Chapter 731: 731 - Taming the Fifth Year - First Dialogue

Chapter 731: Chapter 731 – Taming the Fifth Year – First Dialogue

The second day of practice arrived slower than Luna expected.

She hadn’t slept much.

Every time she’d closed her eyes, she’d replayed the dance…

Every word, every look and every second where Ren’s finger had been so close to her lips.

The memory made her heart do strange things even now, hours later, when she should have been rested and composed and ready to face this ‘professionally’.

She couldn’t wait any longer to see him again…

But when she found herself standing in front of the ballroom, she stopped. Her hand on the door. Her heart doing strange things in her chest that were definitely not appropriate for the Starweaver heiress.

‘Calm down,’ she ordered herself. ‘It’s just dance practice. It’s just Ren. It’s just…’

‘Perfect… Why does he have to be so perfect? Why does he have to say exactly the right words? Why does he have to look at me like I’m the only person in the world who matters?’

The questions spiraled before she could stop them. Before the careful control she’d rebuilt overnight could contain the chaos underneath.

‘And that moment at the end! WHAT WAS THAT? How am I supposed to process that? How am I supposed to act normal after that?’

‘”Think about it tonight,” he said. THINK ABOUT IT! Like I could think about ANYTHING else!’

Her expression didn’t change.

Perfectly controlled. The mask she’d spent years perfecting firmly in place.

But inside she was a disaster.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay. Breathe. Analyze this rationally.’

Rational… She could do rational. Rational was her specialty when emotions threatened to overwhelm her.

‘Ren wants to help. That’s… that’s good. That’s what I need. Him being able to help with his incredible abilities but without ruining everything.’

The logic made sense and the reasoning was sound.

So why did it feel like walking toward something terrifying instead of helpful?

‘No use in waiting anymore… Don’t be a coward, me!’

She opened the door.

Ren was already there, waiting in the center of the floor like the day before. His posture relaxed but attentive.

Not anxious or uncertain.

Just… present.

And when he saw her enter, his eyes lit up with something Luna didn’t know how to name.

But that made the warmth in her chest expand until it felt like it might consume her entirely.

The memories from the day before overflowed again…

‘But he said “important.” He said “personally.” That means…’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Does it mean he likes me? Like… LIKES likes me? Or just as an important friend? Is there a difference? SHOULD there be a difference?’

‘And why am I thinking about this when I have much more serious problems! I have to recover Mom’s heart! I have to deal with my uncles! I have to…’

‘…admit that when he dances with me it feels like the rest of the world disappears and only we exist and that’s terrifying and wonderful at the same time and I don’t know how to process that.’

‘No! Focus! Maintain control…’

She walked toward him with measured steps. Perfectly spaced and perfectly calculated.

As if she wasn’t internally debating between running toward him or fleeing the hall.

As if every step didn’t require a huge conscious effort to maintain the composure when her instincts were screaming contradictory instructions.

Ren extended his hand.

Luna took it.

The contact sent that now-familiar warmth through her.

And they began to dance.

The first minutes were silent again. Only the sound of soft music and their synchronized steps on the polished floor.

So pleasant…

Ren was quiet, guiding again.

Just… waiting.

Without pressure, without demands for answers.

It should have felt oppressive. Should have created awkwardness that demanded her filling with conversation.

Instead it felt safe. Like he was giving her all the time she needed to decide what to say and when.

Luna had to make a conscious effort not to open her mouth and smirk in ecstasy at the moment.

The movement, the closeness and the security of his hands holding her properly, guiding firmly yet gently.

Several minutes passed…

She was really enjoying it. But little by little she was getting used to the sensation. The initial overwhelming awareness fading into something more manageable.

Luna could already feel words accumulating in her throat.

Words she’d been carrying. Words that needed to be said. Information that Ren needed if he was going to help without making everything worse.

‘Say it. Just say it.’

Her face showed nothing of the internal battle.

Years of training miraculously made her neutral expression automatic even when everything inside was chaos. Even when fear and hope warred for dominance.

But Ren, because he could apparently read her body language and mana better than she could herself, gave a gentle squeeze to her hand, smiled softly and then nodded, lowering his head to her height while changing the dance style to something more inclined.

Silent permission.

‘And since when is he so tall? A few years ago we were the same height… No! Focus!’

“Do you know what I want?” Luna finally whispered, her voice so low that only Ren could hear it in the proximity of the dance.

“The artifact,” Ren murmured back, equally quiet. “Intact.”

Short answers and to the point…

Luna looked at him directly, searching for signs of deception.

Because it was too perfect of an answer. Too efficient. Like he’d already figured out everything she was about to explain and was waiting for her to catch up, not the other way around.

‘What’s happening? Is this a trap? Is he playing with me?’

But her mana eyes detected nothing false or suspicious.

No deception in his energy. Just honest attention focused completely on her words.

“I don’t know how much you know about that ‘intact’,” she continued in whispers, “but the most important thing is that it wears down with use. Every time they use it, it loses a bit of…”

‘Of Mom. It loses a bit more of Mom.’

The thought was painful. How could they let something so precious erode slowly, grain by grain, until eventually nothing would remain.

“…of what makes it special.”

Ren nodded… Still silent, still listening.

“And I don’t want that,” Luna continued, the words flowing now that she’d started. Now that the dam had cracked and everything was spilling out. “I can’t allow them to use it any more.”

Another nod from Ren. Nothing more. Just complete attention.

Luna felt something loosen slightly.

The tension she’d been carrying. The fear that talking about this would make it worse somehow.

‘Why was I so worried?’

The walls she’d built beginning to crack under the weight of the so well received trust she was tentatively offering.

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