🌷 Chapter Thirty –
“I was wondering what I had done wrong to suffer like this in this world, but my meeting with the Grand Duke was the biggest mistake of my entire life.”
Annette closed the heavy door behind her.
Hans, who was waiting outside, winced in horror.
He was terrified as he sent away the passing servants so that they would not hear the quarrel between the two.
Hans glanced at Annette's calm face again and at Theodor, who could be seen through the crack in the open door.
“Master Hans.”
“N…yes.”
“You asked me earlier why I wrote Müller's surname on the altarpiece, didn't you?”
“Yes, I did that.”
When Hans asked why, Annette didn't give him an answer, but when she said this out of nowhere, Hans looked at her expectantly while wondering if she would give him an answer this time.
“I thought that if His Highness wanted to become Emperor, he would have to be kind to all non-noble people who held the title of Müller.
This is because if I were Müller, I would want to give the person who cared for me and gave me a good standing in society the right to sit on the throne.”
Muller was a nickname that represented abandoned people.
Most people had the surname Müller, but they didn't belong anywhere, so Annette tried to unite them in support of Theodore.
For the first time, she wanted to give a sense of identity to people who did not belong to the same family, even if they shared the same surname, and provide them with a home under the cathedral roof.
Annette wanted to give Theodore the image of a benevolent ruler who thinks about the people.
If Theodore later became emperor, she hoped that the common people would acknowledge him for this achievement, as he had been kind to them even before he became emperor, and serve him as their true king.
She knew he was an evil scoundrel, but she still wanted him to be praised if he became Emperor thanks to her being with him.
While he sat arrogantly like a ruler, Annette hoped that all those with the title of Muller would serve the one who cared for them like a true ruler of this empire.
But all this was a useless illusion.
These were just rosy thoughts from naive Annette's planet Emerald.
Annette looked at the person who was already sitting behind the closed door.
"But he really didn't deserve it.
Respect is given to someone who deserves respect, but this man didn't deserve it at all."
Annette became angry and raised her voice.
The clear and precise words slid through the thick door and stuck in the ears of the person behind it.
Annette let go of her anger and left the place.
As soon as the hem of Annette's clothes disappeared at the end of the hall, Hans opened the door and entered, finding Theodor still burying his body in the easy chair.
“What did you do to her?”
“Why are you so sure it's my fault?”
“If it had been the Grand Duchess who had made a mistake and raised her voice like that inside your office, you would not have allowed her to scream again in front of your office because you would have cut her vocal cords before she even came out.”
Theodore's brow furrowed.
Hans' answer was very correct.
When one was in his office or on his hunting ground, Theodore did not tolerate any disturbance.
However, Theodore was patient enough to let Annette into his office, choke him by the collar, yell at him, then talk rudely to him, and let her go, body intact.
“That woman is angry with me.”
“It's her right.”
“Why are you siding with the Grand Duchess?”
“I want to show you your mistake, Your Highness, not defend Her Highness.”
Hans sighed heavily.
“You really like Her Highness the Grand Duchess, but why are you being so childish with her?”
“Who likes whom?”
“If you didn’t really trust her and her abilities were in question, you wouldn’t have given her a place in your household as Grand Duchess and kept her in the palace.”
Theodor did not object to Hans' words.
Annette's benefit was satisfactory, so Theodore showed extraordinary mercy by not punishing her for her violent attitude when she raised her voice in his office.
The reason he admired Annette so much was because she was a rare person who concealed her feelings well and acted rationally.
Honestly, the emotional attitude Annette had just shown was completely unexpected for Theodore.
“Why are you so childish?”
“……Did I hear what you just said wrong?”
“No.
Your Highness’s actions seem to be no different from those of an arrogant little child.”
Theodor doubted whether he heard Hans correctly, but he soon realized how uncharacteristic his actions really were.
The sooner they resolved the issue of succession and inheritance of the Scheringen title, the better for Theodor.
Of course, this had to be done with one small ring.
However, Theodore hid it in his desk drawer...
Why did he do that……?
He was definitely going to give it to her along with Maria's ring at the villa.
Theodor was thinking of giving her the wedding ring first, then seeing that she was a little satisfied with it, then putting the Scheringen ring on her other hand.
However, when he gave her the emerald ring and saw the frightened light green eyes, he immediately felt upset.
He should have given the Eagle Ring to her then, but he was overwhelmed by the desire to test her one last time.
“Isn’t it a bit ridiculous if the emperor’s qualifications only come from his mother’s lineage?”
Perhaps this was why her sarcastic attitude towards the Emperor and her disregard for him, who longed for that position, made him feel naive.
But she knew how to easily handle new tasks and move forward without incident.
Arguing angrily was not the kind of behavior Theodore had expected from Annette.
He didn't know why, but it seemed to touch Annette's pride.
He thought she was enjoying their relationship and these tests, but he was wrong.
“I hate to admit it, but she is a normal, nice person.
At first, I thought the Grand Duchess had somehow seduced Your Highness, but now I know her well.
It must be Your Highness who seduced Her Highness the Grand Duchess in a malicious way.”
Hans spoke about it harshly without knowing what Theodor was thinking.
