When Pride Fell At My Toes - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

#99. Despair
2024.04.08.

“Ah- That’s right. You’re right. We really need evidence that he’s the culprit of the blonde woman murder case.”

As soon as she heard Enrico’s words, which he spoke loosely on purpose, Emilia suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body.

The main character of that gruesome incident that was so much talked about in the newspapers and that people around her kept hearing about was Alessandro.

‘I guess you’re strikingly beautiful. I hope you don’t go out alone as much as possible, and don’t go out too late at night. The world is so chaotic.’

The words he had expressed concern for her before flashed through her mind. It was very dissonant to see him seriously telling her to be careful when he was the real culprit.

She had been wary of Alessandro, but his true identity was beyond her imagination. To think that he had hidden such dark and murderous intentions.

And that kind of person was the next king of this kingdom. It was fortunate that Enrico had found out about it at least now.

“But the evidence came out at dawn. “From that bug you were using.”

Enrico answered calmly, pointing at Count Vallemont with the tip of his chin.

Alessandro nervously shook off Enrico’s hand and naturally turned his gaze to Count Vallemont. The sight of him foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness was truly hideous. He

couldn’t restrain himself to that extent. But why was he so anxious? He thought it couldn’t be true, but a suspicion that made his stomach ache stubbornly followed him.

In the first place, the kidnapping of the blonde woman was secretly ordered only by Shadow, so Count Vallemont wouldn’t know. But Enrico was so sure, so he couldn’t deny it right away.

How, what on earth? Then could it be that he really sent those so-called evidences to His Majesty the King?

The questions that constantly crossed his mind made his heart pound more and more. Alessandro’s chest rose and fell greatly.

‘… … It seems he really is the murderer.’

Alessandro couldn’t hide his agitation, as if he was too embarrassed to pretend not to know. A deep disgust spread over Emilia’s face.

To approach this person and ask about his parents’ affairs. And to think that it was true that his parents died because of that person.

The things he had tried to do alone were revealed one by one under Enrico’s hands overnight. It was terribly vain. He had tried to do something for days without making any progress, but he was just struggling. He

felt empty and relieved, but also bitter. Then what would happen to Alessandro?

It was in the king’s hands what would happen from now on, but would he really receive the right punishment?

The right punishment he had in mind was for Alessandro to live the rest of his life in pain or disappear from this world altogether.

‘… … Is there nothing I can do with my own hands?’

Emilia looked down at Enrico’s hand, which was still holding her arm. The heat he felt from him was stronger than usual, so he could indirectly sense how bad his physical condition was right now.

He had also seen cold sweat earlier, so maybe he was almost at his limit just standing.

‘Not feeling well… . . . ‘

It was frustrating, as if his foolishness had been transferred to him. I didn’t want this kind of devotion at all. Although

he was happy about his sincere heart, it was only temporary, and as the burden kept repeating, the burden that he couldn’t handle just grew bigger.

‘I have to tell him to go back first. What if he collapses?’

Soon, Emilia slowly reached out her other hand to cover Enrico’s hand. The sound of several horse hooves began to be heard from afar.

Startled, Emilia closed her hand that had stopped in midair. Her gaze turned to the direction of the sound, and when she found a very small red royal flag, she looked at Alessandro.

As if she had been waiting, their eyes met.

Up until now, he had tried to deny it because the evidence was not clear, but the fact that the royal knights had barged in here was a clear sign that something was wrong. Given the circumstances, it was obvious to anyone that they were sent by the king.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

But Alessandro was staring at himself for some reason, slowly raising the corners of his mouth.

His feet moved back at the eerie laughter. But at that moment, Alessandro rushed in and grabbed his arms, pulling him to the side.

“Ugh-!”

“Emilia!”

Emilia’s hands, which were caught on both sides by the sudden recoil, were pulled back, causing her body to stagger.

Enrico quickly tried to stop Alessandro, but the cold barrel of a gun was faster than he could reach her temple. The heavy sound of loading rang in his ears.

“Let go of my hands.”

As if those words were a signal, black masked men rushed in from all sides.

