Chapter 44: The Masquerade Ball
When Estelle returned to her room, Anna was waiting for her.
“My lady, I truly appreciate it, but… I think this ring is too much for me.”
It was strange to hear her say it was too much, considering how her eyes had sparkled with excitement when she first received it.
‘The duke must have said something. She’s returning it so quickly.’
Since she had to take it back anyway because of the Duke of Winchester, this made things easier. Estelle had been wondering how to retrieve it, but with Anna returning it on her own, she didn’t even have to bring it up.
Instead, Estelle grabbed a handful of gold coins and handed them to her. Compared to the ruby ring, it was a small gesture, but Anna looked even more moved by it.
—
Rahelrn had been busy handling reports on the territory and dealing with the backlog of work. Because of that, Estelle hadn’t seen him for some time.
Naturally, their lessons hadn’t taken place either. Instead, Rahelrn had compiled important knowledge required of a ruler and delivered it to her.
Since he had added that he would test her on it later, Estelle diligently memorized the history of Luenbien.
Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, the night of the masquerade ball had arrived.
Estelle stared at herself in the mirror, wearing the butterfly-shaped mask Anna had prepared for her.
The mask was simple—black, with starlight embroidery—but she liked it.
“Hmm, even with the mask, it’s obvious who you are, my lady.”
Indeed, her lake-blue eyes and snowy silver hair were unmistakably ‘Estelle Winchester’.
‘Well… it’s not like I need to hide my identity.’
Anna, who had been scrutinizing her with a dissatisfied look, suddenly excused herself and left the room.
A short while later, she returned with a collection of wigs.
There was a short black wig that barely reached the shoulders, a wavy green wig, and a long, straight platinum blonde one.
The sheer variety was suspicious.
“I have plain hair myself, so collecting wigs became a hobby. I spend my entire salary on them, except for what I send to my family, so the quality is great!”
Anna scratched her head sheepishly, her brown hair slightly disheveled.
“…So you’re telling me to wear a wig?”
“It’s normal to disguise yourself at a masquerade. We can’t change your eye color, but we can at least alter your hair.”
She had a point.
‘Since it’s now known that I’ve inherited Luenbien, there might be people trying to befriend me for political reasons.’
It wasn’t certain whether Michael would be there, but Estelle’s only reason for attending the masquerade was to see him. She had no interest in exhausting herself by dealing with unwanted attention.
“I don’t like short hair, and the green wig might get tangled… the platinum blonde one is the best choice.”
When she pointed to the platinum wig, Anna hummed a cheerful tune as she carefully adjusted it for her.
“My lady… with this wig on, you…”
“I what?”
Why was she pausing like that?
“You… look just like the late Madam.”
Anna spoke cautiously, watching Estelle’s expression for a reaction.
Estelle didn’t mind. In fact, she was more surprised by how much a simple change in hair color could alter her presence.
Since it was about time to leave, she set aside any lingering thoughts.
On her way to the carriage, she unexpectedly ran into Rahelrn.
His dark circles hinted that he hadn’t slept in days.
It felt awkward to acknowledge how much he had been struggling, so Estelle simply bowed her head and attempted to pass by.
“…Mother?”
Rahelrn’s widened eyes locked onto her, and he instinctively grabbed her wrist.
Realizing his mistake, he quickly let go and apologized.
“Sorry… I, uh…”
He fumbled over his words, seemingly embarrassed at having mistaken her for their mother.
It was unusual—Estelle had only ever seen him composed, so this reaction felt unfamiliar.
“…Where are you going?”
“I’ve been invited to the masquerade at Marquis Aslan’s estate.”
At her response, Rahelrn bit his lip and grabbed her wrist again.
“If I told you not to go, would you stay?”
He was suddenly on high alert, despite there being no known hostility between them and the Aslan family.
“If you gave me a convincing reason.”
She was curious about his intentions, so she answered honestly.
“If I told you, you’d think I was insane.”
Well, that wasn’t much of a concern.
Estelle already thought the current Rahelrn wasn’t entirely sane.
“No, go ahead. Just don’t go anywhere near the three-tiered cake.”
Rahelrn closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, as if he was warning her to be careful because something would happen near the three-tiered cake.
‘Did someone poison the cake? And how does he know for sure there’s going to be a three-tiered cake?’
