The moment Ezra stepped onto the dance floor beside Vera, he could immediately feel countless pairs of eyes settling upon him.

Some of those gazes were filled with envy.

Others carried admiration.

Many were nothing more than simple surprise.

Among all those watching...

One gaze stood out more than the others.

Prince Tristin.

He stood with Grace Evergrey, maintaining the posture expected of a gentleman, yet the annoyance on his face had become so obvious that even Grace could clearly notice it.

She quietly glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Although she was curious...

She wisely chose not to ask.

Some questions were better left untouched.

Not far away...

Nickolas stared at Ezra as though he had just witnessed something impossible.

His eyes widened until they almost seemed ready to pop out.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

He muttered under his breath.

He had already finished his dance and now stood along the edge of the ballroom beside his partner, who was happily chatting with Linda and Tracy.

Nickolas, however, wasn’t listening to a single word.

His entire attention remained fixed on Ezra and Vera.

His mind replayed the conversation they had shared earlier that evening.

He remembered proudly boasting that he already had a dance partner while Ezra didn’t.

He had even acted as though he had won some great victory.

Yet now...

Ezra wasn’t simply dancing.

He was dancing with Vera Ashenlocke.

Nickolas suddenly wished the polished marble floor would split open beneath his feet.

Why did I even brag...?

He covered part of his face.

The worst part wasn’t being proven wrong.

It was the fact that Ezra himself clearly didn’t care about any of the bragging in the first place.

Everything Nickolas had proudly said earlier...

Had only embarrassed himself.

At the far end of the ballroom...

Selena gracefully returned to the stage.

She gently gathered her dress before sitting before the grand piano once again.

Her fingers rested lightly above the polished keys while she quietly waited for the signal to begin.

The orchestra behind her also returned to their positions.

One by one...

The dancers finished arranging themselves across the ballroom.

The elegant atmosphere that had briefly relaxed during the break slowly returned.

Vera quietly looked around before turning her attention back to Ezra.

"There are quite a lot of eyes on us."

She spoke in her usual calm voice.

Ezra looked around as well.

"Really?"

He sighed softly.

"And whose fault do you think that is?"

His reply carried a faint trace of dry sarcasm again.

Vera didn’t deny it.

Instead, she calmly tilted her head.

"Technically...It’s your fault."

She spoke as though correcting a simple misunderstanding.

"Most of those people aren’t looking at me."

Her dark eyes slowly swept across the surrounding students.

"They’re looking at the boy dancing with me."

She paused briefly.

"Jealousy. Envy. Admiration. Respect...There are quite a few emotions gathered in one place."

Her gaze finally returned to Ezra.

"You’ve become quite the popular noble...Ezra Ashenlocke."

Ezra looked at her without changing his expression.

"You’re surprisingly shameless. No, wait..."

He answered immediately, but paused.

"You are shameless."

Ezra said flatly.

Vera’s lips moved almost imperceptibly.

Whether it was amusement or satisfaction...

No one could tell.

The orchestra quietly prepared behind them.

Selena remained still.

She patiently waited for the exact moment to begin.

Without another word...

Ezra performed a proper gentleman’s bow.

His movements were clean and refined.

Opposite him...

Vera gracefully lowered herself into a lady’s curtsy.

Every movement reflected years of her noble etiquette.

As they straightened...

Vera calmly looked at him.

"Says the person... who ate my cake."

She paused deliberately.

"Using my fork."

Ezra met her gaze.

"So?"

His answer came without the slightest embarrassment.

Vera slowly blinked.

"You do realize... that counts as an indirect kiss."

Her voice remained perfectly flat.

"I’m sure someone as intelligent as you already knows that."

She looked at him for another second before her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Oh...It couldn’t be..."

She tilted her head.

Her expression remained almost completely blank.

Yet the timing of her words carried just enough teasing to make them effective.

As the dance officially began...

Their right hands naturally met.

Their fingers lightly clasped together.

Vera quietly looked at their joined hands before lifting her eyes toward Ezra once more.

"So...That was your goal all along?"

She paused.

"...Pervert."

Her tone remained as dry as ever.

