Episode 138. It's All True
Henry's expression crumpled fiercely behind Julius.
He had clearly been the one to ask her out to the waltz, but some arrogant brat who didn't know where to start had blocked his path.
Diana glanced at Henry behind Julius. Then she turned back to Julius and frowned fiercely.
"You're late, aren't you?"
Diana whispered softly to Julius. Julius, unfazed by her rebuke, smiled slyly.
"The main character always appears last,"
He said, referring to himself as the star of the ball today.
"...You like main characters."
Diana pouted, as if she didn't like his smile at all.
"Aren't you going to take it?"
Julius's snickering was enough to make her laugh.
Truthfully, Diana didn't really have a choice. If she declined Julius's request for a waltz, she would have to dance with Henry, who was older than her father.
She nodded with a 'huh' and took Julius's hand.
Henry, who had Diana stolen from him right before his eyes, blushed bright red and trembled.
But he couldn't cause a scene here, which would be a loss of face.
He glared at Julius with wide eyes and then quickly left.
The commotion was short-lived, and a beautiful melody began to fill the ballroom.
"Diana, it's an honor to dance with you."
He lightly kissed the back of Diana's hand and pulled her body closer. Diana looked disgusted and tried to push Julius away.
"That's a little bit of an order. (What are you doing?)."
His hushed voice was suppressed.
"Why are you so angry? How can you dance when you're so far apart?"
Julius, unconcerned, naturally led her.
Diana, perhaps hoping to counterattack Julius's unintentional thrust, tried to step on his shoe with her right foot.
But Julius was incredibly fast.
There was a thud, followed by the sound of her heel hitting the floor.
'...You dodged it?'
Diana wiggled her eyebrows, watching Julius dodge her foot so effortlessly.
However, Diana wasn't about to give up. Her eyes lit up, and she lifted her heel again. She pushed forward with even greater speed.
Julius quickly dodged his leg again, causing Diana to kick the air again.
The cycle of kicking, dodging, and stepping continued.
Unlike Julius, who had remained calm at first, Diana grew increasingly angry.
'What? You're dodging everything like you know how I'm going to act?'
Absurd suspicions began to arise.
Julius, without avoiding Diana's intense gaze, smiled faintly and whispered,
"Why do I look more handsome today?"
"What are you saying?"
"Honestly, am I so handsome that even a woman would cry?"
"...Unlucky."
Diana frowned, reluctant to admit it.
In fact, Julius was quite handsome. His flawless skin and captivating eyes, his slanted lips, were enough to set a woman's heart ablaze.
Diana glanced at Julius and thought,
'If only he hadn't babbled and babbled away, he might have been tolerable.'
"I thought being talkative was also one of my charms."
"!"
Julius answered as if he had read her mind. Diana couldn't shake the suspicion in her eyes.
'Foolish Prince, womanizer!'
She glared at Julius, as if telling him to read it again if he wanted to.
Did Julius really read her mind?
He stared blankly at Diana, then quickly gave a meaningless smile.
“You don’t even have to say anything to tell me what you think of your future husband.”
“Did you just read my mind?”
Julius closed his eyes as if he wasn’t denying Diana’s words. Diana dismissed Julius’s actions as positive.
“As expected, you had a strange ability...”
“Diana, I can tell just by looking at your expression. What you’re thinking... and how much you like me.”
Diana, overcome with anger, almost shouted without realizing it. She was dumbfounded, so shocked that she was speechless. She tried to calm herself down and fiercely denied Julius’ words.
“Listen. Stop talking nonsense.”
“We’re getting married soon, so there’s no need for coquetry.”
“...?”
A playful voice flowed in.
It wasn’t at all what Diana had expected.
“I’ll leave the throne to Julia and just eat, sleep, and play. What a happy life.”
“...”
She looked at Julius with a bewildered expression.
‘Ha, really. You’re going to end up like this and still try to ruin the mood.’
...I fell for it again.
Julius, who was watching Diana’s expression, suddenly smiled mischievously.
“Hmm. What? That’s not the answer you expected, is it? Did you... think I would confess my love to you...!”
Julius’s expression, which had been laughing playfully, twisted. Ugh, he couldn’t even utter a single sound, looking terribly pained.
Diana had finally struck Julius’s foot. She grinned with a face filled with indignation.
“Don’t get me wrong, Prince Julius.”
She glared at Julius, speaking each word distinctly.
Rose couldn’t help but be distracted by Julius and Diana dancing to one side.
Despite dancing with the Archduke, she found it difficult to concentrate.
‘So... that person over there is Prince Julius, and the person I just met was the real Princess Julia, right?’
Haa... Why did you commit such an act of rudeness on our first meeting... You dismissed a perfectly fine woman’s hair as a wig. Rose may have acted out of ignorance, but it probably didn’t sound all that pleasant to the listener.
