I debated with myself and ultimately placed the mask back on the ground. Rather than risk misunderstanding and falling out of favor with my master, it was a hundred, no, a thousand times better to avoid creating seeds of discord.

I changed into clothes according to the banquet dress guidelines I had received in advance. It was a maid outfit with better texture and cuter design than the worn servant’s dress I usually wore.

Originally, the skirts worn by the Eodiphia Imperial Palace maids reached around knee-length, but what I was wearing now was a black petticoat dress that rose about a hand’s width above the knee.

The problem was that it looked even shorter than it actually was because of how full and puffy it was.

The fabric felt soft and expensive-looking. They gave these precious clothes to hundreds of servants? It seemed His Imperial Majesty was determined to show the enemy nation Eodiphia’s immense wealth and sophisticated court life.

Finally, I put on a black blouse with a purple ribbon and applied light makeup. I wondered why the clothes were so dark and gloomy for a joyous welcome banquet, but they probably matched the Black Swan ballet performance scheduled for the middle of the event.

Or perhaps… they deliberately dressed us in funeral-like colors to spite the Helcamber delegation?

My reflection in the mirror looked somewhat like a ghost bride. Though I hadn’t applied much to my face, my naturally pale skin contrasted sharply with the black clothes, making me look even more pallid.

I wasn’t feeling well physically either.

Lucifer had withdrawn before finishing every time except our first night. Perhaps because we had been intimate multiple times, my body and mind were exhausted, and I seemed to have come down with something.

My stomach felt queasy, my limbs ached, and I had a mild headache—there wasn’t a part of me that didn’t hurt.

I headed quickly toward the banquet hall, thinking I should quietly do my job and return to the mansion immediately after the event ended.

* * *

“You there! Move this food to the table! You know where to set up courses A, B, and C from left to right, don’t you?”

“Yes, yes!”

The head maid commanded in a stern voice. The banquet had already begun magnificently, and the servants moved efficiently to their assigned areas. I was assigned to the A table at the high seat where the most noble and distinguished guests were seated.

Even while busily carrying heavy seafood dishes in both hands, my mind was uneasy.

“Hey, look. Isn’t that the girl who always wears a mask?”

“Who? Oh, that arrogant attendant who supposedly has the Princess’s favor?”

“Why is she showing her face today?”

“It’s obviously an implicit entertainment venue, so it’s clear what’s going on.”

I felt all my nerves focused on the voices of my peers whispering from all directions.

Ah, I should have quietly kept my face covered after all. Belated regret washed over me. I bit my lip tightly and walked quickly, holding the plates at face level.

Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, it wasn’t pleasant to receive those curious, envious, and slightly contemptuous glances.

“She’s probably planning to seduce some foreign nobleman to make a fortune. I’ve known her since she was young.”

“Really?”

“She worked with me in the kitchen, and rumors were rampant that she was just a pretty-faced pr*stitute. I bet there’s not a single male kitchen worker who hasn’t slept with her. They say she even spent entire nights with the kitchen master who’s almost forty.”

Unwanted noise kept drilling into my ears. People who knew nothing about me had already spread plenty of such rumors. Baseless scandals that had followed me since I first set foot in the imperial palace.

“The reason she doesn’t have a name is because she’s an orphan.”

“Isn’t Momo her name?”

“That’s just a nickname Princess Kesera gave her. Look at how she caught the Princess’s eye somehow and lives much more comfortably than us, receiving better treatment. How annoying.”

I walked straight ahead, keeping my eyes forward. They repeat the same stories over and over again. Don’t they get tired of it? Why are they so interested in other people’s lives? It was tiresome to even react to each comment.

At the center of the high table sat Second Prince Kenneth, with the Helcamber delegation on the right and the empire’s dignitaries on the left.

The three ducal houses and the High Priest who supported Eodiphia.

Human Duke Ksiphos who ran the trading company, Celestial Duke Eden who was nobility to the bone and administered the law, and finally Half-beast Grand Duke Rictusa who controlled the military were the main figures.

Seeing that brother Rictusa’s seat was vacant, he must have either stepped away momentarily or requested to be excused due to pending work.

As I placed the dishes on the table one by one, their gazes simultaneously turned toward me. My fingertips trembled slightly with tension as I poured water into seven glasses.

Befitting the prince of a sexually liberal country, Kenneth broke the ice with vulgar topics, and since this was a very familiar procedure in Eodiphia, everyone joined the conversation without complaint.

The Helcamber delegation, who had been listening with discomfort, soon enthusiastically joined in the dirty gossip.

“A performance by the Imperial Ballet Company and young dancers. I’m very much looking forward to it, Your Highness.”

“I’ve prepared several cute girls to ensure your nights won’t be lonely, so just say the word anytime. Even the mere maids in the Eodiphia Imperial Palace are exceptionally beautiful.”

“Hahaha! I deeply appreciate Your Highness’s boundless consideration.”

“All the women in the palace are my possessions, aren’t they?”

“Indeed, most certainly true.”

The delegation representative kept bowing repeatedly, his eyes gleaming, seemingly forgetting the purpose of his visit.

With Grand Duke Rictusa absent, Duke Ksiphos and Duke Eden, seizing the opportunity, also began busily wagging their disgusting tongues.

“The distinguished guests from Helcamber are so different from someone who, despite being a filthy half-beast, pretends to be clean and upright, making a fuss about everything. Not taking women is a sign of failing as a man. Heh heh heh!”

“Watch your mouth, sir. Humans are just as filthy, tsk… Ahem, anyway, I agree. I hear Grand Duke Rictusa even interferes with Princess Kesera’s private hobbies? A person can’t last long being so inflexible and stiff. Yes, indeed.”

Among those exchanging crude jokes and snickering, only High Priest Shahan remained silent, merely listening. Similarly, the man who appeared to be the lowest-ranking among the three delegates just sweated profusely, unable to join the conversation.

I placed the empty water pitcher on the tray and began pouring wine into the seven crystal glasses. When I heard the slander about my brother, my throat felt dry, and my palms sweated.

When I circled the table to pour wine into Shahan’s glass, I could barely breathe. Although he never once looked at me, it felt like an invisible gaze was piercing through my entire body like a weapon.

Standing next to Shahan, I even had the illusion that the surrounding air had frozen.

I poured the wine nervously, anxious not to spill any of the dark purple liquid on the High Priest’s white clothes.

“What is your name?”

Just then, Prince Kenneth’s husky voice cut across the table. A brief silence fell over the previously noisy high table, and seven pairs of eyes simultaneously fixed on my face. Even Shahan, who had been avoiding eye contact with me, turned his head to look at me.

The moment I met those silver pupils encased in a transparent membrane, my heart seemed to sink. I hastily composed my expression and respectfully answered the Prince’s question.

“Momo, Your Highness.”

“Momo? What a curious name. Is it a nickname?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, so you’re Kesera’s nameless attendant. I didn’t recognize you because you usually cover your face, but you’re quite pretty.”

Not knowing how to respond to the unexpected compliment, I hesitated before bowing deeply.

“Thank you—”

“Come here and sit on my lap.”

“Pardon?”

“I said sit down. Why are you standing there looking stupid? You must know what kind of gathering this is.”

Shahan’s gaze was now directed at Prince Kenneth. When I didn’t immediately obey the command, the Prince’s smooth face twisted unpleasantly.

The two dukes and the men from Helcamber crossed their arms and watched us with interested expressions at this unexpected spectacle.

Their eyes scanning my short attire with strange anticipation were quite a sight.

“What an insolent girl.”

When I didn’t readily approach him, Prince Kenneth reached out, grabbed my arm, and pulled me sharply.

Dragged silently, I was forcibly seated on his lap.

Oh, what should I do? Would I be executed if I refused here?

I could barely manage my expression and just stared at the floor, feeling my thin blouse sticking to my back with cold sweat. The Prince exhaled his humid breath over my nape while chewing the food he had put in his mouth.

“Why have you been hiding such a pretty face?”

My folded legs trembled against each other. Seeing me trying to force a smile, the Prince narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, curling his unpleasant mouth upward.

“Why is this part so wet? You’ve been sweating a lot.”

As he smiled slimily and stroked my back, I instinctively hunched over, feeling like dozens of long-legged insects were crawling up my spine.

Though I had been mobilized for countless banquets, this was the first time I had served the high nobles at such close proximity. I had only heard rumors that if unlucky, one might have to become a nobleman’s entertainment for the night, but I had never experienced it firsthand. 

But I had received instructions from the head maid in advance: no matter what outrage a noble committed, keep your mouth shut and quietly accept it. That’s your fate for the night.

I sat stiffly, biting my lip.

Fifty gospel hymns, Bible verses, the Lord’s Prayer, what else? Damn it.

“How do you gentlemen find this girl? Do you think she’s sufficient for my night companion? Haha! I must already be drunk. I desire this wench today.”

“How could there be any question, noble Prince? You have chosen an absolute beauty. To the Prince’s excellent taste!”

“Cheers!”

Five crystal glasses clinked in the air with a clear sound. Following the breaking noise, thunderous laughter erupted.

I faced Shahan’s gradually distorting expression and immediately lowered my eyes. I squeezed them shut, ignoring the Prince’s hand patting my b*ttocks.

“None of you had planned to take this young girl, had you? Wahahahaha!”

“How could we possibly desire Your Highness’s woman? Hahahaha!”

Just as the table grew even more boisterous than before and the wine glasses were about to clink again, at that very moment:

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness.”