‘God is truly fair. He gave him a not-so-bright brain and a tongue to match.’

After spitting out those words as if for those criticizing Jieselgrante to hear, Cabelased felt somewhat relieved.

But he soon became certain. That today was ruined.

And it really turned out that way.

Whether he wanted it or not, he had succeeded in chasing away all the nobles before him.

But just by attending the imperial palace ball and clearly showing the nobles of the empire that he was still alive and well, he had achieved his intended purpose.

So it wasn’t a loss.

Cabelased immediately strode across the spacious banquet hall towards the exit.

During that time, he occasionally made eye contact with nobles belonging to the alliance.

Instead of pretending to know him or speaking to him first, they sent silent signals to Cabelased to convey their intentions.

As if swearing that they were still following him and would stay together until the alliance’s goals were achieved.

Cabelased also responded to them with gestures he had already promised.

It was when Cabelased, who had safely escaped the banquet hall, turned into the wide corridor.

The wind that blew in rustled his clothes.

“…?”

Cabelased stopped walking and turned his head.

The wind seemed to have blown in from the terrace connected to the open outdoors.

The banquet hall, crowded with people with no room to step, was filled with a mixture of perfume smells, powder smells, and sweat smells.

The outside air touching his nose, which had been numbed by those smells, felt sweetly refreshing.

Cabelased turned towards the terrace, taking a deep breath into his lungs.

The view of the imperial palace from the terrace was quite impressive.

Decorations installed at regular intervals and the lights illuminating them in front softly lit up various parts of the imperial palace.

Come to think of it, he felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this scene in the past.

It was too long ago to remember clearly, but he did recall a girl chattering about her future aspirations.

That child had looked down at the imperial palace from this terrace and said.

That she would make the empire a better place to live in the future.

That girl with bright silver hair and purple eyes smiled like sunshine, with a confident face as if without a trace of fear or worry.

It was a naivety possible only because she didn’t know she was fake, a substitute for someone else.

‘…I had an unnecessary thought.’

Just as Cabelased, having gathered his thoughts, was about to move towards the corridor, he sensed multiple presences.

‘How many in total?’

Cabelased focused on the sounds he heard. Judging by the footsteps, there seemed to be about four people in total.

Cabelased’s straight brows furrowed slightly.

‘Not good.’

The nobles who had been following him like stalkers wherever he went inside the imperial palace banquet hall today were also four in number.

While subtly keeping each other in check, they followed him around in their own friendly way.

It was a part where one could feel their murky bond among themselves.

“…”

Cabelased focused on the approaching footsteps, trying to gauge how far they had come.

Unfortunately, it seemed their paths would overlap if he were to leave the terrace now.

‘This won’t do.’

Cabelased immediately decided to change his approach.

Rather than leaving the terrace right away, it would be better to hide for a moment until they passed by.

Looking around, Cabelased widely spread the curtain that was installed almost imperceptibly on one side of the terrace.

Fortunately, the curtain had no problem covering Cabelased’s body.

Hoping that they would not find him and just pass by, Cabelased hid behind the curtain.

And it was when the footsteps came close to his vicinity.

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

“It’s beautiful.”

Right next to where he was hiding, Prince Joshua’s voice was followed by Jieselgrante’s voice.

After that, Joshua’s words continued uninterrupted.

Cabelased had completely missed his timing to leave.

He had just decided to wait until they left this place first when it happened.

“I still love Duke Cardia.”

Cabelased’s brows furrowed at this sudden confession he overheard, but unaware of this fact, the argument between Jieselgrante and Joshua continued.

Jieselgrante took one slow step back, trying not to provoke Joshua.

Soon she felt the terrace railing at her waist. It meant there was no more room to retreat.

But she couldn’t push Joshua aside and run away either.

She would probably trip over her long dress after taking just a few steps.

Nevertheless, she turned her gaze to the exit beyond Joshua’s shoulder.

There was no one passing in front of the terrace.

Of course, even if there was someone who happened to pass by, it’s questionable whether they would help Jieselgrante.

With the emperor acknowledging him as successor and the mark on his body revealed.

Would there even be anyone in the empire brave enough to stop such a Joshua?

‘Probably not.’

Jieselgrante only self-deprecated inwardly.

