Chapter 15
His Highness and the Pirate
Sena’s mind was painted entirely in one color—regret.
Why did I use my real name?!
She was supposed to enter the venue, go through the check, and then give her name for the first time.
“My name is Mia Palstein.”
That was what she should have said.
But instead, she had introduced herself as Sena.
If this were some drunk nobleman wandering the halls, it might have been fine.
But to give two different names to His Highness—before even entering the venue—would only arouse suspicion.
Handled poorly, he might start digging into her identity… and the worst outcome, her dismissal, was entirely possible.
Sena had no choice now: she had to become the person written on the invitation in her hand—
Mia Palstein.
She had nearly failed the very first hurdle, but she straightened her back and scolded herself.
Get a grip.
Only he knew.
Only he knew her real name.
Unintentionally betraying Mia’s kindness made Sena’s heart sink further.
Even without being family or close friends, Mia’s kindness had been overwhelming.
The dreamlike reality of attending a masquerade ball had stolen Sena’s heart—
the beautiful dress, the chance to reclaim what had been stolen from her life—
she had let temptation lead her astray.
Even though she knew the temptation would last only a moment, only a few hours…
this party held an irresistible allure.
A short time would be enough.
She wanted freedom.
She wanted, just for one night, to be someone who used the suite rooms—
not someone who scrubbed them.
Usually she tidied customers’ beds, polished floors, replaced linens—
an endless cycle of hard labor.
Just one night away from that life felt like salvation.
If Father were still alive, she told herself,
I would have been invited to this masquerade before anyone else.
Having left home to attend the Imperial Higher Academy’s dormitory, she returned only to lose everything after her father’s death—
her stepmother and stepsisters had stripped her of every bit of inheritance she should have received.
Her father’s will did include provisions for Sena, but all the assets were to be managed by her stepmother until Sena reached adulthood at eighteen.
Traditionally, a noble widow had no right to inherit upon her husband’s death.
But those were rules of the old era.
Now, in a modern world where even commoners had magical trains and refrigerators, times had changed.
In the Empire, women’s rights were recognized—
and by taking on the title of Duchess, the stepmother legally obtained everything.
While claiming she was “supporting” Sena from the estate, in truth she had cut off Sena’s tuition payments after only half a year.
At fourteen, deprived of family funds, Sena gathered the few belongings she had left in the dormitory and was expelled, forced from a remote countryside dorm far from the capital.
After enduring hardship after hardship, she now worked as a cleaner in the Hotel Gazaric.
Running away now would only make her look suspicious.
Instead, Sena resolved to move forward as her true self, at least in spirit.
And if—by some miracle—she might dance with His Highness…
Holding onto that tiny, fragile hope, she assessed her situation.
Did His Highness recognize me?
No. That was impossible.
If he had, he would have immediately handed her to the guards standing at his sides.
“There’s a fraud here,” he would say.
Any employee found mingling among guests tonight would be fired on the spot.
But Robert showed no sign of recognizing her.
After thinking it over, she realized:
there was almost no connection between her and him.
If anything, she had simply been overthinking out of fear of being fired.
To the Crown Prince, she had only ever been another faceless room attendant.
Tonight she simply stood out because of her elegant attire.
Had she been wearing her usual shabby uniform, he wouldn’t have spared her a glance.
There were hundreds of employees in the hotel—
how many silver-haired attendants might there be?
Silver hair wasn’t unusual here in the Kingdom; it was different from the Empire.
Although Sena’s hair was beautifully pure silver, status mattered far more.
Employees had designated roles and appropriate appearances depending on the level of service.
Those who dealt with noble guests were given finer uniforms.
But Sena sat at the very bottom of that pyramid.
Her job was to quietly clean suites, to avoid tarnishing the guests’ eyes with her presence.
It was hard to imagine someone of Robert’s rank taking interest in such a person.
Her heartbeat pounded violently, the pulse echoing painfully in her ears,
but she calmed herself with these thoughts.
She hid her panic, placed a graceful smile on her lips, and slipped her hand through his arm.
She had no reason to refuse.
Up close, Robert was tall, and his blue hair—deeper than the sky, like the undulating sea—was striking.
Rumor had it he had joined the knight order for a time after graduating university.
Perhaps because of that, his hair was short and neatly styled, brushed back along with the fringe.
His nose was high compared to the kingdom’s typical male features, and his long eyelashes—like those of a stage actor—gave him a natural elegance.
His crimson eyes, which normally seemed capricious and arrogant, now held a gentle affection she had never seen in him before.
At a time when slender, delicate men were in fashion, he had the air of a classic, old-fashioned handsome noble.
Even from the side, his subtle smile showed that he intended to enjoy the evening.
It was his charm—an effortless charisma that attracted those around him.
The moment she first saw him in the hall…
No, perhaps even earlier.
Back when she passed him in the hotel corridors as a mere room attendant—
her attention had already been drawn to him.
Robert’s face bore faint traces of the hardships he had endured.
Though young, there were deep lines between his brows, and even when smiling, the corners of his eyes carried the small wrinkles of royal fatigue.
He wore a black leather tailcoat, fitted like that of a princely gentleman.
At some point, he had taken out his mask and slid it over the upper half of his face.
It felt almost wasteful to hide his features, but there was no helping it.
His mask was crafted from a single piece of fabric, shaped to give him the dangerous aura of a pirate who once roamed the seas in the age of great voyages.
Sena gazed at his profile in a daze,
nearly losing herself in admiration.
