When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 88



Only Krnovel

#88. Before this summer passes
2024.03.28.

“That’s right. I remember it vaguely because I was young, but you didn’t seem to resemble Viscount Este that much.”

“Yes, I resemble my mother a lot. My father would sometimes feel regretful, but he would be very happy when he saw me and my mother together. Now that I think about it, wasn’t Your Highness close to my father?”

Alessandro slowly closed his eyes and opened them at Emilia’s indifferent question.

“… … Me?”

“Yes. I think we exchanged notes.”

Alessandro’s brow furrowed. A slight strangeness flashed through his pale purple eyes looking down at her.

“I don’t know. What kind of note are you talking about?”

Emilia stopped walking for a moment as she saw them approaching a familiar carriage. Then she turned halfway and looked up at Alessandro.

“I went to Barco for a while during my vacation. There, I happened to find my father’s belongings, and there was a note asking why he didn’t come to the palace and asking for a jewel.”

“… … But why do you think it’s me? I’m curious about that first. I’m not the only one in the royal family.”

Alessandro slowly curved his lips with a blank expression in his eyes.

“Ah… … . I thought it was Your Highness because it was a joke, but wasn’t it? If so, I apologize. I guess I naturally thought of Your Highness because I went to the palace with my father when I was little.”

Emilia pretended to be flustered and acted as if she didn’t know what to do. He playfully winked at her.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to apologize… … . Maybe it’s because it happened so long ago that I don’t remember. Can I see what the note was?”

You don’t remember? Enrico had declared it as soon as he saw the note in Barcorta, so he didn’t readily believe Alessandro’s words.

-Why aren’t you coming to the palace? If you want what you want, you have to catch my eye. Or give me your jewels.

If you didn’t send those notes here and there, how could you not remember at all? The short sentence was too short to be passed over lightly, but it clearly revealed deep arrogance.

“Ah- Then I’ll go home and look for it. Actually, I’m not sure if I left that note in Barcorta or brought it back.”

Emilia pretended not to know the note that she had unknowingly kept in her house.

Although she had currently requested Enrico to cancel the contract, the information he had given her so far was all things that were beyond doubt, so she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about Alessandro’s reaction.

It was hard to understand how someone who was so good at sharing childhood memories couldn’t even remember exchanging notes so casually.

“Is that so? Then let me know when you find it. I’ll wait.”

Fortunately, Alessandro immediately nodded, not wanting to dig too deep. However, it was strangely creepy, even though he had a gentle expression on his face, perhaps because of his mood.

Was it because she already had a preconceived notion? Emilia tried to hide her uneasy feelings and raised the corners of her mouth.

“Yes… … . Then I guess I’ll have to go now. Thank you for taking me here.”

“I’d like to have a longer conversation next time.”

Emilia politely greeted Alessandro as he opened the carriage door. The affectionate smile on his face did not disappear even before he entered the carriage and the door closed.

‘… … But Fabio isn’t here?’

She was worried that if Fabio was in the carriage, Alessandro would think there were already guests and ask to go in a different carriage, but that was fortunate.

After all, she had already told Enrico that she wanted to cancel the contract, so there was no way he would send an aide. Rather, he might be preparing to end the contract at the Duke’s residence.

Emilia felt bitter for some reason and stared into space with a dark expression.

‘Why am I feeling so depressed? Is it because of the weather?’

On rainy days, my ankles would ache even more, and maybe it was because I had a tense conversation with Alessandro. Today, I felt particularly drained.

‘Yeah, that must be it.’

I should go back and rest quickly. I would soak in hot water, take a deep breath, and wake up feeling better.

Emilia took a deep breath and turned her head toward the window. Then, she felt the carriage slowly slowing down, and blinked her eyes in confusion.

In the midst of the endless sound of rain hitting the ceiling, she heard the carriage door open. Emilia hesitated and turned her head to check who was coming in.

“Oh, are you surprised?”

