Chapter 154: [154] Steamy Dance Lessons

Cassie tilted her head to the side. “Teach you… to dance?”

Eliron nodded vehemently. “Yes.”

Although Elves had a rich culture which included dancing, Eliron had put off learning to dance for as long as he could remember.

During festivals, he would just sit by the side while the rest of the older elves danced with glee.

But this was his second life right? Surely there was no way someone who attended college had no idea how to dance? Wrong!

Eliron had been a social outcast in his last life. And no, it was not because he read webnovels for hours during his free time…

It was just that he worked too much.

With the chronic back pain you got from doing manual labour, you ended up moving like a rusty Toyota Camry from the sixties than an actual living being.

But this life things were different. As the lord of the wood elves, dancing was a part of courtesy.

For example, let’s say he was at a meeting with the duke. Surely, he could not refuse a dance with his daughter just because he didn’t know how to move his hips.

Not only would it be an insult, it may even damage every attempt he had at building a meaningful connection.

Of course, he wasn’t learning how to dance because he lied to a certain someone…

’Never!’

Learning how to dance was not just important, it was vital for the survival of the elven race!

A sly smile appeared on Cassie’s lips as she stared at Eliron. “I thought you were staying back because you wanted to sate some sort of secret addiction…”

She stepped back and slowly walked to her table, placing her notepad on it.

Then she turned to face him, leaning slightly on the table. “But this… I find it rather amusing. Why exactly would a trained killer like yourself need to learn how to dance?”

Eliron walked up to her and sighed, giving her a blank stare. “I am a lord, remember? Courtesy would demand that I—”

“It’s that girl isn’t it??” Cassie’s face lit up. “Awww!” She held her cheeks with both hands. “You’re trying to learn so that you can impress your girlfriend! Or is she your wife—”

Eliron covered her mouth with his hand. “Not another word…”

Cassie smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

Eliron removed his hand.

“Alright, not another word about your girlfriend, got it!”

“Cass…” Eliron breathed out.

“Let’s go!” Cassie hurriedly said, hugging his arm to her chest.

Snap!

For a second all they saw was darkness, and in the next, the entire scene changed.

They were in a large hall with an ornate glass ceiling, the tiles were made of marble which reflected their images, and by the side was a large device unlike anything Eliron had ever seen.

“That is a self automated sound manipulation apparatus… yeah, it’s a mouthful, I know.”

Cassie let go of his arm, walked to the machine and clicked a button on it.

“It is a machine we got from the city of science recently…”

Eliron took a single glance at the room. “Is this also within the city of demons?”

Cassie nodded. “Yup.”

“Why would you guys even need a ballroom?”

She shrugged. “Even demons have to socialize right? It takes the edge off to have a party every now and then…”

“I wonder what sort of parties you merchants would throw…”

Cassie walked up to him just as a soft tune began emanating from the glorified music box. It was a mix of tunes from various instruments, mixing up to create a lively beat.

When Cassie got close to him, she offered him her hand.

Eliron blinked. “What?”

Cassie’s face fell. “The first step in any dance is to ask the lady to a dance and take her hand.” She explained.

“I see…” Eliron grabbed her hand.

“So, what next?”

Cassie smiled mischievously. “We move.”

She held onto his shoulder with her left hand, her touch soft but firm enough to direct his steps.

Then using her free hand, she placed one of his hands on her waist, then interlocked fingers with the other.

This close, Eliron was able to appreciate the baron’s daughter’s beauty, after all, there was nowhere else to look.

Her crimson eyes were like deep pools of blood, both shrewd like was expected of a merchant, yet bearing a certain gentleness within it.

There was a beauty mark right underneath her left eye, one Eliron always went back to, especially when her long blonde hair danced around it.

It was a wonder that she had not yet been married off like most noble women.

Cassie easily carried Eliron into the flow of the music, their bodies swaying to the tune.

Eliron had no idea what they were doing, and would often break the rhythm, but Cassie would laugh and direct him.

“One, two three… one two three… repeat these words in your head and you will naturally flow with the music…”

Elirom nodded. “I’ll try…”

After a few minutes, the tune changed to a more upbeat pace, prompting them to increase their speed.

At first, Cassie was worried Eliron would find it difficult to follow, but to her surprise, he adapted easily.

“You’re a fast learner, and you’re also very agile. Good, let’s move a little faster….”

Eliron frowned. He was already struggling to not step on her feet and now she wanted to go even faster?

“I think this is plenty fast enough.”

Cassie smiled mischievously.

“Don’t even—”

The world suddenly blurred as Cassie forced him to match her pace, her hair billowing in the wind.

Eliron held her hand and she did a spin, just before resting on his chest.

