I Start with a Bad Hand!

“Uh…?”

At that moment, a cold sweat ran down my back. In contrast, my lips felt dry and parched. As soon as I heard those words, memories of my first meeting with Klaus to the present flashed quickly through my mind, making everything feel distant. I tried to fully grasp the moment as I felt the steady rhythm of the music gradually slowing down.

‘What did I just hear?’

No, right now? Dressed in this strange outfit, without any warning, so suddenly? In a situation where I don’t even know how to defend myself, so suddenly. This is why people get assassinated. It comes so unexpectedly that they can’t react at all,

“Dietrich?”

At that moment, Klaus, perhaps thinking it was strange that my steps had slowed, adjusted his grip on my hand. With a puzzled look in his eyes, I tried to maintain a calm tone as I asked,

“Uh… can you say that again?”

“Huh?”

“Because of the music… I couldn’t hear well.”

Ah… Klaus paused for a moment, then leaned closer to me as if he understood. His long neck brought a refreshing scent that didn’t match his high-end tailcoat closer to me.

“I asked if you like it. The waltz.”

“Oh.”

At that moment, the dampness on my back seemed to dry rapidly. ‘Do you like it?’ instead of ‘I like you?’ Relief surged from deep within me, and I adjusted my grip on Klaus’s hand just as he had.

“Ah, hahaha. Hahahahaha!”

Wow, what a relief. Of course. There’s no way he’d say that here.

‘Ah, I really need to stop being so self-conscious.’

Being around such egotistical people must have made my own ego subtly inflate without me realizing it. Wow, if I had rejected him there, I would have ended up looking like a fool by myself.

Seeing me suddenly burst into laughter, Klaus widened his green eyes and gracefully turned us around. Realizing I was the one who had taken things too seriously and then laughed alone, I quickly stifled my laughter and began to explain apologetically.

“Sorry. I misunderstood what you said. Yeah, I like it too. I didn’t know much about waltzes.”

“Misunderstood? How did you…?”

It was embarrassing to tell Klaus the truth about his bewildered question. I glanced down and averted my gaze, avoiding a direct answer.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say… Anyway, I think I started to like the waltz because I was dancing with you.”

“I’m glad you like it. It feels like there’s something we can share between us.”

“Don’t we already share a lot? You, your sister too.”

“Ahaha. I guess so.”

Klaus laughed awkwardly and then, as the music headed towards the highlight, he moved a little closer to me and whispered in my ear.

“Can I ask what you like about it?”

“Thump-thump. I like the regular and simple steps.”

…Was life so chaotic? I made a joke and laughed it off, and Klaus mumbled along with a “thump-thump” following me, then gave a slight smile.

“You don’t like sudden changes, huh?”

“Yeah, it seems that way. Ah, this is my favorite part. The notes played here are so rich and beautiful,”

Ta-da-ra-. The melody of the woodwind instruments delicately layered over the building sound of the strings.

“It’s also not overwhelming to listen to.”

The flickering light of the chandelier settled on Klaus’s smiling face.

“Me too.”

***

Chop-chop. I could feel the cool touch of the marble under my bare feet. Walking alone down the corridor after parting ways with everyone, I stretched my tired neck. I had already taken off my shoes and had been holding them in my hand for some time. Outside the window, cherry blossoms were in full bloom, their petals starting to drift away.

‘Wasn’t it just a while ago that I heard the buds were forming?’

Maybe it’s because I’ve been so preoccupied lately. Thinking of the person who reminded me of the changing seasons, I gazed absently at the scene.

“The flowers have budded.”

At the sudden voice, I lifted my gaze from the script. Icarus appeared to be sketching the poster’s drawing I had asked for, with a calm expression. However, the part where his hand moved swiftly was already so darkened that the thin paper was on the verge of tearing.

“Where?”

There were many places where flowers had bloomed, so I was curious about his specific mention and stared at him intently.

“The hill we went to together.”

“Time flies.”

“Want to go see it together?”

With a serene face, still sketching, Icarus asked. I subtly shifted my gaze below the table, hoping he wouldn’t notice. The table had been shaking slightly for a while, making it difficult to draw a straight line with a pen. Even the prince shakes his leg, huh. Maybe the imperial etiquette education needs a revamp, I thought as I replied.

“If the flowers have just budded, they’re probably just at the bud stage, right?”

Despite knowing his abilities well, I said that on purpose. Now, the ink bottle was starting to wobble slightly.

