When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 108



Only Noblemtl

#108. Just by my side
2024.04.17.

At the same time as her toes swayed in the air, the strength in her arms that were barely supporting her upper body eventually gave out.

Emilia desperately tried to regain her balance, but it wasn’t easy because the soft bed naturally touched her back and Enrico’s shadow loomed over her.

The silence that had fallen in an instant filled the room. The sound of each other’s breathing seemed to be the only thing in the world, and her hot hands filled with fever were still on her thighs.

“… … Then if I can’t do ballet, can’t I leave you, Your Highness?”

Emilia’s words trembled.

“My value to You, Your Highness, is based on ballet.”

No matter how much she confessed her feelings, the original reason Enrico was attracted to her was ballet.

He must have become interested in ballet and even harbored feelings for her, but if he couldn’t do the most important thing, ballet, there was no telling how long his feelings would last.

“… … Don’t use strange tricks. “No matter what you say, I won’t let you go.”

Enrico lowered his head more and more. However, since his back was to the window, he couldn’t see his expression at all. He

simply folded his arms between her hair that was tangled like waves on the bed and closed the distance between them.

Enrico’s bangs, which he had leaned on his elbows, tickled his forehead. However, in this situation, Emilia was more concerned about something else than his hand that was still on her thigh.

‘… … My feet.’

Emilia pretended to lower her eyes and glanced down.

Even though she was talking about the condition of her ankles and her condition of not being able to dance anymore, she didn’t want to be honest about her bumpy feet. She had

said that she was going to end it anyway and had cruelly turned her back on him and left. As her selfish heart grew, she quickly wrapped up this situation and didn’t want to repeat the same thing.

“If I had known you would come here, I would have told you clearly then.”

“Stop.”

Enrico pressed his forehead against hers and lowered his voice. His breath spreading across her lips was hot as hell.

“… … I don’t know if my ankle will heal or not. And even if it does, I can’t guarantee whether it will heal in a year or in ten years.”

“It’s no use saying that.”

“Huh?”

His head tilted, and their foreheads slightly moved apart. However, their lips were still in the same position, and she felt their breaths getting closer.

“Whether you can do ballet or not, I have no intention of letting you go. Just stay by my side. Don’t go anywhere.”

Every time he spoke, unfamiliar skin brushed against her lips. Whether it was because of his lips or because she was trapped beneath him, her pit of pain grew. Before she knew it,

Emilia’s hands, which had been resting between his shoulders and chest, began to tighten.

Then, as soon as he stopped talking, the strange sensation that had been passing by suddenly changed and they came together, causing her body to freeze.

Their lips touched each other’s lips and then slightly separated.

Then Enrico immediately turned his lips, and as if he was eating a macaron, he slowly licked her upper and lower lips, and because of that kiss, her toes curled up on their own.

Instinctively, she pushed him away, and her trembling eyelids kept trying to close. She should have pushed him away right away, but why was she quietly accepting his lips? It was complicated in many ways.

It seemed like she was reminding herself that her feelings for him, which she had forgotten, were still the same, and it seemed like she was secretly wanting to be with him while saying that she should push him away.

Emilia’s hands tightened. It seemed like if she kept going like this, it would be irreversible.

“Ha… … Emilia.”

“Wait, just a moment.”

Enrico took his lips off for a moment so she could breathe. Emilia slightly turned her upper body and tilted her head. The slightly tilted head brought the lower part into view.

Before I knew it, my legs, which had stretched out in the air, were kneeling on the bed, and I could see Enrico’s hands moving between my knees and calves, then gradually moving down to my ankles.

Even though I didn’t practice like I used to, my feet were still in bad shape because I had been doing it for a long time.

I used to be proud of my ruined feet because I thought they were the result of my efforts, but after meeting him, my bumpy feet had gradually turned into a scar. I should stop hiding

them so shamefully. I didn’t show him the crucial aspect that he hated the most, even though I wanted to end the relationship. Now, I wanted to bring out all the conflicts I had been hiding.

“Why all of a sudden? Are you trying to say something else?”

