Chapter 18

Annette wondered what Ludwig was apologizing for. For Ludwig it was something that happened only a few weeks ago, but for Annette, who had returned, it was something that happened five years ago. Perhaps that’s why Annette was able to look at him with an objective attitude as if it were someone else’s business.

“I, Annette….So, I’m sorry. I couldn’t send … your wedding present.”

“It’s all right, Your Highness.”

It wasn’t just an empty talk, it was really all right. Rather, if Ludwig, as her ex-fiancé, had sent her a wedding gift, it would have been disastrous. By the way, even in this situation, the only thing he could say to her was ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t send you a wedding present.’ Unlike before, Annette felt that Ludwig’s weakness was pathetic.

When Ludwig noticed the blatant criticism in her pink eyes, he bit his lips. With a character as delicate as his face, he hesitated for a while, unable to say something. Ludwig buried his face in both hands and confessed as if he was vomiting everything in his heart.

“No, I’m not actually sorry. I didn’t want to send a congratulatory gift to your wedding. So I didn’t send one on purpose. In this case, I know I should say sorry, but to be honest with you, I’m really not. I’ve been looking forward to see you. I.. I’ve always been sorry for that, Annette.”

Ludwig muttered without any remorse and buried his face even deeper into his hands. At this point, it was confusing whether he was really sorry or not. Now all that could be seen of Ludwig was his pinna that peeked out through his long silver hair. His ears were turning red and he whispered bitterly.

“What on earth should I do? To me, my only princess is you Annette.”

“Your Highness…”

Annette, hearing Ludwig’s confession, casted her eyes down in silence. She felt something hot coming up from inside her throat. Of course, it wasn’t because she was moved by Ludwig’s words. Annette was actually trying to contain her anger.

‘You didn’t do anything when I was framed.’

Thanks to this, Annette was expelled from the nomination of the Crown Princess, and Celestine became his new fiancee. Of course, in the process, Ludwig was restless and even appealed that it was Annette whom he loved. But that was just all of Ludwig’s “effort.”

Ludwig was always weak against King Selgratis. Ludwig, under the pressure of his father, finally stepped back and just watched her from a distance until she got married to Rafael. But now, he pretended to be remorseful and said, ‘My only princess is you.’

Annette was dumbfounded. If it hadn’t been five years ago, by now she would have been blinded by anger and grabbed Ludwig by his collar. Of course, if she had done that, she would be taken to the palace dungeon No. 503 for the crime of touching the body of the royal family.

Annette swallowed up her pent-up anger and reeled it in well. With a nonchalant smile, she poked Ludwig’s sore spot.

“Your Highness, don’t say that. Now you have Lady Celestine Keers, don’t you? She’d be so sad to hear that. She likes you very much.”

She did like Ludwig, to the point she dragged Annette through mud just to become a Crown Princess. Well, still it was just a family affair. Anyway, Annette’s prickly and amiable tone made Ludwig’s ears turn red. He couldn’t raise his head and buried his face between his palms. Painful sobs escaped out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry…I’m really sorry. Annette. But I can’t really love Lady Keers.”

“But she’s your fiancee now. Please try to get along with her well.”

“But Lady Keers is…. she’s so different from you. She’s too nervous and sensitive. I can’t even imagine a future with Lady Keers. Just being together with her makes me tired.”

After hearing Ludwig’s words, Annette was puzzled. Did Celestine Keers have such a sensitive personality? When they often met as crown princess candidates, she seemed relatively indifferent. She was quite fond of Ludwig, so there’s no way she’d be nervous around him.

But again,she didn’t know her very well. If Celestine was the one who drove out Annette and took the crown by making her own play, it would not be strange if her true character came out slowly after becoming the winner. Well, if she could plot to blame Annette like that, she could be quite a vicious woman.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t the time to rush anything. Seeing Annette remain silent, Ludwig’s head sank down more and more. Now the words coming out of his mouth resembled a gasp.

“I’m sorry, Annette. Because I’m this kind of man,…I’m just sorry for you.”

With his face hidden in his hand, the only thing she could hear from his serene figure was sounds of his breathing. His breathing began to get harder and faster.  Ludwig seemed to be sobbing and gasping. He was too weak to deal with stress and fell into a mild panic.

