They were so close, and they were moving together, so it was impossible for her not to feel it. Amelia wanted to tightly close her eyes. But knowing that it would feel even more vivid if she did, she couldn’t. Regrettably, she was not unaware of what this was.

Every time she brushed against him, she felt a subtle sensation that made her face flush. It really felt like… the gods were unfair. Was there anything this man lacked? She felt like going crazy in a situation where pretending not to notice was not an option.

To do this for 3 hours? That’s absolutely impossible.

“Wait! Just a moment!”

If she knew dancing was like this, she would never have agreed. It literally drained a person’s soul. Her body heated up as if she had entered a furnace, and sweat dripped down.

“Why?”

“Let’s take a short break.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that it was his solid body that made her nervous. She expected it given his size, but…

“Could you stop clinging to me?”

“Isn’t dancing supposed to be about connecting with each other?”

I’ve always felt it, but this man lies too well. Even she knew that dancing wasn’t supposed to involve such close contact. This was, well… something that might happen between mature men and women.

It’s absurd for unmarried young ladies to do it in the first place. Do the noble ladies who pretend to be refined really do this every time they dance?

“Ah, then I should be fine with another man.”

If every partner danced like this, no one would want to dance. Unmarried young ladies would especially not accept dance invitations.

“That’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

Amelia feigned ignorance in response to his growling comeback.

“You said dancing is about connecting.”

If that’s what he said, then nothing was strange.

“You are my wife.”

“I have the freedom to accept a dance invitation.”

Normally, married women don’t dance, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely impossible. Amelia smiled when she heard his voice suppressed with anger. If he had done it properly from the start, this wouldn’t have happened.

“I should dance with many people.”

“I will never let you dance with another man.”

“I thought sharing feelings more would be better.”

Of course, she had no intention of dancing with anyone else. She was just provoking him, who was teasing her. Even without getting too close, his formidable physique was threatening enough.

“And… you can dance with another woman.”

Despite saying it, she felt unhappy. The thought of him dancing closely with another woman… Just the imagination made her feel bitter. It was something that wouldn’t happen, yet it irritated her enough to bite her lips harshly.

“It would be better not to provoke me any further.”

“Why?”

Even knowing she should stop, standing in front of him stirred a childish defiance of not wanting to lose.

“If you don’t want to see that bastard dead.”

The moment she heard it, a chill went down her spine. His voice was like a beast scratching its throat. In contrast to that, the way he stroked her hair was extremely gentle.

She shouldn’t have thought of winning against him in the first place. She momentarily forgot who the man in front of her was. There wasn’t a single lie in his statement just now. Raphael was someone who would truly kill if he said he would.

“My wife seems to enjoy playing around.”

“……”

“What kind of bastard are you planning to rub bodies and play with?”

The hand that was stroking her hair now rested on her shoulder. Even though she felt his size when they were close during the dance, now he seemed even larger. She felt like she was being devoured from above.

The sweat that had cooled down started flowing down her back again.

The old saying wasn’t wrong after all. Jokes should be made considering the person.

***

“If you don’t want to dance, then don’t!”

She had no intention of dancing from the start, but she ended up provoking him for nothing.

“It’s because you cling too much.”

“……”

“With those terrible skills, who would you dance with?”

Truth be told, she’d almost fallen into his arms earlier. It was thanks to his lead that a bloodbath was avoided. Otherwise, Raphael’s feet would have been covered in blood.

“So if your skills improve… will you dance with another man?”

How can his thoughts jump so far?

“What?”

“Answer me.”

Why does it matter so much? She couldn’t understand. Thinking back, he used Edward to test her before.

“I don’t enjoy dancing.”

Even after answering earnestly, his expression remained displeased. What else did he find unsatisfactory?

“If we rest this long, the madam might come back in.”

She meant they should hurry up and resume dancing.

“……”

Although it’s not as much as before, they still had to dance in close contact, with parts of their bodies touching. She had no choice but to stick closely with this man for three hours. Yet, considering he didn’t mention her smell even when they were this close, perhaps she no longer smelled.

It would be impossible for him to stay so close to someone who smells foul for a long time.

“Your, Your Grace?”

“Don’t tell me you thought we’d just keep doing the basic steps for three hours.”

He was indeed angry. Her unnecessary provocation only agitated Raphael. He suddenly lifted her up and increased the difficulty.

“It seems you’re right, wife.”

“What… what do you mean…?”

Her heart anxiously fluttered, wondering what he would say next. It was better not to provoke Raphael like that.

“With these skills, who else could you possibly dance with?”

It was true, but she didn’t expect him to hit the nail on the head so directly. If her partner hadn’t been Raphael, she knew she would not have been able to make progress until now. Just as the madam said, the skill of the man leading the dance was crucial. She didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if she practiced with a clumsy man…

“I should have cut off my feet already.”

“That’s a bit much…!”

She wanted to disagree, but she couldn’t bring herself to. If she hadn’t kept avoiding his feet, he would have been seriously injured. His teasing was infuriating. He had a natural talent for getting under people’s skin. How could he only say things that were true…

“The only person who can dance with you, Amelia, is me.”

She blinked in surprise at his sudden possessiveness. Did he hate the idea of his wife being close to other men that much?

“So don’t even dream about other men.”

His tone was mockingly tender, almost enough to be misleading.

“Shall we practice then?”

As if everything up to now wasn’t proper, Raphael seriously dedicated himself to her practice for the remaining time. To the extent that after it all ended, her whole body was so sore she could hardly breathe. She had no choice but to tense up and move carefully to avoid stepping on his feet.

“Haah…”

“You really seem to have poor stamina, wife.”

She wanted to retort that he was asking too much of her, but she had to swallow her words, breathless as she was. Ironically, it was Raphael who led her and exerted all kinds of effort… Why was he still so unfazed? The fact that he wasn’t even out of breath, while she was desperately trying to catch hers, seemed so unfair.

“You might need to work on your stamina a bit.”

Her stamina was average. It was just that his was ridiculously high.

“That’s… normal, you know.”

“You can’t keep up with me.”

What business did she have keeping pace with him, anyway? And there were no adult men who could keep up with Raphael on a run.

“Thank you for joining me in practice.”

She was genuinely grateful. If he hadn’t taken the time to practice with her, her skills would have been disastrously bad. If she went to the founding festival like this, she would embarrass herself.

“I couldn’t miss this opportunity.”

“But… maybe we can separate now?”

Even after the dance had ended, his strong forearm was still gripping her waist, which made her nervous. The movement had brought her closer to him, and Raphael’s body heat seemed even more intense after their activity.

It was nice of him to join her in the practice, but his hand continuing to hold on to hers was problematic.

“Your Grace? Uh…!”

Her upper body was pulled even closer by his grip on her waist, and she was startled when his face suddenly came close to hers. Without a chance to prepare, she found herself facing his lips, unable to move.

“I think we need to get a bit closer.”

They were so close that any slight movement would bring them into contact.