Therefore, it could only be seen that Cabelased’s behavior was quite wise.

Instead of punching the Crown Prince’s face or breaking his wrist, he loosened his own cravat.

And he shouted.

That the Crown Prince was trying to ravish him. That he desperately needed someone’s help.

So that the nobles passing by nearby would hear the commotion and rush to the terrace.

They came face to face with Cabelased, who was clutching his loosened cravat and half-torn shirt while giving a pitiful look.

And they were unable to contain their shock and anger.

It must have been surprising enough to learn of the Crown Prince’s homosexual tendencies, but what mattered was that the object of his desire was the Duke of Cardia, and that same Duke of Cardia was asking them for help.

Cabelased was everyone’s sweetheart.

Though the vast majority couldn’t openly express it due to his cold and aloof nature, there were many who watched him from afar and hovered around him.

And as luck would have it, the presence of many of Cabelased’s followers at that place worked to Joshua’s disadvantage.

They shouted with slightly crazed eyes, loud enough to shake the imperial palace.

They seemed to have momentarily forgotten that the person they were trying to accuse was the Crown Prince of the empire.

Eventually, their shouts drew other nobles from the banquet hall to the front of the terrace, and they in turn brought more witnesses.

It was only when the front of the terrace became crowded with people that Court Minister Anwaz, who had rushed over after hearing the news, hurriedly evacuated the Crown Prince to another location.

And he forced the gathered nobles to keep their mouths shut.

It was impossible for so many people to remain silent about what happened on the terrace, but for Court Minister Anwaz, it was the best he could do.

It was truly an exceptional occurrence for the situation to end just by dispersing the gathered people.

If there had been only a few witnesses present, there was a high possibility they would have been silently murdered.

That would have been necessary to hide the Crown Prince’s secret.

But because too many people simultaneously witnessed Joshua’s shame, it seemed even Court Minister Anwaz was at a loss for what to do.

The only option was to quickly disperse the gathered nobles to prevent more onlookers from being drawn in.

Moreover, it was thanks to Cabelased that Jieselgrante was able to hide well without being noticed by the nobles.

Before the nobles rushed to the terrace, Joshua grabbed Cabelased by the collar, demanding to know what this was all about.

Cabelased, having drawn Joshua’s attention to himself, gestured to Jieselgrante to hide behind the curtain.

Fortunately, she was able to safely conceal herself behind the curtain just before the nobles flooded onto the terrace.

And she straightened her dress that had been disheveled by Joshua’s hands.

It was undeniably the method with the least aftermath.

Of course, that only applies to Jieselgrante.

It was clear that from now on, Cabelased would be troubled by this incident wherever he went.

He might even be followed by childish epithets like ‘the man who receives the Crown Prince’s love all over his body’.

The nobles who left the terrace would immediately return to the banquet hall and talk about the amazing scene they had just witnessed.

Saying things like, “Keep this to yourself, my lady,” and “You absolutely must not tell anyone else.”

And the lady who heard that story would spread the rumor in the same way.

Any noble who owned a media company would leave the palace immediately.

Even if they couldn’t make it a headline, they would try to publish an article in the morning edition as soon as possible.

The title would probably be something like this:

“Duke of Cardia, How Far Does His Charm Extend?

Not limited to beautiful young ladies and noble women, his dazzling beauty is such that even unmarried men of noble birth are courting him…”

Jieselgrante couldn’t help but laugh slightly at her own thoughts.

Cabelased narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

“Young lady? Did you just laugh? Am I right?”

She quickly shook her head and put on a serious expression.

And for the first time, she bowed her head to someone other than the Emperor.

“Thank you.”

Cabelased, what he sacrificed to protect today was not just her chastity.

First, he protected her reputation, which couldn’t have gotten any worse, and her family, who would have been silently seething without being able to say anything to Jieselgrante because of it.

And most importantly, he preserved her pride that was about to be trampled.

Until now, she had thought of Cabelased as arrogant and a cold-blooded person who couldn’t easily empathize with others.

But his actions on the terrace were very different from what she had thought.

Today’s events changed her perception of Cabelased that she had held since she was Trinity.

