The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

He led Dorothea to the center of the ballroom.

The debutants were already dancing with their partners and circling around the bright debut circle.

The competition for the first chance in the debut circle is fierce.

This is because people’s concentration becomes blurred toward the second half, and even if they enter the debut circle, they do not receive attention.

The two, who jumped into the dancing group a little late, stepped back a little from the debut circle and took their place in the back.

Ethan politely held out his hand to her.

“Would you like to dance a song with me?”

He held out his hand with a rather contrived joke, but seductively.

Dorothea carefully placed her hand, and Ethan kissed the back of her hand.

“It is an honor to be with the Princess.”

With a polite smile, he gently pulled her hand.

“Are you good at dancing?”

Ethan asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Their chests met as they turned to dance, and she could feel his breath close to hers.

Dorothea quickly turned her head and answered.

“Maybe.”

‘In the past, I also learned to dance like a fool, so I was a pretty good dancer, but after returning, I haven’t danced for a while.’

She’d taken a month or two of practice to refresh her memory before the ball, but she wasn’t sure how good she was.

Ethan smiled at Dorothea’s ambiguous answer and held her hand softly.

“I’m good at dancing.”

A clear answer without any doubts about his abilities.

‘I know. Because everyone said that dancing with you feels like flying.’

At one ball, there was a fight between young ladies who were waiting to dance with Ethan.

“If it’s difficult, trust me and follow me.”

Ethan took the first step, gently leading Dorothea.

The two of them slipped effortlessly into the crowd of dancers.

Ethan gently guided Dorothea through the dance as if speaking to her with his body.

He didn’t have to say a word, but Dorothea knew what he wanted to do as if she could hear him.

It was in this part that Ethan was good at dancing.

Not only does it look beautiful on the outside, but he also makes it easy and enjoyable for the people he’s dancing with.

Like his sweet whispers, he charms the other party with his polite and gentle gestures.

“You’re good at dancing considering you said maybe?”

It’s thanks to Ethan’s good lead, but he also has a sense of improving his opponent’s skills.

So he swept the social world at once.

Who wouldn’t be thrilled with him like this?

“You really can do anything.”

Dorothea said, feeling his dance.

“There are a lot of things I can’t do. For example, to win the princess’s heart.”

Ethan said, pulling Dorothea closer to him.

Dorothea, naturally drawn by his tension, got close enough to touch the tip of his nose. Suddenly, her heart pounded at a close distance.

“Ethan…!”

“Focus on the dance, Princess.”

Ethan smirked, gently holding Dorothea back as she tumbled to her feet.

Dorothea felt like she was playing in his hands.

‘Obviously, we were dancing together, but since his skills were better, I had no choice but to naturally follow where he was going.’

Dorothea was not aware of how the people around them were looking at them, as she was concerned about every single action he took.

The ball gradually reached its climax.

Countless couples climbed up and down in the debut circle, and the sparkling marble floor reflected the light of the chandelier and the dancing people like a mirror.

And in the middle of the big ball were Dorothea and Ethan.

“The Princess and Ethan Bronte are really cool.”

After taking a break from one song for a while, Julia could not take her eyes off Dorothea and Ethan.

It wasn’t just Julia. Even Nereus, who had been busy swearing at Dorothea all along, kept his mouth open as he is now, dazzled by the dance of the two of them.

It was no wonder that when someone stepped into the debutant circle, there was less congratulation and applause than usual.

Dorothea and Ethan didn’t even need to be in the circle to be the center of attention as if they were the brightest lights.

Julia, who was staring blankly at the two, looked back at her partner, Theon. Theon looked at Dorothea and then shook his head.

“Theon, are you okay?”

“little…”

“Should we go in now? You better get some rest before Rey comes.”

“Then, let’s take a break after watching the princess’s turn, Julia.”

Julia nodded at Theon’s words.

The debutants climbed up and down the debut circle in order as the music flowed.

“Are we going to go up soon?”

Ethan asked as he looked at the closer debut circle.

The red carpet on the marble floor and the bright lights feel like a blessing. A debut circle that can catch everyone’s attention in the middle of the ball.

Dorothea hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

‘I couldn’t remember exactly when the lights suddenly turned off before the return.’

If the lights go out again this time… It’s my destiny.’

Dorothea and Ethan slowly made their way to a position closer to the debut circle.

As they waited for their spot in the debut circle, Dorothea glanced over at Carnan who had been ignoring her all along.

For a brief moment, she made eye contact with Karnan.

The unexpected contact startled Dorothea and she averted her gaze.

