Hearing 1's demand, my expression morphed from confusion to embarrassment – and then back to confusion again. 'But I don't know how to dance,' I said lamely. And that was not false modesty, either. I really didn't know the first thing about ballroom dancing. When I was in Seoul, I used to dance in my apartment during moments of frustration.
But I didn't think that venting out my stress dancing to the tune of the latest K-pop songs counted all that much. Actually, when I thought back to how elegantly the nobles danced at the last ball, I wanted to dissolve into thin air just at the thought of joining them on the dance floor.
"Then let's practice," Alessandro countered. He tried to keep from smiling, otherwise 20 may be offended. But he wasn't making fun at her because she didn't know how to dance. He was amused that she was embarrassed about it. So adorable. He held out his hand. "Shall we, my lady?"
'Do you mean here?' I asked as I freaked out. 'Now?'
Alessandro laughed – he couldn't help it anymore. "Yes, here and now."
'B-but we don't even have music!' I stuttered. But it wasn't really the lack of music that bothered me. 1 looked so elegant in his suit, with the rays of sun catching on his ebony hair, making it even more lustrous. In dire contrast, I was in my maid's uniform with the white apron littered with stains from the chores I had to do since morning. The difference was laughable.
"It doesn't matter," Alessandro said with a smile, still holding out his hand.
I wiped both hands on my apron in a vague attempt to at least make them cleaner, but I was quite sure it wasn't any help at all. 'You're crazy, do you know that?' I sighed, as I tentatively – very tentatively – took his hand.
Alessandro smirked at how cautiously 20 was holding his hand, as though she was afraid to even touch him. So he held her hand in a steady grip, and slid his other hand at her back, wrapping it firmly and bringing their bodies close together. "So I've been told a few times," he grinned.
My breath hitched. 1 was holding me so close it was almost a hug. I could feel the warmth of his body from my chest to my waist, and his breath gave me goosebumps. I ended up staring at the insignia on his suit as I worked to regulate my breathing. No need to embarrass myself any further.
"20, look at me," Alessandro whispered when he noticed that she was stubbornly staring at his insignia and refused to meet his eyes.
'This is embarrassing,' I wailed as forced myself to finally look up at 1 directly. And when I did, it didn't help with my breathing. He was staring at me so intensely it was as though he only had eyes for me. No guy had ever looked at me that way.
Bong-su certainly never did. He was always distracted with watching baseball on TV, answering emails on his laptop, or playing games on his mobile phone. Even when we had meals together, I usually felt like his mind was not really on our conversation. It made me wonder – if I had met 1 in Seoul, would he have looked at me the same way he was doing now?
Alessandro slowly started to move, like they were dancing to a soothing and laidback concerto. "Being with me is embarrassing?" he teased, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. He was relieved that 20 had been talking to him now like she usually did. But the moment they were in close proximity, she was so uncomfortable with it, making him futilely ask himself if he was doing anything wrong.
If he was with any other woman, he would have simply commanded her to do what he wanted. No one could refuse the emperor, after all. But 20 was not any other woman to him – and he didn't see himself as Luxentfort's monarch when he was with her, either. He was simply a man she had unknowingly saved, a man who had developed feelings for her over time, and someone who would always put her comfort and interests well above his own. Too bad she didn't realize it – yet.
'No,' I clarified, feeling guilty at the look of hurt clouding his eyes, even though his voice remained light. The truth was, 1 brought out so many emotions in me. From vex and anger to surprise and awe, to nervousness and a sense of security – and everything else in between. And I didn't know yet how to properly deal with them. 'I just don't want to get your suit dirty.'
"Would you like me to take it off, then?" Alessandro joked, knowing full well his question would get a rise out of her. "I don't mind."
'Well, I do,' I shrieked, covering my eyes as an image of 1 without his suit immediately entered my mind. This was what I meant by a range of emotions. Just now I went from feeling guilty to being embarrassed in a span of less than a minute. No other man had that kind of effect on me – and it wasn't because he was the emperor.
Alessandro merely laughed as he continued to sway them to the imaginary music. 20 couldn't even begin to fancy the effect she had on him. She had no idea.