The Princess is Going on Strike - Chapter 19
Chapter 19
“I was bothered by your answer which is why I was planning on stopping to ask you about it, since you mentioned that you weren’t going to attend the banquet. There was no other meaning behind it.”
Ethan was thinking about the same thing I was. It was the same question and the same concern. It was as if we were having a conversation about a single mask, facing one another with a single question.
Should I answer him or ask him another question?
Silence naturally fell as I didn’t give an answer right away. My thoughts turned more chaotic as I thought that casually answering him would only add to the current awkward situation.
“What question? Did something happen between the two of you?”
The silence didn’t remain for long. Estian looked back and forth at us as he asked us, then rested his chin on his fist. He looked at me then continued to speak.
“I heard you went somewhere with Velfor this morning, but it was to go see Aerylle?”
Estian glanced at Ethan as he stretched his open palm and covered his eyes with an exasperating expression.
“So what was the question? Huh? Judging by this weird mood, was it a personal question? Or did this guy talk bad about me?”
Estian’s eyes flashed with excitement as he turned his gaze towards Ethan and pointed at him.
Do I need to tell him?
When I looked at Ethan, he sighed and shook his head. I chuckled and opened my mouth to speak.
“He asked me why I wore a mask.”
“Why you wore…?”
Estian slowly turned his gaze to Ethan, then muttered with a sigh.
“Forgive him. This friend of mine is always insensitive and never considers other people’s feelings.”
“…..”
Ethan looked at Estian with an astonished expression. I found the relationship between the two to be interesting and slowly spoke after looking at them.
“It’s alright. I didn’t think it was rude. It was rather refreshing, actually.”
The question of why I wore a mask itself was unfamiliar, but interesting to hear. Unlike Ethan, whose first reaction was to ask me this question, others would only look at me with contempt, ridicule, and sneers on their faces whenever they saw my mask. Since people naturally assumed that the face behind it would be hideous. For them, I was nothing but a laughing stock to them. This was why it was unfamiliar to find someone asking me why I wore it in the first place.
“The answer is simple. I’ve worn it for a long time and wear it since many people are afraid of my face and find it to be disgusting. Since I am used to it now, I don’t feel any discomfort wearing it.”
I looked at Ethan who met my eyes with a flinch, then straightened his back. The corners of my mouth pulled up into a smile.
“Does that satisfy your question?”
“…..”
I asked him to confirm his reaction. Ethan hesitated before adjusting into a more relaxed posture, sighed, and spoke.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable…..”
“No. I was just surprised since you were the first person to ask me that. I was also curious to know why you asked me that question.”
Even though Estian was sitting next to him, I couldn’t hold back my frustration any longer since I knew that I wouldn’t get another chance to ask him if I didn’t now.
“Sir Ethan. There’s also something I wished to ask you.”
I finally spoke the words that were dominating my mind the entire day.
“What was the reason why you asked me why I wore a mask? Was it out of curiosity or did you have another intention? I felt as if you looked at me knowing something. At that time…..”
My words faded into a mumble. Sensing the tone of my voice increasing, I stopped then spoke once more, quietly.
“Was there another reason as to why you asked me that question?”
Please answer me.
Ethan peeked at Estian then shrugged and slouched in his seat. Ethan wrinkled his brow before Estian smiled and tapped at his shoulder to signal him to answer the question.
[Sigh….]
Ethan brushed back his hair with a complicated look on his face. He bowed his head, hiding his face, before looking back up at me and replied in a soft voice.
“Your eyes.”
“What?”
My eyes? What eyes?
Ethan glanced to the side trying to avoid my gaze.
“I noticed your eyes.”
The mask obviously had holes for the eyes to see through. So it was only evident that others could also see my eyes through them.
Was that the reason?
I tilted my head in confusion when Ethan sighed once again and spoke.
“I noticed that your eyes were confident and clear. They were very straightforward and it was as if you didn’t care what others thought.”
“…..”
“Furthermore, you didn’t mind it and reacted coldly when we were discussing your family’s scandal which indicated that you may be more capable than what’s been revealed. But to find that such a person would hide their face behind a mask was surprising. Also…..”
Ethan murmured before continuing once more.
“I don’t believe that having a spot on one’s face and blood-red eyes are reasons enough to cover up one’s talents.”
I stared at Ethan before turning my gaze towards a mirror. Taking note of my eyes in the reflection, I narrowed my brows.
“People look at my eyes and fear me saying that they are a symbol of evil. Do you not feel the same, Sir Ethan?”
“I do not.”
“Me too.”
I also received an answer from Estian who was quietly listening to our conversation. He rose from his seat with a smile, approached me and leaned forward. Our distance grew so close that his eyes were only a hand-span away from me. I leaned back surprised by his action. Estian quietly stared at me, smiled, then nodded.
“I think they’re quite beautiful. Right, Ethan?”
Ethan nodded in agreement. Estian returned to his seat, clasped his hands on his knee and spoke.
“Honestly, I don’t really understand why people are afraid of your eyes, saying that they are cursed and call you a monster, when they look beautiful to me.”
He grinned while tapping his fingers on his knee.
“And from what I can tell, the person sitting in front of me is no monster.”
Estian continued as he chuckled to himself.
“I’m not trying to brag about it, but I live under the threat of assassination at least ten times a day. But I’m still alive, aren’t I? Just as I don’t need to live beneath a mask, the same applies to you, Aerylle. If you had a personal reason for wearing one, then there’s nothing more I can say about that, but that’s my own opinion.”
He pointed to the cracked part of my mask.
“There’s no need to wear a mask if you’re being forced to. Since you’re a person who can think and decide things for yourself, Aerylle.”
My heart fluttered as he spoke the last phrase.
Because I’m a person… was that such an easy and simple phrase?
I lived my entire life claiming myself to be human when others continued to reject me, calling me a monster. People didn’t view me, a person, as a person. They didn’t call me by my name but by mocking names such as “Monster” or “Masked Princess”. I bit my lips.
Was it that simple?
All the frustration that had been building up inside of me exploded.
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