An Even Number Makes the Perfect Pair
The number worked out perfectly since it was even.
I was paired with Lady Regia, while Ivetta was paired with Lady Rosina.
Naturally, that left Lady Harper and Beth as the remaining pair.
“Looks like I’m paired with Lady Harper.”
Beth extended her hand, but Lady Harper let out a scream.
“Kyaaak! Where do you think you’re putting those filthy hands… mmph!”
Once again, Lady Harper was a beat too late in covering her mouth.
“Lady Harper, that’s a bit too ha—”
Lady Regia began to scold her with a serious expression, only to freeze mid-sentence.
Beth’s hand really was rather dirty.
She must have wiped her fingers on her hand after eating that thick, sticky chocolate mousse cake, because there were dark smudges all over it.
Having noticed her poorly cleaned hand only after Lady Harper’s shriek, Beth grumbled.
“It’s just chocolate. It’s not like it’s something else.”
“Kkyuuuup.”
She managed to muffle the scream this time, but it somehow sounded even more desperate than before.
Lady Harper looked like she had seen something horrifying, her eyes even welling up with tears. Beth, trying to be helpful, clarified exactly what she meant by ‘something else.’
“I mean like paint or something.”
Despite Beth’s efforts, Lady Harper remained frozen in shock.
Even if she didn’t have a cleanliness obsession, Beth’s hand was in a state that made holding it slightly off-putting.
Lady Harper stared at Beth’s hand with wide, terrified eyes, as if afraid it might actually touch her.
“I’ll go wash my hands. That should be fine, right?”
Noticing the look, Beth offered a compromise.
“You have to wash with soap for at least thirty seconds.”
Only then did Lady Harper’s expression soften a little.
“No, I’ll just go with you.”
Lady Harper followed her, determined to make sure Beth washed her hands properly.
About ten minutes later, Beth returned with squeaky-clean hands.
Only then did the actual lesson begin.
Lady Harper turned out to be quite a gentle person once basic standards of cleanliness were met.
“Sorry for screaming earlier.”
While teaching Beth the basic steps of the waltz, Lady Harper apologized in a small voice.
“It’s okay.”
It was a surprisingly straightforward reconciliation.
I watched the two adorable girls of the same age with a warm smile, only to miss a step.
I quickly moved my foot before I could step on Lady Regia’s.
Ivetta, who had been secretly watching me since I was a little ahead, thought it was part of the move and copied it.
“There is no such step.”
Lady Rosina, Ivetta’s partner who had witnessed the whole thing, burst into loud laughter.
It was a time filled with endless laughter.
That night.
I had come out to the terrace early.
I was waiting for Everett, who had run away last night.
‘How could he just leave like that?’
I grumbled while scanning the garden that was growing darker by the minute.
I deliberately didn’t think about how I had done something similar once.
That was then, and this was now.
As I stared at the garden with my eyes wide open like a scout, I spotted Everett walking slowly from afar.
He was definitely coming to see me, but his steps kept stopping and starting again, as if reflecting how heavy his heart felt.
‘I know exactly how he feels.’
I quietly gave Everett time to feel embarrassed.
After briefly looking up at the sky to gather himself, his pace quickened again.
I waited until he was close enough before speaking.
“Ed.”
I kept my voice low enough that only Everett could hear, having learned from yesterday.
He must not have expected me to be out here.
Everett turned his head toward the sound, and when our eyes met, his pupils shook.
“Lina.”
He called my name carefully, watching my reaction.
“Come inside first.”
I smiled and led Everett into the drawing room.
He entered hesitantly.
‘Why is he so cute again?’
In the end, I decided to let last night’s incident go.
We were even now—each of us had done it once.
Having made up my mind, I pulled Everett into a tight hug, paying him back with interest for yesterday.
“Ed.”
It was such a deep embrace that our bodies pressed together without a single gap.
Everett froze with his arms floating awkwardly in the air, completely at a loss.
Then he gradually grew warmer.
Only then did I realize why he had run away like that yesterday.
“We practiced social dancing today.”
I naturally changed the subject to everyday conversation and released him.
As if I hadn’t noticed anything.
