192 – The Duke (8)
Lilith asked as she walked next to me with a noble gesture.
“Why do you want to dance?”
The wall of awkwardness between us was still strong, so the conversation wasn’t that smooth.
“Why?”
“Okay. Reason.”
“Because there are many uses for it, including the prom.”
“It’s quite practical. “Have you decided on a partner?”
“Not yet.”
“But I guess I’m learning how to dance because I have someone I like. Is not it?”
“It’s not wrong.”
“Then have you ever thought about why women dance?”
“Because you like your partner?”
“What I like is the second question. “Women dance to raise their social status.”
“….”
“Do you seem like a snob? That’s right, most of them are snobs. There are very few kids who come to prom simply because they like dancing. “I’m going to the ball to have a chance to become a noble lady by being chosen by a wealthy nobleman whose rank is higher than my own.”
Hearing Lilith’s words, I felt like my heart would cool down, as if cold water had been poured on me even before the Eternia ball had started.
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“….”
“Isn’t the excitement broken? “The Eternian Ball may be less prone to that, but most other balls will be that way.”
“Interesting.”
“I think of dance as a tool. “A tool to win the favor of innocent people of the opposite s*x who know nothing.”
“….”
“Then you can do well without being nervous. Put away all the lofty adjectives like harmony between soul and body. Dance is something that even children, drunkards on the street, and merchants in the market can dance. Don’t attach too much importance to it. “Then your body will stiffen and your steps will become very twisted.”
It was nutritious advice that came from experience.
Lilith was walking down the street when she suddenly stopped, turned towards me, and grabbed me.
“I like it here. “Do it here today.”
This place was just an ordinary Eternia walking path. It was dark because the sun had set, but there was a chance that someone passing by would see us dancing.
“Shouldn’t we at least avoid people’s eyes?”
“Look, there’s no one there. Do it here. “I don’t want to go far.”
“….”
“Hurry up and get your bearings.”
Lilith stood close to me and tried to check my posture.
“….”
“Put your hands on my waist.”
When I tried to do it, the pose didn’t come out right away. As if Lilith was frustrated, he grabbed my arm and held it close to his waist.
“When a woman agrees to dance, it means that she is willing to entrust her body to the other person. So, considering the woman who threw everything at her, the man should hold her tightly and lead her strongly. Women are so sensitive that they know even if you make a slight mistake. This man has an unstable mind. This man doesn’t have the guts to deal with me, he’s weak. I can feel it. It shows in your body language. Then you will end up as a boring guy and the next song will never be played.”
Every piece of advice was solid. It reminds me of the time I danced with Silverine, and it makes me feel a little sick.
“Hold my hand and waist and move. One, two, three, one, two.”
And just like that, the teaching began.
“Don’t look anywhere else. “Look into my eyes.”
Lilith firmly points out my mistake. I looked straight into Lilith’s eyes.
Lilith, if nothing else, was a definite expert in this area.
Except for one thing.
I didn’t tremble, but Lilith, contrary to that advice, did tremble slightly. Like a very frightened baby bird.
I could feel it. But I didn’t know why it was like that.
***
It was decided that dance lessons would be held every day until the day of the prom. Even though it took a lot of effort, Lilith didn’t seem to mind much. Well, I didn’t have to think about it too hard because I would later receive compensation for my hard work.
That late at night, when I returned to the Thorn Garden dormitory, Trisha, who was half asleep on the bed in my room, woke up, rubbing her eyes.
“Why did you come in so late…” .”
Before I changed her clothes, I tidied up my desk that Trisha had cluttered. She had browsed through fortune stones and alchemy books to her heart’s content and had not tidied things up.
“Why did it end up like this?”
Trisha sat down on the edge of her bed and said,
“I originally planned to organize it myself… !”
It’s also shameless.
I fully expected her to look through my things, so I had already stored important items, such as letters from Sylverine and her princess, elsewhere.
“I will do it, so go up and sleep.”
“No, I waited because I had something to say today…” !”
“What is it?”
“I don’t like her with blonde hair these days!”
“… What?”
I stopped straightening my desk and looked back at Trisha. Has he ever openly expressed his dislike for someone like this before?
Looking at her expression, she wasn’t joking.
“Recently, she has become friends with her sister who writes screenplays, and when she hangs out with her, she keeps looking at her in a bad way.”
“Who is the blonde?”
“He! “You’re the one chasing me around!”
You probably don’t mean Hayley. I think she’s referring to my fellow theater wife, Luna. She must have been a member of the same club for quite some time, but she doesn’t even seem to want to get close to me, to the point where she doesn’t even call me by her name.
“Are you talking about Luna?”
“Yes. “He.”
“Did Luna do any harm?”
“No, but when I go and ask why he keeps looking at me, he doesn’t answer and just ignores me.”
“Wouldn’t you answer if I called you by your name in a friendly way instead of blonde?”
