When the musicians started to play a lively melody, Gian and Shannen had slowly begun to dance. Not long after, however...
Gian hissed in pain the moment Shannen stepped on his foot again. Though Gian tried to maintain a neutral expression, he still cannot deny the fact that his foot was hurting. For the onlookers, the couples on the dance floor were concentrating on their dance. Because of Shannen's long and flowing dress, they cannot see what was really happening on them.
Shannen kept stepping on Gian's foot and they have not reached the middle part of their dance. At first, Gian thought it was an accident. But stepping on his foot for almost thirty times continuously cannot be called an accident anymore!
"Gian, can I be honest with you?" Shannen asked in a small voice.
"...You cannot dance." Gian said in a suppressed voice.
"No! No, I can actually dance but—"
"Hss!"
Gian let out a hissed sound when Shannen stepped on his foot again. It was actually hard for Gian because Shannen was wearing high heel shoes. Gian can imagine the toes on his foot must be swelling by now. But even if it was hard, Gian was enduring the pain.
Shannen, on the other hand, wanted to cry but there are no tears dripping on her eyes. A waved of guilt washed over her. Gian must have expected his fiancee to be a high-class lady who was well-versed in dancing. He must be disappointed right now.
Shannen cannot ask Gian if he was okay. Although Shannen was slim and petite, she was still stepping on Gian's foot with her entire weight. He could not possibly be okay now.
"Gian, I'm sorry! I really practiced with our dance instructor, but..."
When Shannen stepped on Gian's foot again, his patience seemed to have depleted.
"I believe this is the only way to solve this problem." Gian said. His voice was full of resolution.
"What do you mean—Ah!"
Gian suddenly lifts Shannen's body off the marble floor. Her eyes widen in surprise and she unconsciously tightens her hold on his shoulder. When Shannen focused on Gian's face, she saw a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. It seems like she was really stepping on his foot very hard.
"I will start moving now. Just hold me and remain standing on my feet." Gian whispered on her ears. That is when Shannen realized what he was planning to do when he lifted her just now.
"But I am really heavy..."
"Do not worry. You are not that heavy." Gian reassured her. "Moreover, we have to do this. Or else, I do not think I could last longer until the end of our dance."
"..."
That sentence was more than enough for Shannen to remained silent. She was really feeling embarrassed at the moment. The meaning behind Gian's words was that dancing with her whole weight on his feet was better than dancing with her who keeps on stepping on his foot every time. Gian must have chosen the less painful option available for him right now.
Until the last note was played in the party room, Gian danced with Shannen placed on his feet. After their dance, he secretly whispered to Shannen that it was now okay for her to stepped on the marble floor. After that, Gian and Shannen bowed to each other and returned to their seats. The guests saw the ambiguous atmosphere between the two while they were dancing.
They all thought that Lady Cladeu was blushing because of her handsome partner. They did not realize that Shannen was blushing hard because of shame. Gian escorted his fiancee back to their seats and ordered someone to bring them cold drinks.
"I'm really sorry, Gian. I swear that I tried to learn everything in our dance lesson. Just..."
"It's okay, Shannen. As long as you are not intentionally doing it, then everything is fine."
"Of course that was not intentional!" Shannen protested.
"I know. I believe in you." Gian reassured.
When Gian noticed that Shannen looked tired,00p he offered to bring her to the terrace so she can take a rest for a while. Shannen refused his offer and told Gian that she will be back after a few minutes. She knew that there were some guests who wanted to converse with him so she does not want to haggle his time. And Shannen also wants to cool down her burning cheeks and return later when her shame lessens a bit.
When Shannen left the party room for a while, Gian talked with some guests. Most of them were also businessmen just like the marquis. They were interested in this young man who established different business plans to gather a lot of customers and earned tons of money in just a few months. If possible, they wanted to be more close to him and became his business partner.
While Gian and some businessmen were conversing with each other, Butler Del whispered something important on his ears. Gian was a bit surprised. He excused himself from his guests for a while and left with Butler Del. The butler also informed Gian that the marquis was now with their new guests. Then all of a sudden, there are two guards who opened the huge door.
"Now enters the Queen of Sildeza Kingdom, Queen Barinella Sildeza and the Princess of Sildeza Kingdom, Princess Cielo Sildeza."
Queen Barinella together with her daughter entered the party room. Every guest inside the room was surprised once again. This party tonight was really full of surprises. No one anticipated that a member of a Royal family will come here to this party as a special guest. Inviting a member of the Royal family in a party like this is a difficult task. This raised the reputation of the Cres Val family in this kingdom on a different level.
The moment Princess Cielo saw Gian, she wiggled her body to escape from her mother's side and rushed towards him. She happily hugged his leg and rubbed her face on it. Gian was surprised by Princess Cielo's attitude to him just now. When he recovered his senses, Gian gently pushed the princess and kneeled on one knee to meet her eyes.
"It has been a while, Princess Cielo." Gian greeted the little princess.
"Papa! I found you again!" Princess Cielo squealed and wrapped her chubby arms around his neck. After that, she turned her head look at her mother.
"Mommy, Cielo found papa again!" She happily informed the Queen.
Queen Barinella was stunned when she saw the young man standing beside Butler Del. So what her young daughter had said to her about him was all true. Queen Barinella was really glad deep inside that she decided to go to this party to meet this young man tonight.
"Princess Cielo, I am not your papa." Gian gently said to the princess.
"No?"
"Yes, princess. You can call me Gian."
"Oh. Papa Gian!"
As for Queen Barinella, she blinked her eyes twice before she returned the smile on her face. Now is not that the right time for her to be in dazed. She moves forward towards the two. Gian noticed the approaching Queen so he gently removed himself from Princess Cielo's embrace to greet the Queen formally.
"It is a pleasure to meet the Queen of Sildeza Kingdom. I am Marquis Frederick Cres Val's second son, Gian Cres Val." Gian formally introduced himself and gave the Queen a perfect bow.
'Gian Cres Val...'
"It seems like my daughter was really fond of you, young lord Cres Val." The queen said. "I am glad to finally meet the benefactor of my daughter, Princess Cielo Sildeza. You did not know how worried I am when I heard my daughter almost got lost that day. It was really fortunate that you were also there and helped my daughter. I cannot simply convey our gratitude through words. To show our sincerity, I would like to grant young lord Gian Cres Val a two wishes."
The crowd was suddenly in an uproar. It was a rare chance to asked a member of a Royal family a request. But it was on another level if the Royal family was the one who initiated to grant you a wish. But in Gian's case, the Queen of their neighboring country not only wanted to grant him a wish but she was also willing to give Gian two wishes.
Asking a favor with the Royal family was a difficult thing to achieve. They usually offered it as a prize for winning a national tournament or if you contributed a lot of hard work for the kingdom's peace and prosperity. Granting a wish from a Royal family is very powerful. You can ask for a higher status, money, or land and they will grant it immediately. It can also save or kill a life depending on the person who was asking the Royal family or if it was reasonable to do it or not.
"Two wishes?"
"That's right. I will grant you one wish for saving my daughter's life and another one wish as a birthday gift to you, young lord Cres Val."