Chapter 35

The moment Raphael saw her pink eyes, strangely, he felt nervous and his heart was pounding wildly. He was worried about what Annette would say to his question. But Annette unexpectedly didn’t take the question seriously.

‘Maybe he’s asking if I regret this marriage?’

Annette realised what he was asking. In her previous life, Raphael had kept his promise until the end. Though she was helpless and was suffering from the ugly illness, he never looked at her in disgust. Until the day she died, he stayed by her side and no matter how bad her illness became, he never turned his back on her. Such a man was truly rare in this world. Annette, remembering this, replied gently with a smile.

“Yes. Even though this may be disrespectful towards the royal family, I’d rather marry you than be some princess.”

It was really strange. Annette, who had said something so embarrassing, was calm, but Raphael’s face turned beet red when he heard it. He was embarrassed because it was his first time blushing in front of a woman. It was so sweet to hear her say that she would rather marry him than be a princess.

Raphael was only the king’s illegitimate child. And the Deltium’s aristocratic society tended to value lineage. Because of this, Raphael was often ridiculed by other nobles. In contrast, Raphael’s half brother, Ludwig, was the only noble crown prince. Under these circumstances, Raphael had a strong inferiority complex about his birth. This was why he was particularly hard on Annette, who married someone like him.

For a woman who was desperately aiming to be the Crown Princess and could even bring down her other competitors, this marriage would only be a death sentence. She would never put the marriage in her eyes. Instead of the treasure she really wanted, she ended up with trash! Raphael was too proud to be treated like that by a woman. So he wanted to give up on this marriage before Annette could. Raphael’s cold attitude at the beginning of their marriage was a result of this sentiment.

‘But is it truly better to marry me than the prince….. do you really like it?’

He knew it was too shallow of him to think like this, but her words had a profound effect on Raphael. Raphael turned his back, trying to control the corners of his mouth, which were continuously trying to soar up. He was worried that she might see his red face even in the dark hallway.

Annette, who was unaware of the big tremors she had caused in Raphael’s heart, simply thought he was going to bed. Since she had accompanied him to Robert’s grave for a long time, she hoped that Raphael could now sleep comfortably. With great sincerity, Annette warmly said good night to Raphael.

“Good night, Raphael.”

“…. Annette.”

Just as Annette was about to turn her back, Raphael suddenly called her from behind. Annette looked at him, tilting her head a little and waited for him to speak. However, Raphael hesitated, unable to speak out any word, and simply gazed at the floor, struggling to keep his mouth shut.

“That.. Sometimes….. Can I come to your bedroom?”

Annette laughed at the unexpected question. One of the drawbacks of Raphael was that he mostly came into her bedroom  by slamming the door open. He rarely knocked, let alone ask for Annette’s permission. However, Raphael, who was standing stiffly in the hallway, staring at the floor without making eye contact, seemed quite sincere.

‘He even looks a little cute.’

It was really surprising to see Raphael look this cute. Before her regression, he was such a scary and violent man. Because of this, Annette was in a strange mood and could not speak for a while. Misunderstanding her silence for rejection, Raphael added with a more anxious tone than before.

“You know I can’t sleep well.”

At that, Annette felt her feet become numb. It sounded like he knew he could sleep well when he was with her, but could  it be possible that Raphael had noticed her ‘ability‘? She didn’t want anyone to know about her regression. Annette, hiding her surprised heart, asked as if she was really curious.

“Do you feel better when you sleep with me?”

“A lot.”

Raphael responded with a firm tone and looked straight at her. The blue eyes shining under the long, dark eyelashes seemed sincere. Somehow, when she faced his intense gaze, Annette’s cheeks slightly flushed with shame. Seeing this, it seemed like he really wanted her. Even if it was because of sleep.

So Annette lowered her eyelashes and nodded. They were a couple anyway. Raphael, who finally got her consent, beamed a dazzling smile.

“Thank you.”

For the first time, Raphael said ‘thank you‘ to her. As soon as Annette heard it, she realised that everything was really different from before. A warm and friendly atmosphere covered the two people who stood in the dark hallway, turning their backs to each other’s bedrooms. It was too surreal that it felt like a pleasant dream.

___

Annette opened her eyes in a hazy mood. She could see the side face of the handsome man in front of her. The man with a straight forehead, sharp nose, and red lips looked surprisingly beautiful. However, the stiff neck, broad shoulders, and muscular torso exuded wild masculinity.

