Chapter 154
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154
“Huh? Oh, I’m crying? I guess I am...”
Fortunately, the timing was right for me to briefly let go of his hand, so I hurriedly wiped my cheeks.
It seemed the tears I’d been holding back out of sheer frustration had started falling without me even realizing it.
“I didn't want to step on Your Highness’s feet, but I kept doing it anyway. I was so overcome with apology that the tears just started flowing.”
The fact that flattery was still pouring out of me even in this state meant I must really want to live.
“Are you stepping on them because you want to, My Lady?”
“As if I would?!”
Am I crazy? Why would I want to crush your perfectly good feet?
My voice rose instinctively in my bewilderment. It was lucky the Grand Banquet Hall was so noisy it made my ears ring; otherwise, everyone would have surely started whispering that I was committing lèse-majesté against the Crown Prince.
“Then what do you want to do? Should we stop?”
I blinked, surprised that Ferdinand would even suggest such a thing. Then, I thought to myself: Did it hurt that much?
It probably didn't just hurt 'a lot'—it probably hurt like hell...
For all I knew, the inside of his shoes might be soaked with blood right now. I spoke in a persuasive—no, actually, a half-desperate—voice.
“Um, Your Highness. This is my debutante’s first dance, of all things. If Your Highness doesn't mind, could we please finish it...?”
I sounded a bit pathetic at the end, but whatever.
Since the debutante ball is like a dream-world event for young nobles, my attitude probably wouldn't look too out of place.
Ferdinand looked at me with eyes that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Contrary to my assumption that he would make me squirm with a slow response...
“Fine.”
A compliant answer followed.
“I want to finish it, too.”
“Oh. Thank goodness...”
Of all times, it was the moment for a turn. Following the steps, Ferdinand suddenly spun me around, and I went whirling in a circle. For a second, I felt like a spinning top.
Even in the midst of that, Ferdinand caught me again, displaying a grace so perfect it made me wonder if he was really the same imperial prince who had been so persecuted.
“You don't want to stop the dance, you don't want to step on my feet, yet you keep stepping on them anyway.”
“...”
“And you’re streaming tears.”
“...”
To an outsider, it might look like I was weeping piteously and beautifully, but I wasn't. My state was so pathetic that it warranted the Crown Prince’s sigh.
If I were crying out of sadness, I might at least look delicate.
Right now, I was clenching my teeth so hard to avoid stepping on Ferdinand’s feet that my eyes were bloodshot. And with tears streaming down on top of that...
I wouldn't be able to complain even if I looked like a total lunatic to him right now.
“There are plenty of other ladies besides you who are currently pulverizing their partners’ feet.”
“...”
“What are you so afraid of? Do you really think I’d do something to the legitimate granddaughter of House Frezier? Over something like this?”
Hey.
Don't try to be logical.
I don't have the confidence to logically explain Kim Ddong-byul’s insane barrage of quests.
“The partners of those ladies are fellow Blue Bloods, Your Highness. How could I compare them to myself, whose partner is a member of the noble Imperial Family?”
My brain, apparently also wanting to avoid being lopped off, churned out a plausible excuse on its own.
Ferdinand didn't give much of an answer.
But I no longer had the luxury of checking the Crown Prince’s expression.
In truth, from the moment the remaining count dropped to three, I had been seized by an abyssal terror.
It was only after several more steps passed in silence that Ferdinand finally spoke.
“Fine, then.”
“Yes...?”
“As a fellow Blue Blood, you should just trust me—your Prince.”
“Pardon?”
Have you ever had your body suddenly hoisted into the air before you could even process the situation?
That was exactly what happened to me.
“...!”
It was true.
According to the sequence of the dance music currently playing, it was indeed the timing for the man to catch the lady by the waist and lift her.
But the reason I was so momentarily flustered was that this Crown Prince—this noble Male Lead—was still a boy.
A boy who hadn't changed an inch while I was growing up as Tulia.
When a boy, whose eye level was now lower than mine, suddenly hoisted me high into the air, I couldn't help but experience a moment of cognitive dissonance.
I could hear sounds of giggling and laughter breaking out here and there, but I was too shocked to even smile.
I simply grabbed Ferdinand’s shoulders instinctively.
After a light spin in the air...
“Well done,” he whispered.
With that, my two feet, which had been held up by his hands, returned to the ground.
Not onto the floor of the ballroom...
But onto the tops of Ferdinand’s feet.
“...Your Highness. I think the landing went wrong.”
“I thought you said you didn't want to step on my feet.”
