Although he usually had the personality of a perpetrator, on that day he had a victim's face.
But what was even more ridiculous than his strange attitude were Annette's inner thoughts.
Why did she care about Theodore so much?
After all, had her hatred towards him faded because she hadn't seen his face for so long?
This was impossible.
This should never happen.
When the object of dissatisfaction disappears, the person's commitment to his goal and his determination to reach it disappear.
Annette did not want to settle in this world, so she had to constantly, permanently and absolutely hate Theodore.
“...Did I hurt his feelings because I neglected his mother’s ring?”
I thought he would act arrogant as usual, but his reaction was very different.
Annette couldn't tell if he was disappointed or something else, but there was definitely a feeling of resentment towards her.
"But we're not the kind of people who can have a nice conversation when they're alone together.
I just shudder at the thought of having to act like a couple in Lider."
Silver, who had come with her for a walk, followed behind her and barked with a whining sound as if he was “answering” her.
“What was your master thinking?”
Annette sat in the grass for a moment, giving the dog time to follow her.
A while ago, when Annette walked fast, Silver had difficulty keeping up with her and started panting.
This was proof that Annette's physical strength had improved.
She hadn't gained weight yet, but she looked healthier once her natural color returned to her pale face.
“Let's go again.”
Annette stroked the dog's head tenderly and then lifted her body from the ground.
A faint breeze blew across her face as she quickly raised her body, and then the smell of dirt coming from the harvested and empty vines hit her.
The grapes used to make the wine were still decorating the vines in the field despite the late harvest to increase their sweetness, but the path Annette took today had empty vines that had already been harvested some time ago.
Originally, the land was rich and fertile, but there was no fruit in the trees, so it turned into a surprisingly empty landscape.
However, even if all the trees were uprooted and the field was completely emptied, it would not be more empty than Annette's barren heart.
She was confined for three months in a mental hospital, and another three months in this villa.
She proudly accepted the deal, but doubted her capabilities to make Theodore emperor.
Even things that she had only read in books became reality, so it was difficult for her to deal with things firmly, especially after unexpected things that were not mentioned in the original novel suddenly started happening.
(MM: You mean Theodore summoning her and Annette's original knowledge that this is just a fake novel world.)
She is also not yet accustomed to the feeling of moving the limbs of this body, which is not her original body, but she must prepare to deal with others skillfully.
She was at a loss as she thought about how to deal with aristocrats who had lived amidst the war of politics and interests all their lives.
Annette stood in the middle of the empty vineyards, but she felt as if she were floating on the open sea.
How long will you feel this emptiness?
Even if she made wine from all the grapes on this farm and drank it, her throat would still burn and her stomach would feel empty.
So she had to come back.
She must leave this world and return to her world.
Annette, who was looking at the empty grape leaves with blank eyes, was immersed in a whirlpool of strange emotions.
“Can I really do this?”
Annette smiled brightly and scratched Silver's chin until he was completely satisfied, but then Silver suddenly turned around and put Annette behind his back as if to protect her.
"What is there?"
Silver barked forcefully.
Judging by the way he tensed his body and roared like he did while hunting, it seemed like someone had come here.
Annette could tell who would come to this villa before she even saw his face.
He wasn't Theodore.
Theodore knew all of her news through the people who were watching her and was aware of her every move, but he had never come here in person.
“Here you are again.”
“That's right.
I don't want to come all the way here, but I keep coming back.”
* * *
Annette's tour ended when Hans arrived.
Hans complained about meeting Annette all the way to the villa's library.
Looking at Hans' face, it was difficult for him to maintain a gentle attitude in front of Annette.
Annette, on the other hand, did not particularly like Hans, but she maintained such a polite attitude in front of him that it was impossible to guess that she hated dealing with him.
Hans was talented, but he was not smart enough to keep his expression neutral and not express his true inner feelings openly in front of his opponent.
This was the reason why he remained just an assistant instead of moving forward and becoming an important figure in society.
“Did you bring the book I asked you last time?”
“It's in the cart, you can take it from there.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Annette smiled brightly, knowing full well that Hans felt uncomfortable with her.
This is what caused Hans to be unable to deal with her.
Conversing with a common man as “sir” and not showing any annoyance towards him.
Nobles, especially those belonging to a large family like the Scheringen Family, should not do this.
It was difficult for him to obtain a license to practice as a lawyer, but after he took this job he became very close to the nobles and knew their arrogance well.
He was using the law to help them cover up illegal acts, but what he was getting in return wasn't gratitude.
Of course, he didn't get any kind of sincere respect either.
Aristocrats are originally people of this type.
They are the ones who feel that since commoners were born to serve them, there is no need to thank them for doing what they deserve.
However, Annette did not have that arrogance typical of aristocrats.
