Anne’s eyes, her only supporter, shone.

“You can do it.”

“……”

Celia listened to Anne’s words as if entranced.

“You must do it.”

At the words she whispered like a spell, Celia slowly nodded.

“If we’re caught, you won’t be safe either.”

“You promised to give me the position of head maid. I’ll repay that kindness. And we definitely won’t be caught.”

Celia took off the necklace she was wearing and handed it over. Anne’s eyes widened as she received the necklace with small pearls on a gold chain.

“Ah, wait, absolutely no alcohol……”

You shouldn’t drink. Before she could finish her next words, Celia had disappeared into the crowd.

As Celia entered, an even more explicit, lewd, and chaotic scene than outside unfolded. It was called a ball, but in truth, couples could be seen entangled in any slightly secluded spot.

They held glasses of alcohol in one hand, with chests fully exposed, intertwining their legs with their partners. Standing, half-lying down, or sitting by the window, they were entangled.

The only thing intact was the mask on their faces. Like they were trying to protect it with their lives, they never took it off, while everything else was carelessly thrown off by more than a few people.

“……”

Celia was dumbfounded by the scene she encountered for the first time in her life. Anne’s description of it as ‘a place where free-spirited, genuine encounters are possible’ had greatly understated the true nature of this party.

Startled by the explicit scene in the ballroom, Celia tried to escape to the balcony, but as soon as she entered, she made eye contact with a woman who was gripping a man’s bare b*ttocks while moaning lewdly.

“……”

The woman who made eye contact with Celia seemed even more excited and let out a moan, and Celia encountered the shocking sight of the equally excited man repeatedly thrusting his hips.

“Ahh, ha! Haaah!”

As the woman raised her voice, more excited by the presence of a spectator, the sound of wet coupling continued. Celia quickly turned around and left the balcony. Then, the sound of giggling laughter hit her ears. Her appearance of being startled and fleeing here and there like a country bumpkin was amusing to others. She felt nauseous and dizzy. She looked for the entrance to leave, but due to the excessive number of people compared to the size of the ballroom, she couldn’t even tell where the entrance was.

Celia began to push through the crowd haphazardly. That’s when it happened.

“Aren’t you pretty?”

A man who appeared out of nowhere wrapped his arm around Celia’s waist and pulled her close. As he brought his face, reeking of alcohol, right up to her nose, Celia was terrified.

“Kyaa!”

Celia screamed and freed herself from the man’s hand around her waist. The man, already intoxicated with drugs and alcohol, kept laughing gleefully even as he was pushed away by Celia’s resistance.

She hurriedly fled in the opposite direction from the man. Just as she was catching her breath in a corner,

“Oh my, are you alright?”

Turning her head at the woman’s voice close by, she saw a woman wearing a colorful mask looking at her.

“Do you feel like throwing up? Shall I pat your back?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Oh dear, this must be your first time in a place like this.”

Thanks to the woman’s seemingly concerned words, Celia was able to regain her composure.

“Would you like some water?”

Celia received the glass of water the woman offered with a sigh of relief and gulped it down.

As her throat was moistened by the cool stream of water, Celia felt like she was coming back to her senses a bit.

“Thank you……”

As she was about to return the empty glass while expressing her gratitude, the woman had disappeared without a trace. Celia looked around as if bewitched by something, then put down the empty glass and started looking for the entrance again.

“……”

Celia stopped for a moment as her vision suddenly blurred. It seemed to be due to the poorly ventilated air. With the thought that she should leave here quickly, Celia moved her feet diligently.

What am I doing here?

Celia was pushed around by numerous people, and gradually came to her senses in the midst of it. It was as if she had been bewitched by something. When she regained consciousness, she found herself standing amidst the bustling crowd in the ballroom.

Making a secret request to Anne, obtaining a dress and mask… Everything had happened too quickly. It felt as if a fairy godmother from Cinderella had appeared to grant her wish.

I must be crazy.

To think of getting pregnant by embracing an unknown man and then pretending to be carrying the seed of Hilbert.

It was a thought that a sane mind would never have. Celia pushed through the crowd amidst the rapidly changing music. Her head was dizzy and she felt nauseous.

Why did these symptoms suddenly appear? It must be because she was too nervous. Or…

“Oh my, you seem dizzy.”

“Shall we help you?”

Masked men surrounded her as she staggered in one corner of the ballroom.

“I’m… fine.”

“You seem to have drunk too much. Why don’t you rest for a while?”

As he made the suggestion, a hand gently wrapped around Celia’s waist, making her feel even more nauseous. Strangely, the more she tried to straighten herself, the harder it became to maintain balance. Her head was ringing and her vision was blurry. Only a sweet desire to lie down somewhere filled her mind.

“Is this your first time here? I’ve been watching you for a while, and your hesitant appearance was cute.”

“I know a place where you can rest. Let me guide you.”

With the men surrounding her each saying something, Celia was completely disoriented. Cold sweat ran down her entire body and her mouth was parched.

‘Why am I like this?’

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. The moment that thought occurred to her, she looked around with desperate eyes. Everyone was drunk, and busy dancing. Among them, there was no one who could save her.

“I’m fine, please go now.”

Celia stepped back, gritting her teeth. It was the price for doing something truly crazy when backed into a corner. That’s when it happened.

“Kyaa!”

“Oh my!”

Turning her head at the successive screams, she saw flames rising from the rear of one of the men surrounding her.

“Wh-what!”

The man whose clothes suddenly caught fire started screaming and rolling on the floor. The gathered people became entangled and chaos erupted in an instant. In the process, the fire spread to several more people.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Celia took advantage of the confusion to push through the crowd and run away. She could hear cursing from behind, but she just ran straight ahead without looking back.

***

Tap tap tap.

The urgent sound of footsteps filled the corridor behind the ballroom. Along with the sound of heavy breathing.

Celia was running away.

There was no set destination. The only goal was to get far, very far away from those chasing her.

Her whole body was hot.

‘Where am I?’

Celia rubbed her eyes frantically, trying to clear her increasingly blurry vision. But no matter how much she tried, her hazy vision wouldn’t return to normal. Running mindlessly, she couldn’t tell where she was anymore. Her legs kept getting tangled. She was already barefoot, having thrown off her high-heeled shoes at some point.

“Huff, huff.”

Nevertheless, all she could think about was that she had to keep running. She ran forward with all her might.

The sound of boisterous laughter and music could be heard from afar. It was coming from the ballroom where she had been just moments ago.

‘I shouldn’t have come here.’

The alcohol she had drunk to calm her nerves was strange. Thinking about it, she should have noticed something was off from that moment. Free alcohol being offered. There was no way that could be normal.

“Catch her!”

“Which direction?”

The area behind the ballroom was intertwined like a maze. From each of the tightly packed rooms, moans constantly leaked out. It was clear what these rooms were for without even having to open them.

Where should she go? She moved forward, her hand against the wall of the darkened corridor. She had no idea where this path led, but it was all she could do.

Her body felt like it was on fire. The urge to tear off her dress and throw it away enveloped her entire body. She was at her limit now.

“Huff……”

Finally, she collapsed on the floor. She tried desperately to grab the wall to support herself, but her body kept collapsing.