When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 82



Only Krnovel

#82. Escape from the Birdcage (2)
2024.03.22.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Enrico slowly put out the cigarette that was burning between his fingers in the ashtray.

No matter how much he had no interest in the throne, he had no intention of lowering his position and getting married.

If he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have done it. He absolutely could not tolerate giving those filthy people an excuse to go up and down through his dirty mouth.

Enrico took another cigarette out of the gold case. He stopped his actions as he was about to light it and stared into space for a moment.

‘Since you like contracts so much, I’ll do the same.’

He had been too considerate. He thought he had to make her realize her position once more. Chick, as soon as the light came on, a knock suddenly rang out in the office.

“It’s Fabio.”

The sound of the door opening along with a polite voice pierced his ears. Enrico, with a face that was somehow steaming, broke the cigarette he was holding and turned his head slightly toward Fabio.

“I found Miss Madrid Decap.”

He had expected it would take a little longer since he had no idea where she had gone missing, but he found her faster than expected. Enrico opened his mouth absentmindedly, wondering what he should ask Princess Carent.

“Where?”

“As you instructed, we searched the lower-class area intensively, and found her in the basement of an abandoned building that has been rumored to have eroded for a long time.”

“An eroded building?”

“Yes. But despite its shabby appearance, the basement was quite clean.”

Enrico threw the cigarette he was still holding onto the table and shook his hands. Fabio followed Enrico, who got up from his seat as if his break was over, and headed to the mahogany desk.

“How is her condition?”

“She was already hanging when we found her, so we quickly took her down, but she hasn’t come to her senses yet. The investigators heard that they sensed a presence just before they went down, but they failed to track him because there was a separate passage underground. I’m sorry.”

“Were you trying to destroy evidence?”

“Yes. I think it was more of an intention to plant suspicions of suicide rather than clear signs of murder.”

“If he was just a perverted piece of trash, they wouldn’t have bothered with that… … . It’s almost like they’re building a last resort to prevent a major diplomatic issue from escalating.”

“Yes. I agree with you.”

Enrico leaned back, placing both hands on the desk.

“Where is the witness?”

“Oh, that… … .”

Fabio hesitated for a moment before his face twisted into an awkward grimace.

“… … I’m sorry! Just in case, I just checked on him, and I heard he committed suicide this morning.”

Enrico raised one eyebrow.

“Wasn’t he under police protection?”

“Yes. But I heard he bit his tongue while the night shift was away.”

He snickered, the corners of his mouth twisting. Fabio quickly lowered his head as if he was interested in the situation, tilting his head as if he was interested in the situation.

“I’m sorry!”

“I was going to show you a portrait, but that’s too bad.”

Enrico muttered in a dry voice and sat down.

“Keep a close eye on Madrid Decaf. He’s the last witness.”

“Understood!”

“And tell Emilia. She should come on stage on the designated date, regardless of the performance.”

“Yes, yes?”

Fabio suddenly raised his head at the sudden mention. Since Emilia had never been on the Duke’s stage during the preparation period for the performance, he wondered if he had heard correctly.

“Do I have to say it again?”

Enrico languidly raised the corners of his mouth as he watched Fabio. Although he was clearly smiling, Fabio quickly straightened his back at the chilly atmosphere emanating from him.

“No! I’ll tell you right away on my way home from work today.”

“Tell the guards around the house to keep a close eye on it.”

“Yes!”

Fabio quickly stepped back, feeling that the atmosphere had become more tense when Emilia was mentioned than when the witness said that she was dead.

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like something had happened between Emilia and Enrico the night before, so I thought I should thoroughly report on Emilia’s whereabouts for a while.

Seeing Enrico waving his left hand once while looking down at the documents as if telling him to leave, Fabio quickly left the office without hesitation.

The door carefully closed, and Enrico, who had been looking down at the documents, lifted his head slightly, and his gaze lingered in the air for a moment. His two eyes, unable to tell what they were thinking, darkened.

***

The practice room on a summer day was filled with humid and stuffy air.

Even with the windows open, the lukewarm wind was not enough to circulate the interior, and the sweat soaking her entire body dripped endlessly onto the floor, requiring constant mopping.

