When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 19



Only Noblemtl

#19. His Important Artwork
2024.01.19.

“Let’s eat first.”

As soon as Enrico finished speaking, the servants waiting outside began to bring out food. Emilia spread out her napkin and placed it on her lap, then reached for the plate the bread-slicing servant had given her. There were quite a few dishes that she had not tried as a child. As I had felt last time, there seemed to be quite a few dishes from other countries.

She silently ate crayfish bisque, beef tenderloin, and flounder with sauerkraut in order. She usually had ballet practice in the afternoon, so she ate a light lunch.

So she tried to eat a hearty meal for dinner, so she ate it quietly even though she had no appetite.

It occurred to me that the luxurious dishes she had eaten as a child were eaten more often at the Duke’s residence than I thought. She thought

that he would just send her away like a knife if he saw the stage, as if he were checking things, but he said that he kept the works of art with care, so I wondered if he was trying to manage me as part of that.

Even if he had something to say, he could have just said something briefly and sent her away.

Although it was uncomfortable for him not to know her true feelings, Emilia still emptied her plate. Although she had some leftovers because it was a lot, it wasn’t too bad because she was able to eat everything.

“Your uncle bothered you.”

After a while, when the last macaroons and ice cream with fruit were served, Enrico quietly opened his mouth. He didn’t seem to be interested in sweets, so he had already put down his plate after eating a few pieces of fruit.

“… … Yes.”

Emilia swallowed a bright red strawberry and opened her mouth. Maybe it was because Giorgio had told her so unexpectedly, but somehow she felt like all the food she had eaten so far was going to be digested.

Was she asking because she already knew everything? Or did she only know that they had met? Emilia was wondering if she should bring up the fact that Giorgio had mentioned the termination of the contract first, but then she felt Enrico’s gaze quietly staring at her, and she belatedly continued.

“He told me to refuse the sponsorship.”

“Hmm… … .”

Enrico slowly swirled his glass of red wine and let out a disinterested laugh. Emilia’s mouth snapped shut at his lukewarm attitude that seemed to know something or show no interest.

“But, won’t you stop being charming? You never know.”

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at the sound of his languid voice.

“… … Your Majesty, are you trying to talk to me in order to insult me?”

“No way.”

“What you just said was rude. Please apologize.”

Emilia’s face hardened as she met his gaze. She tried to remain calm, but her fists clenched under the table were trembling, and her entire arm was shaking.

Enrico stared at her for a moment, then widened his eyes.

“If you want me to apologize, I should. It’s my important work of art… …”

He raised his wine glass in the air as if paying tribute.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

Emilia bit her lower lip as she watched him bring the glass to her lips while keeping his gaze fixed on hers. Even when her throat, which had been slowly swaying, stopped, her gaze did not leave.

“As a token of apology, I’ll make it difficult for your uncle to visit for a while.”

“… … Should I thank you?”

“Well. If you don’t mean it the same way, then I should be grateful.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you think he suddenly wants to cut off your sponsorship?”

It was a question, but it wasn’t a curious expression. The corners of his lips, which had been smiling loosely out of courtesy, slowly lowered.

“Do you have another good position?”

Enrico asked without any hesitation. Emilia moistened her dry lips slightly at the sight of his eyes, which were as cold as the cold north wind and snow.

“But I wonder if there’s a better place than me. You don’t even know the subject.”

“… … .”

“Do you want to do that too?”

“… … I just need to tell you about my parents. That’s why I signed the contract.”

“Okay. Just focus on ballet. Don’t waste your time on useless things.”

“… … .”

“Right now, only your uncle is involved, so this is the extent of it, but if there is a problem with the contract due to your negligence, you will pay a much higher price.”

The low voice was somehow creepy. Whether it was his obsession with his possessions or his warning that felt particularly ominous, it sent a chill down the back of his neck.

“Don’t even think about running away. No matter where you go, there is nothing I can’t catch you.”

Emilia slowly took a deep breath as if trying to endure the pressure and opened her mouth.

“Don’t worry. As I said before, all I need is for you to reveal the truth about my parents’ case. I will definitely keep the contract, so please protect me, Duke.”

