Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The Grand Ball
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"A ball..."
Loan hesitated, unsure of what to do. Sensing something was amiss, Bella gently tugged on Loan's sleeve.
"Is something wrong, my lord?"
Oscar answered for him.
"Ahem. This is quite the predicament. I imagine Lord Loan was expecting a ball where one competes with swords and fists."
He said it as if he had no part in the misunderstanding.
It didn't matter. Bella just felt guilty for not explaining it beforehand.
"What should we do, my lord?"
Loan had been momentarily flustered, but he quickly regained his composure.
He didn't have the luxury of looking back at Bella, however.
His eyes were fixed on the young men and women in splendid dresses and uniforms, warming up to the music of a string quartet.
Without looking away, Loan asked.
"So, there are no martial competitions at this gathering, then?"
"No..."
"And to meet the lady, I have to participate in this ball."
"Yes. There are other events, but they might be canceled depending on the lady's condition. This is the most certain way. It's a tradition of the social season, after all."
"A tradition?"
"It's customary for the winner of the ball to dance with the lady."
"A direct meeting, then."
If he could do that, he might be able to learn a great deal.
But the words of agreement didn't come easily. Just then.
"Oh, Lord Loan, you've arrived. I heard the Duke himself mentioned your participation. We've already been receiving a flood of inquiries."
A woman covering her mouth with a fan stood before Loan, words spilling from her in a rush.
The woman, who introduced herself as the ball's director, said there was a long line of people who wished to dance and make eye contact with Loan, and that there were many requests to spectate as well.
The interest was overwhelming.
This was why the director, who hoped for the ball's success, was so welcoming to Loan.
Listening to her, Loan felt the situation was similar to the brief show he'd put on to gain the recognition of the Bella Trading Company's people.
A large crowd had gathered, and their attention was focused on him. Depending on how he looked at it, this was quite a useful environment.
So, there was no need to avoid it just because it was unfamiliar.
"Yes. I'll participate."
He didn't sound as if he were being forced into it or had resigned himself to his fate.
In fact, he exuded such confidence that it even startled Oscar, who was watching him.
He gently pulled Loan into a dark corner and asked.
"Can you dance?"
"Yes. I learned dance at school."
He recalled his first year, right after entering the academy, when he and Sophie had taken a dance class together, just the two of them.
It wasn't the same kind of partner dancing as this, but the basic principle of moving one's body to music was the same. He wasn't worried; once you grasped the principle of anything, it all connected.
Instead, his thoughts naturally drifted to Sophie's well-being. He wondered if Lucas and the upperclassmen had treated her well.
But Oscar was focused solely on the problem at hand.
"Isn't this different? This is the dancing of nobles, where men and women dance together."
"Yes, I saw just now that the movements are very fluid. I've recently had something of an epiphany about the principles of nature. If I can incorporate that into my movements, I don't think dancing will be a major problem."
"Hmm? To that profound a degree?"
"At a glance, I could also see certain patterns. I think I can apply Senior Sienna's footwork or the Albre family's spinning sword techniques."
"To social dancing?"
He was skeptical, yet amazed that Loan had thought of such things in such a short time.
*'I suppose a genius really does see the world differently.'*
Oscar respected Loan's intentions and said.
"Alright. Do as you see fit. What kind of support can I provide?"
"Please buy me some clothes. I noticed earlier that the men are all splendidly dressed. It seems that also has an impact on this competition."
"Hmm..."
Oscar took out his wallet again.
* * *
The Ferrara Ball was conducted as a group competition.
Handsome men and beautiful women from all over were paired up by the director, danced simultaneously, and were scored by the judges to select who would advance to the next stage.
The first stage.
Naturally, it had the most participants, and even more spectators.
And so—
it was a remarkable thing that before the competition began, amidst the seemingly chaotic ballroom, most eyes were drawn to one particular spot.
The name Loan Albre spread through the spectators like a ripple.
Comments ranged from how he completely captivated the eye when properly dressed, to blush-inducing speculation on whether his dancing skills would be as beautiful as his face.
Loan, the center of all this attention, remained calm.
*'This is no different from a duel.'*
Showcasing one's skills should not be the goal in itself.
One must constantly self-reflect so that the act serves to cultivate one's abilities or as a step toward a goal.
Right now, the goal was to seize the opportunity to meet the lady through this partner dance, which he was experiencing for the first time.
Thinking only of that, Loan waited for his name to be called.
At last.
"Loan Albre of Versa. Philippa Silas of Rhodes."
As the two names were called, a mixture of joyous screams, congratulatory applause, disappointed sighs, and envious, jealous murmurs followed.
Loan, in a pure white uniform, and a woman in a sky-blue dress faced each other and took their place among the many pairs of men and women.
"I'm Loan. It's a pleasure."
"Philippa of House Silas..."
While observing the movements of the others, Loan gently extended a hand.
Philippa, who barely managed to take his hand, couldn't even meet his eyes. Her fingertips were trembling intensely.
*'When dancing, the man usually leads the path and the steps. Is this woman's trembling also part of that arrangement?'*
He didn't know if she was a true novice or if this was part of the dance, but in either case, it was his job to lead his partner correctly.
He applied a little pressure to her fingertips to make her look at him, trying to give her confidence with a smile.
He had no idea that this would instead make her legs go weak.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's alright."
