First Stirrings of Love

Moreover, these were all students in the prime of their youth.

Their curiosity and affection for the opposite s*x were at their peak, and such an occasion was undoubtedly a catalyst.

Suddenly, the music in the hall changed.

It shifted from the previous light and melodious tune to a more formal and beautiful dance melody.

“The next segment is ballroom dancing.”

Brenna said from the side.

Black nodded.

‘It’s about time to make my move.’

According to the tradition of the Dragonheart Empire, the first ballroom dance of a banquet should be opened by the woman of the highest status present.

Everyone’s gaze naturally focused on Princess Aphra.

Aphra walked gracefully to the center of the dance floor.

Under the crystal chandelier.

The young woman wore a well-fitting silver-white gradient gauze dress that outlined her graceful curves.

A sapphire butterfly brooch was pinned at her collar, and a feather hair ornament in her hair swayed gently with her movements.

Her whole being seemed to be enveloped in starlight, dreamily beautiful, like a princess who had walked out of a fairy tale.

A flash of amazement appeared in the eyes of many of the men present.

Then, Aphra stopped.

Her bright eyes slowly scanned the surrounding crowd, as if searching for something.

‘Looking for a dance partner?’

An ominous premonition rose in Black’s heart.

He did not want to become the center of attention at this time.

So, he inconspicuously moved backward, silently melting into the crowd.

Using the figures of the surrounding students as cover, he perfectly avoided Aphra’s searching gaze.

Aphra looked for a long time but didn’t find the person she was looking for.

Her delicate brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

‘Didn’t that guy say he was coming? Where is he?’

She couldn’t find him after looking for a long time.

As for the others, she wasn’t very interested.

Aphra simply turned around and pulled her brother, Oscar.

“Brother, it’s you.”

Oscar was already used to it. He smiled helplessly, took his sister’s hand, and walked to the center of the dance floor.

The siblings were already exceptionally good-looking, and standing together, they looked like a golden couple.

In addition, with the royal etiquette training they had received since childhood, they were extremely skilled at ballroom dancing.

They danced gracefully to the music, their movements smooth and elegant, their coordination flawless.

Every gesture was pleasing to the eye, drawing low murmurs of admiration from the crowd.

At the end of the song, the scene immediately erupted in warm applause.

After the first opening dance, it was time for the more free-form group dancing.

A banquet organized by the students themselves didn’t have so many rules.

Moreover, the student council even encouraged everyone to gather their courage and invite their crush to a dance.

For a time, the atmosphere in the hall became even more restless.

Many students were eager to try, especially those with good family backgrounds and those who considered themselves good-looking.

On the boys’ side, the most popular were naturally those few prominent figures.

Oscar was the most favored among them.

Not only was his status noble, but his personality was also gentle and approachable, without any airs.

So a large circle of girls surrounded him, and he probably had quite a headache.

There was a trace of imperceptible fatigue in his smile.

“Hello, may I… may I have this dance with you?”

Just as Black was slightly distracted, thinking about his next plan.

A shy girl’s voice sounded beside him.

He turned his head and saw a girl with delicate features looking up at him.

Her eyes were filled with the hopeful longing of a young girl in love.

‘?’

‘Who is she talking to?’

‘It can’t be me, can it?’

Black was stunned for a moment, completely bewildered.

Only after confirming that there was no one else around him did he realize.

‘No way? The day has come when someone asks me to dance?’

Black felt strangely teary-eyed.

In his previous life, there had been similar events, but at that time, he could only be the person gorging on snacks in the corner.

But.

He didn’t have time right now, so he could only refuse the girl’s invitation.

“I’m sorry, I have some urgent business to attend to immediately. I’m afraid I don’t have time.”

He found an excuse that sounded reasonably plausible.

The light in the young woman’s eyes instantly dimmed, and a mist of grievance quickly welled up.

She bit her lip, said “It’s okay” in a low voice.

Then she turned and hurried away.

Watching the young woman’s back disappear into the crowd, Black sighed softly and thought to himself.

‘Ah, what a sin…’

There was nothing he could do. He had important business to attend to later.

There was really no need, and he was in no mood to get involved in these romantic activities.

Just as he had successfully extricated himself.

And was about to leave quietly, his gaze inadvertently fell upon a beautiful figure.

Kristine.

The Kristine of tonight was a completely different person from the plainly dressed village girl of a few days ago.

She wore a white, off-the-shoulder formal dress.

The skirt fanned out, and the fabric seemed to have moonlight flowing on it, making her snow-white long hair look even more ethereally beautiful.

Her slender waist was tightly cinched by a white jade belt, outlining a graceful curve that could be spanned by a single hand.

A brooch in the shape of a lily, carved from crystal, was pinned to her chest, swaying gently with her subtle movements.

She stood there quietly, her whole being like a spirit condensed from moonlight.

Pure, holy, and breathtakingly beautiful.

‘Wait, who is this? Where’s my village girl?’

For a moment, Black was a little unaccustomed to such a drastic change in her.

However, this beautiful moonlight spirit was currently on the verge of tears and looked troubled.

There were quite a lot of boys around her, asking her to dance.

The reason was quite simple.

Among the most dazzling girls at the party.

The little bunny Irena was a complete foodie, only concerned with eating.

In her eyes, the boys who came to ask her to dance were probably not even comparable to a piece of cake on her plate.

Although Jianye was the white moonlight in the eyes of many boys, she seemed to have politely declined all invitations on the grounds of feeling unwell.

As for Aphra, she didn’t like to dance in the first place.

Plus, with her noble status, who would dare to easily disturb her?

Thus, the target of many of the boys naturally and unanimously focused on the gentlest-natured Kristine.

There was even a subtle sense of competition among these boys.

Whoever could successfully invite this most beautiful Saintess to a dance would become the most outstanding boy at the banquet tonight.

It was a very boring kind of competition.

In addition, there were some first-year new students who were at the age of first love.

They were not afraid of the strange looks from the senior students. With a heart full of passion and impulse, they boldly went forward to express their affection.

For example, among Leán’s group of friends.

Three young men, egged on and cheered by their companions, mustered up their courage and squeezed through the crowd to stand in front of Kristine.

“Go on, say it! You can do it!”

“Go, bro! Win over the Saintess!”

“Don’t be a coward! We all support you!”

The noisy encouragement from the surroundings made the three young men’s blood rush, and their faces turned red.

One of them was trembling slightly from nervousness.

He bowed deeply to Kristine, extended his hand, and his eyes were tightly shut from excessive tension.

His voice trembled so much it was almost out of tune.

“Th-That is, Senior Kristine… if… if you don’t mind… c-could you… have a dance with me?”