Only three days after having tea with the Emperor, I was summoned by him once again and headed to the greenhouse.
‘……What is this? Didn’t he usually call me once a week?’
Cold sweat ran down my back as I wondered if I had made some kind of mistake during the call with my home country a few days ago.
But when I actually arrived at the greenhouse, the Emperor’s attitude was completely different from what I had expected.
“Oh, you’ve come.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. You summoned me?”
“I did. Come here and sit. Today, I brewed some top-quality tea leaves brought up from the south. They’re the finest grade, from near your homeland, though I’m not sure whether they’ll suit your taste.”
“Thank you very much for your consideration, Your Majesty.”
Instead of his usual expressionless, oppressive air, the Emperor greeted me with an oddly kind and gentle manner.
‘……Why is he suddenly acting like this? It’s scary.’
It felt like a last meal given to a death-row inmate, so the tea did not go down my throat easily.
But as if trying to ease my tension, the Emperor continued with light small talk, such as the weather and books he had recently read in the library.
Normally, he would have thrown sharp questions at me that I would have had to wring my brain dry to answer, but today, whatever I said, he merely nodded benevolently.
It was strange, but there was nothing bad about it, so I went along with him appropriately and drank my tea.
When the teacups had been emptied to some degree, the Emperor brought up the main topic.
“By the way, as I said a few days ago, in one month, the Empire’s grand social gathering will be held.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“During the day, nobles, envoys from other nations, and hostages will gather to enjoy a light tea party…… but the true flower of a social gathering is, of course, the ball held in the evening.”
The Emperor set down his teacup and looked at me steadily.
“You will be standing at the center of high society, so you would do well not to neglect your dance practice. The nobles of the Empire are a tiresome breed who will delight in chewing you over for days on end if you are even slightly clumsy at dancing.”
At those words, I reflexively replied with an awkward smile.
“Ah…… I will keep that in mind, but to tell the truth, I am worried because I have never once danced at a ball.”
“……What?”
For a moment, the air in the greenhouse seemed to stop.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes and stared at me, as if he could not understand what he had just heard.
“A member of royalty has never danced at a ball?”
“……Ah.”
Damn it. I screwed up.
For a moment, I wanted to slap myself hard across the mouth.
As an ordinary university student from South Korea in my previous life, I had naturally never danced a waltz or social dance, and even in this life, I had never properly attended a ball.
To begin with, there was no way a proper ball existed in a backwater rural kingdom like Sterling.
Holding hands and going round and round in a circle was a Sterling-style ball.
‘…But that’s hard to explain, too.’
Just as suspicion was about to flash in the Emperor’s eyes, I racked my brains like mad in order to survive.
Since it had come to this, I decided to sell out someone who owed me.
‘Sorry, King of Sterling. You’re the one who sold me off here anyway, so I’ll be selling you out a bit.’
I lowered my gaze, putting on a bitter and pitiful expression.
“……It is shameful to say, but His Majesty my father was extremely reluctant to have me appear in the ballroom.”
“Reluctant? Why?”
“Because if I attended a ball…… all the attention and eyes of the nobles that should have been focused on my elder brother Joseph, that is, the crown prince of Sterling, would instead be directed entirely at me.”
I fiddled with the rim of my teacup and lowered my voice, pretending to be wounded.
“His Majesty my father, worried that my brother’s position would be shaken, strictly forbade me even from learning the waltz or social dance. Whenever a ball was held, I always had to stay tucked away in a corner. So there was no way I could have danced.”
“…….”
When my excuse ended, the Emperor stared at me with his mouth slightly open, as if he had momentarily lost the words to speak.
His violet eyes trembled faintly.
“…Hoo.”
The Emperor pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head as if appalled.
There was no way to know exactly what the Emperor was thinking, but judging by the incredulous expression on his face, it seemed my lie had worked quite convincingly.
The Emperor let out a deep sigh, then spoke in a voice much gentler than before.
“……Fine. Well, if you were not taught, then you need only learn from now on.”
“Thank you for your generous words, Your Majesty.”
“We cannot have you disgracing yourself in the Empire’s social circles, so learn at least the basics. Every one of those imperial children you are close to has plenty of experience dancing, so ask them.”
The Emperor stroked his chin for a moment, seeming to ponder.
“Who would be best for you to learn from…… Ah— no, try learning from Chloe.”
“Do you mean Her Highness the Second Imperial Princess?”
