Just then.
His highness has arrived.
A loud announcement resonated from all over the place. Everyone around her moved quickly to make preparation. Bina was used to this; except when he had to work, he spent the rest of his time with Bina at her wing.
The golden-haired emperor Lucretius approached them. Excluding Bina, everyone kneeled to show their respect.
Greetings to your highness the emperor.
Lucretius walked quickly towards his wife.
Bina.
The empress smiled gently and took a step towards her husband.
Your highness.
Lucretius smiled like the sun and started to make corny comments again.
How is it that you became even more beautiful since I saw you only this morning?
Bina grinned.
It isn’t even lunch time yet.
I know! It’s the darnedest thing.
When Bina first became his wife, these comments used to make her feel uncomfortable. Now, she could just laugh at him. As a matter of fact, Bina felt like if he stopped saying these things, she might feel disappointed.
When she realized this, she started to laugh out loud.
Lucretius’ green eyes widened.
What? Did I say something stupid?
Bina shook her head and whispered,
I just realized that I am now used to your corny comments.
Lucretius grinned, too, as he took her hand gently. He took the clean wet towel from the servant and started to wipe Bina’s hand clean. When he was done, he looked satisfied as he kissed the back of her hand soundly.
This was Lucretius’ habit. It was like marking his territory; he was even jealous of the horse for licking his wife’s hand.
When Lucretius looked pleased with himself, Bina said to him,
You are the one who gave me Lorelai as a gift, yet you get jealous of her just because I pat her a few times?
Lucretius continued to grin naughtily.
Are you telling me you don’t like it when I act jealous?
Bina couldn’t lie to him.
… No.
Lucretius confidently held her hand and kissed it again.
He lightly caressed the inside of her hand with his finger. Bina felt a jolt of pleasure as he kissed her hand again.
She realized it then.
He was openly and blatantly showing his affection, but she liked it. It made sense because he was the man she chose. It couldn’t compare to the brief contact she had with that man, which was incredibly atrocious.
Roberto drank the cheap watered-down red wine he prepared for himself and remembered the woman.
‘I have never seen hair like hers. It looked like a beautiful night sky.’
She wasn’t as beautiful as the rumor claimed, but she was definitely lively and attractive.
Roberto loved all the women in the world. In his own way at least.
What interested him was her attitude. He could understand if she was just proud and conceited. She was an empress after all, so she deserved to behave arrogantly. Katleyanira was like that, so was his own mother Duchess Lonensia.
However, there was something different about Empress Sa Bina. He had never seen a woman exactly like her. It was very hard to describe it, but she was definitely unique.
‘How interesting.’
High-ranking hard-to-get women interested Roberto the most. An easy prey was no fun.
Hunting easy girls weren’t enough anymore. He wanted a woman he couldn’t get, and he finally found one.
Just then, he remembered his mother’s words.
Wouldn’t that be too dangerous, Rob?
When he told her he could create a small scandal between himself and the empress, his mother seemed interested and concerned at the same time.
He replied,
I should be able to create enough tension and distrust between the emperor and the empress so you can place Yulia in the first wife’s position.
Two birds with one stone. This gave him the chance to hunt a worthy prey and also help his mother.
‘So how should I do this?’
The first thing he needed to do was to find out her weakness. While he was thinking deeply, a beautiful voice called him.
Um, Jusepe?
It was the red-haired Amarince, who called him by one of his many aliases.
The interruption annoyed him. Amarince noticed his anger and apologized nervously.
I’m sorry, Jusepe. I didn’t mean to disturb your thoughts.
Then suddenly, Roberto smiled. Looking at Amarince gave him an idea. When he first saw the empress, she was mesmerized by Amarince during the operetta.
He said to the anxious woman kindly,
Now, Amari my dear.
Y, yes?
Amarince still seemed fearful, but she placed herself in his arms.
He whispered sweetly,
There is someone very important who would love to see you.
Amarince seemed confused.
Someone important? Is it a man?
No, a woman.
He hugged the slim woman and murmured,
Now that I think about it, you are about the same size and height as her too.
Huh?
Roberto shook his head.
You need to get ready for the castle masquerade that will take place soon. You are performing that night, right?
Amarince nodded.
Y, yes. How did you know… Oh, that’s right. Your music will be performed.
Yes. Would you like to attend the ball as my date?
Me…?
Amarince was shocked. She remembered their past relationship very well. When they were lovers about five years ago, he abandoned her suddenly without a word.
Roberto said to her sweetly,
Who else would I take to a ball?
But Jusepe…
Roberto shook his head.
No, call me Christian from now on.
Amarince’s eyes widened. She knew he was now composing under the name of Christian Boceti. If people knew, this would be sensational news, but he didn’t want this fact to be known to the public.
He didn’t seem to mind her calling him Jusepe until now, so why was he changing his mind all of a sudden?
Before she could ask any questions, Jusepe, or Christian, kissed her passionately. Amarince was shocked and nervous, but she still couldn’t push him away. He knew this very well. He knew Amarince could never refuse Jusepe or Christian.
Soon, the room filled with the lovers’ heat.
Agnes murmured in frustration,
I didn’t expect the harvest celebration to start with a masquerade.
Samantha nodded.
We didn’t get enough notice for this, and… Masquerade? How inappropriate!
The middle-aged women nodded in agreement, but the young maids looked excited.
One of the new maids, Sylia, who was hired after Elza and Luis left, whispered with a blush,
But the masquerade would be so romantic! The emperor came up with such a wonderful idea.
Hannah, who was another new maid younger than Sylia, agreed.
I agree. I heard the emperor Kentius also held masquerades during his reign!
Different age groups reacted differently to the idea of a masquerade ball. The younger generation loved it as it would be less formal than a regular ball.
In addition, a brand-new operetta was supposed to be showcased during the ball. It was a piece made by the popular composer Christian Boceti, and its title would be
The Masquerade.
On the other hand, the older generation such as Samantha and Agnes narrowed their eyes at the idea. To hide one’s identity and dance with masked figures were not their idea of a good time.
Except for the two people in the castle, no one knew the real reason behind why the traditional ball was changed to a masquerade.
