The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 82

<82>

“Huh? Did only the two of you go out?”

The ladies, noticing Tan and Celonia returning from the terrace, tilted their heads in puzzlement.

However, they didn’t dwell on it, simply assuming they had missed them.

“Play a dance tune.”

It was then.

The Emperor, confirming Celonia’s return to the ballroom, quickly instructed the orchestra with a nod towards the Crown Prince, signaling him to offer his hand.

Soon, a beautiful dance melody filled the hall.

Everyone glanced around, watching Celonia. As the star of the evening, she was expected to be the first to step onto the dance floor.

“Lady Vessin, may I have this dan…!”

“Celonia.”

The Crown Prince, understanding the Emperor’s intent, approached Celonia, but Tan cut him off.

He immediately took her hand, preventing the Crown Prince from even approaching.

“No, wait a moment…!”

Leaving the bewildered Crown Prince behind, Celonia found herself on the dance floor, taken by surprise.

She tried to turn back, but as if they had been waiting for her, the nobles paired up and surged onto the stage.

She was now in a situation where she had no choice but to dance.

“No, I can’t dance.”

Celonia whispered quietly, flustered.

The problem wasn’t dancing itself, but her inability to do so.

Naturally, she had no memory of the social dances that people in this world learned from childhood.

“Put your hand on my shoulder.”

Tan lowered his head and whispered into her ear.

Celonia involuntarily flinched at the sudden heat invading her ear, curling her toes.

However, she immediately met his gaze with suspicion.

What confidence did he have to step forward and dance?

“Hurry.”

Celonia reluctantly placed her hand on Tan’s shoulder, as everyone was waiting for her.

However, Tan was so tall that even placing her hand on his shoulder was quite a struggle.

Noticing this, his strong arm swiftly wrapped around her waist, lifting her up in an instant.

Celonia gasped, startled by the sudden, unexpected contact.

Her feet didn’t touch the ground as he lightly lifted her with one arm. Moreover, she was pressed against his body, almost as if she were being held.

She could clearly feel the dull sensation of his firm chest through the dress.

Tan took her other hand and slowly moved his feet, feeling her body stiffen.

As their dance began, the surrounding nobles moved with them.

The scene unfolded with the dresses of the young ladies, like flower buds, blooming in abundance to the soft and beautiful melody.

At the center of it all were Celonia and Tan.

Everyone, whether dancing or not, glanced at the two of them.

They were a couple impossible to look away from.

“……”

Celonia stared into Tan’s eyes as he danced, effortlessly holding her up with one arm.

His red eyes never left her for a moment.

Beneath the large, ornate chandelier, the desire in his eyes was so blatant. It was as if he would devour her in an instant if given the chance.

Her heart pounded.

Her fingertips tingled, and her earlobes burned.

These feelings and sensations that arose whenever she faced him were now so frequent that she was almost used to them.

Moreover, even amidst the softly echoing beautiful melody, the fierce sound of her heart was pounding in her ears.

Whose heartbeat was this?

Was it hers, or his? Or perhaps both?

“Celonia.”

Tan called Celonia softly, slowly lowering his gaze.

He saw her collarbone, clearly exposed above the off-shoulder dress.

Seeing her collarbone, hollowed out as if water would pool there, her white neck leading to a soft curve, and her shoulders, a deep longing surged once more.

The desire to bury his face in that source, which exuded a fragrance so sweet it could intoxicate, and leave his mark.

He had first felt that desire when he saw her wearing this dress before it was completed at the boutique.

He had tried to ignore it, to pretend he didn’t see it, but she kept stealing his gaze.

The flame, instead of dying down, only burned brighter, eventually making him yearn for her more and more, bringing him to this point.

A heart was like a large room, and once she had filled it, there was no space left to give to anyone else.

Belatedly, his true identity became meaningless.

Tan finally realized.

That memories were the foundation of everything that made a person.

The empty void of his lost memories had been filled with new memories of Celonia.

Before he knew it, she had become the center of everything he thought and did.

Tan didn’t dislike it. In fact, he liked it.

These unfamiliar and strange emotions she gave him colored his days to the point of overflowing and made him want to live.

“You’re beautiful.”

Tan gave a soft smile and said what he had wanted to say since he first saw her today.

She, wearing the completed dress, was so lovely today as well.

Her brightly shining face, her always soft lavender hair, even her eyes wide with surprise.

She, who always made his heart flutter, had no unlovely aspect.

“……”

Celonia felt her heart sink the moment she heard his words, which landed heavily like a rock.

Tan, with their bodies pressed close beneath the chandelier, his eyes shining brighter than the stars, filled only with her.

Seeing the smile he wore, she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.

Even though she was dancing with him amidst countless people in the wide hall, it felt as if only he and she existed on the stage.

He was making it so.

Tan, smiling solely at her without paying attention to anything else, truly made her the most perfect protagonist.

‘Ah, really….’

In the end, Celonia gave up.

Her neck was flushed, and her heart was beating so madly that she couldn’t deny it. She was in love with him.

A person’s heart was not something they could control on their own.

Soon, the music faded, and the short dance ended.

Tan slowly lowered Celonia to the ground, reluctantly releasing her waist with a lingering feeling of regret.

Then, he took her white hand and slowly lowered his head.

Now, he confidently kissed the back of her hand, not just her palm.

“You are always the perfect protagonist to me.”

Tan raised his upper body and said with a gentle smile.

“Pfft! What is that?”

Celonia burst into laughter at his cheesy but not unpleasant words.

However, grateful for his efforts, she added,

“Thank you. You look very much like a protagonist today too.”

“……”

Tan felt a jolt of electricity run through his entire body at Celonia’s words, which held a brighter smile than ever before. It was what he had desperately wanted.

He had seen Celonia shining brilliantly at the birthday party of the Young Lady Denroha and thought she was like the protagonist in the book he had read.

So he had wished.

To become a person worthy of her, to stand by her side. Like the male protagonist in the book.

And now, her words had made him the male protagonist.

Tan looked around.

Standing in the middle of the stage, they were now the center of everyone’s attention.

Like the female and male protagonists attending a glamorous party in the book he had read. Very special.

At this moment, he, not anyone else, was monopolizing her side, surpassing countless others.

A chuckle escaped Tan’s lips.

As expected, he liked her. Even if he was the Demon King, even if she was the savior.

“Wow, they’re really like a couple from a painting.”

Someone muttered, staring at the two people on the stage as if entranced.

Then, most of the people in the hall nodded in agreement. Because the two were the most perfect protagonists at today’s party.