21. Dance Dance Dance (2)
21. Dance Dance Dance (2)
[Episode 21] - Dance Dance Dance (2)
"Princess..."
"..."
"You really can't dance, can you..?"
It wasn't as if we had only practiced dancing for the entire month, but even setting aside her young age, the Princess's dancing skills were disastrous. The Princess turned her back to me, puffing out her cheeks as if to say she didn't want to dance anymore.
The dance the Princess was currently learning was a ballroom waltz, a dance where elegance and restrained grace were everything. But for some reason, whenever the Princess danced the waltz, it turned into a traditional mask dance.
Two left feet and no sense of rhythm.
The Princess had a good memory, so she had memorized all the movements, but her body just wouldn't follow along. The Princess, who had fallen to the floor, looked up at me with a sharp frown, puffing out her cheeks as if telling me not to tease her.
I tried to ignore that gaze, continuing to knead and massage the Princess's legs while I thought. It wasn't that I didn't understand the Princess's feelings about not being able to dance.
I, too, had been scolded mercilessly for having no rhythm back when I was forced to learn group dances during my school days. There had been a time when I was the only one who couldn't keep the beat in a group dance where everyone was supposed to be perfectly synchronized.
No matter how much I practiced, I couldn't follow the beat, I felt the eyes of my friends on me, and even though practice was the only way to survive, my lack of rhythm just wouldn't improve.
'If I use the method I used back then... would the Princess's lack of rhythm improve too?'
I thought that if I used the method I had back then, even if I couldn't fix the lack of coordination, couldn't I at least fix the lack of rhythm? No, I had to fix it somehow.
A month had already flown by, and there wasn't much time left until the party. I couldn't show others the Princess's boneless, mask-dance-like dancing at her birthday party.
I finished massaging the Princess's legs, stood up, and held out my hand to her, signaling her to get up quickly. With a sullen expression, the Princess reluctantly took my hand and stood up.
"Princess, do you know what a rhythmic exercise is?"
"Rhythmic... exercise..?"
The Princess tilted her head significantly.
Perhaps there were no such things here, or perhaps the Princess didn't know them. In any case, the Princess didn't seem to know what a rhythmic exercise was. I had once overcome my lack of rhythm to some extent with rhythmic exercises back in the day.
Even if you have no coordination, rhythmic exercise was something you could do as long as you kept the beat. By engraving that sense of rhythm into my body, I was able to perform group dances perfectly with everyone else.
It was insanely embarrassing to do rhythmic exercises even after becoming an adult, but...
Still, to fix the Princess's lack of rhythm, there was no choice but to start with easy rhythmic exercises.
"...For now, just follow along with your body."
Recalling a very easy and short rhythmic exercise I had heard in a TV commercial back in the day, I raised both hands above my waist in front of the Princess. Then, moving back and forth, I started to catch the beat.
"Clap, clap, clap your hands, wave, wave, wave your arms~"
As the lyrics went, I clapped three times and waved both arms in front of my chest. The Princess also started looking at me and diligently following the movements I was making.
"Pat, pat, pat your belly, stretch, stretch, stretch up tall~"
I patted my belly three times with both hands, then raised both hands above my head and stood on my tiptoes. The Princess also started doing the rhythmic exercise, diligently following my movements.
For some reason, the Princess's face was full of smiles as she danced the rhythmic exercise diligently. Is it fun to do rhythmic exercises at her young age? For now, I continued the rhythmic exercise as far as I could remember.
When the exercise ended, I exhaled a weary breath and looked down at the Princess. Even though it was a simple, repetitive movement, the Princess seemed to find the exercise fun, even repeating the movements we had done.
Watching the Princess with her hands on her waist, wiggling her hips back and forth, left and right, I let out a snicker. I crouched down right there and met the Princess's eyes.
"How is it? Isn't this a bit easy?"
The Princess nodded.
"Let's start with keeping the beat with simple rhythmic exercises like this. If we practice them one by one, you'll be able to learn the waltz in no time."
"Are there other rhythmic exercises?"
The Princess grabbed my knee with a voice full of anticipation, looking at me with her round, sparkling eyes. Should I say she's still a six-year-old child, after all?
Seeing her like this, she was no different from an ordinary child, rather than a princess. I chuckled and gently stroked the Princess's hair. The Princess smiled bashfully, as if my touch tickled.
"Then, there are more. Let's learn them one by one, practicing step by step."
I stood up and continued the Princess's dance practice just like that. If I taught her rhythmic exercises for about a week and then taught her the waltz again, I felt the Princess's lack of rhythm would improve to some extent.
"The movements are easy, so you've already memorized them, right? I'll sing the song, so try doing it again to the beat."
Jjak-!
I clapped my hands to focus the Princess's attention on me, and I continued the Princess's dance practice. And, suppressing my embarrassment, I started singing the children's rhythmic exercise again.
