CH 16

Chapter 16: Dance under the moonlight

I don’t understand. Why do you go that far?

Ivan did not avert his gaze from the stage. Every time the supposedly frail human girl slashed her sword, the stagnant air in the banquet was cut through. The lords and ladies were completely quiet, their attention drawn to the dance of the new queen.

The silver sword drew a graceful line, and every time the long-sleeved slit fluttered, it let light shine through. The decorated bracelet played a cool melody, and the sound of her foot stomping occasionally echoed sharply.

This was a dance to show gratitude to the moon goddess. She seemed to understand it well, with a gentle smile on her face. Even though just a moment ago, she had a blue face.

This was something that would normally be impossible. To learn the werewolves’ one-month dance in just two weeks would require literally blood-stained effort.

Why go that far?

Doubts occupied his mind, and at the same time, that feeling attacked him once again.

His chest hurt. It was an unbearable pain.

Just earlier, she laughed twice. The first time was when he taught her a charm to alleviate her nervousness. The second time was when he stood up for the opposition nobles.

Why does she laugh at it? She is surrounded by the werewolf tribe that is only a source of fear. Why doesn’t she stop moving forward?

Her toes, once soaring high, silently landed from right to left. After a beat, the hem of her costume fluttered down, announcing the end of the ethereal dance.

Ermengard’s cheeks were so red even from afar, and her rough breathing spoke of the rigor of the dance. The venue was still silent, but at the next moment, explosive applause ensued.

Everyone had speculated on the efforts of this young queen. The nobles praised her one after another, and the venue, which had been in the midst of a sword dance, was now filled with intense heat.

Ermengard was still stunned with her rough breath, but then she hugged the sword to her chest and made a polite bow. Her charming and innocent figure seemed even more attractive, and the cheers grew even louder.

While the queen was leaving the stage, looking embarrassed in the midst of the enthusiastic applause, Ivan couldn’t move at all.

“Your Majesty.”

When he raised his face upon being called, Johan was standing beside him. Maybe he was worried that his lord was not moving too much, but his face had a wry smile.

“Well done.”

“Oh…”

“What are you thinking about?”

“What do you think I’m thinking?”

Despite his line that seemed to dismiss him away, his blue eyes were wavering.

It seemed to be a pleasing thing for Johan that his lord, who was not used to showing hesitation, was showing it now. He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and spoke mercilessly.

“I don’t know. This is something that you should think about, Your Majesty.”

That’s right, this was something he should decide for himself. The reason why the path he had chosen was wavering was due to his own changes.

❂❂❂

“General Kudera!”

Ernesta stepped off the stage and embraced her teacher amidst thunderous applause. Silvester welcomed his student with a smile full of joy.

“Did I dance well?”

“Absolutely! It was a splendid dance, My Queen.”

Ernesta was finally relieved, having earned her teacher’s approval. Her eyes glazed over with tears, and her throat burned, but she couldn’t afford to lose her composure, so she held it back.

“Rougena!”

This time, Rougena came over and hugged Ernesta.

“You were magnificent, My Queen. You did such a great job.”

No, she was going to cry after all.

Rougena’s warmth reminded Ernesta of Isolte, her kind mother who always supported her daughter despite her illness, lying in bed.

In the distance by the wall, Engeberg had a smile that looked like he was about to cry and was clapping. Dasha was also happy and clapping her hands a little further away. All the familiar maids, courtiers, and nobles were clapping as well.

Is it safe to assume that she did something useful, even if it won’t change much in the relationship between humans and the werewolf tribe, but at least it will make a difference.

“Well well, a big round of applause for My Queen. Do you really want to gain popularity from us that badly?”

At that moment, Rougena quickly sharpened her gaze and glared at the speaker with a voice that contained a hint of thorniness.

Silvestor also gave the man a stern look with a sharp eye.

Sitting in a nearby seat with a smirk on his face was Kautsky, who had just exchanged words with the queen moments ago. He must have expected the human queen to be humiliated, only to be disappointed when his expectations were not met.

“Is that shameless remark just now from you, Kautsky? How dare you say such things in front of me.”

Silvestor wrapped himself in obvious anger and placed his hand on his short sword at his waist, but his wife quickly stopped him, preventing any further incident. Surprised by his teacher’s short temper, Ernesta took a step forward.

It was evident that the entire venue was suddenly fixated on the argument. There was no way she could withdraw now. Even as a substitute, she must show the appropriate attitude.

“Of course, Lord Kautsky. I am married to this country. Naturally, I want to understand everyone and get along with them.”

Not only Kautsky but also Rougena and Silvester, and everyone in the venue, were taken aback by her grand response and were all captivated by her proud bearing.

“You are included in that category. Is there anything wrong with thinking that way?”

It was only then that Kautsky finally regained his composure. His face turned bright red, and he slammed the glass he was holding onto the carpet, causing a heavy dull sound to reverberate throughout the venue, followed by hysterical cries.

“What…! How dare you, a greedy and heartless human, try to understand the werewolf tribe.”

It was a momentary incident.

Ernesta felt something large slip past her on the side, but by the time she recognized what it was, Kautsky’s mouth was blocked by the hand of a warrior.

“Your Majesty Ivan…”

The voice calling his name was drowned out by the noise from the venue.

Ivan had his back turned towards them, so there was no way to know what expression he had. However, Kautsky, who was already facing his lord, had his chin grabbed by a powerful grip and had transformed into a color similar to that of paper.

“Don’t say another word, Kautsky.”

Kautsky nodded his head vertically like a broken puppet. Although he intended to nod, it looked funny to those around him.

The king’s hand tightened, and Kautsky’s face turned from white to red.

Ernesta couldn’t say a word and could only watch the unbelievable scene unfold before her eyes.

“You should know that insulting the queen is an insult to me, so you better know your place.”

It was a voice that could crawl on the ground.

Receiving a response from his subordinates, who nodded frantically, Ivan finally let go of Kautsky.

Kautsky fell to the ground helplessly, coughing, but no one was brave enough to help him.

Almost everyone present there was consumed by the unique intensity possessed by the king, and even for people like Silvestor, who was used to it, it was enough to momentarily render him motionless.

Ivan slowly turned to look their way. Ernesta was completely frozen, but at the moment their eyes met, she realized something.

——Why do you look so sad?

She didn’t know how she could sense such a thing from his usual expressionless face. However, Ernesta thought that she couldn’t leave this lonesome king alone.

She impulsively wished to see him smile from the bottom of his heart, at least once.

“Your Majesty, what happened?”

However, her leg that took one step forward lost strength unexpectedly. Was it because she had concentrated too much on the sword dance? Come to think of it, her whole body was exhausted and hard to move.

“If it’s about me, don’t worry.”

When she tried to take one more step, her knees seemed to abandon their task. Her face became hot, and her mind also stopped working for some reason. She was attacked by a sudden drowsiness and, without even being able to take a defensive posture, she closed her eyes and fell into a doze.

She heard a distant scream. At the same time, she felt a strong arm catching her, and Ernesta was sure about that.