[Episode 21] - Dance Dance Dance (2)
"Princess..."
"..."
"So you really can't dance...?"
It wasn't as if she had practiced nothing but dance for a whole month, but even so, the Princess's dancing skills were disastrous, to say nothing of her young age. The Princess turned her back to me and puffed her cheeks out as if to say she didn't want to dance anymore.
The dance the Princess was currently learning was the ballroom waltz, a dance whose very life depended on elegance and restrained dignity. But for some reason, whenever the Princess danced the waltz, it turned into a traditional mask dance.
Uncoordinated and rhythm-deaf.
The Princess had a good memory, so she had memorized all the steps, but her body simply couldn't follow. The Princess, who had flopped onto the floor, puffed her cheeks out as if telling me not to tease her, scrunched up her face with a frown, and looked up at me.
I did my best to ignore that gaze as I kneaded and massaged the Princess's legs, continuing my train of thought. It wasn't that I couldn't understand how the Princess felt, unable to dance as she was.
Back in my school days, when I was forced to learn group dances, I had been thoroughly cursed at for being rhythm-deaf. In a group dance where everyone had to match their angles to be beautiful, there were times when I alone couldn't keep the beat.
No matter how much I practiced, I couldn't follow the beat, I had to watch my friends' expressions, and practicing somehow felt like my only way out, but even so, my rhythm-deafness didn't improve easily.
'If I used the method I used back then... would the Princess's rhythm-deafness get better too?'
I thought that with the method I had used at the time, even if I couldn't fix being uncoordinated, I might be able to fix being rhythm-deaf. No, I had to fix it somehow.
A whole month had already flown by, and there wasn't much time left until the party. I couldn't let others see the Princess dancing like a boneless traditional mask dance at her birthday party.
After finishing the massage on the Princess's legs, I stood up and held out my hand as if to tell her to get up quickly. With a sulky expression, the Princess reluctantly grabbed my hand and stood up.
"Princess, do you know what rhythm exercises are?"
"Rhythm... exercises...?"
The Princess tilted her head widely.
Whether rhythm exercises didn't exist in this place, or whether the Princess simply didn't know of them, at any rate, the Princess didn't seem to know about such things. I had once overcome my rhythm-deafness to some extent through rhythm exercises back in the day.
No matter how uncoordinated one was, rhythm exercises were something you could do as long as you just kept the beat. By imprinting that sense of rhythm into my body, I had been able to perform group dances perfectly with everyone else.
Even as an adult, doing rhythm exercises was maddeningly embarrassing, but...
Still, if I wanted to cure the Princess's rhythm-deafness, I had no choice but to start with easy rhythm exercises.
"...First, just try to follow along with your body."
Recalling a very easy and short rhythm exercise from a TV commercial I had seen long ago, I raised both hands above my waist in front of the Princess. Then I swayed back and forth, starting to keep the beat.
"Clap your hands, clap clap clap, wave your arms, boom boom boom~"
Just like the lyrics, I clapped three times and spun both arms in front of my chest, boom boom boom. The Princess watched me and began following my movements diligently.
"Pat your tummy, pang pang pang, stretch tall, stretch stretch stretch~"
I patted my stomach with both hands, pang pang pang, and raised both hands above my head, standing on my tiptoes. The Princess also diligently followed my movements and started doing the rhythm exercise.
For some reason, the Princess's face was full of smiles as she diligently danced the rhythm exercise. Was it fun for her to do children's exercises at her young age? For now, I continued the rhythm exercise as far as I could remember.
When the exercise ended like that, I let out a tired breath and looked down at the Princess. Even though they were simple, repetitive movements, the Princess seemed to have found the rhythm exercise fun, and she repeated the motions she had just done.
Looking down at the Princess with both hands on her waist, wiggling her hips back and forth and side to side, I let out a chuckle. I crouched down right there and made eye contact with the Princess.
"How about it, isn't this a bit easier?"
The Princess nodded.
"Let's start by keeping the beat with such simple rhythm exercises. If you practice them one by one, you'll be able to learn the waltz in no time."
"Are there other rhythm exercises too?"
The Princess grabbed my knee with a voice full of anticipation, looking up at me with big, sparkling eyes. Indeed, I supposed she was still just like a six-year-old child.
If you only looked at her like this, she was no different from an ordinary child rather than a princess. I chuckled and gently stroked the Princess's head. The Princess smiled bashfully, as if my touch tickled.
"Of course there are more. Let's take it slow and learn them one by one."
I stood up and continued the Princess's dance practice right away. If I taught her rhythm exercises for about a week, then went back to teaching the waltz, I felt the Princess's rhythm-deafness would improve to some extent.
"The movements are easy, so you've already memorized them, right? I'll sing the song for you, so try again to the beat."
Clap-!
