When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 7



Only Krnovel

#07. Diamond Lighting
2024.01.07.

She looked at Giorgio, who was pretending to be serious, with pitiful eyes and then lowered her head as if to hide it.

“Then, should we accept the Duke’s offer?”

“I guess so. But.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to be satisfied with just sponsorship? You are at your most valuable age right now, and if you just spend your time with sponsorship, won’t it be difficult to handle? So you try to seduce the Duke once.”

“… … Yes?”

“Pretending to be innocent. The Duke

is a man, so why is your purpose only to watch the dance? I mean, take this opportunity to get close to him.” Although she knew from the beginning that he was a sinister person, Giorgio’s mental state of openly saying such things to his nephew was beyond imagination.

The humiliation that she couldn’t get used to no matter how much she braced herself for it eventually wounded her jade-colored eyes.

“If the Duke falls for you, you can become his wife, but if not, you can live as his concubine, right? The Michele family would be the wealthiest next to royalty, but that’s how much money they have. Hehe.”

Emilia wanted to wash out her ears and plaster Giorgio’s mouth with plaster right away. She wanted to make him unable to speak, or even breathe, and pour plaster into all his holes.

“This isn’t going to answer? If you don’t want to get re-intoxicated by an old man, do it right. Huh?!”

However, she lowered her head and shut her eyes tightly as if ignoring this helpless reality that she had to endure. Just until she found out the truth. Emilia made a resolution to endure until then.

***

Versicone Street was an upper-class residential area that appeared when you went south from the capital, Desiro. There were numerous town houses, each boasting its wealth, but the most striking of them all was the town house of Duke Enrico Michele, which was as large as a mansion in the countryside. The

grand ducal residence, which many people wanted to visit, was like a fortress that did not open its doors to just anyone.

Only those permitted by the Duke could enter, but since those who were permitted were rare, people’s curiosity was bound to grow, and only unverified rumors were circulating.

Enrico, who was sitting in front of the pure white rectangular terrace window, slowly got up from his seat.

As he looked at the green garden and the large fountain with several human statues in the middle, he saw a carriage coming into the mansion.

It was the first living thing in a long time to pass through the main gate after being chosen by him from one to ten.

His two eyes, which were languidly lowered, sparkled with interest. After a while, Emilia Este, wearing a dark blue Burnu coat, got out of the carriage in front of the mansion. Her skin looked particularly transparent under the sunlight.

‘It has to be worth it.’

Since it was something I had seen in a long time, I went ahead with the contract right away, but I thought it would be boring if I just kept my guard up like when we first met.

They could just give and receive what they wanted, but wasting unnecessary emotions would only kill the interest. The way she blinked like a frightened deer was worth seeing,

but that was all. What interested her in the first place was Emilia Este dancing.

Enrico turned his back and absentmindedly glanced at the papers he had left on the table.

‘I should just tell you about the intentionality of the carriage accident first.’

Something that he had just glossed over would now be of great use in his contract with her. He had now started investigating the exact circumstances, but even if it was something that happened a long time ago, it was something he could easily find out.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Enrico put down the paper and instead of answering, walked toward the door. To gladly welcome Emilia Este, who had come in of her own accord to become his dancing puppet.

***

As he had instructed in advance, Emilia was sitting in a glass greenhouse that received plenty of sunlight. Unlike the interior of the mansion, which was like a gallery filled with gorgeous paintings and sculptures, the greenhouse was filled with the fragrant scent of flowers and a warm atmosphere, as if it was faithfully performing its function.

Since he had everything that a mansion should have, he had naturally built a greenhouse, but instead of a frescoed ceiling, a greenhouse with a view of the sky seemed like an odd combination for him.

Enrico greeted her by nodding briefly as she got up from her seat when he entered.

“Sit down.”

“Yes. I was going to come see you first, but I’m late.”

Emilia Este still had a calm expression on her face. The only difference from the first day was that she had barely managed to hide her trembling, but now she looked like her emotions had evaporated.

