Chapter 210: Prince Aaron

Although Adele had very practically set aside her personal wishes and chosen to cooperate with Leon’s arrangements, teaching Leon was not exactly a smooth process.

Leon’s physical condition was quite good, but he was somewhat lacking in grasping the rhythm and tempo. However, with limited time, after going through the basics, on the third day he was already asked by Adele to begin practicing coordination with her.

They practiced in an unused empty room on the second floor. The guards and servants were all dismissed, an eight-note music box was used for accompaniment, and then they began practicing the dance together.

What surprised Leon was that after they officially began practicing together, Adele was actually more composed than him. She did not become tense and stiff because of physical contact with him. Instead, he himself became restricted because he was not skilled enough, and the moment he started dancing, his movements became awkward.

“Mm!” Adele slightly frowned and stumbled a little.

“Sorry.” Leon sincerely apologized. While supporting Adele, he quickly moved his foot away.

This was already the third time he had accidentally tripped Adele. This time, he had even stepped on her, and quite firmly. Judging from Adele’s reaction just now, it should have hurt a little.

He had thought Adele would complain a few words, or perhaps suppress her dissatisfaction and only protest with her eyes and expression.

But to his surprise, just like the previous two times, Adele quickly returned to her normal expression.

“Now coordinate with me and take a step to your left.” Adele said to Leon.

Although he did not know what this was for, Leon still followed her instructions. When he stepped, Adele also stepped at the same time.

Then Adele indicated with her eyes for him to look downward. “Look, the stride length of men and women is different. You are taller than me. If I match your large steps, my movements will easily become distorted. So you need to slightly shorten your steps. Otherwise, we cannot synchronize. So right now, we will begin by adjusting your stride and letting your body get used to it.”

“Alright.” Leon began adjusting according to Adele’s instructions.

After practicing for a while, he looked at Adele and discovered that she had been seriously lowering her head the entire time, confirming whether his steps could keep up with hers.

“I thought you would definitely be unwilling to teach me, but it seems that at least you are quite responsible.” Leon said.

“People cannot always choose things they are willing to do. My grandfather once taught me that after deciding to do something, one should do their best to accomplish it.” Adele continued focusing on guiding Leon’s steps. “Since teaching you how to dance is necessary, I will do my best to teach you.”

“Sounds like you could actually become quite a good teacher.” Leon said half-jokingly.

“A good teacher should have the ability to restrain students. Unfortunately, I have no ability to restrain you at all. I will do my part, but whether you study properly or not is not something I can control.” Adele replied expressionlessly.

Given her position compared to Leon, she clearly understood that she had no ability to restrain or supervise him.

“I still understand how to respect people who seriously do things. If you teach seriously, then I will naturally learn seriously too.” Leon smiled. “Teacher Adele.”

Sometimes people truly had no choice but to choose things they were not so willing to do: studying hard, practicing a skill, taking responsibility, or making sacrifices for a certain goal... But regardless, once one decided that something had to be done, they needed to do it seriously.

It was a very simple principle, but it was not that easy to carry out.

Adele, who had originally been focused on supervising his steps, suddenly raised her face and looked at Leon, her expression full of surprise.

The afternoon sunlight entered the room through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a golden line across the floor. Dust danced within the rays of light. The clear and gentle sound of the music box seemed somewhat lonely. In this peaceful afternoon, the entire world seemed to consist only of the two of them embracing each other and walking through this empty room.

Adele had always held a stern impression of Leon. Even when he smiled, she would feel that he was coldly sneering.

But by carefully observing him at close range, one would discover that the lines on this man’s face were actually very gentle when he smiled, even giving off a refined and elegant feeling.

“What is it?” Leon asked.

“Nothing.” Adele quickly withdrew her gaze. “Your steps are much better than before. Remember this feeling.”

This was probably the first time Leon had actively shown her what could be called respect.

It was clearly only because he seriously did his own part, yet he had so simply obtained something she had always believed she would never have the chance to touch... this man’s respect.

……

In Marquis Veronia’s ballroom, Leon and Adele danced together in the music, just as they had continuously practiced these past days.

Only when they truly began dancing did Leon genuinely understand that Adele claiming her dancing skills were fairly good was not an exaggeration.

During these days of practice, Adele had basically focused all her effort on guiding and coordinating with him, and had not seriously danced even once.

But now, the magnificent ballroom had replaced that empty room. The accompaniment had changed from the ethereal music box to a real symphony. During the actual performance, Adele also fully displayed her abilities. As she stepped and spun, the beige skirt bloomed, the golden thread decorations upon it dancing together.

Every one of her steps precisely landed on the rhythm of the music without the slightest error. The crisp sound of her dance shoes striking the floor naturally became part of the melody.

Finding the rhythm had originally been Leon’s greatest weakness, but under Adele’s guidance, he quickly caught up. After practicing with Adele many times, his greatest realization was that he only needed to relax and follow Adele’s movements, and his own actions would become as precise as a clock.

