🌷 Chapter Thirty-One –
In the end, Annette went with Theodore to a fancy restaurant in the heart of the capital, Lieder.
Annette initially seemed reluctant to go with him, but people wouldn't have seen her arguing with Theodore in the middle of a crowded street.
She can't ruin her reputation with her own hand again in this crowded arena after rumors spread that Annette is on good terms with her husband.
Even though Annette's hands were tightly gripping the rose that Theodore had handed her while it was bleeding slightly due to the wound of the thorns she had not yet removed, she showed no sign of pain on her face, as she barely suppressed her anger.
Looking at it, it occurred to Theodore that what Annette wanted to break was not that poor rose, but his neck.
Theodore was relieved to see that Annette was trying hard to suppress her anger while exuding a deadly and intense energy from her.
Yes, this is the Annette he knows.
The woman he chose had to be a very devious person, because she would move as a pawn on Theodore's chessboard to make him emperor.
No matter what tests she goes through, no matter what difficulties he puts in her way, she must do what he tells her to do without resistance.
Like a well-tamed dog, Annette must obey her master's words, and must not flaunt her dissatisfaction with the things he does.
In the end, Annette was the person who would make him emperor, even if it was at the cost of her life, so it should be impossible for her to rebel against him just for a measly ring.
Annette's emotional and impulsive appearance yesterday was just something extraordinary and unexpected from her.
However, the waiter, who recognized the identity of the Grand Duke and his wife, took a different attitude from that of Theodor the Unpretentious.
He looked at Annette's plate, of which she had eaten only a little.
Annette hadn't even finished half of the appetizers and turkey main course.
In fact, the evil Annette was one of the regular customers of this restaurant and an evil customer who was always harassing the waiter, so the waiter had no choice but to feel terrified because on the days when Annette didn't eat like this, insults would always rain down on him like a rain from the sky.
But Theodore knew that she had not stopped eating to protest, even though she was eating less than usual.
“Ma’am, didn’t you like the food?
If you don’t like turkey, should I ask them to prepare some seafood?”
“No, the food is great here.
Annette didn’t finish her food because she was full, so don’t worry about it too much.”
The waiter asked Annette, but Theodore answered instead.
Unlike Annette, who was playing with her fork over the plate, Theodore ate his food to the last bite and left his plate clean.
“...Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
Annette looked at Theodore as the waiter left to get dessert this time.
“If you have any complaints about the food, you should tell me.
Why are you disturbing the atmosphere of the restaurant?”
“You know I'm patient like this and I only put food in my mouth because people are watching us.”
Annette's gaze fell on the man who was eating alone at the table next to them.
“Patient?
The kitchen of the Flores Palace was in great commotion because the new lady’s taste was very picky.”
What Theodore said was true.
The biggest worry in the kitchen these days was the new lady's lack of appetite.
Theodore knew this too, because he often ate with her, however, he had no intention of force-feeding her by appeasing or courting her.
He didn't know what she was complaining about, but he was satisfied as long as she ate enough not to die.
However, the situation in the restaurant was different.
This time, the chef held on to the wall and stared at Annette impatiently.
He was worried that rumors were spreading that high-ranking figures came to his restaurant and didn't like the food so they went away hungry.
So Annette had no choice but to stuff the chocolate cake she was trying not to touch into her mouth.
“Huh?”
Annette wondered if something was wrong with her sense of taste and picked up her fork again.
This time, she put a larger piece than the first one into her mouth.
The chef and waiter, making sure she was eating the cake well, sighed and disappeared into the kitchen again.
“Finally it seems that the lady has found food that suits her taste.”
Annette ate half the cake at once without noticing that Theodore was making fun of her.
"It tastes just like the cakes at my favorite café.
That's amazing.
This cake had that special taste there too."
With a satisfied expression, Annette ate the cherry on top of the cake with a fork.
“If you don't like the menu at home, ask them to change it.
Don't make the servants in the Flores kitchen suffer for nothing.”
“I know what I want to eat and I can say it easily, but...”
Annette lowered her eyebrows.
Odentia's food was not to her liking.
When Annette was in the villa, she had to eat to maintain her health, but after she regained her health to some extent, it was like torture when they would serve her the meal.
"Even if it was made here, it wouldn't taste the same, so I don't want to bother the chef for no reason.
I'll enjoy all the meals I crave when I return to my world later."
“You said a moment ago that cake tastes the same in your world, so the rest of the dishes will taste the same too, right?”
“This…is this true?”
Annette was very surprised as if she had never thought of this before.
When she looked at Theodore with eyes as round as the cherry she had just swallowed, her pale green eyes stood out.
"That's right.
It will be the same."
Annette lay in the chair while she ate the remaining cake.
The new discovery made her feel a little better, but at the same time, Theodore's mood also became bad.
“I ate it all.
So now tell me why you came to pick me up.”
“There are illegal shops here, so security is not good these days.
I came to take care of the precious Grand Duchess for fear that she might be in danger.”
