When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 61



Only Krnovel

#61. Dawn Wind
2024.03.01.

Enrico was sitting next to the bed. She opened her lips to call him, but her voice didn’t come out because she was deeply asleep. When she coughed and showed discomfort, he picked up the pitcher on the nightstand and poured water into a glass.

Emilia stared at Enrico, who quickly brought the glass to her mouth, for a moment, then slowly poured the water into her mouth. When she saw his gaze stop at her neck as she poured the water, she put the glass away.

“… … What happened?”

Emilia asked softly after clearing her throat.

“My shoulder and arm are a little hurt. My right ankle is swollen, but I need to get it checked out later.”

Her gaze turned to her feet at his words. She kept putting off getting the ankle checked, but it seems like she finally got it checked because she had sprained her ankle before the accident. She thought she wanted to check if it was just temporary swelling, but as soon as she opened her eyes, her feelings became complicated, and she sighed.

“There won’t be any major problems. “Don’t worry too much.”

It was an unexpectedly affectionate consolation. Unlike him who was sensitive to his own physical condition, Emilia’s eyes were fixed on Enrico belatedly. She hadn’t noticed at first glance, but he was still wearing his suit. Furthermore, there was a strange emotion in his deep purple eyes.

Had he been by her side the whole time? Why? Her eyes were filled with doubt.

“I wanted to make sure you opened your eyes.”

He said as if he had read her mind. His low voice sounded like a tickling whisper. Her heart was beating strangely. She was confused as to whether it was because she was anxious about his unfamiliar behavior or because it was beating for some other reason.

‘Did you become lenient after confirming that I was okay? This wasn’t my fault in the first place. Ah… … . Yes, an accident.’

The ankle wasn’t important right now.

“The light went out, right?”

Emilia blinked and opened her mouth a beat later.

“Yes. They said there was something wrong with the string that connected the small light. “I’m checking, so I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

Since the stage was already in shambles when the lights went down, it was obvious that it would have been shut off, and the question was why the lights had been turned on like that.

Emilia thought of Christina looking at the stage ceiling before the performance. Her gloomy, cloudy eyes kept bothering her.

“… … There’s a staff member who asked me to look at the ceiling before the performance. I think it would be better to check with him first.”

“You asked? Why all of a sudden?”

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

His eyes flashed sharply for a moment.

“Why did I have that feeling?”

“That’s… … .”

It could just be my mood. Is it okay to suspect someone for such a small reason? He quietly looked down at her as she hesitated, then gently ran his thumb around the wrist he was still holding.

“Even if it’s nothing, be honest. It’s okay.”

“… … It’s just that, there’s someone among the ballerinas who’s a bit reluctant about me, and he looks at the ceiling before the performance.”

“Someone who’s averse to you? Since when?”

“I thought you were trying to restrain me because of the main character issue, but you’ve been showing your malice a bit more openly lately.”

“Then you should tell me. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“How can I tell you? You’re not a kid… … .”

“You should tell me because you’re not a kid. Don’t you know that the girl who used to be attached to the captain also brought you down with that malice?”

“… … I know. But this isn’t certain right now. It might not be true.”

Enrico held his breath as his emotions surged up for some reason, and then shut his mouth tightly at the sight of her looking down with a gloomy face. Strangely, his chest began to tingle.

He tried to calm his excitement by catching his breath for a moment, and then raised his hand and reached out to Emilia’s forehead. Then she looked at him with a surprised face.

“I’m not blaming you. I just don’t want you to get in trouble, so… … . That’s why I want you to be a little more cautious of your surroundings.”

Her eyes blinked several times as he gently stroked her hair.

“Tell me who that woman is. If you tell the inspector in charge of the case, it will be helpful for the investigation.”

“… … Ah.”

What on earth could be making him reach out to me with such kindness? Could he be so concerned just because my belongings were broken?

Emilia, who was blankly staring at Enrico, bit her lower lip with eyes that seemed to have many questions. Now was not the time to be swayed by the man in front of her. Her mouth, barely able to suppress the complicated feelings that were about to burst out at any moment, slowly opened again.

