Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 921 - 921 Dance under the Moon

The surprise of the courtyard's first snow had already spread, and the people near the windows in the banquet hall had also spread the word. People were streaming out of the buildings or standing at the windows, marveling at the first snow of the year.

For the Princess's wedding, this could be considered a pretty nice gift.

Seeing so many people watching the snow, Shard planned to find his cat, so the cat, who had never seen snow since birth, could see what snow looked like.

But before he could turn around, a whisper in his ear reminded him:

"Your dance partner has arrived."

"Shard!"

Someone tapped him on the right shoulder from behind, Shard turned around to his right and looked back, but didn't see anyone. Then he looked to his left, and Iluna was smiling, standing among the crowd with her hands behind her back looking at him.

Although she appeared at the banquet, her attire clearly wasn't for the occasion. Her clothes were tight-fitting, and the whisper element from various relics was easily detectable. Her belt was also stuffed with bulging spellcasting materials.

"Shard, I knew it was you."

The seventeen-year-old girl said with a smile in the dim light.

"Iluna? What are you doing here?"

Shard asked with surprise, but his face also showed a smile. He was happy to see Iluna there.

"Oh, it's nothing but the matter at Lake Schluch. I was ready to rest at home but was urgently notified by the Church to set out. Traveling by carriage with Mr. Robinson and the captain to get here, everything was over when we arrived."

She lowered her voice and pointed towards the direction of Lake Schluch behind the manor, but everyone was watching the snow, so no one actually paid attention to them:

"'Sunlight Greatsword' Mr. Rondale arrived a few minutes before me, and besides him, the Church's Ten-Ring Sorcerer Miss Green was already there, so there was no need for me at the lakeside.

She still had her hands behind her back, her shoes scuffed the ground, and she averted her eyes slightly when looking at Shard, her face blushing:

"I knew you'd be here, and since there was no need for me at the lakeside, I thought I'd see if I could find you."

She pointed again to the first floor of the mansion where a dance tune was being played:

"It's really lively here. I can't enter the house dressed like this, so I thought I'd just wander around the courtyard and garden. Just as it started snowing, I guessed you would come out to watch the snow too, see, I found you... This dance tune is quite nice, I thought you'd be dancing with someone else in there."

As she said the latter part, her eyes shifted to the side, seemingly interested in the masked children running with pinwheels in the snow.

[Look, I told you your dance partner has arrived.]

"She" reminded once more.

Although Iluna didn't say it out loud, Shard already knew what he should do.

He extended his hand and softly asked:

"Lady, would you like to dance with me?"

"Of course, yes, I just happen to have time."

Iluna said, trying to hide her smile but then suddenly shook her head:

"I'd better not go into the banquet hall, my clothes are unsuitable, and after all, I'm here on a mission."

After speaking, she looked expectantly at Shard, and Shard nodded:

"Then let's pick another spot, let me think... let's go to the hedge maze, there are fewer people there. We can pick a spot close to the mansion, we should be able to hear the music."

"Okay."

Iluna immediately nodded.

So they walked through the light snow, from the front courtyard of the Lakeside Manor, and along the garden path reached the back garden. As night fell, since there were no activities in the garden and the lakeside had been unreasonably temporarily sealed off by the Church, the guests were mostly gathered in the mansion and the front courtyard, making the garden quite empty.

Entering the hedge maze, between the tall hedges, they found a spot illuminated by moonlight, where the tiny snowflakes stood out in the light.

"Look, this place is like the center of the stage!"

Iluna said with a smile.

"Wait a moment."

He held Iluna's hand and stopped, raised his right index finger in a place not illuminated by the lanterns:

"Look!"

Red butterflies flew out from the tip of his finger, circling around Iluna as they flew, leaving behind bright red threads. As the butterflies danced, a pale blue ball gown was woven inch by inch over Iluna's body, until the butterflies flew to her head and transformed into a red hair accessory.

"It's beautiful! Now we can dance!"

Shard exclaimed in admiration, quite pleased with his [Red Butterfly Illusion]. Although such an illusion can be easily seen through, and offers little disguise in crowded places, it was perfect for the present situation.

Iluna bit her lip as she looked at her dress and then touched the hair accessory on her head, somewhat regretting not applying any makeup before leaving the house.

