The First Guest
[God is truly fair. He gave her a mind that lacks sharpness and a tongue to match.]
After spitting out those words as if for the critics of Giselle Grante to hear, Kavelaseth felt somewhat relieved.
But he soon became certain. Today was ruined.
And that’s exactly what happened. Whether he wanted it or not, he had succeeded in driving away all the nobles from before him.
However, through his attendance at the imperial palace ball, he had accomplished his modest goal of clearly showing the Empire’s nobles that he was still standing strong. So it wasn’t a loss.
Kavelaseth immediately strode across the spacious banquet hall toward the exit.
During this time, his eyes occasionally met with nobles belonging to the alliance.
Instead of acknowledging him or speaking to him first, they sent silent signals to convey their intentions to Kavelaseth.
As if swearing that they still followed him and would remain with him until the alliance’s goals were achieved.
Kavelaseth also responded to them with gestures they had already agreed upon.
It was when Kavelaseth, having safely exited the banquet hall, entered the wide corridor.
A breeze stirred the hem of his clothes.
“……?”
Kavelaseth stopped walking and turned his head.
The wind seemed to have come from the terrace connected to the open outdoors.
The banquet hall, packed with people leaving no room to step, was filled with a mixture of perfume scents, powder smells, and sweat odors.
The outside air touching his numbed nose felt refreshingly sweet.
Kavelaseth took a deep breath into his lungs and turned toward the terrace.
The view of the imperial palace from the terrace was quite impressive.
Decorations installed at regular intervals and the lighting illuminating them softly brightened various parts of the 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 properly, but he did recall a girl chattering about her future aspirations. That child had spoken while looking down at the palace from this terrace.
She said she would make the Empire a better place to live in the future.
The girl with bright silver hair and purple eyes had smiled like sunshine with a confident face, as if she knew no fear or worry.
It was an innocence possible only because she didn’t know she was fake, a substitute for someone else.
‘……I had useless thoughts.’
Just as Kavelaseth, having organized his thoughts, was about to step back into the corridor, he sensed multiple presences.
‘How many in total?’
Kavelaseth focused on the sounds he heard. Based on the footsteps, there seemed to be about four people in total.
Kavelaseth’s straight brow furrowed slightly.
‘Not good.’
Today in the imperial palace banquet hall, the nobles who had followed him around like stalkers wherever he went were also four in number.
They subtly kept each other in check while following him around in their own friendly way. It was a part where you could sense their sordid bond among themselves.
“…….”
Kavelaseth concentrated on the gradually approaching footsteps, trying to gauge how close they were now.
Unfortunately, if he left the terrace now, their paths would likely cross.
‘This won’t do.’
Kavelaseth immediately decided to change his approach.
Rather than leaving the terrace like this, it would be better to hide briefly until they passed by.
Looking around, Kavelaseth widely spread a curtain that had been installed almost invisibly on one side of the terrace.
Fortunately, the curtain had no problem concealing Kavelaseth’s body.
Hoping they wouldn’t find him and would just pass by, Kavelaseth hid behind the curtain.
And it was when the footsteps had approached very close to him.
“How is it, the view of the garden from here?”
“It’s beautiful.”
Right next to where he was hiding, Crown Prince Joshua’s voice was followed by Giselle Grante’s voice.
Joshua’s words continued uninterrupted after that.
Kavelaseth had completely missed his chance to leave. He had decided to just wait until they left this place first.
“I still love Duke Cardia.”
At this unexpected confession he overheard, Kavelaseth’s brow narrowed, but unaware of this fact, the argument between Giselle Grante and Joshua continued.
****
Giselle Grante took a step back as slowly as possible to avoid provoking Joshua.
Soon she felt the terrace railing against her waist. This meant there was nowhere left to retreat.
But she couldn’t push past Joshua blocking her way and run either. She would likely trip over her flowing dress after taking just a few steps.
Nevertheless, she turned her gaze toward the exit over Joshua’s shoulder.
There was no one passing by in front of the terrace.
Of course, even if someone happened to pass by here, it was questionable whether they would help Giselle Grante.
The Emperor had recognized him as his successor, and the mark had even appeared on his body.
Would there really be anyone in the Empire brave enough to stand against such a Joshua?
