Chapter 4: An Unexpected First Dance.

Amelia regretted not simply entering the venue earlier without holding out any hope that Reese might come after all.

While she lingered, timing her entry, a voice suddenly called out from behind her.

“The party is about to begin. Aren’t you going inside?”

“!”

Startled, she turned around.
A male student stood there, gazing straight at her.

She had only visited the royal capital a handful of times and had almost no interaction with other nobles.
She had no idea who he was.

Even so, she hurriedly bowed her head—because one glance was enough to tell he belonged to the highest echelons.

Lustrous golden hair.
Emerald-green eyes so clear they seemed translucent.

A face so perfectly sculpted it stole the breath.

He was not particularly tall and carried a slender build, yet merely standing there quietly exuded an unmistakable dignity.
At the same time, his demeanor was gentle, and the gaze he turned on Amelia was kind.

“N-no, um… I haven’t been able to reach my fiancé. I was waiting in case he might come, but…”

She answered desperately, determined not to be rude.
He gave a small nod.

“I see. But it’s already time to start, so it might be better to look for your fiancé inside the venue.”

Saying so, he extended his hand toward her.

“I’ll escort you in.”

“Eh, but…”

“It would be a pity to let a lady enter alone. I have no fiancée, and if it’s me escorting you, your fiancé surely won’t misunderstand anything strange.”

“…Yes. Thank you very much.”

She could not refuse an invitation from someone of clearly superior rank.

Hesitantly, Amelia placed her hand in his.

His palm felt utterly different from her own—roughened by farm work—smooth and refined.
Even the way he walked was elegant and graceful.
Just who was this person?

Her mother had drilled into her, before enrollment, the names and features of the high-ranking nobles and royals attending the academy so she would not commit any blunders.

The Third Prince and the sons of ducal houses were third-years.
The daughters of ducal houses and the Fourth Prince were second-years, the same as Reese.

Among the new first-years, there was apparently a daughter of a marquis house.

She racked her brain desperately to identify who this man escorting her might be.

Even though they all attended the same academy, there was no reason for someone of his standing to ever cross paths with the daughter of a remote borderland earl.
She bitterly regretted not having studied their names and distinguishing features more carefully.

Oblivious to the frantic thoughts racing through her mind, he led her by the hand and stepped into the party venue.

Amelia had been escorted by Reese a few times before.
But the way this man adjusted his pace to hers, guiding her so she could walk comfortably—his escort was so refined and graceful that she felt a quiet thrill.
So this was what high society escorting looked like.

The students who greeted newcomers with applause fell into an uproar the moment they saw the pair.

Unlike the others, he did not pause at the entrance to bow.

Amelia managed an awkward curtsy; when she raised her face again, he offered her an elegant smile and continued forward, still holding her hand.

Her legs trembled beneath her.

Among the current students were members of the royal family.
In this absolute monarchy, refusing to bow one’s head could only mean one thing: he himself was royalty.

The Third Prince Julius already had a fiancée from a marquis house.

If so, then this man—who had said he had no fiancée—must be the Fourth Prince, Sarju.

(Oh no… what do I do…)

Even having reached that conclusion, she could hardly believe the person holding her hand was actually a prince.
She nearly stumbled to a halt several times.

Yet once she recognized it, his dignified bearing and gentle, refined manner seemed only natural.
When she calmed down enough to sense it, she could feel the overwhelming wave of light mana radiating from him.
Royalty possessed vastly superior magical power—and they alone could wield light-attribute magic.

Light magic, she had heard, could replicate the effects of every other attribute.

Offensive power like fire magic.
Supportive spells like wind magic.
Healing like water magic.
And fertility and growth like earth magic.

Every eye in the room was fixed on Amelia—being escorted by such a royal.

It was only natural.
The Fourth Prince, who had never had a fiancée before, had just entered the hall hand-in-hand with an unknown young lady.

“Have you spotted your fiancé yet?”

Prince Sarju himself, utterly accustomed to being the center of attention, asked her in a calm, composed voice.

She hurriedly scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of anyone who looked like Reese.

“No… unfortunately not.”

Being stared at so intensely was worse than entering alone, but she decided she could simply become a wallflower from here on.
Thinking that, she tried to gently withdraw her hand from his.

All she had to do now was thank him politely and slip away from his side—then she could escape these piercing gazes.

Or so she thought.

“I see. In that case—since we’re already here, why don’t we dance?”

“Eh?”

To his credit, Prince Sarju did not forcibly drag her out.

Yet with only that gentle, kind smile and the lightest touch of guidance, Amelia found herself unable to pull away.

Before she realized it, they stood in the very center of the venue, facing each other with hands joined.

(Um… how did this happen?)

Music began to play.
Students around them started to dance.

Since this was the first dance, everyone was surely pairing with their fiancés—or prospective ones.

Amelia had a fiancé named Reese.

Yet she had been unable to meet Reese at all, and for some inexplicable reason, she now found herself dancing with the Fourth Prince Sarju.

Bewildered though she was, she could not run away after coming this far.

His lead was masterful.
She had never danced so lightly or effortlessly in her life.

She had always loved dancing.

But Reese had never cared for it much, so whenever they attended parties together, they had simply watched from the sidelines without joining in.

Now, however, she was dancing freely in the very heart of the hall.

Caught up in the sheer joy of it, she momentarily forgot that her partner was a prince—and that Reese might be somewhere in this very room—losing herself completely in the moment.