Annette, half asleep, looked at the unrealistic side face of Raphael. Only then did last night’s events vaguely come to her mind.

‘Oh, he slept here again last night.’

To put it up nicely, Raphael was like a skilled assassin, but to be honest, to her he was like a night thief. Whenever he couldn’t sleep, he silently sneaked into Annette’s bedroom, without letting a mouse or a bird know. Unfortunately, Annette was the type of person who would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. So she didn’t even know when he would sneak into her room. Because of this, she would be startled to find Raphael in her bed every morning.

But like last night, there were times when she noticed in advance that Raphael had come. It usually happened whenever his sleepwalking was triggered. Every time Annette woke up, she would hold Raphael’s hand and bring him to bed. And then she would use her ability to put him to sleep. Thanks to this, her lullaby skills were improving day by day.

Annette held back the yawn that threatened to spill out. She carefully raised her upper body and examined the face of Raphael, who was sleeping peacefully. She was a little worried last night because he was again sleepwalking, but fortunately Raphael now, seemed to be sleeping well. There was no shade under his eyes, and his complexion also looked good. Looking at his figure sleeping deeply and taking steady breaths, she thought he looked just as beautiful and strong as the god of war.

‘Let him sleep more.’

Annette felt sorry for Raphael, who could hardly fall asleep. So if possible, she wanted to make sure he could sleep as long as possible. She very silently came down from the bed so as not to wake him up. But then, a thought came to her mind.

‘What if he catches a cold while sleeping like that?’

Raphael preferred to keep his torso bare, while sleeping at night. Even now, his sturdy, tanned upper body was half exposed under the blanket. Of course the scenery was very pleasing to the eye, but it seemed not very good for Raphael’s health.

Annette, who was worried, carefully pulled up the blanket and covered him up to his neck. Even the fingers that were exposed  out of the blanket were carefully pulled in and covered under the blanket. Then, the sensitive Raphael frowned and showed signs of waking up. Annette patted him gently on the shoulder unknowingly, just like a mother soothing her child.

“Come on, baby, sleep.”

Once she said it out, Annette wanted to bite her tongue off. What do you mean by ‘come on baby, sleep’? How embarrassing would it be if Raphael woke up and looked at her with a ridiculous expression?

Fortunately, Raphael did not wake up. He just turned his head a little and then again fell back into a deep sleep. Annette, who had been frozen on the spot, sighed in relief. Lifting up her heels, she did her best to quietly sneak out of the bedroom. She hoped Raphael could continue sleeping deeply.

Click-

Unfortunately, Annette’s wish did not come true. Even though the sound of the door closing was very small, it was still picked up by Raphael’s sharp ears. Raphael was actually awake when Annette woke up. He just pretended to fall asleep because he was embarrassed to face Annette.

‘You don’t think I’m coming too often, right?’

Raphael was inwardly bothered by that part. How much would his pride get hurt if he ran into Annette in the morning and get caught by her? If it had been his normal self, he would have stopped coming, even if he didn’t want to worry about such nasty things. But, the sleep in Annette’s bedroom was too sweet. He wondered why he could sleep so well here.

Well, given Annette’s personality, it didn’t seem she would kick him out. She wasn’t the type to go back on her words. Raphael laughed unconsciously, recalling what she had said earlier.

‘Come on baby, sleep’

It was not something that would come out of Annette’s mouth, who always seemed calm and clever. Raphael actually got nervous when she was staring at him. If she had woken him up and told him to leave right away, something inside him would have surely fallen apart. He didn’t know if it would be his pride or what.

But Annette unexpectedly pulled the blanket over him and patted his shoulder. The touch of the small, light hand seemed to pat on his heart, not his shoulder. As he recalled the moment, Raphael somehow felt a queer feeling as if his heart was tightening. He frowned and rubbed his aching chest, not knowing why he was doing this.

‘Anyway, this isn’t bad either.’

Maybe this is what marriage is. Raphael who thought this in his heart, sighed and rose satisfactorily, like a lion who had just woken up. As he stretched out his arms and legs, he noticed that his body’s vitality had improved. He only slept well for a few days, but was surprised by the unexpected result.

So he couldn’t stop sneaking into Annette’s bedroom. Raphael was sure that today would be a pleasant day. He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have dinner with Annette after his sword training. After all that was something that couples did.

“What? Annette has gone out?”

Unfortunately, Raphael’s good mood only lasted for a day. After finishing his sword training, Raphael, who had hurried back, now felt very uncomfortable. The maid was terrified when Raphael asked this with a crooked face.