“When did you bring all of these here?”

To think she only realized this after finishing the side story. Merrien dropped the book in her hands and wrapped her arms around herself, trembling.

He truly couldn’t be anything but a meticulous and wicked person.

“Ah, I’ve been found out.”

Ariel picked up the fallen book and grinned. His eyes, which had been innocently sparkling earlier, were now dark and intense.

Just like the demon’s eyes described as mesmerizingly attractive in the books.

“…I’m never coming to your room in the morning again.”

It’s my fault for rushing here feeling happy.

No matter what, reading romance books in front of Ariel was embarrassing.

Merrien glared at him, trying to hide her embarrassment.

She thought he would act pitiful, but instead, he was quite bold.

Whether by magic or not, he levitated the scattered books into the air.

Soon, the book covers gleamed brilliantly enough to capture Merrien’s attention.

“So. You’re not going to read them?”

Despite having his intentions exposed, he was being completely shameless.

“Do you think I’ll fall for that?”

Merrien stared at Ariel without blinking, as if in a staring contest… but gradually began stealing glances at the floating books.

‘Even “The Duke’s Secret Circumstances” has a side story?’

To think they hadn’t told her about this. Her trust in the butler was crumbling more and more.

There were numerous other unfamiliar romance books as well.

A cover depicting a pitiful male lead imprisoned, another with the female lead pointing a sword at the male lead, and so on…

Ariel noticed Merrien’s throat moving. He held back a laugh, anticipating what she was about to say.

“…I’ll come occasionally.”

“…Pfft!”

“Ah, why are you laughing!”

In the end, he couldn’t hold it back. Her cheeks were not only puffed up but also turning red, which was too cute.

He was prepared to be trained like a dog, just as she wanted.

***

“Done, healing complete!”

Merrien’s voice was quite spirited as she dusted off her hands.

Somehow, they ended up having lunch together, and the healing session went smoothly.

Their conversation seemed to have ended in a dramatic compromise.

Next to Merrien’s chair, a new romance series [“The Man Saved from Prison Becomes Obsessed”] was neatly stacked.

Merrien contentedly stroked the cover of volume 1 on top, then suddenly fell into thought.

‘While I’m glad there’s no dance lesson today… I am worried.’

Despite just having fun chatting with Ariel. It seemed her mind, which had wandered as far as the flower garden, was finally returning, and she started feeling anxious.

All this time, she hadn’t heard any news about Forcite, let alone about the new Saint.

The newspapers only talked about trivial matters.

‘Well… if there was a letter, Ariel would have given it to me.’

She cast a slightly suspicious glance at Ariel, but he just blinked innocently. Merrien shook her head.

‘Enough, let’s stop thinking about Forcite.’

When he last visited the Hartez mansion, he had acted formally, calling her ‘Saint Merrien,’ so perhaps Forcite was planning to keep his distance from her now.

‘Meeting the female lead and becoming friends comes first. I need to find a good healing method. Before that, dancing with Ariel and… ah.’

While naturally organizing her plans by counting on her fingers, she clapped her hands.

Soon those hands pointed at Ariel.

“Ariel. Are you prepared? You said you’ve never attended a banquet because you were sick. Have you practiced dancing? No, can you even dance?”

Merrien’s posture, which had been deep in thought with her legs crossed, suddenly became lazy.

At the banquet, there would only be nobles who had taken dance lessons since childhood, so she was feeling gloomy about how her skills would obviously compare unfavorably.

However, what about Ariel, who couldn’t even go outside because he was sickly?

They say misery loves company, don’t they?

It was like gaining a reliable ally.

…or so she thought.

“Well then, would you like to dance now?”

Contrary to her expectations, Ariel wasn’t even fazed.

“…Huh, what?”

Far from being embarrassed or upset, he extended his hand and asked her to dance.

‘This, this isn’t right.’

Merrien’s playfully narrowed eyes quickly widened like a startled rabbit’s.

She had only meant to provoke him as he always did to her, with no actual intention of dancing.

“Hmm? Let’s dance.”

Whether he knew her true feelings or not, he extended his hand further, encouraging her.

“Ah, okay…”

Knowing this persistent man wouldn’t give up until she agreed to dance, Merrien gave up and raised her hand.

Finally, her trembling hand was placed on top of Ariel’s.

They moved to the center of the room and stood facing each other.

Now they were going to dance alone in this vast room. Why did she have to bring it up!

‘Seeing how confidently he suggested dancing, there must be something…’

No way, how could a sickly duke who only stayed in his room be good at dancing?

Merrien tried to calm her now-racing heart.

What’s done is done. If she couldn’t figure out his intentions, it was best to rationalize the situation as much as possible.

Unfairly enough, Ariel could read Merrien’s thoughts perfectly. Just looking at the top of her lowered head, he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

Silently laughing, he skillfully placed one of Merrien’s hands on his waist and held the other.

Soon, music began playing from a magical sound device she hadn’t even known was in the room.

A gentle breeze slipped through the open window, making the curtains flutter. Merrien, who had been struggling to follow the dance with a tense expression, looked up and nearly lost her breath without warning.

She didn’t know since when, but Ariel’s blue eyes were staring intently at her.

His black hair swayed slightly like it was dancing with the wind from outside.

Was it because of the sunlight? For some reason, his hair seemed to have a silver tinge to it.

“……”

He’s really handsome. She finally had to admit it.

And then despaired.

“…Why are you so good at dancing?”

The grumpy words came out automatically.

While Merrien was barely keeping up with Ariel’s lead, he was watching her face without wavering, not missing a single movement.

It was impossible.

She pointlessly tapped his chest. He burst out with the laughter he’d been holding back.

Before Merrien, whose face had turned red, could get angry, he spoke.

“Try dancing with less tension in your shoulders and waist. Think about dancing as lightly as possible.”

His gentle voice reached her from close by. Ariel started to put his hand on Merrien’s waist but stopped and moved away.

‘What’s this? This sounds familiar.’

Merrien felt a sense of déjà vu while focusing on his words.

This advice was too familiar. She’d heard it somewhere…

Ah, no way.

“Did you learn from the dance instructor?”

“How could that be? Rather, I taught… Merri, are you perhaps jealous?”

“…No?”

Ariel leaned in close to examine Merrien’s expression, then grinned.

Merrien then realized her eyebrows had dropped as low as they could go.

“Ah, I won’t dance with you. No, no!”

Merrien pushed away Ariel’s face which had gotten too close. Yet he was still smiling, showing his teeth.

‘Why is a sick person good at dancing too? How annoying.’

Making excuses to herself that she was just upset because he danced better than her, Merrien turned around sharply.

…But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

“Wait, but if she is a pervert, why did she teach you to dance?”

Though she had only muttered quietly to herself, Ariel’s laughter could be heard from behind.

She deliberately showed her anger as she turned back to glare at him.

Whatever was so funny had his eyes crinkled up to the point they couldn’t be seen, with tears forming at the corners.

“That dance instructor. They appear female on the outside, but it’s a long story. Think of them as having no gender. They’re closer to male actually, so don’t be jealous.”

“…Closer to male?”

What’s that supposed to mean? Though she tried to keep glaring at Ariel, Merrien wasn’t particularly talented at acting.