- Confinement
Chapter 5
Diana first met Edmund at a masked ball.
Scandal.
What brought the two together was an incident that could easily have turned into a scandal. Something that could have been very fatal for a young girl who had just come to the capital from the countryside.
“You should get married now too.”
One day, a letter from her aunt suddenly shook up Diana’s daily life in the countryside.
Her beautiful and generous aunt, Viscountess Pamina, had lost her husband at an early age and had sincerely cared for her children.
After the death of her brother and Diana’s father, she continued to provide attention and support to her niece, who was left alone.
However, when her niece, who was almost old enough, insisted on staying in the country to maintain her deceased parents’
house, the viscountess, who was no better than her, eventually sent her own maids to pack Diana’s belongings.
“All good grooms are in the capital. First of all, it’s better than that country house full of horse manure smell. Oh my brother too. Since you are an old-timer to the core, I left you in the countryside… … .”
Only after listening to her aunt’s sighs and tearful nagging was she able to unpack.
“Your father only had a good face, but he had no sense of money and made your mother suffer until she died. So, you must meet a man who has both wealth and status. You should only trust this aunt.”
From that day on, classes began for her to learn how to dress, wear appropriate etiquette, walk, and dance to debut in the social world.
Diana tried as hard as she could. But the capital’s social scene was by no means an easy place. Because she grew up in the countryside with her family from a young age, it was difficult for her to get used to city manners, and there were so many things that were out of fashion, such as dancing, dresses, and social conversations.
All of this made Diana feel discouraged. She wanted to get married and go back to her hometown right away, but she was worried that she would disappoint her aunt who had willingly taken her in, so she couldn’t do it.
But during the social season, no suitable match was found. That was natural.
“With your beauty, you will be able to captivate all men in no time.”
The Viscountess looked at Diana and said this several times, but she could never agree. It was one thing to be told that she was pretty in the countryside, and it was a completely different story to be recognized in the capital’s social circle, which was filled with gorgeous girls.
Not only were the capital’s girls beautiful, but they were impossible to imitate just by looking at their appearance, including their sophisticated speaking style, elegant posture, dancing skills, and the latest dresses and hairstyles.
Nevertheless, the Viscountess was anxious to find a suitable marriage for her niece. Her aunt clung to it as if it were her only goal in life, with the task of finding a suitable groom for her daughter, Agnes as well.
“I will definitely marry you to a man from a wealthy family so that my deceased brother can rest in peace! Just trust me.”
Agnes clicked her tongue as she looked at her mother and grabbed Diana’s hand.
“Let’s go somewhere fun.”
While he was confused, Agnes took her innocent cousin and dressed her up to the fullest.
Agnes arrived at a party hall where a masquerade ball was being held, wearing a dress with a lower neckline than usual. Diana was left speechless by the sight that greeted her when she arrived there.
Perhaps because of the sense of liberation that came from hiding one’s identity behind a mask, the chaos of the party was beyond imagination. It was common for people to make eye contact while dancing and become attached to each other in an instant. For her, who grew up in the countryside, it was a sight beyond her imagination.
“It’s tacky. Everything is like that here, Diana. If you keep quiet, you will look like a boring person, right? Do it naturally, do it as naturally as you can”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Diana wasn’t confident, but she nodded.
“But there is one thing you should never do here.”
“What is that?”
Diana gulped, feeling nervous for some reason.
“You must never take off this mask.”
Agnes’ expression suddenly became serious.
“… … .”
“Keep in mind. You must never take off your mask at a masquerade ball. It’s over the moment they find out who you are. It’s good to have fun, but secretly, okay?”
There was a reason why Agnes made such a request.
Because it was an opportunity to mingle without knowing who each other were, unexpected accidents often occurred at masquerade balls.
In times like this, the mask was the safety device. Even though the
rumors spread, it only stopped at ‘I saw a young lady wearing a butterfly mask and a gentleman wearing a devil mask behaving uncleanly’, and it was difficult to know who belonged to which family.
