ITIF Chapter 49

If You Knock Ten Times

Therefore, one couldn’t help but see Kavelaseth’s conduct as quite wise.

Instead of landing a punch on the Crown Prince’s face or breaking his wrist, he loosened his own cravat.

And he cried out.

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

So that the nobles who happened to be passing nearby would hear the commotion and rush to the terrace.

They came face to face with Kavelaseth, who was clutching his loosened cravat and half-torn shirt while sending them pitiful looks. And they couldn’t contain their shock and anger.

The discovery of the Crown Prince’s homosexual preferences was surprising enough, but what mattered was that the target was Duke Cardia and that Duke Cardia had asked them—the people right before their eyes—for help.

Kavelaseth was everyone’s beloved.

Though the absolute majority couldn’t express it outwardly due to his cold and aloof nature, many still watched him from afar and lingered around him.

And unfortunately for Joshua, many of Kavelaseth’s followers happened to be gathered there, which worked against him.

They shouted with slightly crazed eyes, their voices echoing throughout the imperial palace.

They seemed to have momentarily forgotten that the person they wanted to denounce was the Crown Prince of the Empire.

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

Only when the area in front of the terrace became packed with people did Count Court Anwarz, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, quickly spirit the Crown Prince away to another location.

And he demanded silence from the gathered nobles.

It was impossible for all those people to keep quiet about what happened on the terrace, but for Count Court Anwarz, that was the best he could do.

The fact that the situation ended merely by dispersing the gathered crowd was truly extraordinary.

If there had been only a few witnesses present, they likely would have been killed without anyone knowing.

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

But because too many people witnessed Joshua’s disgrace simultaneously, it seemed Count Court Anwarz had no way to handle it.

He could only quickly disperse the gathered nobles to prevent drawing even more spectators.

Moreover, Giselle Grante was able to hide well without being noticed by the nobles, thanks to Kavelaseth.

Before the nobles rushed to the terrace, Joshua had grabbed Kavelaseth by the collar, demanding what kind of behavior this was.

Kavelaseth, having drawn Joshua’s attention to himself, gestured to Giselle Grante 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 the dress that had been disheveled by Joshua’s hands.

It was undeniably the method with the least consequences.

Of course, that was only true for Giselle Grante.

Now Kavelaseth would surely suffer from this incident wherever he went for some time.

Childish epithets like “the man who receives the Crown Prince’s love with his whole body” might even follow him.

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

Telling each noble lady to keep it to herself, that she absolutely must not tell anyone else.

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

Any noble who owned a media company would leave the imperial palace immediately. Even if they couldn’t make it a headline, they would try to get an article into the morning edition as quickly as possible.

The title would probably be something like this:

“Duke Cardia, How Far Does His Charm Extend?

Not stopping at beautiful young ladies and noble ladies, his radiant beauty is such that he receives courtship from even unmarried men of noble birth…”

Giselle Grante found her own thoughts amusing and let out a small laugh. Then Kavelaseth narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

“My lady? It seems you just laughed. Am I right?”

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

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

“Thank you.”

What Kavelaseth had protected by sacrificing himself today wasn’t just her chastity.

First, he had protected her already irreparable reputation and the family who would have suffered in silence because of it, unable to voice their frustrations to Giselle Grante.

And most importantly, he had protected her pride, which had nearly been trampled.

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

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

Today’s events changed her perception of Kavelaseth, which she had held since her days as Trinity.

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

****

Today had been a special day with a ball held at the imperial palace, but now that all the nobles who had bustled about were gone, the imperial palace was enveloped in its usual quietude as if asking when it had ever been so crowded.

Wrapped in gentle silence, Joshua stared at the blackened window for a long time.

Many thoughts arose.

And much of it was occupied by Duke Cardia and Lady Amaterasu.

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

Afterward, he took them to the terrace for conversation. Of course, it wasn’t just simple conversation.

He kissed them and pressed flesh against flesh. All of them were equally submissive to him.

Except for one person.

Lady Amaterasu seemed more interested in other things than in Joshua. Things like marks, for instance.

Recalling the rumors about her being dim-witted, Joshua judged that she hadn’t realized why he had brought her to the terrace.

So he mentioned engagement to personally inform her, but was met with refusal.

His confusion at this unexpected development was brief.

The fact that she didn’t come over easily actually felt refreshing. He seemed to have found it somewhat interesting too.

He had never imagined there would be a woman who would dare refuse the future Emperor.

So he asked for her reasons and tried to persuade her. He believed she would surely change her mind if he mentioned the advantages she would gain by marrying him.

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

It was simply laughable. She seemed so stupid and pathetic, having no interest in him whatsoever and only looking at Duke Cardia.

Judging her not worth dealing with further, he tried to leave the terrace, leaving Lady Amaterasu alone.

But before he had taken a few steps, this thought occurred to him:

‘Does this mean I’m inferior to Duke Cardia?’

Rage surged within him.

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

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

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

“Damn it!”

After raging with surging anger for a while, Joshua soon calmed his mind.

What could be more foolish than wasting time dwelling on what was already past?

It would be more productive to use that time thinking of ways to repay the humiliation he had received.

As Joshua pondered what to do with Duke Cardia and Lady Amaterasu, he suddenly recalled the bright face of Lady Amaterasu as she delved into questions about the mark.

‘Does she know something?’

He had that thought for a moment, but there was no way Lady Amaterasu could know about the mark.

That was practically an imperial family secret, and neither the previous Emperor nor the one before him had ever mentioned or revealed the mark.

Just as he was about to think more deeply about this, the sound of knocking interrupted Joshua’s reverie.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. I have something to tell you briefly.”

“You may enter.”

With Joshua’s permission, Count Court Anwarz walked into the bedroom.

“Since the lights are on, it seems you haven’t retired yet… If you’re not going to sleep immediately, how about visiting Her Majesty the Empress for a brief conversation?”

“She wants to hear today’s report, I suppose.”

“…….”

Even after his first dance with Lady Amaterasu, Joshua had danced with several other young ladies.

All the ladies Joshua had asked to dance today were prospective Crown Princesses that the Empress had marked, and he had faithfully followed the Empress’s orders.

And by now, the Empress would be very curious about how it had turned out.

Though there had been a slight incident in the middle, Count Court Anwarz had said he had quelled the disturbance, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

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

“…If that’s the case, I’ll tell Her Majesty the Empress that Your Highness the Crown Prince has already retired to your chambers.”

Saying this, Count Court Anwarz turned around.

Just before Count Court Anwarz left the bedroom, Joshua murmured quietly to his back.

“Lady Amaterasu seemed to know something.”

Count Court Anwarz turned toward Joshua with a puzzled expression.

“…Pardon?”

“I said Lady Amaterasu seemed to know something.”

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

Joshua glanced briefly at his wrist, hidden beneath his shirt.