There wasn’t the slightest embarrassment on her face.

She simply sounded as though she were presenting a perfectly logical conclusion.

Ezra narrowed his eyes.

Without replying...

His free hand gently settled against Vera’s slim waist, guiding her into the proper ballroom position.

The instant his hand touched her...

Silence seemed to spread through a large section of the ballroom.

More than a few young noblemen felt something inside them crack.

To many of the young nobles present...

Especially those who had regularly attended the royal social gatherings held in Eldenford...

This scene felt almost unreal.

Vera Ashenlocke had never danced with a young man before.

Not even once.

The same could also be said for two other renowned Flowers of Britannia.

Selena Galehart.

And Diane Bergwyn.

Among the three...

Vera had always been regarded as the least approachable, even though she was actually the most approached...

With the sole exception of Selena Galehart...

Of course.

No gentleman had ever managed to hold her this closely in public.

Yet tonight...

That unchanging image had finally been broken.

And the one standing beside her...

Was Ezra Ashenlocke.

Many students still found it difficult to believe what they were witnessing.

Rumors had spread for months.

There had been whispers.

Speculation.

Even obvious signs.

Still...

Rumors were only rumors until seen with one’s own eyes.

Many remembered how countless influential young nobles had tried to invite Vera to dance.

Desmond.

Prince Tristin.

Starke.

A promising heir from House Berg.

Several talented heirs from House Derlis.

Even Prince Charles...

The respected Fourth Prince, who maintained a close friendship with Veda Ashenlocke.

Every single invitation had received the same answer.

A polite refusal.

Something like that.

Yet...

Tonight...

She had willingly accepted Ezra.

That single fact alone left many people struggling to hide the complicated emotions filling their hearts.

At that exact moment...

Selena gently lowered her hand.

One clear note rang out from the grand piano.

The orchestra instinctively fell silent.

The dancers froze in place, waiting for the true opening of the piece.

Ezra glanced at Vera.

"Are you a child?"

He asked quietly enough that only she could hear.

"You’re still making a fuss over something that small."

His tone remained calm.

To him...

Sharing a bite of cake truly didn’t seem like a matter worth discussing.

Vera simply looked at him.

She didn’t respond immediately.

Her quiet gaze lingered on him for several seconds, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Then...

Selena’s fingers finally descended onto the piano.

The opening melody flowed into the ballroom.

A heartbeat later...

The orchestra joined her.

Together...

They performed an entirely new composition.

Unlike the graceful elegance of the First Core...

This melody carried a livelier rhythm while still preserving the dignity expected of a royal ballroom.

The music spread through every corner of the hall.

As though responding to the melody itself...

The dancers began moving.

Ezra gently led Vera forward.

Every movement came naturally.

His steps remained steady and precise.

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in the way he guided her across the polished marble floor.

Vera followed without resistance.

Her body moved smoothly with every subtle cue from his hand.

The rhythm between them settled almost immediately.

As the distance between them naturally shortened during one of the opening movements...

Ezra couldn’t help noticing how unexpectedly soft Vera’s waist felt beneath his hand.

It contrasted sharply with the image he held of her.

Someone capable of calmly facing danger...

Someone whose abilities as an Alchemist were anything but ordinary.

The difference was strangely surprising.

Vera quietly lifted her eyes toward him.

"Don’t mistake my silence...for being unable to answer you."

Her tone remained composed.

"I was simply..."

Before she could finish...

Ezra smoothly guided her forward.

Her body gracefully spun beneath their joined hands.

The black-and-silver layers of her ballroom gown bloomed outward like the petals of a flower before settling once more.

The movement was so fluid that it seemed almost effortless.

Several nearby spectators unconsciously straightened where they stood.

Their eyes followed the elegant turn without blinking.

The next instant...

Ezra gently drew her back toward him.

Vera spun once again before coming to a smooth stop directly before him.

Throughout the entire movement...

She never resisted.

Not even once.

She entrusted every step to Ezra’s lead.

And Ezra guided her with calm confidence, making every transition appear so natural that it was difficult to tell where one movement ended and the next began.

