Although the masked man had appeared, there was no change in the girl’s experience, no train materializing before her. “Excuse me, who are you?” Hyora asked.

“A fool who would like a dance,” the masked man answered. The girl sharing Hyora’s mind wondered if he wanted something from her. Why else would he suddenly show up in this place?

Hyora wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything. Since her task involving the king was out of the picture, she could do whatever she wanted. It was a masquerade ball, so dancing with a stranger wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“Well, Sir Fool, if it’s a dance you would like, you shall have one,” she answered lightly. She could pretend this man was Dongwoo, even though his hair was brown rather than blonde.

For the most part, the two of them danced in silence companionship, moving to the music without really paying attention to it. Strangely, for Hyora, it felt natural, as if the two of them had been born knowing the steps.

The shadows of the eyeholes of the mask prevented her from seeing the stranger’s eyes clearly, so she could only guess at his feelings. However, she detected the barest hint of a pleasure in his otherwise unsmiling lips. Did he know who she was, or was he simply desperate for someone to dance with?

Soon enough, the song came to an end. Instead of letting her go, the masked man pulled her closer to his side and murmured, “Remember why you are here,” into her ear before letting her go and walking away.

Both Hyora and the girl inside her spent a while thinking of what this was supposed to mean, and by the time Hyora looked up again, the masked man was nowhere to be found.

“Who was that?” asked Hoya from behind her. Hyora turned around, her eyes still wide.

“I have no idea,” she said, frowning.

“I thought he might be one of your contacts, but I guess not.”

“He asked that I dance with him and then he left.”

“What was that he said to you just now, then?”

“Oh. ‘Thank you.’ That was it.” Hyora wasn’t entirely sure why she was lying, but she felt strongly that she needed to keep those words from the masked man a secret.

“Odd.”

“Oh well, it’s a masquerade, there will be mysteries, right? By the way, have you danced with any girls yet?” She cast a smirk in his direction.

“Ah, no. I was talking to various people.”

“Even though you aren’t being pressured to get married in a hurry, you’ll be seeing your wedding on the horizon soon enough. If you can find a girl a girl you fancy, talk to Mother, and I’m sure she will consider the match. I swear she loves you more.”

Her twin rolled his eyes. “Not really. None of these girls really interest me at present.”

“Just you wait, you will fall head over heels in love,” she teased.

“Perhaps I will.”

A new song was starting up, so Hyora pulled her brother away from the sidelines. “Have a bit of fun, brother dearest.” He grudgingly agreed to dance with her.

Throughout the rest of the night, Hyora danced with Sungyeol again a few times, as well as with a few of her other male friends and acquaintances, talking to her the people she knew that she encountered in between. At the end, though, all she really remembered was the masked man his cryptic words.

***

A few weeks later, their father called the twins in for a private meeting.

“It’s nearing time that we take definite action. We are going to need someone to infiltrate the palace and get close to the council. The opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet, but it likely will soon enough. The candidate we are looking for should be a girl.” Seeing Hyora’s look, he said, “Obviously since you are known to them, you can’t do it. We need a commoner for the job. Someone we can trust with our lives, who we know won’t turn against us for money or anything.”

“We can talk to Sungyeol,” Hyora suggested. “He might know someone.”

As it turned out, he did know of someone. She was working in the conspiracy already, the only female member for the region he oversaw.

“She has every reason to despise the council,” Sungyeol added.

“Why is that?” Hoya asked.

“They killed her sister.”

Hyora’s hand flew to . “Oh my. That’s terrible.” Hoya gave her a hug, something he hadn’t done in a while.

They reported back to their Father on the news.

“Excellent. Now, Hoya, why don’t you go observe this girl, see if she really fits what we are looking for.”

“Me? For a commoner?” He glanced at Hyora, who was not amused. “I don’t mean it in that way. But does this really require my involvement?”

Their father fixed him with a serious stare. “The entire fate of this operation could hinge on this one girl. I am reasonably certain that is important enough to require your attention. She must be no less than the best, and completely loyal. I would talk to the girl myself, but I’m sure she will go easier with someone around her age, am I right? Besides, we can’t let her know that we’re watching her.”

“That’s settled then.” Hyora grabbed her brother’s arm. “I guess it’s time for me to teach you how to lose your reek of nobility.”

Within a few days she managed to get him sounding passable, though she knew it wouldn’t be convincing to anyone who had her ear for accents. There was little she could do about the way he walked or carried himself like someone important. Hopefully that would simply be taken as confidence.

After a week, she declared Hoya ready to go, so Sungyeol took him to meet the girl. Hyora took the time while they were gone to read a book. It had been a while since she had sat back and relaxed, so she enjoyed every moment of this time.

When her twin returned from the trip and entered her room, however, he seemed a bit off, so naturally she stopped her reading to ask him what was wrong.

“We need to talk,” he sighed.

She wondered if the girl wasn’t qualified or something and that they would have to find someone else, but instead it turned out to be something else entirely.