When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 2



Only Krnovel

#02. Ballerina on the Edge of the Cliff
2024.01.02.

“Emilia! Where have you been!”

Emilia glanced to the side as if avoiding Juliana who was approaching her anxiously.

“Ah… … . Are

you done with your makeup?” “I finished it a long time ago. Are you ready? Where are you going, as the main character?”

“I have something to do.”

“… … Are you okay? Why do you look so pale?”

“I’m okay. I’ll just adjust my crown and come back.”

“Huh? Huh…”

Emilia passed by Juliana who stepped aside and took off the brown shawl she had been wearing on her shoulders. She walked up to the mirror and slowly looked at herself.

The puffy skirt and tight-fitting top that showed off her slender figure. And the small wings on her back made her look like a fairy straight out of a fairytale.

She checked her ballet outfit and touched the white crown on her neatly tied blond hair for the last time, and her eyes gradually sank into her dreamlike figure that was becoming more and more perfect.

‘Get ready to get married.’

Giorgio, whom she had met after a long time, was still rude. His bigger belly and his crooked moustache were still unpleasant to look at, and the wrinkles that had grown due to his greed made his impression even more mean.

‘… … It’s the day of the performance. I’ll visit you next time and talk to you then.’

‘You came because it’s the day of the performance! If you had put up with me vulgarly turning my body around while doing ballet that only lowlifes do, it’s time to listen to me. If you hadn’t turned your head and run away there, I wouldn’t have made you do ballet in the first place. You’ve come back.’ ‘

Today is the last day anyway. I just have to get through today. What’s the rush? It wasn’t even my first time doing a performance.’

‘Isn’t the scale different today? Even high-ranking officials come here, so what if you show up here and your ransom drops?’

‘Huh… … Ransom?’

‘You’ll be an adult in a few days. Now you can’t run away like before, bringing up the cause of your dead parents. You lived the way you wanted for those years, so now live for your family. Your great parents were rumored to be rich, but they were all empty talk. Do you know how hard it was for me to run a business with that pittance?!’

Although he lost his parents at a young age, he didn’t have much time to grieve. A distant uncle who he didn’t even know existed suddenly appeared and turned the family upside down even more.

Giorgio, who came running in, looked truly miserable.

He repeated the same thing like a parrot, saying that only the eldest son inherits the property, but if there is no eldest son, it is passed on to the closest male relative in the family.

Emilia couldn’t refute him at all.

It’s true that there is that crappy system. In a country where even male heirs who are not adults must be thoroughly protected by their sponsors, how much more so must it be for women who are considered appendages to men? Even if awareness is gradually changing, the reality is that it is difficult to escape from sponsors even after becoming adults. However,

what was more frightening than the invisible future was the appearance of the author’s uncle, who had no intention of hiding it from the first time we met and who simply reached out to me with greedy eyes.

That was more than enough to awaken the child’s survival instinct. So that I quickly ran away to the Royal Academy of Arts.

It was hard to find a place for me who was not an adult, and it was dangerous for my young body anywhere. The Royal Academy of Arts, where I could be legally protected and especially where the rule of prohibiting entry by outsiders including family members, was like a safer fortress than any other place.

In a way, it could be said to be my parents’ last gift.

I loved ballet so much, but if it weren’t for the Royal Academy of Arts admission form my parents had signed when I was young to console me that I had to leave it as a hobby for the nobility, I wouldn’t have been able to dream of it.

But it was hard? You took everything from me?

Giorgio, who was gnashing his teeth as if he was really being wronged, had a crack on his teeth that I had never seen before. Hair that was covered in oil, a suit that looked overly luxurious, and gold rings that looked heavy. I almost laughed at his appearance that didn’t look tired at all.

The strength in my trembling fists slowly disappeared. My insides that had been heated with anger also quickly calmed down as if they had been doused with cold water.

‘I’ll find a suitable place for me right away, so until then, stay home and be quiet. It’s shameless for a girl to walk around with her legs exposed, tsk tsk. I don’t have to say anything else. Just follow me when I say something nice.’

