When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 17



Only Noblemtl

#17. Insects Gathering Around Flowers
2024.01.17.

“Hmm- You already want to send the second prince to a foreign country?”

Did our older brother agree to that? Enrico thought of the king who had quietly stared at him with inscrutable eyes since he was young, and leisurely put on the gloves he had taken off.

The king would occasionally show discomfort, but he quickly hid it. Before the previous king and his wife died, they thought they were considerate of the current king and sent him far away from the capital to a much younger brother, but who would have thought that the inheritance would be discovered in that land? They could

n’t take it away because of the previous king’s oath, and since Enrico suddenly became the king’s greatest weapon, the relationship between the current king and him grew even further.

As he left the art gallery, the cold wind slightly tousled his hair. Enrico brushed his hair back and went down the stairs.

“It has nothing to do with me, so you should take care of the invitation yourself.”

“Understood.”

“How is Emilia?”

“She’s practicing hard. I’m a little worried that she’s been in the practice room longer than the others, perhaps because she’s been practicing so much. Oh, and she seems to be a little disappointed with her role. She doesn’t let on about the trouble that occurred on the day of the casting announcement, but there are times when she dances to the roles she missed when practicing alone.”

“Hmm… … . Let’s wait and see. I’m curious about how much the loach will muddy the water.”

“Understood. And I confirmed that she had a brief conversation with the Crown Prince on the phone early in the morning.”

“… … The Crown Prince?”

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince seemed very pleased with Miss Emilia.”

“Did it say in the report that they knew each other?”

“11 years ago, Viscount Este came to Deshiro regarding a patent, and he was with Miss Emilia at that time, and it has been confirmed that he met His Highness the Crown Prince about four times during that time.”

“You remember that long ago event and are still happy to see me?”

Enrico’s one eyebrow slightly raised. Fabio lowered his head at his displeased reaction.

“Yes. However, it seemed like Miss Emilia didn’t remember.”

“… … Even though she’s a flower, bugs tend to swarm her.”

“But most of them don’t have a clear relationship yet. Antonio Chiavelli, whom I reported to you about before, was my partner at the Academy of Fine Arts, so we talked more than the others, and we haven’t had any contact since then.”

“Well, if I leave him free and he gets caught up in something and interferes with the ballet, it’ll be too late.”

“… … .”

“Watch him closely. By the time you notice, it could already be too late.”

“Understood! Should I take you to the mansion?”

Enrico paused as he got into the carriage. He looked into space as if he was worried about something, but then sat down as if nothing had happened and took out a cigarette.

“Yeah. And call the jeweler.”

The tip of the cigarette burned red and rose white smoke. A red light flashed in her languidly lowered eyes.

***

When Vice-President Sylvia appeared in the practice room, the dancers’ eyes tightened. They had been watching her as she passed by, but this was the first time they had come inside and sat down.

Emilia tried to put on her pointe shoes, but she grabbed her ankle that had been throbbing since yesterday. She should have just gotten a hot pack yesterday. She regretted putting it off, thinking that the intermittent pain would subside tomorrow.

“Your ankle hurts again?”

Juliana whispered softly as she came up next to her. She was used to seeing Emilia rubbing her ankle or getting a hot pack in her room when she was at the art academy.

“No, it’s just… …”

“No… …” It’s because we practice too much, Emilia. How can our bodies be okay if we practice all day and move around like that? It’s hard to get treatment often in our situation, and there’s really no way to fix the pain in our bodies. “I can’t help it

. It’s our job to use our bodies.”

“No one does it like you do… … .”

“I see. But I guess I can’t help it because I have to practice ballet for a long time to move without getting tired on stage.”

“… … That’s why you’re good at it, but if you get sick and can’t do ballet for a long time, that’s a problem in its own way.”

Even so, it wasn’t the time to be relaxed. The familiar, affectionate nagging still stung her. Emilia eventually smiled vaguely and rolled her eyes at the sight of Juliana, who was feeling sorry for her as if it were her own business. Then she stopped looking at the place where the people were gathered.

“What’s wrong?”

Juliana snickered at Emilia’s muttering. It seemed obvious that she wanted to change the subject, since she was someone who had never been interested in other people’s stories.

“Ugh- I’ll stop. So, you’re curious about that side?”

