When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 50
Only Noblemtl
#50. Dangerous Poison
2024.02.19.
Enrico licked his lips lazily with a face slightly reddened by the fever around his eyes. His eyes, which had been hazy a moment ago, quickly cooled down.
Should I just grab her and bring her here? Should I remind her that the contract was not only about dancing but about herself, as she dared to reject him?
Why did I regret the lips that passed by in front of me so much? I wondered if my head was spinning because of the fever.
He said it was a minor wound, but his whole body was hot as if he had applied poison. He had become somewhat immune to the poison, so he would be fine in a day or so.
However, the problem was that he was more concerned about Emilia, who was looking at him in front of him, than the wound. He had only come close to satisfy my interest, but his body began to deny it as if that wasn’t all.
“Damn it… … .”
He looked down between my legs with an irritated look. Then, soon after, he tilted his head back as if he was frustrated. The veins on his chin and neck were clearly visible.
How can this be light interest? A deep sigh escaped her lips.
***
The train heading to Deshiro was bleak. It was shocking that Enrico and Emilia had formed an absurd atmosphere before she could even recover from the surprise surprise from last night.
Enrico was staring intently at her face, and Emilia was stubbornly avoiding his gaze. He slowly opened his mouth as he quietly watched her profile as she stared blankly out the window.
“When I get back, I’ll do it as scheduled.”
Her shoulder jerked.
“I think I gave you too much information in Barcorta. I don’t need to give you anything for the time being.”
What? Emilia looked at him in surprise.
“… … That!”
“You’re finally looking at me. If it wasn’t for a contract, you wouldn’t have even thought of looking at me, right?”
She placed one hand on her chest and shrugged her shoulders. He quietly watched her long eyelashes trembling briefly, then turned his head and took out a cigarette and lit it.
“The knife was poisoned yesterday.”
“Huh? Poison? Oh, so the fever… … .”
“Yeah. It’s not even summer yet, and I almost died of heatstroke.”
No, what heatstroke? Emilia pursed her lips and placed her hands on her thighs. She hesitated as she fiddled with her hands before opening her mouth.
“How are you now? Did you detoxify?”
“No.”
“You didn’t? What if you don’t detoxify!”
Emilia shouted in surprise, forgetting the awkwardness she had felt a moment ago. He watched her reaction for a moment before getting up from his seat. Her gaze followed his back as he walked toward the balcony.
“Royals have developed immunity to poison since they were young, so they are resistant to most poisons.”
He went out to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the railing.
“Huh? Then the poison yesterday was… … .”
“It’s a poison I haven’t encountered. Well, I guess I didn’t expect that I would be more resistant than I thought.”
“… … Can you guess who it is?”
“Well. “You seem to know a lot about poisons.”
He smoked a cigarette lazily, roughly pushing his hair back as if the wind was bothering him. His lightly disheveled black hair and sharp jawline accentuated his indifferent aura.
Emilia looked at the burning cigarette ash and then moved her eyes to the coral lips holding it. Her proportional lips, neither thick nor thin, were so close that it was hard to believe they had come so close.
‘… … It was really dangerous.’
Her face burned as she recalled the situation where she had almost accepted him as if she had been possessed by something. She lowered her head and fiddled with her hands for no reason.
***
‘Surprisingly simple.’
Enrico swallowed a laugh as he saw Emilia, who had become much more alert than when they had set off. He
was very annoyed by her attitude, as if she would ignore him for the rest of her life if she left him alone, but the way she quickly began to worry about him made his irritation subside too easily.
What did he want to do? He looked at the seat where Emilia had been sitting earlier, then turned his head and stared at the large ducal residence in the distance. He dropped Emilia off at home first and the road to the ducal residence felt strangely long. It had only been a few days, but he already felt accustomed to being together.
Before he knew it, the carriage slowly stopped in front of the ducal residence. He passed the servants standing on both sides of the mansion greeting each other and headed inside. Fabio, who had followed him, took the coat draped over his shoulder.
“Duke, the culprit has been locked up in the basement. Would you like to go down there yourself?”
“Yes. I’ll go now.”
“Yes.”
Enrico slowly went down the underground stairs decorated with antique walls. The underground prison, so different from the upper floors, was filled with moisture and the smell of blood. He walked past the uneven walls that had not been constructed separately and into the inner prison.
He heard a cough. Inside the black iron door that had stopped, a man was tied up with his face swollen and bleeding.
