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“Now? You want to dance now?” 

“Why, don’t you want to?”

“How are we supposed to dance without music?”

“Judging by that excuse, it seems you’re not very confident in your dancing skills, are you?”

“That’s not true!” 

Axel had a knack for getting under my skin. He was deliberately trying to provoke me, and despite knowing that, I still fell for it every time. It was a testament to the depth of our relationship, built on years of knowing each other inside and out. We were so familiar with each other that we could easily predict, ‘If I do this, they’ll react like that.’

“Just don’t be too shocked when you see me dance.”

“In a good way, or…?” Axel tilted his head, genuinely dubious about my confidence.

“Of course, in a good way,” I shot back.

“Hmm. If I recall our last dance together…” Axel trailed off, frowning slightly.

The ‘me’ he was referring to wasn’t Reshia, but Greslin. After slaying the Mad Dragon, the former Emperor had thrown a party in our honor, where Axel and I ended up dancing together. 

‘I still remember how the entire expedition team was stunned when I showed up in a dress for the first time.’ 

At first, they didn’t even recognize me.

‘During the expedition, I’d only worn the most practical, comfortable clothes, and I was always covered in grime.’

Kirke and Bael had clapped, saying I looked beautiful, while Servian had given me a thumbs-up, saying he knew I’d look amazing once I was properly dressed.

‘And Axel…’

He had kept his mouth shut and didn’t say a word.

‘If it weren’t for Servian pushing him to be my partner, Axel probably wouldn’t have danced with me at all.’

The atmosphere had been awkward the entire evening because Axel wouldn’t even look at me directly, which only made the unfamiliar situation even more uncomfortable. I almost wished we could go back to our usual bickering—it would have been less tense than that awkward silence.

‘If I hadn’t accidentally stepped on his foot repeatedly while dancing, he probably wouldn’t have said anything at all.’

Of course, it wasn’t on purpose. Back then, I was just a dark mage from the slums. I had never had the opportunity to wear elegant clothes and glide gracefully to refined music. The best I could do was move my feet frantically in time with the music.

“Greslin, are you doing this on purpose?” Axel had asked back then.

“Axel, be honest. Aren’t you doing this on purpose too?”

“Me? On purpose?”

“Yeah! You keep putting your shoe where I’m stepping just to make me feel bad!”

“…Judging by how you’re talking, I guess you’re not stepping on my feet on purpose. You just can’t dance.”

“Of course I can’t! This might be second nature to you, but it’s my first time. Do you think someone from the slums like me ever got a chance to wear nice clothes and learn how to dance?”

I pouted and protested, but Axel just sighed deeply.

“If you’re not confident, don’t be stubborn and just trust me. Social dancing starts with trusting your partner.”

“Gasp.”

His words made me take a sharp breath and widen my eyes. “That just gave me goosebumps…”

“Why?”

“Because, back when we danced before, you said the exact same thing. Don’t you remember?”

“Before?”

“Yeah. When I was Greslin, after we defeated the Mad Dragon, we went to that party together as partners. Remember?”

I detailed the events, wondering if he might have forgotten. “I showed up in a dress, and nobody recognized me. You were sulking against the wall because you didn’t want to be my partner, and I kept stepping on your feet while we danced. Don’t you remember?”

Axel’s expression turned a bit peculiar. “You remember it quite vividly.”

“Well… it wasn’t exactly an ordinary day.”

For a kid from the slums to be invited to a royal palace party, it felt like I had truly made it.

“Anyway, you told me the exact same thing back then.”

‘Trust me and follow my lead.’

“It felt like something a prince would say, and it made my heart flutter.”

For a moment, I even forgot that the person in front of me was Axel. I finally understood why people read romance novels.

“But hearing you say the same thing now makes me realize it’s just a common line you use, not something special for me.”

I narrowed my eyes and lightly tapped Axel’s chest with my fist, which made him raise an eyebrow.

“Why would you jump to that conclusion?”

“If it comes out of your mouth so naturally, it must be something you say all the time.”

“I said it to you back then, and I’m saying it to you now. The person hearing it is the same, so of course, the words would be the same. Do you think I’d offer this kind of kindness to just anyone?”

Axel grumbled as he began moving his feet smoothly. 

Back when I was Greslin, I struggled to keep up with him, but now I could at least match his steps a little better. ‘Though I’m still clumsy.’

Axel, however, danced as perfectly and elegantly as he did back then. Even though the room was silent, his graceful movements made it feel as if music was playing softly in the background.

As I comfortably followed Axel’s lead, I started humming the melody that was in my head. Axel chuckled, clearly amused by my humming.

“Your steps are all over the place, yet you’re humming?”

“Is it that bad?” 

Noah said I was doing fine. He mentioned that while I wasn’t perfect, there was room for improvement, and I could at least keep up with the atmosphere.

However, it seems that to the ever-perfect Sir Axel Elpinard, I am still far from adequate.

“Why are you so picky, Sir Axel Elpinard?”

I grumbled, deliberately using his full name to create some distance between us. Axel, who had been moving smoothly, suddenly hesitated. As I had been completely following his lead, I failed to adjust in time and ended up stepping on his foot.

‘Oh no!’

I had put all my weight into that step, and it landed heavily on his foot. I cautiously looked up to gauge his reaction. Axel, with a face full of annoyance, as if to say my dancing was still far from acceptable, said to me:

“With this, there’s no way I can trust you to anyone else. At the upcoming party, don’t cause trouble and just dance with me. Understood?”

* * *

Bael walked down the corridor with a stern expression. Several priests followed behind him, their faces pale. Bael’s steps led him to the door of the Pope’s chambers. Normally, he would have knocked and announced his presence, but today, he threw the door open without any ceremony.

Inside, many people had already gathered. Even the cardinals, who were rarely all in one place, were there, somberly praying around the Pope’s bed.

Bael pushed his way through them and checked on the Pope, who was lying motionless on the bed. The Pope looked as lifeless as a corpse.

“It would be wise to prepare yourselves,” one of the cardinals said heavily after examining the Pope’s condition, causing the room to buzz with anxious murmurs.

“Didn’t he recover miraculously the last time he was this close to death? It could happen again.”

“That was thanks to the divine pillar of light that the Saintess summoned. It had immense healing power.”

“Then maybe we should contact the Saintess and ask her to check on the Pope…”

“I hear she still hasn’t fully mastered her holy powers. That divine pillar was the will of the gods, not her own doing.”

Bael clenched his fists quietly amidst the whispering cardinals. The conversation he had with the Pope during a recent walk in the garden felt distant now. The Pope had sensed that his time was near and had left Bael with words that sounded like a last will.

The Pope had expressed his hope that Bael would succeed him as the next Pope. He had told Bael to let him know his decision, even if it was to refuse, but Bael hadn’t given any answer and now faced this day.

The murmuring among the people finally brought up the topic.

“But if things are this dire, who will become the next Pope…?”

As if on cue, all eyes turned towards Bael.