When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 31



Only Noblemtl

#31. End of Winter
2024.01.31.

Stupid Emilia. Why did you make the contract like that? She felt like her self-reproach was going to spill out of her mouth. It certainly didn’t seem like a contract that would harm her at first, but as the days went by, the contract was tightening its leash around her.

Did she think it was good that she could just do ballet? She felt complicated.

“… … The information you told me in advance was too little. It was just inferences, and the investigation didn’t seem to make any meaningful progress.”

“That might be revealed more when we go to the ball.”

“Ha, I’m starting to wonder what the use of the contract is. I’m even afraid that you’ll make demands later on under the pretext of the ball.”

Her voice trembled as if to show her increasingly intense emotions.

“What can you give me? What else can you give me besides showing me your body?”

He said expressionlessly. His emotionless gaze slid down her body.

“Oh. Are you going to use it in a different way?”

It wasn’t even a mocking tone. Her voice was low and indifferent, but strangely it sounded even more humiliating.

Emilia’s face turned pale. Enrico got up from his seat as if he had nothing more to do with her, unable to say anything with a face that looked like she might collapse at any moment. His indifferent gaze no longer reached her. She remained in her seat for a long time, unable to move, even as the sound of her footsteps grew increasingly distant.

***

Emilia practiced every day. Even though her whole body was soaked with sweat and her breathing was rapid, she did not rest. Her ankles that had occasionally throbbed were now almost numb, as if they had lost all feeling.

“Emilia, get some rest!”

Juliana quietly observed her, who seemed to be anxious as if she was being chased. If it were before, she would have lightly nagged her to take care of herself, but Emilia’s appearance of running forward without looking at anything was too strange to touch.

“Haven’t you been practicing since a while ago? How many hours have you been practicing now?”

“I’ve told her several times, but she just says she understands and doesn’t rest.”

“Ah… … I’m worried she might collapse.”

Antonio, who had been watching from afar, stood next to Juliana with a worried expression. Even he, who had been taking on almost all of the male lead roles, hadn’t practiced this much.

The faces of the dancers around her were getting a little tired of the enormous amount of practice that would be overwhelming even for the men. They were clearly trying to rest after working hard, but seeing her like that made her feel guilty that she shouldn’t rest.

“Is that why she’s so good? I thought I was just born with it.”

The dancer, who was lying on the floor with an exhausted face, nodded at Emilia.

“That’s right. She’s really vicious.”

“In terms of practice, Christina used to be the best, but she’s even worse.”

“Come to think of it, hasn’t Christina practiced more recently? I don’t think she practiced that much.”

“I guess so because she’s taking on the lead role for the first time. And it seems like she’s going up there with Emilia.”

“Ugh… … . It must be burdensome.”

Christina was a ballerina in her late 20s who had taken the lead role after 7 years. She had volunteered to do cleaning and studied far away because she wanted to do ballet, and she was lucky enough to be selected, and she was a hard worker who had risen to the position of principal ballerina for the first time

. Everyone congratulated her because they knew how diligent she was, but on the other hand, it was a bit sad that she had to step on stage as the lead role for the first time with someone who had shown such monstrous growth.

“I’ll just work hard.”

“Huh? Christina. When did you come?”

“I was just… … . I was going

to rest, but after seeing Emilia, I don’t think that’s right.” “What are you talking about! Get some rest. Oh my, someone go and stop Emilia. You really need to practice moderately… … .”

Antonio sighed at the dancers’ discontented mutterings.

“That’s right.”

It was nice to see her working hard, but her current state seemed like too much physical strain to be called practice. Antonio approached Emilia, who was moving nonstop as if she didn’t want to stay still, as if he couldn’t do it.

“Emilia.”

“… … .”

“Emilia?”

“… … Yes?”

Emilia stopped in her tracks and gasped for breath. Her face was even more spectacular up close. Her complexion looked as if she might collapse at any moment, causing Antonio and Juliana, who had followed her, to frown.

“Come here. We have to force you to rest.”

“Huh? You’re fine.”

“What’s fine! What if you push yourself too hard and end up sick on an important day?”

