Shall We Dance One More Song, My Lady?
The next morning.
"Ughhhhh..."
"..."
When I entered her quarters, Era was slumped over the dining table.
"Hey. What are you doing?"
"Ugh. My legs hurt."
Era groaned while still lying face down.
"I think I walked too much yesterday. My calves are all tight."
That made sense. We'd spent the entire day wandering around the market. She usually stayed inside her room in the Imperial Palace, so walking around the neighborhood for the first time in a while must have worn her out.
"Stop whining and get up. We've got things to do today."
"Can't I rest today? We played so much yesterday."
"That playing was your reward. Starting today, it's special training again."
"Ugh. So mean."
Era pouted and finally dragged herself upright.
"So what are we doing today?"
I pushed the furniture in the room to one side, clearing an open space.
"Dancing."
"Dancing?"
Era's eyes widened slightly.
"Is it like the one we did at the market yesterday?"
"No. It's very different from that."
"How is it different?"
"Yesterday you could just move however you wanted. But this one has set movements. Your hands go here, your feet go there. You have to match the rhythm perfectly too."
Era looked overwhelmed just from listening.
"The one yesterday was fun. This looks hard."
"You'll find it fun once you get used to it. First, stretch out your legs a bit. You said they're tight, right?"
"Are you actually worried about me?"
"If you fall while dancing on stiff legs, it'll be a pain for me to teach you."
Era let out a small laugh and started massaging her calves.
======
After loosening up her legs, we got started in earnest.
"Alright. First, the basic stance. One hand on my shoulder. The other hand like this, holding mine."
When I held out my hand, Era carefully placed hers on top.
"Shoulder? Here?"
She stood on her tiptoes to reach my shoulder. The height difference forced her to stretch her arm all the way up.
"Hey. Don't hang off me like that."
"I'm not hanging off you. Your shoulders are just too high."
"It's not that my shoulders are high. You're just short."
"I'm not short! You're the one who's too tall, Leon!"
As we bickered, I placed my hand on Era's waist. Suddenly, she flinched and froze.
"What's wrong?"
"Y-your hand... on my waist..."
"We have to hold each other to dance. It's obvious. Otherwise we can't match the rhythm."
"S-still... it was so sudden."
Her voice grew quieter. Her ears had turned bright red—she must have been quite startled.
Well, she's been sensitive about being touched ever since last time.
I pretended not to notice and finished adjusting our posture.
"Okay. When I step forward, you step back. If I step with my right foot, you use your left. Just follow me like a mirror."
"Like a mirror?"
"Yeah. Do the opposite of what I do."
"Opposite. That sounds confusing."
"You'll get it once we try. Alright—one, two."
I stepped forward, and Era followed. But instead of mirroring, she copied me exactly. I stepped with my right foot, so she stepped with her right foot too. Our feet collided head-on.
"Ah!"
"Hey. I told you to do the opposite."
"I did do the opposite!"
"How is that the opposite? It's exactly the same."
"Huh? Oh... yeah, it is."
Era looked down at her feet and tilted her head in confusion.
"Again. If I step with my right foot, you step with your left."
"Left foot, left foot."
She muttered to herself and tried once more. This time she used the correct foot, but her timing was way off. I'd already moved on to the next step while she was still stuck on the first.
"Too slow. You have to match the beat."
"I am trying to match it!"
"You're always one beat behind!"
"If I stop to think about whether it's left or right, the rhythm falls apart."
Era made a pitiful face.
"This is really hard. My feet and my brain aren't working together."
"Everyone's like that at first. Don't think about your feet—just follow my movements."
"That's even harder..."
Era let out a heavy sigh.
I thought for a moment, then gently tightened my grip on her hand.
"Then let's do this. Just surrender your body to me. Let your feet follow on their own."
"Surrender?"
"Yeah. Relax completely. If I pull this way, come with me. If I push, step back."
Era looked doubtful but relaxed her shoulders. I slowly stepped forward and pulled her hand. She was drawn along and took a step back. When I turned to the side, she turned with me. This time, our feet didn't collide.
"Oh. Ohh?"
"See? It works."
"It worked! We didn't bump!"
Era stared at her feet in amazement.
"Don't look at your feet. Look at me."
"Ah, okay."
She lifted her head and met my gaze. At such close range, our eyes locked. We were holding hands, my arm around her waist. As we moved slowly in the same rhythm, the distance between us had naturally closed.
Era's eyes were right in front of mine.
"..."
"..."
For a moment, neither of us spoke. In the empty room with no music, only the soft sound of our footsteps echoed.
Shuffle— shuffleshuffle—
"......"
"......"
Era's face gradually turned red.
"What's wrong?" I asked. She lowered her gaze slightly.
"It's nothing. It's just... being this close and staring into each other's eyes the whole time... it's a bit..."
