Banquet of Masks
Banquet of Masks
Empress Dowager Semele sat in front of the mirror and tightly clenched her trembling hands.
She layered makeup over her pale, blanched cheeks, but even that forced vitality could not hide her terror.
Today was the day of the Birthday Banquet held to celebrate the tenth birthday of her son and the emperor of the empire, Julian.
It was truly a grand banquet held for the first time in ten years.
Since that day celebrating the victory of the 40-Year War, this was the first time all the pillars of the empire gathered in one place.
That was why she had to seize this opportunity this very time.
It didn't even have to be all the pillars. Just the Grand Ducal House of Varkianos—the family Semele was born into—would be enough.
If only the Grand Ducal House could move, it would serve as a means to check the Lord Protector.
Then she could create even the smallest breakwater for her son, Julian.
Stoking her resolve to head to the banquet hall as quickly as possible and meet her father, Grand Duke Varkianos, she was about to get up from her seat.
"Empress Dowager Pyeha."
At that moment, startled by the chilling voice that reached her ears, the Empress Dowager turned her head toward the direction where the voice came from.
Standing where her eyes landed was the Lord Protector, Maximilian von Wallenstein.
The scar running diagonally across his face twisted grotesquely into an arc, and that smile was just like that of a beast before its prey.
"Your complexion is extremely pale. Are you all right, Empress Dowager Pyeha?"
"...Lord Protector. I am, I am all right. Today is my son's, the emperor's Birthday Banquet, is it not? As his mother, I must naturally attend."
Semele tried hard to steady her voice, but she could not stop the faint tremble at the end. Maximilian approached her with leisurely strides.
The maids and guard knights who should have stopped him were all merely bowing their heads, not taking a single action.
She did not resent them for it. They, too, needed to survive, after all. She simply lamented her own powerlessness.
"No. It would be troublesome if the mistress of the empire were to collapse. It would be best for you to rest in your quarters today."
"What are you saying...! My father, the South Sea Grand Duke Varkianos, has arrived! If I do not attend the banquet, what will the other nobles say...!"
"They will say nothing at all."
Maximilian's cold glare, tone of voice, and murderous aura choked Semele's throat.
"The South Sea Grand Duke is also praying for Pyeha's swift recovery. I have delivered your regards on your behalf."
"......!"
Her mouth opened, but her words failed to form coherent meaning, hovering uselessly inside her mouth.
That was, in the fullest sense, a rejection.
Semele's actions had already been decided in her absence, and her father, Grand Duke Varkianos, had accepted it.
Maximilian showed a firm determination to never let Semele step into the banquet hall, and behind him stood two knights ready to escort Semele away at any moment.
"It seems it is difficult for you to return to your quarters on your own, so would you like them to support you?"
Facing Maximilian as he uttered such words, Semele's lips trembled violently. The metallic taste of blood seeped through her bitten lips.
Clenching her skirt tightly, she had no choice but to slowly drop her head.
"...I can return to my quarters on my own..."
"That is fortunate, Empress Dowager Pyeha. Then please get plenty of rest. I pray for your swift recovery."
Spouting words he didn't mean in the slightest, Maximilian posted the two knights he brought near the entrance and closed the door behind him, leaving without a single regret.
Listening to Maximilian's receding footsteps, Semele broke into soundless sobs and collapsed onto the floor.
＊ ＊ ＊
My surroundings were chaotic.
Maids were busily rushing around, and two guard knights were matching their strides to follow right beside me.
I put on a nervous expression and diligently walked forward. The trembling of my shoulders was about half real.
The most I had ever done was giving presentations at school or work. Standing in front of over a hundred nobles was an entirely different ballgame.
But paradoxically, this nervousness would serve as my ultimate mask.
I deliberately let my shoulders quiver faintly and let out a deep breath.
Seeing me like that, a tiny scoffing chuckle, Kukuk, echoed out.
That voice could belong to one of the two knights guarding me, or it could belong to one of the maids bustling to and fro.
However, I couldn't point that out right now.
Because right now, I had to be a frightened child who didn't even notice their rudeness.
But things were different from before.
This time, I could seize the opportunity myself.
Showing my nervous appearance just as it was, I took a deep breath.
Alright. Let's go.
To deliver the very first strike that I could pull off.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
As I arrived in front of the doors, that sound resonated from beyond them. It was the sound of the Grand Chamberlain striking his staff against the marble floor.
The slight commotion that had been audible even through the doors instantly fell silent with that sound.
"Everyone, pay your respects!"
The Grand Chamberlain's low, resonant voice echoed inside the hall.
"His Imperial Majesty Pyeha of the Rotaria Empire enters!"
The doors opened with a smooth Seureureuk, without making a sound of opening.
I squinted my eyes at the sudden influx of intense light.
Even so, I naturally moved my feet forward.
As my eyes adjusted to the light, the view inside the hall gradually became clear.
True to its name, the grand banquet hall presented a scene so dazzling it felt like it would blind my eyesight.
Dozens of massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling poured out light like a cascading cluster of stars.
Upon the crimson carpet spread beneath my feet, intricate golden thread patterns shimmered under the lights.
Atop it stood countless people, people, people, each dressed in extravagant attire.
The sweet scent of wine and the fragrance of expensive perfumes mixed dizzily in the air.
