348 It's A Royal Ball



"Ufufufu~ As I thought, my little one is the most beautiful~"

"Mo… Mommy… Stoooop… You're embarrassing me…" I groaned, making sure the mask I was wearing stayed on my face.

When Mother said that she had plans for our 'date' I thought it would be an alone time with her but no… Her idea of a date was bringing me to some ball with her.

And not just any ball either, but a Royal Ball at the palace.

Apparently one of the princes was celebrating something or other, I wasn't really listening when I was told since I was quite distracted by Delmare and Odeta gushing over my dress and makeup.

I swear Delmare almost wanted to drag me off somewhere with her and I'm just glad that Lisa wasn't here or she might have really pushed me down right there.

I was wondering how we could attend it considering who we were but apparently Mother had these featureless masks that hid the upper half of our faces.

Of course, under normal circumstances, that would not be enough, but I was told that these were artefacts that inhibited others from recognising who we were.

[Mask of Impossible Identity - Prevents others from recognising the wearer's identity while allowing them to still be perceived.]

The design of the mask looked like those Victorian masquerade masks back in my old World where it only covered the upper half of your face.

Apparently with this mask, people would be able to know that I am there and talk to me normally but if you were to ask them about how I looked later, they would not be able to answer you. They would not even be able to remember what my hair colour was or even the intonation of my voice, but they would be able to recall the contents of our conversation at least.

But apparently Mother had made it such that I could at least still see her and she could also see me despite wearing the mask.

As expected of Mother to have something like this I suppose… She's probably using this artefact to participate in events like this so people would know that she was the matriarch of the Nilm family but not actually know what she looked like.

Right now I'm currently dressed in a black ball gown that was similar in design to Mother's that had a slit to show off one of my legs that were clad with white stockings for this occasion, which contrasted with Mother's own black stockings.

We're also headed to the palace in Mother's carriage with Mary and Katsuki accompanying us as each participant was allowed a companion to join them.

Mother giggled, "But it's true that my little one is beautiful though~ Ufufufu~ Oh just look at how well your hair has been done! Katsuki has really learned how to do it really well!"

I have to agree with Mother on that though, Katsuki actually helped me do up my hair in a very intricate princess braid that I didn't even know she could do and it really looked beautiful even if I do say so myself.

Katsuki bowed from her seat beside me, "It is an honour to receive your praise, Madam."

"Ufufufu~ Such is expected of the one that my dearest child has chosen as her personal maid after all~"

"Nay, it is all because Head Maid Mary has taught me well. And also because Mistress is already beautiful to begin with."

Mary nodded, "I respectfully agree with the latter as well, Mistress."

I groaned, feeling my own cheeks flush from the attention I was getting from everyone in the carriage. I'm almost certain they're all doing this on purpose to tease me…

Soon enough, the carriage came to a stop and I knew we had arrived.

The door was opened by Sebastian who was also our coachman for the night, the butler giving a bow in our direction.

"We have arrived, Mistress, Young Mistress."

Mother turned to me with a smile, "Shall we, my little one?"

I nodded, prompting our two maids to alight first before they turned to assist us.

I was expecting to alight next but Mother went before me and I realised why when she turned back to the carriage to hold her hand out to me.

Instinctively, I took her hand and let Mother help me off the carriage.

That was when I realised that we were in the middle of the palace courtyard in front of a fountain where various nobles seem to have gathered.

I also realised that for some reason, there were only a few carriages that have been driven all the way inside the palace's outer walls while most of the other nobles were made to alight outside and walk the rest of the way on foot.

I'm going to assume that they are only allowing this to certain high ranking nobles and the lower ranked ones would be the ones on foot.

Any hope I had that no one knew who we were were quickly dashed when one of the Mahuns nearby spoke to their partner, "That's the Nilm family…"

"How do you know?"

"You see that Trasif and the Wrunch? They serve the Nilm family and if those two are here, that means the Matriarch is here too."

"What about that Inugami? And the last person there too?"

"I don't know, I've never seen them before…"

I didn't manage to hear the rest of the conversation as Mother pulled me along so that I had my arm wrapped around hers.

"Ufufufu~ It seems everyone is attracted to your beauty, my little one~"

That's definitely not the case, Mother… Especially when this mask was blocking their perception of my features.. Which also made me question why they would bother dolling me up like this when no one else can see it but Mother anyway?

Then I realised that that's most likely the exact reason why.

Sebastian then went ahead to drive off the carriage while Katsuki and Mary fell in step behind us as we made our way towards the palace.

The other nobles quickly stepped aside, allowing us to walk down the middle of the path unfettered with Mother not even sparing them a glance.

I overheard some of the nobles whispering amongst themselves and most of them were wondering who I was.

It was clear that pretty much everyone knew who Mother was though, but I don't understand why almost all of them thought I was her lover instead of her child or something.

Then I remembered that Mother was supposed to be barren or something and I guess her condition was quite well known amongst the noble community so they would think a child was impossible.

But why have they not considered the possibility of adoption though? Maybe Mother also doesn't like the idea of adoption? Or is it some rule regarding nobility? I dunno.

We soon reached the doors of the palace where a group of maids were stationed to receive guests. What was interesting was the fact that half of them were not Mahuns.

They seem to be checking the invitations for each noble and welcoming them with a business-like smile.

When it was our turn however, they immediately stopped what they were doing and gave a perfect ninety degree bow.

"Welcome Madam, Young Mistress."

Mother nodded at them, "Ufufufu~ Keep up the good work~"

"We thank you for the praise."

Oh… I guess they were maids trained by us and sent to work at the palace.

Hearing the words of the maids, the nobles behind us immediately started whispering amongst themselves again.

"Did they say 'Young Mistress'?"

"So it's her lover then?"

"I didn't know the Matriarch of the Nilm House was even interested in a partner."

"Where did she even come from?"

Mother guided me through the entrance before I could hear anymore.

Just past the entrance was the main entrance hall and it was splendidly decorated with various paintings, antiques and even exotic flowers that seem to have been prepared for this occasion.

There were even more servants that were lined up in the entrance hall that were guiding us towards the venue of the ball, all of them immaculately dressed and perfectly courteous.

"Are they also trained by our house, Mommy?" I asked, nodding at the servants that were greeting us.

"Ufufufu~ Not at all, my little one. The ones inside here are the servants trained by the palace themselves. Our maids outside serve as both a display of the Royal Family's status and as guards to any troublemakers trying to enter the palace without an invitation."

Ugh… Sounds like politics… I'll just forget about it in that case…

To a normal person, I would think that they would be in awe at how everything looked and how beautifully decorated the hall was. Some of the younger nobles and also the children of the nobles were making 'ooh' and 'ahh' sounds at the sight.

But to me… I didn't really feel anything from it.

Don't get me wrong, it was certainly a beautiful sight but…

Well… It's hard to be impressed when I'm already pretty much seeing almost the same thing at home everyday I walk through the main doors… To the point that I've already gotten used to it…

Soon enough, we walked past the entrance hall to enter the ballroom which was the venue of tonight's ball.

And… Well… I would really like to say that I was impressed by the decor, the food or even the musicians that were performing at the side but…

All of this I've seen back at home before…

Oh no… I've become too spoiled haven't I?