The Princess is Going on Strike - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Ugh, come on.”
I blurted in irritation as I threw my pen and leaned back in my chair. I had so much to do with little time, but no ideas seem to come to mind.
Focus, focus.’
I tried to force myself to concentrate by repeating these words and picked up my pen once more. But it didn’t take long for my thoughts to trail off again.
The sun had begun to set and the sunset caused the sky to become red. I looked out my window in a daze and recalled a man’s voice.
Mask.
It was a small but caring voice. I opened my eyes wide after hearing the voice in my head.
I must be crazy. How can I think about a man in this situation? Why am I even thinking about his voice?
It was a simple conversation and his question was trivial. If it were offensive, then I would have gotten angry and that would’ve given me even more reason to recall his voice, but it wasn’t. Rather, it frustrated me and was stuck in my mind.
That’s right, it was because of his curiosity.
Why do you wear it?
Why did he ask that question? Was he truly only curious about why I wore a mask?
The feeling he gave me when he looked at me wasn’t wrong. I tapped my fingers on my desk then glanced at the mirror hanging on the wall. Silver wavy hair that cascaded down my back with dark red eyes that people considered to be a curse was seen. The skin on my face, which used to be stained with a dark-colored patch, glowed red and glistened in the light of the sunset. Despite being my own face, it was unfamiliar and I was more used to wearing a mask. It didn’t matter now if I showed my face in public, but after hiding it for decades, I was a bit reluctant to take off the mask. With a faint sigh, I put the mask back on my face. It gave me a sense of familiarity… but at the same time, it was dark and discomforting. It was ironic that this displeasure brought me a sense of peace. I was confident that I would not be intimidated in front of others as long as I had my mask on. But…
“Why does that man…..?”
Why does Ethan make me feel this way?
Mumbling, I turned away from the window.
[Knock, knock.]
I heard a small voice as a knocking sound resonated throughout the room.
“It’s Alissa.”
Why is the young maid here again when she came in the morning to tell me that she wouldn’t be able to stop by during the evening because she was busy today? I tightened the strings of my mask to fix it on my face and spoke.
“Come in.”
Alissa walked in through the door after hearing my answer. She was carrying a small vase that had beautiful white flowers that I didn’t know the name of. She placed them in front of the window and smiled.
“I thought the room was a bit bare, so I brought some flowers. I thought they would liven up the room.”
“Mm…”
“Ah! I’ll take them back if you believe that I was being rude or it’s unpleasant. I just felt the room was a little gloomy.”
Alissa stood next to the flower vase and her white maid’s uniform matched well with the flowers. It was obvious that she was nervous and was doing her best not to avoid my gaze.
There was no need to be concerned with me, though.
I looked at the flowers again then told Alissa,
“It’s fine. They look nice in the room.”
It was pleasant seeing her smile widely at my comment. She then watered the flowers as I smiled faintly and looked out the window as my mind, which had just been filled with complicated thoughts, disappeared with Alissa’s appearance.
“I wonder if the banquet has started.”
“I heard that the doors to the banquet were opened in the afternoon. Apparently, many people waited and entered once it was open.”
“What about the Brixia Family?”
Alissa paused for a moment while in the middle of arranging the flowers and lowered her head trying to hide her awkward expression.
“They left earlier.”
Without telling me, of course. But it doesn’t matter since I’m not upset or sad about it.
Thinking that Alissa would be concerned about my mood, I picked up my pen again and stated it was fine. She then added,
“Oh! I heard that the famous Young Lord of the Berlstein family will attend the banquet today with the Crown Prince as his personal guard. The other maids are making such a fuss about it. They all went there hoping to be able to take a glance at those two men, so we’re short of hands at the moment… But still…”
Alissa tried to change the topic into something that might’ve interested me, but it didn’t. My hand that held the pen stopped once more at the mention of Ethan’s name. It caused me to think of the voice that I barely forced myself to forget, again. His question and eyes stuck into my mind causing my frustration to well up once more.
“That reminds me, some of the palace servants mentioned seeing the Young Lord here. Isn’t that hilarious? He is most likely busy guarding the Crown Prince….. In any case, I’m quite envious. I would have loved to His Highness the Crown Prince or the Young Lord as they are rumored to be extremely handsome.”
“….Extremely?”
He is?
“Yes! Did you not know?”
“Hm…..”
That man’s appearance, huh….. It didn’t really stick in my mind. The only thing I can think of are his eyes.
Moreover, I tend to pay more attention to people’s characteristics rather than their appearance, so therefore I had little memory of it.
“Miss is a noble and so is the Berlstein Family, so you have many opportunities to see him! Ah, I feel quite envious!”
I narrowed my brows as I stared at Alissa who clasped her hands in excitement.
Is it really impossible for me to avoid it? I’ve been trying to ignore this, but it seems that I can’t.
I stood up from my seat as I clicked my tongue. Alissa opened her eyes wide as I moved away.
“Miss?”
“Can you help me with that?”
I pointed to my dress. In the end, I figured that if I didn’t go, I would regret it until the end.
And I can’t afford to do that.
Although it would be awkward to step foot in the banquet again, I had to endure this much in order to meet him.
I guess I can move quietly in the shadows.
I sighed.
“I should’ve pretended I wasn’t here in the morning.”
It made me think how Asterin’s morning visit sowed the seeds of misfortune for the rest of the day.
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