Chapter 191: 191: A kind of performance
Eden adjusted his attire that clutched to his slim skin. He followed the other female dancers into the hall while they took their positions in preparation for whatever dance they had to present.
Eden didn’t know any dance. He didn’t practice any of the dances with them, so he didn’t know how the hell he was going to blend in with them.
He stood beside them, bringing down his face while looking around the room to get a good glimpse of people around.
He didn’t know any of them. He didn’t know the marquises that sat around there, and he didn’t think he was supposed to know them.
He didn’t bother trying to recognize them but let his eyes scan the environment while trying to pick up familiar faces.
Someone like Adrian.
"Good! Excellent!"
"They look marvelous!"
"I’m enchanted!"
"My heart is full at the sight of these beauties!"
The marquises cheered while drinking and laughing. They couldn’t stop staring at the ladies while obviously lusting over them with their eyes.
Eden was at the back, standing at a position where they wouldn’t be able to see him easily—exactly where he wanted to be.
"Can we take any home?" one said, laughing.
"I would buy them with any amount mentioned," another said.
They were laughing and discussing before, and Eden kept looking around until he finally caught sight of Adrian.
Adrian sat there. He had his eyes on his drink in his hand while distancing himself from the discussions and all that was happening.
He had finally seen him—the target of tonight’s murder. The ill male lead who potentially had a few years to live.
The person Eden had come to save.
"I wonder if our Grand Marquis is pleased with the ladies I’ve presented," Marquis Dean said, sitting down beside Adrian while smiling at him.
Eden also looked in his direction, recognizing the face of the mastermind—Marquis Dean.
Adrian scoffed. "A fair shot at impressing me."
"Is that so? Then I believe you’ll be most impressed when they begin performing the first dance which they’ll perform. It’s one of the best in the land," Marquis Dean said with certainty.
Adrian smiled as he stared at the ladies in their midst. "Is that so? Then I’m curious to see what performance they have to render."
Eden looked down and away from Adrian. He couldn’t let him see his eyes because Adrian might likely recognize him.
"Okay then. Begin the performance."
With the go-ahead order from Marquis Dean, the instruments began.
The Oriental instruments were set in motion as melody filled the room. The audience sat down and stared in amusement as the dancers began dancing.
The ladies were skilled in their movements. Their hands and legs moved rhythmically and seductively in all manners.
They danced with their bodies while smiling beneath their veils, their eyes shimmering as they stared at the marquises.
Everyone was moving in unison and coherence, just as they had practiced. And the only odd person out was Eden.
He wasn’t moving in coherence at all. Rather, he was moving randomly, his hands and legs swinging from one way to another while he struggled to keep the pace and position he believed would be right.
The dance was beautiful in the eyes of the marquises. Only a few of them noticed the odd one out—the one moving in awkward positions and ruining the performance for all.
But they all ignored it while enjoying the performance of the other ladies who were killing it.
Only Adrian paid in-depth attention to this odd one out.
To this one who was moving like he had never come for the practice at all. The one who was moving his legs like a chicken about to be killed. The one that was bumping into the other ladies from time to time.
Adrian stared and for a while found himself scoffing. He was amused by how terrible this dancer was—amused by how "her" legs and hands moved.
He was just amused at how terrible this dancer was, and it had him smiling while staring at this dancer, his eyes only on the dancer.
Eden, on the other hand, had noticed that Adrian was staring at him, and so he hid more. He had his hand over his face while struggling to dance.
"Why the hell is he staring?!" he panicked while dancing, or doing whatever he called it.
Marquis Dean stared at Adrian’s eyes and then followed those to the dancer messing up. He sighed, getting annoyed that someone was messing up their practice.
But he was also curious since Adrian was solely interested in this one terrible dancer.
After the whole chaos, the dance came to an end, and the dancers stood still.
Eden stood at the back, panting softly with both eyes closed.
He had messed up, and he knew that. He was clearly destroying the whole image of the dancers, and he knew he must have been noticed—especially by Adrian, who was still staring at him.
The other marquises began clapping as soon as the dance was over. They cheered them and demanded an encore.
"So good!"
"It was beautiful!"
"So attractive! We want more!"
They all cheered while filling the meeting room with noises.
While they cheered and celebrated the performances, Marquis Dean smiled while he stared at Adrian, who still had his eyes on that one dancer.
"So how did you enjoy the performance?" Marquis Dean stared at Adrian.
Adrian smiled as he said, "It was amusing. Really amusing."
"Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow. "What was amusing about it?"
Adrian still said nothing. His eyes were still on that same scene while Eden struggled to hide himself among the ladies.
"Or..." Marquis Dean decided to rephrase his question in a way that he would probably understand. "Which of the performers caught your attention? Because I noticed you were staring in a particular direction all through the performance. So do you mind sharing with us who this beauty is?"