‘Probably not.’
Giselle Grante mocked herself inwardly.
It seemed like no one would stop Joshua even if he forcibly trampled her on this terrace.
So she had no choice but to navigate this crisis alone.
‘Two knights guarding in front of the terrace, plus Joshua…….’
Could she shake off three people by herself and escape safely?
When she asked herself, a skeptical answer immediately came.
There was a big difference between her and them, starting with their clothing.
It seemed unlikely that she, wearing a dress long enough to cover her shoes, could run faster than knights wearing pants.
‘Then another method is…….’
She looked down below the terrace railing and gauged the distance.
‘If I fall…… will I die?’
If unlucky, she would lose her life, and if slightly less unlucky, she would be severely injured and gain an irreparable disability.
‘But if I fall onto that big tree, I might not die…….’
Glancing at the old tree with lush leaves, Giselle Grante soon finished her contemplation. Rather than be defiled by the likes of Joshua, she would get hurt instead.
Having made her decision, Giselle Grante gripped and lifted the hem of her dress tightly.
It became much easier to move.
And just as she was about to step up onto the railing, Joshua’s firm arm wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her close.
“……!”
The distance between the two narrowed instantly, close enough for their breaths to tickle each other’s noses.
As if to press their lips together, Joshua gradually tilted his face toward her.
When Joshua tilted his head diagonally, she quickly turned her head away to avoid his lips.
“……Are you refusing?”
Joshua glared at her with deeply furrowed brows. Giselle Grante clearly expressed her refusal.
“I will refuse. So please step back.”
As if he had heard something ridiculous, Joshua chuckled and positioned himself behind her back.
“It would be better for you and your family if you obediently comply.”
Giselle Grante flailed her arms and legs trying to escape from Joshua’s embrace. But with her soft, tofu-like body lacking muscle, she had no way to match Joshua.
And it happened in an instant that Joshua’s hands pulled her dress up to her thighs.
The outside air touching her bare skin was cold. Goosebumps rose along her spine.
Meanwhile, Joshua’s breathing began to grow rougher.
“…….”
She decided to pretend to comply obediently and wait for a chance when he let his guard down.
Believing that Joshua’s vigilance would relax before long if she did this.
For now, that seemed like the best option. She couldn’t think of any other method either.
‘He showed potential, but I never thought he would grow into such a worthless human…….’
Giselle Grante regretted not correcting Joshua’s bad behavior from the beginning, even if it meant giving him a good spanking.
Because without doing so, it was difficult to endure this terrible situation.
It was when Giselle Grante, unable to bear it any longer, glanced at the terrace railing.
Swoosh.
A curtain in one 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 could tell immediately that it wasn’t a mistake.
A large hand firmly grasped the curtain and pushed it aside with a swoosh.
Soon a large shadow overlapped the shadows of Giselle Grante and Joshua cast on the terrace.
She quietly watched as moonlight gently settled on the jet-black hair of the man, like the night sky.
Thinking it looked like he was wearing a silver band around his head.
‘Why…….’
She had never imagined there would be anyone else on this terrace besides her and Joshua. It seemed Joshua felt the same, as all his actions stopped at once.
“……Duke Cardia?”
Joshua called out to him in a slightly dazed voice.
With his lips still pressed against Giselle Grante’s back, Joshua only rolled his eyes slightly to look at Kavelaseth, who was gazing at them.
“…….”
Kavelaseth, who had been quietly staring at the two, nodded slightly as if understanding something, then crossed over from behind the open curtain to the side of the terrace where she was.
“I never imagined I’d hear such a passionate love confession in a place like this…….”
Another step.
Kavelaseth approached a little closer with slow movements.
His appearance looked like a predator just before biting the neck of its prey.
“……I especially never imagined it would be said while clinging to another man.”
Caught up in anxiety and impatience about possibly losing his captured prey to a predator right before his nose, Joshua glared at Kavelaseth with intense eyes.
But despite Joshua’s fierce gaze, Kavelaseth’s red eyes were directed only at Giselle Grante.
“…….”
In the tense atmosphere, Kavelaseth gently grasped her chin. Then, turning it toward himself, he added reproachfully.
“You should explain, Giselle. Before I misunderstand further. With those same lips that said you loved me.”