บท 109: Ballroom

'What am I doing here?'

Standing in the middle of a ballroom looking extremely out of place, Grim was surrounded by the women of high society.

"Wow, is this who I think it is?!"

"You've really out done yourself Mariella."

"Mmm."

As the ladies stroked his chest and touched up his body, the women who brought him here: Mariella was showing off to her friends.

"Tch!" Watching their mothers, aunts and other female family members throwing their affection in Grim's direction, the men at the ballroom was starting to become restless.

'Damn peasant! How dare someone of his stature show up here!'

"Ahem." Walking up to Mariella, an older gentlemen whose hair was slowly turning grey held out his hand and shot Grim an aggressive glance before showing off a gentle smile.

"Mariella my dear, would you do me the honour of being my partner for this next dance?"

Caught off guard by his sudden proposal, Mariella was momentarily taken aback but quickly calmed herself down. "Of course sir Al-

Taking hold of her outstretched hand, Grim placed his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to himself.

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrow and looked at the young man.

"Didn't you promise me the next dance?"

"WHAT!!" The surrounding women gasped.

"You!" Gritting his teeth, the older gentleman wanted nothing more than to kill Grim then and there.

"Trying to steal my dance partner right in front of me? Even if you have seniority, don't you think you're being a bit rude?" Grim asked innocently.

"Seniority?!" Anger by Grim's indirect way of calling him old, the man was about to blow up. "How dare you accuse me of-

"Sir Alecdolla!" Mariella cut in. "My apologies for my companion's words, but as he has stated, I had promised to give him the next dance."

"I-I see..." Feeling the gazes of all those around him, Alecdolla had no choice but to back off lest he lose face.

"I just hope you're husband will not mind you prancing around with a man of such... low birth."

'Low birth? Did this old sack of shit just try to diss me?!'

"No need to worry about that." Mariella smiled sweetly.

"Very well." Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere with this conversation, he bowed slightly to Mariella and the other ladies before throwing a dirty look Grim's way and leaving.

"Hey Mariella." Grim suddenly called.

"Hmm?"

"Does this guy have a wife?"

---

Standing in the middle of the ballroom with all eyes on them, Grim and Mariella faced each other as the music slowly began. Taking hold of her hand, Grim took a step forward as Mariella took a step back.

'This boy... He knows what he's doing.'

Having used Ki and the transparent world to observe the people in the ballroom, Grim had already figured out the nuances involved in these dances. Adding on [Breath of Water] on top of that to enhance his mobility, what took these people years of tireless training was comprehended and replicated by Grim in an instance.

Moving in accordance to the music, the two seemed to be lost in their own world as they spun and circled around the ballroom floor calling attention to themselves through their actions.

"You never told me you could dance." She whispered into his ear.

"You never told me you had a husband." He grinned back.

"You never asked." She smiled.

"Touché, where is he anyway?"

"See that middle aged gentleman talking to Sir Alecdolla on the left?"

Moving in a way that allowed him to see what was happening on the left hand side of the room, Grim saw a brown haired man in his mid 50s holding a glass of wine and glaring at him.

"Is that him?"

"Mmm." She nodded.

"How do you think he feels seeing his wife dancing with someone he considers beneath him?"

"Who knows." She answered calmly. "I'm sure he'd rather be spending his time with one of his many mistresses."

"Oh? Is that jealousy I hear?"

Pausing for a moment, she looked deeply into Grim's eyes.

"My marriage was arranged by my parents, this entire marriage is nothing more than a mere pretence to keep our families connected. I... I did my best... I fulfilled my obligations as a good wife without ever falling in love. For my family... I sacrificed my love, my happiness, my freedom... I bore that man his heirs, supported him in every endeavour and did everything possible to raise a family that he could be proud of... But still... it wasn't enough! No matter what I did, no matter how hard I worked, he would always go to one of his mistresses! One year ago I finally had enough and confronted him about his behaviour, but instead of regret or even trying to explain why he did what he did, he accused me of not being good enough! Hah, he even said that it was my fault that he was cheating in the first place!" Feeling her grip tighten on his hands, Grim's facial expression stayed the same as he said.

"Is that so."

"So you're jealous that he's living the way he wants while you're stuck playing the role of the perfect wife?" He continued.

"What?!"

"Am I wrong? Isn't that why you invited me here tonight? To make him jealous?"

"I-I have no idea what you're talking abou-

Pulling her in close, he shut her up by covering her mouth with his own.

!!!

*Gasp*

Seeing the obscene sight of Grim kissing a married woman, many noble ladies felt their heart skip a beat and heart shaped symbols appeared in their eyes.

'H-He's kissing me!! In front of my peers and husband...'

While the kiss was anything deep and more like a peck, it was more than enough to take her breath away.

Feeling him pull back and separate their lips from each other, Mariella couldn't help but feel her face flush red as she looked into his beautiful yellow eyes. Unlike on the battlefield where they usually had a savage glint in them, the look in his eyes right now conveyed an indescribable amount of warmth and comfort that she had never thought possible. It was enough to make her weak in the knees.

"How was that? Feel like you've gotten back at him a little?"

In all honesty, that was Grim's first kiss since arriving in this world. And while his own experience might not have been much, he was able to subconsciously draw on the experience on his previous lives to not seem to amateurish. Combined with the scenery and situation, he was sure that he had left a deep impression in Mariella's heart.

Finally managing to settle herself a bit, just as Mariella was abut to speak the pace of the music suddenly changed.

Increasing the speed in which they danced, Mariella matched his timing and started speaking in a hushed tone.

"Why'd you that! Do you know what will happen to me now!"

Smirking at her attempt to reprimand him, he continued dancing while twirling her around.

"You wanted to make him jealous didn't you?"

"I-"

"Want to make him even more jealous?"

"What! Are you out of your min-

!!!

Just like before, Grim shut her up by placing his lips over hers. But unlike the last time, this kiss wasn't just a peck.

Feeling his tongue intertwine with hers, she yet again felt another rush of helplessness, the sinking yielding, the surging tide of warmth that left her body feeling limp and devoid of energy. Slowly becoming intoxicated in this feeling of warmth and passion, Mariella didn't even realize that Grim's face was becoming blurred and drowned into nothingness. Bending her head back he kissed her softly at first, but unable to deny his nature as a beast, that soft and gentle kiss quickly escalated in intensity that made her cling to him as the only solid thing in a dizzying world.

Using his tongue to part her lips and explore the deep crevices of her mouth, her body quivered as he sent wild tremors throughout her body evoking sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling. And before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around the back of his neck and was kissing him back.