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As time passed, the banquet was just around the corner. It was too much to provide all the education on becoming a Grand Duchess in a short time.
Dana was learning what could be used at the banquet right away.
“1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, wow, bravo! You’re amazing.”
Dance instructor Paul was teaching this next Grand Duchess with all his heart and soul. He cared more about fashion than usual. His gray hair was oiled and turned all the way backward, and he wore white pants that stretched to his hips.
I don’t know what’s going on in the world. Who knows? If he’ll be a lover of the Grand Duchess.
Again, he had a weak sense of chastity. His biggest goal in life was to catch the eyes of the lady and bloom his fortune and now was that opportunity.
“Was it really okay?”
When Dana smiled shyly at Paul’s compliment, he smiled and grabbed Dana’s fingertip.
Paul had even worn an extremely expensive perfume for today. Until he came here, he had only thought about what he liked about the Great Depression. But that wasn’t the case anymore.
After seeing Dana in person, his heart boiled up.
“Sure, that was great. I can’t believe it’s your first time dancing. Now… Hold my hand. Like this. A little closer.”
Dana’s dance skills were not as bad as he thought. At first, she looked quite lost, but as he began to teach little by little, she quickly began to learn and follow. The basic lesson was over within the morning, and now he was teaching how to dance with an actual partner.
“Oh, I think this is too close.”
“This dance is to look at each other with your bodies completely close together. Relax your body and follow me…”
Using the lesson as an excuse, Paul deliberately stuck close to her. He subconsciously gulped while staring into the blue eyes looking up at him from below.
He had taught many women to dance, but today was the first time his heart was so nervous.
Still, he tried to pull himself together and put his hand lightly on her waist. The feeling of her tight waist against his palm clouded his reason.
“…”
Dana, who had been moving according to his lead for a while, stopped there with a firm expression.
“What are you doing? Why all of a sudden?”
“You’re rude. Raise your hand now.”
“Oh.”
Paul was unknowingly lowering his hand to Dana’s butt. Dana took two steps back and slapped him.
Paul’s face turned sideways with a chirping sound. He just blinked with a blank expression.
“You don’t have to come back. I’ll pay the lesson fee for today, so leave.”
“I’m sorry…! I’m just, I’m just, you’re so beautiful…”
Paul dropped to his knees and grabbed Dana’s dress. A cold voice flew into his ears followed by dull footsteps.
“What are you doing right now?”
“…Leon.”
Dana quickly shook off his hand, approached Leon, and grabbed him by the arm.
“I need to practice dancing a little more. Leon, will you be my practice partner?”
Leon, who was looking at Paul with cold eyes, nodded silently as if he had fallen for Dana’s sweet voice.
Dana stood facing Leon, took a posture and looked over her shoulder to Paul, and winked. Seeing it, Paul bowed his head with a swollen face and quietly left the place.
“Are you covering for him in front of me?”
“Uh, Leon…”
Leon hugged Dana tightly, biting hard on her earlobe with a grudge.
“Because you always try to kill…”
“He deserves to die because he dared to covet you.”
The lips along her neckline told her what would happen next. Still, Dana was silently relieved knowing that she had saved someone’s life.
However, the news that Paul was transferred to the army that day and sent to a rugged border area was only delivered to Dana much later in the future.
* * *
Dana opened the window a little to let out the hot air from the carriage.
“Oh…”
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the capital of the Haschel Empire and were heading to the Imperial Palace. Lights were installed on every road to the palace, shining brightly.
As she glanced at it, she was a little surprised by the light hug on her shoulder and looked back.
“We’ll be there soon. Are you ready?”
When Leon asked, Dana came to her senses, straightened out her crumpled skirt, and straightened her hair.
The fact that her appearance, which had been perfectly set up when she first started, was a little messy may have been foreseen from the moment she was in the same space with Leon.
“Am I okay? Is there anything out of place?”
Dana was a little anxious because there was no mirror in the carriage. When she asked carefully, Leon smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ears.
“It’s not okay…”
Dana glanced at him. She waited to hear something more, but she couldn’t afford it because the carriage had arrived.
“Get off.”
Dana was dazzlingly beautiful, so Leon couldn’t bear it and said that he wanted to lock her up in the castle and keep her to himself always.
Outside, the door of the carriage opened and they were greeted by the courtesy of the knights. There was a red carpet from their feet at the entrance to the banquet hall.
Leon stepped down first and reached out to Dana. People outside murmured and guessed about the person inside.
Since it was known to the capital that Leon was coming with someone, the social world had been noisy every day, guessing who the person was.
“Oh my, there… she’s coming out.”
When the white and small hands gently took Leon’s hand, the surroundings quickly became quiet.
Everyone held their breath and paid attention to them as if time had stopped for Dana and Leon. Dana got off the wagon with Leon’s help, with a nervous expression.
Dana was really beautiful today.
She was wearing a dress with silver embroidery over the wide sky blue skirt. In the light, her shiny golden hair curled and swayed over her celestial shoulders.
“Who is… Do you know? Milady?”
“I don’t know. It’s my first time seeing the Young Lady.”
Dana was stiff and her mouth dried up at the sounds around her. But soon, her neck and earlobe flushed from the low rumbling voice in her ears.
“That’s too bad, I could have gone one more time if we had arrived a little late. Hang in there now, I can’t do it here.”
Surprised, she turned around and looked at Leon, and he looked away with an icy and calm expression as if he hadn’t said such a thing.
“Grab me, keep your mind straight from now on.”
Leon held her hand firmly and tucked it under his arm.