The Moonlit Waltz
She'd said she wanted to give it a try at least once, so there was nothing to be done about it. With her looking forward to it that much, brushing her off would've been poor form. Besides, teaching a dance was hardly difficult — passing it on in full this once wouldn't be a bad idea.
"All right. I'll lead you through it. In exchange, you'll have the basic steps down before it starts."
"Yes, sir!"
That would take time. Better to make do with a quick, simple dinner. I took Lyla and headed for the campfire grounds.
Since it hadn't started yet, quite a few vendors selling simple snacks were still scattered about. We bought whatever looked edible, wolfed it down in a hurry, and then Lyla and I made for a quiet, out-of-the-way spot.
"Bringing a girl somewhere like this? My, my. How frightening."
I gave the grinning, teasing Lyla a smack on the back of the head. There was no time for that kind of joke. Couples did, admittedly, flock to secluded spots like this to get up to... questionable things, but given the choice between watching that and teaching one more step, I'd take the step every time.
"I'll teach you the simplest dance steps there are. You're used to moving your body, no?"
"Yes."
Had she caught that I meant business? Lyla took it seriously, smile still in place. Standing right where I was, I walked her through the basic steps of the waltz. She was a little awkward at first, but soon enough she was stepping out a fairly respectable pattern.
Hmm. Decent talent, as expected.
"Turn there."
"Like th— whoa!"
"Gotcha."
Her feet must have tangled, because she wobbled — and I caught her. Having tumbled quite naturally into my arms, she stared up at me for a beat, then scrambled back out of them.
"Whoa. You startled me. You really do move fast!"
"If I couldn't manage this much, I'd have no business teaching Sowol. Now, again. One, two, three, four. Two, two, three, four."
"Like this...?"
Dancing solo with her arms wrapped around empty air, Lyla stepped through the pattern, spun a full turn, and wore an expression of pure pride.
"Ta-da!! Well?! Not bad, right?!"
She'd managed the most basic of the waltz's basics — what was there to be so delighted about?
"All right. Now, with a partner."
I took the partner's part myself. One hand closed around her rough, work-worn one; the other wrapped around her supple waist. Her frame was so much smaller than mine that the hold felt a touch awkward, but that much was nothing.
"It feels kind of nice."
"What does."
"Leaning on someone, I mean."
"Is that so? Like I told Sowol — leaning on someone matters. A person can't always stand perfectly straight on their own."
"It isn't easy, though. Finding a person like that."
"Did you think it would be? Now, quit the strange talk and run those steps again."
She needed every extra run-through she could get, after all.
By the time I'd somehow drilled the whole of the waltz's basics into Lyla, the campfire was beginning. The musicians called in for the festival struck up their performance. Some couples launched into a half-remembered, clumsy waltz; others attempted a tango. And some simply held each other and spun in circles.
"What is this?! None of them are dancing properly!"
She looked genuinely aggrieved. To work herself into such a fury while still smiling. Lyla — fresh off her special training mere minutes ago — cried out as if the whole thing were absurd, but all I did was pat her head. That was simply how the world was.
"Dancing is part of refinement too. The Eastern Merchant Guild is only going to grow. And Sowol will grow along with it."
"....."
"You're Sowol's trusted friend and her attendant. If someone like you couldn't manage a proper dance, it would tarnish Sowol's honor — and, by extension, that of the Eastern Merchant Guild itself."
"Mmm. When you put it that way, I have nothing to say."
"Think of it as one more fine experience of your youth, and let it go. Now — shall we join them?"
Stay put any longer and the crowds would keep us from dancing properly at all. She'd learned the stuff — she ought to put it to use somehow. I took Lyla's hand and led her into the firelight.
The moment they saw us step out, people let up cheers and began clearing a space for us. A new song was starting, so it fell to me to set the tempo for her.
"Here we go."
"Yes, sir!"
Hand in Lyla's, I stepped out big and bold. She floundered at first and stamped on my feet more than once, but she seemed to be growing used to the music, and before long she was keeping pace with my steps well enough.
"Wow... it's actually fun when you dance it like this."
"Practice hard later, then. Someone like you will have plenty of people begging to be your partner."
It was only the cropped hair. Let it grow out, and she'd turn into quite the beauty — and by then, the men would be lining up.
"Hehe. I've danced once already, so I'm not especially keen."
"Really? Well then, I suppose you can be Sowol's partner."
"In that case, I suppose I have no choice. I'd better take dance lessons on the side. Can't you just keep teaching me, Master?"
"Busy."