“Yes. That one must be lacking exercise from always being shut up in the library, so use dance as an excuse to drag her outside a little. Chloe’s dancing skills are quite good, and she enjoys teaching others, so she will make an excellent instructor.”
With an oddly pleased look on his face, the Emperor gestured to me.
“Go. I look forward to seeing your preparations for the ball.”
#
After leaving the greenhouse, I let out a deep sigh and returned to my quarters.
‘Phew, I almost got caught. Still, I got through it.’
I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the communication crystal ball on the table.
Amber had told me it could connect to the imperial internal network as well, so I infused the crystal ball with mana and set it to Princess Chloe’s serial number.
Woooong—
After a moment, a soft light rose over the crystal ball, and Chloe’s voice came through.
[Prince Ian? What brings you to contact me?]
“Ah, Your Highness. It is nothing else. I contacted you because I have a favor to ask.”
[A favor? If it is your request, Prince, I must grant anything. Please tell me.]
Chloe’s voice was much kinder and softer than usual.
“His Majesty the Emperor has ordered me to prepare for the ball at the social gathering in a month…… but to tell the truth, I have never danced before. His Majesty told me to learn some dancing from Your Highness, so I dared to contact you. Would it be possible for you to teach me to dance?”
[……You have never danced, not even once?]
“Yes, that is correct……. It would take a bit long to explain, but the corner of the ballroom was usually my place.”
A very brief silence continued from beyond the crystal ball.
But instead of pressing me on why I could not dance, Chloe answered very gently.
[Of course. I will teach you properly.]
“Thank you very much, Your Highness. Then where should I meet you?”
[Please come to the detached palace where I stay. If you ask Sir White to guide you, he will know the way. You will come right away, won’t you? I will be waiting, Prince.]
“Understood. I will depart immediately.”
The communication from the crystal ball ended.
I stepped out the door with light feet.
Today had originally been the day scheduled for lower-body training with the Second Imperial Prince, but thanks to the Emperor’s special order, I could now skip my workout with dignity.
#
At the same time, in the gym beneath the imperial palace.
Arthur, the Second Imperial Prince, had taken off his upper garment and was lifting and lowering a heavy dumbbell, happily waiting for his excellent workout partner, who would arrive soon.
‘Ian’s core muscles have been settling in splendidly. Today, we can increase the weight even more.’
Just as he was warming up his muscles while even humming to himself, an imperial attendant hesitantly opened the gym door and came in.
“Um, Your Highness the Second Imperial Prince…….”
“Hm? What is it? Has Ian Sterling not arrived yet? It is past the time he should have come.”
“That is…… Prince Ian does not seem to be able to come to training today.”
“What?”
Arthur’s thick eyebrows twisted sharply.
“How dare he break a sacred promise! What is the reason?”
“He sent word that, by His Majesty the Emperor’s command, he must carry out another schedule in preparation for the ball.”
“Father’s command?”
Only then did Arthur’s fierce aura ease somewhat.
“……Well, if it is Father’s command, then it cannot be helped.”
Arthur smacked his lips, unable to hide his disappointment.
“By the way, what schedule is he carrying out? Preparation for the ball, you said.”
“He, um, went to the detached palace where Her Highness Princess Chloe resides. I was told he is learning ballroom dancing from Her Highness.”
“……What?”
In that instant, the enormous dumbbell Arthur had been holding was hurled to the floor.
Despite the thick leather mat laid across the floor, the gym shook as if there had been an earthquake.
While the attendant shrieked and fell backward, Arthur opened his violet eyes wide and shouted.
“The greatest dancer in the Empire is right here, so why on earth did he go to that bookworm to learn how to dance!!”
Arthur’s boast was, surprisingly, true.
Many people thought of him as an idiot packed full of nothing but muscle, but in truth, he was a genius among geniuses who had mastered every movement performed with the body.
He was the kind of being who could learn a single step and perfectly follow an entire dance, and who could execute any movement with one hundred percent accuracy as long as he understood the principle behind it.
Naturally, he had long since mastered something like dancing, and in fact, whenever a ball was held, he would lightly launch that huge body of his across the floor and dominate the stage with perfect steps.
To such a man, the news that his workout partner had abandoned him and gone to learn dance from his bookworm little sister was an unbearable insult.
“This will not do. I will go and bring him back myself!”
Arthur flung his towel to the floor, threw his sweat-soaked upper garment roughly over his shoulder, kicked open the gym door, and dashed out.
“Wait for me, Ian!! I shall personally show you what true steps are!!”
The roar of the enraged muscular prince rang loudly through the underground corridors of the imperial palace.