🌷 Chapter Twenty-Seven –
“Hello, Your Highness, I am sorry for my late greeting.
I wanted to say hello to Miss Annette, but it seems that I have been rude to you.”
Yvonne replied to Theodore politely.
“If you don't mind, I'd like to step in for a moment.”
“You never interfere, please feel free to speak freely.”
“I welcome your greeting to my wife, but there are a few things you should correct before speaking.
I would appreciate it if you used the title Grand Duchess instead of Miss Annette from now on.”
Yvonne was taken aback for a moment by Theodore's completely unexpected words.
“Annette is now a full-fledged Grand Duchess.
Now that she has an imperial title as my wife, even if you are close to each other and do not use courtesies in speech, you must use this title immediately according to the law.”
Yvonne was clearly embarrassed by Theodore's warning, as she had an inferiority complex due to her lacking etiquette compared to the rest of the aristocrats.
Because of her family's poverty, they were unable to hire a private literature teacher for her and Yvonne did not receive a proper education from the upper classes.
Her ungentlemanly behavior was most talked about by those who were jealous of Yvonne.
So she deliberately spoke to Theodore with the utmost courtesy and most flowery words, but the prince nevertheless pointed out her actions on account of the name issue.
This was not a mistake, because it was extremely rude to misuse names related to titles among nobles.
Yvonne came to ask for an apology, but on the contrary, she was the one who made a mistake and now she had to apologize.
“If the title of Grand Duchess is still unfamiliar to you, at least call her Marchioness Scheringen.
She is now the head of the prestigious Scheringen family.”
"I...actually...I couldn't believe what was said in the newspaper.
Miss Annette, no, I mean Her Highness the Grand Duchess...such a sudden marriage was..."
Yvonne was confused and spoke nonsense.
“I'm sorry if you were offended.
I just… I didn't know that Miss Annette, no, I mean to say… because I haven't met Her Highness the Grand Duchess since she was still single so… I… I didn't mean to insult you.”
“Of course I know you didn’t mean it, but you’d better be more careful in the future.
Your words might be misunderstood by others.
My wife is a philanthropist, but I am not worthy of being compared to the Grand Duchess and I might be very cruel if unnecessary rumors spread about her because of a ridiculous title.”
Theodore's reprimand took longer than expected.
This was the first time Yvonne had met and talked to Theodore, so all she knew about him was that he was the opponent of her lover, Crown Prince Hugo, and that he was known for his ferocity that terrified her.
The spirit she had been running with so much confidence a short while ago was shattered in an instant.
The more Yvonne's voice shook, the louder the whispers of the people around her became.
All the people who were busy visiting and leaving the cathedral stopped and listened intently to Yvonne and Theodore's conversation.
Eventually, Annette stepped forward and stopped Theodore's scolding.
This was the image that Theodore wanted to show to others.
His goal was to embarrass Yvonne in front of Annette, and show how Annette would defend Yvonne in front of everyone.
This was a quiet and loud way to show the shifting power relationship between them and explain Annette's position compared to Yvonne.
In addition, Theodor carefully and naturally advertised Annette's status as Grand Duchess, mentioning his marriage to her and her succession to the title of Marchioness.
Besides, Yvonne was Hugo's lover.
Blaming her would be a direct hit on Hugo, so he was wondering how much fun it would be between them in the future.
So Theodore was going to keep scolding her unless someone stopped him, and only Annette could stop him.
“Miss Yvonne regards me as her friend, so please don’t blame her too much.”
At Annette's kind words, Yvonne finally regained her breath and felt a little relief.
“Miss Yvonne, I would rather we go on our way today.
I will give you an answer to your request sooner or later.”
“Yes, Anne… Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”
Yvonne bit her lip and hurriedly bowed politely.
Although she was the prince's mistress, she was not yet the crown prince's wife.
Compared to Annet, the Grand Duchess, she couldn't even be called an aristocratic girl.
In a place where Hugo wasn't there to protect her, she couldn't make a noise anymore.
The mere fact that a girl of low status like her dared to ask for an apology from a member of the imperial family was already an excuse to take a stand against her and humiliate her in front of everyone.
If Annette had acted as fiercely as she did before, she would have accused Yvonne of insulting the Imperial Family and trying to destroy it.
Yvonne let go of her resentment toward Annette and turned back.
When Yvonne left, Annette sighed under the veil and looked at Theodore.
“You scared me for nothing.
You told me to go back to the palace as quietly as possible, but you were the one who made this noise.”
Her tone was simple, but Theodore felt the anger hidden in it.
“Why are you angry?”
“I think I'll have to bully Yvonne from now on because of you.
If that's the case, I'd rather hate her, but she's not guilty so it bothers me.”
“You don't want to be her friend?
Now you don't like Hugo and you shouldn't pretend to like him.
Since the situation is like this, you and that woman are the same age, so you can become close to each other, right?”
Now Annette didn't like Hugo, so there was no reason for her to hate Yvonne.
In fact, Annette had even previously decided that she would get along well with Yvonne and try to win her friendship.
She is the main character who holds the fate of this world, so there is nothing good about becoming her enemy.
“Who are you kidding now?
