Jade smiled gently and flipped through the catalog more actively than anyone. With the catalog in front of them, they compared various designs and chose what they both liked best. Then Rosana suddenly remembered something and asked Jade a question.

“By the way, when is the debutante ball? I was never told.”

“If you prepared a banquet for me, isn’t it right that I put in effort for you too?”

“What? I didn’t do it for Jade…”

“You helped with my work, so you did it for me. What do you think of the design? Do you like it enough? If you don’t like it, tell me anytime. I’ll bring another designer.”

Rosana, who had temporarily taken on Jade’s duties, had told him when he returned from the subjugation that he must have been busy and could lean on her anytime. 

Being who she was, if she learned the specific schedule, there was a high chance she’d try to get directly involved in the banquet preparations. 

Jade spoke continuously without giving her time to think, and soon Rosana turned her attention to the catalog.

Venice’s brow twitched, slightly offended.

“I know Venice’s skills well. I… like this one.”

Venice looked at the chosen design and ordered an employee to prepare it.

“For the fabric, it would be better to see and choose directly…”

“Use the highest quality and most expensive one.”

Venice smiled, seemingly expecting this, and asked:

“What color would you prefer?”

“Hmm… I’d like red.”

Red? 

Jade stared intently at Rosana, seemingly puzzled by her color choice. Venice also paused briefly but soon checked it silently and bowed, saying she’d send it as soon as possible.

After Venice left, Jade asked Rosana about her change of heart.

“I didn’t expect you to choose red. Didn’t you dislike it?”

It was a question that could trigger Rosana’s trauma. He could assume Rosana had always been interested in dresses, but not red. That was the color representing ‘Rosana Arcadi.’

That’s why there wasn’t a single red dress among those Jade had gifted, and red was nowhere to be seen among the dresses Rosana had chosen herself. 

Venice had also paused for the same reason. Since Rosana had chosen dresses at her boutique, she knew which colors Rosana disliked.

“That’s right. I really hated it.”

But Rosana’s voice was only clear. There was no lie in saying she disliked it. However, what followed was the complete opposite.

“But now it’s different. Red dresses symbolize me. So I chose the color that can show me best.”

Jade tilted his head, not understanding. Rosana felt a bit embarrassed too. In fact, she had been the one blatantly avoiding red all this time. 

But suddenly changing her attitude—it was understandable that he’d be confused. Rosana moved her lips to say what she hadn’t been able to say earlier.

“Jade.”

Rosana called him in a tone that seemed to know his concerns. And she spoke in a gentle voice.

“Do you remember… the very first question I asked? When I didn’t know who I was, I asked what I looked like to you.”

Rosana placed her hand on her chest, seemingly recalling that moment.

“You told me. That I was different from the vicious and cruel Rosana, that I was just an ordinary lady with a pretty smile. But now I know. Actually, they were both me.”

Rosana shook off all the unease that had remained in a corner of her heart. All her worries flew away in the bitter winter wind.

“No matter how much I deny it, the past is the path I’ve walked, isn’t it? The emptiness and hollowness I felt in the past—aren’t they also the foundation that makes up who I am now? So the me of the past and the me of the present living on that foundation are the same me.”

Until just a few days ago, she had been floundering in the shadow of ‘Rosana Arcadi.’ But whether ‘Rosana Arcadi’ swallowed Rosana or Rosana swallowed ‘Rosana Arcadi,’ it was ultimately the same thing.

She deliberately dredged up the hazily fading past. It felt like she was finally facing head-on the fear she had been suppressing for so long.

In that both were herself, there was no difference whatsoever.

“Right?”

“…”

Rosana asked Jade. But Jade couldn’t give her an answer. As always, he should give her words of affirmation, he should say something, but his lips wouldn’t move.

It might be because he was blinded by her smile, more beautiful than the intense sun, or because he was wandering through the ocean searching for the right words to describe her.

No. Actually, his throat was choked up. Rosana, who calmly accepted that even the terrible aspects she hated were part of herself, was endlessly dazzling.

“…What a shame. That I couldn’t see it directly.”

Jade leaned his face against her shoulder, seemingly collapsing. Rosana even liked the weight she felt on her shoulder. Rosana chattered in a clear and beautiful voice like a chirping bird. Seemingly proud of her own growth, Rosana told Jade about the process of her realization.

But Jade could only give brief answers like “I see” and “Is that so?” 

He quietly closed his eyes, listening like someone hearing a lullaby. He hoped she wouldn’t notice the anxiety consuming him.

Rosana didn’t know about Jade’s desperation, but she suddenly noticed something strange about his attitude. However, she couldn’t find anything on his closed-eyed face. After tilting her head for a moment, Rosana spoke.

“Jade taught me.”

“I did? No. You figured it out yourself.”

