When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 25



Only Noblemtl

#25. Last
2024.01.25.

“… … Yes?”

“You’re finally looking at me again.”

He brushed back his hair that had lost its moisture compared to before and smiled briefly. She frowned at his incomprehensible words, but then suddenly felt his toxic atmosphere and shut her mouth in a trembling manner.

“It’s late at night, as you said, so I’ll go now.”

Soon, he stepped back neatly. She stared at his broad back as she made eye contact once and turned around, then paused in front of the door, feeling wary for a moment.

“But you said it’s late at night earlier.”

Emilia, who was wondering what he was going to say to irritate her, blinked at the unexpected words.

The sound of the door opening was heard, and his side profile was revealed as he turned around slightly, his purple eyes sparkling in the light.

“So you’re okay during the day?”

***

Emilia, who had not slept well the night before, left the duke’s residence early in the morning. She was conscious of the eyes of those around her, but she didn’t want to stay in his mansion any longer.

The joke didn’t even seem like a joke, so I couldn’t answer for a moment. “Are you okay during the day?” Was that a question? Well, he hadn’t asked in the first place. It was clear that he was trying to get on his nerves.

“Strange, rude, and arrogant.”

She seemed to dislike rebuttals, but if she stayed still, she would provoke him first, so Enrico’s emotions kept fluctuating especially when he was with her.

I could feel Zabetta sitting next to me quietly watching my every move. She was going to stop by the house and go to work at the opera house, but somehow, Zabetta had already found out and was waiting for her at the front door at that early hour. The carriage must have been waiting for her, so the ride back was quite smooth.

“Um… … When should I tell the doctor to come visit?”

I looked at Zabetta at her cautious question. Emilia looked down as if thinking for a moment, then looked at her again and asked softly.

“Do I need to go to the duke’s residence to get examined?”

“No. “You can call me home.”

“Then Sunday is your day off, so can I ask you to call me that day?”

“Of course. You asked me to call you as soon as possible,

but please tell me on Sunday.”

“Understood.”

Emilia turned her head and looked out the window. The dark blue dawn was quiet. Maybe because she was far from the duke’s residence, or maybe because she smelled the dawn air. Forgetting how cold it had been yesterday, she simply felt the breeze coming in through the cracks in the window and admired the changing scenery. She

needed to forget about the duke’s residence for a moment and focus on the upcoming audition. In the distance, a crimson afterimage was spreading.

***

Emilia tapped the tips of her toes in her pointe shoes on the floor. The uncomfortable but familiar sensation felt right.

“Emilia, did you submit your application for the role?”

“Yeah. What about you? I didn’t see you earlier, so I went alone.”

“Good job. I submitted mine too.”

Juliana stretched and smiled.

“Oh, what did you apply for the role for? “ You didn’t put me in the military again, did you?”

“Yeah. I applied for the solo part.”

“What?”

“Epi.”

“Ahh… … . Huh?! Not Sylphy?”

Emilia glanced around at the suddenly raised voice. Fortunately, they were all warming up and talking, so they didn’t pay much attention. Giulia quickly covered her mouth and asked again quietly.

“Why didn’t you apply for the lead role?”

“I wanted to try epi. I tried Sylphy for my graduation performance.”

“Doing it at the academy is different from doing it here!”

“That’s true, but… … .”

It didn’t seem like it was time to audition for the lead role yet. If by any chance she was chosen for the lead role, she would be the first soloist in a short period of time and would receive public attention as a ballerina.

Fortunately, Giorgio hadn’t shown up since the day he came to her unexpectedly, just as Enrico had said.

However, he was the kind of person who might show up again if he had mentioned his name. Moreover, she couldn’t help but be cautious because her sponsorship relationship with Enrico was still on her mind.

“I told you before. I’ll take it slow. It’s not urgent.”

Emilia, who was more impatient than anyone else, said it calmly. Julia seemed to not understand her, but she didn’t say anything more about it. Juliana, who was scratching her cheeks in embarrassment and rolling her eyes, immediately frowned when she saw Eva catching her gaze.

“… … But why is she in such a good mood these days. It makes people who see her feel bad.”

