Prince Francis lazily watched all the girls in the ballroom. So far, there was no one he was interested in; his focus was only on the one who looked nervous and trembling. In the middle of the dance, he intends to deliberately make a mistake to look like his partner's mistake.
Firstly, there was no way he would ask out a girl from a famous noble family who must be an expert dancer. Secondly, there was no way he would ask an older person because surely, if something happened, people would probably see him as the problem.
After looking at several girls, he finally found some suitable candidates.
"Sabine, when does the dancing start?" Francis asked.
Sabine unrolled the paper in her hand and then she said...
"According to the program, you will do it after the other queens and princes enter the room."
'In that case, I'd better ask her before the event actually starts; I don't want the queen and my brothers to notice how I choose my partner,' Francis thought.
Sighing, he took another look at all the royals in the room, then thought,
'Look at those girls, all dressed up in such a way to meet me, but none of them knows that I don't care at all. Hahaha, how pathetic. Woman weren't really important to my life in the first place; rather than thinking about them, I'd rather focus on swordsmanship. Well... if there's someone prettier than my sister, Alicia, I might think about it. Although I doubt it...'
Just as he was thinking about it, the last guest entered...
"EARL BOLDENVILLE HAS ARRIVED AT PALACE!"
Felicia glided into the ballroom; all eyes were upon her. Prince Francis had been greeting guests when he first saw Felicia. He had heard rumors that the young woman was stunning, but nothing had prepared him for the sight before his eyes. As Felicia drew nearer, his heart rate quickened, and he couldn't help but stare.
The prince was used to being the center of attention and was the party's main star, but with Felicia's arrival, he suddenly felt overshadowed. He should have been angry or jealous, but he found himself in awe of her beauty. It wasn't just her dress that was captivating; it was her face and the way she carried herself with grace and confidence; Francis found that Felicia's face was much more beautiful than the dress she was wearing.
'I-I should ask her...' Francis, who thought that girls were just people to be used, immediately changed when he saw Felicia. He was smitten and knew he had to find a way to capture her attention. For the prince, nothing else mattered but the captivating beauty of Felicia. Now his mind was immediately filled with the feeling of asking her to dance, which made him not think about the people around him.
He walked quickly toward Felicia. Then nervously, he stopped in front of Felicia and gave his hand to her.
"W-WO-WOU-WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE WITH ME?!"
'Oh no! I accidentally bit my tongue! Do I look pathetic in her eyes?!' Francis thought. He closed his eyes, not daring to look at Felicia before him. Whereas he could usually maintain his confidence and assume that everyone was beneath him, suddenly all his confidence was gone in front of Felicia. Moreover, he lacked noble manners and didn't even know Felicia already had a partner. He now only wanted to ask her to dance.
As for Felicia, she was currently at a loss as to what she should do.
She didn't want... REALLY didn't want—to accept the prince's hand.
She feared she would make a mistake if she didn't dance with Allen first.
The problem was that he was the prince; there was no way she could refuse the prince's invitation. People would consider the Boldenville family to be very rude to the royal family.
'Prince?! Why would you offer me a dance when I'm already holding someone else's hand? Doesn't he know about this? Or is it possible that my honor to his party is being tested?! What should I do?!'
He didn't know, and he didn't see. He probably didn't care about it either.
Then when she saw Francis, who seemed to be inviting her sincerely, Felicia saw Allen. Allen, who understood the situation, immediately released Felicia's hand.
Felicia, who had no other choice, accepted Francis' hand.
Francis, who felt the sensation of Felicia's hand, immediately raised his face with excitement. He became delighted that Felicia accepted his invitation, without knowing that everyone in the room could not refuse his invitation.
"I will gladly dance with you, your highness," Felicia said softly.
Francis immediately stood up straight. And he stiffly replied
"Th-thank you, Lady..."
"Felicia..."
"My name is Felicia Ayde Boldenville," Felicia said.
Allen stepped back to where Rachel and Carla were standing, then in a small voice, he said,
"At this rate, I won't have to praise her anymore, right?"
"No, you must. Look for any time, just today you must praise the lady as I said," Rachel replied with her horrible smile.
As she held Prince Francis' hand, Felicia realized that Francis was nervous. And that made Felicia's mind wander to her childhood trauma once again. The memory of their stare and laughter still lingered deep inside her, causing a lump in her throat.
The atmosphere was filled with high expectations, and every eye was upon them. Felicia didn't want to disappoint him by declining his dance, but her anxiety was rising.
Francis gently took Felicia's hand and led her to the center to prepare for the dance. Felicia took heavy steps, trying hard not to sweat, but it was unavoidable. Now Felicia's hands were also shaking slightly from fear. The stares of the people repeatedly pierced Felicia's confidence.
But suddenly...
Just as they were about to start moving, she felt someone grabbing her right hand from behind. Her body tensed up, causing the prince's steps to come to a sudden halt. Felicia Slowly turning around
It was Allen...
Felicia found herself face to face with Allen
Who had conspicuously pulled Felicia's right hand in front of everyone.
"What are you doing Allen?" she muttered, feeling confused and somewhat surprised by his sudden intrusion.
Allen then slowly opened his mouth and said,
ƥαṇdαηθνε| "Felicia… t-today... you look..." but he couldn't say it very well... Allen had an expression that Felicia had never seen before, and she didn't understand what kind of expression it was.
And somehow when she saw his face, the nervousness that Felicia had been feeling earlier instantly disappeared, replaced by nervousness at what Allen would say that time. She had never seen Allen act this way before, and she couldn't help but feel drawn to him in that moment. His expression was a mix of nervousness and sincerity, and she struggled to figure out what he was trying to tell her. As she waited for him to say something, her heart was racing.
Allen then continued...
"Today you look beaut-" but before Allen could finish, someone else cut him off,
"What are you doing? Pulling someone else's partner's hand like that?" asked Francis, who wondered why he was trying to interrupt his time with Felicia.
'You did more or less the same thing when you asked me to dance, your highness' Felicia thought, responding to Prince Francis' words.
Allen sighed, realizing he couldn't say it any longer; he then looked Felicia in the eyes and said
"Rachel said you've been practicing well so far, and unlike before, she's not your only friend in here this time," Allen ignored Francis, which irritated him, but Francis had gotten the answer to his question.
"Rachel..." murmured Felicia with relief, then she continued, "Is that all?"
"She also told me that you look nervous and won't be able to dance well. Is that true? If it's true, then you're terrible; I didn't expect you to mess everything up after so much practice. So what's the point of forcing me to practice the dance with you? What a fool..."
Francis immediately got angry at Allen "Hey! Who do you think you are to say such a thing-"
"Hahaha...." Francis' anger instantly dissipated as Felicia suddenly chuckled; he was surprised to see Felicia's reaction, and that smile again captured Francis' heart.
Allen was also surprised, even though he thought that Felicia would scold him, but she laugh instead.
"You're right, Allen. If I'm still messing up after that crazy training, I must be stupid."
Then Felicia continued
"Allen, You may leave, but for speaking presumptuously in front of me, prepare for your punishment."
It's a lie.
Allen knows that… He placed his left hand on his chest, bowed his head, and then returned to Rachel's.
"Your highness, please forgive my knight's conduct; he is indeed that type of person; I will punish him later," Felicia said.
"N-no problem! That kind of thing doesn't bother me at all!" Francis replied nervously.
In the back, Allen stood again near Rachel and Carla, more precisely behind Reynold and Ayde.
"So, how was it? Did you say it?" asked Rachel.
"I couldn't; that banana-haired kid got in my way," Allen replied.
"Well, that means you'll have to whisper it at the dance," Carla continued.
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