‘Have you been watching me…?’

She looked up again, but Carnan was looking at the debut circle with an indifferent face.

‘Was it an illusion?’

Nereus was dancing with his partner in the debut circle.

‘Yes, he was looking at Nereus, not me.’

Dorothea was more accustomed and comfortable to think that way.

“Would you like to go up after Nereus?”

“Sure.”

Dorothea and Ethan waited in the seat closest to the debut circle for Nereus’ turn to end.

But when it was his turn to come down from the circle, Nereus did not come down.

It’s common for debutants to come down after a maximum of three or four measures of music has been played. This is to respect the many debutants waiting for their turn.

But Nereus showed no sign of coming down when he entered the fifth verse.

Then, Dorothea made eye contact with Nereus.

He seemed to want to prevent Dorothea and Ethan from coming up next.

It was almost as if he knew someone else was coming up next.

But no one stepped forward to take Dorothea and Ethan’s place.

In the end, Nereus couldn’t stand it any longer and had to hand over the debut circle to Dorothea.

Instead, when he came down from the circle, he deliberately squashed his feet and crumpled the carpet of his debut circle to the point of being folded.

When dancing, the carpet was one of the uncomfortable obstacles. For this reason, the carpeting in the debut circle is as smooth as possible on a dense, stiff fabric.

However, carpets are carpets, and if they have wrinkles, those wrinkles can get caught or wrapped around your shoes, making them very uncomfortable and often causing you to fall.

It was a childish move that tormented Dorothea without being noticed by others.

But Ethan didn’t hesitate to drag Dorothea onto the crumpled carpet.

“It’s hard to swivel on the carpet, so be careful.”

He gave Dorothea kind attention, and with a natural gait, he straightened the crumpled carpet.

Ethan took a graceful step from the place where he had put away Nereus’ childish tactics.

When the two of them reached the debut circle, even if they weren’t, the already focused gazes became even more intense.

Ethan took Dorothea’s hand and glanced around.

“People are all looking at us.”

Ethan smiled and whispered.

As he said, hot gazes were felt from all directions.

Theon, Julia, Nereus, and Carnan were also focused on the two of them.

In the eyes of the people, light steps moving of Ethan gave the feeling of walking on clouds.

“Ah, Crown Prince Raymond has arrived as well.”

While dancing with Dorothea, Ethan easily found Raymond entering the ballroom late.

Following his words, Dorothea looked towards Carnan to see Raymond, who had rushed in, sitting near the railing, catching his breath, and checking Dorothea.

When their eyes met, he smiled broadly and raised his hand as if he was glad it wasn’t too late.

“Good timing.”

Ethan saw it and laughed too.

‘Good timing?’

“Princess, there is one last thing I want to ask you.”

Ethan’s golden eyes asked Dorothea again.

“Have you ever thought about dealing with the spirit of light?”

His question was very serious.

Dorothea opened her mouth, led by that calming voice, soft music, and relaxing dance.

“Always.”

Dorothea brought out the truth she had buried deep in her heart.

A satisfied smile spread across Ethan’s lips.

“I was hoping for that answer.”

That moment.

“kyaaak!”

The room darkened in an instant.

‘This…!’

The darkness that had struck even before the return occurred in Dorothea’s debut circle as if it had been promised.

In the darkness, When Dorothea was about to call Raymond.

“Now is the time for the princess.”

A sweet whisper in the dark.

At the same time, a blinding light enveloped Dorothea.

And the light that spread like an explosion in all directions drove away the darkness that covered the ballroom in an instant.

The wide ballroom brightened as if the sun rose in the bright light that even swallowed the lights of the chandelier.

‘Spirit of Light…?’

Dorothea looked at the ballroom, which had widened her eyes.

Not only she, but everyone in the ballroom opened their mouths in surprise and looked around the ballroom. But soon all the eyes of people turned to her all at once.

The overwhelmingly colorful and dramatic power of light.

The spirits, the source of that power, hovered around Dorothea, illuminating her brightly.

But the light enveloped her, completely against her will, covered the ballroom, and fascinated people.

Dorothea shook her head.

‘No, I didn’t do this.’

When she looked up, overwhelmed by confusion, Carnan and Raymond were looking at her in surprise.

Carnan’s blue eyes trembled, and Raymond looked at her with a mixture of surprise and joy.

At that moment, a beautiful, warm voice woke her up.

“The princess will become a legitimate emperor.”

His silver hair sparkled beautifully in the light, and his golden eyes were finely folded.

He whispered in Dorothea’s ear.

* * *