When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 87



Only Krnovel

#87. Broken Mask
2024.03.27.

Enrico quickly closed the distance. He grabbed her shoulders and showed his menacing expression without a doubt.

He had been so helpful to her. The number of times Emilia had been on stage at the Duke’s residence was more than the amount of information he had given her.

Even though she occasionally annoyed him, she didn’t rebel greatly, so he tried to just let it go as a small joke. Each small rebellion had now crossed the line and reached the limit.

“Absolutely not.”

Emilia did not shake him off, but instead raised her head firmly. The distance between her and him, who was looking down at her, was less than a hand’s length.

“… … If you were confident in handling the aftermath, then break it.”

The area under Enrico’s eyes flinched. Emilia swallowed her trembling breath as she watched Enrico, who didn’t even blink.

Her hands were trembling and her chest was so tight that she had difficulty breathing, but she said more firmly than ever.

“I’ll handle it. Whatever it is.”

She had expected that he might not accept it right away. She was just a little flustered because he reacted more intensely than she had expected, but she had no intention of backing down or changing her mind now.

The two of them’s confused breathing mixed in the silence that fell for a moment, but it was soon drowned out by the sound of the wind and rain rattling the window. Emilia frowned at his grip that was gradually tightening around her shoulders.

Was he doing this on purpose? Her eyes, which had been glaring at him, trembled for a moment. It seemed as if a dark shadow had fallen over his eyes that seemed to be out of focus, but strangely, his appearance looked unstable.

“Do you know what I’m asking for?”

“… … .”

“Are you getting cocky because I’ve been doing it for you?”

“… … From the Duke’s perspective, I can see it as doing it for you. “You just have to do charity sometimes.”

“You were thirsty for that charity, but now you’ve filled your stomach, right?”

His face got really close. His voice whispered in a low voice that was almost creepy, just a short distance away from each other’s breaths. His two eyes, looking down at her, flashed dangerously.

“You must have been under the illusion that you’re enough on your own just because you’ve made some money, but the reality is that you can’t do anything on your own.”

He glanced at her briefly, as if he were asking what she could do. His eyes, shining in front of his nose, stared back into her eyes, revealing a sneer.

Then, one of his hands that had been holding her shoulder slowly swept down her arm and then came up again. His hand, moving along her shoulder line, soon brushed past her neck and stopped somewhere between her chin and cheek.

“Just be quiet and accept my help. Stop thinking too much. If you keep talking about wanting to break it one more time and dirty my ears—”

“No.”

Emilia cut him off without looking away from his gaze. At her ruthlessly firm voice, his fingertips that had been holding her cheek trembled and loosened.

Taking advantage of that moment, she quickly grabbed his wrist.

“I find that help terribly suffocating.” She slowly pulled his hand down, tightening her grip. “If this continues, I’ll die before I can avenge my parents… … That’s why I’m breaking the contract.” With a thud, his

hand fell down. Instead of pushing away Enrico’s hand that was on her other shoulder, she moved her body to the side. His face, staring at the empty space, came into view. “I’m sorry I have to ask you to break it first. I just hope you’ll be lenient with me.” Emilia turned her head. Her shoulders felt lighter, and although she should have felt relieved after saying everything she wanted to say, her chest felt strangely suffocated, perhaps because of the heavy air. She closed her eyes tightly as if to hide her trembling eyelashes, and when she opened them, her jade-colored eyes shone darkly. “Then, please let me know when the deposit is decided. I’ll be waiting.” *** The rain didn’t stop even the next day. The inside of the practice room was filled with damp air. Emilia roughly wiped away the sweat that flowed more because of the humid weather and reached out to her ankle, which seemed to be sore more recently. ‘… … It got dark early.’ Normally, the scenery just before sunset should have been visible outside the window due to the longer days, but today, perhaps because of the gray clouds, only a gloomy atmosphere filled the air. She also got up groggily, following the flow of everyone preparing to leave work with their tired bodies. ‘Will Fabio come today too?’ When Enrico hurriedly left yesterday, it seemed like something had come up, but thanks to that, the conversation ended abruptly. If Fabio hadn’t whispered in his ear when he suddenly came in during the conversation, they might have kept repeating the same conversation.

