The Next Step (This chapter is an additional chapter)

“One, two… one, two…”

The golden-haired noble lady danced to the music, hitting every beat with precision.

Her gentle hand held mine, the warmth of her palm clear against my skin, my body swaying to her movements.

Since a partner dance requires facing each other, I could fully take in the young lady’s elegant smile, her noble aura radiating effortlessly.

Only now did I truly realize I was serving a genuine noble lady.

But her usual innocent, adorable demeanor—that’s the real her too, isn’t it?

Still…

Has the young lady grown this tall already?

I used to be the taller one, but now she’s slightly surpassed me, and I have to tilt my head up to meet her emerald eyes.

…Even though I’m supposed to be the older one.

Then again, considering the game’s setting where Caterina stands at 173 centimeters, I suppose it makes sense.

…Probably a design choice to make her bullying more intimidating.

If only I could grow that tall too~ Sadly, my height’s barely increasing anymore, and instead, I’m developing… horizontally, much to my dismay.

Lost in these stray thoughts, I accidentally misstepped and trod on the young lady’s foot.

“Ah… I’m sorry, young lady.”

“It’s fine. You’ve improved a lot, Ailena. Before, you’d step on me every two moves.”

The young lady teased with a mischievous smile.

My face flushed slightly, and I mumbled in embarrassment:

“I can’t help it! I’ve never danced before! I hadn’t even seen it!”

“Haha, but you’re improving quickly. In just two weeks, you’re almost able to dance a full song.”

“…If we’re talking about improvement, you’re the one who’s progressed the most, aren’t you?”

The young lady now mastered her steps with ease, a stark contrast to her earlier clumsiness—almost like a different person.

…Her progress is so fast, it makes me wonder if she was pretending to be bad before.

But she wouldn’t do that, right? She’s taking this ball so seriously.

It must all be due to her hard work.

Still… something bothers me. Isn’t she dancing the man’s part right now? Shouldn’t she be practicing the woman’s part?

Well… if she can handle the harder male role, the female part should be no problem.

“Let’s go again.”

The young lady restarted the music.

I’ll have to try harder to finish this dance properly.

“Come on, Ailena.”

She extended her hand, and I placed mine in hers—mimicking a gentleman inviting a lady at a ball.

“One, two… one, two… Good, Ailena, keep this rhythm.”

“Mm…”

“Don’t look at your feet, Ailena. Look at my face. I’ve told you before, it’s rude to your partner.”

“Ah…”

Following her correction, I lifted my head, and her confident yet gentle smile filled my view.

For some reason, that smile carried a hint of… charm.

My heart skipped a tiny beat, but at the same time, I felt at ease, all my earlier tension melting away.

My gaze was drawn to her smile, unable to look away.

“One, two… one, two…! Yes, Ailena, we did it!”

“Huh…? It’s over?”

The music had stopped without me noticing… I had danced the entire piece without realizing it.

“It’s all thanks to your hard work.”

“…I was just practicing with you. You’re the one who worked the hardest.”

“Well then…”

The young lady stepped closer, her expression a mix of hesitation and anticipation.

“Shall we move on to the next part of the practice?”

“The next part?”

I was utterly confused.

“Is there another dance?”

But I haven’t seen her practice any other dances… Or is she starting a new one now? With only two weeks left, is there even time?

I was completely stumped.

But her next words caught me off guard and left me dumbfounded:

“Ailena, what are you talking about? It’s kissing, of course.”

“Oh… kissing, I see… Wait, wait, wait, WHAT!? Kissing!?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Yes, after the first dance, I have to kiss the Second Prince. It’s part of the betrothal etiquette.”

“Ah…”

Now that I think about it, the game did have that setting—kissing the betrothed after the ball.

But wasn’t that just for the game’s CG? The climactic moment where the heroine kisses her chosen love interest at the graduation ball… How did this turn into a boomerang hitting me?

“…But young lady, shouldn’t your kissing partner be the Second Prince?”

“That’s exactly why we need to practice. If I’m terrible at it, I’d bring shame to the ducal family.”

“…”

That… kind of makes sense?

“But, young lady, this isn’t appropriate…”

Even if she needs a practice partner, it shouldn’t be me, right?

Even Young Master Claude would be…

“What’s inappropriate about it? We’re both girls. If something goes wrong, we can brush it off as a joke. But if it’s a man—even my brother—it could lead to bad rumors.”

“…”

She left me speechless.

“But… young lady… this is my first kiss…”

Blushing, I turned my head away, my voice growing softer until I wasn’t sure if I’d even spoken aloud.

But the young lady caught every word and giggled lightly.

“It’s okay, Ailena. It’s my first kiss too.”

…How is that okay!? That’s an even bigger problem!

What kind of ducal lady loses her first kiss to her maid? If the duke found out, he’d have my head without a second thought!

But she seemed to sense my hesitation and whispered in my ear:

“Don’t worry, Ailena. I won’t tell anyone. This will be our little secret.”

“…Young lady, it’s not that simple…”

I really can’t agree to this.

After hearing me, the young lady lowered her head in silence, her bangs hiding her eyes, making her expression unreadable.

But soon, she looked up, her eyes like those of an abandoned kitten, as if she might cry any second.

“Ailena, didn’t you promise to practice with me? Are you going back on your word?”

“…”

Staring into those eyes, my thoughts became a jumbled mess, and I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

…Come to think of it, I’ve never been able to resist that look of hers.

Instinctively, I grabbed the ponytail at the back of my head, nodding in reluctant surrender.

“Fine! Just this once, young lady!”

“Yes!”

Her face instantly brightened, all traces of her earlier pitiful expression gone.

…I feel like I’ve been played.