When Pride Fell at my Toes

“It’s okay. You can keep watching.”

 

“No, I’ve seen enough.”

 

“Okay. By the way, we made quite a fuss on the day of the performance. We almost got scolded.”

 

“Yeah, I guess that’s why we left an impression (in the performance).”

 

“Come to think of it, I’m a little curious too. I’ve heard a lot about him sponsoring dancers, but the conditions are not really known. Usually, there would be rumors flying around. He’s so secretive. Maybe…”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Does he ask for anything strange?”

 

Juliana covered her mouth with her hand and widened her eyes.

 

“Well, you know, there are some nobles who ask for sleeping arrangements sometimes.”

 

“Surely not… Maybe he’s just sponsoring them purely out of kindness.”

 

“Well, that could be it too. Ugh, it’s just strange that such a famous person is so secretive. I was just talking nonsense. If his intentions are pure, it would be great for the person receiving it.”

 

Pure intentions… Emilia smiled bitterly and shook her head. Although Enrico had only asked her to dance, the fact that he had proposed a contract involving her parents in the first place was far from pure.

 

What should she do? Should she try to escape again? Or should she go to the Avalianche Ballet Company tomorrow to apply for membership? He had only given her two days to think about it. The time given to her was not long.

 

Emilia looked out the window with her eyes filled with worry. The sunlight, which had been peeking through the clouds, was now streaming into the room.

 

* * *

 

Amidst the whirlwind of events, the most crucial matter had slipped from Emilia’s mind.

 

“What is your relationship with Duke Michele?”

 

Emilia let out a deep sigh as she gazed at Giorgio Este standing before her.

 

Had she really lost her mind? She had escaped in the middle of the night to avoid her uncle, and yet she had only been concerned about Enrico Michele. If she were dragged away like this, the situation would only become more complicated, with contracts and all, but she had been too complacent.

 

Moreover, instead of sending a servant as she had anticipated, he had come to the academy in person. Here, where she was naturally perceived as a member of a distant, impoverished branch family, Giorgio’s sudden appearance could only be awkward.

 

‘At least it’s fortunate that it’s vacation time.’

 

She had quickly managed to pull Giorgio away to a secluded path at the back of the academy before anyone could notice, but she now questioned whether this was the right course of action. After all, she might be the one who ended up being dragged away.

 

But…

 

“Duke Michele, you say?”

 

His unexpected opening remark, mentioning Enrico Michele out of the blue, left her somewhat puzzled.

 

“Yes. His aide visited this morning. He said he would invest in a business venture.”

 

The deserted alleyway was eerie. The afterglow of the setting sun had faded, and the darkness was creeping in, but her eyes, accustomed to the gloom, could easily read Giorgio’s expression.

 

“…A business venture?”

 

“I’ve been struggling to find investors all this time, and yet he already knows everything and comes to me. Well, you don’t need to know about that. Anyway! The reason I’m asking is because you’re part of the investment conditions!”

 

Giorgio twirled his mustache and narrowed his eyes. It seemed as if he was scrutinizing her every move, searching for any hint of suspicion. Despite the lack of streetlights, his oil-slicked brown hair and moss-green eyes gleamed under the moonlight.

 

“Could you please elaborate?”

 

“He said he would invest on the condition that I don’t interfere with your ballet training. This sinister thing…When did you start receiving money behind my back? And yet you’re going to marry him? You’ve been keeping it all to yourself?”

 

Emilia’s expression hardened. If an investment was coming in, he should be happy, so why was he getting so worked up? Could it be that he was worried she was keeping the money for herself, which is why he had rushed here personally?

 

Money could make people change their tune, so it wasn’t that surprising. Rather, she was more surprised by the conditional investment. It was as if he had everything planned out in advance.

 

She recalled Enrico Michele summoning her in his carriage the other night. In retrospect, he had seemed to know something about her from the very beginning.

 

From waiting in his carriage near the academy that night to giving her a knowing look when he saw her packing her bags, it was possible that he already knew what Giorgio Este had demanded of her.

 

If her last thought was correct, then his current behavior was likely a ploy to control Giorgio by making such a statement. However, it seemed more like he was simply assuming she would agree to the contract and was using this as an opportunity to manipulate her without restraint.

 

Hesitantly, Emilia shook her head.

