Chapter 17

Upon hearing the hint about the gift, Annette’s eyes quivered. Her naive reaction made Claire laugh out loud and ruffle her hair. Claire thought Annette was really very cute. At that moment, Annette unknowingly recoiled and let out a small scream.

“Aah!”

“Huh? Did it hurt? I’m sorry, Annette.”

A surprised Claire hurriedly lifted her hand and examined Annette’s head. Her sharp eyes soon found a small scar on Annette’s forehead. And at that moment, Claire’s face became cold.

“Who did this, Annette?”

Claire’s playful expression became grave in an instant. Even though she was asking who did it, she was quite certain of the culprit. In the first place, only a few people could hurt Annette and that could only be the enemies of the Duke of Bavaria. Annette, who noticed Claire’s misunderstanding, quickly denied it.

“No, Claire. It’s not like that. I just… bumped into a pillar by mistake.”

Annette found this a little strange. Obviously, she was just telling the truth, but strangely it sounded like a typical excuse from a beaten wife. Naturally, Claire’s green eyes reflected her skepticism

“What do you mean no? This damn sodomite Rafael dares to touch my sister..!”

Claire, who was thoroughly angry, jumped up from her seat with such force that it overturned the table. Because of this, Claire’s gift fell to the floor.

Annette was moved by Claire’s words, “My sister.” But now was not the time to be moved. She quickly calmed Claire down before she accused Rafael of being a man who beated his wife.

“Really, it wasn’t Rafael! I hit my forehead against the edge of a pillar while trying to pick up a book. Here, look closely at my wound here, you can see that it’s not a wound that one would get when hit, but it’s actually torn skin.  Isn’t it?”

Annette swept her blond hair aside so that Claire could see it in more detail. In fact, compared to the extent of bleeding, the wound was not very big, and it healed after a few days. Annette was amazed at Claire’s sharp senses. It was hard for her to see the wound because it was covered by her hair, but Claire quickly found it out. It was simply amazing.

Claire opened her eyes and scrutinized Annette’s wound. Claire, who had been training as a Knight since she was a child, was familiar with injuries. Just as Annette said, the wound did resemble one that one would get on bumping into something.

“Okay. But I’ll be watching from now on, Annette. If he ever raises his hand on you, you can tell me anytime. I’ll make sure to crush him.”

‘How the hell are you going to crush him?’ Annette laughed at Claire’s bloodthirsty threat and her eyelashes fluttered lightly. Although Claire couldn’t beat Rafael, it was reassuring to know that someone was on her side. This was why her brother, Arjen, was in love with Claire.

Annette was always used to the cold, menacing presence of the Bavarian family. She was so used to it that she did not even know that she craved for some familial love. Her brother, Arjen was kind but he was always busy because his brain was so extraordinary. The lone genius had no time to pay attention to his sister, who was five or six years younger than him.

Annette wanted to be loved by her family, so she became a good child. She was especially under the illusion that if she met her father, Allamand’s expectations, he might love her. ‘How naive you were in the past!’

‘Although everything was already wrong at that point, I was completely abandoned when I couldn’t be the Crown Princess.’

Now the only people who she could call her family were Arjen, CIaire, and Rafael. Of course, Rafael hated her, but maybe they could find a compromise. Annette wanted to get along with him if possible. He was a better husband than she thought, contrary to his intimidating appearance.

“Oh!”

Just in time, Claire bent over and picked up the gift that had fallen on the floor. It had  fallen earlier when Claire excitedly got up from her seat. She laughed, giving Annette the gift back as if embarrassed by her impulsive behaviour.

“Oh, I’m glad Rafael Carnesis isn’t a son of a bitch who hits his wife. It’s a hard-earned gift. I got it so I could get along with my husband. I still want to take it back now.”

“By the way, what’s really in here?”

“Are you curious? If you’re curious, go home and open it with Rafael Carnesis.”

Claire, with a mischievous smile, casually shrugged her shoulders and teased Annette. She did not tell her what was the present until they parted. Thanks to this, Annette had to walk with a vague expression, fiddling with the gift.

“What the hell is in this box?’

‘It must be something terrible to even arouse the sodomite men.. No way, it’s not an aphrodisiac, is it? That’s something illegal.’ Annette looked down at the box with a stiff face as if she was looking at a bomb. Of course, that wouldn’t make her see the object in the box.

Annette decided to go home quickly and check out this suspicious gift. The place where she met Claire was west of the palace. Because of this, it took her quite a long walk to get to the south gate where her carriage was waiting. Naturally, Annette’s footsteps became a little hurried.