This was the first time he had expressed his opinion before a man he considered his master.
He said that he didn't like Theodore's childish behavior, but in fact, his heart gradually leaned toward Annette and unexpectedly began to side with her without realizing it.
It had not been long since he had met her, but she was not someone who would do something without a reason.
If she was so angry, there had to be a reason.
“I don’t know what you did to her, but she seems to have had enough of your childish stubbornness.
If you want to become an emperor, you must learn how to be responsible.
Especially towards your wife.”
Hans dared to leave the room without permission after advising Theodor for the first time in his life.
***
Annette stared into the shop window.
The sparkling gems were placed side by side on the other side of the glass.
However, Annette's eyes were too fierce to be the eyes of a woman who saw fine jewelry.
There was a young girl selling flowers on the street who saw Annette as a beautiful lady and approached her excitedly, but she was frightened when she saw her terrified expression and quickly ran away.
Annette had an expression like that of a falcon in battle, but she was just going shopping.
The next hunting festival was scheduled to be prepared in the fall.
Of course, it seemed that Annette was hunting instead of buying hunting festival supplies, but this was the best and safest area in downtown Lider City, so she had no monsters to kill here.
“Do you want to come in?”
Lisa looked at her and asked, but Annette continued to pierce the glass in front of her with a bullet-like stare, and it was not long before the answer came.
“Lisa.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I am very angry with His Highness and I want to spend all his property.”
"Sorry?"
“I want to get revenge by stealing all of his belongings and emptying his safe, but that man has a lot of money on his hands.
He will have no problem buying the entire building that houses the jewelry store, not just the diamond necklace in front of me here.”
“I'm sorry, but what do you mean...”
"I'm so angry because I think I've been cheated on.
That man made me angry but since I'm more desperate than him in the first place to get what I want, I can never leave his side.
Our relationship was really like that of master and servant, so I didn't even have to object to what he was doing.
But since I know that and I'm still angry, how can I release my anger and ease my heart?"
In response to Annette's surprised question, Lisa just smiled.
“My husband was raised so well that his wealth became a problem for my revenge plan.”
At first glance, Lisa felt that the atmosphere between the Grand Duke and his wife was unusual.
Annette had always been more sad than happy, but she was much worse today.
Unlike the other servants, Lisa knew that the two were a fake couple, so she carefully guessed that the fight between the two now was not just a cute fight between lovers.
She was in no position to offer advice or help Annette, but even if she wanted to, she didn't know what to say.
“A f*****g man.”
Annette added a few obscenities to her angry complaining, and at that moment, Lisa was startled and fell back as if she had almost been hit by an iron hammer.
At that time, a huge shadow was reflected on the glass that Annette was looking at, and the shining jewel lost its luster in an instant due to the shadow falling on it.
“There you are, Annette.”
A monster has appeared in the middle of the city.
Lisa finally realized what kind of toys Annette was looking for.
“His Highness the Grand Duke.”
Lisa bowed her head slightly and greeted Theodore.
Annette did not look back even though she knew who had come.
“I heard that you went out to prepare for the hunting festival.”
Annette did not turn her gaze, which had been focused on the jewel, on Theodore until he spoke directly to her.
“You must have a job here.”
"No.
I came to ask you out on a date.
You've been away for a long time and I missed you, so I came to ask you to have a good dinner with me tonight."
His words were so friendly that it was hard to think that he was the man who had been threatening her like an annoying child last night.
The virtuous flirtatious words he naturally said were embarrassing and ridiculous even for Annette.
He wasn't so stupid that he couldn't remember what had happened the day before, so that meant they had to do what they were good at.
From the first moment they met, they pretended to be a loving couple every moment.
While Theodore was thinking about Annette's reaction, he suddenly extended his hand towards her.
Theodore did not come to meet her empty-handed.
He was holding a rose that he had bought from a girl who had run away when she saw Annette's frightened expression on her face.
“I bought it because I remembered you when I saw it.
Will you accept it from me?”
Theodore smiled a gentle and charming smile.
The sight of a tall handsome man holding a bright red rose in front of a beautiful lady attracted the attention of passers-by.
The number of people who realized that that person was the rumored Grand Duke Theodore also increased one by one.
Annette looked at the viewing window again.
Yes, window display.
They were a couple represented in the window display, so they had to act like sparkling jewels in the glass table front.
Although they were not on friendly terms, Annette had to pretend that they were a couple in love with each other.
Annette kissed the flower while biting the inside of her cheek.
There was a high possibility that the inside of her mouth would be torn and bloody after the powerful bite she made, but this was inevitable so that her face would appear red with embarrassment.
“Since we are going on a date, can your lady-in-waiting go back to the palace first?”
Theodore spoke softly and Lisa's face flushed at his words.
No matter how terrifying he was, Theodore today looked extremely handsome and attractive.
Lisa nodded and quickly left, and Annette lost her companion in an instant.
“I'm surprised.
Really.”
Annette summed up her thoughts in one word.
What had just happened was absolutely amazing.
There was a limit to rudeness, but she couldn't even explain how rude Theodore was now.
“What should I do?”
“I said I would take you on a date.”
But Annette's ears had changed the word "date" into a hell of a reprimand.