Empress of Another World

Eighty Three

The ball officially started with the emperor’s first dance.

His partner was usually his empress. If there was no empress, a substitute danced with him instead. It could be the dowager empress, a princess, or any of his wives.

As his only wife, I took his hand and walked to the dance floor.

When I took a deep breath, he asked me quietly, “You must be nervous.” His voice sounded like he was laughing at me.

There was no point in lying as it was obvious.

I nodded and replied, “Just a little.”

I tried to smile.

This felt surreal like I was in a dream. I was so nervous that I no longer was shaking. This didn’t feel real.

Lucretius must have noticed something was wrong. He kept glancing at me.

Just then, the music started. It was time to dance.

Following the rhythm, I took my first step. However, instead of doing what we practiced, Lucretius took a different step.

“Huh?”

I lost my balance and was just about to fall.

Oh, no! This couldn’t be! I couldn’t embarrass myself at the biggest event of the year!

I felt terrified.

However, thankfully I didn’t fall.

Lucretius grabbed and pulled my body. Suddenly, I was floating in the air as he spun me around.

“Huh…!”

He took my hands and held them tight. He spun me around a few time in midair.

J, just how strong was he?

He was holding me up with his arms only. Following the music, he spun me six times before letting me down.

We were supposed to spin together six times, but he did this on purpose!

I glared at him and glanced around the room to see people’s reaction.

Fortunately, it seemed no one noticed what had happened. Lucretius followed the music well and because my dress was so long, my feet probably weren’t showing.

This dance was named the Rolka, and it boasted of complicated and dizzying steps. Foreigners like myself found it very hard to master let alone spontaneously change the steps.

Lucretius was definitely an amazing dancer. How annoying!

I gritted my teeth as I continued to dance.

I whispered to him sharply, “Let’s try to keep it safe!”

At least, I felt grounded. This situation no longer felt surreal. My body moved as I commanded.

Lucretius whispered back to me, “You’re finally back to normal.”

“Hmm.”

He must have noticed how nervous I was.

However, even then, doing something so spontaneous at such a big event was ridiculous. He was crazy!

We continued to dance in circles until the music ended.

When it did, everyone applauded.

“Amazing!”

“It was perfect!”

“Oh!”

“Wow…!”

I panted from exhaustion. It was tiring, but I felt awake. When I looked up, he chuckled quietly.