They quickly attracted a small amount of attention. When Viscount Arend and his wife entered, the guests had discussed the relationship between the two. Those who knew the situation of the Viscount Arend family had basically identified their relationship as that of buyer and merchandise.

But after the two began dancing, anyone could see that there was obvious coordination between them. Every step matched perfectly, making people wonder whether the relationship between this newlywed couple was not actually as distant as they had assumed.

The dance ended. Adele was led by Leon into a spinning finishing move. Her heel lightly touched the ground, landing exactly on the final strong beat of the music.

Only after a while did Leon recover. He was surprised to discover that instead of feeling the relief of finally completing an exam, he actually felt somewhat reluctant for it to end. Halfway through the dance, he had already begun focusing on appreciating the way Adele danced.

After the guests finished the opening dance, an interlude should normally be played. The guests would leave the dance floor and continue socializing. When the second dance began, gentlemen who wished to continue dancing could try inviting other ladies.

However, the orchestra in the corridor did not play an interlude. Instead, they struck up a powerful drumbeat, like theatrical accompaniment. Nobles familiar with this style could tell that it was usually music played when an important person appeared.

Soon, a dignified-looking elderly man appeared at the top of the staircase leading from the second floor to the ballroom, accompanied by an attendant serving as his secretary.

The host of this banquet, Marquis Veronia himself, finally appeared before all the guests. Seeing this, everyone who had been preparing to leave the ballroom stopped and looked upward toward the stairs, waiting for the marquis to speak.

Just as Adele had guessed, the marquis had an important matter to announce, and this was exactly the stage he had chosen.

Someone noticed that deeper in the shadows of the corridor, there seemed to be a tall man standing there. From below, his appearance could not be seen clearly.

“Is that... Marquis Veronia’s eldest son?”

“Could it be that he is preparing to announce the succession?”

“At a time like this? Is he afraid of being eliminated like the Earl?”

“Then what are we supposed to do in the future? Can we only allow the Imperial Capital to increase taxes on the East and the colonies?”

“The Church will also be controlled by those western families.”

……

Leon heard some of the discussions. Just as he had expected, once people suspected that Marquis Veronia intended to have his son inherit the title, it would greatly intensify the unease among the eastern nobles after the Earl’s death.

“Thank you, honored guests, for coming to this banquet today. This time, after arriving at Helenburg, thanks to several old friends helping me, I successfully purchased this estate and also signed an overseas transportation agreement with the local merchant association. It also gave me the opportunity to become acquainted with more local friends.”

Marquis Veronia opened the banquet speech with the prepared reason for the gathering in his hoarse voice. “Since everyone has gathered here today, it is also a good opportunity to announce some good news. There is something I have always wanted to announce publicly... it concerns my daughter Claudia.”

The people below looked at each other. It sounded like Marquis Veronia was not planning to discuss an heir, but rather his daughter. Could it be that the marquis’s daughter, who was already in her forties and had remained unmarried, had finally found a husband?

For a marquis, such a matter was not exactly something to bring honor to his face. Was it worth making such a grand announcement?

Ignoring the reactions below, the marquis continued:

“I know that Claudia has remained unmarried, and there have been many rumors because of it. This time, I am also making a special clarification for her sake. My daughter actually has someone who sincerely loves her and possesses a noble status as well. It is just that due to various factors, he cannot publicly marry her. I am not someone bound by tradition. Considering my daughter’s happiness, I have approved this relationship.

“However, although my daughter is willing to devote herself to love, the child born between her and that noble gentleman still needs a proper identity. After sufficient discussion, I have finally allowed this matter to be made public, and I will introduce to everyone the child who was born under a secret blessing and carries on this country’s noble bloodline...”

As he said this, he slightly turned aside. At this moment, the man standing in the shadows finally stepped forward, revealing his young and handsome face to everyone.

Leon slightly widened his eyes. He knew this person!

Aaron Diaz.

At this moment, he finally understood the true purpose behind Marquis Veronia holding this banquet!

“Isn’t that Knight Commander Aaron Diaz, who was recently promoted?” Someone recognized Aaron.

“He is the child of the marquis’s daughter?”

“Wait, could he be the one rumored to be...”

“Could he really be His Majesty’s illegitimate son?”

A considerable commotion immediately broke out below. At this moment, people finally combined the marquis’s description with the rumors they knew and determined Aaron’s identity.

Leon stared at Aaron with widened eyes. So Aaron’s backing was actually Marquis Veronia. He was the marquis’s grandson. After Earl Foyle’s death, the marquis had chosen to reveal Aaron’s identity and show his hidden trump card!

But this also meant that he had chosen to push the struggle for the successor of imperial authority, which had always been hidden in the shadows, onto the stage!

At this moment, Aaron was also silently scanning the nobles present. As his gaze moved around, he met Leon’s eyes.

For that instant, he was first somewhat confused. But soon, he recognized this former subordinate.

Then, just like Leon, he revealed a surprised expression.

“Leon?”