“… … Is that so?”

Emilia blinked blankly and belatedly realized that everyone was focused on her. Looking at the clock on the wall, she saw that practice time had already passed a long time ago.

“You look like you didn’t even realize the time had passed.”

“Antonio.”

“It’s good to work hard, but you have to take care of your condition as well. There’s only a month left until the performance.”

“… … It’s already that much.”

“Yeah. It’s already that much. Juliana, hurry and take her.”

“Oh, yes!”

As Antonio approached the dancers, Juliana dragged Emilia to a corner and whispered softly.

“Sit down. Are your ankles okay?”

“I think they’re okay.”

“Oh my, I’m the one who’s asking for water. Take off your pointy shoes. No, I’ll do it for you.”

“Huh? Juliana. I’ll do it!”

Emilia hastily pulled her foot away as Juliana untied the ribbon.

“… … Got it. Take them off quickly.”

She hesitated again, but when she saw that he was going to take off her pointy shoes herself, Emilia took action right away. Her feet, which had been numb, suddenly began to feel a slight tingle as if blood was flowing to them, and soon her toes began to tingle. Her

sweaty forehead furrowed.

“Are you sick? You really need to stop today. If you keep doing this, your toenails will fall off.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

“What’s going on these days? I thought you’d feel better after going out with Eva as a pair, but you don’t seem to care much.”

“Well… … . I just want to do well.”

“Oh my, no matter what, just do it moderately. If you get sick at a time like this, you might get replaced without exception.”

“… … Okay. Thank you.”

“Thank you. Please stay home and rest well tomorrow.”

Emilia blinked and made a face of realization. Come to think of it, it’s already Sunday. A week had finally passed.

She thought he might call her someone who sometimes acts unexpectedly, but Enrico really didn’t call her.

‘Can we go as planned next week?’

She had to go to the masked ball on Thursday, so Tuesday was the only chance she had to go on stage at the Duke’s residence. With the performance coming up soon, the night practice time would increase, so there might be days when she wouldn’t be able to keep her promised date, so she felt regretful in many ways.

‘Should I skip practice? If I say things like ‘take the lead role’ or something like that, if it seems like it’s going to hurt me, I might force you to keep your promise.’

Since most nights were spent rehearsing the performance, my mind became complicated again. I kept moving to clear my mind… … .

“Emilia, are you listening?”

“Huh? Huh. Where did the leader go?”

Emilia unconsciously rubbed her ankle and listened to Juliana.

“It’s not that the former leader went somewhere, it’s that his wife filed for divorce and left. She originally came from a wealthy family, so she lived carefully, but she got caught.”

“How did you know?”

“Rumors have already spread. I told you because I thought you wouldn’t know, but as expected. Did you hear about Eva?”

“No.”

“Um, there’s a back alley in Cornillo. It’s the red-light district before the slums.”

“Oh? Yes.”

“Someone saw Eva on the street there.”

“… … What? Why there?”

“Well. I don’t know the exact reason.”

Juliana muttered bitterly. She barely managed to graduate from an art school in a poor family, but she was dishonorably dismissed, so she might have been treated badly by her family. However, she didn’t want to speculate about that part, so she held back her words.

“I should work hard. My current salary is too tight for our family to share.”

“Juliana.”

“Can you watch me practice sometimes?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, thank you! Then I should practice more so that you can rest.”

Emilia slowly raised the corners of her mouth as she watched Juliana’s gloomy expression disappear and smile brightly. Yes, she couldn’t live being consumed by gloomy feelings forever.

Even if she might cry tomorrow, she would focus on the task at hand for now. Emilia’s eyes deepened.

***

Surely she wasn’t going to cry today.

Emilia calmly got into the carriage heading to the duke’s residence. She didn’t bother to ask why Enrico had called her because he had suddenly sent the carriage away.

The day when the buds of early spring would start to sprout would come soon. As time went by, she had decided to forget about him. She

would not question anything he said or did.

‘After all, it’s right for him to ask for information.’

It was also a form of self-abandonment, as she could waste the opportunity to receive information by needlessly urging him or offending him.