To the sound of elegant music, several pairs of officers danced together.
Dressed in double-breasted tailcoats and bicorne hats, they possessed both the graceful charm of a noble ball and a strong sense of capable elegance.
Their dance was rhythmic and dynamic, yet also elegant and gentle.
Their long boots or high-quality pure black military leather shoes, polished to a shine by servants, crisscrossed on the red carpet.
Officers watching the dance applauded and praised them from the side. Many gathered to comment on and commend the dancers' steps.
"Mr. Horatio Cochrane's dance steps are steady and powerful, yet also incredibly nimble. Miss Hood, by comparison, is even more agile," a female Lieutenant serving as a Macro cannon officer commented.
"Of course, his father was a very good dancer. He even captured the heart of a Sisters of the Sacred Rose with his dance and charm," a Captain, with his legs crossed, said while holding a wine glass.
"Really? His mother is a Battle Sisters? That's surprising," the female Lieutenant raised her eyebrows, her tone quite astonished.
"Lieutenant Commander Thomas Kirkland was a formidable figure in Abyss Port back then, with countless admirers. You joined the ship late, so you didn't witness it, but he was a remarkable individual—strong, socially adept, and a prodigy who became a Chief Lord Captain in his thirties."
"Seeing Mr. Horatio's enthusiasm for dancing really makes one nostalgic for those vibrant years."
"Next time, just have a rejuvenation sorcerer make you 20 again."
The surrounding officers burst into laughter.
"Mr. Horatio, they're actually praising your dancing," Farida said, raising her eyebrows and looking at his clear, deep blue eyes with a mischievous smile as she danced.
"I think they're praising you more," Horatio accompanied the beautiful female officer in front of him, trying his best to showcase her beauty and charm.
The tall female officer in front of him, spurred on by the alcohol, had slightly flushed cheeks and a hazy, drunken look in her emerald eyes.
But she remained clear-headed and in good spirits, simply more open and uninhibited in her words and actions, shedding the reservedness of a sheltered noblewoman.
Horatio quite liked Farida in this state.
"You must have danced with quite a few people at the Naval Academy, your dance steps look very practiced," Farida's mischievous eyes held a hint of resentment, and her graceful steps subtly and suddenly became 'aggressive' as she secretly tried to step on his boots.
"It's very rude if a dance partner's gaze isn't directed at the other person's eyes."
Farida's mischievously smiling lips curved even more. She wouldn't allow Horatio to look down at her feet to dodge.
"No, Miss Farida Hood. I had a fixed dance partner, and all my dance lessons were practiced with her."
Horatio maintained a smile the entire time, not looking down at all.
He gentlemanly held her soft, delicate hand, and without needing to look directly, he could accurately avoid Farida's feet stepping towards his shiny boots, all while maintaining the overall coordination of the dance steps.
"Who?" Farida asked with a smile.
Her slender, nimble feet increased the 'frequency of attack,' going from one sneak attack every five steps to one stomp every three steps.
"Ms. Louise Tavira. You've met her, she's a very excellent naval officer."
"You have quite a few friends at school, which is truly enviable. Because of this damned Untouchable curse, I couldn't even attend school."
Farida's smiling lips twitched.
"A noble lady like yourself should have had a private tutor, right?"
"I studied at a noble public school for a year when I was eight. All dozen or so classmates were rich or noble, all from prestigious families," Farida said with a bitter, wistful smile.
Horatio could tell from her voice that she was already feeling the effects of the alcohol.
"But as soon as I entered the classroom, all my classmates avoided me. They said I made them feel like throwing up, that I smelled bad, and told me to get lost.
Even the teacher, halfway through a class, couldn't stand it and ran out for fresh air."
This heavy, heart-to-heart topic made her lose interest in stepping on Horatio's feet.
... Horatio fell silent, his face changing from a smile to an expressionless one, quietly listening to her tell her story.
"No one wanted to be friends with me. Someone threw a diamond brooch at me, someone poured Grox milk into my schoolbag and then threw it out..."
"That's bullying. Didn't you tell your parents about this at the time? They would definitely help you," Horatio said with concern, feeling sympathetic.
Farida shook her head with a helpless, bitter smile.