His hands were about to touch my bare feet that I had wanted to hide. She stared down at his hands and then looked up at him again.

As his face shimmered in the moonlight, she saw the corners of Enrico’s lips twist as he kissed her hair and forehead one after another.

The way she smiled with one eye squinted as if she was in pain was unfamiliar.

“It’s no use now. No matter what I say, I won’t let you go.”

Enrico held her thin ankle tightly. He didn’t want to go back to the long time he regretted thinking Emilia was dead and the lonely time he spent without her.

Her ankle, which was still large enough to hold in one hand, was so thin that it seemed like it would break if he applied just a little force.

“… … Even if you can’t dance like you used to and you’re not beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“Lies.”

He pretended to be calm, but there was no way to hide his slightly trembling voice. Enrico looked down at her for a moment and slowly raised his upper body.

“Even after seeing this?”

Emilia followed him, leaning on both elbows and slightly raising her upper body. Then she lifted her ankle that he was holding and asked provocatively.

Her deeply locked purple eyes moved slowly. Contrary to what she was saying, her caught ankle flinched and pushed the bed sheets away.

He looked at it and brought it in front of me while holding my ankle. Then, as if telling me to step on him, he placed the sole of his foot against my shin.

“How’s your ankle?”

“… … Yes?”

“When you get back, focus on getting treatment. It doesn’t matter if you don’t do ballet, but you shouldn’t ignore the pain.”

Enrico seemed more interested in the condition of his ankle than the shape of the foot he was holding. Just as Emilia was about to frown, thinking that he might be pretending not to know, he lifted his foot into the air and raised it up.

Emilia’s eyes slowly widened. She stared at his actions with a speechless face.

“… …!”

Enrico answered with actions rather than words.

He lowered his head and tried to kiss the tip of his foot, which was rough with calluses and had thick joints. Emilia, who came to her senses belatedly, was startled and pulled her foot away, sitting back down.

“Why?”

Why? That was what he had to say. Emilia blinked her eyes repeatedly as if she was shocked by Enrico’s question.

She had imagined many ways Enrico would react when he saw her feet, but she had not expected this at all.

She had thought he would just look away with a look of contempt or disinterest, but he tried to kiss her feet even after seeing them up close. She was astonished.

“No matter what I say, you won’t believe me.”

“No matter what, I was just trying to tell you something you didn’t know.”

“What if you found out? Did you think I would leave?”

“That’s… …”

Enrico reached out and carefully cupped one of her cheeks. His hands, caressing her as if he was touching glass that could easily break, felt strangely longing.

“How can you leave when you, who I thought was dead, are right here in front of me?”

The tips of his eyebrows lowered slightly and he smiled weakly. She unconsciously closed her trembling lips because he smiled like that with his pale face, making her look even more sad.

His bloodshot eyes looked so tired and his complexion looked very worn out. However, as if he had been waiting for this moment, he tried to stay awake somehow.

“It’s okay. You keep doubting. I will continue to give you confidence.” She

was confused about who the man in front of her was. What kind of time had he spent in the past three years that he was acting so fiercely, but now he was acting like a dog who was whining.

And as she continued to look at him like that, her determination that she had worked so hard to keep was about to crumble.

Did she feel sorry for the arrogant man who only cared about himself? Finally, Emilia closed her eyes tightly and sighed deeply.

The tips of his fingers on her cheek trembled anxiously at her deep breath. Even though it was only a slight movement, she could tell right away.

“… … You don’t have to love me. Just stay by my side.”

After hesitating for a long time, he spoke dryly as if he had made up his mind.

Her sigh seemed to be a sign that she was about to push him away again, so she began to reveal her anxious expression more and more openly, worried that she might run away again.

Emilia felt like she was going to cry. Was she foolishly making this relationship complicated?

She had been confident that it was a choice for each other, even if it was a cowardly reason, but the man in front of her looked very difficult, like someone who had suffered a lifetime because of that choice.

“Emilia.”

The tip of his chin trembled as he called her name as if pleading.