“Huh? Just… … .”

“If you’re curious, just go over there and look. Now, take your shoes.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far.”

“Miss Emilia, get up quickly.”

Emilia stood up hesitantly at the firm voice. Juliana, who linked arms with her left arm, whether to escort her or support her, went to where the people were gathered and sat down next to her.

“That’s right, I think there have been a lot of missing persons cases lately.”

“Right? But it’s a rumor that only circulates in Cornillo, and I heard that she ran away after falling in love with a man. It’s close to the slums, so it’s understandable… …”

The people seemed busy talking regardless of who was around. Seeing everyone warming up and talking, Emilia thought that they had gathered to chat lightly, and sat down nearby and slowly rubbed her ankles.

“Come to think of it, there’s that girl who used to come here to clean.”

“Who?”

“The one who’s a little short and has pretty blonde hair!”

“Oh, the one who used to come here to clean often? Why?”

“She hasn’t come out for the past few days.”

“Huh? That’s right. “She said she wanted to do ballet, so she cleaned diligently.”

“I told her she was too short. She didn’t think she could grow any further, so she gave up. Or she had to earn money.” Although they were

called a ballet company, not all of them graduated from an art school, and some of them didn’t learn systematically from a young age, so it was ambiguous to call them ballerinas. They were

just children from poor families who were dragged by their parents to the ballet company and worked for free, watching from afar. Then, children who looked good and had potential would get audition opportunities.

Some of them were called dancers, and they continued to work at the theater as adults to seize the opportunity, but there were cases where they were dragged back by their families, so it wasn’t surprising that they suddenly quit.

“Is that so? But she seemed so desperate that I thought she would keep coming. Why don’t you try applying to be a theater cleaner?”

“I heard it’s hard to get a job as a cleaner here. I heard it’s competitive?”

“Well, I understand that it’s so hard to get a job, but I didn’t know that there were people who cleaned for that reason.”

Emilia glanced at Juliana, who was gently turning her ankle and coming closer.

“I know who you’re talking about. I saw her once last week, and her hair color was lighter. Of course, it’s darker than yours.”

Emilia gestured to Juliana’s legs, which were stretched out comfortably, at the whispered voice.

“Really? But listen while you stretch. It’s time for the coach to come.”

“Already? Oh, he’s already here.”

Julianna turned around to check her watch, and when she saw the back door open, she jumped up from her seat. Emilia followed her, moving to the side and waiting for the coach to come in.

“Good morning, everyone. The choreographer and the vice-president will be attending this morning’s class.”

The dancers murmured quietly at the coach’s words.

“And the vice-president? Didn’t you say the vice-president only watches the rehearsal?”

“That’s right. I’ve seen the performance rehearsals sometimes, but last year, you didn’t see me this early.”

“Ahhh- The choreographer is already a burden, and the vice-principal is too much.”

“Well, it’s good to catch my eye now.”

“You haven’t practiced much yet to catch my eye… … .”

Emilia stood in the bard’s seat that had been moved to the center and looked at vice-principal Silvia, who had entered the practice room.

The dancer who had been the main character in the ballet performance she had seen with her parents 13 years ago was now teaching her. It felt strange. It must have been because Emilia had seen her last performance at Treano and had fallen in love with ballet since then, and her parents had even signed her application for admission to the art academy, so old memories came flooding back naturally.

That day, when she had gone to the theater wearing a red velvet one-piece dress and holding her parents’ hands on both sides on a snowy day, was so vivid. Even though her nose was red from the cold, she just felt good, and sitting still for two hours was just good. She had been so absorbed in the sight of Giselle dancing beautifully on stage that she hadn’t even realized how much time had passed.

Now, instead of warm hands, she felt the cold bard in her hands. Emilia looked at Vice-President Sylvia, who was crossing her arms and looking at each dancer from afar, and then turned her gaze to the back of the head of the dancer standing in front of her.

The happy memories now only made her heart ache. The sunken emerald eyes stubbornly stared into space. Soon, the arm holding the bard gradually became hot, and the legs that were performing various movements also became hot.

Before she knew it, she was so absorbed in practicing that time flew by. After two hours of practice, Vice-President Sylvia stood in the middle, passing the dancers who were catching their breaths or massaging their legs.

“I came down today because I have something to announce in person.”