Ten minutes later.
The rental procedures for several of the adjacent rooms had already been completed and were being looked after by Isabel and Loris. Meanwhile, the reason Secretary Meretskov had appeared on Fiona's side was because Liliana was an important first-year member of the student council.
As such, he cared deeply about this.
Of course, Waldenburg was also leaning against the wall of the room, watching like a knight, while Sarah sat nearby, swinging her feet.
“Well then,” Meretskov said, turning to look at Fiona and Sarah. “Do you mind if I watch? After all, as a rising star of the student council, Liliana will be in the spotlight when the time comes. I'd like to... of course, if it's inconvenient, I can leave right now.”
“N-No, not at all!” Fiona waved her hands in a hurry. “Please, make yourself at home!”
Meretskov nodded, walked over to a bench by the wall, and sat down. He took off his coat, draped it over the back of the seat, and adjusted the cuffs of his shirt.
He then directed a serious, judge-like gaze toward Liliana.
The atmosphere suddenly became quite formal.
“Go ahead,” he said calmly. “Don't mind me.”
It was hard not to pay attention to him.
Liliana had no choice but to take a deep breath, trying her best to ignore the gaze falling upon her as she placed her hand back into Fiona's palm.
They had already been practicing for over an hour.
“One, two, three—one, two, three—”
This time, Liliana did slightly better than before, managing at least four consecutive three-step cycles without stepping on Fiona's feet.
But by the fifth cycle, she stepped on her again.
“I'm sorry...” Liliana mumbled weakly.
“It's fine, just try again,” Fiona reminded her. “The most important thing is that you can't stop.”
“O-Okay—”
And so, the performance continued.
Stepping on her feet; not stepping but stumbling; losing balance during a spin and tilting entirely to the side—
Watching from the side, Waldenburg was slightly worried she would fall, but Sarah remained completely composed; after all, she had already rescued her once.
As for Meretskov, once this dance came to an end, he applauded politely and stood up from the bench.
“Wait a moment,” he said, walking over at a leisurely pace.
Liliana looked up at him. His emerald-green hair cast a soft shadow in her field of vision, and his eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses looked down slightly, as if he were inspecting a music box in need of repair.
“Your center of gravity is too high,” he said. “In a waltz, your center of gravity should be a bit lower. Keep your knees slightly bent; don't lock them.”
As he spoke, he paused to think, then bowed slightly and extended his hand in a polite, gentlemanly manner of social etiquette.
“If you don't mind, let me demonstrate once.”
Liliana was stunned.
Beside them, Fiona was giving her frantic looks—an expression that clearly said, “Hurry up and agree, what are you waiting for?!” This was the student council Secretary, an incredibly prominent figure!
Not to mention, when it came to practice, a male partner was indeed much more practical. Fiona wasn't that skilled with the male steps either, and some of the blame for the stepping incidents lay with her.
Meanwhile, Sarah already had a meaningful smile playing at the corners of her lips.
“I-Is that alright?” Liliana asked shyly.
“Of course,” Meretskov said with a slight smile. “Teaching juniors is also one of the responsibilities of a senior on the student council.”
He stood in front of Liliana, raising his right hand slightly with his palm facing up.
“Please, give me your hand.”
Liliana hesitated for a second before placing her right hand in his.
Meretskov's fingers were long and well-defined, holding her hand with just the right amount of pressure—not too tight to feel restrictive, yet not too loose to feel insecure.
Then, the two of them began to practice the dance normally.
Liliana was guided into taking a step forward, then a second, and a third.
Surprisingly, she didn't step on his foot this time.
Perhaps Fiona really wasn't that great at the male steps...
Liliana thought, her gaze falling on his shoulder.
The fabric of his shirt was white linen, its subtle texture visible under the light. There was a tiny silver button at his collarbone, buttoned up impeccably.
An elegant and friendly student council Secretary... she thought.
“Time to spin,” Meretskov's voice snapped her out of her daze. “When I raise my hand, spin in that direction.”
“O-Okay.”
He raised his hand slightly, and Liliana subconsciously lifted her arm, spinning in place.
Her skirt billowed out, tracing a pale blue arc in the air.
She felt a bit dizzy after the spin and stumbled, but Meretskov's hand steadily caught her by the waist.
