I spent most of the time playing tag with the young noblemen on the first day of the masquerade ball.
The involuntary tribute experience couldn't have been more pleasant.
The purpose of the trip was not to play, but to gather information.
It was a place I went to work, but I was harassed by uninterested people, so it was even worse.
I came back around midnight, completely exhausted, and collapsed into a deep sleep.
And the next day, the second day of the masquerade ball.
No matter how much I think about it, the Young Masters recognized me too quickly yesterday.
The employees quickly changed my outfits after realizing that the dress information had been leaked.
Following Peony's suggestion to completely change my image, I wore a dress that emphasized my cleavage and wore heavy makeup.
Even though it's hidden by a mask, my deep, dark eyes, and bright red lips made me a captivating and mature woman.
'Okay. Perfect.'
I wasn't worried that the young men and noblemen would be more attracted to the femme fatale concept.
This is because the second day of the masquerade ball had a tradition of encouraging people of the same sex to dance.
The idea was to not focus solely on finding love but to also build up some friendship.
I will be safe from the reckless noblemen who try to compete with their bodies like yesterday.
Such belief put my mind at ease.
Today too, I listened to all kinds of worthless rumors with one ear and let them go out the other.
As I was taking a break and drinking a light drink, Dance Hall caught my eye.
There, in a circular procession, the women were dancing in pairs. They looked joyful and excited as they spun around and around, hand in hand.
The involuntary tribute experience couldn't have been more pleasant.
The purpose of the trip was not to play, but to gather information.
It was a place I went to work, but I was harassed by uninterested people, so it was even worse.
I came back around midnight, completely exhausted, and collapsed into a deep sleep.
And the next day, the second day of the masquerade ball.
No matter how much I think about it, the Young Masters recognized me too quickly yesterday.
The employees quickly changed my outfits after realizing that the dress information had been leaked.
Following Peony's suggestion to completely change my image, I wore a dress that emphasized my cleavage and wore heavy makeup.
Even though it's hidden by a mask, my deep, dark eyes, and bright red lips made me a captivating and mature woman.
'Okay. Perfect.'
I wasn't worried that the young men and noblemen would be more attracted to the femme fatale concept.
This is because the second day of the masquerade ball had a tradition of encouraging people of the same sex to dance.
The idea was to not focus solely on finding love but to also build up some friendship.
'It seems to be the only one of the imperial traditions that I like.'
Such belief put my mind at ease.
Today too, I listened to all kinds of worthless rumors with one ear and let them go out the other.
As I was taking a break and drinking a light drink, Dance Hall caught my eye.
There, in a circular procession, the women were dancing in pairs. They looked joyful and excited as they spun around and around, hand in hand.
I felt eyes on me again as I watched the group dance for a moment.
Unlike yesterday, today a black-haired woman was watching me.
'Who is it?'
The opponent's appearance was just as lethal as mine.
She was reclining languidly on a long couch, exuding charm just by breathing.
As is often the case with roses, she did not easily give in to others.
But then a woman like that approached me, drawing everyone's attention.
The sight of her extremely long black hair, which seemed to be a wig, flowing out in a blur was unrealistically beautiful.
Before I knew it, my gaze was stolen, and a wine glass was thrust in front of me.
'To me...?'
In the social circles of the palace, offering a glass basically meant showing interest.
The nobles who had been watching the situation murmured. The black-haired woman laughed as if enjoying such a reaction.
It was then that a loud voice rang out so loud that it could be heard by everyone around.
“I’ve been watching you since a while ago. If it were you, would you come with me today? I think you deserve the first dance. Come on, give me your hand. I’ll lead.”
But somehow the voice sounded familiar.
“Rosie?”
For a moment, the other person's expression lost its color. It was an honest reaction.
“That’s right..."
“Oh, no, no way..."
Rosenit seemed to recognize me too. A shocked voice flowed out from her beautiful lips.
“How, this... The opponent I chose at the end... is a lie”
Rosenite acted as if the world was falling apart.
“I wish it was a lie too... Huh, what are you doing!”
I let out a rare loud noise because Rosenite had suddenly and rudely taken off my mask.
“Ha, that’s true.”
I just smiled as I looked at the dispirited Rosenite. I felt like I was going crazy.
'Is this girl crazy?'
It wasn't simply a matter of being rude.
The real problem was this palace code. At the masquerade ball, the act of removing the other person's mask is an act of sophisticated sexual signaling.
"Wow!"
There was no way the gossipy, scandal-loving nobility could pretend they hadn't seen it, and the ballroom immediately erupted into an uproar.
"You're crazy. How dare you publicly remove the mask of the 7th Princess!"
"Which family's daughter is so ignorant and forceful?"
"This is an act of insubordination that even the 7th Princess should put her cheek against that young lady's... Oh my? Are you taking her out?"
"Oh my goodness! Is the forbidden night about to begin?"
I barely managed to hold onto my flying mind and dragged Rosenite out of the ballroom.
Here, it was more dangerous for Rosenit's identity to be revealed.
