Chapter 51
“Kyahhh!”
The moment her eyes met Sir Adrian’s, Lady Vanessa’s face turned bright red as she let out a scream.
“W-When did you get here?! You weren’t watching us practice, were you?!”
Unfortunately, Sir Adrian was no good at lying. His eyes awkwardly rolled around.
“That is, I… I didn’t see anything.”
Next to him, His Grace the Duke smiled sweetly.
“I saw our Iri practicing her dance. You said it was your first time today, right? But you were doing great.”
“El said he saw everything!”
“No, I really… I was just looking at the wall. Only the wall.”
“Lord Lesir!”
When Lady Vanessa demanded to know what was going on, Lord Lesir answered confidently.
“Since both of you are learning to dance for the first time, no matter how hard you practice, it’ll be difficult to perform perfectly at the ball. That’s why your partners need to understand which parts you’re struggling with in order to help you improve.”
“But still…!”
“Come now! There’s no time to waste on chit-chat! Face your partner and bow!”
At Lord Lesir’s sharp clap, Lady Vanessa and I straightened up reflexively.
Duke El and Sir Adrian stood before us at a set distance.
Still unfamiliar with the ballroom gown, I clutched the hem and curtsied toward the Duke.
With one hand on his chest, the Duke bowed and then extended his hand to me.
I placed my right hand on top of his left, and rested my left hand between his right elbow and shoulder. At the same time, Lord Lesir’s voice rang out.
“Let’s start with the basic steps! One, two, three! One, two, three!”
Did he notice I was nervous? The Duke gently applied pressure to lead me.
Keeping my back straight, I followed his lead.
To be honest, at some point, I had no idea if I was even doing it right.
“Iri, are you breathing?”
The Duke whispered softly into my ear.
Startled by the warmth of his breath against my ear, I nearly stepped on his foot. Then, realizing what he said, I exhaled deeply.
“Future Duchess! Your posture is falling apart! Strengthen your spine!”
“Spine, yes!”
The Duke chuckled as I comically straightened my back with force.
“This is just practice. Don’t be so nervous. Relax.”
“…I-I can’t relax…”
First of all, it was the dress. No matter how confident I was in my strength and stamina, standing up straight in this heavy gown felt like hard labor.
‘If I’m struggling this much, then Lady Vanessa must be…’
As expected, Lord Lesir’s sharp voice rang out.
“Lady Vanessa! Your posture is a mess! Straighten up!”
“The dress is heavy… The shoes are uncomfortable… It’s so hard…”
“Lean on me, my lady.”
Sir Adrian tried to help, but it didn’t seem to do much for Lady Vanessa.
“Do we… really have to dance at the ball…?”
“Lady Vanessa! Your spine!”
“Please stop yelling already…”
Eventually, Lady Vanessa gave up and plopped down on the spot.
It wasn’t an act—her face had gone pale, and she really looked exhausted. So Lord Lesir decided to end the lesson there.
“As I said earlier, you need to build your stamina first. You should start doing light exercises every day, even just a little. Understood?”
“Yes…”
Sitting on the carpet, catching her breath, Lady Vanessa suddenly burst into tears.
When she buried her face in her hands, Lord Lesir panicked.
“M-My lady? Was the dance practice really that exhausting?”
“No, it’s just… I’m happy to feel tired. I used to just lie in bed all day doing nothing, and that wasn’t tiring… But dancing and being out of breath like this—it’s a good kind of tired.”
Sir Adrian pulled Lady Vanessa into a tight embrace as she sobbed.
Then he carefully lifted her up and stood.
“My lady, allow me to escort you to the lounge.”
Lady Vanessa didn’t reply, simply resting her face against his chest.
Though Lord Lesir had been strict like a tiger while teaching us, now she looked more like a nervous hamster, worried she’d gone too far. I decided to speak up.
“Thank you for today, teacher. I’ll count on you again tomorrow.”
“Ah… Yes! I’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. I’ll take my leave now.”
With an elegant bow, Lord Lesir quickly exited the room.
Once I came to my senses, I realized only the Duke and I were left in the dance hall.
“There’s still a little time left… Iri, want to practice a bit more?”
“Review? …Sure!”
At the upcoming ball, I was the Duke’s partner. If I didn’t want to embarrass him, practice was my only salvation.
“You haven’t learned the dance music yet, right?”
“No, just the basic steps. Lord Lesir said once we can do the steps with proper posture, then we’ll move on to learning the music.”
Only two weeks remained until the ball. I wasn’t sure how many dances I could memorize in that time.
“The goal is three pieces, but if that’s too much, we agreed to each just learn one different piece. Lady Vanessa will dance first, then I’ll go after.”
“You haven’t picked a song yet, right?”
“No. Do you have a preference?”
It was a casual question, really, but—
“I do.”
“What is it? Tell me the title, and I’ll ask Lord Lesir to teach me that one.”
“You’re agreeing without even hearing the song?”
“Well, I don’t know much about dancing anyway. If there’s a dance you want to do, I’ll just go with it!”
“Then how about we try it out and see?”
The Duke extended his hand to me. I was taken aback.
“H-How? I’ve only learned the basic steps…”
“Just trust me. I can fully lead this one.”
“Really?”
Wait a second—doesn’t that mean I could get a whole dance done for free?
Tempted, I quickly took the Duke’s hand.
“Then please, I’m in your hands, Your Grace.”
The Duke gave a playful smile and pulled me toward him.
In an instant, my body tilted toward him. Before I knew it, I was enveloped in his arms, my waist securely wrapped by his arm.
“The song’s called ‘Blooming Fever.’”
Before I could even interpret the title, he guided my hands into the proper position.
My left hand rested on his shoulder, and our right hands interlocked.
Then, near my ear, a soft hum sounded.
“Ddan, daradan, ddan, dadan.”
Even though I was in a heavy ballroom gown, and the Duke was in a thick, formal outfit too…
I could still feel the heat of his body through our close proximity. It was as if sparks were flying between our locked gazes.
His arm tightened around my waist. We were close enough that I could feel his heartbeat thudding wildly.
His fingers gripped mine firmly, as if refusing to leave even the tiniest gap.
“In this dance, we must never break eye contact.”
His low whisper turned into warm breath that settled on my cheek.
“I-I don’t think I could look away even if I tried.”
Before I realized it, the Duke’s forehead was nearly touching mine. At this distance, looking anywhere else would be the strange part.
“Iri.”
“Yes?”
In his golden, glimmering eyes, my reflection flickered. Trapped within his gaze, my face wore an expression I couldn’t even describe.
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now…”
This dance required us never to break eye contact—but somehow, my gaze drifted…
To the Duke’s red lips.
