CH 47

“Yes…?”

“Let’s go back to the Grand Duchy immediately.”

Because of one word of tiredness, Damon said he would stop the banquet and return to the Grand Duchy… He was truly a man of contest.

Elysia regretted saying she was tired. She realized once again that she had to be careful, even saying meaningless words in front of him.

“No. Let’s go. Everyone is waiting.”

One thing she realized in the last month was that she could ignore Damon’s nonsense.

Again, Estelle was wrong. To trust him…? The most untrustworthy one was Damon Raphael. He was a collection of all kinds of unexpected situations. To believe in a man who acts as he pleases, she would rather believe in God.

“I’m sorry. With wife’s single word, I could have dismissed them all and gone back.”

“…I’m sorry, too.”

It was an excuse to stop the party because she looked tired. She didn’t want to attend the party herself, in actuality. Elysia was used to holding his hands now. Until recently, he was so handsome that she couldn’t help herself.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

…When did she get so used to seeing Damon reaching out his hand to her? Not long ago, she decided to marry him and the first thing she worried about was holding hands… Elysia glanced at his hand, and then she raised her hand.

However, that was all it was. More than holding hands, she had no intention of doing anything with him. Even if she allowed her hand, she did not know what more danger her life would be from then on.

“Do you know what to do first?”

“Is it dancing with Your Grace?”

“You’re right.”

As soon as they entered the party, Elysia and Damon had to dance. She was worried about how to do a ballroom dance with a lot of unnecessary contacts.

Wasn’t he the one who killed someone just by touching them? Would Damon be able to finish the dance with her properly? It might be possible to hold hands, though she was a little worried about dancing.

“I’ve practiced hard, so I’ll try not to cause trouble to Your Grace.”

She didn’t know Damon could dance. He was famous for not attending all parties. There was no way he, who hated contact with others, could have danced. Perhaps, his dance with her was his first dance.

Of course, it was Elysia’s first time to officially dance, too, with Damon. It was her first time attending a party. In fact, she was in a very tense state right now. Her whole body was stiff, and her shoulders were raised.

“It does not matter.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s the wife, I don’t mind you causing any trouble, so don’t be so nervous.”

Elysia was startled at his touch that was stroking her shoulder. Her whole body trembled at the eerie sensation that climbed up her spine. Because it was an off-the-shoulder dress, his cold body temperature touched her.

“I told you not to be nervous. It made you even more nervous.”

His fingertips climbed up her shoulder and fell slowly as if he didn’t want to let go.

Elysia doubted whether this man in front of her eyes was the Damon Raphael she knew. The Damon she knew had never touched anyone first. Still, why was he approaching her so quickly without any repulsion…?

“Let, let’s… go.”

“Yes.”

Letting go of his hand and stepping back, she was no longer in the mood to create this kind of atmosphere with him. It was absurd. Damon Raphael and the strange atmosphere… Perhaps, he was trying to dazzle her in order to reassure her.

“Come on, give me your hand.”

It seemed that her prediction was correct. He wanted to reassure her so that she knew nothing and kill her in the blink of an eye.

She must never let her guard down.

* * *

Overshadowed by the promise that she would never let her guard down, Elysia naturally became dependent on him.

The moment she entered the hall, she flinched at the gazes that fell upon her. There were eyes that she did not know about at the wedding since at the time she was wearing a veil, and she could only see Damon.

The party hall she entered while holding his hand was a wild jungle. They might bite each other.

“….”

And, the target to be bitten was Elysia.

She was nothing more than a stranger breaking into the league they had already established. Firstly, they didn’t know where she came from. They were filled with rejection. Besides, it was an obvious reaction because even during the wedding, she held the nobles’ tradition on her own terms.

She wondered if the gazes pouring down on her face were so stinging. She looked like she was about to die from the burden of people who were paying attention to her, pretending not to glance at them.

“We should have just gone back.”

“…No. I’m fine.”

