Chapter 16. Partner Dance
Speaking of dancing, Corvos suddenly remembered a time from long ago. Back then, the Church of the Wanderers was only a small group with no reputation. In an abandoned place lit by only a few flickering torches, everyone sat in a circle. They gathered there to discuss how they should approach the target. Everyone understood that directly approaching a noble was impossible. Only the masquerade dances during the folk festival created the necessary opening. People from the lower classes could only get close to nobles during such occasions.
After some consideration, everyone agreed that Corvos was the most suitable person to take on the approaching role. He had better luck with women and did not have to suffer from the pointless jealousy of other men. However, one member suddenly asked Corvos whether he knew how to dance or not. Corvos did not know. He had never danced because that was a game reserved for nobles. The group immediately realized a new problem. They had to find a way to cheat together a few basic lessons so Corvos could practice.
After obtaining some scraps of notes and a few explanations, Corvos began to try. He remembered standing in the middle of the dirt floor, lowering his center of gravity and preparing for an opening movement that he believed to be dancing. However, no one could name the thing he had just performed. Corvos's waist stayed still like a block of wood. His shoulder joints jerked repeatedly in an unnatural way. His head tilted in a direction that did not match any beat. His hips barely moved even a little.
Every time he tried to twist his body, even his clothes seemed to protest the movement by making stiff, dry sounds. When the music ended, Corvos's strange series of movements ended with it. No one believed that was a dance performed by the man who had once been teased as the gentleman of the group. He looked more like a patient suffering from joint stiffness than someone dancing. His "self-moving block of wood" act was so funny that the whole group burst into cheerful laughter. That moment became one of the few warm memories Corvos shared with the Church of the Wanderers.
The moment of recollection faded away and gave place to reality.
Corvos was now standing in a place that was absolutely not a ballroom. He had to perform movements belonging to modern dance. They were movements entirely unfamiliar to anything he had ever known and entirely unfamiliar to dances meant for nobles.
Standing in front of him was someone who always wanted to twist his head off because of a grudge that would never fade. However, the two of them still had to perform a dance together.
"Do not let a psychological barrier interfere with your actions."
Corvos saw that Juwel still seemed trapped in the contradiction of having to dance with an enemy.
After clarifying what he needed to do, Juwel decided to finish quickly. The sky was already getting dark.
I am crossdressing right now, he reminded himself, or rather disguising himself. He reminded himself not to let real emotions show.
"Would you mind if I borrow a few familiar symbols?"
Corvos deliberately broke Juwel's moment of contemplation.
Juwel replied dryly, then rotated his wrist slightly as a signal to begin. "You talk too much."
Corvos smiled and the sound felt like a gentle stroke along the back of the neck.
Perhaps the expression of his persona had slipped away, so the current Corvos appeared even closer to the familiar version.
The mask reminded Juwel of many unpleasant memories. But in any case, the mask's design had no resemblance to the "goat head used as a mask" that Corvos wore in the previous life. Juwel could be overreactive toward anything related to Corvos, but not this time and not with a mask he had bought himself.
[Look at him pretending to be a gentleman again, so cuteee.]
[Remember not to be cool only for 3 seconds. The music lasts 3 minutes!]
"Let's start."
Juwel said.
The female streamer watched from outside, excited, but suddenly she realized something and hurriedly stopped them.
"Sis, sis! Calm down first!" The female streamer reached out to stop, while she rummaged through something in her backpack.
A sun-shawl dress.
She handed it to Juwel, who was preparing to dance in a tight short dress. Juwel had chosen a tight dress that hugged his hips because the suggestions he found online recommended that if a man wanted to wear women's clothing naturally, he should highlight the legs so that people would not pay attention to the rather revealing upper body.
"...Thanks."
Juwel had indeed forgotten about this. That meant when dancing, he needed to pay attention to leg movements. Otherwise, he would be easily exposed. With that thought and the image of the complicated dance choreography, Juwel now felt a little helpless.
Corvos watched Juwel's calm face. He suddenly wanted to know what expression Juwel would make when embarrassed. It was an interesting idea. From time to time Juwel would do something very "odd" that some people would find embarrassing, but Juwel had never been self-conscious about it and had never felt shy.