"I'm tired of you talking, so stop lying.
I don't want to be fooled anymore.
Why did you hide the Eagle Ring in your desk drawer?"
Annette shot him sharply, as if telling him to stop trying to flatter and get straight to the point.
“Because I wanted to.”
Theodore shrugged his shoulders without further ado.
“I thought you needed to know something important.”
"What?"
“You should know that I am someone who can test you at any time.
This means that you should know who is the master of whom and who has the upper hand here, and that you should stay above the straight path, so put your complaints aside and do what you are told without objection.”
It was a direct warning.
Annette must not forget her position and must remember that her weak point is in his hands.
His mean words meant that she had to take care of him and serve him humbly without complaint.
“You must have felt that it is difficult to obtain a position as high as the Marchioness, so don’t ignore the imperial family anymore.
Don’t make fun of my desire to become emperor again.”
“When did I make fun of you?”
“In the villa library.
You said that the imperial family is ridiculous, and you also disrespected the position of emperor in front of someone who wants to take the throne.”
“When did I...”
Annette squeezed the handkerchief as if squeezing her mind and searching her memory.
“That day I meant that the system of status, such as the emperor and the nobility, was to me old and contradictory.”
“This means to me that you are treating the position of Emperor with disdain and making fun of it.”
“But the idea that someone is standing above people and ruling them over is really arrogant.”
“Here you are mocking my determination that I built my entire life on again.”
Annette stared at Theodore and decided not to engage in a war of words with him.
“Okay.
Now that I get it right, let’s stop here and make up.”
“Is this the position of someone asking for reconciliation?”
“Reconciliation is not always peaceful.”
Annette bit her lip in exasperation.
It seemed like Theodore was waiting for her to say something more.
Then, as Annette was thinking about something, Theodore looked straight at her and opened his mouth.
“Aren't you going to apologize to me?
I want you to apologize for making fun of me, but it seems like take away all you can say?”
“...You will never hear an apology from my mouth.
Instead, you should praise me.”
This was in no way an apology from Annette.
Instead, she was asking Theodore to correct his approach and deal with her better.
After Annette appeared, daily life in the palace changed.
The Flores Palace servants now gave priority to Annette, not him.
Even in the kitchen, they were already making war-like preparations to please Annette's finicky taste.
What about his assistant Hans?
It has already become a ring on the hand of the Grand Duchess.
Annette was also the first person to win the love of her loyal dog, Silver, at the villa.
He could see the dog, which had never barked when Theodore left, howling sadly when Annette was gone.
Really, it's all about Annette.
But it shouldn't be that way.
He shouldn't change either.
He shouldn't lose his mind over that one woman.
Everything must go according to plan.
They should simply imitate a couple who loves each other and breaks up after achieving each other's goals.
So he had to remind Annette of her position before him and not be shaken in front of her.
It was enough for him to be faithful to the assigned role and act in accordance with it.
So, Theodore decided to better play the role of a loving husband.
He decided to participate in acting even if it meant that he had to endure the humiliation of people laughing at him in the middle of the street while holding a flower in his hand.
Theodore was still staring at Annette's face as she took a deep breath and fixed her shaken expression.
Then she opened her mouth and said strange words.
“Your actions weren't arrogant, they were rude.”
"What?"
“Have you heard about being an unlucky person?
Without me, there is no way you would ever become Emperor.”
“I haven't heard of that.
At all.”
"I don't think so.
You must have heard a lot without realizing it yourself.
Well, if you haven't heard about it before, I will tell you more in the future until you understand that you need me to become a decent person in a respectable position."
“Is what you just said about the royal family and your husband respectable?”
“Has Your Highness treated me with respect yet to respect you?
I am also a member of the royal family, an aristocratic woman, and your wife is above all else.”
They each picked up a glass of water and drank it in one go.
Annette broke the rose's stem again.
After receiving the rose in the street, there was something she wanted to ask Theodore, but she got angry and forgot everything.
Annette didn't want to hear any more childish thoughts about her ignoring Theodore or making fun of the Emperor's position, and besides, the person sitting at the next table was glancing at them anxiously as well.
Annette thought she should change the topic of conversation to the question she had wanted to ask Theodore before.
It was the only way the two wouldn't seem quarreling.
Apparently, both of them did not want to continue this fruitless argument in public.
“What happened to the person I told you to look for?
Did you hire him?”
“I found where he lived, so I sent someone to Dillberg, but he rejected my offer as sharp as a knife.”
“I want to meet him in person.
He is not the type to go along with ordinary persuasion.”
“Are you saying you will use a method other than persuasion?”
“Let's just say I'll use a quick and effective method.”
“I don't expect that.”
Contrary to Theodore's expectations, Annette was certain that her method would work.
So Annette's insides began to boil again because the mockery in his eyes was disgusting.
Just in time, the manager filled a new cup of water for the two of them.
At that time, something new came to Annette's mind when she saw the waiter quickly running away from the place.