"It was no use. Most people, out of deference to the Hood Family's authority, only dared to pressure the principal. The school received more and more complaints, and eventually, even the teachers ignored me. I was like an invisible person at school.
Only Lina, who grew up with me since childhood, was still willing to talk to me, but even she could only approach me with great difficulty. This annoying power kept strengthening as I grew older. As long as I was at school, this problem couldn't be solved."
"The decision you made in the end must have been very painful."
"Painful? The situation escalated beyond everyone's expectations," Farida almost gnashed her teeth as she squeezed out the sentence:
"I didn't want to worry them, but Lina still told them, and then... my father got very angry. You know his temper; he went up and argued with a classmate's father. The other party wasn't a pushover either, and they started arguing. Finally..."
Farida pursed her lips, let out a breath, and lowered her gaze, her body merely moving instinctively with his steps.
"My father punched the other person to the ground, stomped on his head a few times, leaving his face covered in blood, and even broke his front teeth.
The other person screamed that my father wanted to kill him, shouting for his private guards to open fire on my father. As a result, they were all killed by my father's General's Guard."
"God Emperor..."
Horatio understood that once school bullying escalated to a bloody conflict, even if Farida was not at fault, she would no longer be able to attend school.
[No wonder she doesn't like socializing, and her personality was so bad when I first met her... It turns out it was because her constitution caused a death.]
"Finally, although the responsibility was determined to be with the other party's guards for drawing their weapons first, and the Navy Department's guards were just performing their duties impartially to protect my father, I dropped out of school after that day."
Farida completely lowered her head, her light bangs obscuring her bright eyes.
Horatio, who was taller than her, couldn't see the emotions in her eyes, only hear the subtle sniffles from her small nose.
Seeing this, Horatio ended their dance with a perfect step.
Amidst applause, he helped Farida back to their table and seated her.
He gestured for a servant to bring some sweet pastries.
Sweetness can make people feel better.
Farida drained the entire glass of wine in one gulp and gestured for the servant to refill it.
"Drink less, come, have something sweet," Horatio used his fork to feed a small cake to her pink lips.
She shook her head, picked up the wine glass, and drank another one.
Seeing that she wouldn't eat, Horatio had no choice but to put the fork back in its place and listen to her open her heart, venting the dark experiences she had no one to share with.
"When I was a child, just born, the Sister who delivered me said I had a terrible, unclean curse.
Later, when I was a bit older, my parents took me to the Middle Hive to find a psychic for a divination. As soon as I entered the room, the psychic immediately bled from all seven orifices and died after leaving a prophecy:'She will kill all of you and bring shame to the entire Hood Family.'"
Farida suppressed her sobs, only letting out very faint whimpers.
Horatio gently stroked her back.
The young girl before him, both psychologically and physically, was merely a 17-year-old girl.
She had experienced such a difficult, winding, and unfortunate life.
With the alcohol taking effect, a person tired from a day's work is prone to emotional breakdowns.
He had similar experiences in his previous life and empathized deeply.
[Born into a prestigious family, with a silver spoon in her mouth, yet because of her Untouchable trait, her life since childhood has been worse than that of an ordinary person...]
"Then, after that bloody incident when I was eight, I dropped out of school. And the next year... my mother..."
[Died in a plane crash... that incident eight years ago.]
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, tracing down her beautiful cheek and dripping from her pointed chin.
Horatio cupped her face with his gloved hand and gently wiped away the tear and tear stains from the corner of her eye with his thumb.
"This isn't your fault. Your life is your own; prophecies don't determine your life," Horatio leaned down, close to her, and said gently.
As he straightened up, he saw Captain Peru and the Lieutenant looking their way.
[If she were to cry in front of so many officers, it would damage the Hood Family's prestige.]
"Farida, let's talk somewhere else."
Horatio comforted her, "I can listen to you always, no matter when."
The girl bit her lip, holding back her sobs, and as if nothing had happened, she straightened up, swept her soft, beautiful blonde hair back, and then coiled it into a golden rose.
This was the first time Horatio had seen her with her hair coiled.
Beautiful and dignified, yet also appearing capable and mature, coupled with her current drunken haze, she perfectly embodied the term 'melancholy beauty.'