"When you dance, you're supposed to look at your partner."
"Even so... my heart's beating a little fast."
She murmured softly.
At those words, I suddenly became aware of our joined hands.
"What heart? Just focus on the rhythm."
"You've been saying your heart's been racing since last time. Sounds like arrhythmia to me."
When I replied curtly on purpose, Era pouted.
"Hmph..."
But even as she did, her eyes stayed fixed on me.
"One—two, one—two three!"
After moving like that for a while, Era started to follow the rhythm fairly well.
"Oh..."
When I pulled, she stepped back. When I pushed, she came forward. When I turned, she turned with me. It was still clumsy, but her feet no longer tangled like they had at the beginning.
"Oh. I'm getting it now!"
Excited, Era spun around once. But she spun too enthusiastically and lost her balance, wobbling.
"Ah!"
I quickly pulled her waist and caught her. Era fell right into my arms. Once again, our eyes met at extremely close range—this time even closer than before. Close enough to feel her breath.
"......"
Leaning against my chest, Era looked up at me. Her dark eyes shimmered in the lantern light.
"Leon."
"What?"
"You caught me again just now."
"You were falling. Of course I caught you."
"But this time... you're not letting go."
"Hehe..."
Era laughed softly. Only then did I realize I was still holding her waist. But I didn't want to let go.
"......"
Era stayed quietly in my arms as well. In the room where only the two of us stood, silence fell. I couldn't tell whose heartbeat was louder—mine or hers.
"..."
"..."
It was Era who spoke first.
"...Leon."
"...Yeah."
"Like this... can't we dance just one more song?"
"There's no music. What song?"
"Then... you can just count the beat for me, right?"
Era lifted her head from my chest and stared straight at me.
"...Sigh."
I let out a small sigh in the end.
"One, two, three."
Counting in a low voice, I began moving slowly again. Instead of music, we moved to the sound of my voice. Era surrendered herself to the rhythm and followed. This time she didn't wobble or tangle her feet. We simply moved together in the same beat. Close together. Slowly. We spun round and round in the empty room.
"One, two, three. One, two, three."
With her hand on my shoulder, Era quietly looked up at me. The playful expression from earlier was gone from her face. I kept counting the beat and gazed back at her.
"One— — — twooo— threeee!"
For some reason, my counting grew slower and slower. I didn't want it to end quickly. I wanted to hold onto this moment just a little longer.
"..."
========
How long had we been spinning like that?
Outside the window, the sun was beginning to set. My voice, which had been counting the beat, had stopped at some point. Even so, we remained standing in that frozen posture for a little while longer. Hands clasped. My arm still around her waist.
"Whoa!"
I was the first to snap out of it.
"That's enough for today."
I slowly released her. Era looked slightly disappointed.
"Already?"
"Yeah. You're picking up the rhythm faster than I expected."
"Really?"
"Yeah. For the first day, you did well. At this rate, you'll be able to dance properly before the Imperial Great Festival."
At those words, Era beamed. But soon she looked down at her feet and muttered.
"But I still get my left and right feet mixed up."
"That'll become natural the more you dance. Don't memorize it with your head—memorize it with your body."
"With my body?"
"Yeah. If you dance every day, your feet will move on their own without you having to think."
"Then... we're dancing every day?"
Era asked with eyes full of anticipation.
"Until the Daeje, yes. We have to practice every day."
"Every day... like this... with you, Leon."
Era repeated the words to herself, a smile playing on her lips.
"What? Why are you smiling again?"
"It's nothing. It's just... the thought of dancing every day makes me happy."
Era answered honestly.
"..."
I started to reply but closed my mouth instead. The truth was, I felt the same. I was already looking forward to this time every single day. Holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes up close, spinning round and round in the empty room. This time together.
"Clean up and rest. We'll dance again tomorrow."
"Yes!"
Era answered energetically and began moving the pushed-aside furniture back into place. Even while doing so, she hummed to herself and lightly stepped through the moves she'd learned.
"Hum~ hum-hum-hum~"
She practiced the steps she'd just learned, full of excitement, not caring if anyone saw.
I watched her for a moment before leaving the room.
As I stepped into the hallway, the cool evening air raised goosebumps across my skin.
"..."
While walking, I could still feel the warmth lingering in my palm. The time we'd spent spinning round and round in that empty room with no music, just following my voice, kept replaying in my mind. Why my counting had slowed down like that. Why I'd wanted to drag out that moment.
"...Seriously."
I found myself looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow, when I'd hold that hand again, wrap my arm around that waist again, and dance while looking into her eyes up close. Even though I was the one teaching, somehow I was the one longing for that time more.
That's strange.
I smiled faintly and headed back to my own quarters. The evening breeze cooled my flushed face.
Tomorrow too, in that empty room, we would spin round and round again. Just thinking about it made my steps feel a little lighter.