Estelle tilted her head, unable to understand Rahelrn’s reasoning.
“Can’t you explain in more detail?”
“I already told you—it would be difficult to explain. Just don’t go near the cake, no matter what happens.”
Rahelrn kept repeating his vague warning, and Estelle shook her head. It was clear he wasn’t going to give her any more details.
Leaving Rahelrn mumbling “three-tiered cake” to himself, she set off for the Aslan Marquisate.
—
Inside the Ballroom of the Aslan Marquisate
‘So Mikael really isn’t coming?’
No matter how much she looked around, Estelle couldn’t spot anyone who might be him. His golden eyes were unique—if he were here, she would have found him easily.
The thought of his absence made her uneasy.
She had already conveyed her message to him, telling him not to attend, but…
‘Still, we’re getting married soon. Shouldn’t we be seeing each other more often?’
Besides, he was the one who had invited her in the first place. Now he was just telling her not to come—was that it?
“Estelle!”
Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her shoulders from behind.
“…Liliana?”
Turning around, she saw Liliana clapping her hands with a bright smile.
“I knew it was you, Estelle! I was worried I might be wrong, but I’m so glad I wasn’t!”
Even though Estelle had changed her hair color and was wearing a mask, Liliana had recognized her immediately.
Surprised by this, Estelle asked, “How did you know? I thought I disguised myself pretty well.”
Liliana hesitated, blushing slightly.
“It’s a little embarrassing to say, but… I have a really keen sense of smell. I caught a familiar scent from ahead of me, and when I took a closer look, I saw someone with your build.”
Estelle found it amusing and recalled how Liliana had suddenly left their sorority gathering feeling unwell.
She had asked Olivia to relay a message for her, and since they had been talking about her at the time, it had felt awkward to interrupt.
But since Liliana had personally invited her, she should have reached out to her afterward.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Liliana. For leaving without a word that day.”
“Wait, you’ve been worrying about that? You weren’t feeling well. Besides… I heard about it. It must be really difficult for you.”
Liliana looked genuinely concerned as she took Estelle’s hands, her warmth passing through.
“It’s been a year since I lost my grandmother, and even now, thinking about her makes me sad. So I can only imagine how hard it must be for you.”
“I’m fine…”
“No, you’re not. Moving on is important, but you also need time to grieve properly. That way, your future self will be able to endure.”
She was right.
Even though Estelle had cried a lot, she had forced herself to stop halfway through.
She had used the excuse that she had too much to do and couldn’t afford to dwell on her grief.
“…Thank you.”
“But don’t stay down for too long. Come with me! If we don’t hurry, the sorority girls are going to start a card game all on their own.”
Liliana didn’t let go of Estelle’s hand as she led her forward.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go?”
Estelle hesitated, knowing that there were people in the sorority who weren’t pleased with her being invited.
“Of course! You’re part of our sorority too. It would be weirder if you didn’t come.”
Unable to argue with Liliana’s energy, Estelle followed her.
“They didn’t start without me, did they?”
They soon reached a corridor lined with curtained rooms. Liliana pulled open the second curtain.
Inside, several sorority members were gathered around, playing cards.
“You should’ve come earlier! The game just ended.”
“One more round! I can’t let it end like this!”
“Oh my god, Liliana, even my boyfriend isn’t this clingy.”
Liliana bickered playfully with one of the girls shuffling the cards, and laughter spread through the group.
“Wait… who is this?”
One of them looked at Estelle in confusion.
“What? You don’t recognize her just because she’s wearing a wig? Look at these eyes! This sapphire-blue glow! If I could, I’d trade my own eyes for hers!”
At Liliana’s intense gaze, Estelle instinctively took a step back.
“Liliana… you’re kind of scaring me.”
At first, some of the sorority girls had been uneasy around Estelle, but thanks to Liliana, they quickly relaxed and started laughing.
“Hey, Estelle, don’t avoid me! Come on, do you really think I’d do anything to your eyes?”
Hey Guys you can read advanced chapters on Patreon
If you liked my work and want to support me then you can visit my page for tips. As I can’t create Kofi because of the unavailability of Paypal in my country, I’ve made this tier which is being updated every week so that you won’t be charged again till you want to donate again by yourself or you can exit the tier after donating 🙂.
Happy Reading 🩷
