Mushoku Tensei: The Mad Witch's Magical Redemption

[MC's POV]

I did it. I convinced Rudeus to help me with my dance lessons, though he seemed reluctant to comply. I even promised him I would do anything in return, which was a rather bold move. 

Urgh, there is no turning back now. I will face the consequence of my action head-on, even if it means getting fondled in the chest by him.

Anyway, we made our way back to the practice room, where Edna waited patiently. As soon as we entered, she turned toward us with her usual composed expression and walked over.

"Welcome back, milady," she greeted, bowing courteously.

Grinning earnestly, I returned the curtsy. "Thank you for waiting."

Edna nodded, glancing between me and Rudeus before clasping her hands.

"Since you two are here, we can now continue the lesson," she declared firmly before turning her attention to Rudeus and offering him a gracious nod. "Lord Rudeus, it is an honor to have your assistance in preparing the young lady for her birthday dance."

"Ah, I guess so," Rudeus mumbled, clearly not thrilled about being roped into this.

Smiling favorably, Edna pointed towards the center of the room. "Milady, if you would, please take your position. Lord Rudeus, kindly stand in front of her."

Following her instructions, we moved to our assigned location and faced each other. I looked at Rudeus, who seemed stiff and awkward, his hands fidgeting slightly at his sides.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, concerned about his mental state.

Meeting my gaze, he nodded indecisively. "Yeah, I think."

"Just relax and everything will be fine," I reassured him, reaching for his hand.

However, Rudeus's hand withdrew a little before hesitantly holding onto mine. He averted his eyes ever so slightly, seemingly uncomfortable for some reason.

"Alright, time to get started," Edna interjected, walking closer to instruct. "Milady, do you still remember the basic steps, right?"

I nodded, remembering a series of tedious foot placements. "Still got it."

"Good," she conceded before turning to Rudeus. "Please follow my movements, Lord Rudeus, and we shall test if Lady Eris truly remembered the steps."

Edna positioned herself beside us and began demonstrating the moves for Rudeus. I focused on matching his pace, my feet sliding in position as I kept the rhythm consistent. However, he stumbled slightly, causing the timing to fall apart.

"Hey, watch it!" I accidentally snapped when his foot trampled mine.

"Ah, sorry," he yelped, his face flushed in discomfort. "Didn't mean to."

"Geez, I told you to relax," I gently rebuked him, even though I let his mistake slide. 

clap! clap!

While arguing, Edna clapped her hands to break the tension and get our attention.

"Alright, break it up, you two," she calmly interjected, ending the conflict. "Milady, I know that Lord Rudeus didn't intend to step your foot, but it's up to you to make up for the mistakes of your partner to keep the dance going."

Though frustrated by her unfair opinion, I swallowed my pride and nodded. "I understand..."

"As for you, Lord Rudeus," she proclaimed, "I need you to take this practice seriously and set aside your unwanted feelings for her sake."

Rudeus didn't retort and just nodded silently. He seemed bothered by her comment, causing me to consider investigating what he was thinking.

"Alright, let's start again from the top."

However, I didn't get the chance to do so as we resumed our practice.

Well, I could do it later.

---------------------------------

After several attempts and a couple of times my foot was stepped on, Edna finally decided to call it a day. She clapped her hand, prompting us to stop dancing.

"Alright, that's enough for now," she instructed. "So far, we made some progress, but we shall refine the dance steps tomorrow."

I grimaced at the sound of the word "tomorrow." Just the mere thought of another set of this awkward, toe-crushing torture didn't exactly fill me with conviction. My feet might need their healing magic at this rate.

Rudeus, on the other hand, looked even more weary than I felt. His posture slumped, and his gaze stayed glued to the floor as if hoping it might swallow him up.

"Thank you for your hard work today," Edna praised, her tone calm yet firm. "I trust that both of you will give it your all tomorrow as well."

Though feeling exhausted, I forced a smile. "Of course, Miss Edna."

Meanwhile, Rudeus muttered something that might be acceptance, though it was hard to tell with how low his voice was.

Edna gave a small bow before excusing herself, leaving me and Rudeus alone in the practice room. The quietness that followed was awkward enough to make me shuffle my feet—which immediately reminded me of how sore they were.

Trying to break the tension, I began the conversation. "Well, thanks for helping me, Rudeus. I appreciated your efforts, even though you stepped on my foot a few times."

He winced upon being reminded. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured him lightly. "My toes were sturdier than it looks."

Rudeus gave a weak chuckle, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Something was clearly bothering him, and I couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with what Edna said earlier.

As he was about to turn around and leave, I instinctively grabbed his hand. "Wait, I wanted to ask you something."

"Huh? What is it?" he asked anxiously, startled by my action.

Meeting his vigilant gaze, I took a deep breath before speaking. "Be honest with me—do you have any unwanted feelings about how I treated you?"

"I don't know where this is coming from, but what do you mean?" he pressed, taken aback by my strange question.

Looking down, I tenderly caressed his hand, as if finding the right word to say.

"You've seemed... off," I explained calmly. "Ever since the day I gave you the aphrodisiac, you were kind of avoiding me, making me wonder if I did something wrong that upset you."

Rudeus hesitated, using his free hand to scratch the back of his neck. "It's not that, it's just... I don't know how to put it—you're, uh... different."

"Different how?" I pressed, my curiosity piqued.

Feeling pressured, he winced intensely but I waited patiently for him to spill out the beans.

Eventually, Rudeus mustered the courage to speak. "Eris, for some reason, you were acting a little bit... lewd."

"Come again?" I blinked, baffled by his response.

He covered his face with his free hand, embarrassed by what he said. "I mean, ever since the time I fondled your chest, you have been acting passionately—like giving me the aphrodisiac you mentioned and promising to do anything I want on my birthday."

