CH 2.13

‘Why? Why? Why?’ Marie returned to her lodging and buried her head in a pillow, inwardly screaming, ‘Why me?’

She couldn’t understand it at all.

‘ From now on, Miss Marie, you belong to me.’

Why would he give her a punishment like that? ‘Ah, I don’t know, It’ll be more believable if I were imprisoned or flogged.’

She didn’t know the reason but it was the worst punishment imaginable because it meant she had to constantly stay by the Crown Prince’s side!

Of course, if she were any other maid, she would be delighted, as it was a great honor to serve the most influential person in the empire. However that wasn’t the case for her. Staying by his side would increase the chance of getting caught.

‘If my true identity as Princess Morina were discovered… I would die.’

The memory of him, with his cold iron mask, wielding a sword dripping with blood, was still vivid in her mind.

The Kingdom of Cloyan faced destruction with his sword alone. Therefore, the ruthless Crown Prince would undoubtedly kill her if he discovered her true identity.

‘Now that it has come to this, it’s impossible to leave the Lion Palace before the Crown Princess selection begins.’

Not only during the latter, but rather, for good.

Strengthening her determination, she bit her lip and clenched her fist until her knuckles turned white.

“Even so, I can’t allow it. I don’t know why the Crown Prince claimed me as his possession, but I have to find a way to escape from him,” Marie firmly resolved.

If she could seize an opportunity, it wouldn’t be impossible. No, regardless of whether it’s possible or not, she must absolutely get away from him.

Then suddenly, someone called out to her. “Marie, Marie? Are you alright?”

“Oh, Jane.”

It was Jane, her roommate. Jane looked deeply concerned when she saw that Marie didn’t get up from her bed. “Should I go to the infirmary and get you some medicine?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m just feeling tired.”

Jane who was freed from prison thanks to her, was deeply grateful to Marie as if she’d saved her life. Truly, she was greatly in debt. If it hadn’t been for Marie, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid harsh punishment.

And so, she bursted into tears and expressed her gratitude endlessly, to the point that Marie felt awkward.

After she got out from prison, Jane began to treat Marie exceptionally well than she ever did before.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, I just need some rest.”

But suddenly, Jane asked a surprising question. “Um, Marie, how are you going to prepare for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Marie raised her head in surprise.

Tomorrow was the final day of the long-awaited festival, the Masquerade Ball.

“I don’t have anything special to prepare. I’ll just dress up and work at the Glory Hall like usual.”

“Huh? You’re not attending the masquerade ball?” Jane asked with wide eyes.

“Me? Of course not,” Marie shook her head.

The Masquerade Ball had a special event where nobles could invite their favored maids to the ball. ‘It has nothing to do with me. There’s no way I’ll be invited,’ she thought, burying her face in the pillow.

Meanwhile, maids throughout the palace who’d received invitations were excitedly preparing for the ball. They were all beautiful and came from prestigious backgrounds.

None of that applied to Marie anyway.

‘I guess I’ll just rest for a while.’

At least, after the Masquerade Ball, she’d been promised a short break. Miss Susan, her former head maid, had arranged the leave for her, sympathizing with the hardships she’d endured in the Lily Palace.

‘I should take a brief trip outside the palace during my time off.’

Thinking about her time off made her feel a little better. Although she found herself accidentally trapped inside the palace, she preferred being outside.

Even when she was confined to the Cold Palace of the Cloyan Kingdom, she would often sneak outside the palace walls.

‘It’ll be my first time outside the Imperial Palace.’

While thinking of her time off, Jane brought up the masquerade ball again. “But Marie, are you really not attending the masquerade ball?”

“How would I attend? I didn’t receive an invitation.”

“Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

“You received an invitation.”

“……”

Marie became speechless for a moment.

What did she just say?

Jane handed her several envelopes. They were adorned with fancy embellishments, and oddly enough, it wasn’t just one.

“Invitations have arrived for you.”

“…From whom?”

“I don’t know. I can’t read, remember?”

Due to the high illiteracy rate, only a few among the junior maids could read.

“Anyway, they’ve arrived. And there are three of them.”

Marie looked at the invitations with a baffled expression. Why would she receive invitations? Let alone three?

‘Perhaps it was sent by mistake?’

Upon seeing the exquisitely lavish envelopes, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious. The envelopes, adorned with gold leaf and intricate designs, seemed to exude a refined elegance, looking like works of art rather than mere invitation cards.

However, when she read the inscription “To Miss Marie” written in the corner of the envelopes, she realized they were indeed meant for her.

‘Who on earth could it be from?’ She opened the first envelope, which had a sword and shield coat of arms embossed on it.

— Marquis Kierhan de Seyton.

“…!”

It was her secret friend, Kiel!

‘How considerate of him.’

Kiel seemed to sent her an invitation out of courtesy, since attending the masquerade ball was the dream of every maid.

‘I’m fine with not going though.’ Still, she felt grateful to him for thinking of her. ‘If we happen to meet at the ball, I should at least thank him.’

She opened the next invitation. It was a sophisticated black envelope embossed with eagle coat of arms.

‘Who could it be?’ Her face stiffened as soon as she pulled out the invitation.

— Johannes III.

The person who sent the invitation was none other than Emperor Johannes III of the West Empire! Her eyes widened.

‘Why would Johannes III send an invitation to me?’

A cold shiver ran down her spine, unlike the warmth she felt from Kiel earlier. She recalled the eyes that hid coldness behind his gentle smile.

He was a ruthless ruler, no less formidable than Rael, the Crown Prince of Blood. Why would he send an invitation to her?

