The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 2.11

As expected, the world beyond the door was not the outside. Instead, there was a spacious hall.

And in the middle of that hall… Kyron was standing.

What kind of situation is this?

I entered the hall with an ominous feeling.

“What is this?”

I asked, but Kyron didn’t answer my question. Instead, his gaze slowly moved from my face to my clothes.

He looked somewhat surprised.

“Why is someone who’s about to receive punishment dressed up like this?”

Punishment, he says.

Lia, I won’t let you off easy.

As I stood there blinking like an idiot, Kyron spoke again.

“You lost the bet, didn’t you?”

“Ah.”

A short sigh escaped my lips.

“That was a thing…”

“Did you come without knowing?”

Sigh. Why did Lia dress me up like this without telling me anything!

My face flushed red, having dressed up so nicely only to come receive punishment.

I’ll have to teach her a lesson when I see her later.

“Well, dressing up does suit today’s punishment.”

“What’s the punishment?”

“Something essential for the upcoming banquet. Something you don’t particularly like.”

Ekette’s memory suddenly struck her head.

Ekette strongly disliked dancing. Given the stiffness she felt during exercise lessons, it was understandable why she would dislike it.

Because she looked ridiculous whenever she danced, she often became a laughingstock at social events like banquets.

After being embarrassed once or twice, she avoided dancing at all costs.

She rarely had to attend banquets with Kyron, but even when she did, she absolutely refused to dance, even if asked to dance with someone else.

“You mean dance practice, right?”

“You know well.”

I don’t have the confidence to dance with this body.

“You know the basic starting position, right?”

He positioned himself before me, extending his left hand with the refined grace of a gentleman.

With a heavy heart, I stepped forward and placed my right hand in his.

With a fluid, almost water-like motion, his other hand gently came to rest near my shoulder blade. The positioning of his arm created the illusion of an embrace.

“What are you doing, not putting your hand on my shoulder?”

“Ah, right.”

“Even the basics are lacking.”

He added in a mumble, “I’ll have to teach you everything from scratch.”

“Well, who decided on this kind of punishment?”

“If you’re going to attend banquets, you need to practice dancing at least.”

I’ve never said I wanted to go to banquets. I swallowed my complaints.

“Now, from here, take a step to the left with your left foot first, then let your right foot follow in time with the beat.”

“How?”

“Like this.”

He took a natural step first. I clumsily followed.

“It’s too difficult.”

“Let’s try again.”

I tried the step once more. I was definitely uncoordinated.

While Kyron’s steps were natural and gentlemanly, I was like a stiff wooden doll.

“Hmm… This won’t work.”

“I agree.”

I had to agree with his opinion. At this rate, how long would it take to learn to dance?

“For now, it seems we need to develop a sense for the dance first. I’ll lead, so try to follow me somehow.”

“You mean just follow along?”

“If you follow along, you might pick up the general feel of it.”

He held my hand a bit more firmly.

“Trust your body to me.”

He started to take steps. It felt about seven times faster than what we had just practiced.

I stumbled and fumbled trying to keep up with his rhythm.

Whenever it seemed like my feet would tangle, Kyron would somehow sense it and swiftly lift me up. Thanks to that, I could somehow continue taking steps without falling.

When Kyron slowed down, I slowed down, and when he sped up, I sped up.

Like that, I frantically followed his lead.

Usually, when dancing like this, partners would gaze into each other’s eyes and have intimate conversations that others couldn’t hear, but there was no such romance for the uncoordinated.

Far from making eye contact with Kyron, I had no choice but to stare at my feet the whole time. I was busy trying to mimic his footsteps as closely as possible.

While focusing on the feet, perhaps due to a moment of carelessness, my steps suddenly got tangled.

“Whoa…!”

I almost fell flat on my face with a scream, but… Kyron pulled me towards him.

Whoosh, his face came close.

His thick arm supported my waist, pulling my body towards him. We were close enough for our chests to touch.

“Are you alright?”

His gaze, too close, reached me.

“Uh… I’m, I’m fine.”

In truth, I wasn’t fine.

Thanks to Kyron catching me, I didn’t twist my ankle or fall, but instead, my waist and hand hurt. Perhaps because he was startled and failed to control his strength, he had gripped too tightly.

And…

“Sh-shall we end today’s practice here?”

“Huh? Why?”

If I get caught in that man’s hands a few more times, I’ll be crushed. I pushed him away and extracted myself.

Above all… being in such close contact with him felt unfamiliar. The hand holding me, the eyes scrutinizing my every move at each moment.

If it were the past Ekette, her heart might have raced at these small moments. Thinking that her husband was finally paying attention to her.

But I wasn’t such a fool.

I wasn’t stupid enough to feel happiness from a momentary warmth. I already knew well what kind of person Kyron was.

He was the type of person who would carelessly shatter Ekette’s faint hopes in an instant.

“I’m not feeling well today, so I can’t continue.”

“Are you about to cough again?”

His eyes widened.

“No, it’s not that, I’m just not in good condition. I can’t do this.”

“Should I call a doctor?”

I shook my head.

“It’s not that serious. I’ll feel better if I go back to my room and rest.”

I forcibly pulled my hand away from his grip and straightened my clothes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then, as if I lived in a different house, I gave a stiff greeting and left the hall.

***

The maid Lia was organizing her mistress’s clothes.

As soon as the mistress returned, she grumbled briefly about why she had been dressed up so elaborately just to go for dance practice. But being a kind person, she didn’t scold too harshly.

Compared to other noble ladies, the mistress was like an angel.

The maid Lia had heard a lot about the behavior of nobles from other maids who served noble ladies. So she too thought that all nobles were alike, only caring about their own interests. That was until she met her mistress.

The mistress was different from other nobles. She didn’t treat Lia like her property, but rather like a confidant, with genuine sincerity.

That’s why Lia’s heart ached whenever her mistress felt lonely.

She was the person in the capital who wished for her mistress’s happiness more than anyone else.

So today, Lia was in a very good mood. It was because His Grace the Duke had called for the mistress for the first time.

She had been waiting for a day like this all along. A day when His Grace would reach out to the mistress first.

It was only natural that she wanted to make the mistress look as pretty as possible. Hoping that she would receive even one warm glance from the master.

It was just as she was almost finished organizing the clothes.

“Lia.”

At the butler’s call, she immediately went out of the room.

“Is something the matter?”

The butler’s answer surprised Lia.

“The master is looking for you. Go see him.”

“What? Me?”

Her eyes widened.

Why would he be looking for me?