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chapter 37
Dante faced Elyuard with an expressionless face.
“You’re the official fiancé.”
“If you die, I’ll be the official one. Want to try dying for a bit? I’ll save you after the ball.”
I held Dante’s hand with my free hand and tried to stop them both.
“Let’s just all dance together.”
Apparently, that wasn’t acceptable—Dante and Elyuard’s brows furrowed deeply in frustration.
“Hmm, then I, with my charming and mature spirit, will yield. But promise me the second dance will be with me.”
Eventually, Elyuard admitted defeat and stepped back, letting go of my hand first.
I nudged Dante, the victor, with my elbow.
“Shall we?”
He obediently slid his hand into mine and said,
“I always thought it was the other way around.”
Oops, I’d misunderstood. I quickly tried to correct my posture, but he remained elegantly linked with me.
“Then we can switch the lead for another dance.”
“Do you mean I should lead?”
“Yes. I feel I can trust you and follow your lead, Master.”
Our unconventional entrance immediately drew countless eyes. The Seven Stars were no exception, and Lily looked particularly shocked.
So many eyes watching… can I dance well under all this pressure?
Before I could even prepare myself mentally, the introduction music started.
Dante placed my wandering hand on his arm.
“I’ll lead, then.”
“Yes. That’s probably best for your safety.”
I couldn’t help but think—he might not have any toes left after tonight.
Maybe because it was my first time, my hands were sweaty when we clasped them. Thankfully, Dante wore gloves.
Wearing magical shoes, I was still stiff and awkward, like a puppet, when Dante lowered his voice to whisper.
“It’s only your first time. Don’t tense up; I’ll take care of everything.”
“Please refrain from whispering things that might be misinterpreted.”
Finally, the dance began, and the ballroom whirled around us.
Amid the dizzying background, Dante’s face remained sharp and clear.
His low-saturation blue eyes resembled the lakes of a cold country, shifting subtly depending on the light and angle.
Had I stared too intently? He held my gaze as if accepting a silent challenge and asked,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Your eyes are beautiful.”
“And so are yours, Master.”
Having no distinctive features, I asked, half-expecting,
“What exactly is beautiful about them? Tell me in detail.”
Dante studied my eyes deeply with a solemn expression.
“They’re green.”
A simple, monotonous conclusion, like the East Coast. That’s it? Really?
“I see.”
Disappointed, I turned my head, and he leaned closer, saying,
“I like green.”
The moment he spoke, my cheeks burned red. Not that I was a teenager—how embarrassing.
He skillfully led the dance, avoiding stepping on my feet.
But why is he so good for a first-timer? Did he get some protagonist’s beginner’s luck bonus?
“Dante, you said this is your first time dancing at a ball. Why are you so good? Are you pretending to be innocent…?”
Tilting his head slightly, Dante answered,
“At the military academy, general education included dance classes. We even had exams.”
“Oh, you paired up with someone of the opposite sex?”
“It was an all-boys school. My partner was Killian.”
I couldn’t help but laugh imagining two boys dancing expressionlessly together.
Time flew by, and the orchestra’s piece ended, marking the end of my first dance with Dante.
Before I could feel any lingering regret, Elyuard approached and politely asked for a dance.
“Now it’s my turn, Master.”
Balls had strict rules against dancing twice with the same partner, so Dante reluctantly stepped back.
When I took Elyuard’s offered hand, he naturally placed his hand on my back and met my gaze.
“Can you do well?”
“No.”
I focused intensely to avoid stepping on his feet. Staring only at his toes like practicing meditation, he said,
“Master, shall we make a bet? If you don’t step on my feet even once until this song ends, I’ll grant your wish. If you do, you grant mine.”
Devils are cunning; he’d likely try to trick me into stepping on him.
“No, I won’t.”
I shook my head, firmly refusing. He looked disappointed and asked,
“Aren’t you curious about my wish?”
“No.”
“Seems like you don’t even care about me, Master.”
I resolved not to be swayed by his smug face. I wouldn’t fall for his charms.