‘So... that’s why you kept looking so glum.’
She remembered Julia’s expression as she stared at her with a cold expression.
Rose, who had been preoccupied with other things while dancing, stumbled over the hem of her skirt.
Rose’s body tilted to the side. The Grand Duke held Rose tightly. Then, in a sullen voice, he continued,
"Juli, stop looking at him."
"Ah..."
"You've been staring at him the whole time."
"Oh, that's it. I'm so surprised."
I was embarrassed, too...
"Just focus on me."
He wanted to tell her to look only at him, not even at other men.
At first, he'd been happy just being with her, but twisted feelings kept welling up inside him.
A twisted possessiveness flared up.
Whenever Rose saw another man, a corner of his heart would twitch with discomfort.
Sometimes, he'd be consumed by a madness that made him want to lock Rose away from anyone and cherish her all to himself.
If Rose noticed his dirty, twisted feelings, she'd probably run away without a backward glance.
That's why he couldn't express himself.
He couldn't express himself other than with eyes that were pleading for her to look at him alone.
As if she understood his yearning, Rose's eyes finally met the Grand Duke's.
Her anxious, seething heart calmed with a single glance.
And at the same time, the rising melody of the waltz gradually subsided.
The waltz ended.
The Grand Duke and Rose faced each other, smiling.
The nobles who had been dancing in pairs linked arms affectionately when the music stopped. They then moved to the tea room prepared in a corner of the palace.
Of course, not everyone behaved this way. Only if they liked each other would they move to the room with their partners.
Those who initially didn't click during the dance were busy looking for other partners.
Henry, the old Emperor of a foreign land, turned back to Diana, as if he had been waiting for the dance to end.
This time, he seemed determined to dance with Diana. Unfortunately, Henry was not even allowed to dance with Diana.
Julius suddenly knelt before Diana.
He pulled a small ring case from his bosom and opened it with a click.
Inside, a five-carat diamond ring shone brilliantly.
“Diana, I have loved you since the moment I first saw you. From our first meeting as children until now. My feelings for you have never changed for even a moment.”
Julius’s public confession drew cheers from all around.
Only two people frowned at his actions: Diana’s father, the current Emperor, and the old Emperor Henry of a foreign land.
When Julius suddenly proposed to Diana, Henry glared at the Emperor, as if demanding an explanation.
It wasn't the young Julius who should have proposed here and now, but himself.
He'd finished all his discussions with the Emperor.
He'd been brimming with anticipation of embracing Diana tonight, but how could such a ridiculous thing have happened!
Henry, unashamed of his age, seemed unashamed of his balding hair.
"I told you Diana would definitely accept my proposal!"
He had been a fool to have believed the Emperor's unwavering assurance.
"I wasn't used to expressing my feelings, so I often played around with them. You probably dismissed everything I said as mere jokes..."
Julius stared at Diana with unwavering eyes.
"I want you to know that everything I've said to you... is sincere."
Again.
Those eyes.
Even though she knew that those eyes, those eyes pleading for sincerity, were all lies, she kept swaying under his gaze.
"I love you. Diana, please marry me."
As soon as Julius finished speaking, another round of cheers erupted.
Diana glanced at her father. The Emperor approached her, ready to drag her hand away at any moment.
Of course, Diana had absolutely no intention of being dragged away.
She extended her left hand in acceptance, and Julius placed a diamond ring on her slender finger.
Diana, wearing the ring, gazed at the sparkling diamond.
“Good. Please be a good husband from now on.”
Then, with a relaxed smile, she spoke with a confident voice.
“Even for the sake of my unborn child.”
“!”
Diana’s explosive statement silenced the ballroom for a moment. For an unmarried Princess to have become pregnant before marriage was not something to be proud of in this world.
Of course, this was all just Diana’s lie, a blatant lie to avoid a political marriage with the old Emperor.
“What? A child?”
The one who broke the uneasy silence was her father, the Emperor.
“Diana!!”
A roaring voice echoed throughout the ballroom.
Henry's expression crumpled fiercely behind Julius.
He had clearly been the one to ask her out to the waltz, but some arrogant brat who didn't know where to start had blocked his path.
Diana glanced at Henry behind Julius. Then she turned back to Julius and frowned fiercely.
"You're late, aren't you?"
Diana whispered softly to Julius. Julius, unfazed by her rebuke, smiled slyly.
"The main character always appears last,"
He said, referring to himself as the star of the ball today.
"...You like main characters."
Diana pouted, as if she didn't like his smile at all.
"Aren't you going to take it?"
Julius's snickering was enough to make her laugh.
Truthfully, Diana didn't really have a choice. If she declined Julius's request for a waltz, she would have to dance with Henry, who was older than her father.
She nodded with a 'huh' and took Julius's hand.
Henry, who had Diana stolen from him right before his eyes, blushed bright red and trembled.