The perfect coordination between them gradually drew more and more attention.

It wasn’t only the people who had been watching from the beginning.

Even those whose attention had been elsewhere slowly found themselves turning toward the pair without realizing it.

The jealousy in some eyes...

The envy in others...

Even those who had shown little interest in the dance before...

All of them eventually looked in the same direction.

Toward Ezra and Vera.

"Wow... They’re completely in sync."

Nina couldn’t stop herself from blurting it out.

Her bright eyes remained fixed on Vera as she watched her young lady dance with a boy for the very first time.

Ever since they were children...

Nina had watched Vera practice ballroom dances countless times.

She had stood quietly by the walls during every lesson, watching her memorize each step until every movement became second nature.

She knew exactly how skilled Vera was.

Yet...

Practicing alone and dancing with a partner were two completely different things.

Because Vera had never accepted a dance invitation from any young noble before...

Nina herself had never witnessed such a scene.

This was the first.

And somehow...

Watching it unfold before her own eyes left her with emotions she couldn’t quite explain.

If her lady had been dancing with anyone else...

For some reason...

Nina felt certain this feeling inside her wouldn’t exist.

She couldn’t explain why.

Nor could she understand where the strange sense of satisfaction came from.

But...

That very thought only made her feel even more annoyed.

She quietly puffed out her cheeks.

Why does it have to be Ezra...

As time quietly passed...

The true highlight of the Second Core slowly revealed itself.

Among the countless pairs dancing across the Grand Ballroom...

One pair naturally began standing above the rest.

A young man with deep black hair.

A young lady with equally deep black hair.

Neither possessed dazzling golden hair nor rare jewel-colored eyes.

Yet somehow...

The two of them captured everyone’s attention more completely than any royal or noble present.

Without either of them noticing...

They had gradually become the center of the ballroom.

The surrounding dancers naturally adjusted their movements.

Some unknowingly gave them more space.

Others instinctively danced around them without interrupting their rhythm.

Little by little...

Ezra and Vera found themselves standing at the very heart of the dance floor.

Many students no longer bothered hiding where they were looking.

Every few moments...

Their eyes drifted back toward the pair.

"This is... so beautiful."

One young noble lady whispered.

Her eyes sparkled with genuine admiration.

The whispers only continued to grow.

Each passing minute brought more spectators.

The atmosphere inside the ballroom subtly changed.

People were no longer watching every couple equally.

They were watching one dance.

Only one.

Across the ballroom...

Paras.

Starlixs.

And Zphones.

Rose one after another.

Students eagerly activated their devices.

Some wanted photographs.

Others hurriedly began recording videos.

Several quietly moved closer, hoping to capture a better angle before someone blocked their view.

"It’ll be a shame if I don’t record this."

"Hurry!"

"They’re over there!"

Members of the academy’s News Club immediately noticed the growing excitement.

Without wasting another second...

The camera team quickly redirected every recording device toward Ezra and Vera.

Not a single movement was missed.

Every graceful spin Ezra guided Vera through.

Every elegant turn they shared.

Every subtle shift in their footing.

Every exchange of glances between them.

Every movement flowed naturally into the next, making it difficult to tell where one ended and another began.

As the dance continued...

Something quietly changed within Ezra himself.

The ballroom gradually disappeared from his awareness.

The countless spectators...

The whispers...

The cameras...

Even the orchestra.

Everything faded into the background.

His body simply followed the music.

Almost instinctively...

He entered a state of complete focus.

Without consciously thinking about it...

His body began recalling movements from another lifetime.

Dance techniques that didn’t exist in Britannia.

Footwork.

Transitions.

Lifts.

Rotations.

All the techniques Claudia taught him, in his previous self’s world.

Without realizing it...

Ezra naturally incorporated those techniques into the dance.

The transition was seamless.

As the melody reached another graceful rise...

Ezra gently wrapped one arm around Vera’s slender waist.

In one smooth motion...

He lifted her effortlessly from the floor.

Vera showed not the slightest hint of surprise.

Instead...

She trusted him completely.

Her body leaned gracefully backward while one hand remained lightly resting upon his shoulder.

