Answer:
But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he
summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court,
and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys.
Explanation:
The story is about a city that is ravaged by the Bubonic Plague which has killed many but Prince Prospero is unbothered and throws a party after which death meets him.
The excerpt from "The Masque of the Red Death" best shows Prince Prospero's self-centered Ness is option D.
This is because he threw a party when the city was in turmoil.