"Clap, clap, clap your hands~"
*
Aside from dance lessons with the Princess, I had a lot to do. I had to study about 'witches' as Ainsel taught me, and I also had to prepare the Princess's fairy lessons myself.
And the thing I had been most concerned about for the past month was...
"I greet Your Majesty the Queen."
"Vin Chaud."
While walking down the hallway of the royal castle, I met Vin Chaud, who was holding something full in his arms. I sighed long and hard, looking at the 'something' filled in Vin Chaud's arms.
"...Are you going to bring 'paint' to His Majesty again today?"
"...This is the only thing I can do for His Majesty."
"I wonder if you aren't coddling His Majesty too much."
Vin Chaud smiled bitterly at my words.
As if he knew it himself.
I headed to the same place with Vin Chaud. For the past month, I had visited this place without missing a single day. To the deep room in the royal castle where the King was secluded.
Vin Chaud knocked on the door twice as if he were used to it, and set the paint down in front of the door. Then, he moved far enough away that his footsteps couldn't be heard from the room, and checked on His Majesty.
Kki-ik-
The door opened just a tiny bit, and a slender, thin arm popped out from there. Just as Vin Chaud had said, who would really see that hand as a man's arm? My forearm looked thicker than that.
The hand, which grabbed the paint as if snatching it, crawled back into the room in an instant. Watching that scene, I let out a deep sigh at the same time as Vin Chaud.
"It's a relief that His Majesty is still alive today."
"...As the days go by, His Majesty's arm seems to be getting thinner and thinner. Now, perhaps, there really isn't much time left for His Majesty."
"..."
Vin Chaud said that and glanced away, wiping away tears. Certainly, if you looked only at the King's arm, it was thin enough to say it was just bones left.
Although Vin Chaud said he was taking care of meals appropriately, I couldn't confirm what he was eating inside, so I couldn't properly check the King's health condition.
'Ah, I just want to snatch it out when only the arm comes out. Seriously.'
I had tried it once.
I waited in front of where the paint was placed until the King's arm came out of the door, but somehow knowing I was standing in front of the door, the King did not show himself while I was standing there that day.
I let out a small sigh, approached the tightly closed door, and knocked, knock-knock. Ignoring the now-familiar silence, I started talking about what had happened day by day.
How the Princess was doing these days.
What the Princess had done today.
What was happening in the royal castle.
How the Queen Dowager was doing.
I came here every day and talked to the King in front of the tightly closed door. Of course, there had never been a single answer.
Even if he was a person who had never given love to his child, I wondered if there might be a shred of affection, so I talked to the King every day.
To stimulate that shred of conscience.
At least believing that the King was still a human being.
But, whether there was no conscience at all in this human's heart, the King remained silent even when I told him that the Queen Dowager was slowly getting old.
Sometimes, every time this happened, I wondered if this was really a human.
"...I will visit again tomorrow. Your Majesty."
In the end, I had no choice but to turn my back on this place today as well. Having let out a deep sigh of frustration again today, I shook my head, spat out profanities in my mind in annoyance, and turned away.
Then, Ainsel asked me as if she were worried.
-...Are you okay?
"My stomach hurts, probably because I'm annoyed. It's to the point where my stomach aches every time I go there."
Every time I talked to the King there, I felt like my insides were burning black. With the feeling of frustration and rising anger, I was busy stroking my aching chest every day.
Seriously, how on earth did Vin Chaud do this for 2 years?
"...Really, I'm putting in this much effort because there is still time. If the King doesn't crawl out of his room by next month..."
Ppa-deu-deuk-
I gritted my teeth at the situation that got more annoying the more I thought about it. Still, I intended to wait until the last possible moment, but if he passed that period, I was so annoyed that I didn't know how I would act.
Soothing my frustrated insides with a sigh, I headed back to the room where the Princess was practicing dancing. I exhaled several times to cool down my insides, trying to minimize the signs of my annoyance.
As I slowly opened the door and entered the room where the Princess was, the Princess, who had been patting her belly, pang-pang-pang, as if she had been practicing the rhythmic exercise until now, made eye contact with me.
The Princess, who pouted her lips as if she were embarrassed, continued the rhythmic exercise movements again.
Even singing the song I had taught her.
"Clap, clap, clap your hands, wave, wave, wave your arms~"
Seeing the Princess dancing the rhythmic exercise diligently, I felt the annoyance I had been feeling until just a moment ago melt away. I crossed my arms, leaned my head against the wall, and watched the Princess's rhythmic exercise with a faint smile.
Perhaps because it was a song with a simple beat, the Princess soon matched the beat of the rhythmic exercise and wiggled her hips.
Seriously, I don't want such a cute Princess to be hurt by that shut-in King...
I prayed inwardly that the King would come out of his room within the time limit, at least.
Because I don't want to show the Princess the sight of us screaming and fighting.