Whoosh!
The lights in the banquet hall suddenly blazed on. Looking around, it seemed the ghostly servants had lit them just as we entered.
“Huh?”
As I widened my eyes, Adolf suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Young Master!”
“Who…are you?”
Basileon seemed a little flustered as he stared at the shield waddling toward him.
“Young Master! Surely you don’t mean to say you don’t remember my voice!”
When Adolf spoke, sounding a little hurt, Basileon tilted his head as if unsure.
“To think you’ve forgotten the time we spent together…”
Adolf slumped in disappointment, but Basileon finally frowned as if something had just come to mind.
“Wait, can it be… Adolf?”
“That’s right! Young Master, you remembered!”
Overjoyed, Adolf did a sideways roll and tumbled toward Basileon.
“I was trapped in the underground armory, unaware of how the world worked.”
“Wait. Adolf. I thought you were dead…”
Basileon looked quite confused.
“Oh, don’t even say that! Dead, you say? Do you really think I, Adolf, would die that easily? Well, sure, I’m cursed to be a shield now—but at least I’m not dead!”
“You were alive. I didn’t even know it…”
As the atmosphere between the two calmed down a bit, the weapons that had been hiding here and there appeared. Then, gentle music began to play from somewhere. When I turned my head, I saw a ghostly orchestra playing instruments on the banquet hall stage.
“This Adolf has prepared this for the young master.”
Countless weapons—bastard swords, longbows, halberds, spears, and axes—stood in formation in the air.
“What the heck is this…”
Basileon’s eyes widened in astonishment. Pieces of armor, scattered carelessly in a corner, floated into the air and merged into a humanoid form. As Adolf’s weapons took their positions, grand music began to play. Everyone moved as if dancing to the rhythm. The assembled armor also responded to the music, moving fluidly as if it were alive.
“They’re the ones from the armory. Though I’ve become a shield, those fellows move as if they’ve gained souls of their own. Maybe it’s because I’ve cherished them like my own children—they listen to me remarkably well.”
Though Adolf was clearly just a shield now, for some reason, I could almost see the image of an old man standing with his hands clasped behind his back, lost in nostalgia.
“Young Master Basileon, do you remember the times when you and I secretly practiced swordsmanship in the armory?”
Although Basileon was now the head of the family, to Adolf, he still seemed like the young master he used to be.
“Wow! This is exciting!”
As the ghostly orchestra played and the weapons danced in rhythm, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the excitement. Ever since I’d become a spirit, my days had been all about life and death—hardly the kind of existence filled with joy. When would I ever see something like this again? Thanks to Adolf, I was witnessing a truly rare spectacle. With eyes sparkling, I flew toward one of the dancing suits of armor and began to trail behind it, mimicking its every move.
“Me too! Let me join in!”
I was terrible at dancing and had no idea how to do Western-style dances, but I just moved my body to the rhythm. After being trapped in this gloomy game world for so long, seeing something this fun made my body react on its own. As I danced awkwardly by myself, I caught a glimpse of Basileon’s lips subtly curling into a smile from afar.
‘…Isn’t this the first time he’s smiled?’
Seeing him smile like that, I guess Basileon really is human after all.
“Why are you smiling? Come over here too.”
I gestured for Basileon to come over, but he pretended not to notice and looked away.
“You!”
I leaned in close to Basileon’s face, just for fun. For some reason, I just felt like doing it.
“…Yeah.”
In the end, Basileon gave in with a faint sigh and followed after me.
“You should’ve come earlier!”
Basileon, who had followed me out, didn’t join in the dancing—he simply watched my ridiculous moves with a small, amused smile.
‘Yeah, he seems a bit shy—it’s not exactly easy for someone like him to suddenly start dancing.’
“Basileon. Do you want to dance with me?”
Basileon blushed at my words, then suddenly, as if remembering something, his expression turned gloomy.
“…How?”
He probably meant how he could dance without being able to touch me.
“It’s okay. We can still dance!”
