"Eris?"
I, Rudeus, climbed up the haystack on all fours and lay down beside her, asking softly:
"Why did you skip class?"
Silence spread through the afternoon air.
Eris simply stared vacantly into the distance, as though her soul were wandering in another world, cut off from Rudeus's question.
Sunlight outlined her gentle yet somewhat lonely figure. Rudeus turned his face slightly and silently watched her profile...
The golden afternoon sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, breaking into countless tiny flecks of gold.
They danced gently across her delicate face, as if it had been painstakingly sculpted by a god.
Her fiery red hair, usually kept immaculate by the maids,
was now a little fluffy and tousled from rubbing against the haystack, with a few unruly strands resting playfully against her fair cheeks.
Her little cherry lips, usually pressed together elegantly, were now turned up in a very unhappy pout.
Even without a word, she made it plain how much she resented those demanding, rigid history and etiquette lessons.
"Anyone who likes those boring classes can go to them..."
After a long while, she finally squeezed out that quiet mutter through clenched teeth.
Her voice sounded soft and slightly husky, with a willful little nasal tone that made her sound just like a kitten sulking at a scratching board.
Seemingly noticing at last how openly, even brazenly, Rudeus was looking at her, Eris stiffened slightly.
Her slender fingertips instinctively clutched the hem of her skirt, crumpling the luxurious fabric out of shape.
Her two long, slender legs, which had been crossed on the hay, swung restlessly a couple of times in irritation, stirring up the fresh scent of dried grass.
She tucked her head farther into her knees, thinking she was being discreet, and tried to hide herself in this little "refuge" with that clumsy pose.
Unfortunately, the tips of her ears peeked through her hair, so red they looked ready to bleed, giving away all her embarrassment and panic.
That girlish charm and cuteness became an invisible, unreasonable hand, plucking hard at his heartstrings.
At that moment, he admitted that the bit of baseness in his bones was acting up again-
He really wanted to reach over and make even more of a mess of her hay-flecked red hair.
"Honestly, if something's bothering you, couldn't you just tell me?"
Rudeus chuckled softly and shamelessly edged closer, his arm nearly touching her warm, fragrant shoulder.
Eris buried her face even deeper and mumbled:
"You... can't help with something like this anyway."
"Who says I can't? No matter how big it is, if it concerns you, Eris, then it's my number one priority."
Rudeus patted his chest, sounding as sincere as could be.
Eris still didn't respond. She simply turned away in a huff, leaving him with a cold view of the back of her head.
"What, you don't believe me? Then how about a bet?" The mischievous grin on Rudeus's face widened as he offered the bait:
"If I can make you completely master dancing in an instant, you have to kiss me of your own accord."
"And if I lose, then I'll make the sacrifice and kiss you of my own accord. How about it? Hehe~"
Hearing that shameless proposal, Eris whipped around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her pretty face flushed bright red with embarrassment and anger, and she glared fiercely at Rudeus as she protested:
"You scoundrel! Doesn't that mean you're the one who benefits whether you win or lose?!"
"Oh, come on, young lady, you can't put it like that~"
"With this sort of thing, the one who makes the first move is always at a disadvantage. I'm under tremendous psychological pressure here."
Rudeus spouted nonsense without a shred of shame, the grin on his face making him look every bit like a creepy older guy who kidnapped young girls.
"As if I'd believe you have any way to make me learn to dance in an instant! Hmph!"
Eris folded her arms and snorted, but her competitive spirit had clearly been stirred.
"So, are you taking the bet or not?" Rudeus pressed his advantage.
"You're on! I'm not afraid of you!" She raised her chin and fell straight into the trap.
"That's what I was waiting to hear!"
Delighted, he instantly sank his consciousness into the system interface in his mind...
And exchanged for a dance mastery potion.
With a crisp notification from the system, an exquisite crystal bottle filled with a faintly glowing blue liquid appeared out of thin air in Rudeus's palm.
He promptly held the potion out to Eris and issued a bold challenge:
"Drink it. If you still haven't learned to dance by the end of today, I, Rudeus, will write your surname backward and take it as my own!"