His purple eyes flashed briefly, but the dangerous aura quickly disappeared. Enrico loosened his lips again and leaned his upper body against the backrest.

“Okay. Well, shall we have a time of compensation?”

The response to the words that were thrown with determination was too light. Emilia secretly sighed as she watched Enrico get up from his seat. Her

mind was getting more and more stuffy. It seemed like she had caught a cold.

***

Emilia looked down at the steaming teacup and looked straight ahead. Enrico, who had moved to sit across from her at the tea table, was comfortably crossing his legs and receiving the documents that his aide was handing him.

“It’s late at night, wouldn’t it be better to go to sleep?”

“It’s okay.”

“Well, take care of your condition. If anything hurts, please let me know.”

His voice was soft, as if he was soothing her, as if he was giving her medicine. Or maybe he was worried that the artwork he often talked about would be damaged. Instead of answering, she nodded once and placed her hand on the table.

“Now tell me.”

Enrico looked down at her small hand and obediently placed the documents in his hand on the table. Emilia, who was looking down at the documents slowly pushing forward with trembling eyes, quickly grabbed them as soon as the end of the paper touched her hand.

The documents described in detail the situation at the time of the accident. The place where her parents had an accident was the mountain ‘Belfna’ that had to be crossed before Barkorta, and the problem was that it was a deserted carriage road.

She wondered why her parents, who usually didn’t go that way, had an accident here, but at the time, there was no room to delve into it, so she passed over the part that she had only just noticed.

“… … Is it true?”

“Yes. This is evidence of what I said before. It’s a record of the attempt to cover up the incident at the time, so it can be notarized.”

Emilia slowly looked over the accident scene records and the carriage wheel data that was intentionally damaged rather than defective. Her white hand holding the paper trembled. Enrico

, who had been quietly watching the slightly crumpled paper, tapped the table with the tip of his index finger and turned his gaze out the window. The thick fog had cleared a lot, but the moon, hidden by the clouds, was unable to shine.

“We are questioning the servants who were in the mansion at the time, and we are also checking to see if anyone approached the carriage. We will give them to you as compensation once the investigation is complete.”

“… … So, it was an intentional accident, right? The death of my parents.”

Her voice, mixed with water, trembled thinly. Enrico’s gaze turned to her again. The transparent teardrops hanging from the tips of her long eyelashes fell down onto her cheeks. Enrico’s fingertips stopped at the sight of her, shedding tears like a pitiful forget-me- not.

“How… … . How, why. Who on earth… … !”

The woman who had been trying to remain calm collapsed in an instant. Although it was only a part of the truth, she had already been told before that it was an intentional accident, but even though she knew it, she seemed to have only just realized it now.

Her voice, mixed with sorrowful sobs, leaked out thinly.

She, who had been like a daffodil in full bloom, seemed like a deep lake. Enrico stared at her with a strange gaze behind her eyes, which were a clear emerald color but whose depth was unknown. He

thought that crying would ruin the appearance of a beautiful face, so it would be bad. However, when he actually saw her shedding tears in front of him, he thought it was better than he thought. No, it was more than okay, he liked it. It was as if she was a living work of art, full of emotions, even under the stage.

Enrico did not hide his interest. It was so good that he felt it was a shame to take out a handkerchief from his pocket right away. The tip of her nose turning pink, her cheeks like peaches soaked in tears, her delicate eyelashes fluttering like butterflies in the rain. Everything really looked harmonious. He

wanted to see himself reflected in those wet eyes.

“… … Since this is your first time, I’ll tell you one more thing.”

In the end, he opened his mouth impulsively. The eyes like a lake looked at him.

“When I looked into the car investment at the time, I found out that Viscount Este had been investing from the beginning. So I was keeping an eye out in case the investment money was recovered, but there was a carriage accident.”

“… … So you found out?”

Emilia’s wavering eyes contained only Enrico. He nodded neatly without thinking about the meaning of her question.

“You knew… … .”

“The case was suddenly closed, so I couldn’t investigate anything, so I just left this record just in case. The problem is, when I looked into it more closely recently, I found that Viscount Este had invested in many areas. He had quite a lot of wealth. But why is the amount of wealth left to the viscount’s family so small? It’s as if only a small portion remained.”