The Dancer of the Square (1)
* * *
Esi pressed a black shawl into my hand and gave my back a firm push, urging me to hurry. Caught off guard, I headed toward the center of the square and quickly used the shawl to cover my face and hair.
The square’s center, filled with lively music, was packed with a mix of nobles and commoners alike.
They sat in a semicircle around a small stage. Just as Esi had said, there were no seats left. I barely managed to perch myself on the far left edge of the middle row.
Small hand drums, high-pitched flutes that made the ears ring, and plump string instruments stirred the atmosphere.
‘Is Karina really here?’
She wasn’t among the musicians. I scanned the thick crowd of spectators, but there were simply too many people. I gave up.
“There she is! Look!”
“The dancer’s coming out!”
The crowd began to cheer. When the tattered curtain hanging over the stage was pulled aside, a single dancer appeared at the center.
A woman with long silver hair tied back tightly, wearing a deep crimson dress that swept the floor.
‘Karina…?’
Click. Click.
The castanets in the dancer’s hands rang out, and the musicians launched into a fast, cheerful rhythm.
The audience instantly fell silent, their eyes fixed on the dancer’s every movement.
“Beautiful noble lady, could you spare a little donation?”
While I sat stunned, staring at the dancer—no, at Karina—someone approached and bowed deeply. It was the man who collected money from the audience during performances.
“Come closer, you.”
When I beckoned, the man moved his scrawny frame and came to my side.
“Karina. So that dancer—wasn’t she originally an apothecary? Why is she dancing here?”
“Ah, that’s right. She wasn’t a dancer before. But she learned to dance all on her own, and before long she started performing just like my older sister.”
Karina’s sister was a dancer? Before I could even feel surprised at this first-time revelation, the man continued.
“Karina dances so well that she’s almost as good as her late sister. The audiences who used to come looking for her sister now come to watch her instead. It’s been good for us.”
“Do you know how that sister—the dancer—died?”
“That’s the thing. We’re all quite curious about it ourselves.”
The man rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression.
“One day she simply stopped appearing for performances and vanished. Not long after, her body was found. It’s already been three years. We still don’t know the cause of death.”
“You don’t know the cause…?”
“No. Anyway, if her late sister could see her now, she’d probably weep. She used to say she’d never let her little sister live the same life she did. Every coin she earned went straight into teaching her.”
“……”
“Those high-class apothecary techniques that people like us could never even dream of—she learned them all with the money her sister earned. But the moment her sister died, she became a dancer herself. Tsk tsk.”
The man clicked his tongue loudly, as if it were his own sister’s misfortune.
“Anyway, now that you’ve heard the story and plan to keep watching the show, how about a small donation, my lady?”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
Snapping out of my daze, I slipped the silver ring off my finger. The man’s eyes widened.
“Thank you, my lady!”
As he brushed past my hand to take the ring, it happened.
“Stop right there, you thieving bastard!”
At the sharp cry, I turned to see Esi standing there, her face flushed with anger.
“Wait, no. I gave him the ring. He didn’t steal it.”
Thinking she had misunderstood, I tried to stop her. But Esi shook her head firmly.
“Open that hand, will you?”
She pointed at the man’s fist.
“What is this little brat babbling about?”
“Hey, I’ve been working this square for years. You think I can’t spot a pickpocket like you? If you don’t want this to get ugly, open your hand while I’m still asking nicely.”
In the end, the man had no choice but to open his hand. In his palm lay the silver ring I had given him, and.
“Huh…?”
A gold bracelet as well—taken without me even noticing.
“My apologies.”
With a cheeky bow, the man slipped away. My head throbbed more times today than I could count.
“You came without a single maid, so I followed just in case. I realized I hadn’t warned you that the square is full of pickpockets at this hour.”
Esi plopped down beside me.
“This is the time of day when the thieves work the evening shift. There are plenty of them targeting nobles who look out of place.”
“Do I look that out of place…?”
“You didn’t know? You really don’t fit in here at all. It looks like this is your first time watching a performance like this, and your first time sitting among so many people.”
Esi wasn’t wrong. This was indeed the first time I had ever crouched in a square like this, watching street performers with strangers.
“Still, it’ll be worth it. Karina… is the most beautiful dancer I’ve ever seen.”
“Well then, this will be my final stage for today. I’ll take my leave now.”