“This guy seems to be the leader of the group.”
“Hmm… … Open the door.”
“Yes.”
Fabio opened the door and went inside.
“Check if there is a pattern engraved on the second molar inside.”
A disgusting smell pierced his nose. Enrico stared at Fabio forcibly opening the man’s mouth while smoking a cigarette. The criminal wanted to do something, but it was useless because he had already been given a calming drug. Fabio slowly examined the inside of the mouth.
“There is a pattern. It is a long snake-like drawing.”
“I think I know who it is. Come out now.”
“Yes. Huh?”
“Why? Are you biting bubbles?”
Enrico asked absentmindedly, turning around and sucking on his cigarette.
“Yes. He just touched my molar and died. I think there’s poison in my molar.”
“You idiot, you’re doing something nice before you go. You even showed me clearly, so I can’t not know.”
“It seems like you didn’t swallow it all. Just grab my throat.”
“Then search inside my mouth. You might find a device.”
“Understood.”
Enrico’s mouth curled in satisfaction. Did he think it would be easy once he left the dukedom? He was disappointed in Alessandro Treano for sending me only that much.
On top of that, he thought I would die for sure, and sent me one person who had a device implanted in the shadow of the royal family. It was heartbreaking that such a person would be in charge of this country in the future.
I guess my nephew is going crazy because he has so much free time, so I’ll send him a present myself while he’s busy.
Enrico said lightly to Fabio, who quickly followed him.
“Call the Second Prince.”
Fabio’s eyes widened.
***
Emilia had only been away for a few days, but she entered the practice room feeling like it had been a long time since she had been back. She waited for people to come, stretching for a long time as if she had been resting.
“Emilia, did you submit your audition application?” As
soon as she arrived, Giuliana came to the practice room first instead of the changing room. She laughed at her behavior, as if she had assumed Emilia would be there, as soon as she opened the door. “No. Isn’t that starting tomorrow?” “No! They’re accepting applications starting today.” “Really? Then I should apply now.” “ Yeah. Let’s go together.” Emilia got up from her seat and wrapped her shawl around her shoulders. “Did you see the newspaper today?” “No? Why?” “There’s another murder case.” “What? Maybe a blonde?” “Yeah! Blonde again. But we know that person.” “We know that person? Who?” “Do you remember when people said that the cleaning lady suddenly stopped coming? “Your hair is darker than mine, but you said she had a rare pretty blonde hair.” “Ah… … .” She remembered who it was. Even the words that said it would be hard for her to be a dancer because she was short. Everyone thought she had given up ballet and gotten a job somewhere else. Emilia’s face hardened seriously. “Isn’t it really creepy? What’s going on all of a sudden? I think she’s a real serial killer.” Juliana clung to Emilia’s arm, saying she was scared. Emilia nodded, gently grabbing the back of Juliana’s hand. Not only did they have blonde hair in common, but considering the article she’d read before, it seemed right to intentionally target the lower class. After all, crimes targeting the lower class were not big issues, so they often came to light late like this. “Emilia, is your current house okay? It’s not too deserted, is it?” “Huh? Huh.” Emilia nodded awkwardly, avoiding Juliana’s wide-eyed gaze as she waved her arms. “It’s a little reassuring since you said Inizio Street, but what if it’s too far out?” The two of them, who had already reached the fourth floor, naturally pulled away and walked towards the office where the reception desk was. “Hmm, it’s okay. As long as you don’t wander around alone, right?” “At first, I thought it would be too expensive to live near Inizio Street, but looking at the incident, I think it was a good choice. Oh, but when are you going to invite me? I want to go see it sometime.” “Oh… … . Right. It seems like it’ll be hard right now because of the performance, so wouldn’t it be free around the vacation?” “Hmm, I guess so. I have to rest on Sundays.” “I might get a summer vacation, so let’s talk then.”
“Yeah. Anyway, be really careful.”
Juliana, who was standing in front of the office door, stopped holding the handle and turned around slightly, pointing at her with her index finger as a warning. Emilia snickered and nodded at that sight, then slowly erased her smile as Juliana disappeared.
It was already unsettling that it was confirmed to be a serial killer, but why did they target blonde hair? She remembered Alessandro telling her to be careful before. Was the upstairs watching this case?
If so, I hope the culprit is caught soon… …
Emilia suppressed her anxious whispering and accepted the [Cinderella] application form. She checked the main role among the applied roles and kept her mouth shut.