It seemed there would be no one to stop Joshua even if he forcibly violated her on this terrace.

So the only option was to navigate this difficulty well on her own.

‘Two knights guarding the front of the terrace, plus Joshua…’

Could she evade three people alone and escape safely?

Asking herself, an immediately skeptical answer came.

There was a big difference in attire between her and them from the start.

It didn’t seem like she, wearing a dress long enough to cover her shoes, could run faster than the knights wearing pants.

‘Then another method…’

She looked down below the terrace railing, gauging the distance.

‘If I fall… will I die?’

If unlucky, she would lose her life, and if a little less unlucky, she would suffer a disability that couldn’t be recovered from.

‘But if I fall onto that big tree, I might not die…’

Glancing at the leafy old tree, Jieselgrante soon ended her contemplation.

She decided to get injured rather than be defiled by someone like Joshua.

Having made her decision, Jieselgrante gripped and lifted the hem of her dress tightly.

It became much easier to move.

And just as she was about to stand on tiptoe to climb onto the railing, Joshua’s strong arm wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her in.

“…!”

The distance between the two narrowed instantly, close enough for their breaths to tickle each other’s noses.

Joshua slowly tilted his face towards her as if to press his lips against hers.

When Joshua tilted his head diagonally at an angle, she quickly turned her head to avoid his lips.

“…Are you rejecting me?”

Joshua glared at her with his brows deeply furrowed. Jieselgrante clearly expressed her refusal.

“I am rejecting. So please step back.”

As if he had heard something amusing, Joshua smirked and positioned himself behind her back.

“It would be better for you, and for your family, if you obediently comply.”

Jieselgrante flailed her arms and legs trying to escape from Joshua’s embrace.

But with a body as soft as tofu without muscles, she had no way to overcome Joshua.

And in an instant, her dress was pulled up to her thighs by Joshua’s hand.

The outside air felt cold on her bare skin. A chill ran down her spine.

Meanwhile, Joshua’s breathing began to grow rougher.

“…”

She decided to pretend to comply and wait for a moment when he let his guard down.

Believing that Joshua’s vigilance would ease before long if she did this.

For now, that seemed to be the best option. No other method came to mind either.

‘Though I saw the signs, to think he would grow up to be such a terrible person…’

Jieselgrante regretted her past self for not correcting Joshua’s bad manners early on, even if it meant spanking him hard.

Because without doing so, it was difficult to endure this horrible situation.

It was when Jieselgrante, who could no longer bear it, glanced at the terrace railing.

Swish.

The curtain in a corner of the terrace, which she hadn’t even known was there until just now, fluttered.

“…?”

At first, she thought she had seen wrong. But she soon realized it wasn’t a misconception.

A large hand firmly grasped the curtain and pushed it aside with a swoosh.

Soon, a large shadow overlapped the shadows of Jieselgrante and Joshua cast on the terrace.

She quietly gazed at the sight of moonlight gently resting on the man’s jet-black hair, as dark as the night sky.

Thinking it looked as if he had a silver band around his head.

‘Why…’

She never imagined there would be someone else on this terrace besides her and Joshua.

It seemed Joshua felt the same, as all his actions suddenly stopped.

“…Duke Cardia?”

Joshua called out to him in a slightly dumbfounded voice.

With his lips still buried in Jieselgrante’s back, Joshua slightly rolled his eyes to look at Cabelased, who was staring at them.

“…”

Cabelased, who had been quietly observing the two, nodded slightly as if understanding something, then stepped over from behind the open curtain onto the terrace where she was.

“I never imagined I’d hear such a heartfelt confession in a place like this…”

Another step.

With slow movements, Cabelased drew a little closer.

He looked like a predator just before biting into the nape of its prey.

“…Even less did I imagine it would be said while clinging to another man.”

Anxiety, impatience. Such emotions of possibly having his captured prey snatched away by the predator right in front of him.

Gripped by those feelings, Joshua glared fiercely at Cabelased with force in his eyes.

But despite Joshua’s hostile gaze, Cabelased’s red eyes were focused solely on Jieselgrante.

“…”

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Cabelased gently grasped her chin.

Then, turning it towards himself, he added as if urging:

“You should explain, Jiesel. Before I misunderstand further. With those same lips that said you loved me.”