I Thought I Healed the Villain's Sickly Younger Brother - Chapter 19

“Just focus on learning to dance without trying to find out who the instructor is. This person has enough of a personal connection that Duke Hartez trusts them.”

A personal connection with Ariel?

Since staying at the Hartez mansion, she had never seen him go outside, and didn’t the butler just say that House Hartez was secluded?

Though she felt somewhat hurt, Merrien nodded, sensing she shouldn’t ask more questions.

“…Alright, I understand.”

“Then, have a good lesson.”

Creeak-. The drawing room door opened, and an unusually heavy atmosphere flowed in. Merrien nervously clutched her dress.

What immediately came into view was a woman sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed.

The woman exuded an elegant dignity at first glance. No, while elegant, it felt somehow subtly different from noble refinement.

Wearing a black dress, she peculiarly covered her face with a black veil. Sensing Merrien’s presence, she slowly stood up and curtsied first.

“Saint, pleased to meet you. Though I cannot reveal my identity due to personal circumstances, I have been tasked by Duke Hartez to be in charge of your dance lessons.”

Because of the black veil, all that was visible was her red hair that swayed with each movement and her lips.

“…Ah, thank you. Then, how should I address…”

Merrien bowed her head following the woman’s example but trailed off awkwardly.

Despite having seen countless noble etiquette displays at the temple, she had never witnessed such flawless posture.

Feeling overwhelmed without knowing why, Merrien hesitated.

Beneath the veil, vibrant red lips drew a fresh smile.

“Please just call me Teacher.”

***

“Then I shall take my leave, Saint. I look forward to our next lesson.”

“…Yes, please take care, Teacher.”

Finally, the dance lesson was over.

Unlike Merrien, who was so exhausted she could barely speak, the teacher’s red lips curved into the same relaxed smile as when they first met.

“Ah, this.”

The teacher, turning to leave, handed some documents to the butler as if she had almost forgotten.

It was the documents she had been seriously writing while watching Merrien dance for two hours.

After the butler bowed deeply, the teacher slowly walked away.

She wore bright red high heels matching her red hair and lips, but strangely, they made no clicking sound.

However, Merrien had no energy to pay attention to this. She was too busy catching her breath while supporting herself on her knees.

‘Whew, too much happened.’

It was really too exhausting…

Completely drained after just two hours, Merrien waited until the teacher had completely disappeared from view before moving to Ariel’s room, supported by the butler.

***

Ariel, who had been resting his chin while looking out the window, smiled brightly and asked a question as soon as he heard the door open.

“How was your first lesson?”

“It was hell… I mean, it was exhaustingly difficult.”

Merrien managed to stop herself from using crude language but didn’t forget to glare at Ariel.

“Why make me take dance lessons anyway? I’m not nobility, and I don’t need to dance at the banquet.”

“You’ll have to dance with me.”

The answer came without hesitation, causing Merrien to nearly hiccup in surprise.

Ridiculously, he even tilted his head wondering what the problem was.

“You’re a patient. What dancing?”

“It’s fine since it’s dancing with you. What’s wrong with one dance?”

He moved to sit at the edge of the bed. Thinking he wanted healing, Merrien naturally pulled her chair closer to him.

“Look carefully, Merri. My condition has improved so much since you first saw me.”

Ariel gazed intently into Merrien’s eyes. They were so close that only a face could fit between them.

This was natural since Merrien had to be close to infuse Holy Power each time.

“……”

Merrien examined him with skeptical eyes.

His skin, which had been so pale she’d wondered if he was truly alive when she first saw him, now had a healthy glow. His black hair, once lifeless and dry, now flowed smoothly.

His blue eyes had gained focus and shine somewhere along the way.

‘Right, that’s why I complimented them, saying they were like lakes.’

When their eyes met, Merrien naturally read his heartbeat.

[♥ 130] [♥ 135] [♥ 140]

“…What do you mean better! This is worse!”

Seeing his rapidly jumping heartbeat, Merrien felt her blood run cold as she rolled up her sleeve to infuse Holy Power.

“This is…”

“Oh, honestly!”

Ariel tried to speak, but Merrien was faster, slapping his back with a sharp smack!

Ignoring his protruding pout, Merrien poured in Holy Power.

[+300] [Healing Amount 4100/10000]

With a ding-, the healing amount increased, and only after confirming his heartbeat had clearly dropped did she remember the dance practice from earlier.

‘Dancing at a banquet like romance novel ladies. Yes, I wanted to try it too. But…’

While Merrien held her forehead at that thought, the butler handed something to Ariel. It was the document the dance teacher had left.

Ariel read through it and suddenly burst out laughing.

“Merri, you… Are you really that uncoordinated?”

“…Ha.”

Merrien squeezed her eyes shut.

‘If I’m going to possess someone, shouldn’t I at least be able to dance properly!’

She screamed internally where no one could hear.

It was frustrating enough that she only knew the first three chapters of the original story, and had none of the possessed Merrien’s memories, which led to the awkward meeting with Forcite.

For two hours, her clumsy body had put her through hell.

‘Everyone else who possesses characters in romance novels just goes to banquets and dances perfectly without practice. Why am I like this?’

Feeling wronged, Merrien’s indignant gaze turned to Ariel.

Finding something incredibly amusing, he covered his face while chuckling and peeked at Merrien through his fingers.

“Tripped over own feet five times.”

“……”

“Moves as if upper and lower body are disconnected.”

“Stop.”

“Overall assessment: Have never seen someone this uncoordinated in my life. Extremely rare case. Person of special concern.”

“Hey.”

Now Ariel was laughing with tears in his eyes.

You’re not the type to stop when asked, are you? Merrien just leaned back in her chair, seemingly used to such scenes.

‘Teacher… You didn’t show any of this in front of me. You even praised me, so why did you write such things in the document…’

She couldn’t help but shed tears for a different reason.

At least she’d managed to pick up some etiquette by watching nobles while at the temple.

“Looks like you need to practice hard, Merri.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Ariel wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes after laughing, then read the small text at the bottom of the document and suddenly stopped laughing, his expression completely blank.

[But cute.]

His movements froze, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly grew heavy. Merrien straightened her posture at the sudden change.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

When Ariel smiled again, the atmosphere returned to normal as if nothing had happened. Without Merrien noticing, he slightly raised his index finger and crossed out the last sentence.

Ariel frowned and handed the document back to the butler. He seemed to have lost interest completely.

Then, when Merrien finished healing and tried to get up after cleaning up, he hurriedly grabbed her, apparently reluctant to let her go.

“Ah, what about your banquet dress?”

“What?”

Merrien turned her head while half-risen from her chair. Seeing her rolling her eyes around, she seemed to be trying to understand what he meant.

Like a pink rabbit- while having such a trivial thought, Ariel loosely leaned against the bed frame.