Damon didn’t go to parties often, so the gazes fell on him as well.

Her eyes quickly stopped as he narrowed his eyes as if displeased. It was a lot more unpleasant than she thought to receive the gaze of people who she didn’t know, even more so if that was a negative view.

“That’s why I didn’t want to come.”

It was a small voice, but Elysia, who was beside him, could hear. Damon’s expression turned more and more bloody, and she could hear the sound of gasps.

‘I’m more afraid of Damon.’

She was not afraid of the gazes which suddenly focused on her. The scariest person at this party was next to her.

“I sincerely congratulate on the happy marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, who are today’s stars.”

After thunderous applause, a dazzling song began to play. It seemed that this signal was to start the dance.

“Your Grace?”

“I’m patient, but I can’t help but be annoyed.”

It was because Damon had never attended a party. He seemed unhappy to be forced to attend the party. In the midst of this, it was understandable that he hated that he had to dance by holding her close to his body.

“I’m sorry, I will not stick to you as much as possible.”

Even now, she had no choice but to cross her arms as if entangled in Damon’s arms. Elysia slowly released her arm and at least held his hand. She shouldn’t have been reassured, no matter how he casually gave her his arm. It was a mistake.

“Wife”

“Isn’t it better to dance quickly? Everyone is watching.”

If she didn’t dance here, it could only weaken her position — a bride who couldn’t even dance with her groom on the wedding day… Besides, if they didn’t dance the first dance, the party would be a mess since nobody else could do a dance without the stars, Damon and Elysia.

“And, I made the wife misunderstood.”

She didn’t know what she misunderstood, although Elysia walked out into the middle of the hall, led by Damon.

Even though she had learned to dance from a dance instructor before the wedding, this was actually the first time she had ever danced with anyone. It also made her nervous to dance in front of so many people like this.

“Don’t be too nervous.”

How could she not be nervous…?

Elysia had never danced with a man. No matter how competent and accommodating her dance instructor was, it was fundamentally not the same between a man and a woman. There was also a height difference, so it will be very different from what she had been practicing.

“Elysia?”

“Yes.”

She held Damon’s hand as she looked like a warrior in war. If she couldn’t avoid it, she had to fight back.

As the music played, she felt the touch of his hand resting on her waist unfamiliarly. She almost forgot that this was a banquet, and she was noticeably agitated. She, too, was worried if Damon would be able to dance with her.

He must have never danced with anyone… If one of the two had excellent skills, that person could lead, but unfortunately, neither of them would have the skills to lead.

“Relax, wife.”

“Ah, ah… yes…”

He obviously told her to relax her body, yet it felt strange when he actually said it. That person’s face was the problem. Even ordinary conversations could be seen as obscene.

Elysia’s face turned red at the nuance like whispering in the bedroom.

“Ah, uh…”

His breath approached right in front of her as the two bodies were too close together.

It felt like she couldn’t get out of his arms that were wrapped around her waist tightly. Practice and doing it for real was different. She didn’t know it wouldn’t work if it was with Damon Raphael.

Elysia’s head was turning white, and she didn’t even know what she was doing with her feet now. The legs inside the dress were wandering, not knowing how to step right and left. If he hadn’t led her, her dancing skills would have been exposed to others.

“That’s a relief.”

“Uh, uhk…”

“I practiced to be liked by the wife.”

She didn’t know what he was practicing to be liked by her.

In fact, it was difficult for her to properly maintain her reason now. Her head was spinning so much that she didn’t know what was going on. Elysia just placed her body in Damon’s hands, and she followed his lead.

Damon’s gaze was the most burdensome to her than the multitude of gazes that fell on her. The moment he met her eyes, her head became so white that she could not think of anything.

“But, I don’t think you like it as much as I think.”

“What, what do you mean?”

Before she could even ask what she meant, she was so embarrassed by her movement that she was in his arms that she couldn’t see his eyes properly. Was dancing really this naughty…?