Rosana’s eyes widened slightly. It deviated a bit from the tone she’d been hearing. It was different from the tone that praised and lifted her up, saying she was admirable. 

Rather, it was a voice struggling to escape from his own helplessness. Even when she called softly, he absolutely wouldn’t meet her eyes, so Rosana silently embraced him. She felt like she should.

* * *

News of Rosana’s debut banquet spread quickly among the nobles. Those who paid even the slightest attention to the atmosphere in the imperial capital already knew that rumors about Rosana were very different from before. 

They were astonished by the news that Rosana had served as the emperor’s proxy and were shocked again that she had successfully concluded the agreement.

Jade had sent away the Ales delegation, but the agreement had already been concluded before that. 

Above all, the nobles who had carefully observed Rosana’s attitude when they encountered her at the central noble council overturned their evaluation of her when news of the Ales delegation spread.

Rumors were also spreading among the noblewomen. The culprit was Venice. It was a well-known fact that Venice had once belonged to the knights, and her boutique was quite popular too. 

She deliberately went around spreading word that the emperor and Rosana had a special relationship. Even the story spread that Jade had hunted a pile of Kelpies for Rosana.

The nobles were amazed that he had given her such a precious thing. Venice’s boutique was in a state of receiving so many production requests that it could no longer take orders. 

More than one or two people had witnessed the Kelpie fur piled up like a mountain in the carriage from the imperial palace entering her boutique.

Thanks to this, nobles lined up to attend the banquet.

Nobles who had said they wouldn’t go sent letters saying they would attend again. The letters that came back piled up formed a small mountain in one corner of the desk. 

The volume of those letters showed how many nobles had initially refused to attend her debut banquet, and conversely, how many nobles were now interested in Rosana.

“Interest in Lady Rosana has risen considerably. It’s probably because news spread that she not only successfully completed the banquet welcoming the Ales delegation but also concluded the agreement.”

“Of course. It’s Rosana, after all.”

Malek raised one corner of his eye with a suspicious look. It was natural for Jade to organize documents, but it had been a while since he’d seen him work silently without grumbling. 

And he hadn’t gotten angry about having little time to spend with Rosana despite finally returning. Malek’s intuition whispered. That something had happened.

“But what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Look in a mirror before you speak.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you depressed?”

“Depressed? Me?”

Malek quietly nodded. He could see a gloomy and dejected air in his expression, which strangely seemed to lack energy. The corners of his mouth, which had always been confident, were subtly turned down.

The reason for Jade’s change of heart was probably because of Rosana. Aside from her, few people had a major influence on him. And his attitude was strange too.

Malek had resolved to be more alert after Jade and Rosana confirmed their feelings for each other. Because he didn’t know what excuse he’d use to go find Rosana. 

It was impossible not to notice something strange when such a person stayed in his chair like a well-behaved child until he finished processing the pile of documents Malek gave him.

And sometimes he stared blankly out the window with empty eyes. He had described it as depression, but he looked anxious.

“Hah…”

Suddenly Jade let out a deep sigh. He kept rubbing his face with dry hands. Rosana had said that her past self was ultimately also herself. That both were the same self. He couldn’t agree with those words.

Jade couldn’t acknowledge another version of himself as part of himself. Rather, he thoroughly separated it and thought it wasn’t him. The sighing that had filled the office stopped. And he spoke.

“I just felt pathetic about myself. It’s strange.”

Perhaps he had sensed it. When he turned around to see if she was coming along well, he realized she had walked ahead. Malek, who took a short breath, lightly rebuked Jade’s rambling words.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“What…?”

“If it’s about your attitude toward Lady Rosana, you’ve looked pathetic in many ways all along.”

Even though he uttered words that could be called disloyalty, Malek showed no hesitation. Jade let out a hollow laugh, saying “Look at this.”

“I kept my mouth shut even when Your Majesty didn’t understand your feelings and floundered alone.”

“…Isn’t keeping it shut the problem?”

“Didn’t Your Majesty pretend not to know?”

He had given hints many times. Saying wouldn’t it be good if they got along since she would become the future empress. Yet who was the person who didn’t even notice his own feelings? 

Malek swallowed a sigh.

“I will continue to keep my mouth shut. I see nothing and hear nothing.”

Jade, who had put down his quill, let out a laugh through his teeth like air escaping.

“Your method of consolation is truly novel.”

Jade’s expression was serious as he moved his fingers, seemingly organizing what to say. After repeatedly holding and releasing his breath several times, he opened his mouth.

“Rosana is dazzling. She said that her past self was also herself. She acknowledged the existence of ‘Rosana Arcadi,’ whom she hated being gossiped about, as herself.”

He had been the one to reach out first. But seeing Rosana change day by day, he felt many things. She must be that kind of person, which is why he was drawn to her from the beginning.