Everyone was looking at him, but Conrad didn't notice. Each and every person at the dinner table would occasionally glance his direction. Every head was full of the same questions.

The reason for their scrutiny was the bright lipstick stain located on the left side of his perfectly pressed collar. Conrad had a girl friend? How had they all managed to miss that? Who could she be? Everyone wanted to ask but no one dared. They all had too much respect for their friend/brother/godfather to embarrass him in public with such a question. Thank Shinou Lady Celi wasn't there.

Only one person wasn't glancing at Conrad. Gwendal Von Voltaire kept his eyes firmly on his plate. He remained silent through most of dinner and quickly excused himself as soon as it would be considered acceptable. He then returned to his office and threw himself stubbornly back into his work determined to forget what he knew.

Gwendal knew. He knew whom it was that had left the lipstick mark on his younger brother's collar.

He knew, not because he had witnessed an exchange between the two, not because he had heard rumors, or located love letters, or any of the normal clues that usually lead to finding out about lovers.

Gwendal knew because an hour before dinner he had given Yozak Gurrier orders to spy on some recent activity stirring just inside the border of Shin Makoku's closes human neighbors. Gwendal knew the identity of Conrad's love because Yozak had been wearing the same shade of lipstick.