"Oh, come on~. You always look so free whenever you're not teaching the young lady. Teach me when you have time."
Free, my foot. I had plenty of my own business to attend to. I pulled Lyla's waist in tighter against me. Only then did her mouth finally snap shut; she buried her chin, and I quickened the steps.
"Going faster now."
"...Yes."
So a firm grip on the waist was the trick after all. Chuckling down at the newly quiet Lyla, I danced faster and faster to the music.
The dancing was done, and nothing remained. A few people did invite Lyla and me to the next dance, but I had no particular desire to keep going.
"You staying to enjoy it a while longer?"
"No, I was thinking of heading in soon myself."
It was well past evening. A deep sleep tonight meant an easy early start tomorrow. Neither Lyla nor I had any thought of lingering, so we made our way back to the Eastern Merchant Guild.
"Then, I'll be counting on you again tomorrow."
"Right. Sleep well."
"Hehe. I think tonight's dreams will be good ones."
I walked Lyla all the way to her door. She said being escorted anywhere was a first for her, yet she didn't refuse — smiling her pleasure, she wished me goodnight and slipped inside.
A long day. Time I got to sleep too. I turned my steps toward my quarters — and there was Sowol, swinging her sword in the moonlight.
"Still up?"
"You're late, Master?"
And there went her mouth again, jutting out like a duck's bill. What was with the pout? Something had clearly displeased her; Sowol, sulking in the plainest possible way, fixed me with a sharp glare.
"Did you have fun with Lyla?"
"Fun? There was none of that."
I was keeping a promise, that was all. Seated where I was, I beckoned to Sowol.
"Again. Show me."
"...Yes, Master."
Sulking, Sowol swung her sword once more. Moonlight Wave, and Moonlight Flash. Dancing her sword dance on those two forms alone, Sowol lowered her blade.
"The movements feel awkward, don't they? That's because I haven't mastered my third form. Once I learn my third form, Moonlight Dance, I'll be much more at home in the sword dance."
"When can I learn it?"
"At your current level? You could learn it in no time."
Sowol's talent was the real deal. Judged on talent alone, she wouldn't fall a single step behind even the protagonists of Ragnarok. She absorbed everything I taught like a sponge drinking water, then went and applied it on her own — before long, she would have the entire Moonlight Sword Style mastered.
"...Then I could take my time learning it."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just because. There are other things I'd like to learn, too."
Other things. There wasn't much else for me to teach, truth be told. The sayings of some ancient sage, perhaps?
"I want to learn to dance too. I heard you taught Lyla?"
"And how exactly did you hear about that?"
She should have been at the lord's castle at the time?
"Everyone knows, you know? How the two of you were happily holding hands and dancing somewhere very, very secluded."
Word traveled fast. Not that there was anything to hide.
"There are plenty of people who could teach you dancing better than I could."
Sowol was the heiress of the Eastern Merchant Guild, a trading syndicate of continental scale. Which meant she would be mingling with noble houses often in the years to come. Entering high society would be only natural along the way, and if she didn't want to humiliate herself when that day came, she would need to learn to dance properly. I could teach her, of course, but next to a professional instructor I would fall short. So it seemed better for her to learn from them instead, and yet...
"I want to learn from you, Master."
"Then there's nothing to be done. We start now."
"What? Now?"
"It's only the level I know, so you'll have it down on the spot."
I took the flustered Sowol by the hand and led her. There was no music to be had, but the chirping of crickets and the sigh of the wind would serve as a melody of nature's own making.
"Th-this is all a bit sudden..."
"What are you on about? You're the one who asked to be taught. You know the basic steps at least, don't you?"
I'd heard it from So Jung-yang over drinks once — among the tutors who'd come before me, there had apparently been one who taught refinements like dance. He hadn't lasted more than a few days, I was told. Still, with Sowol's talent, a passing exposure would be enough to manage the basics.
"Huh? Yes."
That's what I thought.
"Then follow me."
I took Sowol's small hand and laid my other palm against her slender waist. Only then did she stiffen, rigid as a board — after all her flustered dithering a moment ago.
"Come in a little closer."
"L-like this?"
"That's it."
I tightened the arm around Sowol. Her small frame fit neatly into my embrace. A lovely scent tickled my nose. Had she dabbed on perfume, perhaps?
"Here we go. One. Two. Three. Four."
"Mmnh..."
Even as a faint moan slipped from her, Sowol followed my steps without a hitch. Huh? At this rate, there was hardly anything left to teach her.
"I wish time would just stop like this..."
How was I supposed to answer something that troublesome?