When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 86
Only Noblemtl
#86. Storm
2024.03.26.
She thought Enrico might call her because of what she did with Alessandro yesterday, but she didn’t know if he would come in person in this rain.
After all, if she told someone who would come by out of the blue not to come, they would just listen.
Since there were often people who would come by on Sundays, it was fortunate that she had already changed her dress.
Emilia quietly watched the carriage stop, and as soon as she opened the carriage door and got out, she blinked in surprise at Enrico looking towards her room.
Even though her vision was blurry because of the rain, the gazes that met her in the air were strangely stinging.
‘… … I guess we should talk about it today.’
She had originally planned to tell him about breaking the contract next week, but since he came all the way to her house, she couldn’t just keep her mouth shut and sit there.
She would be seeing Alessandro more in the future, but if Enrico was going to react like this every time, it would be right to end the contract in advance.
Emilia stared at the empty seat for a moment before turning away. She went out to greet him, moistening her lips that were drying out, perhaps because she was nervous.
As if she was about to call her, Zaveta, who was walking down the hallway, bowed her head slightly and stood against the wall as if to make way
for her. Emilia nodded once and walked toward the living room where Enrico was waiting.
“… … .”
In the meantime, Enrico was standing in front of the window, looking outside. Boom- In a world filled with the sound of rain, lightning struck as if splitting the sky.
Slowly turning around, his face darkened and brightened repeatedly.
“… … I see the Duke.”
“I guess I have to make an awkward greeting.”
She let out a small sigh as she watched him bring up yesterday’s conversation.
“Isn’t it natural to be polite to those of higher rank?”
“Well. Contrary to being polite, wasn’t the way you treated me yesterday incredibly rude?”
Enrico very slowly took one step at a time, closing the distance between them. Emilia clenched her hands together in front of her and resisted the urge to back away.
“I clearly told you not to approach the crown prince because he is dangerous. How dare you hold my hand and leave?”
It felt like her next words were more angry than her ignoring the warning. Enrico’s lips were in a precarious smile as usual.
However, it was the same cool smile I always saw, but for some reason, the heavy atmosphere today made it especially difficult to meet his eyes. Maybe it was because of his gaze that seemed to be weighing her down.
Emilia moistened her lips slightly and carefully opened her mouth.
“I couldn’t refuse because I was on my way out. But… … .”
Her two eyes looked straight up at him.
“Even if His Highness and I went out together, I don’t think it deserved to be reprimanded like this.”
“What?”
“Continuing to interfere like this is a bit difficult.”
“… … Is it difficult? Suddenly?”
Enrico narrowed one eye as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have. Looking at him, who was biting his lip as if it was ridiculous, she tightly shut her mouth and opened it again.
“I’ve told you many times. The one who didn’t listen to me was the Duke.”
It seemed like she should just tell him to break the contract without delay. She tried to continue her story with a stiff face, but stopped when he interrupted her.
“So I don’t know what you’re going to do now. Are you going to do whatever you want now that you have money?” She
didn’t have time to worry about what to do. Enrico suddenly approached her and stood in front of her.
His scent was carried by the wind, and a shadow fell over her head.
She was so surprised that she only looked at his chest, which had gotten closer, and his long fingers supported the tip of her chin. Her head rose slowly, following the force of the force.
His hair fell along with his head as he languidly tilted. The ends of his black hair tickled her forehead as they brushed against it.
She flinched, shrugged her shoulders, grabbed his wrist, and moistened her lips that had become dry in the meantime. His eyes darkened slightly at the sight of her red tongue between her lips.
“But I’m the only one giving you the information. What can you do on your own?”
Emilia’s eyes widened. Moisture seeped into her jade-colored eyes that were glaring at him.
Enrico stared blankly down at those moist eyes and turned his head slightly. The distance between them gradually narrowed, and before long, their noses were slightly avoiding each other’s, and their breaths were brushing against each other.
“Just stay still and take what I give you. Don’t waste your strength.”
“Your Majesty, y-.”
