Chapter Nine
Dancing with the Devil
Grand Duke Kalon Stein focused his gaze on me, then gently held out his hand and lowered his head while keeping our eye contact. “Lady Alicia, may I have this dance?”
I drew in a deep breath.
I had no choice but to accept, and he knew I had no choice, even though Lord Leon was technically asking me first.
To refuse the Grand Duke for someone of lower stature would be taken as an insult, against both him and potentially the Imperial Family.
That was also why my father was boring a hole into the side of my head.
I placed my hand in his. “I would be honoured, Your Highness.” I quickly turned back to Leon and mouthed an, “I’m sorry,” before Kalon guided me into the bustling throng dancers.
If I’d ever been grateful for the memories that came along with this body, it was right here, right now. I could barely do the conga in my past life, so ballroom dancing would be out of the question if I didn’t have her knowledge.
It didn’t mean I’d be any good at it, but hopefully this body would remember.
I laid my hand on his shoulder, and Kalon clasped my waist. He took my other hand with his, curling his fingers around mine, and led me to start the dance.
He was taller than I thought. He easily stood a whole head above me—if he leant forwards a couple of inches, he could use the top of my head as a chin rest if he wished to.
And his shoulders.
If the rest of his body was as firm as his shoulder was, it was extremely unfair to just about every other man ever. He really was the perfect specimen of a romance novel hero, and despite how badly I didn’t want to be with him right now, I couldn’t help but wonder one thing.
Why the heck the author had chosen the Crown Prince to be Lillia’s endgame.
Maybe it was just my personal preferences, but Kalon was far better suited to be a romance hero than his brother was.
Then again, in the book, Kalon had been nothing but red flags. Even now, in this life, there were enough rumours about him for me to know he was a walking red flag.
Ah, well.
Red was my favourite colour. Especially when red looked like this man did.
Phew.
I had no idea I could be so thirsty over someone who could take another’s life so easily. It hit a bit differently when he was, you know—real. Right in front of me. Touching me.
Lusting over a red flag hero in fiction was one thing. It was something else entirely when that red flag hero was no longer part of a book, but my real life.
Was I going to stop undressing him in my head, though?
Absolutely not.
“I hope I didn’t get in the way of you spending time with Lord Leon Trelawney,” Kalon said, looking down at me.
“Of course not, Your Highness,” I replied politely, keeping my gaze fixed over his shoulder.
I was not going to fall into that trap of looking into his eyes.
Nuh-uh. No siree.
God only knew I was unlikely to climb my way back out of that particular spell.
“It looked as though he was about to ask you for a dance.”
“Is that why you interrupted him?” The words tumbled out of me before I could stop them, and I quickly cleared my throat. “I wasn’t aware that you were the sort to dance at these events.”
“I’m not.” He made a noise that might have been a laugh, if he were the type to laugh.
“No. I interrupted him because I thought I might miss you afterwards, and I wanted to see the look on the Empress’ face when she saw me dancing with her top Crown Princess candidate before the Crown Prince could. ”
I glanced over at the platform where we’d greeted them earlier. Crown Prince Torin was nowhere to be seen and Emperor Cassius was talking to his aide, but the Empress was unashamedly glaring at Kalon as we traversed the ballroom.
There was no way the Crown Prince would ask me to dance now.
“How very petty of you,” I deadpanned. “Have you no regard for the uncomfortable position you might have put me in?”
“Not particularly,” he responded. “I try to avoid these things as much as I can, so I highly doubt we’ll see one another again.”
“Forgive me for saying so, but I certainly hope that’s the case.”
Yes, that’s it, Allie.
If I can’t avoid him, I’ll just piss him off.
Then he won’t ask for my hand in marriage.
A solid, solid plan.
“You’re quite rude,” Kalon said, holding me tighter against his firm body. “Do you know that?”
“There’s an old saying, Your Highness,” I replied, tilting my chin upwards. “Treat others how you wish to be treated. You’ve treated me with rudeness, so I assumed that was what you expected from me in response.”
His grip on my waist tightened. “You know, Lady Alicia, I’m not sure if I should kidnap you and take that smart mouth of yours back to Stein with me or kill you on the spot.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“I’m afraid neither of those work for me,” I quickly retorted. “But it’s nice of you to offer.”
