Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 216: The Dance 2

"Are you mocking me?" Prince Reuben bellowed, his voice echoing off the gilded walls of the tea room.

His eyes, dark like the raging storm and blazing with indignation, bore into Lara. For a fleeting second, her delicate features, radiant in the torchlight, seemed untouched by fear, caused him to falter. But her beauty did nothing to temper his wrath. How dare she? Even if she was the daughter of a general, she was still ranks below the prince—a common girl stood before royalty with such impudence?

Lara didn’t flinch.

Instead, she lifted her chin, unshaken by his fury. Her voice was calm, smooth as silk, but beneath it lay the steely core of someone who would not be broken. "I am not lying, Your Highness. Those moves were taught to me by my master."

Well, that master wasn’t Jethru, but a ballet teacher that her father hired because he said ballet could make her body flexible.

Her eyes locked with Reuben’s—unyielding and intense. A quiet fire danced within them, refusing to waver. In that charged silence, the air itself felt heavy, vibrating with unspoken challenge.

Beside her, Percival shifted uneasily, his fingers twitching at his sides. He could feel the tension rising like steam.

Gideon, standing stiffly on her other side, dabbed at his forehead, sweat dripping from his temples despite the cool night air.

Bener, ever the strategist, was already calculating possible exits, his mind racing with ways to extricate his sister from the tightening noose.

The three brothers have the same thought. Their sister was out of line and had become overly bold.

Looking at the calm demeanor of the woman before him, Reuben’s scowl curled into a cunning smirk. Lara has the demeanor of a queen. Only a woman like her could lock gazes with him without showing a sliver of fear, and she deserved to stand by his side and rule Northem.

He had an idea! Something that could subtly ensnare her and drive her closer to him.

"Very well," he said, voice low and deliberate, "Since you are confident that you did not lie, let all the people who attended this banquet be the judge. You have to perform your moves in the banquet hall."

A stunned hush fell over the room.

Then came Reuben’s final twist of the dagger: "If they decide you were dancing, not demonstrating some exercise or training routine, you will accompany me through the town tomorrow as penance."

Prince Alaric had a bad feeling about it. Was Reuben setting up a trap for Lara?

"This is beneath you, Reuben," he growled, his voice cold and sharp. "Lara owes no performance. I can personally attest—she was not dancing."

"Heh, Brother, "Since when did you start defending women in public? Are you saying it’s no crime to lie to the crown?" Reuben snapped back.

His narrowed eyes flicked between Lara and Alaric. ’Is he interested in her?’

Alaric met his gaze without flinching. "The crime is defamation, Reuben—not lying. And I don’t recall any law demanding public humiliation as retribution." Prince Alaric uttered with confidence.

Was Alaric questioning his grasp of the law? The nerve of him! His hands clenched at his sides, knuckles whitening.

"Brother, to deceive and to slander are two sides of the same coin," Reuben asserted passionately, his voice steady and unwavering. "Both are offenses that merit punishment in the eyes of the Royal Family law." The younger prince retorted.

Alaric gave a sardonic smile. "Then perhaps you should consult your advisor—lest you embarrass yourself again." Prince Alaric spoke in a dismissive tone. It would be useless to talk to someone who was close-minded. Then he shifted his gaze to Lara. "You don’t need to do what he asked of you."

"Well, Your Highness, I can explain the steps and moves to Prince Reuben if that will clear up the misunderstanding." Lara did not want to be the cause of the conflict between the two brothers.

Reuben’s nostrils flared. His brother was undermining him, turning Lara and the others against him. And Lara—unbowed and articulate—was like water that he could not grasp.

In the end, Lara, who did not want to cause more trouble, finally agreed. She was so focused on Reuben that she did not notice the gloom that appeared on Alaric’s face.

"Are you sure about this?" Alaric asked. He was a little bit disappointed that she agreed to do as Reuben asked her to.

Lara just nodded, then she let her brothers lead her into the banquet hall, where a few couples dancing stopped in their tracks.

"Everyone, I want you to watch Lara and tell me if she is dancing and not doing her exercise routine." Prince Reuben announced.

The people in the banquet hall quieted down. Those who were dancing cleared the designated area, and they gathered on the side to watch.

Reuben waved his hand, and the musicians who had been arranged for the occasion started playing.

Lara paused to listen to the rhythm, and then her body started moving to the beat. The music was still slow, so she could only do slow movements.

While executing the moves, she also explained the correlation with training. For example, when she performed the arabesque, she stood on one leg with the other leg extended straight out behind her body, her one arm raised upward while the other extended backward parallel to her leg, a picture of perfect poise—a beauty to behold. She said that it was to practice and improve her balance.

The audience, both men and women, old and young, were captivated by her. The noble ladies also wanted to practice like that.

Then she did a variety of jumps that she choreographed to create a dynamic, visually engaging movement, before finishing it with a mid-air split.

"Those are just jumps and leaps to strengthen my lower body." Then she did a curtsy.

She was panting when she finished the dance, her face flushed. She expected a warm applause, but she got nothing but a deafening silence.

The audience was staring at her with eyes wide with admiration. Alaric and Reuben’s gaze at her was intense and so were the men in the room.

She cleared her throat and asked, "So what do you think? Those steps are nothing like a dance, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.