His words struck me deeply, causing me to question myself.

Am I lewd? If so, why didn't I realize it? And why didn't I stop myself from behaving this way? 

I breathed heavily as I caressed Rudeus' hand again, trying to calm myself down. Yet, he was weirded out and withdrew his arm away from me.

"U-umm, see you tomorrow, bye!"

"Rudeus, wait!"

I tried grabbing him again but he somehow managed to escape, leaving me alone in the room pondering my newfound existential crisis.

Was I that lewd to him? Maybe I was, but why? Honestly, what is wrong with me?

No matter how much I tried to rationalize it, the answer was simply out of reach. In the end, I just left the room feeling unsatisfied.

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What should I do? I felt like I made a huge blunder towards Rudeus. Would he forgive me for my transgression? Perhaps not. Unless...

I decided to find him and apologize for what I had done to him. But where could he be? The sun was setting and dinner was drawing near.

As I rummaged through the mansion, I spotted Ghislaine casually roaming the hallways. She noticed my presence and approached me.

"What's the matter, Milady? You seemed upset," she remarked nonchalantly.

I sighed wearily. "I can't find Rudeus anywhere. Have you seen him?"

"Rudeus? Ah, he went that way," she replied, pointing down a corridor. "He seemed afraid like he was running from something."

Her answer made me feel guilty. Rudeus must have been so traumatized by my prior actions that he fled in fear. I needed to make this right. Without hesitation, I followed Ghislaine as she silently took the lead.

She sniffed the air, tracking his scent. Finally, we stopped in front of his room. I motioned for her to step aside, wanting to handle this myself. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

Knock... Knock...

"Rudeus? Are you in there?"

"...."

Only silence greeted me. Why wasn't he answering?

"If you're there, I just wanted to apologize."

"...."

Still no response. Was he asleep? Or intentionally ignoring me?

"I know I frightened you earlier, but it wasn't my intention," I confessed, my voice heavy with regret. "If you're still upset, I won't force you to help me tomorrow."

"...."

The silence endured. Resigned, I sighed and turned to Ghislaine, who just shrugged. Looking back, I spoke once more.

"Goodnight, Rudeus," I murmured before retreating down the hallway.

The next morning, I tried practicing on my own. Edna supervised nearby, offering occasional guidance. Still, without a partner, my movements felt lethargic and awkward, and a lingering melancholy gnawed at me.

Thud

I did make a mistake. My foot got caught, causing me to trip, and fell to the ground. I groaned in pain, trying to use healing magic to soothe the suffering.

"Milady!" Edna cried out, hurrying to check on me.

Unexpectedly, another person came rushing in, shouting, "Eris! Are you okay?"

I looked up and was surprised by what I saw.

"Rudeus?" I exclaimed before turning away in disgrace. "I told you I wouldn't force you to help me anymore."

"You didn't force me," he replied, crouching to grab my hand. "I came because I wanted to." 

"O-oh, I see..." I stuttered, feeling my cheeks warm up. "That's unexpected, but... I don't want to scare you again."

Hearing the vulnerability in my voice, Rudeus helped me stand up.

"No, I wasn't scared, I just overreacted, that's all," he admitted embarrassingly. 

My eyes met his, searching for sincerity. I then looked at his hand and instinctively caressed it to see if he reacted negatively again. Instead, he stood there, enduring my action.

"You're just saying it to trick me, aren't you?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head, offering a friendly smile. "No, I mean it because I want to help you dance practice until your birthday arrives."

"Ah, okay," I acknowledged, smiling back. "If you say so."

A brief silence settled between us, a moment of quiet understanding, until Edna cleared her throat, interrupting us.

"Shall we pick up where we left off, Milady?" she instructed before turning to Rudeus. "And, Lord Rudeus, if you'll be assisting again, please do."

Rudeus and I exchanged a glance, then returned our gaze and nodded. we returned to the lesson together, determined to keep practicing and leave the awkwardness behind.

------------------------------------------

Everything is progressing more smoothly than I anticipated.

With our reconciliation, Rudeus and I worked through the dance lessons with unprecedented efficiency. We improved the dance steps, fixed any mistakes, and managed to shape a nearly flawless routine.

This goes on for a couple of days, though there were occasional delays when Rudeus turned his attention to his pursuits, such as learning new languages. I couldn't blame him since this held significant advantages in the future.

As for me, I maintained my habit of recounting the day's events to the original Eris whenever I fell asleep. She became more frustrated every time I mentioned her birthday.

"Urgh, quit wasting time on that dumb dance practice," she protested. "If I were you, I'd skip that birthday entirely and focus on giving my body back."

I frowned at her comment, remembering how she despised this event. "I know how important regaining control is to you, but I'll resume it once the celebration is over. Besides, abandoning everything now would ruin the act I've been working so hard to maintain."

She gritted her teeth, clearly annoyed, but ultimately relented. "Fine, just don't get too comfy in my body, impostor."

With that grudging acceptance, the conversation ended, though her lingering bitterness was hard to ignore.

The next morning, I again found myself practicing the dance routine alongside Rudeus. We'd developed a rhythm that ensured that even the most complicated steps felt manageable.

"Very good, milady," Edna commented approvingly. "I suppose you're ready for your birthday dance performance."

"Really? That's fantastic!" I exclaimed, thrilled that all our hard work had finally paid off.

Rudeus, however, seemed less certain. "Do you think Eris will manage dancing with someone else, Miss Edna?" 

"Ah, well... She will surely manage," Edna replied with a strained smile.

Her hesitant response made my stomach twist. The idea of dancing with a stranger suddenly felt overwhelming and doubt began to creep in. Could I pull it off?