It had already felt like over a week since I mentally prepared myself to be dragged off to prison, but the Emperor remained completely silent.
‘At this point, maybe he’s forgotten about me?’
That thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t dare say it out loud.
Compared to the underground cells of Welchinson, this place wasn’t too bad.
Sure, I was stuck in a room with no windows, but I got three full meals a day and even had a soft wool blanket I liked.
Not to mention, they’d gone out of their way to treat my injured leg.
While I was reflecting on that, Perry came back from outside, wearing an unusually serious expression.
‘It’s finally happening.’
I instinctively knew it.
Tonight will be my last night here.
Hiding the gloom inside me, I asked in as steady a voice as I could manage:
“Should I start packing my things?”
But what came out of Perry’s mouth was completely unexpected.
“No. The Captain said to bring you to the training grounds at dawn.”
“Training grounds…? Not the Welchinson underground prison?”
“The training grounds are only used in… special cases.”
Something about that made me shiver.
“Special cases? Like what?”
“When the Captain’s furious. It’s legal to beat someone under the pretense of ‘training’ there.”
What kind of horrifying logic was that?
This might actually be worse than prison.
I could now understand—no, over understand—why Sir Walton had once called the Emperor a nasty lunatic.
“What do I do, Perry?”
“What?”
“I… I don’t even know how to fight…”
My face must’ve looked like I was about to cry, because Perry burst out laughing.
He said there’s no way the Captain would actually hit me.
But I wasn’t so sure. Something told me that “no way” would turn into “absolutely happening” in my case.
***
Night fell.
While everyone else was asleep, I left the room with Perry.
It was my first time stepping out in a while, but it felt like I was a cow being led to slaughter.
I should’ve been impressed by the grandeur of the Imperial Palace interior, but my mind was occupied by just one thought:
‘How do I survive this?’
The only person I could possibly ask for advice was walking beside me.
I hesitated for a long while, then finally opened my mouth.
“Perry, um… is there a way to get hit so it hurts less?”
Perry glanced at me and answered in a dry tone.
“There’s no such thing. It hurts the same for everyone.”
“What if I just take one hit and pretend I’m dead?”
“You think the Captain, who’s seen literal mountains of corpses on the battlefield, is going to fall for that?”
“…Yeah, of course not.”
Eventually, Perry stopped in front of a heavy-looking door.
“We’re here. This is the training grounds.”
“Aren’t you coming in with me?”
“Captain said only you’re allowed inside.”
Why just me?
Was it so there wouldn’t be any witnesses if he beat me under the guise of training?
If I had known this would happen, I’d have actually listened when Dad tried to teach me self-defense.
“Wish me luck, Perry…”
“Just go already.”
Even as I pleaded, Perry simply waved his hand like I was annoying.
So, with a sigh that felt like my soul was leaving my body, I stepped into the training grounds.
At its center stood the Emperor, backlit by the moonlight.
Thankfully, there were no vicious weapons in his hands.
I let out a breath of relief—only for him to whirl around the second the door shut behind me.
Just locking eyes with him made me shrink back instinctively.
“…I heard you called me here to the training grounds.”
Trying to maintain a safe distance, I began walking backwards.
The Emperor watched my retreat and asked with a puzzled look—
“Why are you backing away more and more?”
At that one remark, I stopped retreating and began inching toward where the Emperor stood.
But my pace was slower than a snail’s, and it made him frown.
“Is your leg still not healed? Hapone said it should be fully recovered by now.”
“…My leg’s fine.”
“Then why are you moving like that?”
I couldn’t very well tell him, “Because I think you’re going to hit me if I get any closer.”
That might only provoke him further.
So I tried to come up with the most plausible excuse I could.
“My leg… cramped up.”
One of his eyebrows arched skeptically, but in the end, he gave a reluctant nod.
When I finally stopped just one step short of reaching him, I assumed a basic stance I vaguely remembered learning from my father ages ago.
The Emperor let out a scoffing laugh.
“What’s with that awkward pose? Are you trying to resume the assassination you failed earlier?”
“It’s not like that…! I just… I heard people are allowed to hit each other here under the pretense of training, so I—hup!”
Too late, I slapped a hand over my mouth.
Why had I blurted that out?
I’d just said something incredibly stupid in front of him.
‘What do I do now?’
My eyes darted around in panic, while his sharp gaze bore into me.
He looked even more intense than usual.
“Don’t tell me… You actually thought I was going to hit you?”
“…Maybe. You don’t seem to like me very much, Your Majesty.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m the kind of trash who hits powerless women.”
Was that really true?
Based on what I’d seen and heard so far, I wouldn’t put it past him.
Still suspicious, I continued to eye him warily. He sighed heavily and asked, voice soaked in fatigue:
“Have you ever learned to dance?”
“Dance?”
I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. Had he really just said “dance”?
“Yes. Dance.”
“I did learn back in Meddaland. I don’t know how it’s done here in Hamilon, though.”
“Then dance with me. Here. Right now.”
That was even stranger.
What had gotten into him, wanting to dance all of a sudden?
“I mean no offense, but… Are you feeling okay? Should I call Lord Hapone? Or did you mistake me for someone else?”
This time, he let out a dry, deflated laugh.
He took a step back and began to explain, watching me with that same distant look.
“There’s going to be a ball at Hamilon Palace in two days.”
“Okay…?”
“I’m thinking of taking you there. As my partner.”
Take me?
As his partner?
What was that supposed to mean?
And more importantly—what exactly was he trying to achieve by suddenly springing this on me?
“Why?”
“Didn’t you say I could use you however I wanted? I’m just trying to do that.”
“…But I never got to properly show you the solution I mentioned that day.”
I had been so preoccupied with being dragged to the training grounds that I hadn’t properly recalled what happened then.
In the end, I hadn’t proven anything. I hadn’t even shown the resolve I’d spoken of.
The Emperor looked at me for a moment, then quietly replied,
“That’s true.”
“Even so… do you really think I’ve proven I’m worth using?”
“Yes. At the very least, you’re not the kind of person who’d do something stupid in front of me.”
After saying that, he held out his hand.
“So? Are you going to just stand there like that?”
I stepped forward and placed my hand in his.
The Emperor gently took it, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“You don’t mind there’s no music, right? Given the location and all.”
“It’s fine.”
And with that, we began to dance at the center of the training grounds, hand in hand.
It was dark all around us, terribly still.
Bathed in moonlight, the Emperor looked almost unreal in his beauty—like something from a dream.
His silvery hair swayed with each step, and his eyes, cold as a winter breeze, never left mine.
I was so mesmerized that I kept stepping on his foot without realizing.
“Ah—sorry! That was an accident…!”
“Seeing how much it hurts, I’d say your leg really is fully healed.”
Before I knew it, I had gotten used to the situation.
Our movements began to sync naturally.
“I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“Why are we doing this here, of all places, and at night?”
“Because no one would ever expect us to be dancing in a dark training ground.”
Only a few dim lights lit the room.
Thanks to the guards posted outside, no one would accidentally walk in—but even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to see our faces clearly in this dimness.
“Is there a reason we need to be this secretive?”
“I don’t want anyone to know I’ll be taking you to the ball.”
After all, my official identity was still that of an assassin who had tried to kill the Emperor.
If word got out that I would be attending a ball at his side, public reaction would undoubtedly be negative.
From what I’d heard, the Emperor had never danced with a woman at a ball before.
And now, his first dance partner was to be a former criminal accused of attempted regicide.
Even I would be shocked if I were someone else.
“So what exactly am I supposed to do now?”