She couldn’t move recklessly because her lips might touch. She just tightened her grip on him, but in the end, she couldn’t keep up with the speed at which her lips were closing the narrow distance.
She felt soft lips and hot breath seeped into her. The strong wind shaking the window and the pouring rain made the surroundings noisy, but strangely, she couldn’t hear anything the moment his lips touched hers.
Confused breathing poured out. She felt her thoughts paralyzed by the unexpected situation. In the end, when she couldn’t do what she wanted again, she gradually came to her senses as he tried to stir her up. She
opened her eyes that had been tightly shut from the anger that reached the top of her head and put all her strength into the hand that was holding onto his chest.
“Haa, haa… …”
Enrico seemed to have no intention of pushing any further, and was obediently pushed away by Emilia’s hand. She glared at him as she tried to exhale, seeing him still standing close by, as if he had no intention of completely leaving. She
could see a slight wound on his lower lip, as if he had bitten it without realizing it, but instead, he licked his lips slowly and kept his gaze looking down at her.
“What are you doing!”
When she was barely able to catch her breath, Emilia let out a loud scream. He didn’t lower the corners of his mouth as if he was enjoying her intense reaction.
“I’m trying to make you realize that you don’t even know your owner and are running around wagging your tail here and there.”
“… … Are you now an animal after an object?”
“Well, if you had just listened to me, you would have treated me like a human being.” She
should have said it right away when she made up her mind. Emilia frowned with her eyes stained with wounds and laughed painfully. She covered her lips with the back of her hand and slowly rubbed her head, then turned to the side for a moment.
‘If only I had told you sooner, I wouldn’t have felt this humiliation again… … .’
I don’t know why I always do such foolish things. I felt foolish for shrinking in front of him, and now I really made up my mind not to repeat it.
His two eyes, which had been looking down at her unusual reaction, became dim. He was about to reach out his hand to the tip of her chin as if to make her look back at him.
“I want to cancel the contract.”
Her hand stopped in midair at the trembling voice.
“… … What?”
Enrico’s face changed completely, with a faint smile on his lips. It was as if the colors in the picture that had been filled so brightly had disappeared, leaving a strangely colorless color.
His calm demeanor, as if he was checking if he had heard correctly, was strangely eerie.
“Cancel the contract, please.”
Emilia repeated the same words again as if to remind her. Enrico’s eye twitched under one eye.
“Are you joking?”
“No. I’m serious.”
“… … Then you’re definitely crazy.”
She stepped back, avoiding his hand that was in midair as if to grab it.
“I’m more sane than ever.”
Emilia strained her eyes to keep her gaze. If she showed even the slightest waver here, he would not take her words seriously and would simply ignore her.
“If there is a penalty for canceling, I will pay it all. “I’m not asking you to just cancel the contract.”
At her calm yet firm voice, his hand immediately fell down and limply. The thunder flashed outside the window, creating a backlight behind him.
“Who cares… …”
The low, hushed voice muttered softly. Perhaps because of the gloomy weather, Enrico’s eyes showed no light at all.
“End the contract?”
he asked back in a hoarse voice. His jaw tightened as if he couldn’t stand the heat boiling deep inside his chest, and the veins in his neck began to rise. He
tried to suppress his emotions that were surging out of control, but it seemed that it wasn’t working, as his eyes turned bloodshot and his chin trembled for a moment.
Had he ever been this excited? It was not that he had never been angry before, but this was the first time he felt his reason paralyzed to this extent.
“You had no authority over the contract in the first place. I was the one who decided the beginning and the end!”
His voice was agitated. He thought it was just a passing tantrum, and that she would follow his orders again, so he secretly didn’t think much of it.
But in the past, she would have been busy checking his reaction if he had mentioned breaking the contract, but now she was the first to talk about breaking the contract.
Something was seriously wrong.
“But how dare you? You want to break the contract?”
He could have calmly responded or just ignored her, but that didn’t work out as he thought. His eyes, looking at her, were clouded with a mixture of resentment and anger.