Annette was biting her nails involuntarily.
She didn't know how long, but her fingers were bleeding from the bites.
At this moment, she should have admitted it.
She was feeling feelings for Theodore that she shouldn't have.
She said she would end those feelings before they got any deeper, but it was already hard to control.
When did these strong feelings start?
Annette felt insecure when she was away from Theodore.
It was comforting to be around him.
Annette felt a tingling sensation in her bleeding fingers.
But she felt even more pain in her heart now.
She felt pain, so she felt that Annette's body was her own.
Annette sat on the floor and smiled self-deprecatingly.
She felt silly to think that she could feel this way when she was the one who had stipulated that Theodore not fall in love with her first.
With each passing day, more and more reasons to break up with Theodore appeared.
So Annette thought that if the body was far away, that man would fade away from her heart as well.
But despite this, Annette did not realize the flaw in her thinking.
Theodore and Annette thought of each other even when they were far apart.
* * *
Philbert von Kleist, Emperor of the Odentian Empire.
He was the only person who treated the Crown Prince of the Odentia Empire with disdain.
In Hugo's life, the only person standing above him was the majestic Emperor.
Hugo was a fairly reliable son and a promising successor, so Emperor Dominic was also confident that his grandson would get a great review in the history books as a good emperor, and decided to determine the succession structure by placing him as crown prince.
So far, Hugo has not disappointed the former Emperor.
But recently, problems have been coming his way one after another.
His pride was broken by the enemy time after time.
Hugo's rival was his uncle Theodore, who was the same age as him, so Hugo had to please his father Philibert by constantly defeating his uncle.
Philibert was well aware that although he had become emperor, Dominic's love was more inclined towards Theodore.
Dominic's harsh actions towards Theodore were merely a way to protect him from those who envied him.
So, if Theodore was jealous because he did not get the position of emperor, Philibert had an inferiority complex because he did not get his father's love.
If the fight between the two brothers had been about property inheritance, it would have long ago ended with a compromise, but what the two were disputing over was the Odentia Empire.
The war of succession, which had ostensibly ended in Philibert's victory, was still ongoing.
Originally, invisible things such as love, jealousy, hatred, and envy are things that do not die or end because they are not material things that may perish with time.
So Hugo had to become the ideal crown prince to satisfy his father's jealousy of his uncle.
He had to live as a nobleman whom Theodore would not dare surpass or even reach.
It wasn't difficult yet, so even if Hugo made a mistake or two, Philibert pretended it didn't matter much.
Therefore, summoning the Crown Prince and having him stand in the room like a sinful child waiting to be reprimanded, as was the case today, was something extremely unusual that could cause an uproar in the Imperial Palace.
Philibert could not forgive his son this time.
Hugo and Philibert hid their feelings of discomfort from each other.
The aristocratic training that made them not show their emotions in front of each other made the two look extremely normal as if nothing had happened.
However, the fact that the relationship between the two had deteriorated greatly recently was known to everyone close to those present.
“You lost the Emperor’s painting.”
Philibert's voice was light, but it had a heavy meaning.
It was a criticism of Hugo who dared to lose a precious painting to someone who did not even have the dignity of nobility.
Hugo, who had never heard a bitter word from his father before, had all his pride collapsed.
“Don’t you know better than anyone else what that painting meant?
It was something the previous emperor personally ordered to be made for his future heir.
If you still had it, it would have been published in the history books along with your accomplishments as a future emperor.”
“I lost the Imperial Treasure because I lacked competence.
But I will recover that painting as soon as possible.”
“Didn’t I tell you that you must be perfect in everything, without exception, under any circumstances?
You must never lose to that lowly, dirty illegitimate child for any reason, regardless of the circumstances and the type of competition between you.”
Hugo felt a new feeling of discomfort.
It felt as if the buttons on his clothes had been incorrectly buttoned, as if his leather shoes were pressing down on his toes as if almost breaking them.
But the only difference was that this discomfort would not go away even if he readjusted the buttons or the hard shoe became soft and comfortable to wear.
Although Hugo beat Theodore all his life, such few defeats made Hugo lead a failed life.
Philibert's health had recently declined, and Hugo was in a position where he did not know when he would become the next emperor.
If Philibert suddenly died and the position of Emperor became empty in the current chaos, a rebellion might occur within the capital, so Hugo had to be careful.
Of course, that's why Hugo shouldn't let Theodore get close to and influence the nobles.
“I can't get over your neglect of Annette Scheringen.
If we're going to lose the support of the Scheringen, I would rather have that family destroyed than side with that bastard.
I told you to marry that child right away because she would be useful, but we got to this point in the end because of your ridiculous love.”
Hugo lowered his head to avoid his father's angry look and suppress the feelings of resentment rising inside him.
Once again, he's getting scolded because of Shiringen.
The annoying name of Annette Scheringen came to his ears again.
Annette's name was always present in all the events that occurred these days.
“As long as I am emperor, the authority and legitimacy of the imperial family must not be compromised.”
“I will remember this.”
Silent glances passed between father and son.
For the first time in his life, Hugo felt the burden of those cold looks.
“Get out of here.”
Philibert turned away without even looking at his son and coldly ordered him to leave.
Hugo bit his lips and said to the attendant as soon as he left the Emperor's room:
“Summon Casselia Scheringen, I will wait for her at that place.”
* * *
Annette always met with Hans in the office, but today the atmosphere between them was a little awkward because this time their meeting was in the office of Scheringen Palace and not the usual office in Flores Palace.
Hans did not understand why he had to come all the way to Scheringen, and he was also uncomfortable with the new status of the Grand Duke and his wife.
That day, Ernst gave them a tennis racket to take out their anger on each other and through this they managed to maintain a good relationship between them, so Hans did not understand why these two suddenly quarreled again and this time it reached the point of Annette escaping from the palace.
Hans knew that the Grand Duke and his wife wanted to ask him something, but he pretended not to know.
So Hans and Annette only exchanged simple business conversations.
After examining the trivial affairs as well as the political situation of the capital these days, there was nothing more to say between the two and a heavy silence fell over the place.
There were things that Annette was curious about, but she did not ask Hans because of her pride.
Things like “How is Theodore today” for example.
Hans was never the type to meddle in other people's affairs.
Even when he noticed abnormalities in the general atmosphere, Hans would never have a private conversation with his clients.
But in front of Annette, who was sinking into misery right before his eyes, Hans had no choice but to say something.
“When will you finish this escape game?”
“Escape game?”
“Since you escaped from the Flores Palace, I have to travel all the way to the Scheringen Palace.
I am also a very busy person and I don’t have enough time to waste on the way-!”
“You misunderstood.
I am the Marchioness of the Scheringen now, so there will be trouble if I neglect the family, which is why I left the Flores Palace and came here.
I am not running away at all, I am just returning to where I need to be.”
Hans was very sorry for himself for having to hear the stupid nonsense of that couple again.
Why would they fight when they would make up again after a few days anyway?
Romances between the higher ranks were a useless thing that made the people working under them extremely uncomfortable and tired while they struggled to mend the relationship between the two.
“Do you want us to just talk about work?”
“I summoned you because of work.
But if you have anything else to say, feel free to say so.”
“Do you have something you want to ask me?”
“….”
Annette kept her mouth shut.
While Hans was expecting such a situation, he decided not to give her any news about Theodor until she asked him directly.
His two stubborn masters had been spying on each other through him, so he decided to punish them in his own way.
Annette summoned Hans to Scheringen Palace to accomplish trivial matters that did not require a meeting, and Theodor summoned Hans to his office the moment he returned from Scheringen Palace.
They were just asking about the business they discussed with each other day and night, but it was clear to anyone that the news they really wanted to hear was not the Southern Mines Investment Budget.
Hans sighed impatiently.
“Do you know how it feels to be stuck between two people fighting in the middle?
You will be returning to the Flores Palace soon anyway, so quickly stop torturing me like this.”
“This is the palace of the Marchioness Scheringen, and this is where I will belong from now on.”
Annette said as if she were reading an answer she had already prepared and memorized.
“So let's get back to our main topic, Mr.
Hans.
We should schedule a visit to Morata Island in the next month or so.”
"Are you going to go separately?
If so, please leave me out of it.
I'm not sure who I should follow then."
“….”
“You two are really equally stubborn.”
“Have you come to think that I resemble His Highness the Grand Duke?
Do you hate me that much?”
“Don't you already know that?
You two act the same way.”
“Yes, since we've been together, we've probably developed some similarities.”
“You know I don't mean it that way.”
Annette needed to know how to become a noble, and there was a man who was considered the model of an aristocratic person walking next to her all the time, so after observing him and trying to imitate him, Annette naturally became like him.
However, Hans's statement that she was similar to him was based on her intrinsic attitude rather than her outward behavior.
He also initially thought that Annette was very different from Theodore, and was worried about the rift between the two…
However, since they lived together, the two unexpectedly managed to get along with each other very well despite their different ways of conducting business.
But stubbornness and not revealing their true feelings is the real problem for both of them.
The most problematic thing was that they did not admit their feelings to each other even though they were aware of the other party's feelings thanks to being quick-witted.
“I didn't really want to say this...”
Hans sighed deeply as if he had no other choice.
“Do you know why I became an assistant to the Grand Duke with a hot temper and a dirty personality?”
Hans continued his story with a dissatisfied expression on his face.
“It's okay if you don't want to tell me.”
“I have already made up my mind to tell you, but can’t you pretend to be a little curious about my story?
You resemble His Highness the Grand Duke in not even caring about other people’s affairs.”
“Please stop saying I look like...
Please, tell me your story.”
“Actually, I hate talking about my childhood stories.”
Annette was well aware of this.
Hans never mentioned his past, even by mistake.
Since Hans was not an important character in the original story, Annette did not know much about him.
“However, so to speak...”
Hans closed his eyes and opened them as if he was taking a deep breath to prepare himself to tell his story.