“Well, actually… I don’t think I’ll be at the academy when the flowers are in full bloom. I have to go somewhere for a bit. Not for long, though. If I adjust my schedule, I could be back when the flowers are in full bloom, so for the spring ball… You said you weren’t going anyway. So, around that time…”

As his words dragged on, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that his brother planned to propose to his fiancée at that spot this year. Let alone that I would be attending the spring ball with another partner.

“I’ll be going to the spring ball. Someone… requested it.”

“Who? The Marquis’ family?”

I responded with silence. With a snap, the sound of the pencil lead breaking on the paper he was drawing—or was it sketching aimlessly—reached my ears. At the same time, he looked at me with an expression that said, “I figured as much.” However, he soon spoke with a nonchalant expression.

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

His reaction was much calmer than I had expected, and I found myself staring at him unintentionally. Soon, he spoke with a composed expression.

“I won’t be at the academy during that time anyway.”

I continued to stare at him without saying anything, and he added with a playful smile,

“And… I’m more mature than you think.”

…Sure. The ink inside the bottle was rippling slightly.

‘He said that and actually left.’

I recalled his expression when he had asked me to go to the spring ball together. At that time, he had spun around the room, looking as if he hated the idea to death. Since then, he hadn’t said a word about the spring ball until he left. Perhaps he really was more mature than I had thought.

“…What?”

…I thought, ‘I don’t know.’ He might become a prince, but he’d never become a gentleman. As I watched his chest rise and fall rapidly with a bewildered expression, I asked,

“When did you get back?”

“Today. I heard the music, so I thought I wasn’t too late.”

“It just ended. Still, coming in such a hurry. In that… outfit.”

At the academy, Icarus had always been neat and tidy, but today he was wearing a shirt that looked hastily thrown on and wrinkled. When I lowered my gaze to his black pants, hastily chosen to complete the look, he suddenly asked me in a breathless tone as if trying to suppress his heavy breathing.

“Did he… say anything to you today?”

At the unexpected question, I frowned slightly and asked back,

“Who?”

“Horatius’s eldest son. Your friend’s brother. Your partner.”

The faint scent of soap lingered over his wet hair. His usually white and dry face had a rosy tint typical of someone who had been running. Icarus, who had listed various titles for one person, suppressed his heavy breathing and asked. It was a question he could have asked at any time without running, but he had chosen to run to me.

“He didn’t say anything special.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was just like usual.”

Icarus squinted his eyes and stared at my face, seemingly judging that I wasn’t lying. After several repeated questions and answers, he finally let out a sigh and slid to the floor as if his pent-up breath had escaped him.

“…Really.”

“I told you, yes.”

I didn’t ask him why. Some actions spoke clearer than words. Instead, I crouched down to meet his gaze. Icarus looked at me for a moment before lightly tapping my foot and asking,

“Aren’t you cold?”

“…My shoes are uncomfortable.”

With a hmph, he nonchalantly took off his shoes and handed them to me. His shirt was heavily wrinkled, and his pants didn’t look brand new either, but the shoes curiously had the distinct shiny look and leather smell of new footwear.

“I thought this might happen.”

As I stared blankly at the shoes he handed me, he pressed his lips together with a displeased expression before tapping my foot again. When I just glared at him and stood still, he began pecking at my foot with his finger like a bird’s beak. Fearing he’d poke a hole in my foot, I stopped his hand and said,

“I can walk fine barefoot.”

“I know.”

“At least one of us should be—wait, your shirt is on inside out.”

“What?”

I had sensed something odd about the shirt’s shape, but what kind of state of mind had he been in to put his clothes on inside out? Icarus hurriedly looked down at his shirt at my words, frowning and rubbing his forehead. But then he shrugged and, with a somewhat enlightened expression, said to me,

“At least you didn’t put your dress on inside out.”

“That… is true.”

“Then it’s better that at least one of us is properly dressed.”

In the end, the only sounds in the corridor were the clattering of me walking in oversized shoes and the conversation between the two of us. Icarus casually pushed his tousled bangs back, but they soon fell naturally over his face again.

“So, did you find out what you wanted?”

“Yeah. I roughly figured out who was behind it and confirmed some things I was curious about.”

I stretched, loosening the stiffness in my neck from fatigue. As my muscles cracked and relaxed, Icarus chuckled softly.

“Now all that’s left is to find out why.”

The main cast and script were complete; now all that was left was to stage the play. For the sole audience of this drama.

However, the ending of this play took an unexpected turn. It was as if a sail had been added to a rowboat I thought I had planned. It went much farther than I had anticipated. And if you ask who that sail was,

“…Icarus.”

The one who should have been today’s protagonist, or rather, the male lead of this world, for some reason looked quite put out. It was Elius.