“Let me tell you something about dancing…”

She took another step back, clapping just before they met in the middle.

“Between nobles, dancing is war…”

Eliron held her and they created a some distance, just before she spun along his arm and back into the dancing position.

“While dancing, we assess our prey. From the way they move, we tell how confident they are, we see their weaknesses, we gauge their desires…”

“Someone interested in marriage would not be able to keep their eyes off you, a shy person would stumble a few times, a greedy person would have eyes on other things…”

Eliron found himself slowly attuning to the dance, his confidence growing by the second.

“So it is like a game of chess?”

“Precisely…” Cassie replied with a smile, her voice airy.

They had been dancing for well over an hour now, and yet she was not yet ready to put their class to an end.

Both of them held arms and moved close to each other, their faces inches apart.

Then Cassie leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “But for you, it is a game of love.”

Eliron’s face fell. “I’m not in love, this is purely for educational purposes…”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Cassie smiled.

The tune intensified, the music box egging them on, piano, violin and lute blending in perfect symphony.

With sweat glistening their skin, and their breaths growing more laboured, the two dancers created art on the dance floor.

“You’re a fetching young man, Eliron, if I were you, I would use that to my advantage.”

Eliron looked to the side. “Like I said, this isn’t a game of love or whatever you called it.”

“…”

“Uhum~ but hypothetically, let’s say it was… what would a young man do in this situation?”

Cassie grinned wide, her grip on his arms tightening.

Swoosh!

In an instant, she pulled him closer to herself, their bodies pressed together, then her voice went low, a salacious whisper that would cause most men to melt.

“I would pull her close to me, stare at her with intent and say her name. Let those pretty eyes of yours do the rest.”

Eliron blinked, surprised by the sudden action.

“I-I’m listening…”

They danced right back into the flow of the music as though they had never stopped.

“You need to control the pace of the dance. If she is anything like I think she is, then she’s the dominant type.”

“But girls like a man capable of taming them. Your steps should be filled with resolve, this is a war, not a mere dance…”

She let go of Eliron’s arms, and spun in a circle, moving so fast that for a second, Eliron considered incorporating it as a martial art.

Then she spun toward him and he grabbed her, his hand placed on the small of her back as she leaned back.

“Any more tips for this… hypothetical situation?”

Cassie’s red eyes glinted with childish excitement.

“Compliment her every now and then, but not so much that it becomes common.”

They took a quick step to the right, another to the left and then back to complete the rotation.

By now, Eliron had fully memorized the pattern. Each step played in his head like dancing shadows, each beat rang in his brain, accompanied by just the right move.

A slow pace and he would do quick steps of threes, a faster pace and he would do steps of five.

Cassie once again invaded Eliron’s personal space, their bodies in contact as they moved.

“There would be times like this when you will be so close that you can smell the flowers in her hair.”

“Once it gets to the highlight of the music…”

The song hit its crescendo, the music box firing out at a hundred percent efficiency.

Cassie hooked a hand behind his neck and pulled his face towards hers, then stopped, a sly smile appearing on her face.

A temptatious move.

Azure blue eyes met ruby red, the contrast seeming to draw them even closer together.

Like two opposing ends of a magnet…

Weaker men would have fallen.

Strong men also…

Eliron swallowed.

“When the time comes… That is the moment you kis—”

“Alright enough of that…” Eliron distanced himself from her and sighed. “You’re quite the teacher…”

“Hehe, was I too much for you?”

Eliron waved his hands dismissively. “I suffer worse on a daily basis…”

“Anyways.” Eliron smiled.

“Thank you for the lesson…” he said warmly.

They had spent five hours dancing without break. Both of them were covered in sweat, and although Eliron’s breathing was still stable, Cassie looked like she could collapse anytime soon.

“You are quite tenacious aren’t you?”

Cassie pulled out a black handkerchief with pink highlights, wiping off the sweat from her face.

“Can’t be a merchant without a little resilience right?”

“I guess so…”

Cassie turned off the machine and offered him her hand. “If that is all, would you like me to teleport you back? Or will you use your portals?”

“Actually, there are still a few things we haven’t settled.” Eliron said, his voice a little serious.

“Oh? And what is that?”

Eliron paused for a moment. “You’ve done me a favour, and now it is time for me to repay the debt.”

He stepped a little closer to her.

“The baroness… What do you know about your mothers condition?”

Cassie took a step back, a dark look flashing in her features.

“M-my… mother?”

<•••>

Meanwhile back in the inn…

While they were having lunch, Artie tapped Yennefer’s shoulder and asked hesitantly.

“Can you… teach me how to dance?”

Yennefer paused, her muffin inches from her mouth.

“Ehhh??!”

…

A/N

I might have gone a little overboard, but this was fun to write xD

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep