"I don't want this marriage!"
"Ellis!!"
"....!!"
At the sudden rise in volume, Ellis jolted upright from the sofa, his body reacting before his mind could catch up.
"Y-yes, father."
"I'm doing this for your own good. If you happen to be caught lying about being a saint, I can't protect you alone. You'll need someone else to protect you other than me."
With a tense body and a lowered head, he agreed silently as his father continued in a more contained tone.
"If it's the count's son that you don't want to marry, then decide for yourself. If you can find a partner for yourself, I won't object to the marriage as long as it's someone of a higher status than us."
"The annual masquerade ball is in a few days. You will attend. It'll be a great chance for you to get familiar with potential marriage partners from other noble families of higher status."
†††
Just because the web novel had a BL tag doesn't mean he had to marry a man. He isn't even the main character, for god's sake! He spent the rest of the day bed rotting and weeping, because bed rotting without a smartphone is really boring.
No, it's impossible actually. Without internet and a smartphone, staying all day in bed (even with snacks) was as good as him being dead. So he got up and decided to venture into the capital's markets with his personal maid, Mila. Since he was attending the annual masquerade ball this year, he had to shop for new clothes and a mask. His father gave him a hefty budget. He had to dress to impress, after all.
At first, he had assumed his family wasn't particularly wealthy—judging by the modest manor and the countable servants they kept in the capital. But soon he learned that this was merely one of their many residences scattered across the kingdom. Their true home, a grand castle nestled in the eastern valleys, was where they spent most of their time. The Viscount, as it turned out, oversaw vast rice fields that supplied white rice to the entire kingdom, apparently.
Sighing, Ellis made to leave another shop.
"What's wrong with these people?"
He muttered under his breath as Mila followed after him in a hurry. All the shops he had visited today for a suit gave him terrible options. They were either full of sugary and cheap-looking flowers or brighter than the sun itself.
"Young master, did you not like any of the designs?"
"They were all so ridiculous! Did you see the last one? I might as well buy a dress at this point!"
"But you used to like those designs the most before..."
"I did?"
Ellis stopped in his steps abruptly, putting a finger on his lower lip as he pondered over something. Was the previous Ellis gay? Mila said he used to be really timid and shy, and he liked those girly and bright designs. Those things alone obviously were not enough to rule out someone as gay, but he had agreed to marry the count's second son too...
"Too bad for you, Ellis. I'm not."
He had wished that the next day he would just wake up back in his original body (returning this body to its rightful owner), and all of this would just be a dream. But none of that happened. He still woke up in the same body. With his luck, though, it would be more probable for another bolt of lightning to fall upon him.
"Where should we go next, young master?"
Mila asked on the side, turning her head in all directions in search for a new shop to enter, but Ellis's eyes fell on the vendor on the side of the street selling masks in season for the annual masquerade ball. His collection of masks was quite eye-catching for Ellis. He walked over to the vendor while searching for a mask for himself. Most of them were silver. The quality might not be the best, but it was more than durable for the occasion.
"Do you have a specific one that you like, young man?"
The old man and owner of the vendor readjusted the masks on the front as he asked.
"I'm still looking, but I like many of them."
"Are you going to attend the annual masquerade ball?"
Ellis gave a small nod to the old man, who answered with a gentle smile before pulling out a wooden drawer from the back. Inside lay a selection of masks—each one more exquisite and magnificent than the pieces displayed outside for passing eyes.
"Young master, this one is so pretty!"
Mila pointed at one of the masks in that line of silver and well-designed masks. It was also the one Ellis liked the most. He picked out the mask and put it against his face to get a feel of it. The mask was silver and covered the upper half of the right side of his face. It had engraved patterns, a pair of blue gemstones near the temple, and a small dangling ornament on the side. At the top, it had a feather-like extension.
The thing he liked the most was that it had a strap that was like a hairband to hold the mask in place. With this, it should stay put without making him worry about it falling, even if he had to run away from the killer. The serial killer seemed to be famous for showing up at events and killing a few, or at least one, of the nobles.
"I will get this one."
Ellis lowered the mask and gave it to the old man to pack as Mila paid the old man for the mask.
"Mila, do you want to get one too?"
"Me? Young master, I can't attend the annual masquerade ball."
"What does that have to do with you wanting a mask? If you like one, then we'll get that too."
Mila didn't say anything in return. She looked over the masks again as if she hadn't even considered one for herself and was watching them from her point of view now. Mila got a white mask containing shiny beads. She happily held onto the masks as she walked with him through the vendors on the street. Ellis stopped before a dark purple tent.
"Mila, stand here for a moment. I'll be quick."
"Yes, young master!"
Mila, who wouldn't have agreed so easily, was in a good mood, so she agreed readily. Ellis stepped inside the tent. He knew what this place was for. Inside the tent, a woman draped in a black cloak was cleaning the crystal or glass ball, the size of a football, that sat in front of her on the low table. When she saw a customer entering, she quickly hid the cloth she was cleaning with and cleared her throat. The place screamed sketchy, but it wasn't like he was here to hear about his future.
"Welcome, welcome. Take a seat, young master. I can see you're from a noble family."
Ellis did as instructed and sat down on the ground in a comfortable position.
"You're right, I am from a noble family."
The woman's smile widened as he confirmed, like she was delighted to finally catch a big fish from the bottomless river.
"I know everything. You don't need to tell me anything. You only need to ask me questions... of course, with a high price for the more demanding questions."
"It's not that demanding of a question, don't worry."
Ellis spoke in a low voice but still looked in other ways as if to not let anyone else hear what he was about to ask. The woman eagerly focused on him and listened with open ears.
"What's an omega?"
Ellis whispered to the woman in a serious tone and even more serious expression.