But he couldn't cause a scene here, which would be a loss of face.
He glared at Julius with wide eyes and then quickly left.
The commotion was short-lived, and a beautiful melody began to fill the ballroom.
"Diana, it's an honor to dance with you."
He lightly kissed the back of Diana's hand and pulled her body closer. Diana looked disgusted and tried to push Julius away.
"That's a little bit of an order. (What are you doing?)."
His hushed voice was suppressed.
"Why are you so angry? How can you dance when you're so far apart?"
Julius, unconcerned, naturally led her.
Diana, perhaps hoping to counterattack Julius's unintentional thrust, tried to step on his shoe with her right foot.
But Julius was incredibly fast.
There was a thud, followed by the sound of her heel hitting the floor.
'...You dodged it?'
Diana wiggled her eyebrows, watching Julius dodge her foot so effortlessly.
However, Diana wasn't about to give up. Her eyes lit up, and she lifted her heel again. She pushed forward with even greater speed.
Julius quickly dodged his leg again, causing Diana to kick the air again.
The cycle of kicking, dodging, and stepping continued.
Unlike Julius, who had remained calm at first, Diana grew increasingly angry.
'What? You're dodging everything like you know how I'm going to act?'
Absurd suspicions began to arise.
Julius, without avoiding Diana's intense gaze, smiled faintly and whispered,
"Why do I look more handsome today?"
"What are you saying?"
"Honestly, am I so handsome that even a woman would cry?"
"...Unlucky."
Diana frowned, reluctant to admit it.
In fact, Julius was quite handsome. His flawless skin and captivating eyes, his slanted lips, were enough to set a woman's heart ablaze.
Diana glanced at Julius and thought,
'If only he hadn't babbled and babbled away, he might have been tolerable.'
"I thought being talkative was also one of my charms."
"!"
Julius answered as if he had read her mind. Diana couldn't shake the suspicion in her eyes.
'Foolish Prince, womanizer!'
She glared at Julius, as if telling him to read it again if he wanted to.
Did Julius really read her mind?
He stared blankly at Diana, then quickly gave a meaningless smile.
“You don’t even have to say anything to tell me what you think of your future husband.”
“Did you just read my mind?”
Julius closed his eyes as if he wasn’t denying Diana’s words. Diana dismissed Julius’s actions as positive.
“As expected, you had a strange ability...”
“Diana, I can tell just by looking at your expression. What you’re thinking... and how much you like me.”
Diana, overcome with anger, almost shouted without realizing it. She was dumbfounded, so shocked that she was speechless. She tried to calm herself down and fiercely denied Julius’ words.
“Listen. Stop talking nonsense.”
“We’re getting married soon, so there’s no need for coquetry.”
“Don’t be so coy. We’re just in a marriage of convenience, out of necessity.”
“Necessity?”
Julius, who had maintained a playful expression until then, suddenly changed his expression and spoke in a serious voice.
“I never once thought about marrying you, Diana.”
Julius’s seriousness, something she rarely saw before, made Diana flinch involuntarily.
“You took my hand out of necessity, but...”
Could it be... he was going to confess his love here?
Diana swallowed hard and focused, seeing Julius staring at her with unwavering eyes.
“Wha, what’s going on? Why are you suddenly like this?”
Julius’s unexpected attempt to set the mood made her heart pound for no reason.
Diana glanced at Julius.
Julius smiled mysteriously and pressed himself against Diana. And then, he whispered, leaning his lips against her ear.
“Not necessary... I just want to enjoy my freedom, fluttering here and there, fluttering, fluttering, like a bird in the sky.”
“Necessity?”
Julius, who had maintained a playful expression until then, suddenly changed his expression and spoke in a serious voice.
“I never once thought about marrying you, Diana.”
Julius’s seriousness, something she rarely saw before, made Diana flinch involuntarily.
“You took my hand out of necessity, but...”
Could it be... he was going to confess his love here?
Diana swallowed hard and focused, seeing Julius staring at her with unwavering eyes.
“Wha, what’s going on? Why are you suddenly like this?”
Julius’s unexpected attempt to set the mood made her heart pound for no reason.
Diana glanced at Julius.
Julius smiled mysteriously and pressed himself against Diana. And then, he whispered, leaning his lips against her ear.
“Not necessary... I just want to enjoy my freedom, fluttering here and there, fluttering, fluttering, like a bird in the sky.”
“...?”
A playful voice flowed in.
It wasn’t at all what Diana had expected.
“I’ll leave the throne to Julia and just eat, sleep, and play. What a happy life.”
“...”
She looked at Julius with a bewildered expression.
‘Ha, really. You’re going to end up like this and still try to ruin the mood.’
...I fell for it again.
Julius, who was watching Diana’s expression, suddenly smiled mischievously.
