When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 106



Only Noblemtl

#106. Dark Cloud
2024.04.15.

She remembered Enrico, who was moving around too much despite his poor health. It was a relationship that could not end well in the first place, but the fact that they had to break up in the worst possible situation kept bothering her.

Emilia habitually swept her left wrist with her right hand. It seemed like the trembling hand that had held her with a pale face at the duke’s residence was still on her arm like a burn mark.

The burnt cabin must have disappeared without a trace, but her heart still seemed to be stuck there.

‘It must be because we broke up so badly.’

She let out a small sigh as she rationalized herself with the same words every time. She had promised herself to forget everything and start anew, but the past from three years ago occasionally soaked her heart like the rain that fell without warning. She

wasn’t unhappy at all now. She had come to live as if everything was perfect for her.

Finding this small town called ‘Bailey’ was truly the best luck, and being able to teach ballet to children here, which I had not been able to do, was also an endless blessing.

Although the town was small, it was a place where they made a lot of money by exporting local specialties. As a result, there were no hungry people here, and there were even people who dreamed of saving money and going to the capital.

That’s why when a foreigner who had settled down alone opened a strange ballet studio, they watched with curious eyes rather than being wary.

Some parents even gave their children who were interested a chance to learn. It

was a place where everything was perfect. It was a peaceful place where they could do whatever they wanted to do.

‘Even though I can’t dance like I used to…’

Sometimes when I teach children, I show them a demonstration, but it was difficult to do the same difficult jumps and spinning movements as before. I

was somewhat prepared for injuries, so I didn’t have any regrets, but sometimes I missed the stage, which was a small regret that I couldn’t help.

As the audience’s gazes adoring Emilia on stage rose, Enrico’s purple eyes, which had been staring at him with longing eyes, naturally rose.

‘… … I’ll never be able to dance like I used to.’

In any case, he had to go to a famous hospital to get his ankle treated properly, but he had no desire to do so, and even if he did, he knew that it would be difficult to completely recover with the current level of medicine.

The perfect ballerina figure that Enrico had wanted was a past glory that he would never be able to regain.

“Teacher Leah!”

A cute voice was heard behind Emilia, who was looking out the window with a pensive face. Emilia quickly blinked her eyes twice and turned around.

“Isn’t it time? Let’s start quickly.”

The children who wanted to go home quickly were looking up at him with their eyes sparkling.

Although they usually liked ballet, the desire to play was a child’s instinct, so Emilia ended up laughing cutely.

“Okay. Now, shall we review the part we practiced yesterday?”

The sound of the piano accompaniment followed the calm voice. Behind her, who was raising the corners of her lips as if to hide the shadows that had been on her face a little while ago, dark clouds began to gather from far away beyond the window.

***

“I… … . Teacher Ria.”

A voice cautiously called out to Emilia as she left the classroom to leave work. Emilia’s eyes widened slightly as she turned around.

“Mr. Marino? You haven’t left work yet?”

Marino, who was in charge of the piano accompaniment, was standing there, hesitating. His gently downturned eyes and white skin gave him a much gentler impression.

“Yes. The wind is getting too strong. I thought it would be a bit dangerous to go alone… … .”

“Yes. The wind is strong.”

“Oh! Well, can I go with you?”

“But I think it’s okay to go alone.”

Marino’s eyes drooped even more at Emilia’s gentle but firm voice.

Enrico’s eyes were slightly downturned, but he had never seemed gentle, so whenever he saw Marino, his eyes kept coming to mind, even though it was strange.

Emilia turned her back on Marino as if ignoring Enrico’s eyes that were flashing through her mind.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. Then I’ll go first-”

“Emilia!”

A low voice cut off her words and pierced her ears. Then she felt someone grab her arm and turn her around, and hug her body tightly. She didn’t have time to think.

Only Enrico, his name filled her head. It felt like time had stopped.

The familiar voice that she shouldn’t have heard and the woody musk scent that she hadn’t smelled in a long time paralyzed Emilia, making her unable to move.