The skirt of her black-and-silver gown spread elegantly beneath the ballroom lights.

The image was so breathtaking that several young ladies instinctively covered their mouths.

Even many of the maids serving throughout the Grand Ballroom found themselves frozen.

Their hearts skipped a beat.

"What...that’s beautiful."

"I wish...someone would dance with me like that."

A few couldn’t stop themselves from imagining such a moment.

Not because of desire alone...

But because the scene itself looked like something taken straight from a romantic fairy tale.

Nearby...

Veda, who was dancing with Princess Stella, unconsciously slowed his own movements.

His eyes remained fixed on Ezra and Vera.

A rare expression of astonishment appeared across his face.

Ezra... Were you this good of a dancer?

Princess Stella also found herself stealing glance after glance toward the pair.

Even though she remained perfectly in rhythm...

Part of her attention had already wandered elsewhere.

Upon the stage...

Selena continued playing.

Yet...

Her beautiful emerald eyes repeatedly drifted toward the ballroom floor.

Toward Ezra and Vera.

A faint ache quietly surfaced within her heart.

It was longing.

A longing so gentle that even she struggled to describe it.

She wanted...

Just once...

To experience a dance like that herself.

Not because of the attention.

Not because everyone was watching.

But because of the trust reflected in every movement between the two dancers.

The way Vera entrusted every step to Ezra.

The way Ezra guided her without hesitation.

It was beautiful.

Painfully beautiful.

Then...

Selena suddenly realized something.

Her fingers never stopped moving across the piano.

The orchestra continued following her lead.

The dancers continued matching her rhythm.

That had always been the natural order.

She played.

Everyone else followed.

Yet...

Without noticing when it had happened...

The roles had quietly reversed.

Her fingers were no longer leading the dance.

Instead...

She had begun following Ezra and Vera.

Their movements...

Their rhythm...

The rise and fall of their steps...

Without realizing it...

She had started shaping her music around their dance.

Selena’s fingers danced gracefully across the ivory keys.

Every note she played sought to capture the elegance unfolding before her.

The music lover within her refused to accept what she was hearing.

No...

This is still not enough.

She could feel it.

The melody she was creating still hadn’t fully brought out the beauty blooming beneath the moonlit atmosphere of the Grand Ballroom.

Her music wasn’t matching them.

It was chasing them.

Selena gently bit her lower lip.

For the first time since she had devoted herself to becoming a true pianist...

A genuine challenge had appeared before her.

Not another musician.

Not another composer.

But two dancers.

A challenge unlike anything she had ever experienced.

A small smile slowly formed on her lips.

Instead of frustration...

Her eyes filled with excitement.

"If that’s the case...then let me try."

Her fingers suddenly accelerated.

The melody rose to another level.

The transition was so natural that the orchestra immediately sensed her intention.

Without exchanging a single word...

Every musician instinctively straightened.

Expressions turned serious.

They tightened their focus and poured even more emotion into every note.

No one wanted to fall behind.

Like that...

The music...

And the dance...

Began lifting one another higher.

Selena’s performance.

And Ezra and Vera’s dance.

Together...

They became the only attraction within the entire Grand Ballroom.

No one could look away.

No one wanted to.

Even Lady Berg...

The young lady known throughout Britannia as the Sleeping Ice Lady...

Quietly stood with her arms folded.

Her usually indifferent eyes remained fixed upon Vera’s calm, expressionless face.

She didn’t blink.

She simply watched.

Around the ballroom...

More and more students gradually slowed to a stop.

Some found the new musical tempo too demanding to comfortably continue dancing.

Others...

Simply couldn’t keep themselves from watching Ezra and Vera.

Their feet may have remained on the dance floor...

But their attention had long since left their own partners.

Before anyone realized it...

An entire hour had quietly passed.

The Second Core entered its final hour.

The melody softened.

Following the change in rhythm...

Ezra gently guided Vera closer.

The distance between them gradually disappeared until only a small space remained.

At that distance...

Both could clearly catch the faint fragrance of each other’s expensive cologne, blending quietly beneath the warm lights of the Grand Ballroom as the dance continued without a single break.