“Wow, I feel like I’m going to die.”

Juliana muttered in a feeble voice as she quickly took off her clothes. It was the amount of practice she usually did, but in the summer, her body got tired faster as if she was practicing twice as much, so even washing up was difficult.

“Shouldn’t we skip afternoon practice and only do morning and night practice?”

“Yeah. If it weren’t for the performance, I think I would have done that… … I just want to go home and rest.”

“Yeah.”

Emilia glanced at Juliana, who nodded with a face that seemed to be dying, and smiled faintly.

Although her feelings were turbulent, she couldn’t live while revealing everything, and she had no intention of telling anyone that it was hard, so she tried to act as if nothing had happened.

Emilia, who quickly followed Juliana and washed up, put on a two-piece dress consisting of an ivory blouse and a sky-blue long skirt, wrapped her still-dry hair in a towel and roughly ran her hand through it.

“The sun has grown so much. It’s still bright outside.”

“That’s right. It seems like it doesn’t get dark until nine these days.”

“But Emilia… … .”

“Huh?”

“Is your ankle okay?”

Emilia looked startled at Juliana’s whisper as she leaned close to her. She had already felt that her ankle was in bad shape since the accident on the stage of [La Sylphide].

It only really hurt when she overdid it, but now it hurt almost every day. So she had to take anti-inflammatory and painkillers given to her by the duke’s doctor.

“… … Why all of a sudden?”

“No, it looks a little uncomfortable to walk.”

“Oh. Did I do that?” “Are you

okay?”

Emilia grabbed Juliana’s arm as she looked down at her ankle with a worried expression.

“Just tell me. I’ll say this for a moment.”

“Really? If that’s what you’re saying, then that’s what it must be like. You were the one who wanted to do ballet longer than anyone else.”

“Me?”

“What, don’t you remember?”

Giuliana and Emilia packed their bags and slowly walked down the hallway.

“When you first entered school, you said in your first greeting that you wanted to retire later than anyone else.”

Emilia blinked. It seemed that she had just run away from Giorgio and had lost her parents, so she had nothing left to rely on but ballet, so she blurted out those words.

“… … You were really passionate.”

“What, why are you talking like it’s someone else’s business? By the way, I was just curious when I heard that, so I told you.”

“That’s what it was? I… … .”

“What else? Did you think I was telling you because you were pretty?”

The two looked at each other, giggling slightly, and then slowly died down their laughter at the main gate in the distance. Giuliana stared straight ahead, then suddenly turned her head and looked at Emilia.

“If you have any difficulties, please tell me. Don’t suffer alone.”

“… … Thank you.”

Emilia hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth and answered. She

had already told me in advance that she couldn’t tell me in detail about her parents because it was a secret situation when she explained her situation last time.

It seemed like something serious, so she was worried and asked, but she understood. If Giuliana was in that situation, she would have done the same.

Emilia patted Giuliana’s back once for no reason and then stepped aside.

“Did you come to pick me up today?”

“Yeah. I could have gone with you… … .”

“No. It’s because I’m uncomfortable. And I also really like walking around these streets on my way home from work. It’s much cleaner than my neighborhood. Then I’m going!”

“Be careful.”

“You too.”

Emilia watched Giuliana’s back as she gradually got further away, and then walked toward the carriage. When she stopped at a familiar place disguised as a street carriage, the door opened on its own and Fabio greeted her from inside.

“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Emilia.”

“Fabio.”

Emilia nodded slightly in greeting and slowly climbed into the carriage.

The windows, which had been tightly shut in the winter, had begun to open slightly since the end of spring and were now wide open.

Emilia, who was enjoying the breeze coming in through the half-closed curtains that had become thinner than before, as if in case someone was watching, looked at Fabio who was cautiously opening his mouth.

“The Duke said to prepare the stage this week without exception.”

It was a natural request for him, but to her ears it sounded like an extension of yesterday, and her expression hardened.

‘… … I guess I should cancel the contract.’

There was something ominous about his attempts to suppress himself. I had a bad feeling that if I stayed still, I would be trapped in his cage.

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