The night finally came, and the nobles of the empire entered the castle in their masks and wigs to hide their identities.
The hall was filled with men and women in masks. Bright lights from the chandelier scattered everywhere, making everything look shiny.
Every guest’s main curiosity was whether the emperor was here in this hall in a mask. People looked around trying to figure out who the emperor and the empress were. An announcement was made this morning that the emperor and the empress might or might not attend the masquerade.
Those who wanted to attain the favor of the royal family whispered among themselves trying to guess who the emperor and the empress were. Some tried to find the empress first as they knew the emperor would be beside her. For the four years of their marriage, the emperor had shown an unchanging love for his wife; therefore, it was logical to have this guess.
However, there was no one with the unique black hair in the hall. Many were wearing wigs, and if the empress wanted to keep her identity a secret, she would have done the same.
Some gave up quickly, but many of the unmarried girls in their teens and early 20s didn’t. They were determined to find the emperor. Their hope was to dance with him and perhaps have him notice their beauty. He might have been married, but he was still the most eligible bachelor in the kingdom.
There was a rumor that the law was about to change, but nothing was certain. Besides, the rumor involved only eliminating the need for other nations to send women for the emperor, not the actual right for the emperor to have multiple wives and concubines.
Currently, Emperor Lucretius had only one wife, Empress Sa Bina, and they had one princess. There were still four spots for the wife positions. If one could have the emperor’s son, that son would immediately become the next heir to the throne.
The heir to the throne!
The woman who would give the emperor a son would be the mother to the next emperor!
Those ambitious girls and the mothers of these girls diligently looked for the emperor.
***
Not everyone saw this event as a chance to get close to the royal family. Many came to simply enjoy themselves. Young people danced with each other, constantly trying to figure out who they were dancing with.
Among them, one man asked a woman to dance, “Would you like to dance with me?”
The man was wearing a mask decorated with dark green emeralds. His wig had long white curly hair tied with a ribbon in the back.
“… Of course.”
The woman, who took the man’s arm, was slim and beautiful. She was wearing an asymmetrical black mask decorated with onyx and black pearls. They danced together very well as if they had danced together many times before.
After the music ended, the man and the woman panted.
As they walked away from the dance floor, the woman fanned herself and murmured, “Perhaps the dance was a bit too wild? I’m getting really hot.”
“… Then would you like to go out to the garden, my lady?”
The man offered his hand and the woman nodded and put her hand on top of his.
“Alright. The garden sounds lovely.”
The two left the hall towards the garden. They obviously looked like a couple or two spouses enjoying the evening.
When they got close to the garden, the woman almost fell as something tripped her.
“Gyaa!”
“A, are you ok?”
The man helped the woman from falling. When they stood together, what they saw shocked them. The woman tripped over what appeared to be four legs tangled together on the garden ground.
Breathless moans were heard from the bushes.
“H, hmm? I, I think someone’s here!”
“This is a masquerade, so no one cares. Don’t worry about it! Huh?!”
Suddenly, the man and the woman on the ground realized they weren’t alone. After all, masquerades often made people bolder.
“…”
“…”
While the two couples stared at each other in shock, various other noises came from nearby. It appeared that there was another couple nearby having a good time. Their passionate moans grew louder and louder. The bushes around the couple vibrated vigorously.
The man in the emerald mask and the woman in the black pearl mask awkwardly walked away.
***
They had to look a few places in the garden before finding a quiet spot. Everywhere they went, similar things were happening. Different men and women were getting together under the moon for a secret rendezvous.
After a while, they finally found a quiet corner under a large tree.
“Phew!”
The woman took off her mask and sighed. Her shiny black eyes looked beautiful under the night sky.
It was the empress of this kingdom, Sa Bina.
“I didn’t realize it would be like this.”
The man also took off his mask, revealing a gorgeous face.
His green eyes grinned. “I have to admit… I was shocked to see that too.”
It was Lucretius. If the young women saw him take his mask off, they would have screamed and swarmed him.
Lucretius said to his wife, “I didn’t know it would be this much of a gong show.”
Bina’s eyes widened.
“You mean you have never attended a masquerade before this?”
“No. I’m not interested in balls and the only events I ever attended were traditional ones. I had never experienced something like this.”
Bina wasn’t prepared for what she just heard. “Really…? That’s hard to believe.”
The man looked upset at his wife’s harsh judgment.
“What do you mean? It sounds like you think I was that kind of a man who liked to party.”
Bina said weakly, “No, it’s just that… You are so gorgeous that you would fit in well with any parties.”
Lucretius pointed at his own face and asked, “Are you judging me by my face? That’s not fair.”
“…”
“You are telling me that you think I would have had a wild playboy life just because I have a good-looking face.”
“Well, it’s sort of true though, isn’t it? You already had a wife before me, and you had many fiancés… Even now, there are countless women who would love to jump into your bed only if you let them.” When Bina whispered with a pout, Lucretius looked pleased. “So I’m not being unfair. I’m only telling the truth.”
Bina knew Lucretius very well. He was the type that liked to chase.
‘He is so weird.’
Just then, Lucretius reached out for her and held her face with both of his hands gently.
“Bina.”
“Yes.”
“I told you before, remember? No matter how many women want me, you are the only one for me.”
‘Corny comment attack again! Gyaa!’
Bina thought she was completely used to this, but obviously, she wasn’t. Perhaps it was because he was getting cornier as he got older… if that was possible.
As Bina trembled, Lucretius continued with a kiss on the back of her hand.
“My lovely little bird…”
Bina couldn’t take it anymore.
“S, stop!”
But he wouldn’t.
“My fragile little bird…”
Bina finally had it. She reached out to grab his face and kissed him.
“…”
“…”
Soon, they were kissing passionately.