Or, even if they knew, most of them pretended not to notice and passed by. It was a place where they implicitly promised to hide each other’s existence as long as they didn’t take off their masks.
“You should enjoy it until you get married. For that, there’s nothing better than a masquerade ball.”
Diana, who saw a masquerade ball with a more promiscuous atmosphere than she could have imagined, was reluctant. Agnes, who held her hand, said as if she was frustrated.
“Diana, we might end up marrying a balding old man with a potbelly. Parents tend to look at a spouse’s wealth and family background more than their looks. Even after looking at the list of potential grooms that Mom sent us, don’t you think it is true?”
That was true. The criteria by which the list was sorted from beginning to end depended solely on money, status, and title.
The Viscountess resolutely rejected young men with fair faces, saying that since they were not being exploited for a living, things like faces were not even considered.
“It’s rare to find a man with such good looks, wealth, and title. Unless he’s the Duke of Serwell. But what good is it if you have one? Matchmakers won’t even list our names as candidates. Not for a family as obscure as ours.”
Agnes’ expression was gloomy as she said that. Naturally, the so-called first-class grooms were bound to have first-class brides. Women who come from good families, are beautiful, and can bring a lot of dowry.
Viscount Pamina was not good enough to fit in between them, and Diana’s family was the same. However, my aunt’s greed was so high that it was not easy to break her expectations.
“So let’s enjoy what we can, okay?”
Faced with the reality that was facing her, Agnes began to attend these events even more actively.
The Viscountess fell asleep immediately in the early evening, so it wasn’t that difficult to sneak out of the mansion.
“But this is a bit harsh.”
The underside of the chest was tightened so that the already large breasts seemed as if they were about to burst.
“Why? It’s just pretty. Why do you hide something that others can’t have?”
Agnes clicked her tongue, saying something completely incomprehensible.
While Diana was at a loss for what to do with her outfit being more daring than usual, Agnes jumped straight into the dancing crowd. At the same time, she gestured with her hand for Diana to come and join her dance.
However, it was not easy to blend in among the people wearing colorful masks with feathers. In the meantime, Agnes disappeared and she was nowhere to be seen.
Unlike the people who boldly went out onto the floor and danced, Diana was pushed further and further towards the wall. It was not easy for her to adapt to this chaotic atmosphere.
“Oh, you are too fine.”
As she looked around, a man approached her and held out his hand, and Diana shook her head. But the man clung persistently.
“Should we go out together instead of staying in this place?”
The man’s suggestion was enough for even the naivest woman to know that there was a hidden evil intention behind it.
“Let’s go out together and do something fun.”
Diana glared at the face of the man who made the rude suggestion. His mask made of colorful feathers was flashy, but he was frivolous. The owner behind the mask didn’t seem to be much different.
“It’s okay.”
Diana quickly turned to the other side, but the man quickly blocked her escape route.
“The way it bounces, it is pretty cute.”
A man leaned close to Diana, almost embracing her. The man smelled of sweat masked by a thick scent of perfume. It was an unpleasant stench.
Diana frowned beneath her mask without realizing it. Meanwhile, the man who had almost cornered her pressed his body even closer to her. Diana couldn’t even scream.
Tuk.
At that moment, the body that was sticking to where Diana was standing tilted over to the other side.
“What!”
The man shouted and turned around. A tall, black masked person had pushed the man who was pushing Diana.
“Excuse me. There are a lot of people.”
It was a request for understanding, but there was no traces of regret in his voice. It was as if the man standing there was treated like an inconvenient object.
As a result, the road that the man had been blocking was opened. Without another thought, Diana turned and ran towards the open road. As she ran frantically, holding onto her dress, she heard yelling behind her, but she never turned around.
First, to avoid the man screaming behind her, Diana went to any place she could find. The cold night breeze hit her face as she opened the curtains that screened her balcony and stepped inside.
“Phew.”
Through a curtain, the air inside and outside became completely different. As the cool breeze blew, unlike the warm air of the ballroom, I felt like the unpleasant moment from earlier was washed away.
