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n“Could you take time out for me? The music is good at the moment. ”

n“… It is my honor, Your Majesty. ”

nHe politely asked me to dance with him and reached out. I put my hand on his with a reluctant smile. I went to the dance floor with him amid their envy and exclamations.

nUnlike the slow tempo up to now, the tune this time was fast and cheerful.

nI had to almost hop around to the fast tempo, but because of the beat change in the middle, I really found it hard to step to the music, although I used to dance well in the past.

nWhen I was so nervous about missing the step, he, who was silent all along, said, “It’s surprising. I thought you were with Duke Verita’s son or Sir Lars.”

n“Pardon? Sir Lars? ”

n“I mean Sir Lars who was appointed as a knight this time, not Sir Lars, your father’s aide.”

n“Oh, are you talking about Carsein?”

nWhile I was talking with him, the music tempo changed once. For a moment, I stumbled on the steps, but I quickly stepped to the new beat and tried to smile.

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n“Oh, is his name Carsein? Anyway, I thought you were with him.”

n“Sir Carsein is on duty today. Allen ……Oh, I don’t know if Duke Verita’s son is here today.”

n“Oh, are you close enough to call them by their first names? Looks like you’re calling their names naturally.”

nWhy is he mentioning their names? Anybody can call his or her friend by their first name when they get acquainted a little bit. As I couldn’t read his intention, I couldn’t find an appropriate answer to his question.

nWhile I was pondering over how to reply, the band began to play the highlight of the music. The dance motion of this part is regarded as very beautiful due to its delicate and gorgeous movements, but at the same time it is the climax part that’s absolutely impossible to dance if you can’t step through the dance with your partner well. So, couples or engaged couples mostly stepped to the tunes of this music.

nI stepped to the tune nervously. As I had never stepped through a dance with him to this tune, I was so nervous. As I paid a lot of attention to the tempo, though, I could finish dancing the most difficult part of the highlight without missing the steps.

n‘Ahhh!’

nWas it because I let down my hair because I was done with the most difficult part?

nMy feet got twisted before I knew it. The moment I lost my balance and fell, he lifted me by my waist with his strong arms. Breathing a sigh of relief, I felt greatly relieved and expressed thanks to him, who was looking down at me blankly.

n“Thank you, Majesty.”

n“…I don’t know how I can understand…”

n“Pardon?”

n“I thought you looked like a doll because you were tough, but you were not. Then, you look like a sophisticated woman who was very good at dancing, but you missed the steps this time.”

n“… ”

n“Is this the charm they found in you?” He whispered, with his mouth close to my ears.

nIt was the same situation I was faced with at his coming-of-age dance party. At the time, I was shuddering with fear, but I didn’t feel scared, which surprised me. But I began to be conscious of people around me.

nWhen I blushed at my missed steps, at a loss what to do, he giggled after staring at me for a while. Then he said, tightening his grip around the waist, “Don’t miss the steps again. Follow my steps.”

n“… Yes, Your Majesty. ”

nOriginally, he only focused on his own dance steps, but he led me properly every time the tempo of the music changed. Thanks to his consideration I finished dancing. I expressed gratitude with a sigh of relief, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

nHe silently nodded and called an attendant. Then, he picked up two cups from the tray and gave me one and said, “So, are you going to go back to a flock of snakes again?”

n“Pardon, Your Majesty? Flock of snakes? ”

n“I mean that group of women.”

n“Oh, I see…”

n“Looks like they are smiling, but they are always hissing, full of poison. How can I describe them in another way?”

nI suddenly broke into laughter. Laughing out loud was against manners, but I couldn’t stop it.

nThe best thing I could do was to cover my mouth with my hands and muffle the sound as much as possible. I felt as if I shook off my unpleasant feelings as if I was thrown with the mud.

n“Was it so funny?”

nI just smiled at him who was looking at me curiously. I could not tell him I didn’t know there was such a perfect expression to describe them, and that his description really made my day.

n“Anyway, I’m glad to see you smile.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty?”

n“Smiling face suits you more than your rigid expression.You look like them with that rigid expression.”

nI felt embarrassed when he said that. I even felt ashamed because he pointed out that I hadn’t followed the etiquette. When I fanned my face with my hand because I felt hot, he grinned at me. I felt like I couldn’t stay with him any more, so I hurriedly asked for his understanding by saying, “Your Majesty, may I go back to my friends?”

n“Friends? Sure, you can.”

n“Thank you.”

nBreathing a sigh of relief deep down, I was about to go back to my place when someone who looked like Allendis passed by the guests.

n‘Is that Allendis?’

nI looked around and checked. The moment I almost gave up because of those who spoke to me occasionally, I saw a man with light green hair slipping out of the door of the banquet hall.

nI looked around for a moment, but no one noticed me. What should I do? At first glance, his back looked similar to Allendis. Should I follow him?

nI carefully got out of the banquet hall and looked around. As it was dark outside, the hallway of the Central Palace looked dark even though the lights were lit. I walked away after hesitating to go back, but I didn’t want to because I felt sorry about finding him so exhausted last time I saw him.

nHow much time passed? Although I walked quite far from the banquet hall, I could not see his light green hair.

n‘Did I see the wrong person?’

nWhen I was about to turn after giving up, I saw a black shadow at the end of the corridor.

n‘Who is it?’

nThe shadow that looked around went into a room. I just tried to pass by, but stopped because I smelled a rat.

nUnless it’s something secret, that guy didn’t have to look around carefully. Why is he looking around so carefully to go into that room? I thought of calling a knight just in case, but didn’t. What if I am mistaken? But I didn’t want to give it a pass because I knew something was going on.

n‘What should I do?’

nI hesitated for a moment then headed for the place where the shadow disappeared.

n‘Even if I’m an apprentice knight now, I can’t back down once I have decided to be a knight.’

nI put my ears close to the closed room, but it was quiet. While hesitating a bit, I pushed the door slightly. Fortunately, the door opened silently. No one was inside the room that looked through the tiny gap.

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n‘I think the shadow obviously came in here.’

nThe moment I was about to close it, thinking I was mistaken, I noticed there was another room inside. It seemed that the structure of the room was designed like that.

nAs I approached carefully, I heard someone talking inside. Though they talked with a low voice, I could hear it clearly because it was so quiet inside. I decided that if I found something suspicious after hearing them a bit, I should call the knight.

n“It’s already the crown prince’s birthday. Time flies so fast!”

n“You bet.”

n“He is now an adult, so it would be easy to find a new woman without the obstacle. I feel regretful about it.”

n“I know. The next empress should be from the anti-emperor noble faction by all means. How can the emperor choose Lady Monique? Absolutely, we can’t let it happen, Duke.”

n“Of course. We have to defeat the crown prince in order to regain the power we lost because of the emperor.”

nI was bothered by the words ‘anti-emperor noble faction’ and ‘Duke.’

n‘Is this guy talking with Duke Jena and his clique?’

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