Of course, Hans knew that in the past Annette had been more of an aristocrat than anyone else, but today Annette was the picture of the perfect aristocrat out of some fantasy book.
It had become rather uncomfortable when the selfish young woman he had known in the past had disappeared.
The biggest problem was that she was starting to change Theodore with her as well.
What the hell had she done to him?
After Annette appeared, Theodor began doing things that Hans thought he would never do for the rest of his life.
Like marriage.
The word "Theodore's marriage" was never mentioned after his first failed wedding.
So it was natural for Hans to be suspicious of Annette because she had suddenly accepted to play such a dangerous role.
Hans had drawn up the papers making Annet a Grand Duchess, but it was still difficult for him to treat her as a Grand Duchess.
Of course, Annette had never asked Hans to treat her like a duchess before.
On the contrary, if he treated her like the Grand Duke's wife, she would be even more disgusted towards him.
This made Hans even more confused.
Even after Theodor's marriage was finalized, Hans didn't seem to know what he was doing.
One of his new main tasks was even taking care of Annette.
Hans could not disobey Theodor's order, so he had no choice but to visit Annette constantly.
In addition, he was processing documents and papers related to the Marquis Scheringen's estate.
“Has the property in my father’s house that I signed for last time been disposed of?”
“Yes, Miss Annette is now… I mean, she is yours, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”
“You can just call me Annette.”
“I am not fool enough to carelessly call my master's wife by her name.”
“Is it really necessary for you to call me respectfully when you clearly hate me so much?”
Hans is tired of Annette's honesty.
When Annette noticed the obvious annoyance on his face again, she turned around and pretended she hadn't noticed anything.
“What documents did you bring with you today?”
“There appears to be a problem with the property tax collection process.”
“As expected, you are in desperate need of a tax expert.
Why is there no one to take care of His Highness’s money?”
“His Highness is not so poor that he needs to worry about money.”
"He needs someone who can handle money regardless of whether he has a lot of money or not.
What's more, what His Highness wants is beyond selling a few palaces and three or four buildings.
Don't ignore the problem at hand."
There was nothing wrong with Annette's words.
This was also one of the reasons why Hans felt uncomfortable with her.
Annette sometimes pointed out precisely the things that Hans lacked, in overly frank words.
It was true that Hans lacked the intuition to organize Theodor's estate.
He was good at legal and stuff, but he had no sense of money at all.
Theodore himself had a business mind and had an enormous fortune that he had accumulated so far, but he could not take care of everything because he had other concerns.
This is because he was not only aiming for a prosperous life.
As Annette said, he needed someone to hold the money and manage it while he focused on his goal and tried to achieve it.
“I also thought about hiring someone who cares about this matter.
But it's not just any other business, it's about money.
Don't you know that it's hard to find someone you can trust and entrust money matters to?”
“That's why I introduced you to someone who has the ability to handle money and whom you can trust.”
“Are you the one who recommended that man?”
Hans frowned, displeasure evident on his face.
Hans remembered Ernst's background, which Theodor had asked him to investigate.
He was a man who worked in a small country house, and compared to the big Lieder merchants, he was the owner of a business that could be considered at the level of a local food stall.
Knowing what kind of abilities a man who grew up in such a small and poor place possessed, how could he be entrusted with such a heavy task alongside Theodore?
He even had a bad reputation in his private life.
“Honestly, how can we trust someone who has no prior experience?”
“Although he lives in a small village, he has experience in collecting and managing taxes.
I know how difficult it is to trust someone like him when it comes to money, but Ernest is an exception.”
“Regardless of whether he is an exception or not, I cannot put such a man next to His Highness.”
“If he starts working for His Highness, are you afraid that he will outlast you, Master Hans?”
“Do you know how long I work during the day?
If that person will work longer than me, it means he will not sleep and will die from stress.”
“Unlike Mr.
Hans, Mr.
Ernst has good stamina.
Is that why you object to him?”
“H-That…isn’t it the same with you, Annette?
You can’t even ride a horse!”
“You cannot compare my situation to yours, Mr.
Hans.”
Endurance was Hans's weakness, and because he was of a weak frame with almost no motor nerves, he made up for his lack of physical strength with hard work.
The reason he had to ride a horse-drawn carriage over such a bumpy road when he could have gotten here faster if he rode a horse alone was because he did not have enough stamina to ride his horse all night.
Hans, who had been stabbed in his weak point, flew into a rage.
He was upset about the way he revealed his weakness to a suspicious woman.
“Shall we calm down and go eat?”
Annette retaliated for his rudeness by teasing him appropriately and then smiled happily.
It was disgusting to see her slowly heading towards the door.
After all, it would still take a long time for her to be recognized as the Grand Duchess by the Hans.
Hans rose from his seat in dismay at such a thought.
“By the way, Master Hans...”
At this time, after thinking about it, Annette couldn't overcome her curiosity and asked Hans a question.