Fortunately, once he was free from my arms, Everett’s heat cooled down quickly.
The sudden silence felt awkward, so I kept babbling on without end.
“It had been so long since I last danced that it was harder than I expected.”
The young ladies who served as maids had been right to worry.
It had been far too long since I learned to dance, so I was only slightly better than Ivetta or Beth.
At first, Everett seemed to be only half-listening, but he gradually regained his focus.
“You could have practiced with me.”
Everett sounded regretful.
“I can still practice with you, Ed.”
I had also received a magic tool that played music so I could get used to the dance pieces.
I immediately activated the device that I had tossed aside after hours of exhausting practice.
It was one of the songs I had learned all day.
I felt pretty confident about this one.
When I smiled, Everett smiled back.
He held out his hand to me.
“My lady, would you do me the honor of granting me a dance with you?”
It was almost the same line Lady Rosina had used playfully when asking for a dance.
But unlike hers, there was a simple elegance to it.
‘So this is what being blinded by love feels like.’
I smiled and placed my hand over his.
“Gladly.”
Everett wrapped his arm around my waist.
I had thought we might be at similar levels, but he was surprisingly skilled.
‘Must be because he has good athletic reflexes.’
As the music played, my confidence began to dwindle.
It was the same song I had practiced all day, but it didn’t feel the same at all.
‘I guess I practiced dancing with Lady Regia.’
Dancing with Everett, who was much taller than Lady Regia, made things start to feel awkward.
“I might step on your feet.”
I warned him while clumsily following his lead.
“You can step on them as much as you want.”
Everett smiled and gave permission.
Feeling more at ease, I grew a little more confident than before.
My gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, finally lifted to Everett. As the tension left my body, I leaned in, and we pressed even closer together.
Everett must have been looking only at me the whole time, because our eyes met instantly.
At the same time, both of us stopped moving.
The magic tool continued to play the song.
It felt as if time had frozen in that moment.
The mood was soft and sweet, and there were only the two of us here.
I had even carefully locked the door in case there were any intruders like yesterday.
I slowly lowered my eyelids.
Even without seeing, I could feel Everett’s passionate gaze on me, burning hot.
I pretended to be relaxed, but I was incredibly tense.
To stop myself from opening my eyes and pulling away, I secretly clenched my fists.
Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long.
Everett’s breath was drawing closer little by little.
Just before our breaths could blend into one, an intruder appeared.
It was the communication artifact, gleaming with an ominous light.
Edwin bit his lip as he stared at the artifact that had no sense of timing.
If Lina hadn’t been right in front of him, he might have spat out the kind of crude curses common among mercenaries in the back alleys.
But Lina was standing right there.
Edwin smoothed out his vicious expression and forced a smile.
Then, with his hands behind his back, he crushed the clock-shaped artifact with sheer grip strength, silencing it, before stuffing it into his pocket and hiding it.
It would be hard to fix, but he didn’t care.
Edwin was feeling slightly twisted at the moment.
The mood was already ruined anyway.
The person connected to this artifact was Kylus.
Kylus knew he had gone to meet Lina.
If he was using this artifact—which was only for emergencies—in this situation, there had to be some kind of problem.
And if there wasn’t a problem, Edwin was more than willing to create one himself.
Lina, who had roughly guessed the situation from the constantly shifting expressions on Edwin’s face, asked carefully.
“Is it urgent?”
He wanted to say no.
There was nothing more urgent to him than Lina.
But he couldn’t be that irresponsible man in front of those worried purple eyes.
“Probably.”
Edwin answered reluctantly.
“Then go ahead.”
His generous lover sent him off with a smile.
Even though he was the one who had said it was urgent, he felt incredibly upset.
Edwin gave Lina’s lips a short kiss, then turned around with heavy, unwilling steps.
‘Let’s see what this big deal is.’
Edwin clenched his teeth.
Fortunately for Kylus—and unfortunately for Edwin—a truly serious matter had occurred.
With a face as white as a sheet, Peony leaned deeply into the sofa in the Emperor’s drawing room.
Her stomach was churning.
“Ugh.”
Everett, who was sitting right beside her, fidgeted anxiously, his eyes darting back and forth between the door and Peony.