Feeling better, Dalia looked around again while holding Hikan's arm.
The edge table just came into her sight. There was food that could be eaten with hands.
Fruit hardened with sugar syrup, chocolate with jam inside, salmon sandwiches skewered with toothpick and more.
"Brother, can I eat that?"
"Do whatever you want."
Dalia grabbed Hikan's arm, picked up the jam chocolate, and put it in her mouth.
It melts as soon as you put it in.
Dalia smiled in response.
"Do you want to try, brother?"
"...It's okay."
"It's delicious."
She even put what she picked up for Hikan's share in her mouth. This time, there was lemon jam in it, so it tasted sweet and sour.
'Wow, it's great.'
Dalia, who liked sour candies like Aisho(아이셔) in her previous life, was glad to taste it after a long time. (*t/n: 아이셔 is sour candy in Korea. It has many type, jelly, gum, and hard candy. I don't know how to spell it in english haha)
But the third one was blocked by Hikan. He took a handkerchief out and handed it to Dalia.
"It's all over your mouth."
"Oh."
That was embarrassing.
Dalia wiped her mouth thoroughly. Dalia thought that it was fortunate that she didn't wear any makeup.
"Thank you."
Dalia returned the handkerchief.
Just then, it was time for the first dance.
People all posed with their partners. Hikan also put his hand on Dalia's little body. Last time, she couldn't dance because it was delayed due to circumstances and things broke out.
It was Dalia's first official dance.
'I'm not stepping on your foot this time.'
Is it because Dalia was nervous? Hikan leaned down and said in a small voice.
"It wouldn't hurt even if you stepped on my foot anyway."
'If you say it like that, it makes me want to do it.'
Dalia thought to herself. Of course, she didn't have the guts to do it on purpose, so when the dance started, she started to take steps calmly.
Maybe the dance was more familiar than she thought, and she relaxed, her body moved on its own. Dalia talked to Hikan while continuing to take steps.
"Is this your first ball too, brother?"
"No."
"Somehow I thought so."
"Why did you think so?"
"For some reason, brother look good in everything you do for the first time. No matter what you do, you just like 'This is nothing' ."
Dalia purposely made a stern face to imitate Hikan.
Hikan looked like he didn't know how to react. Because of the unexpected response, Dalia burst into laughter. Then he frowned immediately.
"...Why are you laughing?"
"It's nice to dance together."
Actually, it was because it's fun to tease him.
Hikan stopped at the answer.
Thanks to this, Dalia stumbled together, and missed the step and stepped on Hikan's foot. Very hard at that.
"..."
Hikan's brows narrowed softly.
No matter how transcendent you are, it seems to hurt if you were stepped on the front nose of your shoes. In addition, these shoes were made of very hard material.
"I, I'm sorry."
"...It doesn't hurt."
'I think it hurts though.'
Dalia had a blasphemous thought. She also did not forget to rationalize that this was not because of her, but because Hikan stopped.
Whether it really hurts when stepped on properly or not, Hikan sighed as he looked down at his foot.
"You've found something you're good at."
Dalia tilted her head at Hikan's unexpected words. He said indifferently.
"I mean stepping on the man's foot while dancing."
'Wow, my God. My brother is joking too.'
Maybe it was because she was shocked by the fact, but this time it was really funny. Dalia forced herself to hold back her laughter and accidentally stepped on Hikan's foot one more time.
The first dance is over. Dalia was scolded for making a fuss about treating Hikan's foot.
And it was time for the second main character of this ball to appear.
Hikan breathed a small sigh and pulled Dalia's arm in.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here. Let's go give him our greetings."
Somehow he looked tired. Not only because of Adrisha, but also because the next Emperor of the Empire is here, many people are crowding.
Then the entrance to the ballroom opened, and Adrisha and a boy entered.
That boy was the Crown Prince Leonard, who turned 16 this year.
Leonard Ormith Michelio.
She heard a lot about him, but it was her first time seeing him in person.
He had the same blond hair and red eyes as his father. Although he had boyish freckles at that age and was shorter than average, he was not as ugly as the standing CG that she saw in the game.
He wore an imperial uniform with gold-colored tassel and decoration medal.
Adrisha dressed the same as she was seen during the day, but her shining appearance shone even more when she was under the colorful lights of the ballroom.
Her jet-black hair was more mysterious because it wasn't the color often seen in the Empire.
Hikan went to Leonard to greet him.
"It's been a while, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Yes, thank you for coming so far, Duke."
"No, it's not. The ball hall is beautiful enough so it was worth it."
"I'm a little late right? I'm sorry. My partner has such a good conversation skills."
Leonard was full of smiles as he was excited.
Adrisha had a clear, flawless smile next to him. It was a really impressive social skill.
"...…That's good."
Hikan seemed tired and wanted to end the conversation quickly.
