Slowly and Painfully ー ✓

Chapter 45: The Masquerade Ball

"A masquerade ball?" I asked, batting my eyelashes inquisitively.

As a girl of the 21st century, a masquerade ball would be something straight out of a fairytale, out of Shakespearean scripts and medieval times. It would be something so novel to me. When I first heard it from the Heir's mouth, I wasn't sure on what to think of it.

But I definitely was anticipating to see it with my very own eyes if given the chance to.

The members of the Assemblage held another meeting after Prince Eugene Brancen summoned us to the Round Table. It was an easy trip to the fountain. The palace had been busy fending off the angered mass of townspeople at the gates, which is why we were free to sneak away as we please.

"I expected this would be Father's reaction." The Heir confidently stated. "I was waiting for his countermove ever since. Typical of him to try killing you at the ball. He must be thrilled by the concept of an audience finding your dead body a mere exhibition."

I could feel my hairs on my arms stand.

"How delightful." I managed to say along with a hard swallow. For him, that is.

"The Grand Masquerade Ball," began Prince Nathaniel James as he rubbed his chin, "is a social gathering upon the opening of May to celebrate the kingdom's birth. Noblemen of other kingdoms flock in and visit the king. Those who made him wealthier were granted a land far from here under the property of Grand. That's why we don't come across them that often. They wear masks and dance all night long, praising and kissing the man on the throne."

"It's quite the event." Prince Jacob Erhart sighed. "We haven't even reached the end of April yet. He probably cancelled our other schedules. Won't that anger the folk more?"

"I heard the Herald's announcement." The youngest raised a hand to gain our attention. "He invited every Grandee, including the townsfolk."

Prince Agustus Dane scrunched his nose in disdain. "Of course. What a way to quell a riot. They had always looked forward to the ball. Ever since he took over King Ephraim, he never allowed commoners inside the palace."

The previous king, His Majesty Ephraim Brennus Grand, was a decent guy based on my readings at the palace library. He married a princess of a currently forgotten kingdom, the late Queen Anastasia Nikolei Fyre. He was a cool dude. He didn't trick his people to corruption. But, well, he must've been bad at raising kids. Eldred's a great example. He's a total nutjob!

I also noticed that the Grand family likes naming their firstborns with the letter E.

"The sword dance is the highlight of the event." Prince Vante Osburne expounded, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to the discussion. "He will use that to his advantage and instruct his men to attack Rosette during the performance."

Prince Jacque Darryl gasped in horror. "So the seven dancing knights will be using real swords instead of props."

"Exactly."

"And I can't use Aculeus." I added, grinding my teeth. Damn it, he really wanted to be thorough with this new murder attempt. I'm glad that the Heir was aware of his plans. We got to be a step ahead of that scoundrel.

"No need to fret, milady." Prince Eugene grinned. "Pardon my discourtesy of saying this. However, you will have to be a damsel in distress again."

I scoffed as I leaned backward on my chair. The memory of my dramatics from before made me cringe. "A damsel, sure. But not in distress."

I heard a muffled laugh from Prince Nathaniel who sat directly in front of me. I shot him a warning look. He immediately cleared his throat and pretended to go on with his business. I then caught Prince Agustus smirking to himself, eyeing his tapping fingers as though they were ones that amused him.