“It’s Cristina Firdana.”

“Okay. I’ll look into it, so rest for now. It’s still dawn.”

Dawn? She couldn’t tell the time because she was lying down and couldn’t see outside. So did that mean she had been watching over her until this hour? Emilia’s eyes felt a bit tingly for some reason.

It felt like her emotions were being carried by the surging waves and washing over her. She felt like she couldn’t do it anymore, so she pulled the blanket up to her nose and muttered.

“… … Thank you.”

Then, as if avoiding his touch, she covered her head with the blanket.

“I want to be alone right now. Your Majesty, you should rest now.”

His hand, which had been pushed away, was still near her head, frozen like a frozen person. He didn’t say anything for a moment to her words. She closed her eyes tightly in the uncomfortable silence and didn’t move the blanket, but then she heard him get up.

“Come in the morning.”

She heard a soft voice followed by the sound of footsteps moving away. At the sound of the door quietly closing, Emilia slowly pulled the blanket down and opened her eyes. The only

thing that remained, as if to let her know that he had been there until just now, was the heavy scent she had occasionally smelled from him. Silence enveloped the room. Her hand, which had been holding the edge of the blanket, fell limply.

‘Is this also a simple whim?’

Enrico, who had always treated her as a work of art, sometimes showed strange affection. However, since the affection came from Enrico, she could not let her guard down.

She always dismissed it as an act of attachment to something she cherished and tried not to give it any meaning. However, affection that digs into a person when they are weak was no different from a deadly poison.

‘If this continues, you will abandon me without looking back… …’

When she first worried that he was a poisoned chalice, she should not have accepted it. She had no choice in the first place, but whenever she felt her heart wavering towards him, regret came rushing in like a tidal wave.

Although it was a relationship where she had to be anxious about becoming useless, she could not live her life crying and laughing at his interest. It seemed as if the limit of the effort to suppress and ignore the wavering heart had reached,

and it was about to explode. It was not the time to indulge in emotions comfortably, but she was even resentful of her heart flowing differently than she had thought. She twisted her body in frustration, felt pain in her arm, and moved her left foot.

She realized belatedly that she was barefoot due to the feel of the sheets inside the blanket.

‘… … Did he see it?’

She felt the blood in her whole body go cold. She became anxious that the part of her body that she did not want to be caught the most was revealed.

‘There was no reaction. The doctor must have seen the examination in the first place, so he would not have had time to see it.’

It was unlikely that he would have seen her treating her foot. No, please, she had to. Emilia stared at the gorgeous ceiling with longing eyes. She had to be beautiful on his stage at all times.

The moment she did not satisfy him, the affection that occasionally appeared as if she was giving him a favor would end. No. She would not even pay attention to herself in the first place.

Emilia didn’t realize that she was worried that her contract would be broken, but rather that her meeting with him would end, and she continued to wait for the morning with a murmured heart. Like someone who hoped for Enrico to return.

***

The ballet company was turned upside down in one day. It was shocking that a ballerina got hurt in a sudden accident yesterday, but today, all schedules were suspended for the time being due to the police who came in, suspecting an intentional accident.

The dancers wondered what was going on as they watched the police interrogating each and every one of them about the situation that day. If they were going to investigate, they thought they would be insiders, but no matter how they looked, the police were including the dancers in the list of targets. The dancers whispered among themselves, wondering if there was something they didn’t know.

“Who did this? No matter how you look at it, it seems like we’re suspicious too?”

“Yeah. I don’t think they’re just asking. They asked if there was anything suspicious that day, and what the relationship between the dancers was like within the ballet company.”

“No, does that make sense? If the lights were turned down on purpose, the dancers would have been exposed first. But the culprit did it while taking that risk?”

“Well. It makes no sense, but if the culprit is among the dancers… … . That culprit is a real idiot. How could he do something that could put himself in danger?”

“Then, did Emilia accidentally fall into that trap? Or did he do it on purpose?”

“I don’t know about that. But if the police are asking about my relationship with Emilia, then it could be that he did it on purpose… … ? Oh, I don’t know. By the way, what about Emilia? Juliana, have you heard anything?”

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