When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 49



Only Krnovel

#49. The closer you get, the farther away you get
2024.02.18.

Emilia’s face turned pale. Although it was hidden behind his back, she could see the blood flowing from his arm dripping from his fingertips. Bright red blood began to spread on the carpet.

“Miss!”

“Hey, here! This is the Duke’s room!”

She heard a voice running from afar. Her whole body was shaking and her legs felt weak, but if she collapsed here, she would be a greater burden to Enrico. As

Emilia moved her trembling legs toward the door, thinking that she had to call someone, she found a gun on the ground.

In the meantime, Enrico fought the black masked man with movements that would not have been possible for someone with a wounded arm. Rather

than faltering, Enrico’s fists were faster and more powerful than before, and the black masked man seemed to have decided that he could not continue like this and aimed for Emilia as she headed toward the door.

But rather, as if that was the cause of the defeat, the black masked man was hit in the face by Enrico in vain, compared to the time he had wasted.

“Keuk-!”

It was a huge blow. As he tried to straighten his staggering body to avoid falling, Enrico tripped him and tripped him, and at that moment, he put strength into his hands and knees to suppress the black masked man who was resisting.

With a click, the sound of a gun being loaded was heard. The trembling muzzle of the gun touched the back of the black masked man’s head, who was lying face down. Then, the black masked man’s struggles stopped. Even though he was young, it was a moment when learning various things from his father was helpful.

“… … Good.”

Enrico said softly and looked at her. People ran into the room behind her, who was holding the gun tightly with a face that looked like she would collapse at any moment.

“You can give it to me.”

“… … .”

“It’s okay.”

At his affectionate voice, Emilia barely released the strength in her hands. He took the gun and handed it to Fabio. Enrico could see blood flowing down his outstretched arm.

“Duke! There’s a wound… .”

“First, lock him up.” As

Emilia approached him urgently, Enrico raised one hand to stop him and instructed Fabio.

“You come here.”

The hand that had been blocking him came down and grabbed her hand. It was cold and still trembling pitifully. He held it in his own hand as if he was locking it up and left the noisy room.

“Duke, you need to get it treated quickly. There’s blood on your arm… .”

“Yeah. It’s bleeding, but it’s okay.”

“How are you okay? It was just a cut.”

“Yeah. It’s just a cut. It wasn’t a stab.”

Unlike her, who was stamping her feet, he was calm the whole time. Why would someone who was so obsessed with art not take care of his own body? Her face distorted.

“Where are you going?”

“You keep shaking. I was going to take you to your room.”

It was such an idle conversation. In the midst of all this, his tearful consideration, which included taking care of the artwork first, really brought tears to her eyes.

“Then let’s go this way.”

“Downstairs? Oh, is that because of those?”

“Let’s go for now.”

Emilia searched her childhood memories and headed toward the servants’ quarters. She remembered that there was a small pharmacy nearby… … .

“Oh, there is.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Yes.”

“Find it later and you can just go and rest. I’ll take care of the treatment.”

“… … Why are you doing this! Do you have to see me cry because I’m so sorry?”

“What?”

Her eyes, which had been stubbornly looking straight ahead, looked up at him. In the meantime, he saw her emerald eyes filled with tears.

“… … Are you saying that you’re crying because of me?”

“Not yet!”

“Then what are you crying about now?”

“This, this is… … !”

Enrico’s mouth curled at the sight of her quickly turning her head and wiping her tears with her other hand. His eyes were slightly dazed, but his smile that gradually appeared showed a strange sense of satisfaction.

Enrico awkwardly covered his mouth with his hand. He could feel the corners of his mouth going up with his fingertips.

“Emilia.”

“… … .”

“Emilia, look at me.”

“… … I don’t want to do that right now.”

“Why?”

“If you treat me, let’s talk then.”

Thinking that he was going to send her away again, Emilia shut her mouth completely on the condition of treatment and led him to the medicine room.

Emilia shedding tears for him. He wanted to see her closely, but seeing her stubbornly turning her head away, he somehow didn’t want to force her to stop.

Enrico looked down at her hands that were also holding each other. Has she ever been this aggressive toward me? Well, in the first place, this kind of relationship wasn’t really the way to go.

A spark flashed across her jewel-like purple eyes.