Gently wrapping an arm around the stumbling Philippa's waist, Loan formed a solid current of Convection between them.
Philippa's posture naturally corrected itself, and her trembling subsided.
"Oh..."
Her eyes went wide as she stared at Loan. The unfamiliar sensation was strange to her, but Loan simply offered a smile.
Thanks to the flow of mana connecting them, Philippa didn't stumble again.
This series of events left a deep impression on the judges.
"His attitude and manners are excellent. His posture is also quite solid."
"Beautiful. He's clearly well-trained."
"That hold itself is already magnificent. I feel like sending them to the next stage right now."
The participants waited for the music to begin amidst the judges' comments.
Finally, the director signaled the quartet's concertmaster, and the moment the slender melody of the violin breathed life into the piece—
the participants moved their first step in unison.
Loan, who was broadly surveying the flow of mana in the ballroom, very naturally pulled Philippa toward him, stepping back on the precise beat.
His partner felt neither heavy nor light.
This was thanks to his use of Convection, which made her follow his lead smoothly.
And with that, Loan and Philippa began to completely dominate the judges' attention.
"They've built trust in their movements so quickly. His lead is exceptional."
"Their lines are breathtaking. From head to toe, it feels like their combined energy is stretching out to its limits."
"That's why their sense of unity is so alive. The thrill and passion are being perfectly shared between them."
The two stepped out together to the three-beat rhythm, paused for a moment, and moved again.
There was no sense at all that this was the first time they had danced together.
The movements of their bodies—slow, slow, then suddenly fast—were as intricate and splendid as if they had been partners for a long time.
"I was worried his lead might be too flashy because of his looks, but that's not the case. If anything, it's Philippa who seems to be blossoming."
"That's what skill is. He's precisely coordinating and controlling everything."
"He understands the music perfectly. His emotional expression is also top-notch."
Coming from the battlefield, where life and death were decided in an instant, to a ballroom where he moved his body with a relaxed rhythm, time seemed to flow incredibly slowly.
Within that flow, Loan took in the mana of all the participants, engraving their movements and the progression of the music into his mind—
he envisioned the next move as he watched, and as he led, he came to understand the essence of the dance.
*'Flow... dancing is also a flow.'*
Loan gradually became one with the music.
He had to think of the sound, not the space, as the battlefield.
The woman before him was not an opponent in a contest, but a comrade-in-arms for a joint attack. The countless other couples were not enemies to be defeated, but more like a fluid formation to be navigated and overcome.
Without colliding with the other couples, they used the stage broadly, tracing definite yet somehow distant curves in accordance with the dynamics of the music.
The judges, who had long since forgotten about scoring, shot up from their seats to focus on the pair.
Not just Loan, but Philippa too, was completely immersed.
One by one, other couples stopped moving—whether from exhaustion, a misstep that broke their flow, or simply because they wanted to watch Loan—
until finally, there was a moment when Loan and Philippa were the only ones still moving on the floor.
The perfect and deliberate movements, the improvised and lively footwork, the unexpected splendor unfurled in a spin—it all came to a sudden halt along with the music of the string quartet, which had reached its climax with a staccato flourish.
A long silence followed the perfect finish.
"Huu... huu..."
Loan and Philippa faced each other, breathing at the same pace and depth.
Loan was satisfied with having applied the principles of mana he had learned to a new field, while Philippa felt an inexplicable sense of being overwhelmed and was disappointed that the music had ended.
The applause, the cheers, and the results that followed were all as expected.
"Loan, Philippa. Prepare for the next stage immediately."
Philippa was eliminated in Stage 2.
Looking disappointed in many ways, she left the hall in tears.
Laura Cheskon, Loan's new partner, advanced to the next stage.
Everyone with eyes could see it.
Partnering with Loan allowed one to showcase skills beyond their usual level.
So, it was perhaps a natural consequence that protests arose, claiming the competition was unfair.
The men, who could see the stark difference with their own eyes, said little, but there was a particular clamor from the women who hadn't gotten the chance.
In the end, Loan was prematurely named the final winner of the men's division after Stage 2, forcing an early conclusion to his ballroom debut.
* * *
The second and final day of the social gathering.
Loan, Bella, and Oscar made their way back to the Duke's castle for the afternoon event.
As the winner of the ball, Loan was invited to the lady's birthday party, where he would dance with her and present her with a birthday gift, concluding—
the core sequence of his current mission.
"I understand the male winner dances with the lady, but what does the female winner do then?"
"Usually, she would dance with the Duke of Ferrara, but given the lady's condition, she'll probably just be a stand-in."
After some more conversation, they arrived back in front of the reception room where they had first met the Duke.
Facing the massive doors, Bella handed Loan the box containing the Stone of Goetia.
As Loan took it, Oscar spoke.
"We can't go in."
"I know."
Unlike yesterday, the security was exceptionally tight. Loan even had to surrender Sheville. He had no choice. He had to get inside one way or another.
If he hadn't won the ball, even this would have been difficult.
"If something happens, send a signal so we'll know. Don't try to handle it alone."
"Yes. Don't worry."
Loan gave the two a reassuring smile, and Bella and Oscar followed a servant to their designated area.
And a moment later.
Guuuuuung—
The doors opened with a whoosh of escaping air.
The turbid mana leaking from within momentarily dizzied Loan.