By Zephyria 
It was the first time I had set foot in Rubel’s room today. Although I had been close with the child, there had been no particular reason to visit Rubel’s dormitory room.
I learned this time that the rooms of royalty differed even in the appearance of their doors.
The Cierran Emblem, engraved on the door in dazzling gold and silver, was magnificent. Watching Rubel, who had come to greet me, open the door with a familiar air, I thought that perhaps such a large door would require two servants to open it.
It must be because Rubel and Lucilla are strong Martial artists that they can open and close doors themselves. I couldn’t help but wonder how 1st Prince Richard lived, coming and going through such doors.
“I’ve tidied up the drawing-room for practice. Uh, please sit here.”
“Yes.”
I sat down where I was directed. Indeed, the table and sofa that should have occupied the center of the drawing-room had been pushed closer to the wall.
The majestic shapes of the tapestries hanging on every wall and the Magic Candelabra scattering a brilliant light caught my eye.
Sitting on a plush armchair, I watched Rubel bustle about.
The first thought that came to mind was how beautifully he was dressed. He wasn’t going out for an outing, but he wore a dress shirt, the kind one might wear for a grand event, and a vest embroidered with gold thread.
As I scanned his attire with my eyes, I suddenly asked,
“Is there perhaps a reason you might need to go out while practicing?”
“Uh… no? Why?”
“Because you are dressed so formally.”
“Ah. …Well, the thing is, today’s practice is for social dancing…”
“Then I should have dressed accordingly as well.”
“No, no. That… Young Master Ernhardt is fine as you are.”
“Hmm.”
I hummed, feeling an inexplicable bashfulness.
I felt embarrassed, wondering why I had even suggested dressing alike, when all my friends in the Central Plains would have burst into laughter if I had told them I danced to classical music.
Feeling awkward, I simply stroked my face and remained quiet. Even after I quieted down, Rubel moved about busily, but it seemed rather unfocused. Typically, when inviting guests to a drawing-room, the custom in Cierran was to serve tea first, but today was for dance practice, and the tea table had been pushed far away.
Yet, as if wanting to offer something, he kept opening and closing the cabinet where the teacups were kept, his movements so flustered that it was almost amusing.
“Senior.”
“Oh! …Huh?”
“Didn’t you say you would teach me to dance?”
“Ah, right. The song… I’ll play the song first.”
“Yes.”
Even if I didn’t like dancing, I liked listening to music.
I was familiar with the horn-shaped device placed on the table pushed to the side. There were several similar Artifacts in Young Count Ernhardt’s Residence as well.
Soon, a melodious dance tune filled the drawing-room. Rubel, with a slightly tense expression, looked over at me. Rubel swallowed hard.
“…First, I’ll teach you the basic steps.”
“Yes.”
“At a Debutante, we usually dance four types of dances. They are called the songs of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, in order. Among them, the first and second dance songs are for dancing together, and the third and fourth are for dancing as a pair.”
“Mm.”
“So the first two are simple, and the latter two are a bit more complicated. I’ll show you the first one first.”
“Yes.”
Rubel, dressed so beautifully, moved his feet calmly, performing a little dance.
As I watched him, with a bright and cheerful dance tune playing, he spread his arms wide as if to take someone’s hand and tapped his feet, and I felt a strange sense of joy.
“…One, two, three, four. …One, two, three, four.”
“…”
He swayed gently, then took a large step to the side, spun around, and even clapped his hands.
I covered my mouth with one hand, trying to suppress my laughter. The plush sofa supported my body. The seat was comfortable, the music was pleasant to my ears, and the sight before me was lovely, making me feel good.
As I watched for a long time, Rubel’s face grew redder and redder. The child hesitated, stopped, and covered his face with both hands. A chuckle escaped me involuntarily.
“…Why did you stop?”
“No, well… it’s because you’re watching me so intently.”
“Intently?”
“…No, no… Was I… cute again this time?”
Ah, I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand and chuckled, and when the child peeked at me through his fingers, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Ahaha.”
His face flushed with embarrassment, he seemed to be waiting for an answer, so I readily replied.
“Yes, a little.”
“…I see… Then, shall we… try it together now?”
“Yes.”
Was he just cute? He was cute, lovely, and seemed to do it all by himself, imprinted on my vision.
