I had a hard time sleeping in the Princess's bed that night.

There was a good chance that the prophecy Reynard mentioned was the same as the one that was spoken briefly of in my dream. I was certain that the information Reynard would provide me would be connected to my yet-to-occur death and help me know how and why the Crown Princess was to be killed. And if possible, I could figure out how to escape it as well.

…..

"Now, Your Highness. You must twirl! Twirl like a graceful swan, not like an ugly duckling," the dance instructor sighed peevishly.

How the hell did I end up here? The Emperor did tell me to resume my lessons as soon as possible but how would I have known that this would include dancing lessons!?

"Okay, now lift one arm up and the other should hover before your waist," the instructor ordered.

It wasn't even 8 in the morning. I'd still be in bed if I was back in my world, but here I was, practicing how to execute a graceful spin.

The dance instructor tutted at my clumsy moves and sighed loudly. "Your Highness, how could you get so bad at this in such a short period of time? Getting ill shouldn't have taken away your dancing abilities, unless your legs were damaged in the process."

Ah, this obnoxious, blunt man was begging to hear my vast vocabulary. "Now follow my lead! One, two, three! One, two, three," he chanted as he dragged me along with his dance. "Princess, don't look so glum. Go with the flow..."

Nope, I never signed up for this. I can't do this. Even back then, I was never too good on my legs. "Sir Andre, I'm really tired," I groaned. "If possible, I'd like to take a break."

"Oh, but Princess, we've only just started yet!" Sir Andre nagged unbelievably. "Surely, you're not really weak on your legs after the sickness?"

I wanted to say 'yes' but if I did, I'd have to spend a lot of time with the physician again. "I can assure you that I'm not," I put him at ease. "But I believe some rest would help my condition."

Defeated, Sir Andre gave in and seated down himself as he chugged a glass of water. I too, was provided with a glass of water by a servant standing by.

"Thanks," I said as I took the glass. "What's your name, by the way?"

I didn't remember seeing her in my room on the day I came here, nor did I ever notice her when I went to the garden. Honestly, it was weird because she had such extraordinary silver hair, it'd be hard not to notice her.

She blushed after hearing the question and almost dropped the jug of water she was holding. "It's Emery," she said, trying very hard not to appear flustered, "uh...Your Highness."

I laughed at how cute she was, as I told her not to panic. She finally seemed to relax as her shoulder slumped down slightly and she laughed along with me. "Hey, can you help me with something?" I asked her as she set down the jug of water on a small table arranged against one wall of the dance studio.

"Always, Your Highness."

"Could you maybe sneak me out of here?" I whispered. Surprised by my request, Emery thought it over and whispered enthusiastically, "It's not something I can't do."

We observed that there were, at the moment, four people in the room. Sir Andre, a guard by the door, Emery and me.

"My good sir," Emery smiled innocently as she approached the guard. "Could you perhaps notify the Miss Martha per Her highness's request, that she'd like to eat the cook's special choux pastry after her lessons are over with?"

"Certainly, miss." And right before my eyes, the guard disappeared from the room.

I gave her a thumbs up. "Good work, Emery."

Next, she went over to Sir Andre and engaged him in a conversation regarding the types of slippers suitable for ballet. Sir Andre was wiggling his hands about so comically that I almost didn't want to leave, but I saw this as an opportunity to make my escape as he was very much distracted. I gave Emery a wink before I made a run for it.

I liked her. I knew she'd be a fun one from the get go.

Now, I wondered as I walked through the palace corridor freely, nodding at every guard that bowed to me. Where shall I go?

I couldn't possibly go to my bedroom, because that's the first place the guards would check upon realizing that I had disappeared. I could go to the palace library, but all the books they had there were either about monarch history or about royal behavior and stuff. Instead I decided to go and check out the gardens.

I was about to reach for the door when I heard someone cough behind me. I turned around, hoping that it wasn't a guard who was here to take me back to my lessons. I was surprised to see Sir Gradral standing there.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?"

"Oh...just," I tried to appear as nonchalant as possible, "I was just about to take a walk in the gardens."

He raised one eyebrow. "Unguarded?"

I laughed softly, hoping that he'd just leave me alone. "Care to join me?"

✿

"So," I said, trying to strike a conversation because the awkwardness between us was killing me, "Sir Gradral, don't mind me asking, but where are you from?"

"From Eyress, Your Highness." I noticed that this guy had a superb poker face.

"Ah, I see," I said, even though I had no idea where Eyress was. "How did you end up working for my father?"

Sir Gradral didn't answer for a long while. I peeked behind my shoulder to see if he was left far behind, but saw him walking in tow behind me. "Sir Gradral?"

"I never enlisted for the guards on my own free will," he said. "It was all my son's idea."

"Your son?"

Sir Gradral gave a smile whose emotion I was unable to detect. "Yes, Your Highness. My son."

"How old is he?" I asked, observing the flowers that grew along the palace wall. Sir Gradral didn't seem so old. He looked as if he was in his mid 30s or something, so I guessed that his son might be 10 or 11.

"He just turned 21." Oof, I was way off.

After a pause, so that I don't seem too nosy by asking so many questions about his personal life, I asked, "How many kids do you have, Sir Gradral?"

I noticed how his face lit up when I mentioned his children, though it was a very slight change. "I have two children, my son and a daughter."

"How lovely," I said, really meaning it.

The rest of the morning went really well. Sir Gradral and I strolled in the garden for another half an hour, discussing whether having siblings was good or not, when Martha came running to me and started nagging me about missing my lessons. "Sir Andre has been so stressed. He said he didn't know how you slipped away in front of his sharp sight."

"My, such a sharp sight he has," I joked as Martha dragged me to my room.

"Really, Your Highness. You must know better yourself," Martha said. "Take off your shoes outside your door. All the mud caked up on them will surely ruin the carpet." She sighed.

"Martha, you know, I really don't think I should take those dancing lessons," I complained. "Sir Andre is such a nuisance."

"That he is," Martha mumbled. "But you do know that these classes are an essential part of who you are. The ceremony in two weeks and you'll have to dance in front of a large crowd of nobles. You wouldn't want to embarrass yourself, would you? It's going to be one of the largest events in all time to come. Several royal families from foreign kingdoms will also be present and so will the Emperor himself."

I had no idea this 'Ceremony' was such a big deal to everyone. I've been taking this matter too lightly. Now that I know that I had to perform in front of a large crowd, my anxiety started to take over. "Martha," I whined, "is there any way to forgo the ceremony?"

"Definitely not!" she snapped sternly.

I sat, pouting at all these arising complications. It wasn't fair. Why did I even get transmigrated into another world? Why me? The novel wasn't even mine to read, it was Jieum's. It would've made so much sense if Jieum really did transmigrate here instead of me.

If I really had to die, why didn't God let me die in peace?