I slightly scowled as I moved, scanning the inside of the hall.
The Lord Protector was already reigning right in the middle of the forest of nobles. Clinging around his side like a swarm of ants were not only his faction, but also the neutral faction members watching for an opportunity.
On the opposite side, those gathered around a white-haired elderly noble flashed fierce, sharp gazes toward the Lord Protector's faction.
...Is that side the Anti-Lord Protector Faction I had thought of?
I quickly scanned their faces. At the very least, I needed to be able to know who was who.
Walking slowly, I sat on the seat prepared for the emperor and quietly surveyed the entire banquet hall.
To the left of where I sat were the nobles related to the Lord Protector; to the right were those presumably belonging to the Anti-Lord Protector Faction; and scattered in several small clusters toward the center were those believed to be the neutral faction.
As I looked around the banquet hall once like that and nodded, the Grand Chamberlain opened his mouth.
"At ease."
When the Grand Chamberlain said so, this time a noble from the Lord Protector's faction stepped forward, composed his posture, pulled a scroll from his robes, unfolded it before me, and spoke.
"We shall now hold the presentation ceremony to congratulate His Imperial Majesty Pyeha's birthday!"
What was written on the scroll seemed to be the list of tribute items.
The noble, whom I recalled being called the Minister of the Imperial Household, recited one by one which household had sent what.
Pretending to listen half-heartedly, I perked up my ears.
Even if it didn't contain massive secrets and I couldn't match faces to names with absolute accuracy, this was still crucial information for me.
For instance, if a certain Marquisate house sent spices and gold, they were likely nobles near the sea, meaning there was a high probability they belonged to the neutral faction with little connection to the central court.
As I put on an attitude of listening carelessly, I could spot nobles from the Anti-Lord Protector Faction and the neutral faction blatantly displaying their displeasure, as well as nobles from the Lord Protector's faction openly sneering.
Just like this, no matter what it was, every single piece of information was precious. As I chewed on the information once more while thinking that, the Minister of the Imperial Household looked at me, as if all the presentations had concluded.
"Ahem, ahem! Right! Good job!"
Keukeuk, quiet sounds of disdainful mockery could be heard.
They had tried to hide it in their own way, so it was quite faint and not many heard it, but seeing how no one scolded the noble who made that sound, chances were high that nothing would have happened even if they had done it out loud.
I desperately fought off the urge to burst into a hollow laugh.
This was how an emperor whose imperial authority had fallen lower than the dirt was treated.
And above all, I actually hadn't heard a single thing from the Lord Protector about what I was supposed to say today.
Normally, the Lord Protector would step up unprompted to tell me, 'You must say this, you must say that.' What could be the reason he didn't inform me what to say in such a truly critical place?
The Lord Protector's scheme was obvious. It was a vulgar play designed to publicly certify the emperor's incompetence, replacing hostility toward himself with mockery, and coercing the neutral faction to his side.
Disgust made me feel like vomiting.
Flustered by my words, the Minister of the Imperial Household looked toward the Lord Protector. The Lord Protector nodded as if it was fine, and seeing that, the Minister of the Imperial Household opened his mouth again.
"Everyone is deeply moved by Pyeha's grace."
"Mhm!"
The Minister of the Imperial Household flinched slightly at my words this time as well, but he steadfastly continued what he had to say.
"Next, Pyeha shall receive the morning congratulations from the feudal lords and nobles! Lord Protector, Sir Maximilian von Wallenstein!"
As soon as those words ended, the Lord Protector stepped forward with confident strides. He then knelt at a distance from me and assumed a posture of paying his respects.
"Your servant, Maximilian von Wallenstein, respectfully offers congratulations on Emperor Pyeha's tenth birthday. I pray that under Pyeha's reign, the glory of the Rotaria Empire will endure forever."
"Uh... right! Keep up the good work!"
In an instant, the entire hall froze.
I could see the color draining from the Minister of the Imperial Household's face in real time.
Someone gasped, and someone covered their mouth behind a fan.
Responding to a subject's speech of loyalty and respect with a mere informal compliment like 'keep up the good work' was equivalent to admitting that the emperor was a fool who didn't even know the empire's protocol.
Amidst everyone being appalled, gasping, and wearing expressions of ridicule and contempt, there was only one single person.
Only the Lord Protector was smiling.
That expression, visible only to me standing right in front of him, was filled with a insane sense of satisfaction.
"I shall engrave Pyeha's command deep within my heart."
That smile was the proof that I had given the worst possible response, and
proof that I had hit the correct answer for my survival.
The Lord Protector rose from his spot, bowed to me, stepped back two paces, and made a gesture toward the Minister of the Imperial Household, who then opened his mouth with a face that had turned from pale to ghastly blue.
"B-By Pyeha's approval, Duke Maximilian von Wallenstein, according to his duties as Lord Protector, shall take a seat beside the dragon throne to assist with the morning congratulatory ceremony."
Hearing those words, the Lord Protector bowed deeply to me, then walked with dignified strides not to his own noble seat, but to the assistant position to my left.
Even though he hadn't informed me of anything at first, it seems he couldn't proceed until the end without telling me anything after all. But it doesn't matter.
The Minister of the Imperial Household opened his mouth once more.
"Next is......!"
I compose my mind.
From now on, it's the real beginning.