Chapter 91

Late at night, under the glittering starlight, Lia was secretly practicing her dance on the spacious terrace.  

The birthday banquet was just around the corner, but her dancing skills hadn’t improved much, and she was deeply worried.  

‘…I think I’m seriously uncoordinated.’  

This thought had lingered ever since she started learning to dance from Isabella.  

Even though Isabella had diligently taught her for days, Lia’s body still moved stiffly.  

Did I really have to attend the ball? Did I really have to dance once I was there?  

“…Ugh.”  

If it weren’t necessary, she didn’t want to dance at all.  

‘I feel like I’ll just embarrass myself.’  

She was already being judged negatively by the nobles for suddenly becoming the fiancée of the Duke of Blumhart. If she danced poorly, how much more ridicule would she face?  

‘…And, I’ll probably end up stepping on his foot with my shoe.’  

While practicing, she had already stepped on Alfred’s foot several times.  

Every time it happened, Alfred comforted her, saying it was okay, but the pain was evident in the faint grimaces hidden behind his kind smile.  

“I feel so sorry for the butler….”  

Lia stopped dancing and murmured as she covered her face.  

When dancing, she wore shoes with much higher heels than usual, so stepping on someone’s foot would be extremely painful.  

She didn’t want to hurt his foot anymore, but her body refused to move as she wished.  

‘There’s not much time left until the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet. What should I do?’  

With her shoulders slumped, she walked over to the terrace railing.  

“…Sigh.”  

Resting her arms on the railing and her chin on her hands, her sigh felt particularly heavy.  

Johann had been so busy lately that they hadn’t practiced dancing together even once.  

Soon, his foot would also suffer under her high heels.  

She hated the thought.  

‘And he’ll probably pretend it doesn’t hurt, just to reassure me.’  

She didn’t want to see him smiling for her sake.  

“Practice is the only way.”  

Lia steeled herself and straightened her posture.  

Slap.

She lightly slapped her cheeks and resumed her solo dance practice.  

The bright white moonlight illuminated her spinning figure.  

Johann, who had been busy with a packed schedule for the past few days, returned to the estate late again tonight.  

Rubbing his tired eyes lightly, he stepped out of the carriage and, as always, looked up at Lia’s room on the fourth floor.  

‘…Huh?’  

Unlike usual, Lia was on the terrace.  

She seemed to be practicing her dance. Johann stood there, staring.  

Bathed in moonlight, Lia looked as beautiful as a dancing figurine inside a music box.  

A gentle smile curved Johann’s lips.  

‘Now that I think about it, Mother told me this morning to make time to be Lia’s dance partner.’  

She had said Lia seemed to be feeling discouraged because of her poor dancing skills and asked him to offer her some encouragement.  

Walking quickly into the estate, Johann changed his clothes and headed straight to Lia’s room.  

*Knock, knock, knock.*  

From inside the room, there was the sound of hurried movements before the door opened.  

“Duke, you’re back?”  

Lia asked, brushing her slightly sweat-dampened bangs away from her forehead.  

“Yes, I saw you practicing your dance from below.”  

“…W-Wait, you saw me?”  

Lia’s face turned bright red like a beet.  

“I didn’t mean to watch. You were dancing so earnestly that I couldn’t help but look.”  

Johann answered, suppressing a laugh at how adorable Lia’s reaction was.  

“Ugh, I should’ve practiced inside the room!”  

Lia muttered, still covering her flushed face with her hands.  

“…I was practicing because I’m so bad at dancing.”  

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to help you.”  

How could someone be so cute when embarrassed?  

No, she wasn’t just cute—she was utterly lovable.  

“You want to help me?”  

Lia’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.  

“Mother told me to be your dance partner.”  

“But you’ve been working late every day. You must be tired.”  

Lia asked, her voice full of concern.  

“I’ll be busy until the banquet anyway, so now is the only time I can help.”  

“If you’re that busy, you don’t have to—”  

“I want to help, so don’t refuse.”  

Johann gently cut off Lia’s words.  

“It’ll be better for us to practice at least once before the banquet.”  

“…Then, thank you.”  

Lia shyly lowered her head, her face now only faintly pink.  

