Chapter 45: Oh Yeah? Then Bring It On! (2)
Aila said, with an expression that didn’t look particularly triumphant, no matter how you looked at it.
“Tch. You could help a little too, unni.”
“It would be disrespectful to his family if Risel continues to receive strange looks. You were a guest here too.”
“Alright, alright. Then I’ll let go of the mysterious three hours we spent together.”
You even had a title prepared? Good thing I called you over.
I put down my grape juice glass and looked at her with disapproval. As I had hoped, she was quite displeased.
“Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“Well, where’s your partner?”
“I don’t know. He’s probably off having fun somewhere. Hmph. I don’t know why the Duke’s second son is such a jerk.”
“Hey, I’m the Duke’s second son too.”
Although a hidden, illegitimate child.
Aila’s partner is the second son of Duke Mujaindos Uck Salain of Narvilt, who rules the Narvilt Dukedom, which begins near Baron Dakard’s territory. His name, to be honest, I don’t want to remember, but I couldn’t help but remember it, ‘Pilledvan Salain’.
Who is he, you ask? He was my superior before I died, the commander of the Empire’s 3rd Knight Order. He inherited the personality of Duke Mujaindos, the leader of the anti-Azot faction nobles, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him vulgar and full of himself.
It’s funny that such a guy is the partner of Aila, who was a member of the diplomatic mission. Honestly, if it weren’t for the large salt farms in Baron Dakard’s territory, Duke Narvilt wouldn’t have even cared about the Hind family.
Anyway, he brought Aila along because of his family’s orders, but in reality, he has no real interest in her. So he must have abandoned her and gone after the pretty ladies of the Imperial Capital.
“I don’t really care about being ignored, but it made me angry. So I gathered the women he’d likely try to seduce and had a little chat.”
“Hey, that’s a pretty flimsy excuse with a weak causal relationship.”
“Whatever. By the way, is His Majesty the Emperor still not here?”
Right after that, I wondered if tiger blood ran in the Emperor’s lineage. With a loud trumpet sound, the Emperor and his family began to enter. The Chief Attendant started an unnecessary introduction in a loud voice.
“The Emperor of the Anopuri Empire, and……”
Praise fit to make a death row inmate into an apostle of myth.
“……Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
Long live!
No one here would wish for the Emperor’s long life, but I still knelt on one knee and shouted”Long live!”
“I am overjoyed to see so many people gathered at my ball to celebrate the founding of the nation. Also……”
The Emperor recited his unchanging congratulatory speech, and my mood rapidly deteriorated as I heard the same words twice in a week. Someone, please bring him a practice script with shorter and more original sentences.
After the Emperor’s founding celebration speech ended, he officially declared the opening of the grand ball. Colorful, complex, subtle, and amicable music filled the air, and the Emperor, leading with his aged body, began to dance with the Empress.
“Will his back be alright?”
“I was just worried about that too.”
I answered Levidian’s question, stroking my chin. The Emperor’s aged body seemed like it was about time for dancing to become a strain.
Anyway, after the elderly couple’s dance ended, a new song began.
People started dancing with their partners in groups of twos and threes. I glanced at Levidian just in case, but she showed no interest in anything other than the glass of wine in her hand.
Hmm. Well, even she wouldn’t want to dance every time. I guess we’ll just enjoy the atmosphere tonight.
As I was thinking that, Aila lightly lifted her skirt in greeting in front of Levidian and me, and said,
“Ibi-unni, I’m going to borrow Risel for a bit.”
“Oh my, go ahead.”
When Levidian unlinked her arm from mine, I felt incredibly empty. And Aila took her place. It’s hard to describe, but if Levidian’s arm was firm and heavy, Aila’s was light and refreshing.
“Let’s go.”
“Hey, but what brought this on?”
“Over there.”
She gestured with her chin, and I saw Pilledvan dancing with some noble lady I didn’t recognize. I chuckled. So that’s what this is about?
“I need to show him there’s another Duke’s second son besides him.”
“Am I some kind of decoration?”
I grumbled, but I tightened my grip on her arm, which she had subtly linked with mine.
To be honest, Pilledvan is someone I dislike as well.
Among the children of noble families, there are generally those like my brother who maintain dignity and manners, and those who run wild, relying on their family background.
Pilledvan is the latter.
He was incompetent, but received his position and acted arrogantly as the commander of the 3rd Knight Order, giving me, the then vice-commander, a really hard time.
And as always, the three Duke families of the Empire don’t openly oppose each other, but they don’t build trust either. In that situation, I was placed as his subordinate, so what do you think it was like?
I walked with Aila to the center of the ballroom. And in a spot where Pilledvan could see us clearly, I greeted Aila with a flourish. Aila also greeted me with impeccable manners.
For a moment, our eyes met, and our interests aligned.
“Shall we show him what we’re made of?”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Holding Aila’s hand and waist, she naturally placed her hand on my shoulder.
One, two, three. Take a breath.
Let the dance begin.
As I took a step forward with my right foot, Aila stepped back with her left. Holding her hand and waist, I subtly adjusted my strength and slightly tilted her body to the side, then sidestepped again.
From the beginning, the movements are bold, but not vulgar, creating large, sweeping motions.
The movements aren’t that fast to match the music. But with every movement of coming together and apart, and every turn, we focus and pour in our energy.
If we let go of our hands, we’ll both fall. Our hands, entrusting our weight to each other, are precarious. When our fingertips tremble, we somehow find ourselves close, stepping in sync. We glide as we step, then suddenly jump up.
We perfectly executed the newly created dance that a dancer from the diplomatic mission learned in Azot and then incorporated elements of the Empire’s dance into it.
She skillfully keeps up. With a smile on her face, our eyes are locked on each other, as they should be.
