Chapter 15.5

Translated by Ailee

Edited by Mori

Annette’s doubts about her father were rational . The blue-blooded Bavarians never wasted their time on useless things. ‘If you did this simply to insult Rafael, then instead of sending the gifts back, you should have just thrown them away.’

With a deep sigh, Annette decided to keep a close eye on her father for the time being. She didn’t know what he was actually up to, but she couldn’t let him continue looking down on Rafael like this. Just the thought of the treatment Rafael had received from her father today made her furious.

‘It was you who had sent me to get married to Rafael and now, you’re not even treating him like a son-in-law. That’s just too irresponsible!’

Although Rafael was an illegitimate child, he was the illegitimate child of the royal family. Even the present king, Selgratis, was known to care for Rafael quite a bit. Because of this, Crown Prince Ludwig was very antagonistic to Rafael. Although Ludwig was the heir to the official royal family, and Rafael was just an illegitimate child.

Perhaps the reason why Annette’s father neglected Rafael was also because of the Prince. Ludwig would surely become the next king. Although he had no choice but to accept Rafael as his son-in-law, to win Ludwig’s favour, he was so cold hearted that he wouldn’t hesitate to break his ties with Rafael.

Annette understood her father’s position in her mind. But emotionally, it was unacceptable for her. Even though he knew she was falsely accused, he married her off just like that, as if he was kicking her out, and he even treated her husband Rafael poorly. Feeling a strong rage over her father’s behaviour, Annette clenched her teeth.

***

It was a very noisy morning. After completing his swordsmanship training without any rest, Rafael entered the mansion with his sweaty body. Last night, he fell asleep while drinking, so he was in a terrible condition. Neither his sword-wielding arms nor his legs were moving smoothly. Nevertheless, it was not a good idea to take a break from the practice.

Apart from his private life, Rafael had never neglected a single day of sword training. Until the illegitimate son of the king, who was nothing, rose and became the Marquis of the Carnesis. The only thing that was protecting him was his ability with swords. Rafael’s eyes were dark as he took off his shirt and wiped his sweaty body.

“Why the hell isn’t it working today?”

Although it seemed that he had almost reached the level of the Sword Master, in truth he hadn’t. It was so suffocating as if he had been blocked by an invisible wall. ‘If anyone could tell me the direction, I would give him a thousand gold coins. Will it be better if I don’t drink alcohol? But that’s impossible.’

“Damn it!”

Rafael couldn’t control his anger and frustration. He flung aside the towel and headed to the window. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he enjoyed looking at the view through the open window of his mansion. Gazing at the magnificent mansion and the vast gardens, which he had acquired himself, made him feel much better.

However today, even this wonderful scenery could not calm his heart. His hawk like eyes found a little woman sitting in the garden. Annette Bavaria. Another trophy he had won, just like the Carnesis Mansion.

Technically speaking, her last name was now Carnesis. However, Rafael had not yet accepted her as his family. She was nothing but an accessory to the disgusting Duke of Bavaria. For him, she was just something that was a little peculiar .

Rafael narrowed his eyes and looked at Annette, who seemed as small as his finger. She was sitting on a bench and looking intently at some books.

‘Is this a trick to get my attention?’

Rafael’s blue eyes stared coldly. Standing by the window in his room, he could see the bench where Annette was sitting very well. It was definitely a deliberate act of the Bavarian woman.

Wearing a light green off-shoulder dress and with her shiny blonde hair braided behind her back, Annette certainly was an eye-catching figure. ‘If you bite that pure white shoulder, a pale pink tooth mark will remain.’ In his eyes, Annette looked like a very exquisite and expensive porcelain doll. She was like a high-end product that an illegitimate child like him could never have.

Rafael was unfamiliar with the fact that she was now his wife. However, Annette herself seemed to believe that she now already belonged to the Carnesis family. The corners of Rafael’s mouth curled upwards when he recalled the quarrel she had with the Bavarian butler.

“Apologize to my husband who deserves respect! Huh! Anyway, you’re really a cunning woman.”

Rafael sarcastically tried to denigrate Annette’s intentions in his heart, but strangely, the risen corners of his mouth were not going back down. The impudent butler of the Bavarian family seemed very despondent at the sight of Annette taking his side. The thought of it made him feel better.

Actually, even Rafael didn’t expect that Annette would take his side. Well, maybe it was just a pretense of the cunning Bavarian woman, but it was strangely quite satisfactory. Rafael’s eyes, as he stared at Annette outside the window, softened a little.