Johann stepped into the room, casually rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.  

Standing awkwardly, Lia stole glances at him.  

Through his light linen shirt, his well-toned muscles were visible.  

‘Ugh, suddenly dancing with him like this… Can I do it properly?’  

Johann, now ready, walked over to Lia.  

“Lia, shall we give it a try?”  

“But we don’t have any music. Is that okay?”  

“I’ll hum a tune. Just follow along.”  

Johann placed one hand on Lia’s waist and took her other hand in his.  

Where his hands touched her, it felt like her skin was burning.  

Because of that, her body felt even stiffer and more tense than when she practiced alone.  

‘…Don’t get nervous just because he touched you.’  

Lia lightly shook her head and tried to move in time with Johann’s humming.  

But instead of relaxing, she became more aware of every joint in his fingers, and her body grew even more rigid.  

‘At this rate, I’ll step on his foot soon.’  

Despite her tension, Johann danced flawlessly.  

“…You’re really good at dancing.”  

“Mother was strict about teaching me both swordsmanship and dancing when I was young.”  

“Oh…”  

“She said I’d regret it if I couldn’t dance properly with the woman I loved someday.”  

He smiled at Lia as he spoke.  

“Back then, I didn’t see how it mattered to me, but looking back now, I’m glad I listened to her.”  

His gaze was warm and tender.  

Flustered, Lia stumbled and stepped heavily on Johann’s foot.  

“Ugh.”  

“Ah, I’m so sorry!”  

Lia apologized frantically.  

‘Oh no, that sounded awful.’  

She bent down, trying to check his foot, but Johann stopped her.  

“Lia, I’m fine. You don’t need to look.”  

He gently held her shoulders to keep her from bending further.  

“The sound was so loud; you can’t be okay.”  

When Lia tried again to check his foot, Johann held her shoulders more firmly.  

“Really, I’m fine. Let’s just keep practicing.”  

“…But it must hurt.”  

“It doesn’t hurt.”  

A kind lie.  

The gentle falsehood tickled her heart.  

“I’ll probably step on you again.”  

“You’re too tense right now.”  

Johann lightly patted her back, as if to comfort her.  

“I’m trying not to be, but I can’t help it.”  

‘And dancing with you makes me twice as nervous. I’ve never stepped on the butler’s foot this hard before….’  

“Well, how about taking off your shoes for now?”  

Johann pointed to her heels.  

“…Take off my shoes?”  

“To ease your tension, that might be best.”  

“…Ah.”  

Suddenly, Johann knelt down and removed her shoes one by one.  

‘…His touch feels prickly and ticklish.’  

As he carefully placed her bare feet on the carpet, Lia squeezed her eyes shut.  

“Now, stand on my shoes.”  

Johann pushed her shoes aside and placed his hand back on her waist.  

“What? Stand on your shoes?”  

Lia asked, her eyes wide.  

Standing barefoot on his shoes—that was something even married couples didn’t usually do.  

“Just try it. You’ll relax and be able to dance soon enough.”  

“…Well, excuse me.”  

Lia hesitated before placing her feet on top of his shoes.  

“Lia, relax your feet.”  

Johann whispered softly near her ear.  

The whisper felt like it tickled her heart, even the part she thought was locked away.  

As Lia loosened her footing, Johann began humming a tune and led her into a waltz.  

“Just lean on me and trust me.”  

“…Okay.” 

Taking a deep breath, she let herself follow Johann’s movements.  

‘It’s just for practice, so it can’t be helped.’

She reassured herself.  

As her tension eased, she began to feel the graceful flow of the dance movements through Johann’s hands and feet.  

So this was how she was supposed to dance.  

‘Just follow along and trust your partner—it’s amazing how I’m starting to understand dancing a little better.’  

For some reason, she felt like she’d be able to dance the waltz better next time.  

Before she realized it, the stiffness in her lips had softened into a gentle smile.  

Johann glanced at her smile and grinned.  

He lifted Lia briefly, setting her down on the carpet before spinning her lightly.  

As Lia twirled, her cheek brushed against his chest.  

Thump, thump, thump.

The sound of his heart echoed in her ears, loud and fast.  

It felt contagious, and it scared her.