Jeanette’s body and stomach were both strong, to put it mildly. She rarely suffered from food poisoning, but it wasn’t an impossibility. She turned to the side and began to draw in long breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.
Kyuriakris noticed what she was doing, and frowned.
“What’s wrong, Jeanette? Do you feel unwell?”
“No!” she denied hurriedly. “I’m perfectly fine, just like always!”
Kyuriakris chuckled.
“I see. That’s good. In that case...since we have the chance, will you dance with me?”
“Gladly!”
Jeanette and Kyuriakris walked out onto the dance floor together. As they danced, Kyuriakris’s lead was more masculine than Claus’s, and he spun Jeanette around in a more vigorous fashion. He was grinning in satisfaction.
“I thought revealing my true identity only came with downsides, but now I see there are advantages as well.”
“Advantages?” she repeated.
“Yes. I can dance with you, Jeanette,” Kyuriakris said, and slipped in a kiss to the back of her hand.
“Wah!”
That he was able to sneak a kiss like that during a dance...such a swift and refined movement! Jeanette thought, impressed by a rather enigmatic aspect of the situation.
“Oh? Claus is still dancing. That princess is really doing her best,” Kyuriakris pointed out.
She followed his line of sight and saw that the pair was indeed still going. Their expressions were even more relaxed than before. There was a sense of intimacy around them, so much so that a stranger might think they were lovers.
Jeanette fell silent. That sight filled her with an indescribable feeling.
“Ow!” Kyuriakris exclaimed, and only upon hearing his groan did Jeanette realize that she had stepped on his foot.
“I’m so sorry! You should check for an injury!”
“No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it, it happens.”
“But if you’re actually hurt...!” Jeanette insisted, dragging the reluctant prince away from the dance floor.
“What? It wasn’t that serious. I’m perfectly fine.”
“If you’re sure...” she said in a fluster.
“Anyway, did you notice something?” Kyuriakris asked in a knowing tone. “I feel like for a while now, you haven’t been able to focus.”
“No, not really...! If I had to say, I might be a bit concerned that Her Highness will collapse—”
“You’re lying,” he said firmly. “You should know best of all that the princess has the endurance to dance until the end.”
“Well...”
Indeed, Jeanette thought so too. Meltia’s daily karate training hadn’t just been for show. She had built up her stamina remarkably fast and improved her skills so much that even Jeanette was surprised at how clean her techniques had become. Dancing should’ve been a breeze for the princess now.
Then why am I...?
As Jeanette wondered, Kyuriakris gave her a hard stare.
“Jeanette, take a good long look at those two.”
“Huh...?”
At his urging, she once again turned her gaze toward the pair. Meltia was bursting with vitality even now, dancing animatedly. Claus watched her zealous movements with a tenderness in his eyes that he hadn’t shown to anyone but Jeanette in the past.
A stab of pain went through her heart.
“Ngh...”
Without thinking, she pressed her hand to her chest. I might actually be unwell...! Worse yet, she was struggling to breathe properly.
“I-I’m sorry, Lord Kyuriakris. I think I might be in poor shape today after all. I’m going to take a breather on that terrace over there!”
Jeanette sped off without even waiting for his reply. It was uncouth for a lady to run in public, but she didn’t care about that right now. My health and life come first! Clutching her chest and gasping for air, she ran.
By the time she reached the balcony, she was breathing heavily. But just as she thought she was alone, she heard a voice behind her.
“Phew! You’re faster than I thought, Jeanette.”
“Lord Kyuriakris?!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice you were following me...!”
“No, it’s fine. I got to see you run at full speed, so I’m glad.”
Is... Is that a compliment? Jeanette’s cheeks flushed with shame.
“But you can’t be feeling that unwell, if you’re able to run so fast,” the prince said.
“I’m not so sure about that...”
Her chest was still aching, and it felt tight and uncomfortable. On top of that, she felt like crying, and she had no idea why. She quickly closed her eyes.
“Ah! What kind of illness is this?! My constitution is extraordinarily strong, but I’m in so much pain for some reason... This might be bad!”
“I don’t think it’s an illness.”
“Huh?” She opened her eyes, and realized that Kyuriakris was gazing at her gently.
“Well, I guess some people would call it an illness... But either way, I know what emotion you’re feeling.”
“Emotion? So it’s not a sickness?”
“No.” Kyuriakris turned to look toward the dance hall. “Jeanette, the pain you’re feeling right now is a result of jealousy.”
Jeanette’s eyes widened at that word.
“Jeal...ousy...?”
“Yes, jealousy.”
She blinked a few times. Of course, she knew what that word meant. However, she’d never have guessed that was what she was feeling. Kyuriakris must’ve read that in her expression.
“Your chest started to hurt because you looked at Claus dancing with Princess Meltia, right?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you think when you saw them?”
“Um... I thought they looked very good together.”
“I see. But what about that moment when your heart ached?”
“Hmm... I thought that Lord Claus was looking at Her Highness very tenderly...” Jeanette admitted, and felt another stab in her chest.
“There it is, Jeanette. Claus looked at another woman with tenderness. That alone caused you so much pain. That’s what jealousy feels like.”
“It is...?” she asked with disbelief.