The Hadelamide royal family was already known for being perverted. It was obvious that a terrible scandal would arise.
'Incest must be prevented!'
With that thought in mind, I tightly grabbed Rosenite's wrist.
Meanwhile, Rosenite was dragged away without even being able to say that her wrist hurt.
“Uh, uh, sis..."
“Don’t even say that.”
Rosenite's good hearing came in handy at times like this.
The surrounding murmur took my place and admonished Rosenite for her ignorance of the law.
In fact, three days ago, the maids had warned Rosenite, who was attending her first masquerade ball of the year, about the precautions.
But Rosenite's head didn't quite get the memo, as she smirked wickedly and said, 'I'm sure everyone will love it when I unmask you'.
Rosenite's head just wasn't filtering properly.
The clacking sound of shoes finally stopped.
I and Rosenit arrived at a deserted corner of the garden.
I showed emotion in front of Rosenit, a rare occurrence.
“Ha. This is driving me crazy, really.”
Rosenit flinched at the amber eyes that seemed to be looking at a troublemaker. But she soon shamelessly pretended it was nothing.
“It’s just a little scandalous. It’s nothing special. I’m the White Rose of the Empire, so I’m used to it.”
“With that outfit, it sounds like a white rose, not a night rose... Anyway, let’s go back to your quarters.”
“The ball is still in full swing.”
Her pretty lips quickly rebelled. She still looked like she didn't understand the situation.
“What if you go back and play and your identity is discovered? Shouldn’t we stop your name from being in the gossip column?”
It was an expression of my desire not to be involved in unpleasant rumors.
Now that I think about it, it sounds like I'm trying to protect Rosenite.
"Ah...
From then on, Rosenite's attitude changed.
The sight of her blushing face and lowering her head seemed to indicate that she had belatedly realized her shame and was repenting her mistake.
But it wasn't enough to appease my anger at being faced with an unmanageable situation.
“I’ll go first, so come back after a while. Just in case, take off your wig first so that no one can see you.”
I turned around coldly without even listening to Rosenite's answer. The ballroom quickly receded behind me.
That was the end of the second day of the masquerade ball, which passed by so quickly that it was almost absurd.
And so the long-awaited final day of the masquerade ball arrived.
'I really don't want to go.'
The social world will be buzzing with activity thanks to the hot scandal that broke out yesterday.
As soon as I opened my eyes in the morning, I felt like writhing in pain.
“Princess, are you okay?”
“Yeah. No. Yeah..."
“...That was quite a shock.”
The servants of the new green room were busy from dawn with no time to open their eyes in preparation for the ball and the holiday.
So it was Michael who came in to wake me this morning.
Michael flinched. But he did not see me, who was covered in fire from head to toe.
“It was horrible for two days in a row. It felt like a nightmare, not a daydream. Today was another day.”
He can't even imagine what kind of scary things might be lurking around.
“... Today will be different. Maybe we’ll make some good memories.”
At the words of the tire, I immediately kicked the fire away. And then I looked at Michael and asked him harshly.
“What? Can I make good memories by myself without Michael?”
"That..."
I felt a little better at seeing him embarrassed. I stopped complaining and got up.
“Yes. I’ll be back soon.”
I didn't really have a choice. It was the day of the scavenger hunt, and the tribute candidates were forced to attend.
The tribute was given to the most influential person in social circles at the time.
In my past life, I had no presence, let alone influence, but this life was different.
I made a grand re-entry into society and became politically active.
My immediate subordinate, Michael, honored me by winning hunting competitions and martial arts tournaments.
For this reason, I was on the shortlist, along with Rosenite and several other nobles.
'Tribute, the mere thought is a nightmare. I wish I could become a lodger.'
Although I was the main character who received everyone's attention and was the object of everyone's desire, I didn't really like it.
It might get attention, but it was the location of the prize. If you were caught, you had to date your date until the ball was over, as was customary.
'I studied stealth magic hard just in case, so it's okay.'
I console myself and dream of a midsummer daydream, no, a midsummer nightmare.
Just as I was about to join the nightmare, Michael stopped me.
“Princess.”
"Yes?"
I turned around reflexively, but Michael was close by.
Soon a shadow passed over my face, and I felt a round touch on my forehead.
"Uh?"
I realized belatedly that it was Michael's lips that had touched my forehead.
“Mi, Michael...?”
Michael pretended not to notice my confusion and calmly explained the reason for his actions.
“Isn’t this how you chase away nightmares? Today will be really okay.”
“...Yeah. Thank you.”
My cheeks flushed slightly. This alone seemed to make the nightmare of the day a little easier.
It was late afternoon when I finished dressing up, unable to resist the urging of the employees after working until lunchtime.
I looked very beautiful in a dress of turquoise and lavender with my hair tied halfway up.
Tomorrow was the start of the summer rainy season, so the employees who had been on vacation had to leave that evening.
It was a farewell speech.
“See you again when the rainbow appears.”
I left the fresh green room, looking forward to the week ahead.
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