Chapter 13: The First Dance’s Echoes

Had he also looked at her during the banquet in her previous life? At that time, she had been oblivious to everything, perpetually disheartened.

Thus, it never occurred to her that Alix might have noticed her from the very beginning.

In the past she remembered, their first encounter had been a chance meeting in a secluded garden corner, where she had gone to cool her feverish skin.

Selonia, slowly tracing her memories, suddenly recalled something significant and bit down hard on her lip.

She must have been an utter fool.

The reason she had gone out into the chill, circulating air of the garden that day now vividly resurfaced in her mind. Surely, she wouldn’t have developed a fever without cause.

***

“For the glory of the Empire and the prosperity of Tellua!”

Even as Selonia was lost in thought, Alix, who had been continuing his speech, raised his goblet at the opportune moment and proclaimed his final words, offering a toast.

Voices echoing the Emperor’s words rippled through the banquet hall like gentle waves.

As dance music swelled through the hall, Alix descended from the dais and invited the Princess of Tellua to dance. They moved past the nobles, who swayed aside to create a path, and stepped onto the dance floor.

As they began to dance, couples one by one started to gather on the floor.

Selonia, who had only just realized the impending future, glanced around in dismay. If her memory served her correctly, there was no longer any time to escape.

As if to confirm her apprehension, an undeniable presence gradually made itself felt, approaching her from her right.

“Lady Brienne.”

As her initial bewilderment faded, it was replaced by a profound sense of stupefaction. Selonia slowly lifted her head, her gaze meeting the man who had called her name.

“……Your Grace, Grand Duke Lahardian.”

He was a man whose mere presence seemed to dominate the very space he occupied. How could she have repeatedly forgotten Kylos, a man who exuded such a formidable aura?

At various points in time, much like this one, he was someone she had encountered and become entangled with countless times.

Clad in a pristine black uniform that matched his hair, Kylos was undeniably conspicuous amidst the throng.

The garment, which accentuated his elegant physique, suited him so perfectly that it was impossible to imagine anyone else wearing it.

Unlike Alix, he hadn’t meticulously slicked back his hair; instead, its natural disarray seemed to lend him a more approachable, human quality.

After all, the Grand Duke Lahardian, standing silently and expressionless, often emanated such a rigid and intimidating aura that people found it difficult to even approach him.

The fact that such an imposing man stood before her meant that the gazes of the crowd would inevitably turn towards her as well.

“Might you grant me the honor of the first dance?”

Selonia stared, bewildered, at his large hand extended before her.

His voice and gesture were courteously understated, so unassuming that it seemed he would bear no regret even if she declined the dance.

Yet, a peculiar certainty settled upon her that this was not truly the case.

In her previous life, he had likewise requested a dance from her.

At the time, she had simply believed he asked because she happened to be standing near the Grand Duke, and because she was a lady-in-waiting to his aunt, Princess Consort Camilla, with whom he was acquainted.

Now, however, the circumstances were entirely different. She had deliberately moved to a secluded corner, out of sight.

He, who would have been at the heart of the banquet hall, had intentionally come all this way. To ask her to dance.

‘Why?’

Had it been anyone else, she might have surmised a common reason, but he was Grand Duke Lahardian, the formidable leader of the North, who had not yet taken a consort and seemed utterly uninterested in women, giving rise to strange rumors.

Emperor Alix and Grand Duke Kylos were, by virtue of their status and appearance, the most coveted bachelors any noble family with a daughter would desperately pursue.

However, unlike Alix, who as Crown Prince often enjoyed casual romances, Kylos had never had a single scandal of note, causing the rumors about him to spiral into even stranger territory.

“It would be an honor, Your Grace.”

A powerful urge to bluntly ask why he had requested the first dance from her surged within Selonia, but she knew she could not draw any more attention to herself.

With a complicated heart, Selonia briefly looked up at him before gently placing her hand over his outstretched one.

His hand, large enough to completely envelop hers, gave a faint twitch the moment her fingertips made contact, but that was all.

He subtly curled his long fingers, gently drawing Selonia’s hand, and together they walked towards the dance floor.

The dance music was just beginning to quicken its tempo. With the escalating melody, the atmosphere of the banquet hall also ripened.

As they were led near the other couples dancing hand-in-hand, Selonia felt countless glances flicker towards them.

