“There will be many watching eyes at this banquet. If you can’t dance, there will be a lot of talk. I repeat, I’m not offering to help you for your sake, but to protect my secret.”
With those words, he pushed the door open.
“Alright, my lady, place your right hand on my left palm… Yes, that’s right, well done.”
Sir Theo, the empire’s best dancer, praised the lady standing in front of him, wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. The uncomfortable sensation of being watched in the chilly basement made sweat trickle down his back.
“Now, place your left hand above my chest…”
“Cough!”
A coughing sound, more like a threatening growl, came from behind before he could finish.
“Higher, much higher, near the shoulder, yes, like that. Now my right arm will wrap around the lady’s waist…”
Thud! A dull sound echoed as the Emperor’s sheathed sword fell to the ground.
Sir Theo froze mid-action as the Emperor’s footsteps approached.
Standing between Sir Theo and Arabella, the Emperor spoke quietly, pulling Arabella’s hands from Sir Theo’s grasp and raising his chin.
“Is physical contact necessary to teach dancing?”
“What…?”
Sir Theo looked bewildered.
He dreamt of being the lead dancer in the imperial dance troupe, but as the only heir of the warrior-like McKer Baron family, he was secretly participating in illegal dance competitions, hiding his identity. He was summoned before the Emperor.
“I don’t like to force others using their weaknesses. I prefer voluntary cooperation. So, let’s negotiate. Teach her to dance, and in return, I’ll ensure your freedom to dance by including you in the upcoming delegation to Châtel.”
But if the secret gets out,
“These will be sent to your father and the knights.”
Smiling, the Emperor showed Theo the see-through stage costumes that clearly revealed the dancer’s body. At his feet lay the glittery stockings and a short crop blouse that Theo had worn just moments ago.
Naturally, Theo had accepted the Emperor’s proposal, but then he was suddenly blindfolded and dragged away. When the blindfold was removed, he found himself in a gloomy basement.
“Wait here.”
A familiar voice echoed and then faded away. It sounded like the voice of the Emperor’s Guard Commander.
Looking around, Theo noticed the Emperor entering the room from the opposite side, accompanied by a small, cute-looking lady.
“This is going nowhere fast.”
The dance lesson, which Theo had confidently thought would be easy, was proving to be a challenge due to an enormous obstacle.
Physical contact is inevitable when teaching social dances between men and women. It’s not like they were rubbing bodies against each other. Seeing the Emperor’s cold and arrogant red eyes looking down at him, Theo’s lips, ready to protest, retreated back.
Even under normal circumstances, he sweated profusely when meeting the Emperor, but now his legs were shaking from the Emperor’s intense gaze, as if he were looking at a pervert.
“I’ll try without physical contact. Now, let’s start again…”
With the Emperor now standing beside them with crossed arms, Theo and Arabella tried to dance without even touching fingers.
“Now, step to the right, and then slide back, leaning your waist slightly backwards like this… ugh.”
Just as Arabella leaned back, bringing her chest close to Theo, he was suddenly pushed five steps back. The Emperor’s long fingers, famously known as deadly weapons on the battlefield, had mercilessly shoved his shoulder.
“This won’t do.”
The Emperor, sweeping his bangs up from his forehead with his long fingers, decisively stood in front of Arabella.
“As I’ve said, I greatly dislike dancing, but to make progress, it seems I must teach you myself. Sir Theo looks already worn out.”
Theo looked helplessly at the Emperor, his halo seemingly shining even in the dim basement.
Then, Theo’s eyes widened in realization. The Emperor was extending his hand courteously to Arabella.
He had never seen the Emperor dance before. Rarely attending balls and never dancing with a lady even on special occasions, the upcoming celebratory ball of the competition was eagerly anticipated by many nobles. It was a chance to finally see the most distinguished man of the continent dance.
Arabella, noticing the Emperor’s large shoe tip in her lowered view, soon saw his contrasting face of dignity and his rough, calloused, large palm.
“My lady, would you grant me the honor of dancing with you?”
The Emperor’s voice, deep and resonant, politely inquired, and Arabella raised her head to look up at him.
In a corner, Theo, nursing his finger-stabbed shoulder, stared blankly in surprise. The Emperor was the only man who didn’t need to ask a lady’s permission to dance at balls. The ladies who would dance with him were predetermined.
When the Emperor stepped onto the center stage, the waiting lady would step forward to start the dance. Naturally, since Emperor Maxwell never danced, this royal custom had become pointless.
But now, the Emperor was extending his hand to Lady Arabella, bending his waist slightly in a courteous gesture, much like a nobleman asking a lady to dance.
Uncertain of what to do, Arabella stood motionless until the Emperor reached out and carefully grasped her right hand, placing it gently on his left palm.
He then took her left hand and placed it atop his right chest, extending his right arm to encircle her slender waist and bring her closer to him. Each of his movements was impeccably polite and measured.
Arabella’s eyelids fluttered, and her round eyes gazed at the Emperor in front of her.
Under the flickering lamp light, the Emperor’s face, smiling down at her, appeared almost dreamlike. As he tightened his arm around her waist, he drew her body firmly against his, leaving no space between them.
The Emperor tilted his head, leaning in closer to Arabella’s ear, and whispered softly with his lips barely touching her ear.
“Shall we dance now?”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
