set in the (historically inaccurate) 18th century
"Darling, even with a mask on, your eyes gives yourself away"
Tonight, let us dance under the chandelier and waltz with our hands pressed together. May our feet take us down a flowery path and our a...
probably not historically accurate but in this era, there is no such phase as "girlfriend and boyfriend". engagement was their version of girlfriend and boyfriend, hence, if you are only engaged, you are not officially 'taken' but rather, in the talking stage.
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The moment Hannuri saw a white rose sitting inside a glass dome in Renjun's room, her heart stopped. That was the rose from her masquerade mask and Renjun seemed to be taking quite good care of a fake flower.
"Shit" She cursed. She can't imagine what would happen if he found out his own servant was the girl he was infatuated in at the masquerade. Lucky Hannuri hasn't been attending lately—Jaemin had convinced his own father that his fiancé is down with a terrible fever.
Thinking fast, she opened the glass and snatched the rose away. The best way to get rid of a crush is to forget them. If he never saw the rose again, he'd simply forget the existence of her fake identity. How naive of her to think that way. Shoving it in her pocket, she was greeted with an intimidating pair of eyes when she turned around. Yelping out of shock, her hands hit the table behind her to stabilise herself.
"What are you doing" Renjun grunted. Anyone could tell he was not particularly happy today. Renjun's eyes shifted to the glass dome behind her, immediately noticing the absence of a white rose. Shoving her aside, he grasped the dome, anger rising up to his head.
"Where did you put it" Renjun whipped around to face her "What did you do to it"
"It was withering so I threw it away, sir" Hannuri pursed her lips.
"It was a fake flower Hannuri"
"Oh" So he did know it was fake.
Before Renjun could question her even more, Renjun's father had called him down. Quietly trailing behind him, Renjun was greeted by a stern man in his 50s. He had a cane in hand, a long coat dragged down his body and a hefty crown upon his head. It was the first time Hannuri had seen the king himself in person—He seemed a lot more feeble than she expected. She could tell by his turned down lips and pale face, the veins in his neck subtly bulging for no reason.
"The celebration is held tonight. Take your assistant with you in case you get drunk"
Renjun scoffed, "You know me so well, father"
"It'll be another masquerade. You will keep attending these masquerade till the end of the year. It's what the hosts always do. Before they secure an alliance with the partnering minister, the balls will not stop" Renjun's father announced, staring Renjun right in the eye.
The masquerade will continue? Hannuri thought, cursing again and again in her mind. She didn't know how long she was going to hold out pretending to be someone she's not. If the Na family, and the Huang family for that matter, find out she's simply a poor girl dressed rich, they'd surely decapitate her without a second glance.