"Speaking of which, I haven't used my illusion in this way before... and this too."

Shard's right index finger moved gently again, and countless red butterflies flew from his sleeve to the moonlit snow.

The red butterfly danced under the moonlit and starry sky, dragging red points of light into the sky, leaving behind traces and spots of red light.

"I'm quite confident in my Illusion Technique."

Shard said with a smile, then bowed slightly to Iluna and extended his right hand, to which the seventeen-year-old girl placed her hand in his.

The two of them arrived under the Tranquil Moonlight of Snowfall, and The Chosen One and the Outlander began to prepare to dance to the faint melody.

As Iluna looked at Shard's face right up close, she blushed slightly and reminded him:

"You mustn't tell Luviya about this."

"Why?"

"She might think I took on this task just to dance with you."

Iluna retorted, glancing around at the dark hedges before signaling Shard to go ahead.

However, Shard did not start immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment and said:

"Tonight, I once again touched upon my Power, so perhaps I can try to push the Illusion Technique to its limits. You see, this place is really too small."

"You want to set the stage anew?"

Iluna asked.

"Yes, set it anew. Now, Iluna, please close your eyes and spin with me~"

He embraced the seventeen-year-old girl, and she closed her eyes with a smile, feeling only the cold snow touching her forehead. After they spun three times, she heard Shard gently say:

"Please open your eyes."

"Oh!"

The scene before her opened to an endless plain under the moonlight, with Snowfall overhead, and the massive Moon Disk seeming to hover just about to fall. The two stood on the ridge of a field, surrounded by the red butterflies, their red points of light adding magnificent color to the tranquil moonlit expanse.

This was Shard fully utilizing the spell Red Butterfly Illusion. As the Illusion Technique's targets were only himself and Iluna, there was no worry about being discovered. Of course, this scene was so vivid because it was an image from his dreams that Shard could never forget.

He had spent countless nights watching this scene alone in his dreams.

"Shard..."

Iluna looked around, blushing even more deeply as Shard asked:

"Not too bad, huh?"

With a swift motion of his right hand, he coaxed Iluna out of his embrace. Then, to the rhythm of the melody, the two of them danced on the ridge of the snowy plain, under the moonlight, surrounded by the red butterflies.

Throughout the dance, Iluna's face remained a deep shade of red, as if she couldn't dare to meet Shard's eyes. When the melody ended and the echo of the piano notes lingered in the air, they both looked up to see the swarm of red butterflies flying toward the silver moon in the sky, casting the last glow amidst the snow.

"How was it?"

Shard intended to boast a little about the improvement in his dancing skills, but it seemed Iluna misunderstood. Suddenly, she tiptoed and planted a kiss on Shard's cheek.

She kissed Shard on his left cheek, not the right cheek Tifa had asked about.

Iluna, her face flushed, jumped backward, breaking away from Shard. She then turned around and looked at the gradually fading, real hedge maze in the distance:

"Very nice, Knight."

She said softly, then turned to look at Shard again:

"Don't tell Luviya about this... If there's a 'Queen of the Ball' award for this dance, you would definitely win. Although I wasn't invited, this is the most perfect ball I've ever experienced."

With that, she searched her pockets but couldn't find anything suitable, so she removed her own silken scarf and tossed it to Shard:

"It's a pity my dress doesn't require a garter."

She looked down regretfully at her imaginary long dress disappearing, then waved to Shard, quickly leaving the edge of the illusion and vanishing around a corner of the hedge maze.

"Isn't the Queen of the Ball a title for the ladies?"

The moonlit plain Shard saw crumbled, revealing the garden's hedge maze. Snow fell on his shoulders, melting quickly, as it was not yet the season to form snow cover.

"Outlander, you've successfully demonstrated your charm at the ball."

"She" gently reminded him.

Shard looked skeptically at the handkerchief in his hand:

"Why? I've invited pretty girls to dance in front of so many people but never demonstrated my charm, yet dancing solo with Iluna, and now..."

"Because you invited the true protagonist on the most splendid stage."

"The protagonist, huh?"

Shard nodded, folded the scarf, and put it into his pocket, where he kept the pink scarf Miss Galina had tossed him earlier.

He looked up at the moon, sighed, and shook his head before heading towards the illuminated Lakeside Manor.

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