“Pardon?”
“And you didn't want to stop the dance.”
“...”
“And, Lady Frezier.”
Before I knew it, Ferdinand had returned to his characteristically stiff and indifferent tone.
“I don't want to be called a scumbag who makes his debutante partner cry, so please, just stay still.”
“Yes, sir.”
At those words, I immediately leaned my weight against Ferdinand.
For a split second, he seemed to flinch slightly, but that was all.
As if everything had been my imagination, Ferdinand moved lightly across the floor while carrying me on his feet—essentially embracing me like a heavy burden.
It was a very strange experience.
Once he was cured of Cupid’s Disease, Ferdinand would be very tall. I knew what his true form looked like from seeing it countless times in the illustrations.
But right now, as he continued the dance with me in his arms, Ferdinand was still a boy.
Perhaps that was why.
It felt like I was entrusting myself to a unicorn from a fantasy.
A feeling that as long as I held his hands and leaned my whole body against him, he would take care of galloping through the sky for me.
As I blinked, half-dazed, the sound of a chuckle reached my ears.
“My Lady.”
“Yes?”
“You’re more shameless than I first thought.”
“Me?”
“You’re leaning against me quite comfortably.”
“When Your Highness tells me to lean, how could a mere Blue Blood refuse...?”
Ferdinand let out a dry laugh.
“I don't know about other Blue Bloods, but hearing the legitimate granddaughter of Frezier say such things is ridiculous. If other nobles heard that, they’d think you were treating them like servants.”
“That’s why I’m only saying it to Your Highness.”
“You weren't this talkative when I first met you.”
“Ah. Yes. Back then...”
I didn't actually have a vivid memory of that time. It was only natural. Think of how many things had happened to me since then.
However, I remembered one thing clearly.
“Do you want to die?”
“Your Highness was trying to kill me back then, wasn't he?”
“What?”
Ferdinand looked at me with eyes tinged with slight annoyance.
“Do you always talk like that, My Lady?”
He continued, his voice sounding incredulous.
“The situation was what it was back then. Did you actually believe those words were serious, by any chance?”
That’s strange. I thought he’d just give a vague apology.
Because I assumed that just as my memory of that day was hazy, Ferdinand wouldn't remember it clearly either.
But Ferdinand seemed to remember that day perfectly. Much better than I did.
“Forget it. What can one expect from a child?”
It was true that Tulia was young back then, but hearing it to my face was exasperating.
Wasn't he young back then, too? I remember seeing him standing there with hollow eyes after being slapped by his stepmother at that young age.
“Just lean on me properly, My Lady. Unless you want to show everyone the sight of us both falling over.”
“Yes, sir.”
I cut off my thoughts and did as Ferdinand instructed.
Thanks to his ingenuity, this damn Sudden Quest was almost complete.
Just then, my cheek felt itchy. Because I’d been so focused on the steps with my eyes bloodshot, my hair had become a bit disheveled.
As I instinctively reached up to brush away the hair sticking to my cheek, I felt Ferdinand’s fingers flinch slightly. It was because I was still holding his hand.
But it was only for a moment.
His hand, which had briefly brushed my cheek, quickly returned to its original position.
Almost simultaneously, the song ended, and only then was I able to step down from his feet.
In that instant.
The world before my eyes flashed in brilliant colors.
[System] Sudden Quest Success!
[System] Success Benefit Acquired!
[System] You can now control Kim Ddong-byul in a new way!
Clap, clap, clap!
As if to celebrate the completion of the quest (though that certainly wasn't the reason), thunderous applause echoed through the Grand Banquet Hall.
The ladies and young lords around me all had flushed faces, without exception.
Whether it was from shyness, exhaustion, or because their feet had been stepped on too many times.
Regardless, today was a dreamlike day for the young nobility.
We turned to offer polite bows to our partners. It was the same for Ferdinand and me.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Throw those shoes away.”
“Yes, sir.”
I answered immediately and smiled. I was happy to have succeeded in the Sudden Quest, and the relief of having survived safely made me feel blissful.
Like a lady who had danced with royalty, I gave one more polite bow and turned away.
Then, I lightly touched my cheek.
It was the spot Ferdinand’s hand had brushed earlier.
A hand imbued with divine power is cold.
So this is how chilly sacred things are.
If so, had Ferdinand always been this cold?
From the time he was in Empress Olivia’s womb until now?
As I walked away, my heels clicking, I stole a glance back.
The Crown Prince, born with every dignity the world had to offer, was already walking back up toward the dais.