“Thinking about it, what happened to the hunting ground guard?”
“I dealt with it my way.”
Annette's hand, which was holding the glass of water, tightened.
Theodore could read the tension in her slightly trembling eyes.
Annette realized that the “way” Theodore was talking about was death.
“Don't you like my way?”
“I'm trying to understand it.”
“I hate this.
You say you're not making fun of me, but you ignore my desire to become emperor as well as my way of dealing with things.”
Annette kept her mouth shut.
To some extent, he was right.
To her, his desire to become emperor and take someone's life for this purpose was completely incomprehensible to her.
It was like that even when she was reading the novel.
I felt that Theodore was an evil-hearted and unnecessarily greedy person who had his eye on things that were not his.
The way Annette saw the world was fundamentally different from Theodore's, so their ideas naturally collided with each other.
It wasn't either of them's fault or a problem resulting from their not understanding each other, it was simply because they were two completely different beings.
“It is an innate reluctance.
My ideas and moral concepts are very different from yours.
I do not mean to criticize Your Highness for that, so you must also understand me and respect the difference within me.”
This is not a fairy tale.
Their destination was not a place that could be reached using bright and virtuous methods.
Annette's involvement in what Theodore was doing meant that she would have to endure all the real-life actions that would result.
She had to go one step further and do immoral actions herself.
There will be more bloodshed as the days go by, so Annette will have to become more assertive with this topic.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle in the process of achieving the goal of this contract is Annette's moral principles and values.
If the source of two people's thoughts and thought direction were different, they would fight each other like spears and shields every time before they even dealt with the enemy.
Annette knew all these theories, but the speed with which her mind understood them and the speed with which her body acted were different.
Annette's hand holding the glass of water was still shaking slightly.
Annette's efforts to calm herself were evident on her face, so Theodore sympathized with her to some extent, and decided to tolerate his bad-tempered wife.
“This was the last test I will give you.
So, stop making unnecessary complaints and just keep calm.”
Hearing his words, the expressions disappeared from Annette's face.
“I cannot trust you.
Your Highness does not treat me as a person at all.”
“Try to trust me.”
“Your Highness must try harder so I can try.
Even if you cannot be a good person, you must become a good Emperor.”
“Is it necessary for me to become a good emperor for you to trust me?”
“Indeed, I do not care what kind of emperor you become, Your Highness.
This is because I live as your wife, not as a citizen of the country you will rule.”
Annette was destined to disappear from this world when Theodore fulfilled the promise between them.
So Annette did not care if Theodore became a tyrant or not.
No matter how much chaos his rule will cause in the country, it will have no effect on the international situation of the world it will return to.
This was something that mattered to the subjects of the Odinite Empire who would encounter the future emperor after Annette left, who would not exist in this world at that time.
"I don't care what you will be like when you become Emperor.
However, I feel a sense of moral responsibility.
This is because I plan to change the Emperor.
This empire was destined to be ruled by a benevolent Emperor if I had stood still without interfering.
That is why I hope you will become a slightly better person.
No, at least, a decent Emperor."
“Do I look that incompetent?”
“If personality is the determining factor, you have no talent.”
Annette spoke lightly, but she felt like there was a weight on her shoulders.
She constantly wondered if she had the right to change the fate of this world.
I felt sorry for everyone in this world except Theodore.
She felt guilty about being a selfish person willing to destroy the order of this world just to return to her world.
So, her desire for Theodore to be a better person was a wise desire in order to alleviate her guilt.
“I hope your sins do not reflect on the people around you.”
Annette hoped that his misdeeds would end with Hugo's overthrow and his place on the throne of Emperor.
Theodore would forever remain a villain in the eyes of Hugo and Yvonne, but she hoped that he would be a ruler capable of running the Odentia Empire fairly.
Annette sighed heavily, then took Theodore's hand and blurted out one of the complex fears that had been stuck like a thorn in her throat all along.
"Please be kind to others.
Stop giving me meaningless tests.
I'm the only one who wants you to become Emperor even more than yourself."
“Are you sure you can make me emperor?”
“If you would only cooperate with me.
First of all, my first trick is to make you look a little nicer in the eyes of others.
Make people laugh, donate some money to charity, do nice things like that.”
“People's perception of me can't change much.
I know my bad reputation very well.”
“And you're bragging about it now...?”
Annette touched her forehead tiredly.
“Of course, your reputation may not change no matter what Your Highness does.
So here I am.
They will say that thanks to your beautiful wife, your character has been repaired and you have changed thanks to the power of love.”
"What wife?
What power?"
Theodore couldn't pronounce the word "love" and was fed up with it.
“Do you think people are a bunch of idiots who would believe such nonsense?”
"Won't you trust me a little?
People want stories like that.
Stories like the beauty who melted the beast's heart.
If it is said that the raging beast has yielded to the beauty of the ravishing girl, they will call it the love of the century and they will talk about it and love it."
Annette pointed to the clean, empty cake plate with her fork.
“There's nothing left of Your Highness's humanity except these tiny bits of cake crumbs.”
Then, this time, she pointed to a glass of water that was half full.
“But I think morality can make up for it.
So even if you give up your humanity as a responsible husband, keep your morals as a business partner.
Then, even if I don’t trust you, I will try to trust you.”
Theodore looked into her eyes.
The anger is gone and calm has taken its place.
Compared to him, who was holding in his anger like a spoiled little child, her attitude was more mature than his.
Instead of him trying to teach her where she really stands, she disciplines him.
Theodore pushed his uneaten cake plate in front of Annette.
When Annette hesitated to take it, Theodore pushed the plate further in front of her.
“Don't worry, I have that level of morality.”
Annette's eyes turned to the cake he placed in front of her.
She couldn't tell if Theodore was giving it to her to eat as a form of praise or if he just didn't want to eat it.
“From now on, I will show you all the cards I have up my sleeve.
I will give you everything you need to know as my business partner.”
Annette carefully lifted her fork and took a bite of the cake.
Theodore never interfered during this.
The sweetness of the dark chocolate cake spread into Annette's mouth again.
“The reason the original Annette entrusted her precious family ring to you, Your Highness, is because you are the safest place to hide it, right?”
When Casselia talked about the Scheringen's eagle ring, this thought came to Annette's mind.
If she had such a wonderful thing, she would want to hide it in the safest place.
If she was in a relationship with Theodore, of course she would think about him, because it was a safer place than the bank vault.
“It's okay.
It doesn't matter how you treat me or even whether you trust me or not.
Just keep me safe.
I will trust you to protect me like you protected that ring until I return to my world.”
Annette smiled.
There was no joy in her smile, but it wasn't one of relief either.
It was a smile that looked like someone giving up on something important in this world and surrendering to the fait accompli.
Theodore's heart sank into suffocating and incomprehensible feelings when he saw Annette's miserable smile.
He was planning to scare her a little so that she would understand who was the master here and not dare to rebel against him, but what was up with those words?
Why did he feel uncomfortable with himself?
He didn't know what she meant by saying it was okay and that she would trust him.
“Even without Your Highness reminding me, I know my place well.
I cannot forget it because I feel it not only while eating but also the moment I take a sip of water.”
Theodore sensed something was wrong with her words.
“I will take care of my physical and mental stability, so please take care of my personal safety.
I think as a husband you can do a lot.”
Theodore finally realized what was wrong with Annette.
She really didn't want anything from him.
None of his possessions were important enough for Annette to covet.
Only her goal of returning to her world was important to her.
To Annette, Theodore was merely a means to her end.
“We are in a contractual relationship where we cannot even write a paper contract to guarantee our rights.
So I ask you not to make it more miserable while I am in a position where I rely only on your verbal promise.”
When Theodore heard that it was just a contractual relationship, his breath suddenly stopped.
If this had been a pathetic plea, he would have laughed at her, but it was a polite request, not a weak plea.
Theodore had only learned how to crush others all his life and was accustomed to arrogantly looking at his opponents who cried and begged at his feet.
If the person begged him, he would mock him, and if he knelt down, Theodore would become arrogant and praise the person that he did the right thing.
However, he did not know how to treat a woman who was pitiful but not servile.
Theodore thought he had to dig a trap to protect himself from it, but he was the one who fell into the trap after all the precautions he took.
He would rather have Annette get angry and yell at him than look at him like that.
This woman was so patient that she would endure anything.
She endured her fear of death, and even endured being with Theodore, whom she hated so much.
Theodore's heartbeat quickened when he saw her calm expression.
When she raised her hand to eat the cake, he noticed that her finger was bleeding from a rose thorn or something.
Her hand was white, thin, and even transparent.
How hard is it for her to bear all these difficult things inside such a weak body?
The questions that rose to Theodore's throat were bitter, so his expression was confused and his stomach turned in an instant.
“Do you want to get a bite?”
Annette handed him a large piece of candy from her plate.
For some reason, Theodore couldn't resist, so he immediately accepted her offer.
***
They were on their way out of the restaurant after dinner, and the streets were crowded and lively.
“Are you going straight back to the Flores Palace?
I have somewhere I want to go for a while.”
“Aren't you done shopping yet?”
“I don't want to buy, I have something to order.
So I have to meet a few people before returning to the palace.”
“Do you have enough money?”
Theodore took out some gold coins from his pocket and gave them to Annette, but Annette shook her head and put them back in his pocket.
“I won't need much money, I'll just go for… Your Majesty?”
Annette couldn't tell Theodore what her purpose was.
It was because Theodore suddenly hugged her, covered her body with his own, and turned her to the other side.
“Your Majesty?!!”
After a while, Annette covered her mouth in shock.
This is because Theodore's back was stained with blood.