It feels like the conversation is spinning around for some reason. Feels like Leonard is just saying what he wants to say?
However, such courtesy would have been irrelevant for someone in Leonard's position.
'It's okay if you know what you're doing, but you don't seem to know...'
"Anyway, congratulations on being a Duke. Wow, you're the same age as me, and you're already a Duke. I also want to quickly become the..."
"Congratulations, Duke Pesteros. And congratulations to the Crown Prince for your 16th birthday."
Adrisha hurriedly cut off Leonard's words.
Dalia was relieved. Perhaps everyone else in this ballroom felt the same at this moment.
What Leonard just said is the same as saying that he wishes for his father to die sooner.
'I can see why the Emperor feels awkward whenever he talks about the Crown Prince.'
If Cedric was a little more greedy and the palace was a little more brutal, Leonard would never have been crowned as the Crown Prince.
However, because the Empress strictly prohibited fighting between the brothers, the Emperor who loved her the most in the world had no choice but to appoint Leonard as the Crown Prince.
Leonard seemed a little offended when Adrisha blocked him, but when she looked back and smiled, his attitude changed.
"Oh, my father is going to be a little late today because of some circumstances. He wants me to tell you that you worked hard last time. And he hopes that Miss Dalia will always be filled with happiness and peace."
'I think the words for me are longer than for my brother.'
As if she wasn't the only one who thought so, Hikan's gaze came and fell on Dalia for a while.
Now it was Dalia's turn to show her gratitude.
Leonard looked at Dalia's whole body with a very interesting look. She could bear it because it wasn't a dirty look, but she was a little worried about the future of this country because of his rude attitude.
In the original work, Leonard becomes the Emperor after the Emperor dies in an accident. However, she remembers that Cedric, the Second Prince, was the one who managed everything that was important.
'The Second Prince escaped again, didn't he?'
Really, where is this Empire going?
Then Leonard opened his mouth.
"I see. Milady is the rumored little sister."
"It's an honor, Your Highness."
"Let's do well together in the future. As the poor people who have a transcendent brother. "
Leonard reached out his hand for a handshake. He shook hands and said.
"What on earth did you do to my father? My father keeps on praising My Lady saying that he wants a daughter like you."
"That's not it. You flatter me."
"My father told me to look good in front of My Lady, but I can't do that."
'...Can he even say something like that?'
Adrisha looked flustered.
Like the Emperor, Leonard was nervous about holding hands for a long time, but his hands fell right away.
Leonard's gaze was only on Adrisha.
Poor Adrisha.
Still, Leonard is still in the dark compared to other male lead candidates. He doesn't hurt Adrisha, and even if another man and Adrisha meet, he secretly puts on blankets and sniffles at home.
It was time to greet Adrisha.
She showed her bright eye smile as if she had waited for Dalia.
"Dalia, you look so pretty today. I'm sorry I didn't see you all dressed up."
Dalia shook her head. Adrisha smiled at her once and then greeted Hikan.
"Hello, Your Excellency the Duke."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Beniter."
Hikan replied stiffly. He still uses honorifics. His determination to not really get close to her was outstanding.
They didn't say a word anymore.
Leonard took a peek at his watch.
"When is our next dance?"
He seemed eager to do his first dance with Adrisha quickly. The servant next to him hurriedly lowered his head.
"Shall I play it now?"
"Yes, then."
Leonard turned his head and looked at Adrisha. His ears were red, sticking out through his golden hair.
"Yes, let's go."
Adrisha took Leonard's hand and went to the stage hall. And she looked back and said to Dalia in the shape of her mouth.
'You didn't forget our promise, did you? Let's do the next dance with me.'
Dalia nodded with a smile.
Adrisha took Leonard's hand and went to the middle of the stage.
She kept talking on the way and was a little tired. Perhaps it was an excuse that Cedric ran away, and Leonard wanted to take him away, so it seemed that it was something like this.(*t/n: sorry I don't really understand this part)
He kept talking to her while dancing. Since when did she learn to dance, did she think that he's being ridiculous? She gave him a rough answer as soon as she thought of it.
"Oh, yeah, I heard that story."
"What story?"
"Hikan's sister, Miss Dalia, she has special abilities?"
Adrisha doubted her ears for a moment.
Unless His Majesty the Emperor is out of his mind, he wouldn't tell Leonard that kind of thing?
"...what ability?"
"It's the power to bring the Transcendents back from the mana explosion."
Adrisha bit her lips.
"Who said that?"
Leonard replied with a bright smile, glad that she showed a serious interest in his story.
"Aceras."
"..."
"But strangely, he didn't know where she went after the ball."
"….."
Adrisha felt dizzy.
How the hell did Aceras know that?
"Well, after the dance is over, I have a place to go for a while."
She had to find Aceras right away.