Raphael, of all people, would never understand her lack of dancing skills. He was a man who was good at everything. And just the thought was terrifying. Raphael was dancing with her, while she was stumbling around… She absolutely didn’t want to see it.

It would be obviously embarrassing at first glance. She could already see how the people would compare and ridicule her. He was already a person who attracted attention with his looks. Standing next to him was hard enough, let alone dancing?

“It’s okay. Not all noble ladies dance well.”

“Is… Is that so?”

She couldn’t dare say that she wasn’t even at that level. She might shock the madam into fainting. Everyone who had seen her dance skills had the same reaction. Either they gave up or got angry, although, at a glance, both reactions seemed similar but were slightly different.

The former completely gave up without even the strength to get angry, and the latter gave up while being angry. She wondered how Emila would react.

“……”

Since there wasn’t much time left, Emila’s face hardened as she only taught the basic steps, not expecting amazing skills. She had never shown her emotions through her facial expressions this much… It seemed her skills remained the same even after changing bodies. She couldn’t control her creaky limbs and moved them however she could.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes……”

If not for that, the original owner of the body, Amelia, must have been as terrible at dancing as she was. That’s why they had a synergy effect and ended up with the worst skills.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

“On purpose… That’s impossible.”

She couldn’t understand her instruction to step lightly when dancing. How could she walk like she was dancing when she couldn’t dance from the start?

“Now I see why you said you were clumsy.”

Amelia looked away awkwardly while smiling at the deep furrow between her brows. They say you can’t spit on a smiling face.

“But you still need to practice the basic steps.”

“Even though there’s not much time left?”

Excluding today, there were only three days left. Her body couldn’t keep up in three days. Her limbs are literally cursed.

“Wouldn’t it be better not to dance…?”

It might be better not to do it than to become a laughingstock for everyone. Her plan to solidify her position by showing affection with Raphael might need to be revised. She never expected herself to be a complication in the plan.

“This can be solved quickly. Every year, ladies who don’t know a thing about dancing show up.”

She seemed to be indirectly referring to her… But since the madam’s words were true, Amelia quietly closed her mouth. The Madam raised many young ladies in society. There was a way to prepare for this situation.

“If Your Highness were a debutante noble lady, it might be impossible…”

Men wouldn’t ask her to dance, given her skills. Unless they had a strange f*tish for getting their feet stepped on by sharp heels. Maybe they could even fall together on the floor.

“If Your Highness has a designated partner, it’s possible.”

“What?”

Possible because she has a designated partner. She hadn’t finished listening to Emila’s story yet, but an unknown anxiety rushed in.

“Just pretend to be in sync with your partner.”

***

His statement about having many close encounters in the future might have been because of this. The prescription the madam had given to her, a person with no sense of physical coordination, was to practice dancing with Raphael. And that was for the remaining period.

“Two hours a day… No, maybe three hours would be enough.”

Three hours stuck with him? Under the pretext of dance practice? They were never close, even on normal days.

“His Grace the Grand Duke is good at dancing, so it will be fine.”

Amelia stood dumbfounded next to Raphael, wondering when she called him. He’s pretending to be busy all the time, so why did he come today?

“It might be easier for you if I leave, right?”

“No…!”

Before she could say it was better for him to stay, the madam quickly left the room. It was unbelievably fast for someone who was leaning on a cane.

“Finally, it’s just the two of us.”

She felt anxious, since it seemed as if he had been waiting to be alone with her. Truthfully, she wasn’t scared of him at night. But Raphael during the day was a different story. Unlike at night, when he avoided her, he approached her closely during the day.

He’s not some Janus¹I think the author is referring to Janus the Roman god of portals and doors, often depicted with two faces … It was hard to adapt to his ever-changing self.

“You don’t seem busy.”

“It’s a matter concerning my wife, I should make time even if I’m busy.”

Anyone who’s listening would think he’s a caring husband. How can he say such things without batting an eye?

“I heard your dance skills are quite terrible.”

He wouldn’t be Raphael Lloyd Siegfried if he didn’t tease. She wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t. In reality, calling her skills terrible was an understatement. It was downright disastrous.

“It seems you haven’t heard the other news yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The news that His Grace’s feet will soon be swollen.”

Unlike her triumphant expression, Raphael’s face remained calm.

“Then let’s start with the basic steps.”

He held out his hand as if to ask her to dance, and Amelia bit her lip before taking it. She didn’t expect to voluntarily take his hand. Despite his cold demeanor, his skin felt scorchingly hot to the touch.

“Don’t regret this.”

This was a perfect opportunity to step on his feet and get revenge. She couldn’t miss it.

“You should be careful too.”

They’re getting close, touching. Why did she think it was just about holding hands? She had forgotten that ballroom dancing essentially involved men and women embracing each other close enough for their breaths to touch.

“……”

She was momentarily startled by his arm wrapping around her waist, but then she became flustered by his broad chest coming close to her face. Not only that, but their upper bodies were so closely pressed that it was hard to breathe. If she moved to breathe, her body would press against Raphael’s.

“Didn’t you say my feet would be swollen?”

“……”

Unlike her, who was stiff, trying her best not to touch him, he seemed relaxed. He leaned down close to her ear. Her face reddened from the intoxicating scent of his body, like she was in the middle of a cold forest.

“Amelia, move.”

His smooth tone was elegant, but it carried an undeniable force. She found herself moving her feet involuntarily.

“Ah…!”

As she concentrated on moving her feet, she inevitably fell into his arms. Despite being clothed, it felt as though their bare skins were touching. She didn’t know what to do with the movement of his firm muscles that she could feel through her dress. Was dancing always this sensual?

“It seems someone else might have seriously swollen feet by now.”

“This……”

Of course, her mind was too frazzled for her feet to be fine. She couldn’t properly perform the steps even by herself, let alone now that she was almost trampling around.

“You can step on me all you want.”

Everything was provocative. His scent filling her lungs, his low and sweet voice taking over her ears, the warmth and firmness she could feel through their clasped hands and his torso — everything made it impossible for her to regain her senses.

His large torso enveloped Amelia completely, like he was hugging her tightly. Every movement of their feet made the rustling sound of fabric so sensual that she wanted to cover her ears.

“Weren’t you confident just a while ago?”

“……Be quiet.”

That was all she could muster in protest. There was a need to reduce any stimuli. The rustling sound of fabric filled the quiet room. If it were really just fabric rustling, she might have been able to endure it, but that wasn’t the case.

Amelia felt she couldn’t last three hours. Forget three hours; she couldn’t even last three minutes.

“Please……”

Every movement caused their bellies to brush against each other, continuously touching.