The knights who were about to approach him moved to deal with the black masked man, and the only ones standing still were Enrico, Alessandro, and himself. There were only three of them.

‘If we just hold on a little longer, the royal knights will come… …’

Underneath his trembling eyelashes, his jade-colored eyes shook greatly. Enrico’s face reflected in those eyes was a complete loss of the relaxed look he had just shown. He was unable to hide his anxiety with his stiff face.

“You’re still holding my hand? Get your hands off of me.”

Alessandro’s hand, which had been holding Emilia’s arm, crawled like a snake and wrapped around her waist. The unpleasant breath spreading across the back of her head caused her to suddenly feel fearful, and her heart pounded as if it were going to burst. Her

hot body temperature slowly dropped. Emilia glanced down at the large hand moving away, then looked up at him again.

Enrico’s mouth, which had always been confident and said everything he wanted to say, was tightly shut as if it had been soaked in glue. Enrico, who had always had the upper hand over Alessandro, was now holding his breath to keep an eye on him.

Alessandro’s hand, which was gently wrapping around his waist, went deeper and wrapped him around him almost as if he was hugging him. It was terrifying.

His body naturally moved closer to Alessandro’s back as the force of the pull pulled him closer.

“I prepared to drag you by force if you don’t follow me, but this is how it is. Don’t waste time. I’ll shoot you the moment you get here.”

The coolness of the gun barrel pressing against his temple was more chilling than the soft feeling of the gun pressed against his head.

Alessandro’s actions, as he kept his lips together and muttered, made his whole body tremble and his eyes blink slightly.

“Are you trying to make something that could end in dethronement bigger? If you keep going like this, there’s no turning back.”

Enrico spoke quickly in a rough voice.

“Dethronement? I can’t even tolerate that. How about our great uncle using his power in a situation like this? If you just cover up this incident, I’ll use it well and return it to you because I see your sincerity.”

“… … What?”

“This woman wants it so badly. She’ll never be satisfied until she has it, so shouldn’t she get it back first? Is it because we share the same blood? I understand you better than anyone else.”

“Alexander!”

In the end, unable to bear the boiling heat, Enrico’s eyes rolled back and he spat out the crown prince’s name violently as if he was crushing it.

His eyes were consumed by anger, and his blood vessels turned red, vividly showing the heat rising to the tips of his head.

“Your Majesty!”

Enrico, whose body had been on the edge, must have reached his limit as he grabbed his forehead and stumbled slightly.

At that moment, his body reflexively jumped up. Emilia tried to free the arms that were squeezing her waist, completely forgetting the gun aimed at her head, as if she could only see Enrico.

However, she could only squirm in place. She was about to step on Alessandro’s foot while clawing at his unmoving arm when she felt a force hitting the back of her neck.

“I’m not feeling well after all. I think it would be better if we just killed him and left… …”

Her whole body began to sag like a doll whose strings had snapped. She felt the arms that had been holding her waist so she wouldn’t fall to the floor tighten their grip.

“First, let’s take him away, so bear with it for now.”

And her memory ended here.

***

Knock, knock. The sound of firewood crackling was heard. Emilia barely opened her heavy eyelids and quickly blinked her eyes at the red light that faintly filled her vision.

‘My head… . . ’

As she gradually came to her senses, the back of her head started to ache. Was it the spot where she had been hit just before she fainted? Emilia instinctively raised her hand to her head, but lowered her gaze to her unmoving arm.

She saw the rope tying up her upper body as she sat on the chair. It was a situation that made her sigh. I never thought I’d be kidnapped. I didn’t think I’d be taken away easily, but I didn’t know he would do something so extreme.

“Are you awake?”

She looked around nervously, her dry lips moistening, when she suddenly felt a presence behind her.

“I didn’t know you’d stay awake all day. Did it hurt?”

Alessandro approached her as a hand slowly stroked the back of her neck. Emilia barely let out a trembling breath.

“… … Where is this place?”

She glanced around for no reason to avoid Alessandro, who was burdensomely sticking his face in front of her.