The streetlights seemed to respond to the call of the dancing pair. They lit up at that very moment. The light spilled over the grey stone pavement and created an accidental ballroom floor.
Corvos placed his hand lightly on Juwel's back. The movement was surprisingly proper. Juwel reminded himself that this was only a normal dance. He had graduated from an heir's dance course in his previous life, so dancing was not a problem if he kept his mind simple.
Juwel started to move. He leaned his body, and his hips curved with the rhythm. Juwel did not notice how Corvos shifted his gaze very slightly, as if he was searching for a hazy line between appraisal and admiration. Juwel was still trying to recall the steps he had seen in the video.
Juwel's body was innately alluring. His waist was narrow, his limbs long, and the most striking trait was his aristocratic "cốt cách" which meant his natural noble bearing.
Every curve of his clothes and every subtle shoulder sway became something for that gaze to catch. Because the movements were done intentionally but looked like he refused to let anything slip, the aura around Juwel became contradictory.
Corvos adjusted his gaze not according to the music but according to Juwel's movements. It was more accurate to say he followed the idea that each movement existed for him to see. They seemed to be conversing in a silent language. Just one movement from Juwel sent a ripple through Corvos's eyes.
Juwel twisted his wrist. His head tilted slightly and his gaze lifted. That gaze caught Corvos. There was no seduction in it, no invitation, and no avoidance. It was simply a look. The light fell diagonally across Juwel's cheekbone and dragged a long shadow down to his collarbone before disappearing into the neckline.
Corvos's body was not clumsy the way he pretended. The stiff steps and slightly off-beat motions were deliberate. His role required that kind of graceful awkwardness. He needed a little confusion and a little stiffness to make the viewers laugh and feel closer to him. He knew how to restrain himself and how to act.
However, a small accident happened and overturned all calculations. When they reached the part where Juwel spun too deep, Corvos's hand slipped downward. By reflex, his fingers brushed the hollow of Juwel's lower back and slid under the thin fabric. His fingers grazed the cold and smooth skin, and he unconsciously touched deeper. From the tiniest change on Juwel's face, Corvos realized that might be a sensitive spot for him.
That meant one thing. If the owner of this body did not consent, any touch there would become a violation. It broke personal boundaries and broke the act itself.
Juwel's eyes turned cold. He clearly saw Corvos's action as a provocation. Coincidentally his next step was a sharp spin that pulled their bodies closer than necessary. In that moment Juwel turned toward Corvos. His hand slid along Corvos's arm. The movement looked like it followed the choreography, but suddenly he twisted Corvos's wrist behind just slightly. He hid the action within the flowing motion of a rare folk dance. It was a silent punishment no one could detect.
The distance between them narrowed until their breaths brushed against each other. Before Corvos could react, Juwel whispered in a low voice meant only for him.
"First warning. Dance properly."
Almost immediately, Juwel's foot tapped lightly against Corvos's knee joint. The tap did not hurt but it unbalanced his weight. Corvos's body tilted forward. He had to place his hand on Juwel's waist to keep his balance and stay exactly in the spot Juwel wanted him to hold. Right then Corvos let out a quiet laugh. He leaned in and answered. His tone sounded like a taunt.
"Getting this close to someone's face is a bad habit."
He deliberately poured in another line.
"Or do you want me to kiss you?"
It was true that Juwel always unconsciously leaned toward his face whenever he threatened someone. Corvos guessed it was because Juwel's larynx was narrow. That made his voice sound higher than the average man and made it hard for him to speak loudly when he lowered his voice to sound deeper.
So Juwel formed a habit of grabbing people's collars and leaning in whenever he needed to threaten them.
But the truth was something Juwel himself did not know, Corvos was more distracted by Juwel's lips than by the actual threat. If Juwel's breath had smelled bad or if his face had been uglier, Corvos would have ignored it and focused on the other thing instead.
Juwel's lips were pink and full. Even when he talked at close range there was no spit flying. Juwel had been raised in an aristocratic environment, so he exercised immense restraint, understood etiquette and standard, and never tarnished the dignity of his class.