The dance itself is a conversation.
With our body movements, our clasped hands, the hands on our waists and shoulders, we adjust the tempo, strong and soft, and our feet glide as we step. She and I engaged in a continuous conversation through dance.
‘Right side.’
‘Your right, or my right?’
‘Shut up. Just follow me.’
‘Oh my, you’re so harsh.’
Were you expecting a romantic conversation?
I’ve seen Aila’s skills many times at the balls held during the previous diplomatic mission. And I’ve partnered with her a few times. Surprisingly, we had good chemistry, and we received considerable praise at the balls.
If the scandal with Daisy hadn’t happened, I might have seriously considered if it would have happened with Aila instead.
Currently, with the royal family taking a break, it’s the nobles’ time to shine. And if you’re a noble, you have the opportunity to shine.
“Oh my, goodness……”
“They look so good together!”
“That’s a really wonderful dance, isn’t it?”
Pilledvan, who was the center of attention just a moment ago, must be feeling pretty sour right now. It must be infuriating that his partner is dancing with me, but he’s probably even more angry that we’re stealing the show.
He’s probably just fuming right now……but the music is slowly coming to an end, so I need to show him a fantastic finish and completely crush his spirit. I signaled to Aila.
‘Let’s go.’
‘Okay.’
One step forward, and another, as if pushing forward.
Bold, yet dignified, without losing our grace or becoming vulgar, I held her waist and spun her powerfully. Aila moved her feet to match my movements.
The climax, as the music ends.
Her foot lightly kicked off the ground, and both hands landed on my shoulders. And I lifted her by the waist, spinning her once.
“Ooh!”
“Oh my!”
Gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd. In between, her skirt billowed slightly, concealing what was underneath.
I unconsciously looked up at her.
There, an absurdly beautiful sight unfolded.
The candlelight entangled in the chandelier, like shimmering gem dust carried by the wind, twinkled and intertwined behind her. Crystals and glass, reflecting the candlelight, performed alchemy in the air, turning themselves into gold.
Amidst the golden splendor of several stars from the night sky layered together, her silver hair seemed to catch the brilliance, shining like molten gold.
That radiant gold, and her smiling golden eyes, were breathtakingly beautiful.
A smile naturally spread across my face.
If only I could savor this moment a little longer……
But sadly, the music was reaching its end. Now it was time to decorate the final act that would flatten Pilledvan. Ah, what a shame.
I held her waist and spun her around in a large circle before setting her down. Then, I took her left hand in my right and pulled her gently towards me. She didn’t fumble, gracefully following my lead.
The music ended.
She held my right hand as if in prayer, lifting it up with both of her hands, and I held her waist with my left hand, pulling her closer.
She shyly lowered her head, and I held her as if to comfort her.
With this bold yet dignified, and splendid finale……
Clap clap clap clap clap-!
“Amazing! Wonderful!”
“As expected of the Herduke family’s second son!”
“Which house does that young lady with silver hair belong to? She’s incredible!”
Applause and cheers erupted. All of it directed towards me, the second son of the Herduke family, and her, the eldest daughter of the Hind family. Compared to that, Pilledvan received almost nothing.
We separated and gracefully bowed to each other, then naturally linked arms and walked back to our original spot, where Levidian was.
With a faint smile on my face, I said,
“Well done, Aila.”
“It was a little hard to keep up. Whew.”
“But you followed along well, didn’t you?”
“Hmph. Well, that’s my skill.”
Aila grinned and puffed up her chest. Her childish demeanor, befitting her age, made me chuckle.
People continued to applaud and praise Aila and me. Some tried to approach us, but before they could reach us, I returned to the no-man’s land where Levidian and Joey were.
No one dared to approach us directly, but the distance between us and the crowd had narrowed to about 10 meters, and the population density had increased.
As a result, I was surrounded by dozens of nobles who hesitated to speak to me. Ignoring them all, I approached Levidian. If they didn’t have the guts to come and talk to me directly, they shouldn’t even try to approach.
“That was amazing, Risel. Even more spectacular than what I saw in Ast. But it was also so graceful……It felt like watching a beautiful sword dance.”
“You’re too kind. Haha.”
I laughed, trying not to appear too cocky. By the way, does everything Levidian see become a standard for swordsmanship?
“Unni, was it alright?”
“Yes. It was a dance that really caught everyone’s attention.”
Levidian and Aila were soon chatting in low voices. Feeling thirsty, I picked up a glass of juice and started to quench my thirst little by little.
Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet.
The murmuring voices of the people subsided, and a heavy silence descended. And from behind me, I could hear the bustling sounds of people moving around. Amidst the strange silence, those sounds were incredibly clear.
I subtly lifted my glass, pretending to swirl the contents, and looked at the reflection of what was happening behind me. Then, I had to forcibly stiffen the muscles in my face that were about to form a smile.
Pilledvan, without his partner, his anger barely concealed, was approaching us.
With raised eyebrows and a forced smile, the Duke’s second son walked unhindered through the path that people cleared for him. He approached me with a smile that couldn’t hide his anger, no matter how you looked at it. He lacks self-control.
“Well, well, Risel, long time no see.”
“Indeed, Phillip.”
“It seems you had a pleasant time with my partner.”
“Thanks to someone who left his partner to dance with someone else.”
“Isn’t that the same for you?”
“Taking care of a friend so they don’t become a wallflower is what friendship is all about.”
We exchanged smiles, but one with claws bared, the other with venom hidden, the conversation unfolded.
As everyone knows, he’s disliked our family ever since I joined the diplomatic mission. Because the mission was a resounding success, the anti-Azot faction nobles will be subdued for a while.
I subtly threw out the bait, and he, with his resentment, took the bait with a wonderfully refreshing attitude. What a fool.
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