He took my hand and pulled me, once again, towards him. He was not being as forceful as he had, after hearing what Eris had said, but he still stood in front of me like a guardian. Eris pouted, looking from me to the emperor.

“Of course, I realize that, Your Majesty.” Eris spat out the royal title. It was clear that she had intended for the emperor to give her the same respect. Instead, he totally disregarded Eris and, turning his back on her, addressed me.

“She is an impolite person. Iona, do you know her?”

I couldn’t tell him that she would be his future lover, so instead I just nodded.

“What did she mean by the temple?” he asked.

I had no intentions of talking about the dark moments of my past, but he needed an explanation. “I borrowed her name once because I had been mistaken as a choir member.”

“That’s true. My name is Eris Cia Deron. My father is the Margrave of Eastern. Greetings once more to Your Great Majesty of the Ivant Empire.” Eris said, curtseying.

“I told you once that this was a masquerade and identities are to be kept hidden. I am assuming the daughter of the Margrave must be deaf?” The emperor was clearly angry.

“Oh, my. If you don’t like me to address you by your title, what should I call you? Do you like “Lian”?”

The air seemed to freeze solid. It was unthinkable that someone would even attempt to call the emperor by his nickname. No matter how much I got used to the emperor’s anger, I felt a cold sweat flowing down my spine at this moment.

What’s wrong with her? I don’t remember the protagonist being as rude as this. I mean, I knew she had a temper. In the book, Eris always made polite conversations. She was kind and sweet, and never stubborn unless she was really angry. She had to be that way to endure the emperor’s trauma.

Then something even worse came to mind. Isn’t showing an attitude to the emperor a very, very, very big problem with the progress of the original novel? What will happen to my plan of running away if the two protagonists don’t get along?

I realized that the hope that I had been hanging on to, for the past four months, was starting to unravel before my very eyes. And the situation continued to get worse.

“Do you want to lose your life over a slip of the tongue?” the emperor threatened.

The situation was getting serious. The emperor kept clenching and unclenching his fists, as if he was about to summon Lotuburu. Eris flinched, knowing she had overstepped the line.

Keeping her gaze to the floor, Eris said “I believe I went too far. I apologize. Please forgive me. I don’t want to to mess up the very first banquet that Iona has participated in.”

The emperor stood silent. It really seemed that he was going to summon Lotuburu. Instead, he simply said “You’re a woman who is all talk.”

I shook my head in frustration. Everything was wrong. Give me back my precious romance. That was the original story.

***

“What is your reason for approaching Iona at this masquerade?” The emperor asked.

Eris smiled slightly. “Since Your Majesty is always by her side, I thought this might be the only opportunity to see her.”

It sounded as if she already knew that I was the emperor’s doll. But that was impossible. She shouldn’t even know of a doll’s existence yet. It isn’t until I die that Eris learns that information. That is also how her and the emperor bond with each other. I started to feel nauseous.

“You two know each other?” the emperor asked.

“Of course,” Eris answered. “Otherwise, how could she have thought of using my name at the temple? There is only one person who knows I am in the choir, even though I am tone-deaf.”

I had no idea why Eris was saying these things. We had never met before so what was she up to?

Eris came up to me once more and hugged me around the neck. She smiled as if she was meeting her long-lost lover. “It is so nice to finally see you again. Now I feel so much better.”

“Miss Deron, would you please let me go.” I struggled in her arms. The scent of her perfume overwhelmed me. It was the rose perfume that she used in the original novel. A perfume made from rare roses that can only be found in the eastern borders of the empire.

“Oh, my. You know you can call me Eris, just as I call you Iona.” Everyone seemed insistent on being called by their first names. But it just didn’t feel right, certainly not in a public gathering such as the masquerade. I looked into the sparkling eyes that hid behind her mask.

“All right. But you should really lower your voice,” I said.

“I have no issues with people knowing who I am, but I guess it might be troublesome for you two. I’ll be careful with what I say from now on.”

Eris detached herself from me. I could tell that the emperor was still trying to figure out if we truly knew each other. He still eyed Eris with a wary look.

“You don’t have to stare at me like that,” Eris laughed. “I’m really just here to see how Iona is doing today.”

“Today?” The emperor’s eyes tightened again. Was she trying to imply that we have met on a regular basis, or that she intends to see me more often going forward? Either way, it didn’t look good in the emperor’s eyes.