“Would you honor me with a dance?”
Amos stared blankly at Princess Evelyn.
What the heck is she even saying? Are you speaking grench or something.
His brain stopped functioning temporarily.
“Elena,” Amos thought desperately.
“Yes.”
“Am I hallucinating?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“SHIT.”
Princess Evelyn still stood there gracefully with her hand slightly extended toward him like someone absolutely aware she had just shortened his lifespan by a large mount.
Amos mentally replayed every choice that had brought him to this point.
He found none at all.
Then why?
“Young Master Kyros?” Princess Evelyn asked softly again.
People waited for a response.
Turning down the Crown Princess in public was clearly out of the question. Hierarchy is fucked from the one on the bottom tier. Gentlemen, this is hierarchy manifest. Why did you do this to me? For what reason? What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent imperial meal? GET OFF MY BACK! LEAVE ME ALONEEEEEEEEE.
“It would be my honor, Your Highness.”
Amos placed his hand carefully into hers.
Whispers exploded throughout the ballroom.
“The princess invited him herself?”
“But why him?!”
“Since when they have known each other?”
“Is House Kyros getting even closer to the imperial family?”
Amos wished he could vanish. If it were possible, he’d leap out of any window, but sadly, that just wasn’t an option.
Princess Evelyn guided him toward the center of the ballroom with perfect elegance while Amos followed like a condemned criminal marching toward execution.
As they took position beneath the chandeliers, the orchestra resumed smoothly.
Then the dance began.
“….”
“….”
Amos focused with absolute seriousness. One dance, then I will get away from here with Elena and Ambrosia, no one can stop him then even if it's the emperor himself.
...
Fortunately for Amos, His grandmother had once declared:
“A noble who can’t dance is just a public embarrassment of the family.”
Then forced him through months of training personally.
At the time Amos thought she was overly dramatic but truly his grandmother might just had saved his life.
Princess Evelyn blinked slightly during their first few steps.
“You dance surprisingly well.”
“My grandmother pushed me to train really hard.”
“That sounds wholesome.”
“She is a very wholesome and lively person.”
The princess laughed softly.
The moment she laughed, Amos felt as if he’d stepped closer to a guillotine. The Crown Princess laughing while dancing with him was terrible for his heart. Meanwhile, Princess Evelyn looked genuinely amused.
Amos carefully maintained proper eye contact for exactly two seconds before instinctively looking away again.
Unfortunately, he immediately noticed the princess smiling slightly afterward.
Just what the hell is wrong with her?
Did he make a mistake? No. His posture was right, his steps precise, and his hand placement spot-on. Everything was technically flawless as it can be. How could it not. Amos is giving his all in this dance.
So why did it feel like he was sinking further into a rabbit hole?
“You were trying to escape earlier,” Princess Evelyn said calmly.
“I was not.”
“You were walking toward the exit.”
“I was going to enjoy fresh air.”
“With your sister and maid?”
“Family bonding.”
The princess looked unconvinced, understandably so. Amos sighed inwardly. This banquet was wearing him down. From the moment the princess arrived, the evening had been steadily unraveling.
The emperor noticed his mana despite the concealment ring.
His father exposed the fact he personally chose the bracelet.
Princess Evelyn somehow interpreted everything strangely and now he was dancing with her in front of the entire empire’s nobility.
Terrible, nothing seems to be going his way.
Meanwhile Evelyn’s misunderstanding continued evolving rapidly.
From her perspective, Amos kept avoiding eye contact and acted nervous around her specifically.
Tried escaping the ballroom after she noticed him and now looked visibly tense while dancing with her.
“He really is nervous around me,” Evelyn thought quietly.
Which only strengthened her earlier conclusion.
Cute.
Meanwhile Amos was having an entirely different internal dialogue.
“If I fake my death right now, would father notice?”
“Yes,” Elena that exist only inside his mind answered instantly.
“Terrifying.”
Princess Evelyn tilted her head slightly.
“Did you say something?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“You seem troubled.”
“I simply was thinking about something.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“Someone.”
For a brief moment, Princess Evelyn let out a genuine laugh once more.
He must be happy being able to dance with me. Oh, how kind I am being able to fulfill his dream.
Amos looked away immediately afterward.
The dance continued smoothly beneath the golden lights while whispers spread endlessly across the hall.
“The princess chose him herself.”
“They look close.”
“Did something happen between them?”
“House Kyros truly cannot be understood…”
Amos wanted to clear things up right away. It was all just a misunderstanding.
The moment he looked over at Princess Evelyn again—
She gave him a soft, warm smile.
As if she’d just done the world a favor.
“….”
A sudden wave of danger washed over Amos.
Somehow, without really knowing why, He thinks that.
This girl must be misunderstanding something about him and he doesn't like that.
(Ambrosia POV)
Ambrosia lingered at the edge of the ballroom, half concealed behind a marble pillar wrapped in rich imperial silk.
“He’s actually dancing,” Ambrosia murmured under her breath.
Elena stood calmly beside her, eyes fixed on the center of the ballroom, her expression as composed as ever.
“Young Master is performing decently.”
Ambrosia blinked.
“Decently?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched her brother move.
“That’s not decent,” Ambrosia said slowly. “That’s good.”
Elena tilted her head slightly.
“Is Lady Ambrosia impressed?”
Ambrosia immediately answered.
“No.”
A moment passed, and then she spoke with genuine honesty:
“Yes.”
Elena kept her eyes on Amos.
“He was trained by the old duchess.”
That made Ambrosia pause.
“Hm.”
Elena expression softened slightly as memories surfaced.
She was an elderly woman known for her kindness and loved by everyone, the one who spoiled Amos rotten. Yet, strangely, this was one of the few things she made Amos accept without taking no for an answer.
“You are moving like you just broken your legs!”
Smack.
“Again!”
Elena cherished that memory.
“She insisted he need to learn court dance alongside etiquette and manner. Said that ‘He might embarrass his partner if he doesn't know such simple things in the future, and it could even keep him from getting married.’”
“She personally corrected his posture until it was perfect.”
Ambrosia glanced back at Amos.
He kept perfect time with the music, matching the Crown Princess’s lead effortlessly and without pause. His expression showed nothing but complete dedication.
“So that’s why he can do that,” Ambrosia said quietly.
Elena responded without looking away from the dance.
“Yes. He really dislikes it.”
Ambrosia blinked.
“He does?”
“Yes, he tried to get the old duchess to stop forcing him to take the dance lesson by bribing her.”
Ambrosia stared.
“That sounds like him.”
Elena continued.
“But the old duchess said something that made him stop resisting.”
Ambrosia turned slightly.
“What did she say?”
Elena finally looked at her.
“She told him that if he cannot dance properly, she will stop giving him allowances and gifts”
Ambrosia went quiet.
For a moment, only the music filled the air.
Then she slowly looked back at Amos.
“So, he learned it for only that simple reason.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
Ambrosia exhaled softly.
Across the ballroom, Amos turned slightly during the dance—just enough that Ambrosia could see his expression clearly for a brief moment.
He tried to signal something.
Prepare to run away soon