When Pride Fell at my Toes

Emilia’s shoulders were grabbed by his hands, one on each side of the chair, while she remained between them. She reflexively tried to push him away, grabbing his shoulders, but he didn’t budge.

 

Instead, he slowly lowered his head, and Emilia, feeling like she had nowhere else to go, leaned back against the backrest, her shoulder blades digging into the wood.

 

“As much as possible.”

 

A strange, intense energy enveloped them. The ends of his black hair brushed against her forehead. She looked into his approaching violet eyes, her expression blank.

 

Their faces were so close that their breaths mingled, and she froze, her body tense, as if their lips were about to touch.

 

But he didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping, and his nose brushed against hers. The touch was so light that she almost didn’t feel it, but his head tilted at an odd angle, creating a provocative stance.

 

He delved deeper, maintaining the distance just before touching. Emilia’s two hands, which had been gripping Enrico’s shoulders, turned white.

 

“Don’t put on that stupid pride. The only time you can show your emotions in front of me is when you’re dancing.”

 

His hot breath brushed against her ear as he whispered. The low voice, mixed with a sound like scratching the bottom of an abyss, sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes, which she had closed without realizing it, snapped open.

 

“…….”

 

“Should I ask them to warm up the food?”

 

The tension that felt like a taut string snapped abruptly. Then, he slowly approached her, taking his breath away, and raised his head nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

 

Her gaze, which had been fixed on the space where his face had been, followed him upwards. The moment their eyes met, he raised an eyebrow, as if amused.

 

Unlike her eyes, which were a mix of resentment and anger, her cheeks, flushed with shame, looked like ripe peaches. He absentmindedly traced her soft cheeks with his index finger.

 

“I think it would be a shame if you lost more weight here. I need to feed you well.”

 

A strange glint appeared in his dark eyes. Emilia, who had been silently looking up at Enrico, felt her heart skip a beat, and then her gaze shifted elsewhere. He watched her for a while before turning away.

 

Emilia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress her complicated emotions, and then slowly opened them.

 

Don’t waver, this is something you were somewhat prepared for. You didn’t think he was just going to let you dance purely, did you?

 

It was not normal for a man who called her a work of art to show such strange possessiveness.

 

Even if he likes her now, his whims are unpredictable. The quality of evidence will obviously vary depending on whether or not he is interested, even though the contract says he will continue to investigate.

 

‘Just one year… Just one year is all I need.’

 

Her hands, which had been clenched under the table, tightened and then relaxed.

 

Meanwhile, the servants who had been waiting outside moved quickly. They took away the cold food one by one and brought out new appetizers.

 

“Do you drink?”

 

A butler in a black suit carefully poured wine into the glass in front of Enrico. A long finger touched the glass filled with translucent red wine.

 

“……No.”

 

“Then how about a similar colored drink to cheer you up.”

 

She thought he would force her to drink, but he backed off surprisingly blandly. When he gestured to the maid standing by, a red-purple liquid filled the empty glass.

 

Even though it wasn’t close, the sweet fruity aroma seemed to be grape juice.

 

Even in the middle of summer, the fruit didn’t seem to be affected by the season. However, the juice, which was the same color as the eyes of the man sitting in front of her, felt oddly uncomfortable, perhaps because of what she had seen in front of her nose earlier.

 

She slowly reached out for the glass and aimlessly rotated it in a circle. The purple color swirling in the glass continued to captivate her mind.

 

“I have some upcoming schedule to discuss.”

 

The words she had been waiting for finally came out. Emilia pushed the glass aside and looked at him.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Let’s schedule it for Tuesdays and Fridays.”

 

“Twice a week?”

 

“Yes. Since today is Wednesday, we can start the day after tomorrow.”

 

“Ah… So, do you assign the dances, or should I prepare them myself?”

 

“You can prepare them yourself. You can use the ones you’ve done before, or learn new ones. Just practice a solo dance for about 20 minutes a day.”

 

Twenty minutes. It might have been a short time for a group dance, but it was quite long to fill the stage alone. Of course, it wasn’t an excessive amount of time, so she understood.

 

The problem was the frequency of twice a week. It was a bit difficult due to the ballet schedule, but on the other hand, if she wanted to know the truth, it would be better to fulfill the contract as soon as possible.