That he was someone who could sacrifice himself for others when it truly mattered.

As if it had never been bustling with nobles who visited the palace for the special day of the ball, the palace that everyone had left sank into its usual silence.

Joshua glared at the darkened window for a long time, sunk in quiet tranquility.

Many thoughts were rising.

And a large part of them was occupied by the Duke of Cardia and the young lady of Duke Amaterasu.

Today, Joshua danced with the candidates for the Crown Princess at the imperial ball.

Afterwards, he took them to the terrace to converse. Of course, it wasn’t just conversation that took place.

There were kisses and skin-to-skin contact. They were all submissive to him without exception.

Except for one person.

The young lady of Duke Amaterasu, she seemed more interested in other things than in Joshua. For example, things like the mark.

Recalling the rumors about her lack of intelligence, Joshua judged that she hadn’t realized why he had brought her to the terrace.

So to kindly inform her, he mentioned engagement, but a refusal came back.

The unexpected development startled him, but only for a moment.

It was rather refreshing that she didn’t easily give in. He might have felt a bit of interest too.

After all, he couldn’t have imagined there would be a woman who dared to refuse the future emperor.

So he asked for the reason and tried to persuade her.

Believing that if he mentioned the benefits she would gain after marrying him, her mind would surely change.

But the answer came back that it was because she was in love with the Duke of Cardia.

He could only laugh.

Because she, who had no interest in him at all and only looked at the Duke of Cardia, seemed so stupid and pathetic.

Judging that she wasn’t worth dealing with anymore, he was about to leave the terrace, leaving the young lady of Duke Amaterasu alone.

But before he could take a few steps, this thought occurred to him.

‘Is she saying I’m inferior to the Duke of Cardia?’

Anger welled up.

‘I’ll show her exactly how wrong that thought is.’

But just as he was about to prove that he was a cut above a virgin who had never satisfied a woman, the Duke of Cardia appeared.

And he pulled that crazy stunt, making him a laughingstock.

“Damn it!”

After cursing for a while with rising anger, Joshua soon calmed his mind.

What could be more foolish than wasting time dwelling on past events?

Instead of that, it would be more productive to think of ways to pay back the humiliation he had received.

As he was pondering how to deal with the Duke of Cardia and the young lady of Duke Amaterasu, Joshua suddenly recalled the innocent face of the young lady of Duke Amaterasu as she delved into the matter of the mark.

‘Does she know something?’

He thought that for a moment, but there was no way the young lady of Duke Amaterasu could know about the mark.

It was practically a secret of the imperial family, and neither the previous emperor nor the emperors before him had ever mentioned or revealed the mark.

Just as he was about to think more deeply about it, a knock on the door interrupted Joshua’s thoughts.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince. I have something to say for a moment.”

“You may enter.”

As Joshua gave permission, Court Minister Anwaz walked into the bedroom.

“Seeing the light on, I thought you weren’t asleep yet… If you’re not going to bed right away, how about visiting Her Majesty the Empress for a brief conversation?”

“It seems she wants to hear today’s report.”

“…”

After his first dance with the young lady of Duke Amaterasu, Joshua had danced with several other young ladies as well.

All the young ladies Joshua had asked to dance today were potential Crown Princesses that the Empress had her eye on, and he had faithfully followed the Empress’s orders.

And now, the Empress must be very curious about how it went.

There was a bit of an incident in the middle, but Court Minister Anwaz said he had dismissed the commotion, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

“I’m a bit tired today. As you can see, I’ve changed into my nightclothes.”

“…If that’s the case, I will inform Her Majesty the Empress that Your Highness has already retired to your chambers.”

Saying that, Court Minister Anwaz immediately turned around.

Just before Court Minister Anwaz left the bedroom, Joshua muttered softly to his back.

“The young lady of Duke Amaterasu seemed to know something.”

Court Minister Anwaz turned towards Joshua with a puzzled expression.

“…Pardon?”

“I said, the young lady of Duke Amaterasu seemed to know something.”

“Know something? What do you mean she knows something?”

Joshua glanced at his wrist, covered by his shirt.