Eris eyed the bottle of mysteriously glowing liquid with suspicion, her wariness making her hesitate for half a second.
But when she met Rudeus's confident gaze, her refusal to admit defeat instantly won out over everything else.
She snatched the potion and sat up in one swift movement.
With a pop, she pulled out the cork, tilted back her fair, swanlike neck, and drained the potion in one gulp.
Glug, glug...
In the blink of an eye, the last of the dreamlike blue liquid was gone from the bottle.
Eris kept her head tilted back...
The next second-
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Within her mental world,
a vast flood of knowledge about court waltzes and ballroom dancing-the steps, posture, rhythm, and even the muscle memory-surged forth from nowhere like a flood through an opened gate, imprinting itself wildly on her mind and every part of her body.
"Ru... Rudeus... That strange feeling is back."
"I... I think I really do know how to dance now!"
"Hehe, young lady, shouldn't you honor our bet now..."
But before he could finish, Eris's fair cheeks grew hot enough to fry an egg in an instant.
She let out a scream and, without stopping to lift her skirt, scrambled down from the haystack, turned, and ran.
"Hey, hey, hey! Eris! Where are you going? You lost the bet, so pay up!"
Rudeus shouted after her and nimbly gave chase.
Trotting after the little lioness as she fled without looking where she was going, he finally stopped outside a dance room deep within the mansion.
He pushed open the heavy carved wooden door. Inside, Edna, the dance teacher who had been waiting anxiously, was rubbing her temples with a weary look.
At the sight of the two of them, the strict yet elegant lady immediately rose and gave them an impeccable noble's curtsy out of habit.
"Teacher Edna! I've completely mastered dancing!"
The moment Eris entered, she eagerly shouted to Edna, her voice full of excitement at having wiped away her humiliation.
Edna paused briefly, then gave her a professional, gentle, wry smile, clearly assuming she was only speaking out of spite.
"Really, young lady? That's wonderful."
"I can dance for you right now!"
Eris's eyes sparkled, and the frustration she had bottled up for so long burst forth at that moment.
She abruptly turned, her gaze locking onto Rudeus like a flock of eagles:
"Rudeus, come here! Be my dance partner!"
Though she spoke in the tone of a command, her slightly trembling voice and tense shoulders betrayed her nervousness and anticipation.
Rudeus shrugged helplessly and stepped forward with a smile.
As a graceful, soothing melody played, he bowed slightly and offered her a dance.
He then rested one hand lightly on Eris's shoulder and clasped her soft, warm hand with the other.
As the first beat of the music fell, the two began to dance.
The moment they started moving, he could clearly feel that, under the system potion's terrifying, almost causality-defying effect, Eris's once iron-stiff body had been completely transformed.
Those complicated steps were no longer torture for her; they were as natural as breathing.
As they spun to the stirring rhythm, he didn't even need to deliberately guide her or set the pace before a flame of confidence ignited in Eris's wine-red eyes.
She hit every accent with perfect precision, her steps as light as a deer bounding through the woods.
She even began to take the lead, setting the rhythm for the entire dance.
Edna, standing nearby, took it all in.
The court dancer, who was always known for her composure, now stood with her mouth slightly open, her eyes filled with uncontainable shock and astonishment.
After all, just that morning, this young lady of House Boreas had been a "dance killer" who stepped on people's toes and had no sense of rhythm whatsoever.
Why, after only a short midday break, had she undergone such a complete transformation, as if a god had kissed her feet?
How on earth had Rudeus done it?
The music came to an end.
After a magnificent final turn, Rudeus and Eris held their perfect closing pose, their breathing slightly quickened.
Eris's chest rose and fell sharply. She didn't look at me.
Instead, wearing an immensely proud victor's smile, she turned to look at the dumbstruck Edna.
"Good! Wonderful!!"
Only then did Edna come to her senses and begin clapping wildly, her voice trembling a little from excitement:
"Lady Eris, Mr. Rudeus! This is nothing short of a miracle! At this level, you'll have absolutely no trouble with the birthday ball in three days!"
Three days from now... I might as well prepare Eris's birthday present in the meantime, Rudeus thought.