After a short walk, I, Carine, was staring in front of a singular building beyond the trimmed hedges of the courtyard. It was a quiet little building practically hidden behind the manor. 

With two grand doors as its main entrance facing the open space of the courtyard, I could imagine it being a good party venue. Providing an inner space for dances and an open courtyard for those seeking calm.

So why the hell didn’t my parents plan my birthday party here?

I had a few suspicions. Maybe they wanted the guests to linger around that massive front garden since that’s clearly where they sent them after the formalities of my party. Or, it could just be because this building had fallen into disuse.

It wasn’t like our family hosted a lot of parties anyway.

I never really caught a good look inside, maybe a curious glance through a window or two, but that was it. My dancing lessons always took place in the drawing room, the same place I took my etiquette classes. 

If I wanted to dance, the drawing room would be the most logical answer here. That was where I was most comfortable after all. But, and this is a huge but, I won’t be alone there.

When not in use, maids and butlers often come in and out to clean stuff up or just to admire the scenery from the inside. Of course, I absolutely had the authority to shoo them out so I could have my dance session… but what rumors would that create? That the cold Lady Carine shooed her servants away to have some alone time with a commoner?

Yep, that won’t work. Besides, even if there weren’t any servants in there for me to shoo away, with how frequently the servants passed through the halls there, they could definitely tell that I was dancing there by myselves. 

This basically tucked-away dance hall seemed like the next best option for me. No one pays that much attention to it, at least in my observations, and sneaking myself in and out through the courtyard seemed more plausible than the halls.

With Mother and Father out of the way, and Leila taking a break, this was the perfect time for me to get some practice in.

Still can’t believe I chose dancing as a practice routine, but oh well… 

After making sure the coast was clear. I walked closer to Carine as Feyt. We entered through the grand doors discreetly, thankful that it wasn’t locked. 

We were at what I assumed to be the entrance hall. It was a small room with a desk, another set of grand doors, and two staircases on the sides. The air doesn’t feel stuffy or dusty, and I could tell this place wasn’t used a lot, but still had occasional care put into it.

I assumed the staircase would lead to the observatory deck, so we headed towards the doors. I nudged them open and felt a brush of breeze hitting me from the gaps. Then, when we finally opened the doors.

The inside of the building was… mesmerizing.

Despite having none of the lanterns or candles turned on, the hall was still well-lit. The large windows on the walls of this circular room illuminated them. Carved-out patterns adorned the walls along with easy-on-the-eyes wallpaper. The marble floor was polished and reflected light in a hazy way. 

I definitely had been here before as Carine, but it had been so long since I stepped here that it felt like a wave of nostalgia just hit me. As for Feyt, it felt utterly awe-inspiring.

Alright, enough gawking at the dance hall. If I was going to practice my dancing with myself, the longer I thought about it, the more weirded out I would be. So, it was best that I just… jump straight into it.

Walking into the middle of the dance hall, our footsteps echoed loudly throughout the space. I could see the observatory deck up there, and the place where the orchestral band would play on the corner there. If I was going to dance, it would be in the center then.

Come on, quit stalling, me!

Dancing… I still couldn’t believe that this was the best method for me to train my coordination. Slowly, and reluctantly, I positioned myselves in front of each other.

I could tell just from our looks that I was nervous as hell. It was like looking at a mirror, a really mind-bending mirror, but still.

Okay, calm down. What’s the first step in the dance?

I tried to remember the first step in the dance that I was going to use for this practice. It was a simple ball dance involving two parties. You would have to move in a rhythm with your partner, and one wrong misstep would lead to a foot being stepped. 

It seemed like the best way to practice dual-body movements and it fit every criteria I asked for. Synergy, but not exactly symmetrical. It comes with a not-so-harsh punishment for error too, unlike bonking myself.

However, I forgot to realize something in time. Staring at myselves like this, I could already tell my bodies weren’t ready, including Carine! Why though? Dancing with Instructor Who’s-her-name always seemed easy, monotonous even.

My bodies, we were always nervous when around one another. The main reason for it, I believed, was my fear of being found out of having two bodies. That was a situation I would rather not have since this two-bodied thing was really my only trump card and it would complicate things if anyone else knew about it.

But, I thought I would only have that reaction when there was another party in the room, observing us. But right now we were all alone. What other reason could there be for such a reaction?

““…””

I sighed internally, of course, I knew the reason very well. These bodies… although they were mine, they still had their own responses to things.

Carine acts nonchalantly at luxury yet Feyt gawks at them. Feyt’s natural kind demeanor and Carine’s default ice face.

And now, for some reasons I would rather not think about, I feel nervous and could barely hold back a blush when staring at each other.

However, if I was going to survive in this world, I needed to do my best to ignore those weird tingly feelings.

I needed to make this work. No, I’m not talking about the feelings, but this practice method. I needed that coordination. With good coordination, I could create tons of strategies and plans using this weird circumstance of mine.

I hyped myselves up. I glared into my eyes. As I mentioned before, it would be best for me to act fast before I get weirded out even further. So let’s jump straight into it!

The first step of the dance involves grabbing my own palms. So, trying my best not to think about it, I reached out and briskly grabbed my own palms. I nearly winced.

Ack—! Too tight! My hands are crushing each other!!

Yeah, this was starting to look like an opposite of a good idea.

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