Masquerade Ball (1)

The morning after Ethan suddenly called me to his room and told me to prepare for the 3rd Princess’s Birthday Banquet.

After Ethan’s breakfast, a guest suddenly came to my exclusive maid waiting room, where I was resting.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“…Come in.”

Cheolkuk. The door opened inwards with a sound.

Since it was during work hours, I naturally thought it was a summons from Ethan or Harold, but the person who appeared beyond the door was someone unexpected, not who I had assumed.

“Lilith!”

“…Isabel?”

Why had Isabel suddenly come to my room?

As far as I knew, this was the middle of work hours.

For her to suddenly barge into my room during work hours… Could she be playing hooky?

“Isabel, so you’re boldly playing hooky now that you’re a mid-level maid?”

“Huh? Oh, no! It’s not like that!”

“It’s okay. If you really want to play hooky, I’ll hide you. You can rest in my room until Young Master Ethan’s lunchtime.”

“I really appreciate your words, Lilith, but… I didn’t come here to play hooky. I’m still working, actually.”

“…Really?”

Indeed, our unfailingly diligent Isabel would never arbitrarily leave during work hours to play hooky.

In the first place, if Isabel were to play hooky, it would mean she passed her duties onto Katarina and ran away.

It was a bad thing that Isabel, who had built a long friendship with both me and Katarina, would be hard to imagine doing.

To misunderstand Isabel, who is second to none in kindness, as playing hooky even for a moment.

Reflecting on my own terrible imagination, I then asked her the most likely reason for her visit to my room.

“Then is it the Young Master’s summons? Where is he?”

“Oh, th-that’s not it. I didn’t specifically come to call Lilith, you know?”

“Huh?”

“I, I have a question.”

“A question?”

“Lilith, which dress do you prefer among the sky blue, emerald, and dark red ones?”

“Huh…?”

What is Isabel suddenly talking about, so unlike her?

I tilted my head, not understanding, as I made eye contact with Isabel, who had suddenly entered my room and started talking about girls’ talk.

Isabel, on the other hand, urged me for an answer as if she couldn’t understand my reaction.

“Lilith, quickly. Which dress do you prefer among the sky blue, emerald, and dark red ones?”

“…Well, I don’t really like dresses in the first place.”

“Not a cryptic answer like that~!”

“…Was I supposed to answer seriously?”

“Of course! You have to tell me quickly so I can prepare the others! Hurry~!”

“Hmm…”

…Perhaps they want to make matching outfits among colleagues?

Since there were exactly three colors, that possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

If that’s the case, how about I imagine Isabel and Katarina wearing them?

I should answer by excluding the color that would suit someone else best.

Isabel has vanilla-colored hair and a lively personality, so a fresh sky blue would suit her.

Katarina has pink hair and a timid personality, so an emerald dress would create a nice contrast.

Then the color naturally left is…

“…Dark red?”

“You like dark red?”

“Yes. Dark red would be good.”

“Alright! Then I’ll prepare Lilith’s dress in dark red!”

“W-wait, Isabel! But what exactly do you mean by ‘prepare’…?”

-Cheolkuk.

“……”

Isabel, who came like the wind to ask about the dress color, then disappeared like dew, as if she had achieved her goal.

Thus, only I, the room’s owner, remained all alone in the exclusive maid waiting room from which she had vanished.

The thought of getting up and chasing after her crossed my mind for a moment, but I decided against it, thinking I might unnecessarily disturb her during work hours.

“If Isabel is really preparing something, I’ll find out later.”

…And I found out she was really preparing something two days later.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And, the very next day.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“……?”

Sure enough, for two consecutive days, following yesterday, the exclusive maid waiting room door was knocked on.

Wondering if Isabel had come again today, I softly called out her name, but the reply from outside the door was from a different maid.

“…Isabel?”

“It’s, it’s me… Young Lady Lilith…”

“……”

Even without her introducing herself by name, I could easily tell who was behind the door.

Not to mention her timid, unconfident voice that wouldn’t be strange if it faded at any moment.

Because in this mansion, there was only one person who called me ‘Young Lady Lilith’.

“Come in, Senior Katarina.”

-Cheolkuk.

“E-excuse me…”

Katarina entered my room in an even more dejected manner than usual today.

For some reason, I could sense an inexplicable unease in her timid reaction.

Just in case, I subtly probed for the reason Katarina had visited my waiting room.

“Are you playing hooky?”

“W-what?!”

“You seemed to lack confidence today, so I wondered if you had committed some sin.”

“N-no…! I’ve never played hooky, Young Lady Lilith…!”

“…I told you not to call me that.”

“S-sorry… Young Lady…”

…She seemed to be calling me Lilith comfortably until recently, so why has she suddenly reverted to the honorifics and polite language from two years ago?