“You are actually quite talented,” he said. He then let go of her hand and gave a gentlemanly bow. “With diligent practice, you will definitely shine in the official performance. Don't be nervous, Liliana.”
The tips of Liliana's ears flushed red.
“Thank you.”
Standing on the side, Fiona and Sarah exchanged a glance.
Fiona mouthed: “What's going on here?”
Sarah mouthed back: “No idea, but it looks good.”
Then, with tacit understanding, the two of them began to—enjoy the show.
No, it was observing and learning.
It was entirely observing and learning.
Only Waldenburg felt increasingly restless as he watched, his thoughts even growing somewhat blocked. This was probably because, although he had promised to keep his distance from Liliana, that was only an agreement with Loris.
It did not mean he could stand by and watch another male get closer to Liliana right in front of him.
He felt that this wasn't for himself—he needed to do something for Loris.
...
A few minutes later.
Meretskov guided Liliana through several rounds.
From the most basic box step to simple turns, from left turns to right turns, his every step fell perfectly on the beat, and every movement was as standardized as a textbook illustration.
Guided by him, Liliana went from a “foot-stepping demon” to “only stepping on feet occasionally”—and from a “stiff puppet” to a “slightly more presentable stiff puppet.”
Without a doubt, she was actually a genius.
Whether in her magical attainments or her daily studies.
Her progress was remarkable, but unfortunately, she was still very nervous.
In the next round, she completed eight three-step cycles all on her own without stepping on any feet or tripping, and she even tried to do a spin at the end.
Although she was still a bit unsteady after the spin, she stabilized herself without holding onto anything.
“Excellent,” Meretskov said.
Coming from his mouth, those two words carried an incredibly convincing weight.
Liliana's face flushed red once more.
“Th-Thank you...”
“You're welcome.” Meretskov glanced at the wall clock. “It's about time. I should be heading over now.”
“Keep practicing, you three.”
He walked back to the bench, picked up his coat to drape it over his arm, nodded slightly to Fiona and Sarah in farewell, and walked toward the door.
When he reached the door, he paused to think and looked back at Liliana.
“There is still a month before the Summer Ball,” he said. “If you still need practice, you can find me—my classroom is on the third floor of the Magic Department. I am there most of the time.”
He then pulled open the door and walked out.
The door closed softly behind him with a dull click.
The practice room was silent for two seconds.
“...”
Then, Fiona let out a long breath.
As if she had been holding it in for ages, she leaned her entire weight against Sarah and lowered her voice, though her tone was bursting with uncontrollable excitement: “Did you see that? Did you see that? Secretary Meretskov personally taught her to dance! And he even said she could ask him for help later! This is definitely—”
Sarah swayed slightly under her weight before steadying herself, her tone as flat as if she were reading from a textbook: “I saw it.”
“Hey, Sarah, can you not be so calm? We're witnessing Liliana's happiness here!”
Sarah didn't reply.
Her gaze drifted away from Fiona, casually sweeping across the corner of the room, and then—
“Ahem.” The black-haired swordsman coughed.
She froze.
“Fiona,” Sarah's voice suddenly dropped a few registers. “Huh?”
“There's still someone else here.”
Fiona followed her gaze, and her smile instantly froze on her face.
Waldenburg Edmond was leaning right there.
He maintained the exact same posture as ten minutes ago—arms crossed over his chest, spine straight, his dark gray eyes half-closed. His scabbard reflected a cold light under the magical lamps. He looked as if he were resting his eyes, or perhaps staring at some nonexistent point in space.
Impressive how he could keep up such a tense front.
Fiona's lip twitched.
She remembered the gossip from over a month ago. To these teenage boys and girls, a month was actually quite a long time. She recalled the potential feelings between Waldenburg and Liliana... just now... the things she had said to Sarah... he hadn't heard them, had he?
Honestly, Liliana was incredibly charming. So many people liked her. If that wicked young lady of the Aldheim family hadn't been causing trouble, she probably would have been together with someone long ago, wouldn't she?
“Classmate Waldenburg?” Fiona called out tentatively.
Waldenburg's eyelids fluttered slightly.
“Yes.”
Just a single word.
He didn't explain why he was still leaning there, nor did he clarify whether he had heard their conversation just now. He merely gave a simple, almost dismissive grunt of acknowledgement.
Fiona and Sarah exchanged a glance.
Sarah shook her head slightly: Don't ask.