Enrico, who had been staring at her with a cold, hard face for a moment, as if it was important, quickly turned his back and went outside without saying a word.

She was worried that it was a big deal if she had to leave so quickly, but she quickly dismissed that thought. She thought that maybe she should think of someone else now.

If anything, she should worry that Enrico might get busy and postpone the termination of the contract.

The [Cinderella] performance was starting in a few days, but she didn’t know if the termination would be finalized before then.

She would be busy because of the performance, but her parents were more important than the ballet, so the problem was how to approach Alessandro and get information from him.

Alessandro would come to the ballet performance, but would he come to her first like last time? If he didn’t, she would have to make a move to meet him first, but she didn’t know if that would work out.

Emilia swallowed a sigh and slowly walked toward the carriage waiting. The rain had thinned considerably, so only a little moisture was brushing her skin.

“Emilia.”

Then suddenly, her gaze caught a pair of shiny black shoes, and the raindrops falling on her head stopped.

She slowly raised her head and saw Alessandro, who was gently tilting his umbrella towards her.

“… … Your Majesty.”

Alessandro looked so happy despite the gloomy weather. She stared blankly at him for a moment, smiling softly and giving him a slight smile before belatedly trying to salute him.

“Oh, wasn’t that something we talked about last time? Let’s skip the awkward greetings.”

“Ah… … . It’s an honor.”

“You’re being overly polite, even if you’re just not greeting me. But we used to be comfortable together.”

“After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I hope you’ll give me some time.”

Alessandro lowered his eyebrows slightly as if he was feeling regretful. His silver hair was slightly disheveled above his gray eyebrows, which felt thinner than Enrico’s.

Now that I think about it, he always had his hair neatly slicked back, but today he was wearing something a bit more casual than usual.

“You look a little different today.”

“Oh, are you okay? I think I have to be mindful of the people around me when I meet you. You don’t like being the center of attention, do you?”

Emilia tried to change the subject, but he responded with a resentful response. She blinked for a moment and nodded.

“Yes. So you came to see me?”

“The weather is bad, and the world is in turmoil these days. I wanted to take you there at least once.”

His words were friendly. A gentle tone, a kind smile. Everything was full of goodness, but for some reason Emilia felt a tingle down her spine.

Was it because the temperature dropped due to the rain? Or was it because of Enrico’s warning?

Emilia looked up at Alessandro, who was looking down at her.

“… … I would like to ask you a favor, but I’m not feeling well today.”

Emilia opened her mouth carefully. It wasn’t necessarily because of Enrico’s warning, but riding in a carriage together seemed a bit risky.

The culprit hadn’t been clearly identified yet, but Alessandro was still a suspect, and being in a narrow carriage with him was a bit burdensome.

Furthermore, Enrico had warned her that he was dangerous, so it seemed like a good idea to first check things out and gradually arrange time to spend together.

“But I feel bad about parting ways with Your Majesty like this, so could I ask you to at least take the carriage?”

Especially now that it feels a bit too sudden, I think we should prepare some self-defense items or security before meeting.

Or, since there is still an escort that Enrico has assigned around the house, it might be better to talk in front of the house. If Enrico releases the escort, then I think I should find a separate security guard.

“That’s a good idea.”

Alessandro smiled smoothly. A faint smile crossed her lips as she stared at his gorgeous face that showed no sign of discomfort.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No problem.”

She stood next to him, clasping her hands together. The rain began to pour down again as if it had just finished its brief respite. The sound of the rain falling on the black umbrella rang in her ears.

“Are the preparations for the performance going well?”

“Yes. Are you coming to this performance?”

“I have to go. Whose performance is it?”

“Ah… thank you.”

As expected, she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. Emilia quickly suppressed her desire to leave this place and moistened her parched lips.

“Actually, I didn’t know that I would be able to do the ballet I did when I was young until now. And I didn’t know that I would be able to see it.”

“That’s right. I didn’t know that I would be able to do it either.”

It was good that he brought up his childhood first. Emilia stared straight ahead and continued talking nonchalantly.

“Now that I think about it, it’s thanks to my father that I’ve become acquainted with His Majesty. If I hadn’t followed my father to the capital, I wouldn’t have known.”