Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

After that bizarre cake completely ruined my appetite.

Unconvinced, Lin Gui manipulated the levitation technique again.

I tried several other dishes that looked exquisite and tempting.

Tiny pancakes adorned with caviar, fruit tarts coated in glossy sugar icing, and meat jelly arranged like works of art.

However, without exception, these foods all had a strange, indescribable taste.

Either the spices are piled up too strongly.

Either they added bizarre ingredients whose flavors didn't match the original in pursuit of rarity.

The impact on the taste buds comes in waves, each one more intense than the last.

"Tsk, do all the nobles have a problem with their sense of taste?" Lin Gui muttered under his breath.

In the end, he only managed to grab a few pieces of white bread, which barely filled his stomach.

Then he sat back down in his chair with a look of utter despair.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, ready to continue his interrupted "prayer".

Seeing that he was completely unyielding, Elvia finally gave up and stayed in Bengbu.

From the initial gentle touch to the angry shaking.

In the end, it almost turned into a series of angry slaps on his arm.

"Hey! Wake up! Wake up!"

Lin Gui, finally unable to bear it any longer, grabbed her misbehaving hand.

Elvia's hands were fair and soft, but her palms and the area between her thumb and forefinger had thin calluses from years of sword practice, giving them a unique feel.

He reluctantly opened his bloodshot eyes and asked wearily, "What?"

Elvia lowered her voice, her tone carrying a hint of grievance and urgency that she herself was unaware of.

"I'm telling you, this is our wedding banquet! I'm all dressed up, so even if you're not dressed up, you should at least... come dance with me, just to show your appreciation!"

"Otherwise, other people will think we're just pretending to be a couple!"

Lin Gui glanced at her indifferently, his tone calm: "No, that won't happen."

"Huh?" Elvia frowned in confusion.

Lin Gui pointed to the corner of her mouth and said.

"At least when you're with me, every expression you show, whether you're angry or speechless, is very natural."

"Instead of... that standard, flawless professional smile you always have on your lips."

"Just based on this, others can tell that our relationship is special."

Elvia was stunned.

Immediately, a faint, genuine blush crept onto her cheeks.

She suddenly realized that, without knowing when it started...

Perhaps it started with being poisoned and coerced.

Perhaps it was during their journey across the rift valley together, experiencing several close calls.

On that seemingly perilous road, she surprisingly opened up to two people she should have been wary of or even hated, without any reservations.

She had been furious with him, had been speechless and complained, had been sarcastic and scheming, and had made no attempt to hide her cowardice...

These things seem to have become a kind of truth that only appears between friends?

This thought stirred a strange emotion within her.

She felt a little shy, and a little lost.

She quickly coughed a few times to shake off these inappropriate thoughts and find another reason.

"Anyway... I want to dance! This is my first time dancing!"

Lin looked at her strangely: "How is that possible?"

His gaze swept across the dance floor.

"Given your status and... well, your appearance, you must have attended quite a few balls, right?"

"Look, there are quite a few young men staring at you now, eager to come up and ask you to dance."

Elvia smiled wryly, "The people I need to expand my relationships with through dancing are unlikely to ask me to dance because of factional reasons."

"As for those middle-class wealthy merchants, minor nobles, and knights, I have no need to lower myself to cater to them."

"So... I've practiced my dance skills for many years, but I've never used them in a formal setting."

She raised her head, her azure eyes staring directly at Lin Gui with a rare, almost pleading look.

"Would you... be my first dance partner?"

As she spoke, she made an extremely standard and graceful invitation to dance.

Slightly bend your knees and extend your hand.

In aristocratic etiquette, it is extremely rare for a woman to initiate a dance.

This action itself attracted a lot of surprised looks.

Then, she leaned closer, lowered her voice, and a sly and ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.

"And I want to crush that little bitch who acted so arrogantly at my wedding banquet under my feet!"

"You must have been harassed quite a bit just now, right? Don't you want to fight back?"

"That person is the kind of arrogant, haughty aristocrat you hate the most!"

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow, looking at the mixture of expectation, calculation, and resentment in Elvia's eyes, and suddenly found it somewhat interesting.

He stood up, a faint smile curving his lips.

"Fine, I'll take your provocation."

He did not return the greeting according to standard etiquette.