Fiona took a deep breath, deciding to turn the page on the awkwardness. Just as she was about to say something to ease the tension, Waldenburg spoke up first.
His voice was very low, but every word was clear.
“If.”
Fiona blinked. “What?”
“If you need to practice,” Waldenburg repeated. His gaze swept over Liliana before quickly dartering away, fixing itself on the mirror opposite them. “I also know how.”
The air in the practice room fell silent for another two seconds.
“What practice...?” Liliana still hadn't processed it.
Liliana blinked, her light brown eyes reflecting Waldenburg's expressionless face.
“...Huh?” she uttered a short, bewildered cry.
“I mean,” Waldenburg's tone remained steady, but his speaking speed was slightly faster than usual—so fast that one wouldn't notice unless they listened very closely. “If you need to practice the waltz, you can find me.”
After saying this, he remained silent.
His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his jaw was slightly tense.
Liliana opened her mouth. She actually hadn't heard the latter half of his sentence very clearly, but she generally understood what he was referring to. Still, finding it a bit sudden, she could only nod mechanically and whisper, “...Okay, thank you.”
Having said his piece, Waldenburg stood up, preparing to leave.
But right at that moment, the door to the practice room was pushed open again.
The person trying to leave bumped right into the person entering.
Waldenburg stumbled to a halt as the doorknob was turned directly from the outside, and a pale gold head appeared.
Loris von Aldheim stood at the doorway. Her emerald-green eyes swept over the room before finally landing on Waldenburg right in front of her.
“Slacking off here?” Loris raised an eyebrow with deep meaning.
Waldenburg's cheek twitched slightly. “No.”
For some reason, being caught by this girl at this exact moment actually birthed a sliver of fear in Waldenburg's heart.
“Isabel's side is short-handed. Just in time, the people from the Swordsmanship Department who are preparing for training have arrived. Come over and lend a hand.”
“I... understand.”
The two of them thus left in a somewhat tense disharmony.
Inside the room, Fiona let out a sigh of relief at the sight. She waved her hand to dismiss them and called out to Liliana to continue practicing. After all, now that everyone was gone, they could proceed normally with their plans for the afternoon.
Meanwhile, out in the corridor.
Waldenburg hesitated for a moment but still spoke up, telling Loris about what had just transpired.
It was absolutely not because of some private affection.
...
(A long-awaited voiceover: In the corridor they walked through, Waldenburg suddenly stopped Loris.
“Secretary Meretskov was just teaching Liliana how to dance. He even left word saying she can find him if she needs to practice. I don't think this is a simple senior-junior relationship.”
Waldenburg's voice was extremely low, his dark gray eyes staring straight at Loris.
“And she is your person. Your relationship with her... in short, you can't just let Secretary Meretskov do this—”
Loris hesitated for a moment, then raised a hand to cut him off. “First of all, she is not my person—secondly, I kissed her because of our duel's agreement.”
Waldenburg didn't refute her. He just stared at her, his eyes calm and certain. His look clearly said: Keep talking. Let's see if you even believe yourself.
Loris remained silent for a few seconds, only able to change the subject. “Do you want me to protect Liliana? To keep Secretary Meretskov from getting close to her?”
Waldenburg fell silent for a moment, refusing to take a stance.
Loris became even more confused. “Haven't you already sworn to just be friends?”
“Yes, which is why I came to find you—she is your person, not mine,” Waldenburg said calmly.
Loris suddenly realized that if not for the business of their previous duel, this fellow probably would have already prepared to trade blows with the Secretary.
Truly a troublesome male lead.
“Don't be so stubborn. It's just normal social interaction.”
“Since you say so, there is nothing I can do. I only hope you don't end up sharing my fate.”
Waldenburg said softly after a long silence, then reined in his expression. Just what on earth is this guy feeling so deeply about?
As for Loris... her goal was originally to help Liliana form happy and beautiful relationships with all of the male leads in order to avoid her death flags. It was just that a minor error had occurred along the way, causing Waldenburg to end up interacting with her far more often instead.
Secretary Meretskov was himself one of the male leads, a character on the same narrative tier as Waldenburg.
Of course, she didn't think there was anything wrong with this move.
The two of them bickered back and forth as they left together. As Waldenburg was teased by Loris, his cheek twitched and a cold sweat lightly trickled down.)
Rate on N.U.
