Large number of people filled the room to celebrate Princess Athanasia's 15th birthday at the Emerald Palace. Everyone who received the invitation were noble girls and boys who were near Athanasia's age, and the attendance rate for the masquerade was nearly 100.

At some point in time, there were rumors of a feud between the Emperor Claude and Princess Athanasia, so naturally, people's curiosity were soaring.

But after a while, Athanasia and Claude made an appearance together at an official public meeting, so the rumors about the two quickly disappeared.

Currently, Athanasia was hosting a birthday party for herself at the Emerald Palace.

"If you don't have a mask please let us know before entering."

For some unusual reason, all attendants for Athanasia's ball party had to wear masks.

"If you aren't wearing a mask you won't be allowed to enter the ball."

The young princesses and princes had all prepared masks in advance as described in the invitation, but those who failed to bring one all headed towards the attendant waiting in front of the carriages as they opened the door.

Because everyone here were children of nobles that had just debuted into the social world the experiences they had against attending a ball were extremely little. It was the first time they were entering a ball with masks that covered their face so they felt a sense of shame and interest at the same time.

As they entered the palace with their faces covered they saw many attendees wearing masks of different shapes. All of them were unfamiliar with the current situation.

Since everyone had their faces covered, it was hard to find people they recognized, so everyone attending stayed in place, just shooting a curious glance here and there from time to time.

Just then, the lights coming from the chandelier went out all at once.

"Huh?"

"What just happened all of a sudden?"

Within the darkness that fell in an instant murmurs began spreading across the ballroom. At that very moment, a voice resounded in their ears.

"Thank you all for being here today."

The owner of the voice was obvious, it was Princess Athanasia, the host of the ball. Everyone silently listened to the voice that was heard from all directions.

"As mentioned in the invitation, today's masquerade ball is a secret ball that can be enjoyed while hiding one's face. Depending on what you might like, you can change into the masks prepared by the attendants several times or use a pseudonym."

No matter how much they paid attention no one could figure out where exactly the voice was coming from. Not only that, the chandelier lights had gone out all at once. Was it magic?

The rumor that Princess Athanasia had awakened powers of a powerful wizard following the Emperor Claude was a very interesting gossip among people.

"The rule is to only remove the mask at the end of the ball, and it's against rules to force another party to remove their mask or forcibly remove it yourself. Please keep this in mind or you might be forced to leave."

Either way, Princess Athanasia had succeeded in grabbing everyone's attention all at once.

"Lastly, thank you to my dear father for preparing this palace for me on my 15th birthday."

A faint smile was mixed into the clear voice that resounded through the ballroom.

"I hope you all have a great time today."