Or was it her face that was incredulous? She had been dragged out by Fabio, who was waiting for her on her way out after submitting her application to the Avaliante Ballet.

“You’re late. Your uncle came to see you yesterday, so I thought you’d come to see me as soon as dawn passed.”

Tea and dessert were quickly placed on the table. However, that was in front of Emilia, and in front of Enrico was a clear glass filled with amber-colored brandy.

Enrico leaned back against the chair and crossed one leg over the other. Then he leisurely lifted the glass and slowly turned his wrist, letting the brandy slosh around.

“Ah… … . I waited until the afternoon to avoid being rude at such an early hour, but I didn’t know that the Duke would be waiting for me instead.”

“I was already starting to get bored. I don’t know how much you’re wasting time trying to entertain me.”

Emilia’s eyes turned slightly red. Enrico stared blankly at her, her face changing as if in shame, and then drank the brandy indifferently. The hot air going down his esophagus woke up his languid body.

“… … I heard from my uncle that you’re going to invest in my business. Is that included in the contract?”

“Yes. I don’t want to hear people say that I couldn’t focus because I was making excuses. I’ll just create an environment where you can do what I tell you perfectly, so you have to satisfy my eyes.”

Emilia hesitated and nodded as if she had made up her mind.

“Then, can you tell me in detail what the contract is?”

“This is the contract. And this envelope is the first reward you will receive if you sign the contract.”

Enrico pushed the paper documents prepared on the table in front of Emilia. Her eyes were fixed on the documents that said reward before the contract.

“… … Does this contain the truth about the accident you mentioned before?”

“It’s a fragment of the truth, to be exact. The longer the contract goes on, the more you will learn.”

Fragments of the truth, Emilia muttered quietly. She didn’t look troubled. She just had a face that seemed to hesitate for a moment, and she soon reached for the contract.

Enrico slowly brought the glass to his lips, not taking his eyes off Emilia. Her appearance, with her platinum hair soaked in sunlight and flowing along her proportional shoulders, was much more splendid than when she was seen in the carriage.

Of course, it wasn’t as satisfying as when she danced, but it felt like the vague parts were being supplemented, so she liked it a lot.

‘It’s a shame that I can’t tell her to wear crystal lights.’

Enrico slowly drank his brandy, thinking of the crystal lights installed in every place where the artworks were displayed. As the hot air ran down his neck and down his chest, his gaze moved from his bare ears to his neck.

‘Should I put on some jewels?’

In normal times, she looked more like a transparent diamond than a colorful jewel.

While artworks are meant to retain their original flavor when they were discovered, Emilia Este’s value was determined when she performed ballet, so it seemed like they had to find a compromise that wouldn’t damage her other appearances.

These were things that he didn’t have to worry about when he supported other artists, so it was quite refreshing. I was only focused on the artwork they drew or the sounds they played, and since I had never seen their appearance in the first place, this situation itself was now becoming interesting.

Of course, watching her ballet again would be the most enjoyable.

Enrico stared intently at Emilia, who was reading the contract with a cautious expression, and then drank the rest of his brandy in one gulp.

“Should I prepare a bed for you?”

“Yes?”

Emilia raised her head with wide eyes, and he gestured to the contract with his chin and put the glass down on the table.

“I don’t think I can read it all today.”

“Ah… … I’m sorry. There are so many legal terms in it that it’s hard to read quickly.”

“There shouldn’t be anything that confusing. It’s just that if you dance three times at my mansion, I’ll give you one piece of evidence in return.”

His eyes softened, unlike his indifferent tone of voice. Although he collected art, he wasn’t the type to look at it often, so he had to consider many things when making a contract with her.

I thought that if I gave them the results of the investigation every time I saw them, it would be too much of a loss for me, and if I asked for too many times, the quality of the work would decline. Since I also needed time to collect evidence, I figured that if I gave them once every week, about three dances and one piece of evidence would be enough.

“Will you give me one right away if I sign the contract?”