“There’s probably something in this room that can treat your wounds.”

Emilia quickly searched the room, feeling relieved as she watched Enrico follow her obediently. He quietly watched her, clenching and unclenching his fist as he felt the strange emptiness in his released hand. Then he turned his head at the sound of someone coming from the door.

It was Fabio, who had come to find Enrico. He motioned for him to be quiet and to leave. Fabio, who had been looking at him with a bewildered face, noticed Emilia putting medicine in her bosom, slightly lowered his head, and stepped back. The door that had been open quietly closed again.

In the meantime, Emilia, who had roughly found the basic wound treatment medicine, quickly approached him.

“Please sit down.”

“Okay.”

He pulled two portable chairs nearby, pushed one over to her, and sat down in the other.

“I found a styptic, so apply it and treat it simply. I don’t know much about it either, so you should call a doctor right away when you’re done.”

“What’s the point of doing that when you’ve been treated?”

“Your Majesty… … .”

Emilia furrowed her brows sadly.

“I’m the one who got hurt, so why are you making that face?”

“… … I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this.”

His gaze poured intensely onto her face, which was looking at her wound with a face that seemed to be dying of apology. As if he was looking at each and every one of them carefully, his gaze slid down to her large eyes, her soft nose, and finally her cute lips

. She applied medicine to the wound as if she was scared. Strangely, the tickling sensation was stronger than the pain. His gaze, which had been lingering on her trembling lips, went back up to her teardrop-shaped eyes.

There was still a little moisture in her eyes. Her wet eyelashes looked like flower petals covered in dew.

‘Those tears were shed for me.’

It felt strange, perhaps because no one had ever shed tears for him. Enrico felt an urge to press hard against his heart because of that indescribable feeling.

“Thank goodness the wound isn’t deep,”

Emilia muttered with a much improved expression. Of course, her usually soft cheek still looked stiff, but judging from the fact that her lips had loosened slightly, it seemed that she had gotten a little better.

“Your hand is too cold.”

Enrico slowly squeezed her hand that was touching his arm. It felt a little warmer than before, but his hand still felt like ice.

“Oh, there’s still some treatment left. Just put this on.”

“I’ll hold it, so put it on.”

“… … Yes?”

“Here.”

“Just let go of my hand.”

“It’s hot.”

​​Enrico lifted the hand she was holding. Then he tilted his head and placed his cheek on her palm.

“Your hand is cold, it feels good.”

His delicate eyelashes fell along with his slowly closing eyelids.

Emilia’s pupils stopped. She didn’t even blink like someone who was so shocked that she held her breath for a moment. What on earth is this situation? Why is he doing that? Questions kept popping up. His cheek, which was touching his palm, was soft as it looked, but it was hot as expected.

No, it seemed to be hotter than usual.

‘Is the fever higher because of the wound? Oh, I heard that when the fever gets too high, you can even talk nonsense…’

I don’t know if it was because of the real fever or what, but Emilia’s mind also stiffened at the sudden situation.

Her two eyes, which had been looking down at him as if she were denying reality, blinked belatedly. At the same time, his eyelids slowly lifted, revealing two beautiful eyes that caught her gaze. The eyes, which were a mixture of unfamiliar excitement and satisfaction, shone darkly.

It felt like time had stopped. The moment when no one moved while they stared at each other was broken when Enrico raised his head. He grabbed the hand that had touched his cheek and reached out to her face with his other hand, cupping it as if he was touching something precious.

Emilia’s two eyes trembled slightly. Normally, she should have shaken off this hand and gotten away right away. The two hands that touched each other were filled with heat, and his breath that was getting closer and closer was extremely hot.

My heart was beating faster and faster, as if it was going to burst. I felt like I would collapse if I kept going

like this. The moment the tip of his nose touched mine, my vision became dizzy. It seemed like I couldn’t hold out any longer. As she squeezed her eyes shut and slightly turned her head, his lips that had been getting closer brushed her cheek as if avoiding them. The sound of someone’s breathing mixed together, and then the silence gradually settled down.

“… … .”

After a while, Emilia got up from her seat with a confused face. She licked her lips and glanced down at him, then squeezed out the words.

“… … I’ll go now.”

He didn’t even glance at her. His head, which hadn’t been raised until she left, slowly closed with the sound of the door closing.