🌷 Chapter Sixteen –
“This is not your world.
Even if you don’t like the rules, you have to follow them here.”
"Thank you for telling me.
I didn't know that."
“You wouldn't eat like that at a formal party, would you?”
"That's impossible.
You should eat uncomfortably when you're in an uncomfortable place and in an uncomfortable position.
Oh, of course, I'm not saying I'm comfortable now."
Annette dropped her brief rebellion, picked up a fork, and then began to eat properly.
The way she was sucking the cheese grease off her finger disappeared and she began to eat elegantly.
“If you recover, I will give you a little wine.
But that will only happen when you gain enough weight to wear a suitably elegant dress.”
“That means you won't give me a cup now.”
Annette frowned and began to eat.
The hand holding the cutlery was very graceful.
This woman thought the Emperor's presence was ridiculous, but she ate like noble upper-class masters.
Theodore wondered to what extent she would integrate into the aristocratic world and how freely her ideas would spread.
***
The next day, Theodore was late getting up.
Annette's envious glances at the glass of wine led to him drinking excessively when he normally only enjoyed it as a snack.
As they cleared their plates and we discussed Annette's study plan, the meal got longer and longer, to the point where Theodore fell asleep at dawn and woke up around noon.
It was unimaginable laziness in a lieder.
Originally, by this time, Theodore was supposed to be in the carriage heading towards the capital, but the plan failed.
He was now obliged to summon Annette, give her further instructions, and then leave hastily.
So they had to eat the meal and hold the meeting at the same time.
Theodore went to Annette's room to ask her to have a late lunch with him, but she was not there.
Theodore came across a nurse coming out of Annette's room.
The nurse Annette had chosen had always been frightened when meeting him, but Theodore was not surprised because that was the reaction he saw from most people he met.
The fact that Lisa wasn't a doctor was still distasteful, but since Annette was alive, Theodore agreed to acknowledge her skills.
“The Grand Duchess is not in the room.”
“So where is she?”
“I think she went to the warehouse downstairs.”
“Warehouse?”
It was an unexpected place.
“It's very hot today.
So she said that the cellar, where the wine is stored, is the coldest in the villa, so she goes there during the summer to cool down.”
Perhaps she had decided to become a winemaker herself after he forbade her from drinking a glass of wine, Theodore thought.
“Should I tell her you're looking for her?”
“It's okay, I'll go to her myself.”
While curious to know what Annette would be like in that unexpected place, Theodore decided to go find her himself.
In fact, Annette had shown a worthwhile way to get him to go to the warehouse himself.
***
Annette was taking a light nap, leaning against the stone wall, hugging Silver as she sat on a blanket spread on the floor.
This was not a habit that Annette had picked up a day or two ago; she had been doing this all hot summer days.
“Are you protesting against me in this way because I did not give you a glass of wine?”
An unwelcome tone of voice woke Annette from her slumber.
Annette blinked between us, trying to see the person who had visited the darkness underground.
Being exposed to this refreshing atmosphere for a while and leaning against the wall amidst the silence of the basement seemed to make her fall asleep for a while, but as soon as she woke up, she felt some pain in her back while hearing a sharp sound above her head.
Why would a noble person come to the warehouse and ruin other people's sleep?
“Should I ask permission to sleep next to barrels of wine without drinking them?”
Annette made her tone as sharp as Theodore's and hugged Silver tightly, then felt the warmth of his body who was sleeping in the basement.
Silver opened his eyes slightly and wagged his tail as if he was satisfied with Annette's embrace.
Even when the owner was in front of him, he never left Annette's arms.
It meant he loved her very much.
Annette remembered yesterday, when Silver had turned his back on her when he saw Theodore, and then she was relieved because she felt as if she had been avenged.
“I came here because I had nowhere to go.
When the days get colder, I will stop coming here, so please don’t kick me out.”
Annette was weak against the heat.
In addition, during the detoxification process, her entire body was boiling with heat.
This was a wine cellar she found after struggling alone in a place with no air conditioning or fan.
This was not the large warehouse near the vineyard gardens, but rather a small warehouse next to the villa where Theodore only kept the alcohol he drank.
It was a wine aging place, so it was cool, but there was the problem of it being dark.
The experience of living a month without sunlight in a mental hospital made Annette afraid of the dark, but the lamp alone did not dispel her fear, so she brought Silver with her when she went underground.
“Come on let's go, or do you want to turn into wine here?”
"wine?"
Theodore pointed to the oak barrels and wine bottles stacked against the wall.
Annette burst out laughing as she looked at the liquor that was filling one of the walls.
All drinks here are made just for Theodore.
They were turned into grapes, tamped, peeled, placed in oak barrels and waited for Him to bring them out.
