A Familiar Face Behind the Mask

Parmes, in the guise of Uncle Zimmer, smiled gently.

I was so startled that I reflexively grabbed his hand and dragged him out onto the terrace. He handed his tray to a passing servant and followed me out. Once the terrace door was shut behind us, I widened my eyes and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Your... Majesty? What's going on?"

Parmes's hair is silver and his eyes are red. But right now, he had the most ordinary brown hair and brown eyes. Just like Uncle Zimmer back in Galnem. Thanks to that, no one had recognized him.

"Surprised, Arinell?"

Seeing Parmes in Uncle Zimmer's form, my heart began to pound. He bent his knees slightly to bring himself to my eye level. In his gentle eyes, I could see my own reflection wearing the silver mask.

"How did this happen? This appearance... It's exactly how I remember Uncle Zimmer."

"If you take an alchemist's potion, changing hair and eye color is quite easy. There are sometimes temporary side effects, though... like losing your voice, for instance."

At the word "side effects," my eyes trembled as if shaken by an earthquake, and he smiled faintly at me.

"But I have no side effects, so there's nothing to worry about."

Relieved, I stared at him for a long moment. Anyone looking at Uncle Zimmer's appearance would just think he was an exceptionally handsome servant.

"So you were always taking that potion in Galnem?"

Instead of answering, he looked at me with eyes full of amusement.

The advantage and disadvantage of an alchemist's potion was its volatility. Herbal medicines linger in the body and work for a long time, and if they're toxic, they leave lasting aftereffects. But potions made through alchemy last at most a day.

'That's why I heard they couldn't be used for treating illnesses...'

So they could also be used to change one's appearance.

"Back then, I had enemies who would do me harm, and my true appearance was a disadvantage."

He lowered the corners of his eyebrows and muttered as if sorrowful.

"I've always felt sorry for not being able to tell you the truth. Arinell, you must have felt quite hurt, right?"

I stared at him straight on and nodded.

"Immensely. But..."

Thinking about it now, I suppose he had no choice. Silver hair was a distinctive trait of the Aslet imperial family. If a silver-haired man were spotted living in a remote village like Galnem, the long-planned scheme would have been jeopardized.

I lifted my chin proudly and said.

"I'll forgive you. Especially."

At my words, Uncle Zimmer's expression, which had briefly drooped, brightened again.

"Thank you, Arinell. So from now on, you'll come play at the imperial palace every single day, right?"

And there he was, asking with a bright, innocent expression.

'Ugh. This is the tyrant? I still can't wrap my head around it!'

Instead of answering his question, I asked something else.

"But is the reason Your Majesty changed your appearance at the masquerade today similar?"

In this getup, he could overhear the unfiltered conversations of the nobles gathered in small groups.

"Hmm... Could it... be part of a purge?"

Suddenly, a noble's voice seemed to drift by again.

'It's a masquerade where you have to be careful what you say because you don't know who's who, but no one would ever imagine the emperor cosplaying as a servant.'

"Well, that's part of it... But actually, this is also because of Arinell."

He looked into my eyes and smiled simply.

"I thought that if I approached you like this, Arinell... you'd open your heart to me again."

That expression, somehow tugging at my sympathy, made my hand twitch.

"Arinell... kept avoiding me, you know."

'Ugh. Seeing that expression makes my resolve crumble.'

Come to think of it, yesterday I'd ignored Adam when he pestered me to go to the imperial palace. And for my sake, he even held a masquerade ball...!

"I... I wasn't deliberately trying to keep my distance from Your Majesty. I just had a lot on my plate. I was planning to go once things settled down a bit. I really was!"

I clasped both hands together, mixing in about thirty percent lie.

"But this masquerade ball is wonderful. I'm so happy to see Your Majesty too..."

This part was sincere. The sights of a masquerade ball, something I'd only seen in movies and webtoons, were new and thrilling. And in this moment, Uncle Zimmer's brown hair and brown eyes, and the night scenery.

"It feels a bit like going back to Galnem village. Everyone's the same when you're wearing a mask, right? You can't see status or rank... And here, even Uncle Zimmer is here."

"You really like it?"

At my words, Parmes's eyes shimmered brightly.

Soon he smiled and said to me.

"Galnem and here aren't so different, Arinell. Just like the same Arinell is inside that mask..."

"..."

"...No matter what I look like, I'm Arinell's family. Don't forget that."

His voice was still gentle.

"It's noisy outside and it's just the two of us here, so today I want to hear a lot of Arinell's stories."

"..."

"As Arinell's Uncle Zimmer."

I looked into his brown eyes, then smiled and nodded. Though I stood on marble floors where no earthy scent lingered and only splendid music played, the man standing before me was my precious friend and neighbor, Uncle Zimmer.

I had quite a lot of conversation with Parmes for the first time in a long while. From learning ballroom dance etiquette from Lady Alence, to how managing the marquise's estate was more complicated than I'd expected, to the fact that I was preparing to start a business. I chattered away just as I used to during dinner in Galnem.

Parmes, just like back then, nodded while listening to my stories and shared his own. He said that there were always one or two kinds of bitter herbs in his diet. I listened to his descriptions of the herbs and told him which parts of health they were good for. I even clenched my fist and gave him a whole lecture about not being picky with food for the sake of his health.

Anyway, I chatted with Parmes for over an hour.

'Maybe because he looked like Uncle Zimmer, it felt like going back to the old days.'

"I think I'll head out now. Playing with Your Majesty was fun, but I want to enjoy the masquerade ball too."

"If anyone bullies you, tell me! Uncle won't let them get away with it."

"Oh, come on, who'd have time to bother a little kid like me?"

Like a father seeing his child off to elementary school for the first time, Parmes watched until the very moment I left. Since I'd promised to come to the imperial palace tomorrow, he didn't hold me back any longer.

Stepping out of the terrace, I pushed my small frame back into the crowd of the ballroom.

"Where on earth is His Majesty the Emperor?"

"Isn't that the golden mask over there?"

"No, that person's too short. How tall is His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Or maybe over there? Tall and the mask looks fancy..."

Ladies wearing red and pink masks were chatting, then scrambling to approach someone.

'Sisters... you've got the wrong person.'

The His Majesty the Emperor you're looking for is wearing a serving uniform.

As I thought that and kept moving,

"...We need to find a countermeasure. His Majesty will do everything his own way before the Black Spot Disease worsens. He'll keep that thorn-in-the-side girl from the Maila family by the crown prince's side, and with Siegfried's power, he'll pluck our wealth like weeds."

At the voice that suddenly reached my ears, I glanced toward where it was coming from and gently pressed my ear closer.

Hmm? I think I just heard my name.

The ballroom had several terrace spaces where people could have private conversations, and the voice was coming through an open gap.

"Quiet. Someone might be listening."

"The Duke of Dante's situation isn't much different from Macert's, is it? Since His Majesty's seizure of power, all the families that supported us have been purged. Only Duke Siegfried's family and the Duke Germant's family have gained privileges. Even His Majesty's royal guard has been replaced, cutting off our information channels from the imperial palace."

"Lady Macert. I understand your urgency, but we don't wish to get involved. If you knew how His Majesty dealt with his half-brothers, you'd be speechless at the cruelty. He is a merciless man. In the end, the Black Spot, like a curse on the Aslet imperial family..."

The people conversing on the terrace were probably Lady Macert and someone from the Duke of Dante's family.

It was at that moment, when I puffed out my cheeks and pressed my ear even closer to the door crack to hear more clearly.