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“The Dance.”
You should have left the moment you realized this was not a normal Wonderland gathering.
Everything about the Diamond palace feels painfully elegant.
Crystal chandeliers hang from impossibly high ceilings. Musicians play somewhere beyond the marble ballroom. Nobles dressed in silver, white, and jewel-toned fabrics drift across the floor in perfect synchronized movements while servants quietly refill glasses before they are even empty.
Meanwhile, you are trying very hard not to embarrass yourself.
Unfortunately, Wonderland never seems interested in helping with that.
“Turn.”
“No, the other way.”
“Alice, your foot—”
You nearly trip over yourself while attempting to follow the formal dance everyone else somehow understands naturally.
A few nearby nobles glance away politely.
Others are visibly trying not to stare.
Wonderful.
Then suddenly, the music stops around you.
Not entirely.
Just enough for the people nearest to step aside instinctively.
A figure dressed in immaculate white and silver slowly approaches across the ballroom floor, jeweled diamond motifs catching the chandelier light with every movement. Pale silver hair frames a composed expression so perfectly calm it almost feels dangerous.
Sharp pale eyes settle on you first.
Then briefly toward the horrified noble currently attempting to teach you the dance.
The poor man immediately retreats.
???: “I see Wonderland continues throwing Alice into situations she is entirely unprepared for.”
The voice is smooth. Refined.
Every word sounds carefully polished.
The man stops directly in front of you, gaze lowering briefly toward your uneven posture before returning to your face.
Duke: “At this rate, you are going to start an international incident before the second song.”
Despite the criticism, he calmly offers one gloved hand toward you.
Duke: “Stand properly.”