Chapter 72
Even if they weren’t as bad as Duke Partin, the world was full of people lacking morality.
And in many different ways.
“Earlier, I noticed the two young ladies speaking only to each other.”
It was already the third time the same situation had occurred.
As Lizbet pressed her lips into a thin line, Elicia stepped in front of her with a smile.
A faint smell of alcohol drifted from the man wearing a golden mask.
“Have you been watching us?”
Elicia subtly pointed out the man’s persistence.
However, the man seemed to interpret it differently. He smiled brightly and took the wine glass from Elicia’s hand.
Judging by the strong smell of liquor every time he spoke, he seemed quite drunk.
Behind Elicia, Lizbet clicked her tongue.
“To be precise, I meant you, my lady.”
The man brought the glass he had taken from Elicia to his lips.
His impolite behavior could have been taken as a form of flirtation between a man and a woman.
And he knew that.
That was exactly what made Elicia and Lizbet feel so offended.
So that’s why Roa mentioned love earlier.
Looking around, she noticed pairs of men and women scattered everywhere.
“Sorry, but I didn’t come here tonight to meet someone.”
With the mask hiding her face, it wasn’t easy to use her title as leverage to reject him.
No—if she did mention her title, it might only make him more persistent.
Elicia smiled naturally as she turned him down.
However, the man showed no intention of leaving.
“People often change their minds, don’t they?”
The young man in the golden mask countered Elicia’s words.
The corner of Elicia’s lips twitched.
“Perhaps you could help me make sure mine doesn’t.”
That was her way of telling him to back off.
But the man was far more obstinate than she expected.
“If I could change your mindset, that would be an honor for me.”
What an impossible man to reason with.
Out of all the men who had approached her so far, this one was the most persistent.
After only a few exchanges, Elicia realized there was no reasoning with him.
Meanwhile, Lizbet’s patience wore thin far quicker than Elicia’s.
“Looks like everyone thinks they’ve got a chance tonight.”
Lizbet muttered under her breath so only Elicia could hear.
Tell me about it.
Elicia replied inwardly.
Truthfully, she couldn’t understand why the emperor insisted on holding this banquet under the pretext of celebrating her birthday.
The empire was at war.
Was it really necessary to hold a banquet under these circumstances?
Especially when his own son, Heonis, was on the battlefield.
For a fleeting moment, Elicia felt pity for a man she had never even met.
Ending her brief thought, she looked back at the senseless man in front of her.
“Could you return my glass, please?”
If this continued, Lizbet might actually snap.
Elicia requested the return of the glass as a subtle signal for him to leave.
At her second refusal, cracks finally appeared in the man’s smile.
“My lady, if you act like this, it will only cause you trouble later.”
No need to wait until later—Elicia was already troubled now.
“Even if your face is hidden behind a mask, every little thing you do could affect your marriage prospects later on.”
The man still had no intention of returning the glass.
Annoyance surged through Elicia as he continued clinging to her, and finally, she couldn’t hold back.
“Isn’t it you, sir, who’s being far too rude just because your own face is hidden behind a mask?”
Her cold voice cut through the air like a blade.
The man’s hand trembled slightly as he held the glass.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a gentleman boldly expressing his interest in a lady. But forcing yourself on someone who said no—that’s the real problem.”
“Don’t you think your words are a little too sharp, my lady?”
The man spoke in a low voice, pretending to be calm.
“If I offended you, I’ll apologize. But if I have to apologize, then you should as well.”
A strange tension crackled between them.
The man’s eyes narrowed.
Then, as if realizing he had picked the wrong target, he let out a deep sigh.
“I thought you were just shy and reserved since you kept sending men away…”
His muttered words rang clearly in both Elicia and Lizbet’s ears.
Lizbet nearly lost it right then and there, clenching her teeth to keep herself in check.
Elicia hadn’t given her any orders yet.
“You must be too drunk to think straight.”
Of course—he was twisting things however he wanted.
He had sized her up, assumed she was shy, and decided she was worth approaching.
“Why don’t you just leave now?”
Up to this point, Elicia had been willing to overlook his rudeness.
She didn’t want to create a scene at a banquet hosted by the emperor himself.
But the man seemed too offended to back down now, standing firm as if rooted to the floor.
“My lady, this is a social gathering.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do. That’s why we’re not understanding each other.”
Elicia’s brow arched.
“As I said earlier, if you keep acting all high and mighty, what will you do if it ends up hurting your marriage prospects?”