Indeed, I felt that sitting quietly and watching was more suited to me than dancing myself. The dance moves I saw in a play before had been from a distance, giving them a more majestic feel, but I couldn’t understand why this child’s movements were so cute.
However, I hadn’t come just to watch Rubel’s dance moves, so I obediently got up.
“…What I just showed you were the male steps. Let’s try following along.”
“Yes.”
Although it was an awkward and embarrassing thing to do, it was, after all, a physical activity. I couldn’t be clumsy at it. Repeating simple and easy movements with various variations was much easier than learning Footwork.
Holding one of Rubel’s hands, I moved to the right, then to the left, turned in one direction, held hands and faced each other, then turned our backs…
After a couple of similar movements, I quickly got the hang of it. I was inwardly puzzled as to why he had been so reluctant to dance.
Once I was sufficiently familiar with the first two songs, Rubel strode over and changed the music.
“The song of… autumn. One hand is held, and the male partner places the other hand on the female partner’s waist.”
“Mm.”
Rubel pulled my right hand and placed it on his waist.
I knew this was the dance that my mother and father in Young Count Ernhardt’s Residence sometimes danced when they were in good spirits. I had thought they just spun around holding each other, but I didn’t realize there was a specific order.
As I adjusted my grip on his waist, which looked slimmer than usual due to his vest, our bodies pressed close together. The child flinched and stiffened.
“The…”
“Yes?”
“…You shouldn’t hold it like that. Here, uh, with the outer part of your thumb… as if supporting it.”
“Ah. I apologize.”
“No, no… it’s okay.”
I had thought it was just an intimate dance, having seen William and Seiren do it, but I soon realized it required more formality than I expected.
As he instructed, I took half a step back and embraced Rubel, ensuring my palms didn’t touch too deeply.
I had almost gotten into an embarrassing situation. I was glad I was learning from Rubel.
Rubel waited patiently for me to readjust my hold on his waist. He carefully placed one hand on my shoulder, the other on my hand, and blinked.
His gaze, looking down at me cautiously, was dark and smooth. He looked at me like a precious jewel. The child suppressed his embarrassment and taught me again how to move my feet.
“If you hold it like this… the other person will place their hand on your shoulder. Like this.”
“Yes.”
Our faces were close. The height difference had decreased a bit since I first saw the child.
Being this close, our breaths touched. When our eyes met, the child pressed his lips together. Each time the child blinked, his dark eyelashes fluttered.
We stayed like that for a while. The song ended.
“…Senior?”
“Gasp, no, ah. Sorry… I’m sorry.”
Rubel, startled, quickly pulled away from my embrace and played the song again. His movements were amusing, cute, and also pitiable.
Watching the child cautiously walk back towards me, I spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.
“There’s no need to apologize. I should be grateful for you teaching me what I don’t know.”
“…Mm.”
However, it was amusing that an entire song ended just by holding each other.
The next time, the child didn’t miss a beat and taught me the correct way, which I quickly learned. Everything, from spinning around, turning one’s head, or gesturing, had right and wrong ways.
“One two three, one two three, one two three four, then a short pause… Turn. Hold, and again…”
I moved my feet to the rhythm he counted out, held hands, and pulled at his waist. The sweet melody enveloped my ears. I had wondered why we were doing this, but as we played like this, I thought it might be fun.
Rubel’s whispered counting gradually faded. Now, my body naturally followed his steps without him needing to count out the rhythm with his voice.
Each time our chests brushed, I could hear the rapid beating of the child’s heart.
…I knew I wasn’t in a position to point anything out. I said no more.
It took only three hours to master all four dance songs.
Before we went out for dinner, Rubel said he would change back into his school uniform. He had only worn that outfit thinking he would show it off while dancing. I was quite surprised, thinking that people of Cierran truly valued dancing.
During our meal together, I thanked him for teaching me to dance. Rubel, who seemed to be chewing and swallowing a larger portion of meat than usual, nodded and said earnestly.
“Yes, today… you did really well, but just in case… shall we practice a couple more times before the break?”
“Yes, that would be great.”
“Mm.”
Looking at his beaming smile, I felt good. Still, I had to study again tomorrow, so I suggested meeting at the library.
Rubel readily nodded and mentioned that he had prepared the notes needed for the upcoming final exams.
Thinking that this precious child only did precious things, I moved my portion of meat to Rubel’s plate.