Chapter 6: Let’s Dance
Leriel felt terribly wronged.
Technically speaking, the one who bullied him was the other Leriel. I’m a completely different person now!
If only she could say that out loud.
But she held those words back with difficulty and forced herself to keep the conversation going.
“I was only worried about Your Highness’s safety as your fiancée.”
“That makes sense. If your fiancé died before the wedding, that would be bad for you too.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then what did you mean?”
“…”
“You’re not expecting me to believe you actually care about someone else, right?”
Leriel hit her limit. Perik didn’t leave her any room to explain.
In fact, even this polite conversation seemed to annoy him. He looked ready to walk away at any moment.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Leriel glanced at him, then decided to move her plan forward earlier than expected.
She had hoped to bring it up more naturally, but at this rate, Perik might not even talk to her again tonight.
Now, what did Leriel say in the novel?
“Before that… isn’t there something you forgot?”
“What?”
“There’s something you need to ask me.”
He frowned in confusion at the strange and sudden comment.
“Something I need to ask you? Me?”
“Yes. At the palace ball.”
“What the…”
Up to this point, everything was just like the original story.
So Leriel easily predicted what he would say next.
He would definitely say:
‘Don’t tell me you’re talking about that tradition?’
Sure enough, Perik glared at her as if he suddenly remembered something. His eyes were full of anger.
“Don’t tell me you mean that tradition? How dare you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s ridiculous! We’re only engaged, not married! You don’t have the right to demand that from me!”
His voice rose, echoing through the ceiling.
If she hadn’t known this would happen, Leriel might have been scared by now.
That’s how intense and long-held his anger was.
“No, I do have that right. There are records showing that two or three crown princes in the past danced with their fiancées at court balls.”
“…You even looked that up?”
“Of course. For tonight.”
Leriel didn’t back down at all.
Faced with her perfect answer, Perik couldn’t find anything to argue back with.
She was right. There was a long-standing tradition at royal balls.
It was that a royal must dance in the center of the ballroom with their beloved.
It symbolized a wish for harmony and friendship among everyone at the ball, just like the love between the dancing couple.
But the real reason Leriel brought it up now, when the royal family was already being mocked, was only one thing.
“Come on, you have to ask me to dance.”
Clearly, she just wanted to embarrass him in front of everyone.
Perik looked down at her with eyes asking if she really had to do this.
But he knew—there was no way out. If he refused, it would become a weakness people would use against him.
Grinding his teeth, Perik dropped to one knee. He placed one hand over his chest and held the other out beneath hers.
Like a knight pledging loyalty, he looked up at Leriel.
With eyes that said he wanted to strangle her, he spoke.
“…Will you dance with me, Leriel Tenebris?”
Though his eyes were locked on hers, Perik could feel all the other eyes on him too.
Mockery. Pity. Ridicule. And even satisfaction that a royal had finally bowed before a noble.
They were all different, but they shared the same meaning—they were looking down on him. And what would drive that point home would be Leriel’s answer.
She looked at the hand Perik had extended to her.
‘I refuse.’
That’s what Leriel said in the original story, slapping his hand away.
Even though she forced him to ask, she left him standing there, turning her back on him.
It was cruel and arrogant—something only a true villainess would do.
At that moment, the watching nobles burst out laughing. And Perik became nothing more than a joke.
With his pride crushed, he stormed out to the garden, where he met Anila—the heroine of the original story.
Why was the saint Anila in the royal garden?
Because she had plans with a noble attending the ball tonight.
But once she saw the handsome Perik, she changed her goal.
Sensing his pain, she gently comforted him with her soft voice and natural elegance, slowly opening his heart.
Perik fell for her completely.
They shared a conversation, and then danced together beside the moonlit pond. That scene was especially romantic, and readers loved it.
Even Han Gyeoul remembered that part clearly.
She had thought the story was all about drama and revenge, but moments like that added unexpected charm and captured readers’ hearts.
But now, things were different.
There was no time to worry about pleasing readers.
Leriel just wanted to survive.
And to do that, she had to prove that she wasn’t the same villainess as before.
“Alright. Let’s dance.”
“…Wait, what did you just say?”
“You invited me to dance, didn’t you? Let’s do it—for the sake of everyone here.”
Leriel gave the exact opposite answer from the original.
She accepted his invitation.
Perik’s eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn’t expected her to agree.
The nobles were just as surprised. Whispering quickly spread through the ballroom.
“Hurry. The music’s changing.”
Without caring, Leriel grabbed both of Perik’s hands and pulled him up.
He stood with a dazed look, led entirely by her.
Leriel was smiling now, and this time her smile was genuine.
It didn’t seem evil or calculating—it felt youthful and fresh, just like someone her age.
It was a completely new expression.
Before Perik could even say anything, the music changed.
Leriel quickly took the starting position.
Of course, Han Gyeoul had never danced before, but the real Leriel had grown up with all the proper training of a noble.
She moved her feet, trusting her body’s memory. Soon, Perik regained his senses and began to lead.
A large hand touched her lower back, supporting her. The distance between them shrank.
It was too close. Meeting his eyes at that range made her feel shy.
Leriel quietly looked away and focused on dancing. But her face was burning.
‘Just hold on a little longer. It seems to be working.’
And it was worth the embarrassment.
She could tell just by looking at the shocked faces around them.
“Oh my…”
The nobles stared in silence, mouths wide open.
Everyone in the Trien Kingdom knew Leriel hated Perik.
But now, she had just shattered that “fact” completely. The nobles were visibly confused.
By now, one sentence must be circling their minds—something they had once dismissed as nonsense.
‘Leriel Tenebris has changed.’
“…What’s your real plan?”
And Perik was no exception.
He pulled her closer with a firmer grip on her waist and asked quietly.
His breath brushed her ear. Her mind went blank for a moment, but Leriel soon answered honestly.
There was nothing to hide.
“I don’t have a plan. I’ve just decided to be a better person. Haven’t you heard the rumor?”
“You expect me to believe that nonsense?”
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”
Because I’ll be leaving your side soon anyway.
She swallowed the words she couldn’t say aloud and spun lightly in his arms.
Because of that, she didn’t see how Perik’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“…Cut the act, Leriel Tenebris.”