Enrico stroked Emilia’s cheek with an eager hand, as if he had found an oasis in the desert where he had wandered for a long time.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Emilia’s face, as if he couldn’t believe that she was really in front of him. The arms that were tightly hugging her back trembled, and his eyelids, soaked in emotion, fluttered.

“Emilia… … . Is it real?”

“… … .”

“This isn’t a dream, is it? Is this real?”

“… … .”

“It’s warm… … . If it were a dream, I wouldn’t feel anything, but you’re so warm.”

His hands moving back and forth between her cheek and the nape of her neck were so pitiful. Enrico’s eyes clearly weren’t shedding a single tear, but because of the blood vessels standing up in the whites of his eyes, they strangely looked red as if they were about to cry at any moment.

“You were really alive. You really were… … .”

He kept mumbling to himself, then stopped talking and took a deep breath as if he was overcome with emotion. His heart was beating so hard that it felt like it would explode between their bodies.

Then, as if he couldn’t control his emotions, he hugged her tightly once again.

“How can this man be here?”

Emilia was so shocked by the unexpected appearance that her face hardened. She couldn’t even react to Enrico, who was lowering his face into the hollow between her neck and shoulder.

“… … What kind of rudeness is this!”

Marino was the first to come to his senses in that sudden situation. Marino, who had been blankly staring at Enrico, who had suddenly embraced Emilia, belatedly approached her in surprise.

As he tried to drop the arm that was suffocatingly holding her, Enrico’s black hair, which had been burying his head in his shoulder, trembled. Soon,

Enrico slowly raised his head. His long eyelashes rose, revealing his dark, sunken purple eyes.

Marino couldn’t move at all due to the pressure he had never felt before. A chilling atmosphere, qualitatively different from the cold, surrounded the surroundings.

“… … What is that?”

Enrico seemed to finally recognize Marino. It was only one word, but the arrogance that made one feel the gap in status was immediately felt.

Enrico’s arms, which had completely raised his head, were still tightly embracing Emilia. His sculpted features were clearly visible beneath his disheveled black hair.

His cheeks were slanted and he had a sharp impression, but he was a handsome man who caught one’s attention with his beauty that was hard to find in one’s life.

“A nobleman?”

Marino unconsciously hesitated and moved his lips. Enrico, who was looking down at him coldly, was holding Emilia in his arms, not giving her even a little bit of room to breathe, as if he was guarding what was his.

“Who are you looking at right now? You don’t even know the subject, and get those dirty eyes off of Emilia right now.”

“That, that woman is not Emilia. She has the name Leah.”

Who on earth is Emilia? Marino managed to utter the words through his trembling lips. However, not even a second after he uttered them, Marino immediately regretted it.

In fact, when he first saw Enrico, he had thought that he looked a bit crazy.

However, it seemed that it was a mistake, as now, as soon as he finished speaking, his eyes twitched and his murderous intent was revealed, and he couldn’t breathe.

“What are you? It’s annoying that you covet my things with those unlucky eyes, but you’re getting on my nerves by saying strange names-”

“Duke!”

Enrico, who was still holding Emilia in his arms with one arm and reaching out with the other hand as if he wanted to strangle Marino right away, suddenly stopped moving.

“Emilia… … .”

With a thud, Marino’s legs gave out and he fell backwards, his eyes shaking madly. Emilia’s gaze glanced behind her. She felt a pang as she saw Marino trembling all over like a person who was possessed by fear.

“Wait a minute! Let me go!”

Emilia quickly tried to push Enrico away. She couldn’t reach his chest, which was too tight, so she twisted her body and barely managed to push his waist away.

However, as he kept muttering that he wouldn’t let go as if he was going to be in trouble if he fell even a little, she began to have extreme thoughts that she might be like this until dawn if she continued like this.

‘I have to get out of here first.’

Emilia let out a complicated sigh at the small snowflakes that were disappearing as if they were seeping into the bridge of her nose.

Even the snow she had been worried about earlier was falling right now, so getting out of there was a priority. Even if it was her own house.