Of course, the dance time with Lecty couldn’t last forever, and the music stopped in less than ten minutes. Following the lead of those around me, I bowed and escorted Lecty back to Lily and the others.
“Welcome back, Lecty. I was watching,” Lily said.
“You looked like you were having fun, Lecty,” Rouge added.
Lecty nodded happily, “Yes! I was nervous, but since Hugh-san was with me! It was so much fun!”
“That’s wonderful. Hugh, you did a great job too. It was quite a novel and unique dance,” Lily said.
“Are you indirectly saying I was terrible?” I asked.
“Don’t be so cynical. In these kinds of events, the one who enjoys themselves wins, right? Honestly, I was a little envious of Lecty,” Lily said.
Lily gave a self-deprecating, lonely smile. I never thought I’d hear her say she was envious, considering how much she hated dancing.
“Then, it’s Lily’s turn next!” Rouge said.
“Eh? No, I…” Lily protested.
“Come on, it’ll be fine,” Rouge said.
“Wait, Rouge! Stop… and Lecty too!?” Lily exclaimed.
Rouge pushed Lily’s back, bringing her closer to me. Lily tried to resist, but with Lecty joining in, she was pushed in front of me.
“Hugh, will you dance with Lily?” Lecty asked.
“Lily-chan, the one who enjoys themselves wins!” Rouge added.
“Oh, geez!” Lily said.
Lily covered her flushed face with her left hand, while timidly extending her other hand to me. She hated dancing to death, but it seemed like she had steeled herself after being pushed by Rouge and Lecty.
Lily had taken a courageous step. I had to respond, or I wouldn’t be a man.
“May I have this dance, my lady?” I asked, kneeling on one knee, taking Lily’s hand, just like I did with Lecty.
“Yes! Please do!” Lily replied, sounding somewhat resigned, which made me almost burst out laughing. The contrast between her usual ladylike demeanor and this was amusing.
“…But, if I dance with Hugh, what should we do about Lecty’s partner? Rouge would stand out too much…” Lily said.
Around us, several young nobles were eyeing Lecty, waiting for a chance to volunteer as her dance partner. They would probably pounce as soon as Lily and I separated.
“If Idiot were here, we could leave it to him…” I said.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him,” Lily replied.
I thought he would come to the Night Soiree today, but Idiot was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall.
“U-Um, I’m fine, so please, you two go and enjoy the dance!” Lecty said.
“Even so…” I replied.
I might be overprotective, but it would be a pain if a second or third Idiot appeared. However, I couldn’t dance with Lecty over and over again, so what should I do?
As Lily and I were racking our brains, I suddenly felt the surrounding noise increase. Then, I heard footsteps approaching us. When I turned around, I saw a girl with pink drill twin tails running towards us, waving her hands.
“Lecty! Your dance earlier looked so fun! Let’s dance together next!” Rosalie Saint said.
“R-Rosalie-san!?” Lecty exclaimed.
The Holy Maiden, Rosalie Saint, rushed over and grabbed Lecty’s hands.
Lecty, who had been bewildered, snapped back to reality, and Rosalie asked her, “Um, I’ve never danced before…”
“I could tell by watching. I’ve never danced either. I stepped on my partner’s feet seven times earlier!” Rosalie said.
“Ehhh…” Lecty replied.
“So, there’s nothing to worry about!” Rosalie said with a smile.
Lecty looked down at her feet, saying, “I have other worries…” Well, they both could use Heal, so it should be fine… but that’s not the point.
And besides, “Is it okay for same-sex partners to dance in this kind of setting?” I asked.
“Normally, it’s not, but it should be fine. With you and Lecty’s freedom, it feels like anything goes… look. His Majesty the King is smiling,” Lily said.
Following Lily’s gaze towards the stage, I saw His Majesty the King smiling at us with amusement. Looking at him like this, he seemed like a father watching over his children.
“I thought His Majesty was a scarier person,” I said.
“…No, he is scary,” Lily replied curtly.
Lily took my hand and started walking. I followed behind her, unconsciously reaching up to my neck to check if my head was still attached to my body.
Lily didn’t tell me exactly what was scary about him, but that made my imagination run wild, which was terrifying.
…I should stop thinking about it.
I shook off my thoughts and decided to enjoy the dance with Lily.
We faced each other and bowed, then placed our hands together.
“I’m warning you, I’m really bad at dancing, so don’t laugh, okay? Also, I don’t have much stamina, so I’ll get out of breath quickly. And my sense of rhythm is terrible, I don’t understand how to move my body to the music,” Lily said.
“You don’t have to set up that many disclaimers, do you?” I asked.
“Because… I don’t want you to dislike me…” Lily said, looking down and muttering. She might not have meant for me to hear it, but unfortunately, my Skill was Ninja. My enhanced hearing didn’t miss a single word.
“Don’t be an idiot. There’s no way I’d dislike you just because you’re bad at dancing,” I said.
“…You won’t get mad if I step on your feet?” Lily asked.
“I’ll be a little mad about that,” I replied.
“Oh, geez!” Lily said.
While I was laughing, the music started. Lily really seemed to be bad at dancing, as she couldn’t take the first step. I moved first and gently pulled her hand, and she finally started moving, albeit a bit late.
Earlier, I was being pulled by Lecty as she freely stepped and danced, but with Lily, I had to lead. It was interesting because it was the opposite of our usual dynamic.
“That’s Marquis Puridi’s Daughter dancing!” someone said.
“Is she… dancing?” another asked.
“Yes, she’s beautiful even just swaying…” someone else said.
“Who is that man with her?” another asked.
It seemed that Lily’s dislike for dancing was well-known, and we were attracting quite a bit of attention. She was just swaying her body a little to the music, but even so, Lily’s attractive appearance was still captivating.
“Lily, are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m managing—gah!” Lily said.
Before she could finish, Lily tripped and almost fell over.
I quickly reached out and caught her, and by chance, we ended up in a pose that looked like something out of a figure skating pair performance I had seen on TV in my past life.
We were in a position where we could have both fallen over, but I managed to pull Lily up with my Physical Enhancement strength. When we returned to dancing as if nothing had happened, the audience applauded.
“I thought I was going to die…!” Lily said.
“You’re exaggerating,” I replied.
After that, a strange time continued where I would catch Lily every time she was about to fall, and the audience would applaud, mistaking it for part of the dance.