There he goes again.
With the man constantly harping on marriage, Elicia was beyond fed up.
“Sir, you keep bringing up marriage—are you staking your life on it or something?”
She folded her arms and shot back.
Unfortunately for him, unlike the man in the golden mask, marrying into the nobility was nothing but a losing deal for her.
“I’m talking about you, my lady. Most unmarried ladies come to society gatherings for that very reason.”
Is he insane?
Elicia and Lizbet shared the same thought at once.
“You need to meet a good man—that would benefit your family.”
He was crossing the line now.
“Your parents would want that, too. After all, you owe them for raising you.”
And with that, the man made the ultimate mistake—bringing up what should never be mentioned.
For Elicia, her parents were an absolute taboo subject.
And to speak of her as nothing more than a tool for them—unforgivable.
Her mind suddenly cooled.
Lizbet, on the other hand, heated up instantly. The moment the man finished speaking, she moved to draw the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
“I see. Thank you for the advice.”
As if she had expected this, Elicia pressed down on Lizbet’s wrist and spoke calmly.
Only then did Lizbet snap out of it and let go of the dagger.
Though Elicia pretended to agree with the man, she was ready to explode at any moment.
The crushing grip on Lizbet’s wrist was proof enough.
“…As long as you understand now.”
The man smiled in satisfaction, thinking she had finally relented.
As he turned and disappeared, Elicia released Lizbet’s hand and spoke.
“This is the imperial palace.”
“Yes.”
“Blood would bring consequences.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I just… lost my temper.”
“I’m not asking for an apology.”
It wasn’t as if Lizbet’s reaction was wrong.
In fact, Elicia had no intention of letting that man go unpunished.
“The way women are treated here is absolutely vile.”
Now, how should I ruin him?
Elicia bit her thumbnail as she pondered.
Lizbet waited silently as Elicia thought without even blinking.
“Yes, that will do.”
When Elicia finally finished thinking, she smiled faintly.
Then she turned to face Lizbet.
Lizbet met her gaze with a look that said she was ready for any order.
Lizbet trailed the man in the golden mask, her expression sour.
—Strip his pants and leave him where everyone can see.
Was this really why she became a knight? The thought was humiliating.
—If you can, get a look at his face too.
Elicia had said that with a wicked smile.
—He humiliated me, so he deserves the same. People who overstep need to learn what happens to them.
She had made it clear: payback, and then some.
Still, Lizbet consoled herself with one thing—at least Elicia hadn’t told her to strip off his underwear too.
Serves him right for showing off like that.
If Elicia wanted his face revealed as well, then she clearly intended to put pressure on his family after the banquet.
So Lizbet did as ordered, keeping a close eye on him.
After a while, the man finally left the banquet hall, and Lizbet followed him outside.
She promised not to leave the hall, so I’d better finish this quickly and get back.
There was no guarantee more creeps wouldn’t swarm around Elicia while Lizbet was away.
The problem was that Lizbet wasn’t familiar with the layout of the palace.
If she lost sight of him once, it was over.
So she stayed sharp, determined not to make a mistake.
Up ahead, the man turned a corner to the right.
Lizbet followed smoothly around the bend.
“…Huh?”
Had she stayed too far back?
When she turned the corner, the man was gone.
Lizbet’s eyes darted around in panic.
“Where did he go?”
Disaster.
Warning bells rang in her mind.
She couldn’t let Elicia’s order end in failure—not this one.
Her mind raced.
The long corridor was lined with doors. Among them, only one space was covered with a curtain instead of a door.
That had to be it—or one of these rooms.
Lizbet approached the curtained space first.
She couldn’t just barge into rooms, so checking here first seemed best.
“….”
As she reached out to pull aside the peach-colored curtain, a man stepped out before she could.
A man wearing a black mask.
Lizbet froze, startled—she hadn’t expected anyone else to be here.
The man was at least a head taller than she was.
His mask bore a long black feather, likely from a peacock, extending from the left eye.
Beneath the black mask was a sharply defined jawline. His long, sturdy neck was just as imposing.
He wore a perfectly tailored suit, sliding gloves onto his hands as he gave Lizbet a sidelong glance.
“….”
In just a few seconds, Lizbet felt an indescribable sense of pressure.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry from the tension.
Perhaps noticing her unease, the man smiled faintly as he walked past her.
Lizbet immediately spun around, ready to follow him.
But the man had already vanished.
