The lady who had been continuing the conversation quietly lowered her voice before she could finish her sentence.
It was obvious enough.
‘It seems the Third Prince has finally decided to throw himself into the struggle for the throne as well.’
That was what she wanted to say.
And it was not entirely wrong. After all, there had never been a member of the imperial family without red eyes who aimed for the throne and did not ultimately destroy themselves.
Rather than condemning Lucian, they seemed to pity the capable knight Jade, who had been “caught” by him.
Though in truth, it was thanks to Hayley’s quick thinking that House Rosena had avoided becoming entangled.
Toward the end of that tea party, Hayley had been the first to make a proposal to Jade. She suggested it would be best for him to follow Lucian to the Third Prince’s Palace.
‘Hayley.’
‘Your Highness, I know this is presumptuous, but please allow Sir Delphoi—who will become Your Highness’s loyal knight—to perform his oath of loyalty once more at the Prince’s Palace.’
‘You mean you wish to go through the formal procedure for the oath?’
‘Yes.’
‘Hayley, stop. Such meaningless formalities have no value—’
I could still vividly remember the way she answered her lover clearly, as though asking what on earth he meant.
‘You know how greatly indebted we are to Lady Rosena, Jade. If word spreads that this oath took place inside the Rosena ducal estate, then she will inevitably become entangled in all of this as well.’
‘So you fear it may appear as though House Rosena officially supports me?’
Lucian spoke with open mockery, yet Hayley only flinched briefly before continuing firmly.
‘House Ginevra will also support Your Highness. However, House Rosena’s position should be decided only after discussion between the Duke and the Young Duke. It should not be determined through rumors caused by our actions.’
‘Hmm.’
Lucian gave a short hum before letting out a faint laugh.
Even though he tried to look displeased, it seemed impossible for him to manage it properly.
So whenever he saw someone competent, he simply could not hide his satisfaction?
He had likely already begun making plans to recruit Hayley somewhere as well.
Perhaps into the service industry or whatever strange thing Minabel kept mentioning.
He slowly nodded before turning toward Jade.
‘Then let us go to the Third Prince’s Palace. Ah, though to leave room for public misunderstanding, it would be best if you stayed there for several days. In any case, there will soon be another social gathering where mothers are mocked merely for giving birth to the Emperor’s children. We can meet again there.’
To describe the relic auction as a social gathering where mothers are mocked…
Once again, I realized just how twisted Lucian’s view of this entire situation truly was.
“Now then! Finally, we present Her Majesty the Empress’s violet pearl necklace! It is said to have been crafted from mermaid tears!”
Alongside the auctioneer’s voice, another whisper sounded through the Redtooth Earphones.
The voices were much younger than the previous speakers—careless voices belonging to young noblemen.
Instinctively, I turned to examine Hayley’s expression.
Though half her face was hidden behind the butterfly mask that suited her so well, the tightly pressed line of her lips revealed her mood clearly enough.
“Lady Hayley, if this is uncomfortable, I can continue listening alone while you participate in the auction.”
“No. It’s fine. I’ll listen. They’re only rumors anyway.”
Her eyes shone fiercely with trust in Jade—and a touch of stubborn pride.
Whoever these fools were, speaking so lightly about another person’s life…
I would make certain they paid the price.
* * *
“Ethan, what kind of ridiculous nonsense is that now? If you speak carelessly like that, neither of us will walk away safely.”
The man leaning against the terrace trembled as though frightened, yet a subtle satisfaction lingered across his sneering face.
Why did novels so often contain cartoonishly evil villains and shallow personalities?
Probably because people like that truly existed.
No matter where one went, there were always people who needed to blame others for the results of their own inadequacies.
And once they found even the slightest excuse, they would attack ferociously without caring whether something was true or false.
By coincidence, several young men who envied House Delphoi for precisely those reasons had gathered here tonight.
“What danger could there possibly be, Deneb? At this point, who here doesn’t already know the story? Someone listening would think I invented it myself.”
Indeed, the entire capital had been buzzing lately with news of Jade Delphoi’s oath of loyalty.
A famous knight choosing his lord was enough to attract tremendous attention on its own.
Or rather, to be precise, the real reason for the attention was the prince he had chosen.
“Everyone inside the auction hall saw it for themselves this time, didn’t they?”
“Well… yes, we certainly saw it…”
“It was unmistakable.”
The lord whom Jade Delphoi stood guarding was not Vincent Edvain.
It was Lucian Edvain.
The infamous Third Prince of rumor.
A man said to possess a violent temperament so monstrous that bloodshed followed wherever he went within the imperial family, forcing even the Crown Prince to isolate him inside his palace.
‘—Though he lacks the red eyes required to become Emperor, he could have served Crown Prince Vincent splendidly.’
‘—In the past, people constantly came and went from the Prince’s Palace. Now perhaps not even ghosts would visit.’
‘—Though I heard it wasn’t madness at all, but actually some kind of plague.’
Rumors claimed that when he was young, Lucian had possessed everything—brilliance, exceptional looks, and a diligent personality—only to be ruined after suddenly falling victim to madness.
The man called Deneb recalled Lucian’s expressionless face, heavy with boredom.
“If Lady Paneschula truly sent him a proposal, then naturally the marriage should have gone through, shouldn’t it?”
Truthfully, Deneb felt an intense sense of victory deep inside.
Ever since childhood, he had constantly been compared to Jade Delphoi simply because they were peers and had both received knighthood around the same time.
Jade Delphoi had been born the heir of a prestigious knightly family, received magnificent training from childhood, and possessed overwhelming natural talent besides.
How could anyone possibly hope to catch up to someone like that?
‘If we continue striving together, we can both improve.’
Yet Jade always acted superior whenever he had the chance.
Whenever he wore that expressionless face while offering shallow words of comfort anyone could say, or shamelessly extended his hand toward others, it made Deneb sick.
‘So after climbing so high, the place you finally reached was beside a mad prince. Even if you possess talent, it seems you have no eye for judging people. The same must be true for your taste in women.’
At last, he felt as though a long-festering knot inside his chest had finally unraveled.
He did not care if others called him petty.
People who spent years drowning in resentment often lost the ability to recognize the irrationality of their own emotions.
As though afraid someone might overhear, Ethan nervously looked around.
“No, but still, everyone knows Sir Jade was engaged to Lady Ginevra…”
For the first time, genuine discomfort appeared across Ethan’s face.
Unlike the man overflowing with resentment beside him, Ethan at least understood appearances.
In truth, he had never cared about powerless princes from the beginning. His greatest concern was finding some way to attach himself to the Crown Prince’s inner circle. He merely tolerated this conversation because the man before him possessed ties to House Paneschula.
He already knew that Lillian Paneschula had been desperately trying to obtain Jade Delphoi despite his engagement.
And he also knew this very man had once sent Lillian a proposal himself—only to be harshly rejected.
‘Then why, after suffering such humiliation, does he still remain so closely tied to House Paneschula?’
To think he would dare openly slander a prince’s knight even before someone not particularly close to him.
“What is it that frightens you so much?”
“Frightens me? What are you talking about now?”
“It’s not as though I insulted His Highness the Crown Prince, nor insulted His Highness the Prince. I merely repeated rumors already circulating. Everything I’m saying is something everyone already knows.”
