Chapter 10: First Dance

The gentle strings played a small melody that was familiar to the ear.

“Randollice,”

Originally a folk dance piece from the Elzevert region, it later became the theme song for the opera “The Queen of Spring,” and became a popular song that everyone knows.

The reason why this song has become so popular is because “Queen of Spring” is still a popular opera and the song is short and easy to dance to.

…I think I’m still preparing a little more.

When the full orchestra comes together, it creates an imposing melody reminiscent of a blooming flower, but now that only a few strings are participating, it sounds somehow sad.

Also, maybe three minutes…

In my head, I do a final check of the steps as the melody plays in my head.

My goal for this evening party is to finish the first dance without a hitch for now.

To begin with, it’s a stretch to try to dance with the height difference between me and His Highness!

With a height difference of two heads or so, it’s hard to just hold on.

So I prepared a lot for this day.

Of course I practiced, and I prepared my weapons.

For me, this is a battlefield.

My first evening party.

And almost my first social gathering.

I’m not nervous anymore, but I’m a little bit nervous.

…To be as beautiful as possible, and to stand next to His Highness.

I tell myself. That is my important role as the Crown Princess.

The lightly applied make-up, the new hairstyle braided with lustrous pearls, and the gown that would be a fortune in itself are the weapons of choice…And my greatest weapon right now is the shoes that wrap around my little feet.

The high heels are made of the same fabric as the gown, and are a very elegant substitute in appearance. Of course, they were carefully made to order by skilled craftsmen.

These stiletto heels that look like they could punch a hole into the carpet are a secret weapon!

These shoes, embroidered with various shades of blue rosefinia in gradations on a lustrous deep blue silk taffeta, look like a bouquet of flowers at first glance. The white heel was decorated with artificial flowers made of embroidery material as well as embroidered flowers, and although I don’t know the material, the white heel was also engraved with rosefinia with the same delicacy as the embroidery.

Rosefinia is the national flower of Dardinia with seven petals.

The flower, which comes in a variety of shades of blue, based on night color, is always used in the motifs of royal coats of arms and is also used in the school emblem of the university.

With the exception of the school emblem of the university’s students, only royalty is allowed to adorn themselves with rosefinia. His Royal Highness Nigel must have some kind of agenda in allowing me to adorn myself with such a special floral motif.

Both my socks and gown are of this flower…

The thin socks, almost like stockings, are embroidered by the same embroiderers as the shoes. The night-colored gown was also inspired by Rosefinia. All of them were a gift from His Highness Nigel.

His Highness’ gifts are incredibly nice, but the price seems quite terrifying…

And I can’t even wear the dress to an official event again once I’ve worn it in an official setting.

Maybe I’m making them pay a huge tribute?

Huh? Should I attribute this to the success of the feeding operation?

It’s fine in moderation, but it’s hard to know how far to go in moderation.

Randollice’s somewhat sad-sounding melody gradually grew in depth with the addition of more instruments.

Ah, the addition of the brass.

The first dance begins when the number of participating instruments has increased a bit and the full orchestra is ready.

…It’s about time.

“Are you ready?”

It’s asked in a stealthy whisper.

“Yes.”

I nod and then look at my feet.

I know that wearing such high heels at my age is not good for my feet. Even though I know it, I still have to do it.

This is a maiden’s intention.

Even though the cushioning inserts make them fit my feet perfectly on top of this, a high heel is still a high heel.

In other words, it’s lightly torturous or…well, it’s a burden.

High heels are a shoe that takes effort to wear. You could say it takes training.

At first, it was hard to even just stand…

It took two weeks to be able to maintain a beautiful standing figure. Then it took me an extra three months from there to be able to walk to Lilia’s surpassing standards.

And then it was hard to walk in these shoes, wearing a formal gown of the same design as the production.

The biggest difference between an everyday gown and a formal gown is the skirt length. The longest length allowed for me to wear before the crown is right in between the middle length and the longest length. My normal clothes are usually that length, but my formal gowns are made to the maximum length.

In this case, it’s even a little longer because I’m peeking at the lace of my petticoat.

At a length that just hides an adult woman’s ankles, high heels don’t make any sense at all, but now this length makes the high heeled foot look very attractive. One thing to note is that if I get the steps wrong during a dance, I’ll know right away.

When all the instruments were in place, His Highness Nigel stood up.

“…Would you be willing to dance?”

His Highness Nigel kneels in front of me and extends his hand.

“I’d be delighted.”

I gently lay my hand on top of his.

Even though we both know it, we repeat the same question and answer. It’s stylistic beauty.

…I’d like to have at least ten more…or even twenty more centimeters…

Even though I’m trying so hard, the hand that’s gently passed around my back is still pretty high up in the air. If I’m not careful, my feet will soon be in the air.

…Yeah. I can do it.

I closed my eyes and took one deep breath.

Then I looked straight up at His Highness. His Highness’s gaze took on a hint of concern for me.

I gave a small nod as if saying that I was okay.

Those gazes hurt…

Of course, there’s a lot of stares on His Highness, but I’m the one who’s getting the most attention here.

It’s almost the first time I’ve been in an official social setting…

The brass made a clear, high-pitched sound, and I slid my feet in time with it.

His Highness raised his clasped hands up and spun me around in a circle.

I won’t look at my feet.

There is no need to look down, no matter how critical the steps.

If I leave it to His Highness, he will lead me properly

We spun around and circled the floor.

I smiled softly as we went around together with as much grace and elegance as possible.

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