 

Three times to fill once. For the sake of revealing the truth of the accident that would surely come to light someday…

 

“…I understand.”

 

Enrico nodded satisfactorily, as if he were pleased. Whether he was satisfied with his taciturn attitude or not, he gestured as if to say she should eat the food that had been brought.

 

A glass of white smoke rising port wine was placed in front of her. Although the stimulating smell of butter rose faintly, she didn’t feel hungry, perhaps because she was too preoccupied. Rather, her mouth felt dry, but she knew that if she skipped meals like this whenever she lost her appetite, her body would easily get tired. So she reluctantly picked up her utensils.

 

For a while, the only sound was the clinking of cutlery. Emilia quickly felt full as she ate the food brought to her.

 

“You don’t eat much compared to your activity level.”

 

Seeing her eating speed gradually slowing down, Enrico moved the wine glass closer to his mouth and spoke. As the wine poured in, his throat moved.

 

“If I don’t have any important schedules, I usually eat more than this.”

 

Emilia eventually put down her utensils and wiped her lips with a napkin. Since she had said that, she didn’t need to pretend to eat more.

 

At her attitude, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

 

“Eating a little more wouldn’t hurt.”

 

“That’s how it usually is.”

 

“Be careful not to collapse from being weak.”

 

Even though it was clearly a concerned statement, it sounded more like a warning not to scratch his property. Emilia, who understood that he only saw her as a work of art, simply drank some water.

 

“But why didn’t you consider the audition for the lead role?”

 

She almost spat out the water at his unexpected question. Emilia’s embarrassed expression seemed to be of no interest to Enrico, who was calmly cutting the steak. Juices were flowing from the thick meat.

 

“…It seems a bit early.”

 

He looked at her as he put a piece of meat of a suitable size into his mouth. It was a strange feeling.

 

Even though it was just a scene of eating, his gaze at Emilia seemed to glow darkly as if he were about to devour her. Feeling somehow dry in her mouth again, Emilia picked up her glass.

 

“I’m not sure what you mean by early. The audition results wouldn’t be that good anyway.”

 

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

 

“You won’t be able to do as much as you want. Because there aren’t many roles assigned to you.”

 

He already knows the results even though the audition was a few hours ago. Emilia blinked her eyes as if embarrassed. She knew that he would find out if he set out to do so, but she didn’t know that he would be concerned about even this audition.

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

As he picked up the napkin, the servant approached and cleared the plates.

 

“Are you going to pay attention to the auditions too?”

 

“Of course. You’re a gem I discovered, so I have to make you worth more.”

 

Every time she heard it, her mind grew colder. His demeanor, naturally erasing her presence as if to remind her that she was just a dancing doll, made her feel suffocated.

 

“…I can do it myself.”

 

“You can do it. It’s just that the pace will be different.”

 

“……”

 

“What I’m doing is just to prevent foreign objects from getting in the way of the place you should be.”

 

What a strange man. He disregarded her personality more than anyone else, but he seemed to be the one who believed in her abilities the most. I guess he acts like that because he completely believes in his own eye for talent.

 

Emilia slowly released her tightly clenched fist, which she didn’t even realize she was holding. She could feel the faint marks of her nails on her sore palm.

 

It was a sense of powerlessness she hadn’t felt in a long time. She thought that dealing with Enrico was more tiring than dancing, and Emilia opened the door to her house. She could hear the sound of the carriage that had brought her back gradually fading away.

 

‘When did they pack my belongings?’

 

Fabio, the aide, had told her to go straight home instead of returning to the dormitory. She was going to have to move out of the dormitory by the end of the month, so she was going to move slowly, but he packed her things so suddenly. It’s a good thing Juliana left first. She almost got embarrassed when he packed her things without a word.

 

The cold night wind that was soaked in the night air followed Emilia as she entered the house. The warmth of the fireplace that lit up the interior immediately enveloped Emilia, and the cold was gone. Emilia’s eyebrows narrowed slightly as she realized that it was a house filled with warmth.

 

“Welcome back, My Lady.”

 

“…You are?”

 

She didn’t even have time to admire the interior. Emilia blinked her eyes as she looked at the middle-aged woman in maid’s clothes who bowed politely.

 

“Greetings. I am Zaveta Natalia, who has been ordered to serve you here from now on.”

 

* * * *

 

If you want to support the Translator, Translator’s Ko-Fi: