Masquerade - Chapter 5

“What about you? Haven’t you met the Prime Minister?”

“How could people like us?”

“Then why did the Prime Minister come to Academia?”

“I heard he mainly comes to borrow old books from the Chancellor. They happen to be together now.”

Indeed, the man with him was the Chancellor.

“Are they friends?”

“Friends… the Chancellor is of a different generation. Well, how would we know the details?”

“With that personality, to have a connection with the Chancellor.”

“I thought you said you’ve never met him. How do you know his personality?”

Elia nodded slightly towards the Chancellor still standing in front of the fountain.

“Look there, people are lingering around trying to strike up a conversation, but he’s giving off cold vibes all alone. Look at that expression, it’s as if he might hit someone if they tried to talk to him.”

“That’s exactly Duke Disiel’s charm…”

“What are you talking about? He seems to have a really bad personality.”

“Your Highness!”

Startled by her suddenly raised voice, Elia clutched her chest.

“You scared me.”

Bobbin’s shocked face turned towards Elia. When she looked back quizzically, Bobbin began to pour out a defense as if she couldn’t hold back.

“At first glance, he might seem heartless, but that’s a terrible misunderstanding.”

“What’s this, why are you suddenly taking his side? You said you’ve never even spoken to him.”

“Just look at him, Your Highness. When told to go to war, he went out and swept through the East, and as soon as he returned victorious, he was put in charge of the Grand Council, serving the royal family day and night. It’s been years since he’s directly looked after his territory because he’s been keeping the House of Nobles in check.”

“Why did His Majesty create such a strange thing as the House of Nobles in the first place?”

“That’s not the point, you know.”

“That is the point. Even if war is unavoidable, His Majesty unnecessarily created the House of Nobles, causing your precious Prime Minister to work day and night in between…”

“So we shouldn’t doubt Duke Disiel’s character.”

“I see, you follow Disiel like a devotee.”

Bobbin said, carried away by a strange sense of elation.

“It’s not just me. Duke Disiel’s character is renowned not only in Academia but throughout all of Shilom. Among us, his portraits even circulate. A face born once in a generation, they say it must be preserved for posterity.”

Elia muttered indifferently.

“I’m not sure if you’re defending his character or his face. Everyone must be struggling with their studies.”

“Both. He’s truly perfect in every way.”

Elia rolled her eyes back to the man. His face, well, she had to admit. But his character too? He seemed only cold.

She was still puzzled. Now at a further distance, only his back was visible. Yet seeing people lingering in the corridor, seemingly chasing even his shadow, it appeared Bobbin wasn’t his only follower.

“It’s really strange.”

But Elia’s mind was complicated, preoccupied with the man’s identity. If the man from last night was really Disiel, many puzzling aspects would be resolved.

But one thing. Why didn’t he recognize the princess?

Even if he didn’t know Elia’s face, he should have been able to guess her identity, but his attitude then was definitely not how one treats royalty.

* * *

Elia had been racking her brains since morning.

The man she met at the masquerade ball is Disiel. Since he recognized her first, no further verification was needed.

Rejun van Disiel. The Prime Minister of this kingdom.

Looking at the man’s face she had scribbled like a doodle, she exclaimed.,

“Marie! What did you say about Disiel?”

“He’s the Prime Minister leading the Grand Council. Oh! Wouldn’t he be helpful to Your Highness too? He’s a royalist. Although he’s never stated his position himself, he maintains a close and loyal relationship with the royal family. That’s why nobles like Count Linzburn and others are displeased.”

Marie seemed unusually excited talking about Disiel. Even the freckles on her nose and cheeks seemed to dance with excitement.

“What else?”

“He’s also a capable knight. He participated in the Eastern War and was active for a long time. Come to think of it, isn’t he amazing? After being active as a military officer all along, as soon as the war ended, he took control of the main palace’s political office and became Prime Minister.”

“You sound just like Bobbin.”

“Most people in Shilom live with respect for the Prime Minister.”

“Why does he think he’s so great all by himself?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“I get that Disiel dominated the Grand Council, but I didn’t know his military achievements were so incredible.”

“Yes, at that time, Your Highness… well, it was difficult for you to know about the Prime Minister’s news.”

The ‘that time’ Marie referred to was when Elia was living in a sickly state. She tried not to think deeply about her illness and continued her thoughts.

The mystery was solved.

Her patron was undoubtedly Duke Nisendel, the Prime Minister’s father. The Chancellor’s ability to address the Prime Minister familiarly must be because he had connections with Duke Nisendel and had been interacting with him since he was young.

Elia, admiring her own deduction, continued.

“The Disiel-Nisendel family is quite vast. They have a long history and are the representative nobles of the East, with close family ties to the duchies there.”

The Disiel family owns two duchies, as well as counties and viscounties. The duchies are Disiel and Nisendel, and the branch families and vassals governing the vast territory including these were countless. Such power would be necessary to support the princess behind Crensen’s back by moving the Academia.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason she was certain about her patron’s identity. She vaguely recalled seeing Duke Nisendel when she was young. The most loyal of the former king’s loyal subjects, the center of the Eastern elder nobles. Elia’s mother, the former Queen Adelaide, had greatly trusted Duke Nisendel.

Isn’t this quite plausible?

Elia kept circling ‘Nisendel’ that she had written on the paper while pondering.

“But something’s missing…”

But such a duke sent his son to her instead of coming himself?

With the son knowing nothing.

Is there no communication between father and son?

Although she didn’t know what circumstances there might be, at least Nisendel had made an overture to Elia. She was still puzzled why there hadn’t been a single letter or audience all this time, but…

The Eastern noble faction.

It was a much better start than expected.

As a faint smile involuntarily appeared on her face, Marie added one more thing.

“And you know what? The Prime Minister is also very famous in another field!”

“What field?”

“The social world!”

Elia waved her hand in front of her face.

“Because of his looks?”

“Of course!”

“Yes, I’ve had my ears full of that from Bobbin too.”

Bobbin and Marie both. Everyone’s face looked the same when talking about the Prime Minister. He seemed to be quite popular in Shilom.

“Yes. Who the Prime Minister will get engaged to and marry is the hottest topic in Shilom’s social circles.”

“He doesn’t even have a fiancée yet? What, his family hasn’t said anything?”

“That’s what’s surprising. They say there’s no pressure at all!”

“Isn’t he thirty?”

“No, he’s twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Still, that’s quite late.”

“Hmm… You wouldn’t have had a chance to meet him, how do you know so well?”

“The rumors are rampant among us too.”

“I see.”

“Moreover, he’s so consistently cold, it’s so, so captivating! He’s famous for never accepting gifts or tokens. With that appearance, and the way he doesn’t allow anyone’s approach!”

“You two sound like you’ve rehearsed, the flow is exactly the same.”

A man who’s attractive both rationally and emotionally.

Elia thought it was a natural progression. Duke Nisendel mentioned the Didante Ball in his letter and requested a meeting. And that too, at a venue for free love.

Could it be a coincidence?

Conveniently, the position of her partner was also vacant. Although the partner for the first Didante Ball is usually taken by an engaged opposite-sex partner, as far as Elia knew, no one had applied to be her partner yet. In fact, it would be fair to say that all of Shilom had forgotten about her existence.

Otherwise, there’s no way she would have her coming-of-age ceremony 5 years after actually coming of age.

Elia put down her quill pen and leaned back long in her chair.

The autumn wind blew gently through the window.

Why did Duke Nisendel set up such an absurd situation?

She didn’t know what his true intentions were. Whether it was out of pure loyalty to support Elia, or if he had other purposes. Her childhood had been too gloomy to believe in others’ purity. But she didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because of anxiety and doubt.

Elia repeated to herself to suppress her anxiety. Nisendel had been close to the former king since he was the crown prince. If he was going to betray the former king, he would have sided with Crensen long ago. But he had been in seclusion in his territory for many years without expressing any position. However, he hadn’t contacted Elia either, so she had thought he had retired from politics. Until she received that strange invitation.

Unlike his father, Rejun van Disiel knows nothing about the second princess.

So it was up to Elia to move him.

She had been dealt a capable and even charming card. She had to use it to the fullest before losing it.

* * *