“Yes, you mentioned you’ve forgotten how, having been away from society for two years.”
“Right, but as the empire’s only duke, I can’t afford to embarrass myself, can I?”
“That’s true.”
Whether he would embarrass himself or not wasn’t really my concern. Actually, I was the one who should be more worried.
“Then why don’t you bring back the teacher who taught you how to dance?”
“It’s not just my problem, is it?”
…So he remembered.
“I might have changed over the past two years, you know.” I snapped a little defensively.
In response, the corners of Kasion’s mouth lifted slightly. That smile was different from the ones I usually saw. It was still mocking, but there was something a bit warmer about it.
“Sure. You’re probably better than you were back then.”
Nope, he was definitely teasing me. He must be recalling Serhen’s coming-of-age ceremony from three years ago.
Back then, not only was I bad at dancing, but I was also so nervous in front of everyone that I made every mistake possible. Stepping on my dress was just the beginning. I stepped on Serhen’s feet more than ten times, dropped all my hair ornaments when I leaned back, wobbled with dizziness after the dance, and almost tripped over my dress while leaving the dance floor.
“If you think you chose the wrong partner, you can back out.” Since Lireania and Serhen were already paired up, I just needed to make sure Kasion couldn’t stick close to Lireania.
I took a sip of my tea, looked at him with a slight pout, and then placed down the cup a bit more forcefully. After that, I reached for the cookies on the table. Since I was here, I might as well enjoy the delicious treats.
“No, I have no intention of changing my partner.” Kasion waited until I had finished chewing the cookie before he spoke.
“Oh, I see. If you say so.”
“By the way…” He suddenly stood up from the table. Then he brought his large hand close to my face again.
It’s dangerous. Remembering what happened last time, I instinctively leaned back. If he touched my lips with his fingers again, it would feel… strange. But his hand stopped in front of my face and then turned palm up.
“I thought we could plan our movements and practice our steps.”
I felt foolish for jumping to conclusions.
Embarrassed, I placed my hand in his. Kasion’s rough, strong hand completely enveloped mine. When he gently pulled, I naturally rose from my seat.
“But here?”
“Why? Should we go inside?”
That seemed even more dangerous.
“No. But there’s no music here.”
“The birds are chirping, and the crickets seem to be singing louder since you arrived. What better music could there be?”
“How romantic.”
“On the battlefield, this was the best music we had.”
Kasion’s eyes darkened slightly whenever he mentioned the war. It made me feel sympathetic. I had a feeling he was doing this on purpose, but… I couldn’t bring myself to be harsh. If the war had scarred him this much, someone had to help heal those wounds.
“Shall we start with a waltz?”
“Ah, yes.”
Kasion’s hand rested on my waist. Naturally, his hand was large, covering a good portion of my waist and giving me a sense of stability.
I placed my hand on his waist. But as soon as I felt the firm muscles under my palm, I quickly pulled my hand away, startled.
“What’s wrong?”
Kasion asked, and I lowered my head slightly, not wanting to show my face. If he saw my flushed face, he’d definitely tease me.
“It’s nothing.”
I placed my hand back on his waist. Again, I felt the solid, sculpted muscles. His waist wasn’t just firm; the muscles lining his waist were perfectly defined, more toned than they appeared. As I touched him, phrases from the novel I had read echoed in my mind—scenes that were too explicit to repeat. Was his body like this so he could do all those things?
“Shall we begin?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Not there—here.” Kasion moved my hand to his shoulder.
Embarrassed by his correction, I stiffened even more. Why did I put my hand there?!
With my head lowered, he took the first step. Because I wasn’t wearing a voluminous dress, his body pressed closely against mine. Even without touching him with my hands, I could feel how solid and perfectly sculpted his body was. Every movement made the sensation stronger. Especially his thighs. Every time he took a step, the muscles in his thighs contracted and then relaxed, and I could feel it through the leg that brushed against his.
“You’ve improved quite a bit. You only stepped on my foot three times.” After completing the waltz, he leaned slightly, sending warm breaths across the top of my head as he spoke.
