouldn’t be difficult, but she didn’t know that he would even be concerned about an audition like this.

“What should I do?” As he picked up a napkin, a servant came over and took the plate away. “Are you even concerned about an audition?” “Of course. It’s a gem I found, so I have to make it worth more.” Every time I heard those words, my head would get colder. As if he was telling me not to forget that I was just a dancing puppet, the way he naturally erased my existence made me suffocate. “… … I can do it on my own.” “I can do it. It’s just a different speed.” “… … .” “What I’m doing is just helping you avoid foreign substances from getting stuck in the place you were supposed to go.” He was such a strange man. He ignored her personality more than anyone else, but he seemed to trust her skills the most. He must be acting like that because he completely trusted his own judgment. Emilia slowly relaxed her clenched fist without realizing it. She felt the slight dent in her aching palm. It was a feeling of exhaustion that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Thinking that dealing with Enrico was more difficult than dancing, Emilia opened the door. She heard the sound of the carriage that had carried her behind her getting further away. ‘When on earth did you unpack your luggage?’ As she was about to return to the dorm, Assistant Fabio told her to go home right away. She had planned to move slowly since she only had to leave the dorm this month, but she had to unpack so suddenly. Fortunately, Giuliana had left first, but she almost embarrassed him by unpacking her luggage without saying anything. The cold wind soaked in the night followed Emilia as she entered the house. However, the warm air from the fireplace that illuminated the interior immediately enveloped Emilia, making the cold disappear. Emilia’s eyebrows narrowed slightly at the thought of a house filled with warmth. “Welcome, Miss.” “… …Who are you?” There was no time to admire the interior. Emilia blinked as she looked at the middle-aged woman in a maid’s uniform who greeted her politely. “Greetings. My name is Zaveta Natalia, and I have been ordered to serve you here from now on.”