He did his very best and just let the words flow out.
Tiana who heard this looked him in the eye to see if he was joking before saying
"No"
In that moment, Zakaragi felt like he had been stabbed 50 times in his heart.
"I-I see..." He muttered as he hung his head
"I don't know how to dance, and besides, We can't leave Lydia here alon-"
Before she could even finish, a random boy came up to Lydia asking her to dance.
"U-Um, could I have this dance with you?" He asked
He looked to be in his 16s and had wavy brown hair. It was hard to see from his suit but his frame looked well-built and he gave off the air of a gentle and nice young man.
Lydia was about to refuse but then she remembered what John had said, she was supposed to enjoy herself. On top of that, this young man did put his feelings on the line to ask, declining would have been quite rude.
"John told us to enjoy ourselves, so I'll be accepting this young man's offer. If you don't know how to dance, Zakaragi can teach you." Said Lydia with a smile
"Hm... I guess you do have a point... And if you're fine with it..." She muttered
She looked at Zakaragi once more who slowly raised his head as he listened in on the conversation.
His feelings were restored once he realised it wasn't because it was him, but because they couldn't leave Lydia alone. However, it still hurt.
"So? Will you give me this dance?" Zakaragi pushed once more
Tiana was still a bit hesitant to refuse, but she took his hand.
"Y-Yeah... Thank you." She muttered as she hung her head
Zakaragi was worried that she felt hated it and felt forced to do it, and right when he was about to ask, he noticed that her face was quiet red from blushing.
Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief and formed his own smile as he said
"I can't understand you at times..." Zakaragi whispered
"Hm? Did you say something?" Tiana asked
"Nope." Zakaragi replied
Lydia and the young man next to her, watched as the two walked towards the middle of the room to dance.
The room which had been dark now lit up as more nobles began inviting others to dance, while others appreciated the 2nd daughter's magnificent dancing ability.
Zakaragi was determined to be able to teach Tiana and put on a good show, while Lydia stood there next to the young man who also watched
"They look cute together, don't they?" Lydia asked as she watched them
Zakaragi started off with something basic and held on to Tiana while slowly moving around. He seemed to be teaching her the right technique for moving around.
But while doing so, she stepped on him a few times.
"I guess the fate really is a thing." Said the young man as he watched them
In that moment, Tiana stepped on Zakaragi with her heels and Zakaragi played it off as it not hurting as he continued to dance with her.
"Fate, huh..."
"So, do you still want to dance?" He asked as he extended his arm once more
Lydia looked around and saw that mostly everyone was dancing. She was going to have to find a way to blend in and didn't really want to stand out. So naturally, she accepted.
"If I'm good enough." She replied as she grabbed on to his hand
-----------------------------------------
The clouds in the sky grew darker and darker as rain began to fall. Not a calm and gentle one, but one which came before a storm.
While this happened, Serena cotinued to walk through the halls. Some of the maids noticed, but they didn't speak anything of it.
It was strange, the maids were ignoring everything that was happening while only focusing on their jobs, but Serena didn't question it. It was the least of her worries.
"Why does he always-"
"Always?" John asked as he suddenly appeared behind her
In that instant, Serena subconsciously activated the spell she had hidden. A small orb of compressed flames was sent straight at John.
Luckily for them, John was able to react in time.
[Glacio, antecessum]
*Tic* *toc*
Before it came into contact with him, John froze it and sped up the freezing process by a minute making the orb, completely freeze in a split second.
On top of that, a transparent clock was formed in front of him. But Serena didn't seem to notice it.
The frozen orb of ice dropped straight on to the ground as John stared at her. At first, Serena avoided his look due to guilt, but then remembered that this wouldn't have happened if he didn't sneak up on her.
"Sorry, but this wouldn't have happened if you didn't sneak up on-"
Serena suddenly stopped talking when she realised the girl on John's back.
"Who the hell tries to blow up-"
John was interrupted by Serena who quickly moved in to check on Ariel.
"Ariel...? What happened to her?!"
"I'm not sure..." John muttered
"Create the anti-sound barrier you usually make." Said Serena as she crouched down.
She put the boy on her back on the ground before grabbing on to something she hid near her shoe. It was the light, fire and water wand she had gotten from the dungeon.
"I already did."
"While I was looking for a room to stay, I could feel someone watching me." Said Serena
"How many?"
"Just one, can't you find them?"
"Easier said than done. This place is full of people, I can't differentiate them. It could be anyone."
"I see... So we'll just have to force them out." Said Serena as she began walking towards the main hall.
Before she could get away, John stopped her in the middle of the hallway. He actived 'furtim' on the boy before using 'levite' and wind magic to carry him.
"What are you doing?" John asked
"What do you mean? I'm going to give them a greeting." Said Serena
"You don't know how many there are, or who are they. It might not work-"
The instant he said that Serena shouted
"Who cares?! These bastards hurt Ariel! Doesn't that anger you!?"
John who heard this, unfastened his tie before saying
"I wasn't finished. It might not work, so..."
Air began gathering around John's legs as the relaxed and easy-going poker face expression he kept on disappeared.
"I'll join you."
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