Today’s Katarina, incomprehensible in many ways, approached me with steps as timid as her voice.

She was holding a thin string with markings in her hand.

‘A measuring tape?’

Given it was a string with markings, it seemed to be a measuring tape.

Why did she suddenly visit my room holding a measuring tape?

Before I could even ask what her purpose was, Katarina approached me, holding the measuring tape in her hand.

And with her still timid voice, she held the measuring tape up to my face.

“E-excuse me… Young Lady Lilith…”

“……”

Then, she suddenly unfurled the measuring tape horizontally in front of my eyes and began writing something on a piece of paper she had brought with her.

At first, she seemed to be measuring and recording the length and width of my face in various ways, then she suddenly began measuring various parts of my feet again.

Finally, after measuring the circumference of my left ring finger, she began backing away from me.

“Phew, I apologize for intruding on your rest! I-I will withdraw now!”

“Wait a moment, Senior Katarina. What exactly were you so diligently recording with that measuring tape just now…?”

“G-goodbye, Young Lady Lilith!”

“I told you not to call me by that title…!”

-Kwang!

“……”

Katarina hurriedly left the exclusive maid waiting room, as if feeling an immense fear of me.

…Did I do something wrong to Katarina recently? I don’t think I’ve ever made a mistake that would sour our relationship.

Lately, it felt like the misunderstanding that I was a Noble Lady was gradually fading with time, but that reaction is just like Katarina’s on the first day she thought I was a Noble Lady.

“…I really don’t understand.”

It seemed like there was some misunderstanding causing that reaction, but I couldn’t quite fathom what that misunderstanding was.

I briefly considered chasing after her to clear up the misunderstanding, but I decided against it since it was still Katarina’s work hours.

“If there’s some misunderstanding, I can clear it up later.”

…And I truly realized that Katarina was misunderstanding something about me the very next day.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And, the day after that.

As usual, after Ethan’s breakfast, I had my personal break time.

Today, too, while focusing on knitting, a pastime, to earn independence funds, and weaving a yarn sweater.

-Knock, knock, knock.

…Sure enough. Today, without fail, there were three knocks on the exclusive maid waiting room door from outside.

“Isabel? Or Senior Katarina?”

“Both of us, Lilith!”

“…Both?”

“I’m coming in for a moment~!”

“W-wait a moment, Isabel! If you just enter without getting the Young Lady’s permission…!”

The door to the exclusive maid waiting room opened with the voices of the two people from outside.

While I was surprised by the visit of the two, whose reason for coming I couldn’t understand.

Isabel approached me with a beaming smile, while I was leisurely knitting.

…Holding a dark red dress that looked like something only Noble Ladies would wear.

“…Isabel?”

“Come on, Lilith, what are you dawdling for! You said you’d attend the banquet with the Young Master tonight!”

“That’s true… but what’s that dress in your hand?”

“Of course, it’s the dress Lilith will wear today! Get up quickly, Lilith! I’ll help you change!”

“I-Isabel…! L-Lilith is a Noble Lady…! N-no, Young Lady Lilith is a Noble Lady…! Y-you shouldn’t call her so casually…!”

“Oh, that’s right! Lilith is a Noble Lady today, isn’t she!”

“N-not just today, she’s always been a Noble Lady…”

…So much information suddenly flooded my mind that I couldn’t process it.

Where did the story go wrong?

It’s true that I’m attending the 3rd Princess’s Birthday Banquet with Ethan today, but what is that dark red dress Isabel brought, claiming it’s for me to wear?

Katarina misunderstanding me as a Noble Lady was something that had happened before, but why is she so intensely conscious of it all of a sudden since yesterday?

And why is Isabel agreeing with the statement that I’m a Noble Lady as if it’s obvious, without refuting it?

As my mind became momentarily confused by the overwhelming amount of information.

From a single remark Isabel casually let slip, I could finally grasp the clue as to how this situation came about.

“Lilith is pretty, but a Noble Banquet is a place where many even prettier Young Ladies gather. To not be outdone there, you have to diligently adorn yourself starting now! Because Lilith is Young Master Ethan’s partner today!”

…Partner?

Partner, that usually means that, right?

Like a lover or a fiancé/fiancée, you usually pair up with such a person beforehand to enter a banquet, don’t you?

But… I’m playing that partner role?

And at the 3rd Princess’s Birthday Banquet?

And as Ethan’s partner?

…Isn’t something really strange here?

“…Isabel.”

“Yes.”

“Did you just say… Young Master Ethan’s partner?”

“Yes, I did.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, Lilith.”

“……Today?”

“Oh, come on, I told you! How many times do I have to say that Lilith is the Young Master’s banquet partner today!”

…………Why, exactly?