Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Masquerade in Catfolk Disguise
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Disguised as catfolk, attending the masquerade ball.
Slipping into the ballroom with a mix of beastkin and even servant disguises,
"The stares are really stinging, as expected."
Christian, who had come as my partner—and my husband—awkwardly covered his headband with his hand, feeling burdened by the sidelong glances from those around us.
"Even with the masks, why are you so embarrassed?"
"No matter the mask, these looks are overwhelming. And these cat ears and tail are way too much."
"Oh? Wasn't this exactly what you wanted?"
"You wanted it, Sophia. You bought this out of nowhere without a word. I was thinking just a cat mask at most."
"But I didn't lie about it."
A little less, maybe.
When I'd suggested the cat costume, he'd told me to do whatever I wanted.
So I'd done just that, and now he was complaining after the fact. Wasn't that a bit cowardly?
"Ugh... still, this is..."
He couldn't argue back, but the embarrassment wouldn't fade, so Christian pouted and mumbled in a small voice.
"Christian."
Calling his name, I stared at him, radiating displeasure with narrowed eyes.
"I prepared it because you like cats more than I do. Doesn't it please you?"
"Urk...! Sophia, don't hold that one slip-up against me forever."
Biting his lip slightly and avoiding my gaze, Christian tried to defend himself, but one word in his excuse made me frown and cross my arms.
"Slip-up? Just once?"
Confusing Daisy and me was a slip-up?
I could forgive calling me the wrong name, but petting Daisy while saying, "Sophia, why has your fur grown so much?" was unforgivable.
It was already a sore spot for me...
"...Okay, it was a pretty big mistake. But I already apologized for it."
As my gaze grew icier, Christian hung his head and fiddled awkwardly with the back of his neck, admitting his fault more honestly.
"There's no compensation yet for my wounded heart. If you truly know your mistake, make it up to me tonight by mingling diligently as atonement."
"Haa~ Fine."
Realizing he couldn't persuade me, Christian sighed and linked arms with me.
"Shall we dance one right away, then?"
The stares still felt prickly, but his attitude had grown a bit more proactive.
Christian could step up confidently like this sometimes, yet he always got shy.
I gazed at him fondly and gently shook my head.
"Eh...? Why?"
"This piece is almost over. We'll head to the center when the next one starts. Might as well match our steps intimately, no?"
"...Just one dance and we're out, right?"
"......"
I avoided the eyes of Christian, whose voice carried unease as he asked again.
"Sophia?"
"......"
As he called my name and tried to pull his arm free, I gripped our intertwined arms tightly, refusing to let him escape.
If it was atonement, it was common sense for the victim to enjoy it until satisfied. No skimping out.
"Ah."
Holding Christian firmly like that and waiting, the music halted amid the hush, and in that brief moment as the orchestra sorted their sheets, the new piece began.
"Christian, the new dance is starting. Let's head to the center quickly."
"Uwaaa..."
_
Too caught up in the mood, I'd surrendered to the music nonstop for about an hour, leaving Christian utterly spent.
"Hoo... ugh..."
Leaning against the wall, Christian wiped the sweat pouring like a flood from beneath his mask and caught his ragged breath.
"S-Sorry."
"N-No, it's fine... It's my weak stamina that's the issue..."
"......."
I smiled and patted Christian's shoulder lightly as he blamed himself.
In my view, the problem wasn't Christian—it was me.
No matter how much stamina one trained, how many could keep up with an Imperial Knight, man or not?
If Christian were a knight, maybe, but he was far from even manual labor.
"Excuse me."
"...?"
As I awkwardly smiled and checked on him, someone approached and addressed us cautiously.
A simple white mask.
Definitely a noble attending the masquerade, but with perky ears twitching nonstop and a tail swishing gently, they seemed to be beastkin.
"...Hello."
"Yes, hello."
Not sure exactly what animal, but probably from the feline family.
Wondering if I knew them, I greeted back and racked my brain, but among my acquaintances, I had dog or wolf beastkin, but no feline ones.
Beastkin didn't approach strangers easily, so why us...?
"...What can we do for you?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt your time. I have a few questions for you both, if you have a moment?"
"Yes, a moment is fine."
"Thank you."
Nodding readily, I fully turned toward the beastkin noble, who bowed slightly and directed his ears toward me.
"I know asking this at a masquerade is a grave rudeness, but could you tell me which tribe you're from? It's rare to see a beastkin couple like you two, and with such new faces, others are watching you closely too."