It was Fabio, whom she had assumed would not have come. Fabio hesitated for a moment when he saw Emilia’s expression as she stared blankly at him.

“Why… … are you here?”

Emilia opened her mouth a beat late as he sat down next to her, folding her umbrella.

“I saw His Highness the Crown Prince coming from afar, so I waited here just in case.”

“… … I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Huh? You will continue to come until His Highness the Duke’s order is lifted. If I can’t come due to personal reasons, I will send someone else.”

Fabio looked at her with a puzzled expression. Could it be that Enrico didn’t say anything?

Enrico, who was always angry as if he would be put at a disadvantage at any moment, would naturally give instructions to his aide, but Fabio seemed to know nothing at all, which was very surprising.

‘Or do you think that if you just ignore it, the situation will be resolved?’

Emilia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her mood was fluctuating. She stared into space, licking her lips nervously amidst indescribably complicated emotions.

“Miss Emilia?”

“Yes?”

“What happened?”

“Ah… … . No, it’s not. I just remembered that Fabio went back yesterday because of an urgent matter.”

I was going to say that he had requested to terminate the contract, but I changed the subject because I thought it would be better not to.

Fabio would definitely tell Enrico what I heard from him, but I had no idea how he would react if he heard this.

It would be better if he got angry and agreed to terminate the contract, but I was worried that he would ignore me and try to force the contract.

‘I might have to hire a lawyer if it comes

down to it.’ I sighed. I was already worried about which lawyer would take on the task of dealing with Duke Michele.

“Yesterday, it was urgent. It’s confidential, so I can’t go into detail, but someone who knows important facts has spoken up, so I’m currently checking on that.”

Fabio lowered his voice with a serious expression, as if it was more serious than he thought.

Important facts? Could it be that he didn’t have time to worry about terminating the contract? Emilia’s eyes, which she had been trying to ignore, narrowed. At her reaction, Fabio straightened his back and smiled.

“But you will still go on the day of the performance as scheduled. You didn’t give me any instructions to change my schedule.”

… … Could it be that they would come to see the performance when there was talk of breaking the contract? Concern soon filled Emilia’s eyes.

***

The curtain rose on the stage three months after the [La Sylphide] performance was suspended due to an unfortunate accident.

The setting sun poured into the theater through the wide windows, and the theater was beautifully decorated in anticipation of the performance.

The large chandelier hanging from the ceiling illuminated all around brilliantly, drawing many audience members despite the hot weather. As if they had forgotten about the previous accident, the expressions of those entering the lobby were filled with anticipation.

As the audience seats began to fill one by one with a commotion, Emilia, who was waiting in the dressing room, sighed as she held a cup of water in her hand.

“It’s unusually hot today.”

“Yes.”

The makeup artist took his hand away and wiped her forehead. Emilia muttered softly and got up from her seat with her cup in her hand.

“Oh, I should go out soon. It’s harder to stay inside in this weather.”

Emilia smiled slightly as if agreeing with the makeup artist who was quickly cleaning up the place, and slowly sipped the lukewarm water.

Normally, I don’t drink a lot of water before a performance, but on a hot day like this, I couldn’t help but drink water to survive.

If I was worried that my body would stiffen up due to the cold during a winter performance, I was worried that my body would lose strength due to the heat during a summer performance.

However, although it was almost the end of summer and fall would soon be here, the heat this year felt particularly long.

Emilia put down her cup that she had finished drinking and quickly headed into the hallway. Since many people were standing in front of the large windows in the hallway to avoid the heat, she walked to the end of the hallway, which was relatively quiet.

She greeted the two people who had come and stood there first, then closed her eyes for a moment and felt the wind gently brushing her cheeks and the back of her neck.

She said that the wind was a little cooler than during the day, but she suddenly turned her head at the gaze that sent shivers down her spine.

Emilia, who was rolling her eyes here and there amidst the people busy moving about and the sounds of various conversations, saw the slightly open emergency door.