Fortunately, Annette was used to his seizures. When Ludwig had a seizure, it was nothing more than pouring oil into the fire if the person next to him was embarrassed. So Annette replied gently in a low humming tone.

“Your Highness, it’s all right. It’s now all in the past. I have never resented you. Both me and Your Highness have done what we could, so there is only one thing left to do and that is to accept it and be okay with it. So please don’t bother about it.”

At first glance, Annette’s answer sounded monotonous. But, this was one of the ways to alleviate Ludwig’s nervous seizures. Fortunately, Ludwig’s breathing subsided a little when he heard Annette speak. Annette, after confirming that it was effective, skillfully changed the subject.

“Shall we think about something else? Well, there are vast stretches of wheat fields in the Chapelle Empire with no end in sight. Even if it’s windy in summer, it is said that the field looks like it’s covered with green waves everywhere. The wheat grains rub against each other, and a fresh smell of grass emanates from them. Someday I would like to lie there and take a nap while listening to the songs of the larks. Perhaps their cheerful song is as beautiful as Your Highness’ lute?”

Annette’s voice was sweet and calm. It was a quiet tone that was very pleasant to hear. The sounds of Ludwig’s harsh breathing subsided as he listened to her words.

Annette waited patiently for him to calm down. Although Ludwig was the only Crown Prince of Deltium, his disposition was frankly more of an artist than a ruler. Since birth, his path had already been decided, and it was quite painful because it didn’t suit his aptitude. This was the main cause that induced Ludwig’s occasional seizures.

‘Well, he’s a poor man.’

Ludwig especially liked to play the lute. He could play very beautifully, but unfortunately, he didn’t play it that often. This was because his father, King Selgratis, disapproved of Ludwig’s hobby.

King Selgratis hoped that Ludwig, his one and only legitimate son, would have more desire for power…. like Rafael. King Selgratis was a harsh father who pushed Ludwig to his limits for this point. He sometimes did not hesitate to even compare Ludwig to Rafael. Thanks to this, Ludwig was very nervous about Rafael.

Knowing this well, Annette looked at Ludwig with a slightly wistful look. Just in time, Ludwig holding his face, opened his lips with slightly reddish eyes.

“Apart from you, who else would understand me, Annette? Now that I must marry another woman, other than you… I do not want to. I don’t think I can bear it.”

Ludwig’s eyes looked over Annette’s head as he nervously spoke. The tall man could easily look down at Annette’s little head.

“I always thought that the crown of the Crown Princess would suit your blond hair. There is a very beautiful red ruby embedded in the crown. The crown would have shined more brightly on your blond hair and the red ruby would have made your pink eyes stand out even more. So… I had been looking forward to the day when I could myself put the crown on your head.”

Ludwig, who finished speaking, smiled wistfully. His fingertips hovered in the air as if he wanted to touch Annette’s blonde hair. But he couldn’t touch her. Now, Annette was the wife of another man, who happened to be his half brother, Rafael.

Annette looked at such Ludwig without saying a word. As it wasn’t a bad break-up, Annette also felt sorry for him. Ludwig was safe because he was a Crown Prince, but also at the same time he was unhappy because of it. He was rather a man who would have been much happier if he was born as a fourth or fifth prince. Then he could have lived a leisurely life away from the troubles of the throne.

“Annette.”

At that moment, Ludwig, who rose from his seat, knelt before her. Then he bowed his head and kissed Annette’s skirt affectionately. His silvery eyelashes were dripping wet.

“Sorry. Even though I believed in your innocence, I couldn’t go against the strong will of my father. I know I was cowardly. But I also…. I can’t live without you. Only you Annette Bavaria, it should only be you.”

Ludwig whispered as he looked up at Annette imploringly. Annette was surprised by his unexpected words and jumped up from her seat without her knowledge.

In the first place, there was only one reason she accepted Ludwig’s request to talk. It was to say goodbye to him for the last time. However, the situation kept becoming worse.

“Your Highness, please don’t do this. I am already married to Rafael…”

Annette, who was trying to speak in a hurry, suddenly froze stiff in place. Her eyes fell on the gift box next to Ludwig. The light box seemed to have fallen when Annette got up in surprise.

It was okay until the box fell a little on the floor. Claire also dropped it once. However, the box that fell to the ground twice in a row, as if to protest, opened and threw out its contents.

And the true identity of the horrible gift that could make even the sodomite men go into heat… was a leather choker and a whip.