By the time the music stopped, Lily was completely out of breath. All she did was sway her body to the music, though… Was it more mental fatigue than physical?
“W-well, it’s finally over…”
“Good work, Lily. How was it?”
When I asked her how she felt after the dance, Lily turned her face away with a huff. Her cheeks were slightly red, and she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, if you insist, I might not mind dancing with you again.”
“Then, shall we dance another song?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s really impossible.”
I said it as a joke, but she rejected me with a serious tone. The light had gone out of Lily’s eyes. It didn’t seem like she had overcome her aversion to dancing.
As I supported the slightly unsteady Lily back to our original spot, Lecty and Rosalie were there. Rosalie had a very satisfied expression, while Lecty was crouching down, holding her foot.
“The dance was fun, wasn’t it, Lecty!”
“…I was stepped on thirteen times.”
Lecty didn’t agree with Rosalie at all, and calmly reported the damage. Well… my condolences.
By the way,
“Isn’t Rouge with you?”
“Oh. She was here until just a moment ago, you know? I was planning to dance with Rouge-sama next… She must be in the restroom! Hugh-sama, would you please dance with me next?”
“Ah… no. Sorry, Rosalie. I’ll go look for Rouge. Lily, can I leave the rest to you?”
“Yes, of course.”
With Lily’s consent, I decided to leave to look for Rouge. It didn’t seem like any nobles would come to invite the tired Lily or Lecty, who was hurting from being stepped on so many times. It should be okay to leave them for a while.
Looking around the venue, I found Roan-san standing by the wall. He seemed to be keeping an eye on us from afar while also guarding the venue. When I looked at him, he nodded his chin towards the balcony. It seemed Rouge was outside.
I nodded back to Roan-san and headed to the balcony. Alissa-san was standing in front of the glass door connecting the venue and the balcony. Whether she was originally stationed there or moved to match Rouge’s movements, I didn’t know.
When Alissa-san saw me, she grinned and said, “Take your time~.” It annoyed me, but there was no point in picking a fight. I’ll take her words at face value and take my time.
When I opened the door and stepped onto the balcony, the cool night breeze brushed against my skin. When I opened my eyes, which I had involuntarily narrowed, she was just slowly turning around, her hands on the railing, looking up at the night sky.
The soft moonlight that poured down made her silver hair sparkle like the stars in the night sky. Her dark blue eyes reflected the moonlight, giving off a mysterious glow like a deep sea.
Her expression was a little surprised, yet there was a graceful smile on her face.
Isolated from the hustle and bustle of the night soiree, only faint music flowed into the quiet balcony.
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
As I approached and asked, Rouge turned back and looked up at the moon again.
“I was looking at the moon. My mother told me that when people die, they go to the moon.”
“Is that so?”
Was it a superstition of this world? I had never heard of such a thing in my hometown, the Pnosis Territory.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been there.”
Rouge smiled, trying to gloss over it.
Rouge, who had been having nightmares, was desperately searching for her mother. …Probably, Rouge’s mother was no longer in this world.
I stood next to Rouge and looked up at the moon, asking her.
“Hey, do you know, Rouge? It seems rabbits live on the moon.”
“Eh, really!?”
“Yeah. So, if rabbits live there, then people should be able to live there too, right? It’s not strange that dead people live on the moon.”
“I see… Yeah, that’s right!”
Rouge’s expression brightened, and she stretched out both hands towards the moon. I imitated her and stretched out my right hand towards the moon.
“I wonder how you can get to the moon?”
“It seems pretty far… Even with a skill that lets you fly, it might be difficult.”
If I were serious, I could probably go using my Brainwashing Skill, but there was no point in going and proving that no one was there.
Besides, what’s important isn’t whether you can actually go.
“If Rouge goes to the moon, I’ll go with you.”
“Eh…?”
“Is that no good?”
I lowered my hand that I had been reaching towards the moon and looked into Rouge’s face as I asked. Rouge shook her head and muttered, “It’s not no good.”
“It’s reassuring if Hugh is with me, and I can introduce Hugh to my mother.”
“By the way, how would you introduce me?”
“Let’s see. My roommate, my best friend…”
She paused there. Rouge pulled back her hand that she had been reaching towards the moon and looked at me. In her dark blue eyes, which reflected the moonlight, my figure was reflected.
“—My precious person.”
“That’s… nerve-wracking.”
“Is it no good?” Lucretia asked, tilting her head. I shook my head and said, “It’s not no good.” Then, I took a step back, knelt on one knee, placed my left hand on my chest, and extended my right hand to her.
“Will you dance with me, my only princess?”
“Yes!”
Lucretia took my hand and smiled softly.
…Ah, I love her. I desperately suppressed the urge to hug her without dancing, and I clasped hands with Lucretia.
We looked at each other, matching our breaths. Without saying a word, we could tell which direction we wanted to move and how many steps.
On our two-person dance stage illuminated by the moonlight, we slowly surrendered ourselves to the music that could be heard from afar.