With a perplexed expression, Marie took out the final invitation. Who could it be this time?

It was a white envelope in contrast with Johannes’ invitation. Unlike Kiel’s and Johannes’, it didn’t have any special embossing on it, but it was made of equally high-quality material.

Marie tilted her head, carefully pulling out the invitation.

‘Who could it be?’ No name was written in the sender part of the invitation. ‘Is it written somewhere else?’

She meticulously examined every corner, hoping to find the name, but it was not there. ‘What’s this? Why didn’t the sender write their name?’

It was only natural to include the sender’s name when sending an invitation. But why didn’t they? She wore a puzzled expression.

After all the confusion, the day of the masquerade ball finally arrived.

“Come on, Marie! We’ll make you look as beautiful as possible!”

“I-I’m fine, really.”

“Nonsense! It’s just a harmless makeover! We’ll completely transform you!”

Even though Marie felt down and didn’t particularly feel like dressing up, her fellow maids rushed over excitedly.

“Hehe, Marie. You’ve never really dressed up before. I’ve been waiting for this day to come.”

Especially Jane, her roommate, looked at Marie with twinkling eyes. In the midst of that odd enthusiasm, Marie swallowed nervously.

“Ah, no. Since we’re wearing masks anyway, I’ll just wear a simple dress…”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Even with a mask, people will still perceive you. No, on the contrary, wearing a mask means you can flaunt yourself in a coy manner!”

“U-Uh. W-Wait! Wait a minute!”

With that, the maids used all sorts of beauty routines to transform Marie. She resisted, but her words of protests were immediately disregarded.

Then, after some time passed…!

“Ta-da! Transformation complete!”

“I-Is it finally over?”

“Yes, look in the mirror!”

After suffering for a long time, Marie looked into the mirror with a dazed expression on her face.

‘Is this really me?’

She had elegantly styled luscious brown hair, radiant fair skin, and large sparkly eyes. A reflection of petite, delicate, and, beautiful woman blinked back at her, the type who’d evoke one’s protective instinct.

Astonished by her mind-blowing transformation, Marie murmured, “I-Is this some kind of trick? Isn’t this a completely different person?”

Jane giggled. “Trick? What trick? We just dolled you up a little bit!”

“What do you mean by dol…” Marie trailed off, staring blankly at the mirror. As she looked at her beautifully made up face, she couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

‘So this is why people put effort into their appearance,’ Marie thought to herself, beginning to understand why women often adorned themselves beautifully.

Was it self-satisfaction, rather than seeking validation from others? Her mood brightened up just by dolling up herself.

“By the way, Marie, who exactly invited you?”

“Uh?”

“I heard you received three invitations. People were wondering who sent them.”

The other maids didn’t know who sent the invitations to her. Marie awkwardly shook her head. “They were just from people I met by chance.”

If they were just an average noble, it would be fine to tell them. However, the senders were none other than the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and the Emperor of the West Empire. If she told them, the palace would be in shambles. Although she didn’t have an intimate relationship with them, she didn’t want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

‘But who on earth sent the last invitation?’

She tilted her head. She waited in case they sent further details, but they didn’t.

Time went by, and eventually, the moment for the ball drew near.

Marie put on the dress prepared by her fellow maids.

“I-It looks too low-cut.”

“It’s fine! Nowadays, everyone dresses like that. Or would you rather wear a shabby maid uniform?”

“Yeah, you look great, Marie.”

Her fellow maids suddenly hollered as if cheering on a little sister going to a romantic outing.

“Secure their affections!”

“Yes, be sure to get married!”

Marie shook her head in embarrassment. “What are you all talking about? I’ll just be gone for a while.”

“You don’t have to come back tonight! No, don’t come back at all!”

“Yeah, don’t come back and stay the night!”

Marie’s face blushed at their teasing words and giggles. ‘They’re all so silly. What do they mean by staying the night?’

Although everyone acted as if she were going to meet a prince on a white horse at the masquerade ball, Marie’s mind was too occupied to entertain thoughts of any man.

‘Let’s just go, enjoy some delicious food, and come back to rest.’

With that in mind, she wore a mask covering half of her face and headed towards the banquet hall.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the banquet hall, she saw nobles dressed to the nines, each wearing a mask as they wandered around.

“So, this is what a masquerade ball is,” Marie exclaimed with an intrigued expression. Despite spending a long time in the palace, it was her first time attending a masquerade ball. Everyone wore colorful masks as accessories, but masks that covered the entire face were rare. Most only covered the area around the eyes, allowing one to roughly recognize the identity of someone they knew.

‘Uh, him?’

When Marie was about to enter the banquet hall, she was caught of guard when she unexpectedly saw someone in front of the door.

It was a handsome man with gentle face, dark hair and eyes.

‘It’s Johannes III!’

Emperor Johannes of the Western Empire—dressed in a black suit—was standing in front of the door. Although he was wearing a black mask that covered his eyes, his striking appearance made him instantly recognizable.

‘What is he doing there?’ Marie faltered in her steps and froze. ‘I have to pass through him,’ she thought with a troubled look on her face. In order to enter the banquet hall, she had to go past where he was standing.

He was someone she wanted to avoid as much as possible, so she felt helpless in that moment.

But suddenly, Johannes turned his head and looked at her. When their eyes met—causing Marie to froze—Johannes smiled and said, “You’re finally here.”

t/n: alexa play ‘i think he knows’ by TS

also… she got to recognize Johannes but not Rael? okay…