I carefully observed the armored figure beside me, trying to copy its dance moves.
“I just memorized their moves by watching them. It’s fine.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
‘I know, I know. But it doesn’t matter.’
“Now.”
I cut Basileon off mid-sentence and swiftly reached out my hand. Thankfully, he obediently placed his palm over mine—or rather, held it suspended in the air. From the side, it might have looked like we were actually holding hands. Under the soft chandelier light that painted the floor in shades of gold, the two of us met each other’s gaze. Perhaps this was the first time we’d ever looked this closely into each other’s eyes.
“…!”
At that moment, I saw my reflection in Basileon’s eyes. It felt as though my breath had stopped. What I saw was myself—with deep, enchanting violet eyes, twin beauty marks beneath them, and shimmering silver hair.
“Is that… what I look like?”
As I approached, trying to get a closer look at myself, Basileon took a step back.
“What are you doing?”
“I see myself reflected in your eyes.”
“Ah.”
Basileon raised the corners of his mouth at my words.
“Why are you acting surprised now?”
By the light of the chandelier, Basileon’s delicate yet masculine face was visible.
“…As if you’ve just realized that you’re a beautiful woman.”
‘Wait. What are you talking about?’
Basileon’s smile was warm. Was this what it meant to be captivated? Each time he smiled, his face softened, breathing life into his otherwise cold features. He stepped closer to me again, placing his hand gently over mine. At that moment, my heart began to race uncontrollably.
“…Evien. Follow my movements.”
When Basileon whispered, his deep, low voice tickled my ear. For a moment, I was dazed—it felt almost as if he were truly holding my hand. The ghostly orchestra shifted to a gentle melody, perfectly matching our movements. Basileon moved with fluid grace, and I followed, clumsy but trying my best to keep up.
There was no actual physical contact, yet I kept feeling as if we were touching. Basileon’s red left eye blazed like fire. As his hair fluttered and revealed his right black eye, it felt as though I was being drawn into the night sky, dancing within it. The more we danced, the more I lost my sense of reality. Every time Basileon moved gracefully, leading me with ease, I struggled to keep up, barely matching his motions.
‘This can’t be happening.’
In the middle of the dance, I shook my head briefly to try to regain my composure.
“What are you doing?”
But before my eyes, there was only Basileon staring at me blankly.
“…You’ve improved since the first time.”
As the music reached its final notes, it came to a stop. Adolf, who had been watching the scene, bounced up and let out a cheer in place of applause. Basileon smiled and bowed slightly in acknowledgment. I responded playfully to his gesture.
“It was a wonderful time, Your Excellency, Duke Ravenwood.”
Basileon then lowered his head and pretended to kiss the back of my hand.
“…!”
An unexpected hand kiss. My heart skipped a beat with a subtle thrill. Of course, he didn’t actually touch me… but still.
“…What a beautiful night. It is an honor to dance with you, Lady Montrose.”
Hearing that, I felt a flush of heat rush to my face. As I blinked in embarrassment, Basileon quietly held my gaze.
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Intimacy: 57%
◇ Anger: 52%
Still, in just that brief moment, his anger level dropped this much—clearly, it had a real effect.
“Wow. This was fun. This was fun.”
I hurriedly mumbled something to hide my embarrassment and slipped away, heading toward Adolf. Fortunately, Basileon didn’t follow. I could only feel his piercing gaze on me until the very end.
“Evil spirit, thanks to you, the young master looks genuinely happy.”
“…Really?”
“It’s true. When we came in, the young master was gloomy, but now look at him—he’s smiling like that.”
Basileon had stopped looking at me and was now watching the floating weapons around him from a distance. His mood had truly brightened, completely different from how he had seemed earlier.
“Young master! It seems the bastard sword has caught your eye.”
Thump—thump—thump! Adolf went over to Basileon, who was carefully inspecting the weapons.
“Ah! If you go over there…!”
I was left alone. Being by myself, the events from just moments ago kept replaying in my mind. The hand kiss… the hand kiss… things like that.
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