The music began.
The violins drew the first notes of the waltz in the air. The couples took the center of the hall. Silk, heels, and silky dresses and suits twirling.
The scent of the atmosphere was a combination of perfumes, as if you were in the middle of the most lush field of flowers and each one of them released its essence to the wind.
I stood still. Layda was by my side; she carried my folded cloak over her arm.
Lianza danced with Ardwyn. Her right hand in his. Her left on the royal shoulder. The distance between their bodies was just right. The permitted one.
However, I couldn't help being upset.
Nobody had the right to touch my Lianza.
Ardwyn was whispering something in her ear. I couldn't hear if she answered or not. I couldn't see the gesticulation of her lips due to her mask. The only thing I saw her do was look straight ahead, rigid against any movement that wasn't the waltz's.
I opened the status screen.
The violins kept playing when the screen opened before my eyes. Around me, the silk of the ladies' dresses caressed the polished floor.
[Active Mission: Dance with your Cloak Bearer for an entire waltz.]
[The music has already started. Tick tock, Romeo. ⏳]
Twelve measures. I had twelve measures to choose between my pride and Lianza's ankle.
There wasn't much to decide.
I remained standing, with Layda's hand about to rest on mine..., while the only person I cared about danced with the man who wanted to take her away from me.
"The music has already started," Layda said, with my cloak still folded over her arm.
"I know."
"Shall we?"
She signaled a nearby servant, who took the folded cloak. She offered her hand. She took it with a firmness I didn't expect from someone who, just a few days ago, tripped even over her own shadow going up some stairs.
Something clutched my stomach. Shame, maybe...? No. It was worse. Much worse.
It was the weight of the betrayal towards my Lianza that I was about to repeat, again, now in front of all of Mayorka, and that barely let me move.
[How gentlemanly. My heart breaks from the tenderness. 💔]
We walked to the center of the hall. I placed my right hand on her waist, with the care of someone touching a venomous animal. Not because I considered Layda dangerous. I wasn't sure of that yet. It was because touching her meant openly declaring my betrayal of Lianza.
Then my left hand touched hers.
"You can come a little closer," she said. "I don't have fangs."
"I'm fine like this."
"People will look."
She was right. I shortened the distance as little as possible. My pulse shot up in my neck: the woman dancing fifteen steps away, with the crown prince of Jahke holding her waist with too much confidence.
We started moving.
First mistake: I stepped on the hem of her dress. Second mistake: I turned half a measure late. Third mistake: my hand slipped a centimeter lower than it should have; I felt like the most despicable being and pulled it back so fast that a nearby count noticed and let out a stifled chuckle.
"Relax," she whispered. "Let me be the one to lead."
"The man is supposed to lead."
"The partner is supposed to not look away during the entire waltz."
Am I that obvious?
"You know?" she added, lowering her voice. "You should be more careful about who you smile at in public. People talk."
"I don't smile."
"You do. You smile when you think about her. Right now, for example."
Her almond eyes bore into me. One second. Two... And there it was again, that expression. The person in front of me was very different from the Layda I read about in the web novel, that innocent girl with a messy braid and an easy smile. It wasn't the first time, as she had the same expression the other day, when I asked her about the Analazze house's poisons and she returned the question biting back.
'And why don't you tell me what you know about the poisons, Dariel Elcronne?'
I also remembered that she, for a second, had stopped pretending she didn't know what I was talking about. Every time that crack in her expression appeared, it closed faster than the previous one. She was learning to hide from me better.
"Sorry," she said, blushing again. "I dance weird when I'm nervous."
[Curious. Our heroine also dances like boiling spaghetti. You are made for each other. 😏]
I didn't have time to think about the nonsense the System was telling me. The prince was whispering something in her ear, and I could see how Lianza dug her nails into his shoulder; she would surely leave a mark the next day. And even though she wore her fine crystal mask, I could appreciate the tremble in her lips.
I wanted to let go of Layda. Cross the entire hall. Push that hand away from Lianza's low waist even if it cost me the arm I did it with. I wanted to be in front of her and offer her relief with my caresses and words.
[Mission in progress. Abandoning her now counts as a failure. Are you sure you want to risk it, Romeo? 🙄]
I cursed. I kept dancing.
"Is everything alright?" Layda asked. "You went pale."
"I'm perfectly fine," I lied, just like I did the time I had my senses amplified to two thousand percent.
"You don't look like it."
"It's the heat of the hall. There are too many people."
Another lie. What wouldn't go away was the fear.
The waltz was nearing its end. The violins sped up, and with them, my chaotic steps. I stopped counting my steps on Layda's shoes and dress, and started counting the missing seconds, one by one.
Ten. Nine. Eight...
I looked for Lianza among the couples. I found her just as Ardwyn leaned her backwards in the final figure of the dance, his face centimeters from hers, the garnet crystal mask reflecting the golden lights of the ceiling. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss her right there, in front of all of Mayorka, and my chest tightened sharply, out of air.
Seven. Six. Five...
I didn't let go of Layda's hand. Even though I knew I couldn't, every muscle in my body screamed to cross that hall even if I had to step over every noble who got in the way.
He didn't. He straightened her up just as the violins stopped.
[Mission completed. Waltz finished without abandonment. Choose your reward:]
[A) 15 Affection Points → Layda]
[B) 15 Experience Points → Attribute of choice]
[C) 1 Mystery Item]
My fear moved towards option B. I needed strength, not the affection of a girl who wasn't my Lianza; much less an uncertain option that could perfectly be crap inside a beautifully wrapped gift box.
Four. Three. Two...
People started to stop their waltz.
I let go of Layda's hand and headed towards Lianza.
One...
A sound of trumpets invaded the room when the violins ceased. The kind of sound reserved only for important announcements.
The double doors at the back of the hall burst open, and a herald in Jahke's white coat with gold embroidery struck the floor three times with his staff.
Zero.
[Oh. How dramatic. I couldn't have planned it better myself. 🎭]
"His Majesty, King Varanian IV of Jahke!"
Everyone turned.
The entire hall fell into a reverent bow as one body, heads bowed, skirts gathered against the floor.
Only Lianza, still trapped in Ardwyn's arms, remained standing, looking defiantly at the king.