Instead, he simply reached out and casually grasped Elvia's outstretched hand.

As Lin Gui pulled her onto the dance floor, Elvia belatedly realized a crucial question.

She asked nervously, "By the way, what dance can you do? A court waltz? Or...?"

Lin Gui was stumped by her question. After a moment's pause, he honestly replied, "I don't know any of them."

Elvia felt a sudden sense of despair, as if she could already see herself being ridiculed by the entire audience.

"Don't rush," Lin Gui said calmly. "I also know a dance, but it's not a court dance."

"What is it?" A glimmer of hope rose in Elvia's heart.

"Hmm, the dance of magic. I saw those shrine maidens who could levitate performing it in the magic city."

"I was very impressed."

"But I don't know magic."

"It's alright, I'll use levitation to give you the strength, just don't resist and go with it."

Just then, the crowd in the center of the dance floor tacitly made way, turning their attention to the two main couples of the day.

The Third Prince and Emily, as well as the newly arrived Lin Gui and Elvia.

Charles and Emily exchanged a smile and began to dance gracefully to the music, their movements precise and elegant.

Emily wore a proud smile.

Especially when he saw Lin Gui's obviously unfamiliar stance, his eyes were filled with disdain.

However, the next moment, something happened that left everyone speechless.

Lin Gui did not attempt to follow the rhythm of the music or perform any known court dance steps.

He simply put his arm around Elvia's waist and held her hand with his other hand.

Then, simply recite the incantation.

The faint light of the [Levitation] spell quietly enveloped the two of them.

He didn't rely entirely on physical strength to carry Elvia.

Instead, it cleverly utilizes precisely controlled buoyancy.

It guided and assisted Elvia in making a series of spinning, extending, and leaping movements.

Elvia was initially a little stiff.

But soon, supported by that gentle and stable magic.

She relaxed and followed his guidance with trust.

Thus, in the eyes of the crowd, they performed a dance that was unprecedented yet highly entertaining.

Elvia's white skirt fluttered, like a fairy dancing in the wind.

Sometimes it leaps lightly into the air, as if defying gravity; other times it freezes gracefully in mid-air.

Lin Gui's figure served as a steady fulcrum and guide.

A magical glow shone faintly around them.

It blends in a magical way with the music, creating a visually stunning and enchanting spectacle.

This performance, which transcended the scope of traditional dance, stunned the entire audience.

People who had initially looked at them with mockery were now speechless, their mouths agape in astonishment.

Even the Third Prince and Emily, who were in the center of the dance floor, unconsciously stopped in their tracks.

His face was filled with shock and disbelief.

Elvia herself had long forgotten her initial intention to "get revenge".

She was completely captivated by this wondrous magical dance.

Relax your mind, feel the wind brushing past your ears, and experience an unprecedented lightness and freedom in your body.

A pure and joyful smile bloomed on her face, breathtakingly beautiful.

However, he is the true mastermind behind this magnificent dance.

Lin Gui, however, had no way to express his bitterness.

Although his levitation skill was not at full proficiency.

But dancing is not like fighting; its intervals allow the forest spirits to quickly interweave chants.

He simply overestimated his ability to cope with extreme fatigue.

The ability to precisely control every minute point of force exertion in levitation.

To maintain such a "magical dance" that requires extremely high precision and continuous magical output.

The drain on his mental and magical abilities was enormous.

He could feel his temples throbbing, and he was only holding on by sheer willpower.

Finally, he finished with a seemingly simple spin that actually exhausted his last bit of strength.

This magical dance that captivated everyone's attention has come to an end.

A moment of silence followed, then spontaneous and enthusiastic applause erupted.

Many young people even cheered excitedly.

However, the applause was met with warning coughs from some of the older nobles on the periphery.

It quickly dropped again, but the shock and admiration in everyone's eyes could not be concealed.

After the dance, Lin Gui almost immediately released Elvia's hand.

Forcing himself to maintain a calm expression, he nodded slightly to his surroundings.

Then, with slightly unsteady steps, he quickly returned to his chair in the corner.

He sat down heavily and closed his eyes again.

It was as if he wasn't the one who had just amazed everyone.

Alvia was left standing alone in the center of the dance floor.

Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and exertion as she savored the lingering, dreamlike afterglow.

And the complex and unspoken gazes around them.