Juwel's eyes darkened. The anger burst up violently. Juwel did not believe that Corvos's words were a real intention. They sounded more like provocation. Because even when he was saying those "feigned intimacy" words, Corvos never looked away from Juwel's eyes, and Juwel only saw an absolute stillness in the depths of his gaze. There was almost no emotion moving inside Corvos's mind.
From the outside, they were still just a couple performing the most intimate dance of the night. Yet between the intertwining steps was a battlefield pulled tight like a drawn bowstring between two enemies wearing the skin of lovers.
Juwel lifted his leg to turn his body past Corvos's hip. That moment became the most sensitive test. The dress, the surrounding crowd, and the livestream camera angle being too close were a combination that could destroy an image instantly. Corvos managed to pull Juwel close and used his own leg to lightly trap Juwel's knee. That posture looked like a teasing dip. In reality it was him stopping a very dangerous situation.
Juwel's fingers dug into Corvos's shoulder. They looked at each other. Juwel was cold. Corvos showed no emotion. From a pretend dance, they turned the street stage into a duel fought by their bodies. Every movement held a hidden challenge. They carried heat, aggression, and the pent-up things that had not yet been spoken aloud.
The music kept pounding. It tried to keep up with two bodies that were blending together and fighting at the same time. With the same movements, no one understood why they could make everything burn hotter than normal. The passersby who stopped only out of curiosity were now completely pulled into the tug-of-war dance. The livestream view count shot up. In less than a minute since they began dancing, the number rushed upward like a virus out of control. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, then one hundred thousand. It was as if the whole world was dragged into that blazing rhythm.
Corvos leaned in slightly. He told Juwel in a voice full of promise that he had not made Juwel's body as hot as he wanted yet.
Juwel tilted his body and pressed one hand against Corvos's chest to push him back lightly. That push should have made him stagger. However, Corvos did not lose balance. He stepped back once, then immediately pulled Juwel toward him again with a perfect spin and turned it into part of the rhythm.
The spins became closer. His hand slid down Juwel's spine. His other arm wrapped around Juwel's waist and did not allow him to counter easily. Juwel shivered. Partly because of his words, partly because of the way Corvos placed his hand on his waist. The dress made every touch feel even more bare. Juwel tried to step back, but every movement was bound by the way Corvos moved. He moved smoothly and sensually to a surprising degree.
Juwel did not intend to yield either. He tried to drag Corvos into sudden spins and used his leg to make a point. The air around them seemed to freeze. People on the street stopped. The livestream comments went wild. A neat turn sent Juwel straight into Corvos's arms. He pressed Juwel close from chest to waist and locked him in place as if he feared he would escape. His arm tightened around Juwel's waist. His hand held Juwel's spine firmly.
Juwel opened his eyes wide. His whole body went stiff because the distance between them was far too close. He was about to pull away, but the music stopped right on time. The ending pose was perfect like a staged scene. Juwel lay in Corvos's arms, slightly arched backward. One leg lifted lightly off the ground. His wrist was held as if there had never been a way out from the beginning.
An angel fell into the hands of a demon.
[Vl vl vl, who the hell are these two??]
[If this is not a hot scene then what is it?]
[Hot vcl always!!!]
The street stage exploded.
Applause boomed. The livestream rocketed to three million views. Comments scrolled so fast they almost blurred:
"OH LORD WHO ARE THESE TWO??"
"The hottest scene I have ever seen in street dancing!!"
"THE CAMERA ANGLE IS SO GOOD!! GIVE ME TEN MINUTES TO RECOVER MY HEART!!"
"PLEASE JUST KISS!! LOCK LIPS NOW PLEASEEE"
But amid all the noise, Corvos and Juwel remained still. Juwel took one strong breath.
"Let go," he said quietly, his voice low and trying not to gasp.
Corvos narrowed his eyes behind his mask. "Not falling, right?"
"I can stand."
Corvos released him.
Juwel stepped back, straightened his dress even though it was unnecessary, but it was an instinctive defensive gesture. He looked at Corvos coldly, the one showing that familiar annoying attitude, the same as the first time they met.
The applause grew even louder. People around them started shouting for another dance. But Juwel had absolutely no intention of doing that.
He walked toward the female streamer.