How can the prince’s lover and the wife of His Highness, who says he wants to defeat the prince, become friends?”
Annette blamed Theodore, but in reality, there was a hidden reason why she couldn't be friends with Yvonne.
She knew it the moment she saw it.
Annette hated Yvonne.
Not the real Annette, but the reincarnated Annette.
"Don't make excuses.
It's just that you don't like her."
“The reason I hate Yvonne is not because of love.”
“So what?”
“Would you understand me if I told you that this is the same reason why Your Highness hates the Crown Prince?”
Theodore was silent for a moment.
He must have understood Annette's feelings.
They both smiled miserably at the same time.
There are people like this in the world.
People who are so pure and kind that they turn people around them relatively evil.
People who induce feelings of inferiority in others simply by their presence.
People who make others miserable because all their actions are just and right.
Annette was jealous of Yvonne and it was hard for her to explain it.
A lovable girl because she is the main character.
Because Yvonne was the main character, this world would exist for her, and Annette would have to fight and conquer the entire world.
She has to do her best not to be taken away... so that she can defeat that girl and return to her original world.
This was unbearable.
Annette was struggling to survive and did not know what would happen to her in the future, but this naive child had a happy future even if she remained standing still.
Annette was destined to do bad things even if she didn't want to, so she couldn't hold back her anger and bit her lips.
“If you don’t have the confidence to hide your anger here, then let’s go home and take it out there.”
Theodore's low voice revived the moment Annette lost her senses.
Everyone was looking at her from all sides.
"Let's go."
Annette, burdened with a feeling of jealousy from Yvonne, entered the carriage, and felt a look she had never seen before.
Funny enough thing was that the only person in this world who could understand her jealousy of Yvonne was Theodore.
This is because he was also a villain who had an unbeatable enemy named Hugo.
“You really are like the villains of novels.
Even though she was the one who started it, you hurt the main character and sent her away hurt.”
“Did you hurt her?”
"You saw Yvonne's expression.
She had eyes like a frightened deer.
If I were Prince Hugo, I would never be able to forgive you, Your Highness, for insulting Yvonne."
"Your judgment is completely wrong.
Is it just because she is Hugo's mistress that I should ignore her disrespect?
Or do you have a better way I can intervene?"
Annette shook her head.
“However, I will take care of all the consequences, so please stop interfering in my affairs.”
“As much as you wish, Grand Duchess.”
Theodore smiled and Annette sighed.
***
It was during breakfast.
Hans suddenly rushed over as he was burning with anger like fire.
“Is it true that you want to decorate the altar with Mueller’s title?”
Annette abandoned the plate of eggs in front of her, wondering whether or not to take a bite.
Lisa, who was watching what was happening from the side, made a very dissatisfied expression.
She was worried that Annette would eat less since she came to the Flores mansion.
She looked like she was going to eat well today, but she was brought back to square one by an unexpected guest.
Lisa came with Annette to the Flores mansion and became her servant.
Of course, she was a maid of honor only in name while mainly working as a doctor.
They needed someone to take care of Annette's fragile health, so they kept Lisa to do that because they needed to keep a minimum number of people who knew Annette's secret.
“Why did you choose the title Mueller out of all the titles?”
“What's up with that nickname?”
“Are you asking because you don't know?”
"Yes, I don't know.
I hope it's a big enough problem to disrupt the Grand Duchess's morning schedule."
Annette took a handkerchief and wiped her mouth as if Hans's anger was annoying.
Only then did Lisa, who was watching what was happening from the side, find the abnormal part in Hans's mood.
Lisa looked at him intently.
His eyes were burning and his voice was loud, but he didn't seem to be angry with Annette herself.
There was something else that made him angry, and it seemed that he was directing his anger at the target in front of him.
“Don’t you know what Mueller’s nickname is?”
“It's your family name, Mr.
Hans.”
“So you don’t know why my last name is Muller?!”
“It must mean the person is a street kid.
In your case, Mr.
Hans, you must have gotten your last name because you lived in an orphanage!”
Annette, in keeping with Hans's tone, became angry with him.
“Since you know that then why……?”
Hans' voice trailed off weakly.
The name “Mueller” was a bit of a stigma.
This has been the most common nickname used by abandoned and street homeless children.
It wasn't a law, but it was an unspoken agreement between everyone.
A nickname as despicable as nothing, where you can tell where a person is coming from the moment you hear it.
Müller was the most common title among the common people and the most ignored by the nobility.
The biggest disgrace in Hans' life was his title.
However, the new Grand Duchess decided to attach Müller's title to the altar of the newly built cathedral.
The engraving of the family name on the altar was a privilege reserved only for honorable and powerful families among the nobility.
However, she did say that she would apply the title Müller, which is treated as the lowest among the common people, for the name of a great cathedral.
Hans heard this news late and came running all the way to meet Annette.
He wasn't angry because he was angry, but he reacted as if he was angry because he was so surprised.
“What are you thinking?”
“You're too noisy, so shut your mouth and follow me.
I have a very important schedule that I need you to accompany me.”
Annette threw the handkerchief with which she had wiped her mouth onto the table.
Lisa, who had been silently watching everything from the side, felt a sense of déjà vu from Annette's strange behavior.