Chapter 19
“……Hey.”
“Uh, y-yeah?”
“Do you know how to dance?”
“Yeah… to some extent.”
“I’m asking whether you can dance ‘properly.’ Not whether you learned from books, but whether you’ve actually danced with a partner before.”
“……”
An ominous silence. My eyes narrowed before I knew it.
The musicians had already taken their places on the stage in front of the tables, tuning their instruments as if they could begin playing at any moment.
“Why can’t you answer? Don’t tell me you’re not confident, even after coming all this way?”
My fist clenched before I knew it. I could vividly picture myself making a spectacular fool of myself with awkward steps right from the start, drawing every guest’s attention at once.
Naturally, there was only one reason I had attended the ball in this ridiculous dress: I couldn’t refuse House Friesna’s formal request. I didn’t want to earn the unnecessary label of ‘someone who doesn’t even know the basics’ before I had even begun my meeting with Father.
“Tell me properly. You can dance, right?”
But after going to all that trouble to attend, was I supposed to show everyone a flailing mess that barely passed for dancing? That was absolutely unacceptable. It would be better not to dance at all.
Father would surely be watching closely as the joint first-place winners from Luminus whom he had personally invited took the floor. Even if I couldn’t dance perfectly, I had to at least get the fundamentals right.
“Kairos. Answer me.”
“Ah….”
Only after I pressed him again did the freshman finally come to his senses. His somewhat unreliable gray eyes met mine.
He swallowed dryly, then answered in a voice that had become a little more like his usual self.
“I can.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ve danced before.”
His voice was serious, without the slightest wavering. It didn’t sound like a lie, at least.
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Honestly, I was a little surprised. I’d only heard that he was a poor commoner, yet he had formally danced with a partner before.
For a moment, I wondered darkly what on earth this guy couldn’t do… but whatever. For now, I was simply relieved.
I patted him lightly on the shoulder with a small smile born of relief.
“Then, I’m counting on you, partner.”
And almost simultaneously, Mother’s gentle voice announcing the beginning of the ball rang throughout the vast hall.
……
“Th-that aside, what do you think the others are doing?”
“Elina and Julia, who have partners, are probably somewhere around here. The underachiever—no, Ria is probably over in that corner eating snacks.”
I answered offhandedly, then closed my eyes for a moment and steadied my breathing.
I calmly turned my thoughts over, recalling every movement of my partners that I had felt through my fingertips up to now.
‘It’s okay. I can do this. Evan.’
I had pushed the cocky freshman around, but in truth, I was the one with no practical experience whatsoever. There was no way the eldest son of House Friesna had ever formally danced a woman’s role.
All I had done was follow Ms. Justina through a few steps, and even that had been incomplete practice without a partner.
On top of that, I might have to lead Kairos, who was clearly a beginner, so it was only natural that I felt tense.
“Are you nervous?”
At that moment, the freshman’s voice reached me.
Startled, I silently glared at the freshman. He grinned playfully and gave the hand we held a slight squeeze.
“Don’t worry. If you get confused, I’ll lead you.”
“Hah.”
It was laughable. Who was he to teach whom?
I glared sharply at him and opened my mouth.
“Don’t make me laugh. I’m going to be led by someone like you… Eek?!”
Before I could finish speaking, the music began. In an instant, my body was smoothly drawn into his arms.
He placed one hand on my back with surprising skill and gently raised our clasped hands. With a faint smile, he met my eyes, then naturally took the first step.
‘W-what… He’s really good.’
His very first turn was extraordinary. If dancing skill was judged by ‘how comfortable you make your partner feel,’ his movements would unquestionably have earned a perfect score.
As the waltz’s three-beat rhythm filled the room, he gently wrapped an arm around my waist and led me one step, then another.
His steps flowed as naturally as water. Following his raised hand, I spun in a small circle, and when I came around, I was exactly in his arms again. We were close enough for me to feel his breath by my ear.
The freshman, meeting my eyes from directly in front of me, snickered and spoke.
“How is it? Rene, much better than you expected, right?”
Such a conceited voice—so typical of him.
“……!”
Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of simply admitting it with a ‘Uh… y-yeah.’ My competitive spirit kicked in. This time, I moved first, half a beat early.
The firm pressure of the hand against my back, the reassuring steadiness of our clasped fingertips.
But I had reclaimed the lead. I guided his hand as I stepped, then this time spun once on my own and fell back into his arms, giving him a confident smile.
“Not ‘much’ better, you know. So from now on, just quietly follow my lead.”
Honestly, his skill had exceeded my expectations. No, objectively speaking, he was clearly quite skilled.
