Chapter 141 - Hide and Seek

'Should I twist their heads off right now?' Max began to think that it didn't matter if he killed them now. A brutal impulse toward his father and stepmother engulfed him, but when he slightly averted his gaze and caught sight of Jubelian he changed his mind in an instant. 'No, I need to show her that I'm not a scary person.' At that moment, he could see some nobles approaching as if to greet him. The corners of Max's mouth lifted. 'Well, I guess I have to at least reciprocate.'

"Ah, this mask is a surprise gift from my sister," Max stated as the nobles were about to greet him. The nobles became startled by his words, and the empress' eyes shook violently.

"What do you mean that mask is a gift?" the emperor questioned his son's strange words.

"I clearly told my sister that this banquet was going to be a masquerade, but once I entered, I realized I was the only one wearing a mask. So, I just thought my sister was playing a little prank on me. Wasn't she?"

The empress forced a smile at the prince's answer and spoke through gritted teeth, "Our princess has made perfect preparations for this banquet, Crown Prince. Moreover, there's no way she would mess around with one of our empire's major events like this."

Max's eyes gleamed at her response. "Ah, she must have made a mistake, then. I understand."

The empress' expression hardened coldly. Even if she were to say her daughter had made a mistake, it didn't change the fact that the heart of a banquet was its concept. If she were to willingly accept the crown prince's words, then her daughter was definitely going to be criticized for being clumsy. However, she couldn't admit that it was a prank, either, for that would mean that her daughter had intentionally ruined one of the palace's important events.

The empress took deep breaths to calm herself down. She didn't expect the crown prince to talk back to her so openly like this since he had not responded to the numerous assassination attempts and malicious rumors. Nevertheless, if she remained quiet now, then the princess' image would definitely be tarnished. 'I guess there's no choice but to say that I did it. I need to talk myself out of trouble for now.'

The empress was about to open her mouth when the crown prince spoke again. "Well, whether it was a prank or a mistake, I still enjoyed this surprise gift. Either way, it shows that my sister cares about me. Therefore, I'm going to continue wearing this mask."

The empress squinted her eyes at the crown prince who had unexpectedly smoothed things over for her. At first glance, it seemed that he was trying to cover up this incident, however…

"You're so generous, Your Highness."

"I agree. To embrace your sister's mistake like that!"

Before she knew it, the nobles were praising the crown prince for his generosity. The atmosphere surrounding them had immediately changed and now it seemed like no matter what he did, people were going to praise him. Unable to stand this ambiance, the empress forced another smile and stood up. "I'm glad you're enjoying the banquet the princess has prepared. I'll have to leave for a moment, as it seems my clothes have become a little rumpled."

"Go ahead."

Max watched the empress with ridiculing eyes as she retreated and disappeared from his sight. Thanks to the fact that he had been refraining from responding to her schemes until now, the empress thought of him as a foolish mute and was only watching him with this level of vigilance. 'Stupid woman. It's not that I haven't been dealing with you because I was afraid. I was just waiting for the right time.' Max turned his gaze to Jubelian again. He had intentionally made a generous appearance just now even though it was bothersome, but she wasn't even looking in his direction. Max felt bitter when he realized this. 'How frustrating,' he sighed, as he had never felt this frustrated before. At that moment, a sudden thought came to mind that she might look his way if he removed his mask.

* * *

I saw the quarrel that had just transpired and came to a conclusion.

'That was totally intentional.' I could tell from the variety of part-time experiences I had in my past life that he seemed generous and forgiving but was actually adeptly screwing the princess over. Some people might not have actually realized it, but there was no way these sly nobles didn't notice it when even someone like me did. Even so, the nobles were praising him, probably because he was the one who emerged victorious.

"His Highness sounds so kind," Rose noted.

Veronica shook her head and commented, "I don't know, I think he's more on the cunning side."

In my opinion, I thought he was messing with something he shouldn't have. After all, the reason Beatrice, the heroine of the novel, decided to awaken as a wizard was because she felt threatened when the crown prince gave her an assassin's head as her coming-of-age gift.

"He's so attractive!"

"I agree. Although he's wearing a mask, he's probably as handsome as we thought, given his tall height and good figure."

It might have been okay if it was anyone else, but I started to become lightheaded as I listened to my acquaintances praising the crown prince. 'Should I act like I'm going on a walk and look for a lounge?' An overwhelming impulse to do so came over me when a man approached Rose.

"Hello, Lady Rose. I'm Justin, one of the Imperial Palace knights."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Sir Justin." Rose, who was observing the man, did not appear displeased about this encounter. The two exchanged a simple conversation, then went to the stage for a dance.

"That's nice to see," Veronica commented as she watched them.

"Yes, it is," I answered.

At that moment, Mary Ann and Catherine started making a commotion.

"Oh, that's Lord Elios over there, isn't it?" I took a glimpse and saw a man with an intellectual aura surrounded by many women. Although he did not appear in the novel, he was considered the best man to be married to in this empire. 'He is definitely handsome,' I commented silently.

I was about to say something, when the two exclaimed, "Let's go!"

Before I knew it, the two motivated women were approaching him. I softly giggled at such a sight.

****

Hope you enjoyed it,

Love,

Biji ^^,

Oct.27.2023