Chapter 37

The next day, I contacted Grandfather Capeldeor and Carusien to let them know I would need to carve out some time for the ball, and both of them accepted my words, saying they understood.

With no swordsmanship lessons or magic classes to worry about, I wanted to dive under my blankets for a whole week and go into “outside is dangerous” mode, but if I did that, Armienne’s life might truly reach its end by the time the ball rolled around. So, together with Yul, I was in the middle of brainstorming inside my room.

“Yul, what should we do?”

“……….”

Yul simply tilted her head, as if she didn’t quite understand what I was talking about. Feeling rather embarrassed, I had no choice but to tell her the truth in order to get her help.

“I’ve completely forgotten how to dance.”

Yul paused for a moment as if pondering my words, then quickly accepted it.

“Hmm, I see.”

Huh? Her reaction was so subtle that it made it feel like this wasn’t even a big deal. Was it possible that Armienne had mistakenly thought she was great at dancing all along, when she was actually terrible with rhythm? However, the words Yul uttered next made me realize the situation had escalated into an even bigger crisis.

“Is it not a big deal? Right?”

Please, tell me it’s not a big deal. I actually want to live, you know.

“No, it is a major crisis. I am merely slightly surprised that you, Young Lady—once hailed as the Queen Baller—have forgotten how to dance.”

“………….”

Things had just gotten even more serious than before. The fact that Yul—who didn’t bat an eye at almost anything under normal circumstances—was even slightly surprised would be enough to make an ordinary person fall backward in shock.

What kind of ultra-hardcore difficulty quest is this?

Had I been spending my days too peacefully, causing the god of romance-fantasy to try and screw me over?

Should I just run away with Yul and Ahre?

Feeling utterly unconfident about dancing at the ball, a thought crossed my mind that it might be better to grab enough money to last a lifetime from the estate and flee far away with Ahre and Yul. But upon a moment’s reflection, if I did that, the probability of blowing through all the money on Ahre’s food expenses within a month was astronomically high. A future vividly painted itself in my imagination.

In a shabby house, Ahre clutched her belly and spoke to me.

[Mom, Ahre is hungry.]

Though an Ahre clutching her belly was undeniably cute, I was hungry too and broke, which would naturally make me snap in anger.

[If you hadn’t eaten 4 sheep, 2 cows, and 10 ducks every single day! And 20 bags of snacks as a dessert on top of that, things wouldn’t have turned out like this!]

At my outburst, Ahre would instantly burst into tears.

[Waaahhh, Mom is scary. Ahre just says she’s hungry.]

*Even in her tears, she would display a terrifying tenacity by refusing to give up on eating.
*
It was enough to give me goosebumps, even just imagining it.

As expected, giving up on running away was probably the right call. For the sake of Ahre’s appetite, I couldn’t possibly leave this place. That meant what I needed to do was master either the waltz or the tango so well within a week before the ball that onlookers would gasp in sheer awe.

Easier said than done—turning a total clutz into a ballroom queen in a single week felt like it would be easier to feel warmth from the water in a distant lake.

“What should we do, Yul?”

At my words, Yul pondered for a moment before offering a solution.

“Now that I think of it, I believe I once heard that the Magic Tower possesses a pair of shoes which grants anyone who wears them the ability to dance better than anyone else.”

“That’s it!”

If such a convenient item existed, she should have told me sooner. Why hadn’t she mentioned it? I was about to contact the Magic Tower immediately to secure them, but then I put down the communication magic crystal after hearing Yul’s follow-up.

“However, because they place such an extreme emphasis on dancing, I heard that the moment you put the shoes on, you end up dancing continuously until the day you die.”

“Is that a magical item? It’s cursed.”

“I suppose so.”

Sometimes, there were moments when even Yul seemed like she was teasing me, and this was precisely one of those times. Trying to trick me into wearing a cursed item disguised under the name of a magical item—or did she perhaps just want to take pictures of me dancing like a madman while wearing a cursed item?

I gazed at her with a slightly suspicious look, but Yul’s expressionless face didn’t twitch a single muscle.

“In that case, the best method is undoubtedly to learn from the greatest dance instructor. Fortunately, a person exceptionally skilled at dancing resides right here within this estate. Moreover, they are on very close terms with the Young Lady.”

As expected, was there truly no other way? I let out a heavy sigh and steeled my resolve to gather my strength. Still, having an instructor close by was better than nothing. Things had come to this, so I had no choice. For the sake of my own life!

“Alright. How hard could dancing be? But by the way, who is this close person?”

At my question, Yul kindly explained.

“It is Lord Heinel, who is well known to the Young Lady and is also referred to as a King Baller, just as you are called a Queen Baller. As expected, since the two of you are family, you share the exact same innate talent.”

Good grief.

