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Chapter 48
Even though it was a leg I couldn’t put strength into, and it was certain he would step on my foot multiple times.
At that moment, I nodded as if bewitched.
Perhaps it was because I never imagined Blake would ask me to dance.
With an elegant gesture, Blake gracefully led me.
One step, two steps.
My tired, heavy body felt instantly light as a feather after just those two steps.
Blake, holding one of my hands and the other on my waist, blinked his long, elegant, slow-moving eyelashes.
But only after two more movements did Blake finally speak, without ever breaking his gaze from me.
“What I mentioned earlier was from a year ago, starting from the day of the wedding.”
“Ah…”
“At the time, I thought that was the best course. I thought that’s what I was living for.”
“Pardon? Isn’t that a bit of an overstatement?”
Did he hate marrying me that much?
I frowned slightly at his words, which made it sound like he was receiving a punishment.
But Blake, on the contrary, smiled and continued.
“You probably have no idea, Master. What it’s like to act as one wishes and face terrible consequences… Because of that, I can’t easily act on anything, no matter what it is.”
“……”
“Because of that, I foolishly fell into a trap as well.”
So, does ‘terrible consequences’ mean marrying a commoner-born Crown Princess who bought a noble title?
But the part about falling into a trap seems to refer to something that happened later?
His puzzling words were hard to understand.
Of course, Blake didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining properly.
He just seemed to be cautiously shaking out things he had kept bottled up inside, so I just listened quietly.
“Actually, I still feel that way. I don’t understand anything, not a single thing.”
“Well… I feel the same right now.”
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
When I answered that honestly, Blake burst out laughing.
But his beautiful face still looked strangely sad.
“Master, you said Ian Harmel doesn’t bother you anymore. You weren’t even that sad when he died.”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Ian Harmel, all of a sudden?
I blinked at the name I never expected to hear at this moment.
Blake, holding my hand and elegantly moving into the next step without a single flaw, spoke.
“But the clothes you wore that day when you went to the festival with me… they were the clothes he gave you as a gift.”
What!
No wonder they were treasured, tucked away in a corner of the wardrobe.
Ah, so that’s why I said they were clothes I was saving.
I somewhat understood why Blake looked at me strangely back then.
But how did Blake know that Ian gave me those clothes?
And was there any reason for him to be so shocked just because I wore clothes given by my former fiancé?
Back then, Blake wasn’t just looking at me strangely; his expression was closer to someone who had seen something terrifying that awakened an old trauma.
“I’ve… seen those clothes before.”
“Where?”
“In a dream.”
“A… dream?”
“You might find it strange. At that time, Master… you were dead, together with Ian Harmel. Wearing those clothes.”
Blake definitely paused briefly mid-sentence.
For some reason, it felt like he had mixed a lie somewhere in his answer.
He saw me die with Ian in a ‘dream’?
I wanted to say it was just a dream, but something clicked.
It was the [Sword of Dominion over Ruin], the original novel.
‘Ariel was found dead, torn apart by wolves turned ferocious by magic, just before the war began, while eloping with Ian.’
That story, which sometimes felt like a prophecy.
In the original novel, I was supposed to die together with Ian.
Since they were eloping, they probably fled wearing clothes comfortable for movement.
And perhaps… the clothes Ian gave me, the ones I wore to the festival.
Exactly those clothes.
If Blake saw that scene, whether in a dream or whatever…
I could somewhat understand why he was shocked seeing me in those clothes.
Still, it felt like an overreaction to ‘Ariel’s’ death.
“…That’s absurd. Ian is dead.”
I forced a smile as I answered.
Following Blake’s lead, I spun smoothly once, my steps continuing as if I was being embraced by him again.
Despite his peculiar expression, Blake continued speaking nonchalantly.
“It is absurd. Something like that will never happen again, ever.”
His smooth, resolute words also sounded somewhat like a vow.
“I don’t want to regret anything anymore, Master.”
“Hmm…”
What is it he doesn’t want to regret?
Did Blake have something to regret all this time?
Was he talking about his own death?
That death where it’s unknown if it was murder or suicide?
Various questions arose, but I decided not to press further.
It seemed safe to assume that the current Blake was a different person from the Blake in the original novel.
Even if we couldn’t precisely understand what misunderstandings existed between him and me, it was clear that the current Blake was not a husband who would rejoice in my misfortune.
Before I knew it, the song was coming to an end, and the dance concluded with the final motion of our hands touching as we turned.
Just before the dance ended, Blake whispered in a low voice.
“So, if there’s anything uncomfortable, please tell me, like you did back then. You can even get angry, just don’t keep it bottled up inside.”
“…Yes, I will.”
Hearing my answer, Blake smiled contentedly, his eyes crinkling.
Simultaneously, the dance ended.
As the Countess had taught me, I lifted the hem of my dress slightly with both hands and curtsied to Blake.
Blake also responded, placing one hand over his chest, the other behind his back, and slightly bowing his head and body.
“Your Highness… you dance very well. I heard you didn’t attend balls, so I thought you didn’t enjoy dancing. I didn’t expect you to ask me to dance.”
“I saw you practicing dance so hard; I couldn’t just leave without dancing once.”
“And when did you see that?”
I thought he wasn’t there and had been diligently practicing my steps in front of the mirror by myself.
Did he see that?
I could feel my face turning bright red even without looking in a mirror.
But Blake just relaxed the corners of his mouth and stared at me quietly.
In the end, I was the one who turned my head away first, unable to bear the embarrassment.
His unnecessarily handsome face made me feel shy just by meeting his gaze.
As I was grumbling inwardly, another piece of music began to play, and Blake very naturally led me out of the crowd.
People seemed to notice Blake’s presence from various places and started approaching, but he ignored them and continued walking without letting go of my hand.
“Where are we going?”
“The cloakroom.”
“Why the cloakroom?”
I learned that it’s a room where nobles check their disheveled attire after dancing or rest for a while…
Why are we going there all of a sudden?
My dress is perfectly fine.
“You’ve been stumbling because of those shoes, haven’t you? Didn’t I say the heels were high?”
“No, but I’m the one wearing them, why would Your Highness…”
Of course, I didn’t press further.
Perhaps he noticed that I was practically leaning on him while we danced.
I obediently entered the cloakroom and sat on a prepared chair.
But Blake instead dismissed the maid who was waiting inside the cloakroom to assist guests with their attire.
Seeing the maid leave, alternating glances between Blake and me with a red face…
I wonder if my husband knows what that implies?
“Was it necessary to dismiss the maid?”
“Master, you are a living, breathing piece of gossip right now. Even just changing your shoes once can be used against you.”
For instance, they could pick on it, saying that as a commoner, I find high-heeled shoes uncomfortable…
He dismissed the maid to prevent such talk from arising.
It was such a meticulous and considerate action that it was just shocking.
But Blake didn’t stop there. He approached me as I sat on the chair and knelt on one knee.
“Uh, Your Highness?”
“Stay still.”
I—I made the Crown Prince kneel!
Moreover, the Crown Prince, like a servant, carefully took my foot hidden under the dress and took off my shoe!