“Hmm. What? That’s not the answer you expected, is it? Did you... think I would confess my love to you...!”
Julius’s expression, which had been laughing playfully, twisted. Ugh, he couldn’t even utter a single sound, looking terribly pained.
Diana had finally struck Julius’s foot. She grinned with a face filled with indignation.
“Don’t get me wrong, Prince Julius.”
She glared at Julius, speaking each word distinctly.
***
Rose couldn’t help but be distracted by Julius and Diana dancing to one side.
Despite dancing with the Archduke, she found it difficult to concentrate.
‘So... that person over there is Prince Julius, and the person I just met was the real Princess Julia, right?’
Haa... Why did you commit such an act of rudeness on our first meeting... You dismissed a perfectly fine woman’s hair as a wig. Rose may have acted out of ignorance, but it probably didn’t sound all that pleasant to the listener.
‘So... that’s why you kept looking so glum.’
She remembered Julia’s expression as she stared at her with a cold expression.
Rose, who had been preoccupied with other things while dancing, stumbled over the hem of her skirt.
Rose’s body tilted to the side. The Grand Duke held Rose tightly. Then, in a sullen voice, he continued,
"Juli, stop looking at him."
"Ah..."
"You've been staring at him the whole time."
"Oh, that's it. I'm so surprised."
I was embarrassed, too...
"Just focus on me."
He wanted to tell her to look only at him, not even at other men.
At first, he'd been happy just being with her, but twisted feelings kept welling up inside him.
A twisted possessiveness flared up.
Whenever Rose saw another man, a corner of his heart would twitch with discomfort.
Sometimes, he'd be consumed by a madness that made him want to lock Rose away from anyone and cherish her all to himself.
If Rose noticed his dirty, twisted feelings, she'd probably run away without a backward glance.
That's why he couldn't express himself.
He couldn't express himself other than with eyes that were pleading for her to look at him alone.
As if she understood his yearning, Rose's eyes finally met the Grand Duke's.
Her anxious, seething heart calmed with a single glance.
And at the same time, the rising melody of the waltz gradually subsided.
The waltz ended.
The Grand Duke and Rose faced each other, smiling.
The nobles who had been dancing in pairs linked arms affectionately when the music stopped. They then moved to the tea room prepared in a corner of the palace.
Of course, not everyone behaved this way. Only if they liked each other would they move to the room with their partners.
Those who initially didn't click during the dance were busy looking for other partners.
Henry, the old Emperor of a foreign land, turned back to Diana, as if he had been waiting for the dance to end.
This time, he seemed determined to dance with Diana. Unfortunately, Henry was not even allowed to dance with Diana.
Julius suddenly knelt before Diana.
He pulled a small ring case from his bosom and opened it with a click.
Inside, a five-carat diamond ring shone brilliantly.
“Diana, I have loved you since the moment I first saw you. From our first meeting as children until now. My feelings for you have never changed for even a moment.”
Julius’s public confession drew cheers from all around.
Only two people frowned at his actions: Diana’s father, the current Emperor, and the old Emperor Henry of a foreign land.
When Julius suddenly proposed to Diana, Henry glared at the Emperor, as if demanding an explanation.
It wasn't the young Julius who should have proposed here and now, but himself.
He'd finished all his discussions with the Emperor.
He'd been brimming with anticipation of embracing Diana tonight, but how could such a ridiculous thing have happened!
Henry, unashamed of his age, seemed unashamed of his balding hair.
"I told you Diana would definitely accept my proposal!"
He had been a fool to have believed the Emperor's unwavering assurance.
"I wasn't used to expressing my feelings, so I often played around with them. You probably dismissed everything I said as mere jokes..."
Julius stared at Diana with unwavering eyes.
"I want you to know that everything I've said to you... is sincere."
Again.
Those eyes.
Even though she knew that those eyes, those eyes pleading for sincerity, were all lies, she kept swaying under his gaze.
"I love you. Diana, please marry me."
As soon as Julius finished speaking, another round of cheers erupted.
Diana glanced at her father. The Emperor approached her, ready to drag her hand away at any moment.
Of course, Diana had absolutely no intention of being dragged away.
She extended her left hand in acceptance, and Julius placed a diamond ring on her slender finger.
Diana, wearing the ring, gazed at the sparkling diamond.
“Good. Please be a good husband from now on.”
Then, with a relaxed smile, she spoke with a confident voice.
“Even for the sake of my unborn child.”
“!”
Diana’s explosive statement silenced the ballroom for a moment. For an unmarried Princess to have become pregnant before marriage was not something to be proud of in this world.
Of course, this was all just Diana’s lie, a blatant lie to avoid a political marriage with the old Emperor.
“What? A child?”
The one who broke the uneasy silence was her father, the Emperor.
“Diana!!”
A roaring voice echoed throughout the ballroom.
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