When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 59



Only Krnovel

#59. Trap
2024.02.28.

I looked back in confusion at the voice that suddenly interrupted.

“Christina?”

“But isn’t excessive humility something that can be seen as deception?”

Emilia blinked. I’ve never had a conversation with her before.

Lately, I’ve been frustrated with my own skills, and I’ve been so unstable that I can’t even talk to people around me, but I was a little embarrassed because it was Christina who kept looking at me with uncomfortable eyes.

Juliana looked at Emilia once and then looked up at Christina again.

“We’re dancing now because we have some talent. And among that, skill can be divided depending on how much effort we put in.”

Christina smiled as she watched Emilia and Juliana slowly nod after looking at each other.

“But if you can reach the top through hard work, you’re a genius. No one can beat a genius who works hard.”

“Huh? You don’t have to be so sure-.”

Christina held up her palm as if to tell me to listen to her more. Emilia hesitated and shut her mouth.

“So I decided to just accept this reality. I’m sorry for making you stand up to me for no reason.”

It was an unexpected turn of events. Even the people who were listening in looked at Christina with surprised faces.

“I did it because your dancing was so great. I guess I was crazy about that talent that I could never have even if I lived my entire life.”

“Ah… … . Thank you for being honest. But Christina said it first. You’re dancing here because you have talent. Maybe your talent still has a lot left to bloom.”

Emilia spoke to Christina with sincerity. Christina stared at Emilia, who was speaking affectionately in a calm voice, with an indecipherable expression for a moment. Christina’s expressionless face, as if all her emotions had oxidized, evoked a strange sense of incongruity.

“… … Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Sorry? When she looked at her strangely, Christina smiled faintly and left. The dancers joked around and told her that her posture was cool, but she waved her hands around and left the practice room.

“I guess she’s embarrassed.”

“Did you see her feet are faster? I didn’t know Christina had that kind of side to her.”

People chattered cheerfully. They said things like, “She looks different,” as if they didn’t know that Christina, who used to be a squeamish girl who just practiced, would reveal her shortcomings in public.

“Emilia?”

“I’ll go outside for a bit.”

Emilia looked uneasy and left Juliana behind as she walked into the hallway. After checking the hallways on both sides and walking toward the changing rooms, she saw Christina coming out of there. Emilia slowed down and studied her face.

“Are you going to the changing rooms?”

“… … Yes.”

“Yes. I’ll go first.”

Emilia, who had been wondering if she was just being careful as she watched Christina’s profile as she passed by, carefully called out to her as if she had made up her mind.

“Hey, Christina.”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?”

Christina’s mouth was still up. However, instead of genuinely smiling, there was a strange atmosphere, as if a doll was smiling without any emotions.

“No.”

It was a firm answer. Emilia had no intention of responding. She wiped her smile away, revealing the cold gaze that always looked at her. She

stared at Christina’s back as she walked away again as if nothing had happened. Emilia calmly opened her mouth.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

She ended up saying it because she was bothered by Christina’s appearance that somehow reminded her of Eva. Emilia’s eyes deepened as she watched Christina’s back as she stopped walking for a moment, but then went her own way again.

***

Emilia blinked slowly as she looked at the dressing table in the dressing room.

“You didn’t get a bouquet of flowers today? You used to get them every day when I was on stage.”

“… … That’s right.”

The bouquet of flowers that usually came during the makeup period didn’t arrive until the makeup was finished. Emilia smiled awkwardly and got up from her seat.

Should I apologize to Enrico? She wasn’t sure. It was her fault for misunderstanding and talking about an engagement and then a contract, but his words that followed tore at her heartstrings.

It wasn’t the first or second time he had treated her like an object, so why was it so heartbreaking this time? And why was she so excited about his engagement?

Everything felt new and unlike herself. He was just like always, acting capriciously, then becoming colder, and then repeating the same thing.

It seems that he and I had been too close. Originally, it was a contractual relationship where I had to stand on his personal stage and receive information in return, but at some point, this boundary naturally collapsed, which was the problem.

