Count Frederick looked down at the empty wine glass in his hand.

‘Was the drink too strong?’

It must be due to the intoxication that it was difficult to take his eyes off Jieselgrante dancing in circles.

Thinking so, Count Frederick trudged over to his partner, who was still standing like a wall decoration glaring at him.

Knowing that the eyes of all the nobles in the hall were focused on them, Jieselgrante asked in a whisper-like small voice.

“Your Highness, about the mark you showed earlier.”

Just then, Joshua’s sleeve, with the cufflink unfastened, fluttered, slightly revealing the mark.

“Do you mean this?”

Joshua glanced down, gesturing with his eyes to the mark on his wrist.

“Yes. I heard it appears on the body of the emperor chosen by God. Is that true?”

Joshua nodded slightly, twisting the corner of his mouth upward.

From his expression and gestures, one could feel that he was extremely proud of the mark.

Jieselgrante held back a snort and asked.

“Then, was the mark there since you were born?”

“…It manifested on the day Princess Trinity passed away.”

Joshua had been staring intently into Jieselgrante’s eyes while answering, but at this moment, he slightly averted her gaze.

It was just for a fleeting moment, but Jieselgrante saw it clearly.

Because of that, she could notice that Joshua was lying to her right now.

It was Joshua’s habit. Slightly averting his gaze when lying.

‘Still the same.’

The Emperor had more children besides Trinity and Joshua.

However, only Trinity and Joshua were children born to the Empress.

The children of the previous Empress who passed away right after giving birth to Trinity, and the current Empress who became Empress after her.

The children of concubines could not live in the imperial palace, so naturally, Trinity and Joshua grew up like only children.

Perhaps he felt lonely because of that?

Maybe he regarded Trinity as a sister in a normal family relationship, as young Joshua often used to visit the palace where she stayed.

But the frequency of those visits gradually decreased over the years.

At some point, he stopped showing his face altogether.

Although they lived in the same imperial palace, Trinity and Joshua rarely had occasions to face each other.

‘So I had completely forgotten… Did he have such a mark on his wrist before?’

Perhaps because it was too long ago, she couldn’t remember well.

There was never a reason to look closely at Joshua’s wrist.

It would be nearly impossible to get information from him in the future, and if not now, so she couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Just as she was about to part her lips to ask another question.

“Who taught you to dance?”

Joshua changed the subject first, as if preempting. His intention not to receive any more difficult questions was evident.

“From a noblewoman of Duke Amaterasu’s domain.”

Throughout the dance, Joshua bombarded Jieselgrante with questions.

Who her favorite painters, writers, and philosophers were.

Each time, she responded with brief answers, but Joshua was no pushover.

He kept talking to ensure the conversation didn’t stop.

Jieselgrante’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘Was he always this talkative? When he was young, I remember he used to quietly take naps or read books nearby so as not to disturb…’

Since personalities can change, she decided to change her approach.

She decided to use the notoriety Jieselgrante had gained in the past.

She asked with the brightest smile possible, trying to appear clear-headed.

“The Emperor must also have a mark like Your Highness, right?”

“…Of course.”

As they danced, she glanced at the mark that was slightly revealed whenever he moved, and continued her questions.

“Then does the Emperor have the same mark on his wrist as Your Highness?”

“…”

Joshua’s expression, which had been looking uncomfortable all along, immediately hardened.

And just then, the dance music came to an end.

The orchestra took time to turn their pages and prepare for the next piece, and consequently, the music filling the hall was briefly interrupted.

Breaking that momentary silence, Joshua opened his mouth.

“I appreciate your interest in me, but it seems a bit excessive, Lady Amaterasu.”

It was a clear warning. Not to dig any deeper about the mark.

“Oh my… I was so tactless. I apologize, Your Highness! I never intended to offend you…”

Jieselgrante apologized, feigning excessive surprise.

“…”

Joshua stared at her face for a while, as if trying to gauge if it was true, then finally spoke.

“It seems a bit hot from the vigorous movement. How about you?”

Understanding his intention to go outside, Jieselgrante responded with a smile.

‘Thank you, Joshua.’

And she only thanked him inwardly.

Joshua’s sensitive reaction made one thing clear.

