When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 107



Only Noblemtl

#107. Why here
2024.04.16.

A sudden wind noise could be heard through the crack in the window. Snow was falling incessantly in the sky that had darkened faster than usual, and the ground was soon covered in white.

Emilia stared blankly out the window and reached out to the handle of the kettle that was making a sound as if it was boiling. She brought Enrico home in a hurry, but she was worried the whole time she was coming inside.

‘If it weren’t for the snow, I would have just talked to him at the door and sent him away… …’

Emilia bit her lower lip as she thought that far. It was because she thought that even if the weather had been nice, she wouldn’t have been able to send him away right away.

Enrico, whom she had met for the first time in three years, had become such a stranger.

He had wavered when he confessed his feelings to her, but it wasn’t to this extent, but now he was a broken person, as if his entire foundation had been shaken.

His skin, which was always clean and smooth, had become rough, and his purple eyes, which had once shone languidly, had become cloudy and fierce.

The blood vessels filling his whites of his eyes had burst, making him look even more fierce.

His solid physique had shrunk noticeably, and he could tell at a glance that he had lost a lot of weight.

Since he was a person with a basic frame, he didn’t look small, but rather, because he had lost so much weight, his condition seemed even more serious.

‘… … This is not the time to pity him. First, we need to think about how he came here. No, more than that, we need to think about why he came here.’

At first, he had expected Enrico to come looking for him. However, time heals all wounds, and now that three years had passed, he had thought that he would simply return to his old self and live as normal.

However, when he saw Enrico in front of him, it seemed like it was impossible.

Even now, Enrico’s gaze was not taking his eyes off him for even a second, as if he were a dog waiting for its owner. It was a gaze that was qualitatively different from the one focused on her dancing on stage.

‘… … I can’t avoid it anymore. Let’s talk.’

Emilia took a deep breath and looked down at the steaming glass. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she approached Enrico, who was waiting for her without a word, holding the glass in both hands.

After putting the glass down, she sat down across from Enrico. Emilia calmly looked up and faced him.

“It’s been a while.”

“Why… … .”

After looking at her for a moment, he moistened his dry lips slightly and continued.

“Why are you here?”

“… … Because everything is finished.”

She calmly answered, gently wrapping the glass in both hands and receiving the warm air.

His expression as he stared at her remained unchanged. The area under his eyes that had been shining with an expressionless face suddenly trembled slightly.

“Are you hiding the fact that you’re alive on purpose?”

“It wasn’t intentional, but if you misunderstood me like that, I didn’t intend to reveal it.”

“… … Why? I thought you had feelings for me too.”

The question flowed out weakly. She lowered her eyes to her glass, feeling burdened by his gaze that seemed to be looking at her earnestly.

“That’s right.”

It was the first time she had revealed her true feelings, but it was in the past tense. Enrico’s face hardened as he noticed the subtle difference.

“But just because you have feelings for someone doesn’t mean you have to stay with them. I think it was right for the Duke and I to maintain the relationship we had agreed on.”

“… … What?”

“I sincerely hope that the Duke meets someone stable.” A

perfect wife who doesn’t have to sacrifice herself for others and doesn’t have to reveal her regrets to others.

Emilia felt her heart pounding as she spoke, but she tried to pretend that nothing happened. She saw his large hands tightly clenching her hands that were on the table.

‘If you’ve been searching for me for three years and come all the way here, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to go back.’

Should I leave this place again?

I felt incredibly sorry for the man in front of me and wanted to hug him right away, but on the other hand, I couldn’t reach out because I thought about the image of him getting hurt because of me.

I was still scared of him sacrificing himself for me. As I thought about my family that left me early, I thought about my future where I would eventually live alone, stepping on someone’s flesh and blood.

It even haunted me like a nightmare every time I fell asleep, as if it might really happen.

“… … It’s too late at night to organize the long time, so I think it’d be better for you to rest for now.” It was too

late at night to tell him to go back, and the snowstorm showed no sign of stopping. From the looks of it, it didn’t seem like he had brought anyone with him, so I was so worried about him being alone that I wanted to let him stay for a night.