When she had first become a lady-in-waiting at the imperial palace, such attention would have left her mind blank with panic, but now, it felt like a distant memory to Selonia.

And indeed, it was.

Skillfully concealing any hint of discomposure, she matched Kylos’s steps. Kylos, meticulously guiding her steps, proved to be an even better dancer than she had anticipated.

It was said no swordsman in the Empire could defeat him; perhaps those who wield their bodies expertly also excel at dance?

No words passed between them, yet with just a slight lift of her gaze, his face was intimately close.

Up close, Kylos’s face was so exquisitely handsome that it rendered his formidable reputation almost insignificant.

His elegant eyes, framing mysterious, luminous violet irises, traced delicate lines with every blink. His sharply defined, high nose bridge merged seamlessly with his forehead, accentuating his powerful features.

Below his firm lips, a beautifully sculpted jawline and a thick, long neck sat in perfect proportion, as if carved with meticulous precision.

‘How could even his Adam’s apple be so handsome?’

Having momentarily let her guard down and met his gaze, Selonia couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.

At that moment, the orchestra’s performance reached its crescendo, quickening the footwork of the dancers. Suddenly, her steps faltered, landing in a direction her body didn’t remember.

Her tangled legs brought her back to her senses, but her body was already on the verge of collapsing. Selonia gasped, bracing for the inevitable impact, only to widen her eyes as she felt herself lifted into the air.

Matching a sweeping motion, Kylos had wrapped an arm around her waist, effortlessly lifting her. To an outsider, it would have appeared so natural that her misstep and his catch seemed a deliberate part of the dance.

“Are you alright?”

A low voice brushed against her ear. She couldn’t answer, managing only a slight nod of her head.

Part of her momentary confusion stemmed from his suddenly close face and the heavy, refreshing scent that lingered at her nose.

However, what was even more disconcerting was the fleeting emotion she thought she glimpsed in his eyes when their gazes met—an emotion she believed impossible.

Was it embarrassment or bewilderment, or perhaps anger and resentment over events from her previous life? Everything was so muddled and disorienting that she deliberately avoided his gaze.

Though a mere moment couldn’t define all emotions, what she saw in those dark violet eyes was undeniably a flicker of favor.

‘Could he have harbored feelings for me?’ Yet, it was difficult to comprehend. In her current memory of this timeline, and even thereafter, her encounters with him had been infrequent.

Their interactions were limited to occasional meetings after she became Princess Consort Camilla’s lady-in-waiting at the imperial palace.

Even then, it was merely brief greetings, or informing the Princess Consort of his visits, or escorting him.

Moreover, aside from his request for a dance at this banquet, he had never expressed such feelings towards her, had he?

If he had held positive affections, there would have been no reason for him to vehemently argue for her burning at the stake during the witch trial.

‘Could it be that he condemned me to the pyre out of jealousy or a desire for revenge?’ Selonia thought that far, then even she found it a little absurd and curved her lips into a faint smile.

‘This must be megalomania.’ It was hasty to judge his feelings based on a momentary glimpse of his eyes and expression.

Lost deep in her own thoughts, so much so that she couldn’t even hear the dance music, she missed Kylos’s lips twitching, as if he wanted to speak to her.

Though distracted, she made no further mistakes after her near-fall, as his hold had become even steadier than before.

She inhaled deeply through her nose, pushing aside her complicated emotions. Thinking about the Grand Duke’s feelings was a luxury she couldn’t afford right now.

She needed to focus solely on her original objective: to discover if the one she believed to be her true love had truly approached her with ulterior motives from the very beginning.

And to ascertain how much he knew about her, information even she herself was unaware of. Just as she managed to return to reality, the dance music came to an end.

The two, who had moved fluidly with the melody, came to a halt. Kylos gently lifted her hand and, following etiquette, lightly touched his lips to the back of her gloved hand.

Although a thin glove separated her skin, she almost imagined a hot flush rising at the delicate touch of his lips.

“Lady Brienne. If you would just—”

“It was a delightful dance, Your Grace. Please excuse me for a moment.”

He seemed about to say something, but Selonia, flustered by her wildly thumping heart, avoided his gaze, curtsied slightly, and promptly turned to leave.

The thought belatedly crossed her mind: without even intending it, the situation was faithfully unfolding exactly as she remembered from the past.