Recalling Heinel’s wildcat-like glare from earlier, the determination I had felt just moments ago vanished completely, and along with it went any desire to learn. It truly felt like I should pack my bags tonight and run away by myself.

However, no matter how much I thought about it, since I had no choice but to learn from that damn Heinel, I hardened my resolve to swallow my pride and bow my head.

Thus, I knocked on Heinel’s door—something I had never once done in all my time living here.

Knock, knock.

“Who is it?”

At his arrogant tone boasting absolute supremacy under the heavens, my expression instantly twisted in disgust, but telling myself that I was the one who needed a favor, I suppressed it and opened my mouth with a sweet voice.

“Older Brother, it’s me, Armienne.”

The second he heard my voice, Heinel let out a snort.

“Hmph, you must have a favor to ask. Whatever it is, buzz off.”

My fists were itching. I wanted to kick the door open right this second and shove a Fire Arrow right into Heinel’s face. Yet I couldn’t back down like this. My life was on the line.

“Hey, what kind of talk is that? Brother.”

When I used one of the ultimate terms men loved—the word “oppa/brother”—which was one of the methods I had used to break down Father, shrieks could suddenly be heard echoing from inside.

“Aack, to think a blockhead like you would call me brother is giving me goosebumps so severe they’re growing all the way up to the sky. Perhaps because your intelligence level is equivalent to a single-celled bacterium, you seem unable to comprehend my words. Let this body graciously spell it out for you one more time: get away from here immediately because you’re repulsive. To put it in a single phrase: buzz off, you good-for-nothing.”

His choice of words was simply foul. To be frank, I hadn’t imagined a living being could make someone feel this profoundly unpleasant. Even though I wasn’t looking at his face directly and was just listening quietly, strength surged throughout my entire body, and a murderous aura welled up. I could suddenly understand the minds of criminals who committed impulsive murders to the point where I understood how someone could be driven to kill.

If he was going to come at me like this, I couldn’t afford to act like a gentleman anymore. I decided to pull out my ultimate trump card.

“I’m going to tell Mother. That my brother ignored my request. Let’s see you try treating me like a bacterium right in front of Mother.”

“Grrr-chitter!”

The moment my words finished, the sound of teeth grinding echoed from inside the room, and the door swung open. Standing there was Heinel, glaring straight at me without bothering to hide his annoyed expression.

“What is it? Spit it out.”

Seeing his face made me even more irritated.

“Brother. Please teach me how to dance.”

“What?”

That day, I decided to learn dancing from Heinel until the day of the ball.

On the third day since I began learning dance from Heinel, I realized I was wasting away day by day without needing any diet. The weight-loss effect was so phenomenal that I thought about utilizing this method on Ahre later.

At the same time, I was reaching my absolute limit just trying to suppress the murderous impulses boiling over dozens of times a day.

“Hmph—are you an idiot who can’t even dance unless I spell it out for you? I told you to dance naturally when the music plays! Right now it’s your right foot, not your left. You slipper-animal-like wench who doesn’t even know left from right! Teaching a stray beggar off the street would be preferable to instructing you.”

“………….”

Wondering if he studied how to insult people somewhere, his personal attacks grew increasingly scathing every single day, driving me to the brink of mental exhaustion. By now, I couldn’t even distinguish whether I was dancing or just getting chewed out.

As a result, I began dancing subconsciously. Perhaps the habits ingrained in Armienne’s body were finally surfacing… was complete nonsense. I was simply moving naturally out of sheer self-preservation from being cursed at.

“Right, turn naturally from there! Spin turn! Chasse! Whisk! Natural turn! Well, I suppose you can manage a bit of a waltz now. Or perhaps your originally acquired skills are finally returning to you? Tsk. To think you’re an idiot who managed to forget things you had mastered entirely.”

His words of praise never failed to omit an insult. How could a person possibly be like this? Perhaps because Mother was a villainess, Heinel was a demon wrapped in pure malice.

Yet, a moment later, I found myself startled by the fact that I had actually been dancing. It felt like a surprisingly decent sensation. Though my body ached and sweat streamed down, my mind felt refreshed in a way that was entirely different from when I swung a sword.

“What are you standing around dazed for? Since I taught you, it would be abnormal if you couldn’t at least manage that much. Now that you’ve got it, let’s move on to the next step.”

“Yes.”

Just to see that damn bastard’s face drop in shock, I would dance my absolute best. I clenched my teeth tight once more and began moving my feet in rhythm with the steps.

“Phew, why are you messing up again what you were doing just a moment ago! Your form keeps shifting around like an amoeba! I could believe you contained all the characteristics of single-celled organisms!”

Unintentionally memorizing the names of every single-celled organism on earth, I spent yet another day learning dance while enduring stress. And with time flying by in a flash, the day of the ball finally arrived.