“You are a very strange woman.” His lips were extremely close to my ear, and the warm sensation of his breath against my earlobe sent a shiver down my spine. “You do know who you’re talking to, don’t you? Yet you speak so carelessly.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Oh, yes.
I was very aware of who I was talking to.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop my mouth from saying stupid things.
The song came to an end, and I extricated myself from his strong grasp as quickly as I was able to. A cool sensation of loss washed over me where we’d touched, and my heart did another stupid thumping act as I put more space between us.
“Thank you for the dance, Your Highness. Please excuse me.” I curtseyed gracefully before turning away and hurrying back in the direction of where Lord Leon was still talking to my father, except Vincent had now joined the discussion.
“Ah, Alicia, you’re back. How was His Highness?” Father asked, adjusting his glasses.
“Fine.” I turned to Lord Leon. “Please excuse me, Lord Leon. I need to rest for a few moments, but I promise to join you for a dance before I leave.”
“Of course. Are you all right, my lady?” he asked, concern filling his eyes.
Gosh.
Why had that brute interrupted him? If only he’d come a few seconds later…
“Yes. I’ll be right back.” I smiled. “Vincent, would you mind helping me find someone to take me to a powder room?”
My brother took my hand and looped it through his arm. “Of course, Alicia.”
We quickly found a group of maids who were waiting to do this very thing, and I waved my brother off as one of the maids took charge to guide me to one of the rooms set aside for ladies to rest.
I rejected her offer of some tea or another refreshment, and she left me alone. I promptly sank back into the cushions on the loveseat I was sitting on and covered my face with my hands.
What had I done?
I’d come here intending to avoid the Grand Duke at all costs. Failing that, my best bet had been to be quiet, meek, and polite so as to not draw too much of his attention to myself. Granted, his attention was fully drawn to me when he decided to use me as a pawn to piss off the Empress, but still.
All I had to do during that dance was be nice. Be the epitome of a noble lady.
Instead, I’d called him petty and rude, told him I hoped I never saw him again, and practically thanked him for his threat to either kidnap me or kill me.
Yep.
I was in so much trouble.
***
I spent the entire day after all the ball in my room, resting. I barely got out of bed to bathe with the help of Bella and Annie, but it did serve as excellent training time for Annie.
To her credit, she was picking up the ropes of being my personal maid extremely quickly. Bella was grateful for an extra pair of hands when it came to bathing and dressing me, and Annie was just thankful she didn’t have to spend so much time around my stepmother or Sophia anymore.
Staying in bed for a day and a half also spared me having to experience my stepmother’s fury firsthand.
She was incensed that Father had taken me to greet the Imperial Family alone and hadn’t extended the same courtesy to Sophia, and she was even more furious that the Empress had taken a liking to me.
Whether that was still true after a certain someone’s antics was another matter entirely.
After much consideration, I’d decided to pretend that I’d never crossed paths with Grand Duke Kalon Stein. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea in the long term, but for a short-term solution to my stress, it was an excellent remedy.
I’d managed to leave the ball without too much drama.
I’d fulfilled my promise with Lord Leon regarding the dance—which had been a much more enjoyable time than the one I’d shared with Kalon—and left shortly after.
Thankfully, Father had undertaken the duty of informing Crown Prince Torin that I wasn’t feeling well, and he said that the prince had wished me well.
I was a little apprehensive about not dancing with him. Not that I wanted to. I’d rather dance with a dragon, to be perfectly honest, but I’d received what was essentially an Imperial Order from the Empress herself, and I’d failed to carry it through.
Which was why I wasn’t surprised at all when Bella walked into the sitting room with a letter with the royal seal on it.
“Did you say that’s from the Imperial Palace?” I asked, staring at her.
“Yes, my lady. I believe it’s Crown Prince Torin’s personal seal.”
I blinked at the letter. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Would you like me to open it and read it to you, my lady?”
“No, that’s quite all right. Annie, would you pass me the letter opener from the bureau?” I took the letter from the tray and held my hand out for Annie. She passed it to me, and I sliced open the top of the envelope so I could retrieve the letter from inside.
Dearest Lady Alicia,
I would like to express my most sincere hope that you’re feeling better following the ball. Marquess Vermillion was kind enough to take the time to explain to me that you were feeling unwell and left early. If I’d known, I would have escorted you myself.