Enrico didn’t move at those words, and soon Emilia muttered with a helpless expression,

“Let’s talk tomorrow too.”

Enrico stared at her without saying anything, wondering what was on his mind. Whether it was because of the cold or the heat from his body, his reddened eyes poked her chest again.

Emilia tried to turn her head and got up from her seat. The day was quickly coming to an end.

***

Moonlight shone in the room where darkness had fallen. Unlike Emilia’s face, which was shining white in the blue moonlight, Enrico’s face, which was facing the window, was covered in shadows.

“Where are you going at this hour?”

Enrico, who had suddenly come to his room, saw Emilia’s luggage, which was preparing to leave. Then, as if he had known this would happen, he turned his back as if to hide his wounded eyes.

Then, he discovered traces of snow that had stopped during the night, looked at her for a moment, and slowly turned back to look at her again.

Upon hearing the question, Emilia’s body staggered slightly and stepped back. She fluttered her eyelashes as if she had stepped back without realizing it, and placed both hands on her chest as she watched Enrico approaching her as he moved away.

“… … What are you doing this late at night, Duke?” She

was planning to leave quietly. The contract had already ended, and since it was an unnecessary relationship for both of them, she just needed more time.

She thought that after some time had passed, the feelings she had for a moment would no longer matter. So she planned to prepare to leave while he was asleep.

Originally, it would be good to talk to him tomorrow and prepare, but if she continued to see him like this, her heart would waver, so she wanted to leave this place even more.

‘I prepared just in case, but who would have thought that the day would come when I would really use it?’

Even though she liked the new village she had settled in, she was always prepared to leave just in case, so leaving during the night was not difficult. However, if Enrico hadn’t caught her.

Soon, Enrico took another step closer. No, he gradually closed the distance between them as if he had no intention of stopping.

“… … .”

Emilia instinctively stepped back, but when she felt the bed behind her, she tried to stop, but it was too late. With a thud, Emilia’s body collapsed on the bed, losing her balance and half-lying down.

Emilia tried to get up right away, putting strength into the arms that were supporting her upper body.

However, the shadow that was cast over her was faster than her. As the long arms each touched Emilia’s face, she felt a cold wind with the musk of the trees.

“Your Majesty.”

Unlike her calm voice, the end of her words trembled.

Emilia blinked anxiously at the hand that gently grabbed her chin. It wasn’t a strong force, but it was a hand that she couldn’t refuse.

As she followed the hand, her head turned and her eyes met Enrico’s, who was looking down at her.

It was truly strange. Her face, which had always been relaxed, had been covered with indescribable, unfamiliar emotions since some time ago.

The dark purple eyes did not fall as if they would swallow her at any moment, but the blue veins on the back of her neck just took a deep breath as if she was suppressing something.

“… … Please get out of the way. And since we are not in a contractual relationship, please stop coming by like this.”

“When.”

“Huh?”

His frowning eyes twitched slightly.

“I’ve never finished it.”

He felt like a solid wall. To the point where there was absolutely no way to escape from him.

“What is that… … .”

In the end, Emilia trailed off and lifted her legs to get off the bed. There was a thud, the sound of her shoes hitting the bed and hitting the floor.

The soles of her feet rubbed against the cool sheets, and her gesture of quickly stepping back while sitting up was suddenly stopped by a hand grabbing her ankle.

“… … !”

Her whole body froze as if she was bound in chains. Emilia’s two eyes shook violently.

“You can wear it when you’re dancing ballet, but don’t wear it when you’re running away from me.”

His hand tightly grabbed her left ankle and then slowly released it. His ticklish hands

moved down to her toes, caressing her toes and the top of her foot leisurely. When she flinched at the persistent touch and tried to pull it away, it slid up to her calf and then his other hand pressed firmly on her right thigh.

Enrico still kept his gaze fixed on her. However, the hand on her thigh slowly began to move up to her secret inner flesh. A surprised breath and a groan escaped her mouth.

“I have no intention of letting you go.”

Soon, his hand stopped precariously and a low, murky voice whispered. And her legs rose high.