After the second dance ended, a red-haired woman approached Elyuard. She rambled on about herself but froze when she saw me.
“Mia Fortuna?”
I gave her a sour look. It was my sly, malicious cousin, Murray of the Omen Guard.
Sure enough, she had approached Elyuard pretending not to know me.
“So glad to see you! I didn’t recognize you at first. I heard you got engaged to Duke Dyke. Congratulations!”
I sighed deeply at Murray’s cheerful smile while she held my hand.
After all the insults and neglect she had shown me, she now acted friendly. Surely the Seven Stars’ comments about commoners and orphans came from her mouth.
I pushed her hand away and frowned.
“Are we close?”
Murray looked embarrassed, glancing at Elyuard.
“We’re family. We fought often, but even if you hated me, I never disliked you.”
Playing the victim and twisting blame onto others—that was Murray’s specialty.
I responded coldly.
“I told Georgi as well: stop pretending to know me. Before I compile your family’s disgusting acts into a serialized newspaper article.”
Murray pulled out a white handkerchief, dabbing her eyes and feigning sorrow.
“Still sharp-tongued. We always looked out for you, even in poverty…”
Sneaking glances at Elyuard’s reaction, she was truly a spectacle.
Had Elyuard been an ordinary person, he would have deemed her ungrateful.
But he was a devil in human disguise.
Elyuard silently narrowed his red eyes at her.
“Go cry somewhere else. Or shall I make you cry? Making people cry is my specialty.”
Startled, Murray quickly put away the handkerchief and stepped back, her forced tears drying immediately. She looked at me with a wistful expression.
“Mia, I want to get along with you.”
Her reason was obvious—she wanted something from me.
“Who are you? Go your way.”
I waved my hand like shooing a demon, signaling her to leave.
“After all we’ve done for you…”
She bit her lip and immediately left.
“Care to dance, fine gentleman?”
I asked Ezekiel, who was sitting gracefully in a chair, but he firmly refused.
“No.”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
Ezekiel brushed his pink hair and sighed.
“Just don’t want to.”
Well, I couldn’t force him.
I shrugged and offered my hand again.
“Then shall we explore the garden and have dessert? It’s my first time in the royal palace.”
“Fine.”
Ezekiel reluctantly stood and took my hand.
The palace gardens must be beautiful, right?
I imagined a romantic garden from a novel or movie.
But the palace garden at night was nothing like that.
“Time to show my skills!”
Drunken lunatics swam in fountains, screamed while cartwheeling, and fought at the slightest glance—a true arena of chaos.
“Ladies, are there three of you? Perfect, we’re three as well. Fate, perhaps?”
It was like a hunting tavern, late summer, with everyone searching for a match.
Watching the drunken display, I realized life was the same everywhere.
While watching a drunk show off his butterfly stroke at the fountain, men in tuxedos approached me.
“Lady, would you care to dance with me?”
“Beautiful lady, shall we have another drink outside?”
Blinking at the unexpected line, Ezekiel glared at them sharply.
“Do you not see me?”
The men, unable to challenge young Ezekiel, respectfully stepped back.
“This world doesn’t care who you are. If someone is higher in rank or stronger, they’re respected like an elder.”
“Since it’s late, let’s return.”
Suddenly, Dante’s voice appeared from nowhere, scaring off the persistent men. He clearly knew how to assertively handle such situations.
But why end things on his own? I still wanted dessert!
“It’s not over yet. It’s only eleven.”
Sighing, Dante brushed his hair back.
“I’m busy with laundry. I also plan to deep-clean tomorrow.”
Whatever he does daily counts as deep cleaning?
Ezekiel nodded in agreement.
“Right. I need to prepare breakfast. Killian got scolded by the palace steward and left first.”
Still, tomorrow morning I’d have to serve rolled omelets anyway.
…And so, my tumultuous first ball ended, witnessing only the ugliness and bitterness of human nature. I didn’t even get to taste the palace patissier’s special dessert.