But even so, he was no match for the skill of the eldest son of House Friesna, who had received elite education from age four and been making the rounds of Imperial high society since age twelve.
Even if I was playing the woman’s role now, I was leagues above him—at least when it came to dancing.
“W-wait….”
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re already having trouble keeping up?”
A bright smile spread across my lips before I knew it. At last, the day had come when I could crush this guy through sheer skill!
Honestly, at first I’d wanted to crush him with magic… but so what? Using magic was still ‘me,’ and dancing was still ‘me,’ too.
In any case, this was a ball held by House Friesna, attended by nobles of varying skill levels. No one would find it strange if we danced in a slightly unusual arrangement.
I tightened my grip on our clasped hands and subtly twisted the rhythm, pushing him one step backward. Not forcibly, but naturally, as though it were part of the choreography all along. Rather than overpowering him with force, I seeped into the flow like water and controlled it.
“You asked me earlier if I was nervous, right?”
I lightly lifted the corners of my mouth.
“Not at all.”
That’s right. There was no way I, of all people, would get nervous over something as trivial as dancing.
Besides, I had perfectly mastered how to lead while teaching young Ellie to dance. Now that I had gauged his skill, there was nothing left to hesitate over.
The music surged toward its climax, and the dance grew increasingly flamboyant and intense.
With an utterly relaxed expression, occasionally smiling as though I found him ridiculous, I enjoyed the flustered look on the freshman’s face before me. I could see a sheen of sweat forming on his forehead.
‘What? So this guy had an awkward side after all.’
I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. If anything, it was exhilarating.
Just as I had expected, it had once again been proven that I was ultimately superior.
As I took the final step, I tilted my head back slightly and spun elegantly. Returning to my designated place, I stopped precisely at the same moment as the music’s final note.
Finale.
This was my lead, my skill.
The conclusion to my first victory.
※※
“So, have you confirmed what you wanted to see?”
At Ludwig’s gentle question, Erica made a strange expression that was difficult to explain.
Her posture slack as though she had forgotten even her usual decorum, she rubbed her chin before turning to her father with a troubled groan.
“What did you think, Father? Of the two of them dancing.”
“They were both remarkably skilled. It was like watching Evan and Ellie as children.”
A faint bitterness soon crossed Ludwig’s face as he chuckled softly.
Erica, who had not missed that subtle change in her father’s expression, read his mood and hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, they’re both commoners.”
“Hmm? Is that really so?”
“Yes. Isn’t it truly amazing?”
“Indeed, it is remarkable. They can hardly have had many opportunities to take dance lessons.”
Ludwig watched the backs of the two as they returned to their seats, genuine admiration on his face.
Erica inwardly sighed with relief, then watched the pair walk away with the same intent gaze as her father.
It had been entirely Erica’s idea to add a ball to the banquet and ask the students to attend.
A means of confirming the ‘possibility’ she had suspected all along.
Her theory was that if Rene really had some connection to Evan, Rene’s dancing would inevitably reveal some of Evan’s habits or traits.
‘Rene is incredibly good…?’
But Rene’s dancing was far too overwhelming for her to detect such subtle traces.
Although Father did not seem to notice, Erica, as a woman herself, could clearly see that Rene was leading Kairos.
If Rene had learned to dance from Evan, there was no way Rene—who would have had Evan as her partner—could have led her partner. And if—just on the off chance—Rene herself were Evan, there was no way my fiercely proud younger brother could have performed the role of a ‘woman’ so perfectly.
‘So it really was just my speculation?’
In the end, she had gained nothing from it. If anything, it had only deepened her confusion.
Besides, wasn’t Rene—the student who had framed Kairos with an absurd false accusation only a week ago—now dancing with him as his partner as if nothing had happened?
Honestly, she couldn’t make sense of anything Rene did.
“Father.”
Erica let out a deep sigh and turned back to her father, thinking she would find out the details herself in the meeting with him that would take place shortly.
“Go on.”
“Father… do you truly believe that the transfer of souls is possible?”
“Hmm?”
Ludwig looked at his daughter as though the question had come out of nowhere. Erica met his gaze without any change in expression.
After a moment, Ludwig answered with a quiet chuckle.
“What would become of the head of House Friesna if he couldn’t believe in it?”
He shrugged and raised his eyebrows slightly, as if asking why she had suddenly posed such a profound question.
Though she knew his answer was rather vague, Erica spoke.
“It’s just… I had a feeling that one of those children might reach that realm someday.”
Ludwig replied, “Is that so?” yet could not entirely hide his puzzlement.
But soon he spoke with a faint smile.
“Yes, I would like to see that great magic recreated once more before I close my eyes.”
His voice seemed to contain a truly complex mixture of emotions.