“That’s! That’s only because it’s you, Kasion! If I danced with my brother, I wouldn’t step on his feet at all.”
“Yeah, you did well matching my steps. You won’t make mistakes during the real dance, right?”
His teasing tone annoyed me. As if dancing with him hadn’t already made me tense enough, constantly feeling his body wore me out.
“So, are we done? I’d like to…”
“How about we practice something a bit faster?”
“What?”
“You struggled more with this one.”
Can’t we just part ways now?
I ended up dancing with him five more times. Though he did give me breaks.
Since hot tea wasn’t enough to cool me down, the butler brought cold berry juice for me from time to time. Yet, my flushed face didn’t return to normal until I left the duchy. Of course, I couldn’t get the memory of his firm body out of my mind, either.
* * *
“Why are you following me?”
I had barely escaped from Kasion’s house, but I hadn’t escaped him yet. As I walked through the artisans’ street to shop, Kasion kept following me, making it hard to choose anything properly.
“You mentioned you’re moving out, so I thought I’d get you a gift.”
After he kept dragging out our dance practice, I had to tell him where I was going just to leave. The problem was he decided to stick to me and didn’t seem inclined to leave.
“You already gave me the brooch.”
“That was one thing. You said I still owe you for all your birthday gifts I missed.”
I had dug my own grave.
I couldn’t think of a good excuse to turn him down. I couldn’t even use the fact that Serhen would hate this as a reason. If Kasion knew Serhen was wary of him, would he become even more hostile?
Thinking back to the time Serhen and Kasion faced off at the duchy, I could easily imagine the outcome. Kasion would never want to lose to Serhen.
“My birthday is still a long way off.”
“It’s not for your next birthday; it’s for the last one.”
“But that’s already passed.”
I really had dug so many graves for myself.
“Besides, there’s someone I want to impress.”
“Someone you want to impress?”
“Yes. I need to treat you well to earn points.”
My eyes narrowed. This was obviously his strategy to use me to gain favor with Lireania. I knew that, but hearing him say it so bluntly made me feel resentful.
Had Kasion noticed that I was working to keep a barrier between him and Lireania? Or was he getting annoyed by me?
“Don’t use me for something like that.”
Despite my pointed remark, Kasion only smiled. Instead, he touched one of the nearby beds. It was a large, plush one I had my eye on during my last visit.
“This one is too soft. Sleeping here for long could hurt your back.”
“Really? I liked it because it was spacious.”
“Something that’s unnecessarily large isn’t always the best.”
Having spent so much time in uncomfortable conditions on the battlefield, it made sense that he was picky about beds.
“So, what would you recommend?”
I figured he knew a good bed when he saw one. My ears perked up.
“This one seems good.” After pressing down on several beds, he selected one.
“Isn’t it a bit small? I prefer something more spacious. Besides, it looks weak.”
“It’s spacious enough and has the right firmness.” He sat on the bed first and then patted the spot beside him. “Try it out.”
Feeling a bit skeptical, I sat next to him. The cushion felt different. It was soft but not overly so. It seemed to have good support. Would I sleep well in a bed like this?
“It still seems a bit small.”
“Nonsense. There’s plenty of room even if we lie down together.”
Kasion stretched out on the bed, lying on his side with his arm propping up his head. It was… well, how should I put it? A little too suggestive.
“Come on, lie down. We need to check if there’s enough space for both of us and if the bed is sturdy enough.”
“There’s no need to… Kyaa!”
Kasion pulled me down onto the bed beside him. His face was close to mine. Even when we danced, I hadn’t felt this close to him. I could see my reflection clearly in his yellow eyes.
“Comfortable? Or should I hire some craftsman to make a new one?”
“What? You would?”
How many bribes does he plan to give me today?
“Hey, bring in the craftsman who made this bed.”
“Ah, yes, right away!”
The female staff member who had been following us blushed deeply and hurried off. But the person she brought back was…
“Ariel! Kasion! What are you two doing here?”
It was Serhen, looking very angry.
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Hahaha the brother is pissed