I followed my father's gaze and looked to the front to see two people sitting in the seats of honor, located at a place higher than the banquet hall. The man had on a long cape decorated with sable fur and the woman with a glamorous appearance was wearing a showy golden dress. The luxurious crowns on their heads denoted their status. I realized only then why my father had said such things and lowered my eyes.

"I, Duke Regis Adrey Floyen, greet the Sun and Moon of this empire."

Copying my father's actions, I also greeted them according to customs. "I, Jubelian Eloy Floyen of the Floyen household, greet the Sun and Moon shining down on this empire."

The emperor's extremely solemn voice was soon heard. "I'm glad you were able to grace this occasion with your presence, Regis."

"It's only natural to attend this empire's joyous occasion," my father replied.

The emperor burst out into a hearty laugh as if he was satisfied by his answer and inquired, "Come to think of it, isn't your daughter also coming of age soon?" Since he was asking about me, I was wondering if I should answer, when I heard my father's voice.

"Yes, her coming-of-age ceremony will be in three months," he answered. I had my head down, but could feel the emperor's stare trained on me.

"I see, why don't you look up for a—"

At that moment, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the grand chamberlain approached the emperor. He whispered something to the emperor, who clicked his tongue in return. "The crown prince will be entering soon, so I'll have to get ready to welcome him. I hope you have a good time," he said.

I was relieved at his words. 'Thank God.' Although he seemed to have an easy-going personality, the emperor was a man who possessed a great sense of inferiority toward his son. In addition, the empress had a twisted sense of motherly love and, as a result, emotionally abused her daughter.

'Nevertheless, people thought this novel was gratifying.' As of this moment, the novel had a stifling plot, but later, Beatrice, the heroine of this novel, was going to awaken as a wizard and bring a parade of satisfactions. Even though she was almost assassinated by someone in the final published series, this main character was able to save herself even after being poisoned. In the end, even if she were to come into conflict with her parents, she would probably remain safe and emerge victorious.

However, it was a different case for me. I was the scapegoat used to bring contrast to Beatrice's satisfying actions in the novel. If those lowlives found fault with me, it was going to cause more problems to my already troublesome life. For this reason, I left with my head held as low as possible. 'I'll have to be careful to not be seen by them from now on,' I repeated this resolution to myself.

At that moment, an announcement rang through the banquet hall. "Here comes Crown Prince Maximillian Casein Assiette, the star of today's banquet and the hero who brought victory to our empire in the war with Lagon."

Everyone focused their attention on the entrance to the banquet hall. It seemed the people had expected him to be dressed in colorful clothing, as they seemed taken aback at the sight of the man wearing a simple black dress suit.

"Huh? A black robe for such a wonderful event?"

"He must really like that color to have both his armor and dress suit be black."

The crown prince, who had attempted to torture me in the future I remembered, had entered. I slowly looked him over with my eyes. The man in all black had broad shoulders, and a slender build that looked strong. The only disappointing thing was that I couldn't see his face because it was covered with a mask.

"I wonder why he's wearing a mask," someone commented.

'I was going to try to avoid him by remembering his face… but now that plan is ruined,' I thought.

"Jubelian," my father suddenly called me at that moment.

"Yes?" I turned my head.

"Your friends are looking at you," he said, gesturing with his eyes.

I turned my gaze slightly at his words, then saw the members of the tea tasting party gathered at one place, staring at me. 'They seem to be calling me…'

"Go ahead," my father urged at that moment.

I didn't know he was going to let me go so easily. Still, I had no intentions of kicking away this opportunity that was thrown at me. "Thank you, Father," I said. My father nodded once, then turned his back on me. 'Okay, I was fortunate to have my father's watch be lifted off of me… Now I'm going to go chat with them for a while, then leave the banquet hall.' With a satisfied smile, I made my way towards the members of the tea tasting party.

* * *

When he entered the banquet hall, Max realized that his stepsister had pulled an amusing trick. 'It seems that she was trying to humiliate me… but that doesn't matter.' Unfortunately, Max was not interested in what others thought about him, as he had already been a victim of false rumors for a long time. There was only one person he was concerned about at this moment. 'I see that Jubelian is over there.'

The purpose of holding a masquerade in the first place was to prevent Jubelian from finding out that he was the crown prince. Max watched her for a moment, then soon frowned. 'She said she wasn't going to stand out, but she certainly is.' At a glance, he couldn't spot her, probably because of the color of her dress, but once she caught his attention, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. The worthless men hanging around her proved his thoughts to be true.

Max glared at the hungry vultures eyeing up Jubelian and gritted his teeth. 'How dare those rubbish things lay eyes on her.' If he could, he would have gone over and asked Jubelian to dance with him as well as given the noblemen who were hovering around her a warning.

However, the emperor decided to annoyingly strike up a conversation at that moment. "Why are you covering your face? Won't the nobles whisper about you if you wear a mask on a day like this?"

When Max was about to answer, the empress interjected. "It seems the Crown Prince does not know much about proper attire as he has been on the battlefield for a long time, Your Majesty. Please be considerate."

Max's eyes turned cold at his stepmother's words, who disparaged him while pretending to be benevolent. 'If I ask her to dance with me… she'll only stand out to these trashy people.'