After all, there was no difference between her and those drinks.
However, Annette felt that it was not ripe and fragrant, but rather moldy and damaged.
So maybe it becomes more like vinegar than wine?
“I don't think I'll become wine, but would you like to get me out of here before I turn into vinegar?”
“What do you mean by vinegar?”
Theodore asked curiously.
Annette laughed to herself, seeing that Theodore did not understand her jokes.
This man was no match for wine, vinegar, or sentimental jokes.
Annette laughed even more because it was funny that she could prank such a person.
After hugging Silver and laughing for a while, Theodore looked at her with a sullen face.
“If you're really laughing like that, stand up and let's get out of here before you get really drunk.”
Annette laughed a little more at his boring joke and stood facing the wall, but stumbled for a moment because she was weak from the effects of sleep and laughter while sitting.
Silver barked as if he expected her to fall, however, Annette did not fall because something solid supported her.
“Should I teach you to walk too?”
Theodore held her so she wouldn't fall.
He clicked his tongue and looked dissatisfied, but his help kept her from falling to the stone floor.
She didn't know if his intentions were good or if he just did this as a spontaneous reaction, but since she had received his help, she had to thank him.
However, no words of thanks came out of her mouth as she stood in front of the huge man's face that was looking over her head.
Annette's mouth was upset because he didn't say thank you, but she also didn't want to do it, so she felt flustered and remained motionless.
But it was Theodore's next teasing that effectively stopped her hesitation.
“Do you know how to climb stairs or do I have to help you too?”
He pointed with the tip of his chin to the stairs leading outside.
When she was treated like a child, Annette immediately felt upset.
Annette neglected to say thank you and left the basement immediately with big, angry steps, and then she felt as if she heard the sound of laughter behind her back.
When she emerged from the dark basement, Annette saw bright afternoon sunlight.
Silver, who had followed her before she knew it, spun around Annette and wagged his tail happily.
“Stop, get out of here.”
But Theodore sent Silver away in the direction of the villa.
Silver complained as if he was saddened by this cruel decision, but he followed his master's orders and retreated to the villa.
Judging by the tail he was wagging behind him, it looked like he really wanted to follow them.
“Why are you firing poor Silver?”
“I'm going to the city, so I can't take a dog with no legs.”
"It's not that he doesn't have legs, you're just uncomfortable.
Silver is very good at walking."
Annette frowned at the comment about Silver's physical condition.
“Have you decided to name him Silver?”
“That's because I can't think of another name.”
“It's the name you gave him, so please call him by it often.”
“Silver is the name Your Highness gave him.”
"I never thought he needed a name.
It's a name that came about because you wanted it, so you gave it to him."
“When was this!”
The two argued a bit, but in the end, Annette became Silver's owner.
Theodore insisted on his coercive words, but Annette wasn't planning on giving in to him and letting him force her to confess to something she didn't want.
Annette muttered all her complaints behind Theodore's back and followed him step by step without stopping or backing down.
"Silver is Smoke's dog.
I thought every dog that was bred had a name, so I asked.
What... where are we?"
She had followed him without thinking, but now she saw a horse standing in front of them.
Theodore's black horse stirred happily when he saw his master.
Annette thought for a moment about why she was in this place, then turned around and decided to return to the villa.
“Where are you going?”
Theodore pulled Annette by the arm.
His grip wasn't very strong, but Annette was stopped moving in an instant.
“Aren’t you on your way to Lider now?
So I’ll go back to the villa.”
Annette looked at the horse.
It did not seem that Theodore would stay here long, and since there was a horse here, I naturally thought that he intended to return to the capital palace.
“I was going to do that, but seeing you made me think of some things we should do.”
“What do I have to do with the matter?”
“How far did you walk the past few days?”
“I was just walking around the villa and in the vineyard gardens.
It's well hidden, so don't worry...”
“Haven't you been to the village before?”
“What will I do in the village?”
“Okay.
Do you know how to ride a horse?”
“No.”
Theodore thought for a moment, then jumped on his horse.
Perhaps because of his long legs, he climbed over the high horse in an instant.
His natural movements demonstrated how well he knew horse riding.
“Come closer.”
Annette approached Theodore in confusion.
“Closer.
Stand right next to the horse and look straight ahead.”
As Theodore told her, Annette approached the horse, whereupon Theodore bent down, put his hand between Annette's armpits, and then lifted it in an instant.
Annette, who suddenly mounted his horse, was surprised that her vision level rose in an instant.
“Don't the girl usually sit in the front and then the guy comes up after her?”
“Maybe.
But I don’t let anyone else ride my horse first.”
Theodore answered indifferently and then walked off.
As soon as he tightened the reins, the horse began to gallop vigorously towards somewhere.