“… “I don’t like that.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t like me that much either. DAMIAN You tell me for me. “No matter how jealous you are of me, it’s not polite to do that!”
Trisha’s cheeks puffed out slightly.
I don’t doubt that Luna had bad feelings for Trisha, but she was also worried that Luna’s spirit was hanging around her these days… I felt like I had to visit the theater department sometime soon.
“I’ll come and talk to you tomorrow.”
***
She started early in the morning and was organizing her things after finishing her art department lecture.
“Newbie!”
While I was moving to the warehouse with her wooden easel on my shoulder, I heard a voice calling me from somewhere.
“Newbie!”
A familiar voice. The only people who called me this were Xenia and Hayley. However, unlike usual, the sound was quiet and cautious.
When I looked around, I saw Xenia sticking out her face from inside her warehouse and gesturing to me.
“Come here, newbie!”
I watched her for a moment and silently walked into her warehouse. She let me in and closed the warehouse door.
A narrow space where three people can barely fit. In addition, all kinds of miscellaneous things blocked the sunlight, and the old wood smelled of mold.
And there Haley was squatting down, eagerly stuffing something into her mouth.
Xenia semi-forced me to sit in front of her.
“Sit down, sit down.”
While Hayley was eating something eagerly, she looked happy to see me.
“Oh, there’s a new person here? “Eat some of this.”
Then she took out a handful of something from her pocket and shoved it in my mouth.
“Um, town!”
“That’s right, chew it. “Chew!”
It has a sweet fruity scent. What went into my mouth were dried fruits.
What on earth are these women doing here?
I swallowed all the dried fruit and opened my mouth.
“Senior, what on earth are you doing here…? .”
“Shh!”
Xenia suddenly gave her hand signal to be quiet.
Immediately, the voice of an attendant rang out from the hallway along with the sound of urgent footsteps.
“Miss Hailey! Miss Hailey! “Where have you gone!”
After the attendant’s voice had faded away, Hayley spoke.
“You make me dance with a girl, but then you bring a corset that is one size too small to keep my dignity at the ball, and then you starve me.”
So you were secretly hiding and stuffing snacks.
“I feel sorry for you, senior.”
“Okay, thank you. “Try this too.”
Then he took out something and suddenly put it in my mouth. I barely chewed it and said.
“Sir, are you busy?”
“Why?”
“Since we just met, I wanted to talk about my concerns.”
“What? Say it.”
“My friend and another friend are members of the same club, but we don’t get along very well. “We need a way to make these two become friends.”
“Are you both women?”
“…… Yes.”
As soon as Xenia heard her answer, she shook her head.
“I can’t do that. “Just leave it alone.”
Hayley also nodded her head and agreed.
“Give up. “No matter what you do, we won’t become friends.”
I was speechless because they made a decisive conclusion without even looking into the circumstances.
“… “Is there really no way?”
“It’s not that there are no methods. If you create a common enemy, the two of you may be able to relate to each other. “When the exchange war season returns, even enemies will come together and cooperate.”
“Common enemy… ?”
“Okay. But it’s not something you do and you just have to leave it alone.”
“… All right.”
Yes, I think what they say is correct. When I thought about it, I didn’t think Luna and Trisha would become close no matter what I did. If there is a conflict, wouldn’t it be best to just mediate it from the middle?
***
Rehearsals for the theater department are held early in the morning, or in the evening after work is finished. Because each member had a different major and had different class schedules, it was virtually impossible to meet during the day.
However, when classes were free, members of the club would gather in the small theater to memorize scripts and practice monologues.
Luna also had a habit of coming to the small theater whenever she had an empty class.
A lazy afternoon, slightly after lunch time. Several students gathered in the small theater and quietly read the script. Luna was also quietly spending time there.
Then, a female student ran out to the center of her audience and shouted.
“Hey, hey, get the rope ready!”
“…?”
She continued as the others looked at the girl, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“Hey, what day is it today? Damian asked if he could come into the small theater? Bring a rope and a torture device. Just get him to promise to join the theater club and let him go. As long as he’s there, we can sell tickets…!”
When I made a fuss mixed with a joke, one side booed.
“Crazy b*tch, will that work?”
“I won’t do it because I’m scared of the seniors in the art club.”
Then the female student dropped her playful tone and called Luna in a calm tone.
“Oh, I guess that’s right? Everyone looked sleepy, so I made a joke. Luna and Damian said they’d like to see you?”
At that moment, the air in the small theater became heavy. After hearing that a man was looking for her Luna, everyone was paying close attention to her to see how she would react.
She was the type of person who rarely even talked to anyone, regardless of whether they were the same age or her senior.
She couldn’t help but be curious to hear that the person of interest who was talking a lot these days was looking for Luna.
The male students who were sitting sparsely in the audience and reading the script stopped what they were doing for a moment and glanced at where Luna was.
Luna closed her book and calmly opened her mouth.
“Can I call you here…?”