‘… … .’

‘Aren’t you going to flirt with the higher-ups anyway? Even if you don’t do that, I can connect you enough, so don’t do anything useless.’

‘… … Among those higher-ups, there might be someone who likes me.’

‘What?’

I felt so bitter that I spewed out words of shame.

‘A higher person than what my uncle found. Then there’s no need to find out. He’ll figure out the price and approach me, so who knows if I’ll get better treatment?’

However, in order to seize the last opportunity, she had to avoid this place at all costs. With each word she uttered, an unpleasant sensation took over her whole body, as if she were biting into a mouthful of bitter fruit.

She saw Giorgio’s deeply furrowed brows slowly open. Emilia suppressed her desire to spit in that face right away, as he rolled his eyes and closed his mouth, which seemed to be secretly enticing her.

‘It’s only today anyway. There have been nobles who have come to see the performances at the art academy, so even if I don’t perform on this stage, my past in ballet won’t disappear. So take today as an opportunity.’

Giorgio’s eyes, which had been lost in thought for a moment as he stared into space, slowly moved. Meanwhile, Emilia’s expressionless face was reflected in her moss-colored eyes that were blatantly sparkling with desire. Giorgio’s lips curled up in a disgusting way on her face that looked somewhat resigned. This

was truly the last chance. The last chance for her to escape.

Emilia, who had come out of her thoughts, took a deep breath and lightly rolled her feet on the floor. The sound of her toe shoes hitting the wooden floor resonated hard.

‘It was my greed to get a job in another country as a ballet dancer anyway. It might not work out well in the first place, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t get caught… … . It would be best to just go far away and live quietly.’ This

was not rationalization, but facing reality. He tried to comfort himself and lightly moistened his dry lips with his tongue.

“Are you crazy! Do you know what I just heard?”

“Why? What did you hear?”

The faces of the dancers about to go on stage were tense, but on the other hand, they were sparkling with anticipation. While some people were stretching alone, the voices of the girls gathered in groups of three or five, stretching and chatting filled the waiting room.

“The Duke is here!”

“If it’s the Duke, then it’s the Duke of Polenta?!”

“No.”

“Or, gasp! No way… … .”

“Yes! The Duke Michele is here!”

Emilia’s arms, which had been stretching and tensing her body, suddenly stopped.

“He came to see our performance? No, I know he’s interested in art, but did he come all the way here?”

“Yes. Did he come because it was his first big performance? But anyway, it’s really surprising. He’s famous for being a big sponsor!” “

That’s right. They say if you catch their eye, they’ll give you a big sponsorship… … . There’s no ballerina yet, right?”

“We could be!”

“But there’s no rumor about what they do when they receive sponsorship. I think I heard that they call them to a separate mansion… … .”

Emilia stopped for a moment, then bent down and rubbed her ankle.

She had been distracted by Giorgio and had forgotten about him for a moment, but she was glad that she hadn’t gotten hurt when she almost fell.

He was so strong that if he had hit his face, he would have definitely bled, but Enrico Michele, who never once looked at the person he had bumped into, even if he hadn’t hit her, came to mind again.

How could such an indifferent person be so generous in the art world? He was known to be a mass collector who only cared about collecting things, but despite his immense fame, information about him wasn’t widely available.

Even in the newspapers that wrote about social gossip whenever they had the chance, they only mentioned that Enrico Michele had won a large sum of money.

“Well, there are many people who make strange demands, but isn’t it okay if he’s the Duke? Honestly, he’s the most handsome man in our kingdom. He’s young, wealthy, and even beautiful, so what’s the point of strange demands?”

“That’s true, but… … .”

“Bella, please be quiet.”

“What’s wrong with that? To be honest, there are people who do this because of opportunities like this.”

“How so? You probably think my intentions are malicious.”

“Huh-, Professor!”

“I have to go on stage soon, but it’s a wonder you have the presence of mind to worry about other things right now. And on the day of your important graduation performance.”

“… … I’m sorry.”