Emilia followed her and looked at Eva. Eva was sitting in the middle of the group on the other side, smiling proudly. Although she kept the relationship between Captain Carlo and Eva a secret from Vice Captain Silvia, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

Silvia said she would take care of it, so she unintentionally watched, but she wondered if it was okay.

If Captain Carlo wasn’t married, she wouldn’t have been so concerned, but why did she have to meet someone like that? Emilia looked at Eva with pitiful eyes.

Did she sense that gaze? Eva happened to look at Emilia. She simply raised one corner of her mouth and sneered, as if she didn’t care how Emilia was looking at her. Was Captain Carlo really that reliable? Emilia sighed and turned her head.

‘Let’s just think about the audition.’

She waited for the door to open, stretching her body steadily.

The door opened and the judges came into the practice room. After watching the entire dance, they auditioned sequentially starting from the small roles. The

number of turns gradually decreased, and before we knew it, it was the turn of Effie, the fiancee of the male protagonist in [La Sylphide].

Effie was a happy bride-to-be who was about to marry the male protagonist, but she almost became a tragic figure because the male protagonist disappeared on the wedding day after falling in love with the fairy Sylphine. The story

was about a young man in the village who had a crush on her and gained hope when the witch who appeared at the beginning told her that the man she was going to marry was different, and when the male protagonist disappeared, he mustered up the courage to confess to Effie and ended up having a wedding with a smile. It was a role I

wanted to play because the contrast with the male protagonist who lost Sylphine due to the witch’s trick at the end was quite interesting.

“Okay, let’s start.”

Emilia began to immerse herself in the role of Effie, who was not an unrealistic fairy, but a kind and lovable one.

While worrying about the male protagonist, she showed thoughtful consideration to the stranger who wanted to rest inside for a while. The eyes of the dancers watching Emilia, smiling and jumping around like a happy woman about to get married, were filled with envy.

She seemed like she would be suitable for the role of a fairy, but everyone couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at her appearance, which blended both dancing and acting as if she didn’t care about other roles.

“Well done, Emilia.”

“Your dancing is so arrogant!”

Vice-principal Silvia spoke first. Everyone’s eyes widened at the behavior of the troupe leader Carlo, who suddenly interrupted them and shouted loudly.

“You seem too obsessed with yourself. Of course, you should dance beautifully, but you should do it in moderation. If you do too much, you will end up frowning.”

Emilia simply blinked at the criticism that was not a sudden outburst.

“Sir, you are going too far.”

“What am I saying? I watched her because they kept talking about her as the top student, but how did she graduate at the top of her class? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like that much, but the evaluation seems to be greatly exaggerated.”

“Director!”

“… … Vice-director, are you yelling at me just now?”

“Yes. I can’t just sit still and listen.”

“What?”

“If you’re going to evaluate, you should do it objectively and accurately. Is it the director’s job to criticize the members of the ballet troupe by making up ridiculous excuses?”

Vice-director Sylvia looked at him pitifully with a cold face.

“In my professionally trained eyes, no one moves as perfectly as Emilia. Do you really know how a single movement is done and are you talking about it now?”

“What, what? Who are you trying to teach right now? I’ve been in this business for years. Unlike you who only dances on stage, I know this ecosystem like a glove!”

“Have you penetrated another ecosystem? No matter how I look at it, it seems like you don’t have an eye for ballet.”

With a bang, the chair fell to the floor behind Director Carlo, who suddenly got up from his seat. The coaches and choreographers around him urgently stepped in between the two as they saw him revealing his threatening face along with the loud noise.

“Stop it. Why are you doing this in front of everyone?”

“Didn’t you hear him talking so arrogantly?!”

“Let’s talk after we’re done. We’re still in the middle of an audition!”

“Auditions and all, don’t come and apologize right away!”

Emilia let out a breath of exasperation as she looked at Director Carlo, whose face was red as if it was going to burst. It seemed like he was deliberately picking a fight with me. If it weren’t for Vice Director Sylvia, he would have kept talking like he was trying to embarrass her in front of everyone. She

instinctively looked toward the gathered dancers. Among them, Eva, who was standing in the corner, was staring at her with a look of accusation, her face holding back laughter as if she was dying of joy.