Karina, standing on the stage, drank from a cup of water and bid the audience farewell. A wave of disappointed sighs rippled through the crowd.
“Please don’t worry too much. There are many excellent dancers performing after me as well.”
Her voice was gentle yet overflowing with coquettish charm. The audience quickly showered her with cheers once more.
Click. Click.
Karina’s castanets rang out again, and this time a slower, more powerful melody began to play. Her once light and lively movements now followed the heavy rhythm.
The sun was setting. The slowly sinking orb left a red afterimage across the sky.
Karina’s silver hair was dyed with that crimson glow. Following the heavy strings, her long skirt fluttered and whispered.
Her legs, revealed beneath the deep crimson dress, struck the ground sharply in time with her high heels. Her hand stretched toward the sky, reaching for the sun, while the ornate lace and feathered headdress swayed like strokes of wind with every motion.
Her golden eyes shone clearly between thick lashes, and her lips were a vivid red. Her intense yet unexaggerated expression was so captivating it was impossible to look away.
Soon the small drums grew louder, driving the music toward its climax. Karina began to move faster, her brilliant skirts swirling.
As she spun in small circles, her silver hair drew elegant arcs through the air. It was a dazzling sight, like the last burst of sunset before the black night arrived.
Every time she turned her head, droplets of sweat scattered. My breath caught even as my heart pounded wildly. Just by watching, I could feel her vitality and warmth. Every gesture, every breath radiated a fierce life force.
‘So this… is what it means to be alive.’
In that moment, I understood.
The power I could never give—the power that only she could offer.
I had been curious, yet deep down I had hoped I would never find out. Acknowledging her existence felt far too cruel to me.
But in this instant, I had seen it with my own eyes. Why His Majesty cherished her so much. Why he needed her.
She was someone who could bring him joy simply by existing. Something the doll of the imperial palace, the bird in a cage that was me, could never possess. A desperate longing for life. Burning emotion. She held all of it.
“Duchess…?”
Esi spoke in a cautious voice.
“Are you… all right?”
It seemed the duchess had no idea.
That she had been shedding tears this entire time.
* * *
“Wow, today was another great haul.”
Behind the square stage, the man grinned widely as he held up a basket overflowing with gold and silver coins.
All of this was thanks to Karina’s return. A few months ago she had suddenly vanished from the troupe without a word. Then, not long ago, she had reappeared in the square.
He had worried she might end up dead somewhere like her sister, so he was immensely relieved to see her safe. And now she was even bringing in this much money—he couldn’t be happier.
“She’s so damn beautiful it hurts!”
And she really was beautiful. The man picked up a gold coin and kissed it with a smack.
“Hey, you.”
At the low voice from behind, the man’s shoulders jerked. When he turned, he saw a woman with her face and hair covered by a long shawl. It was the same woman who had failed at pickpocketing earlier.
“W-what can I do for you?”
The man frowned and hid the basket of money behind his back. The woman strode toward him.
“Bring the dancer to me.”
“Pardon? You mean Karina?”
The man shook his head firmly.
“I’m afraid I can’t. Karina needs to rest for tomorrow’s performance. The dances she performs take more energy than they look. No matter how noble you may be, you can’t just demand to see her like this.”
“……”
“Many noblemen have slipped me money and begged to meet Karina, but I turned them all down. We must protect the top dancer of our troupe’s condition, and besides—”
“Do I look like one of those vulgar nobles to you?”
The woman lifted her hand and removed the shawl that had been covering her face. Her long hair, previously hidden beneath the dark fabric, and her pure white face were fully revealed in the blue evening light.
For a moment, the man felt an overwhelming pressure that froze his entire body. Until now, he had believed the Karina sisters were the most beautiful women in the empire. But the noblewoman before him possessed a noble beauty the two of them could never hope to match.
An intense power that overwhelmed people with nothing but a glance, making it impossible to even approach and speak. She carried a dignity unlike any noble he had ever seen.
“Karina. Karina!”
Still unable to tear his eyes from the woman, the man shouted toward the back of the stage.
“Karina, come out quickly! The greatest young lady of the highest nobility has come looking for you!”
He used every refined word he knew to describe her. Soon the curtain lifted, and a woman with silver hair appeared.
“Who are you going to such lengths to describe, Rico?”
“There. That person.”
The man pointed, and there stood a face that was all too familiar—and, in a way, one she had missed a little.
Karina broke into a bright smile.