I clapped to focus the Princess's attention on me and resumed her dance practice. Then, swallowing my embarrassment, I began singing the children's rhythm exercise again.
"Clap your hands, clap clap clap~"
*
Besides dance lessons with the Princess, I had much to do. I had to study the 'witch' that Einsel spoke of, and I also had to prepare lessons for the Princess about fairies.
And the thing I had been most preoccupied with over the past month was...
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty the Queen."
"Baengsyo."
While walking down the palace halls, I met Baengsyo, who was holding something in his arms. I looked at the 'something' filling Baengsyo's arms and let out a long sigh.
"...Are you taking 'paint' to His Majesty again today?"
"...This is all I can do for His Majesty."
"I wonder if you're not indulging His Majesty's childish whims too much."
Baengsyo smiled bitterly at my words.
As if he knew it himself.
I headed to the same place with Baengsyo. For the past month, without missing a single day, I had visited this place. The deep, secluded room in the royal palace where the King had shut himself in.
As if accustomed to it, Baengsyo knocked twice on the door and set the paints down in front of it. Then he stepped far enough away that the footsteps wouldn't be heard from inside the room, and checked on His Majesty's well-being.
Creak-
The door opened just a crack, and a slender, thin arm shot out from within. Just as Baengsyo had said, who would really see that hand and think it a man's arm? Even my forearm looked thicker than that.
The hand that snatched the paints crawled back inside the room in an instant. I watched that sight and let out a deep sigh at the same time as Baengsyo.
"It is a relief that His Majesty is still alive today."
"...As the days go by, His Majesty's arm seems to grow more and more emaciated. Truly, now, I wonder if His Majesty has much time left."
"..."
Having said that, Baengsyo quickly turned his head and wiped away tears. Indeed, just by looking at the King's arm, one could say only bones remained; he was that emaciated.
Baengsyo said he was more or less taking care of meals, but since there was no way to confirm whether the King was actually eating inside, there was no way to properly check the King's health.
'Ah, I just want to grab him and yank him out the moment that arm comes out. Really.'
I had tried it once.
I had waited in front of where the paints were placed until the King's arm came out, but somehow he knew I was standing in front of the door, and the entire time I stood there that day, the King did not reveal himself.
I let out a small sigh and approached the firmly shut door, knocking—knock knock—on it. Ignoring the now-familiar silence, I began talking about what had happened each day.
How the Princess had been doing lately.
What the Princess had done today.
What was happening in the palace.
How the Queen Dowager was faring.
Every day, I came here and spoke to the King in front of the firmly shut door. Of course, not once had an answer ever come back.
Even if it was someone who had never given their child love, I thought there might be at least a shred of affection, so every day I spoke to the King.
To provoke that shred of conscience.
Believing that at least the King was still human.
But whether this human had no conscience whatsoever in his heart, even when I spoke of the Queen Dowager gradually growing old, the King kept his silence.
At times like these, I wondered if he was truly human.
"...I will visit again tomorrow, Your Majesty."
In the end, today too I had no choice but to turn my back here. Letting out a deep sigh of frustration again today, I shook my head and muttered curses under my breath in annoyance as I turned on my heel.
Then, Einsel asked me as if worried.
-...Are you all right?
"I suppose I'm annoyed; my stomach burns. It hurts every time I go there."
Every time I spoke to the King there, it felt like my insides were burning black. Frustrated and seething with anger, every day I was busy soothing my stinging heart.
Seriously, how the hell has Baengsyo been doing this for two years?
"...Really, it's only because there's still time that I'm putting in this much effort. If the King doesn't crawl out of his room by next month..."
Grind-
The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I got, and I gritted my teeth. I intended to wait until the very last minute, but if it went beyond that period, I was so annoyed that I didn't know what I might do.
Soothing my frustrated chest with sighs, I headed back to the room where the Princess was practicing her dance. To minimize any signs of irritation, I exhaled several times to cool my temper.
When I slowly opened the door and entered the room where the Princess was, the Princess, who had apparently been practicing the rhythm exercise until now, met my eyes while patting her own stomach, pang pang pang.
As if embarrassed, the Princess jutted out her lips and continued the rhythm exercise motions.
Even singing the song I had taught her.
"Clap your hands, clap clap clap, wave your arms, boom boom boom~"
Seeing the Princess diligently doing the rhythm exercise, the annoyance I had felt just moments ago seemed to melt away. I crossed my arms, leaned my head against the wall, and smiled as I watched the Princess's exercise.
Perhaps because it was a song composed of simple beats, the Princess quickly matched the rhythm of the exercise and wiggled her hips.
Truly, I wished this cute Princess wouldn't be hurt by that shut-in King...
I inwardly prayed that at least within the time limit, the King would come out of his room.
Because I didn't want to needlessly show the Princess me shouting and fighting.