"Ah..."
I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut.
I hadn't expected beastkin to mistake us for beastkin, unlike humans...
"Sorry, these tails and ears are fake. We're humans, not beastkin."
I bowed deeply, brushing aside everything else to clear up the misunderstanding first.
"Humans?"
The beastkin noble blinked rapidly, slowly flattening his ears as he scrutinized my ears and tail.
"Uh, um...?"
But visually uncertain, he parted his lips slightly and stared piercingly at me.
"Huh...? Really humans...? Then those ears and tail..."
"As I said earlier, they're fake. The tail's attached to the clothes, and the ears... as you can see, a headband."
"!!"
When I removed the headband, the beastkin noble's eyes widened hugely, his ear and tail fur puffing up like they'd been zapped with static.
"Ahaha! Who'd have thought they were fake! Up close, I see human ears now. They were so lifelike, I was completely fooled."
"We had no intent to deceive. Sorry if it offended you."
"No issue. It's not like you're mocking us, so why be upset? Any beastkin here wouldn't take it seriously."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"Oh, no big deal."
Fortunately, the beastkin noble laughed heartily and brushed it off.
As I bowed deeply again, he waved it away with a shake of his head, then pointed at the headband in my hand while keeping his beaming smile.
"That aside, who made those ears and tail? Lots of folks are interested in us, so I'm dying to know who it is."
"William, an Honorary Imperial Knight who runs an atelier specializing in clothing in the Imperial Capital."
"Honorary Knight William...? Ah! Aha!"
Narrowing his eyes as he repeated the name, the beastkin noble clapped in realization and exclaimed in admiration.
"That human who's been the talk of the town lately, right?"
"The one who just got back from prison, yeah."
"That's the guy! Man, who'd have thought he made these! Now that I think about it, no one else could."
Hearing William's name, the beastkin reacted strongly, swishing his tail excitedly.
"You seem to know Sir William well. Big fan?"
"Of course. Few humans mingle with beastkin so freely, so many of us are watching his moves."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"How many in this empire hire spiderfolk that'd creep out humans, deal with witches, and trade openly with beastkin merchants?"
"We've lacked bridges between humans and beastkin, so everyone's hopeful he might fill that role. Especially with his extraordinary background."
"He is quite extraordinary, yes."
I nodded as the beastkin noble spilled words in half-excitement.
Putting together what he said, Sir William did seem like someone with remarkable actions and origins.
From a beastkin's perspective, it'd be weirder not to be interested.
"Oops, I got carried away sharing stuff you might not care about."
"No, it was plenty interesting."
"Ahaha~ Thanks."
His fervor cooling, belated embarrassment hit the beastkin noble, who awkwardly rubbed his neck and apologized.
But I smiled and shook my head.
Beastkin intel was hard to come by, so anything worth hearing was worth noting.
As an Imperial Knight, grasping various factions' movements when possible was key.
"Hmm..."
"Mm..."
The natural flow of talk stalled after the apology, hitting a lull.
Not knowing names or faces well, once the topic of Sir William petered out, there was nothing left to say.
"Time to give you two your evening back. I've overstayed my welcome."
The beastkin noble made the first move.
Glancing between Christian and me, he suggested parting ways.
Exactly what I wanted, so I nodded lightly and picked up his words.
"No, it's fine. My husband needed a breather anyway. But yes, time to tend to our partners now."
"Grateful for your leniency. I'll head back then. Thanks for the kind chat, milady."
"I enjoyed our talk too."
I curtsied lightly, lifting my skirt hem, and bowed slightly toward the greeting beastkin noble.
Then we turned and returned to our partners.
"Christian, feeling better now?"
"Ah, yeah, much better."
His complexion improved and breathing steady, Christian smiled and nodded.
"Hmm~"
Listening to the current piece, the ball was about halfway done.
It'd likely go another two hours like this.
With Christian recovering and time to spare, enjoying a bit more seemed fine.
"Christian, one more dance?"
"Ugh... five more minutes..."
"Got it."
Christian gave an awkward smile and drooped his shoulders slightly, but I pretended not to notice and linked arms with him.
"Ugh..."
"Heehee~"
Christian groaned, while I hummed contentedly.
Sorry as I felt for him, I had no plans to stop until I was satisfied tonight. I'd fill those remaining two hours with dances to the brim.