That he didn’t want anyone to dig deeply into the matter of the mark.

Until before the dance, Joshua had proudly displayed the mark in front of the nobles.

But when she asked questions about the mark in relation to the Emperor, he was showing a sharp reaction.

With this, she could make a few assumptions.

‘The Emperor doesn’t have a mark.’

Actually, this could be easily understood by recalling past events.

The Emperor had never mentioned anything about a mark.

And one more thing could be inferred.

‘The possibility that the mark on Joshua’s wrist is fake.’

Jieselgrante slightly bowed her head to hide her expression.

‘If I can prove that mark is fake…’

For a moment, a strange light flashed in Jieselgrante’s blue eyes.

‘If I do that, what kind of expression will the Empress show?’

The view of the imperial palace gardens from the terrace was both familiar and unfamiliar.

It was partly because it had been specially decorated for today’s imperial ball, and partly because she had already become more accustomed to the gardens of Duke Amaterasu’s residence.

While Jieselgrante was blankly staring at the water bubbles spouting from the fountain.

“How is it, the view of the garden from here?”

Joshua asked, also fixing his gaze on the imperial garden.

“It’s beautiful.”

Jieselgrante gave a stereotypical answer.

And just as he had done while dancing, Joshua went on talking about the imperial palace.

About fairies coming out of that maze forest…

‘I think that was a story I told him before.’

As she looked at him with such a gaze, Joshua raised one eyebrow.

“Why does my story sound like a lie?”

She slightly lowered her gaze.

‘To think he still believes the lie I made up to tease him…’

But there was no way she could say now that most of the legends about the imperial palace that Trinity had told were lies made up to tease Joshua.

‘Is he pretending to be innocent, or is he really innocent?’

She was briefly lost in memories thinking such thoughts, but soon recalled the incident at the grand temple.

That it wasn’t just the Empress and Emperor who knew about Trinity’s death in advance.

Then Joshua suddenly blurted out.

“The story I just told is actually a lie. Princess Trinity, who passed away first, used to enjoy teasing me with such stories.”

“…”

Because it was true, she just kept her mouth shut.

“I was young and believed those words, and passed them on to others.”

“It seems Her Highness the Princess held Your Highness dear.”

This statement was half true.

She did find Joshua, who hung around her unknowingly, quite cute. At least until Joshua was young.

“Do you think that makes sense?”

He got angry first, but Joshua’s expression softened a little. Perhaps he recalled those times.

“…”

After silently staring at the garden for a while as if lost in thought, Joshua took a step towards her and said.

“You must also know that I still don’t have a fiancée?”

What Joshua would say next was predetermined. Noticing this fact, she quickly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I’m still in love with Duke Cardia.”

An unpleasant snicker escaped through Joshua’s teeth. At the same time, his brow furrowed deeply.

“Ha, to think you still haven’t let go of your lingering feelings…”

After muttering like that to himself, he immediately brushed back his fallen hair and erased the expression full of displeasure.

Soon he pulled up the corners of his mouth to smile. But his eyes that didn’t smile at all created a disharmony.

“Everyone, including me and the world, knows that Duke Cardia has no interest in you. Are you the only one who doesn’t know?”

“I know too. That it’s a one-sided love.”

“And yet, you would reject me and choose Duke Cardia… is that it?”

Jieselgrante nodded slowly without avoiding Joshua’s eyes.

Perhaps it was a predictable course of action for Joshua to ask her to dance today.

Her name would have been on the list of potential crown princess candidates chosen by the Empress.

So Joshua would have been taking turns dancing and spending some time with the ladies on that list.

She never imagined she would be Joshua’s first choice.

“…”

Joshua shook his head as if he absolutely couldn’t understand.

And he turned his body towards the hall where the ball was in full swing. Soon, his voice muttering to himself faded away.

“You’re truly foolish beyond compare.”

At that moment, Joshua, who had been about to leave the terrace just moments ago, suddenly turned towards her.

Joshua’s eyes, directed at her, shone brightly even in the darkness.

Whatever thoughts he had in that brief moment, Joshua now looked extremely dangerous.

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand…”

Joshua strode towards her. It was quite threatening.

She had an ominous feeling that something not good was about to happen.