‘Because of that, he did some favors for me… … .’

It wasn’t bad to maintain this relationship and continue to receive information, but she was worried that she would have to get her ankles checked after this performance, and that her feet, which were not worthy of his beauty, would be caught someday. She could

just ignore it as a matter of adjustment now, but the moment something was wrong with her body, the weight of the scale would completely shift to his.

It’s true that the more he favored her, the more interference she would receive, so it seemed better to distance ourselves from each other now… … .

‘Ha, I don’t know. What on earth am I thinking?’

Emilia rubbed her chest with her palm as if she was trying to relieve her frustration, then exhaled deeply.

‘Let’s finish the performance first.’

My mind was all messed up and my thoughts were not organized. Especially since Christina was the most on my mind right now, I felt like I had to be extremely nervous the moment we went up on the same stage.

‘I hope she’s not trying to do something weird.’

Emilia suppressed her uneasy feelings and walked towards the stage. As summer was approaching, the heat of the concert hall didn’t dissipate as quickly as before.

I saw Christina, who had arrived at the wing stage first. She was waiting for the maestro to start conducting, turning her ankle. Emilia stayed behind and stepped aside slightly to examine Christina’s face.

Christina, who had been looking at the stage with a blank expression, turned her gaze towards the ceiling. The corners of her mouth slowly curled up as she stared intently at something.

Emilia quietly took a step back at the creepy smile and looked at the place Christina had just seen.

All there was was a beautiful chandelier, lights everywhere, and stage props. Emilia took a deep breath as if to console her ominous feelings and put pine sap on her toe shoes. When she raised her head, her eyes met with Christina’s, who was looking back at her. Her amber eyes looked strangely gloomy.

‘It must be my mood.’

Emilia looked at her and then turned around and headed toward the staff. She just wanted them to check it one more time.

The sound of the orchestra playing, making her heart pound, filled the air. Emilia, who was waiting for her turn while watching Sylphy and the male protagonist dance, soon gave her hand to Antonio, who was playing the role of a village youth who had a crush on ‘Effie’, and danced.

Pushing away Antonio, who was rubbing his cheek against his palm to express his emotions, Emilia went to the male protagonist and lingered around him, worrying about him as if she had become the real ‘Effie’.

As the drama gradually escalated, Emilia, who had finished preparing for the wedding and came out of the room, approached the male protagonist, a loud noise was heard from somewhere.

However, since it was difficult to distinguish it properly because it was mixed with the music, everyone turned a deaf ear and the ballet continued. Emilia found a scarf on the sofa in the middle and approached it happily, thinking it was a gift from the male protagonist.

But at that moment, something fell from above. Emilia looked up and her eyes filled with shock. She heard a voice

calling out from afar to get out of the way. Emilia saw not one, but several small lights falling and hurriedly got out of the way. Since she was the only one standing in the middle, the dancers around her tried to approach with bewildered faces, but it was already too late. Emilia hurriedly

ran to the side, avoiding the small lights falling indiscriminately, but her feet got tangled and her ankles twisted.

The last light was falling on top of her as she fell. She tightly closed her eyes and felt a force grabbing her arm.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot followed by the sound of a light shattering, and the broken glass shattered and scattered everywhere.

Emilia’s eyes shot open. Giuliana and Antonio, who had been dragging her by the arms, also looked in the direction the bullet had gone. There was Enrico Michele standing up from his seat and extending his gun forward. The

broken light scattered everywhere, but that wasn’t a big deal. People who had come to their senses belatedly screamed and went crazy at the sight of her bleeding shoulder, and the staff hurriedly lowered the red curtain to cover the stage.

Emilia’s whole body trembled. Unbearable fear and pain surged in like a tidal wave.

“Emilia!”

“Come here quickly. You’re losing too much blood!”

“Emilia, come to your senses!”

She wanted to answer the voices calling her from all over, but her eyes gradually lost strength. Emilia collapsed, leaving the pain that burned her shoulder to her fading consciousness as her vision grew darker and darker.

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