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"Dear, that must have been recent, would it not?" he said.

"Oh well, you are still young and bright my lady. It is best for you to see the world before you are tied down by the rope called marriage," Nicholas said his gaze wandering away from Scarlet.

"I myself am loath to be tied down at my age," he chuckled lightly. "Tell me, is there any remaining relatives of your highness's living in foreign countries?"

"The dance has begun," he commented. Then he bowed to the princess and held out a hand.

"May I have this dance, your highness?" he asked.

The music began again as people cleared the dance floor for her highness Princess Scarlet and her dance partner, the mysterious Duke Nicholas Lighton.

"I am curious, my lady," Nicholas said as her twirled Scarlet. "You seem not to reluctant to answer my question but is it not mutual to ask something of me too? It is only right since I am intruding in you personal life that you intrude mine," he added. "Of course it also means that each of us has the right whether to answer or not, am I correct?" he asked.

"I am glad that you would honour me in such a way," he said as he held the princess.

"But what you see is not necessarily how one is," he added. "I may seem the quiet and intimidating part but maybe beneath this mask of mine lives a coward who knows no courage and runs from every obstacle in life. Or maybe I am an escaped figutive who came here in the name of Duke Nicholas in order to kill you," he added silently.

"The big picture is, I can be anyone and it would be best to inquire if you wish to know someone. Am I wrong, my lady?" he asked softly.

"Worry not, as long as the questions does not hurt I shall answer them truthfully," he added.

"My answer is simple, I came to look for survivors," he answered. " I thought no one else lived after the epidemic. In my area, no one but me was alive and it devastated me. Thus when I saw the invitation lying in my mansion, I felt a little hope that maybe not everyone was dead in London," he elaborated.

"Please," he said taking her hand gently away from his face. He turned his face to the side. He was silent for a while as the music played on.

"Forgive me princess," he finally spoke. "There is too much pain for me to lose this mask and I am not ready to tell the tale that hurts me most," his voice filled with sorrow. All through the dance, he kept silent and his gaze fixed to the floor. He did not see the concerned face of Scarlet nor the stare from Nymphadora.

"Maybe one day, your highness," he spoke, "maybe on that day, I shall abandon this mask as well but it is not today. At least, not now," and the song ended. Nicholas bowed to her highness. "Maybe now is the time for you to discuss matters with your advisor. I had hindered you long enough and she seemed not to trust me even a bit," he said with sad humor in his tone.

Nicholas sighed. No, I swore to myself that as long as the pain remains, I shall not disclose the story to anyone, he said to himself. He sighed. he turned and saw the worried expression of the princess. He nodded his head and turned to face the food table.

My face is something I can never bear, he thought sadly. The face of one who is wrong.

He touched the mask he wore as he saw his reflection on the surface of a silverware. He sighed again. He turned again and again he noticed the eyes of Princess Scarlet trained on him. He wanted to escape the gaze. Thus he left to the garden.