 

“…There’s no such relationship. I only met him for the first time at the theater last night.”

 

“You have no relationship with him, yet he came to me and talked about you? You’re mocking me right now! You’re pretending to be innocent, but you’re trying to stab me in the back? Anyway, what a bunch of good-for-nothings. I guess they teach you to gyrate and writhe around lasciviously instead of dancing.”

 

“Uncle!”

 

“What are you staring for? You should be giving me money instead of your parents. You should be grateful that I’m the one keeping your empty, penniless family afloat. What? If it weren’t for that money, I would have already- ugh, cough! Anyway! You need to start earning money. Remember, no matter how much of an adult you think you are, you can’t escape me as long as you’re part of this family. But what, sponsorship? You think I’m going to be satisfied with that?”

 

TL/N: RIKI…WHEN I CATCH YOU, RIKI!

 

As Giorgio shook her arm, Emilia’s body swayed like a branch in the wind. She looked at the thick hand that was gripping her arm and then closed her eyes tightly.

 

‘I’m so sick of this…’

 

She wished she could just run away. Regret washed over her like a wave.

 

She wanted to yell at him to apologize right now. No, she wanted to slap him. But a chilling premonition that she wouldn’t be able to escape his clutches until she died sent shivers down her spine.

 

She was suffocated by the reality that he considered her his property and was trying to manipulate her, even though she couldn’t even keep the family, let alone herself.

 

“So what’s your relationship with the duke? Can’t you tell me straight?”

 

Her confidence in escaping was now waning. She felt like she would eventually be dragged back to this hellish place, no matter where she went. She wondered if she was meant to go through life with nothing.

 

Her parents, ballet, and herself. The humans who were rushing towards her like demons to take everything away from her were weighing her down.

 

‘It’s not just the same place, it’s really hell.’

 

The reality that she had to escape from the man who was trying to sell her and go to the man who was trying to use her parents to possess her like a doll in a music box was truly hell. The last flicker of hope died out as belated realization began to kill her spirit.

 

Emilia’s delicate eyelashes, lowered, trembled like flower petals caught in the rain. Her eyes gradually reddened like burning embers, and her deep breaths escaped her lips in tremors.

 

‘…Even if I can’t have anything in this life, perhaps knowing the truth about my parents’ injustice would be a reason to live.’

 

That is, if Enrico Michele’s words were true. If he was just trying to use her parents, she wouldn’t be the only one living in hell.

 

In Emilia’s long silence, Giorgio had already started muttering nonsense. As she raised her head, her ears, which had been muffled like she was underwater, opened again, and the blurred figure of Giorgio, who was trying to get more excited, came into her blurred vision.

 

“It’s not like that.”

 

Even if she expressed her feelings emotionally, it wouldn’t solve anything, and if she provoked him like this, he might cause a scene so big that even the people who weren’t there would be drawn in. After all, he was a beast that didn’t know shame.

 

“I first met the Duke after the performance. And he offered to sponsor me.”

 

As Emilia struggled to regain her calm demeanor, a sigh escaped her lips. She then unexpectedly grabbed Giorgio’s wrist with her opposite hand, intending to pry it off, but his hand came loose easily, prompting her to quietly return her arm to its place.

 

“What kind of sponsorship? Are you the only one who’s going to profit from this?”

 

“Yes. I was only offered, and I haven’t given an answer yet.”

 

“What? You mean you just got an offer and he’s already saying he’s going to invest in my business? So if you get the sponsorship, we’ll get even more…? Hmm. But why didn’t you just accept it?”

 

His voice, which had softened a bit, came back a beat late.

 

“……I’m an Este. I have to make sure that the family benefits through me, don’t I? That’s why I was going to consult with my uncle, but I guess Duke Michele has already made his move.”

 

“Yes, that’s right. I need to know about this. But why is the duke so interested in you? Huh… So what are you going to do?”

 

“Well, you said there might be other offers after the performance, right? But I wonder if Duke Michele is different from the other nobles. Of course, marriage might be the priority, but if the duke’s sponsorship would be a great benefit to my uncle, wouldn’t it be worth considering?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Giorgio stroked his bushy mustache and closed his eyes tightly. Giorgio was silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

 

“……Well, I suppose I can’t very well refuse the duke’s offer.”

* * * *

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