It was then, a long shadow suddenly fell in front of Annette. Annette’s eyes widened, when she casually looked up and identified the owner of the shadow.

“…. Greetings to the Little Sun of Deltium.”

“Annette.”

The person in front of her was none other than Prince Ludwig. A man who she once believed she would marry. Also the man whom she after being framed, never met again.

Annette was embarrassed to see him in front of her after a long time. In fact, it wouldn’t be considered a long time if she considered her present life. But it was a reunion after nearly five years if her time before regression was also counted. In front of Ludwig, Annette , who was always polite, trembled secretly. The timing of the encounter was not so good.

‘There might be illegal aphrodisiacs in the gift box.’

She couldn’t believe she had to worry about this in front of the prince, who she had reunited with for the first time in five years. Annette became sad. The face of Prince Ludwig, looking down at her, looked very lonely. After a few seconds of silence, he reached out to his former fiancee.

“You don’t have to kneel before me, Annette. Get up.”

Fortunately, Ludwig did not seem to be interested in the box that Annette was holding. His blue eyes were fixed as if they were nailed on Annette only. His eyes even looked pained.

Annette didn’t take his hand and she stood up on her own.  Now that she was married to another man, this was right. When Ludwig noticed Annette’s indirect rejection, he withdrew his hand and frowned.

And in an earnest tone, he asked Annette.

“If it’s fine, l’ll like to walk with you for a while. I have something I want to tell you.”

At the unexpected suggestion, Annette closed her eyes and remained silent. Frankly speaking, she didn’t want to do it. Taking a walk with Ludwig will do her more harm than good now. If anyone saw them like this, Annette would again be gossiped about how she still hadn’t given up on the throne. If anything like that went into Rafael’s ears….. just thinking about it was terrible.

Seeing Annette’s hesitation, Ludwig reached out to her. His graceful fingertips were shaking a little. Ludwig, carefully grasped the end of her sleeve, decorated with lace and whispered painfully.

“Please, Annette….please.”

His face, which was just as beautiful as before, was pale  with anxiety and nervousness. Seeing this, Annette let out a sigh. It wasn’t like Ludwig did not know why or what he was doing this now. Annette looked around and eventually accepted.

“Instead, please bring at least four attendants with you. I have to go home before it’s too late, so I can only talk for 30 minutes. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course, Annette.”

Only then did a smile bloom on Ludwig’s sad face. He quickly noticed why Annette was doing this. Ludwig beckoned towards four servants who were standing far away from them. Seeing the four servants following them, Annette felt relieved. At least, this was much better than walking alone with Ludwig.

Fortunately, Ludwig led her to the Crown Prince’s Palace. No one could enter this place without Ludwig’s permission. Naturally, the chances of their walk becoming a social gossip were also lowered. It really was an excellent location.

Sitting on a bench, Ludwig remained silent for a while. He seemed to be agonizing over what to say. Annette looked at Ludwig’s side and waited patiently. He looked a little thin and more nervous than she remembered. Annette’s eyes were full with pity seeing him like that.

‘You poor fellow.’

Ludwig was a seemingly perfect man. He was tall and had a slender physique. His flawless skin, and his features were as delicate and beautiful as a woman. In particular, the long silver hair that cascaded down to his waist shimmered like moonlight and made Ludwig’s appearance stand out more. He was a man who would be soon crowned as the king.

However, Ludwig had one fatal drawback.

“Annette….Oh!”

Ludwig, who was about to get up from his seat as if he had made up his mind, stumbled. He almost tripped over on his own feet. Annette caught his arm swinging in the air with familiarity and made him sit back. Ludwig liked to have his butt attached to one place.* To his life. To the future of the Deltium.

[T/N: To have one’s butt attach to one place means to remain still. What she means here is that he always remains still(or doesn’t do anything) when it comes to his life or the kingdom]

“Are you all right, Your Highness?”

“Oh, thank you, Annette. What an embarrassment.”

She helped him up. Ludwig who had a perfect appearance and seemed to be good at everything, was actually a far cry from it. He was terribly clumsy. Everything he did with his limbs turned out terribly. He would never dream of doing intense activities like sword practicing and horseback riding. Even on a flat floor, he fell alone on his knees and ate dust.

Ludwig, who had just now stumbled and got help from Annette, blushed.  He took a deep breath and then turned his head to look at Annette. Annette looked at him blinking her eyes, wanting him to get up and say something.

The moment their eyes met, a painful expression came on Ludwig’s beautiful face. His crimson lips whispered painfully,

“I’m sorry, Annette.”