My Fiance Keeps Trying To Raise Me

The maids tried to persuade Annette, saying that a lady should arrive a little later than the appointed time, but Annette thought that basic manners were more important than the virtues of a lady.

Of course, she was also aware that she couldn’t look bad to the Grand Duke even a little. So Annette headed to the reception room where she was supposed to meet Grand Duke Harzent a little earlier than the appointed time. Perhaps because she was wearing white lace socks that went up to her ankles and soft shoes that didn’t hurt her feet at all, her steps didn’t feel heavy even as she walked down the long hallway. However, Annette, who was nervous and carefully wiping the sweat off her hands on her clothes, stopped when she saw two people sitting in the reception room that she thought would be empty.

“You’re here.”

“Oh my! Your Majesty, you’re so pretty today!”

It was the Emperor and Empress.

“Ah…”

Why did you think the Grand Duke and the two would meet?

If you think about it, it was a political marriage for an alliance between nations, so it was natural for the Emperor and Empress to attend.

Annette apologized, embarrassed.

“I didn’t know you were already here. I’m sorry for being late.”

“You’re late. Cardin… Grand Duke Harzent is not the kind of person to do this.”

Lucius said awkwardly, thinking of Cardin, who he had thought would arrive first and be waiting, and wondering if he might be offended by Annette. However, Annette didn’t seem to care much about the Grand Duke not arriving early, and quietly moved to the seat that Charlotte had gestured to.

Sitting on the sofa facing the door, between the Emperor and Empress, Annette felt strangely as if the two were her own family, not the Grand Duke’s family.

And then.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke Harzent.”

The door opened gently with the servant’s words.

Annette took a deep breath.

Every time the heels of the man’s shoes made a heavy sound, her heart pounded hard.

And Annette, who noticed a little excitement and a small bloom of anticipation amidst this tension, thought calmly.

‘Wake up. The Grand Duke is just a political marriage partner.’

In the meantime, a man in a formal black suit slowly appeared.

Annette, who got up from the sofa without thinking, was a little surprised to see a large man with broad shoulders and a straight back who had to look up at her for a long time, even considering her own short height.

‘This man… Grand Duke Harzent.’

As rumored, the Grand Duke, who wore a black mask on his face, had a noble and elegant aura.

The honey-like blond hair sparkled so much that it was impossible to imagine that an ugly face was hidden behind the mask. In fact, because of the mask, he felt more like a perfect statue than a living person.

At that moment, the Grand Duke’s throat moved greatly, and he suddenly lowered his face and held his mask with both hands. His shoulders shook slightly as he lowered his head.

Only then did she realize that the Grand Duke had been holding his breath for a moment after entering the reception room.

This was because he let out a slightly ragged breath, as if he had forgotten to breathe.

“…”

Annette bit her lip without realizing it.

She had clearly heard that he had informed the Grand Duke of her condition when he sent the news, but seeing it with her own eyes was even more shocking.

Annette lowered her eyes and prepared herself mentally.

She couldn’t let the engagement break like this.

She hadn’t known that she would say this in front of the Emperor and Empress, but it was the moment when she tightly closed her eyes to recite what she had prepared to change the Grand Duke’s mind.

“…Is it a doll?”

Her eyes lit up at the low-pitched, beautiful voice.

“She’s too cute to be human.”

“…”

She thought she heard it wrong…

The owner of the voice was definitely the Grand Duke. So…

A war maniac, a cruel murderer…

Her fiancé, Cardin Harzent.

* * *

‘Is that guy crazy!’

Lucius almost touched his forehead when he saw his only brother’s swearing in real time.

Honestly, he had come earlier than the other parties to wait because he wanted to have fun, but he thought Cardin would act nice and disgusting, not like he would act like this.

Judging from his head-to-toe outfit, he must have been late because he was getting all dressed up, but if he had the energy to care about his appearance, he would have just kept his wits about him. He was so frustrated that he almost burst.

“You came just in time.”

Nevertheless, as an older brother, he had a duty to cover up his brother’s faults.

Lucius emphasized to Annette that the Grand Duke was not late from the first meeting, and tried to cheer Cardin up.

And he hoped that he would not forget the hard work of this older brother…

“Hmm? Were you there?”

There’s no way that annoying guy would do that.

His voice seemed to have only just realized that the Emperor and Empress were there, as if he had never noticed anyone else besides Annette.

“Of course. Since this is the first meeting between the parties leading the alliance between the Alkhan Empire and the Hayworth Kingdom, there should be luggage.”

“Hmm. I don’t know about that, but for now, I would like to greet the person I will be with for the rest of my life alone, so I would appreciate it if you two would leave.”

Ha!”

His attitude was so arrogant that the listener would not have guessed that he was the Emperor of the Empire.

As expected, Lucius’ face twisted as if he was shocked.

“So…”

“…”

“Are you really going out?”

“Yes.”

Lucius clicked his tongue at Cardin’s firm answer without a single moment of hesitation.

It seemed like the most anticipated fun spectacle was about to unfold.

Charlotte had the same thoughts, but she smiled faintly at Annette, who couldn’t take her eyes off Cardin as if she was possessed.

“It’s definitely the first time we’ve met, so it might be a little uncomfortable for us to join.”

Then she dragged her husband’s arm, who was dripping with regret and resentment, and left the living room. After all, there would be more fun spectacles to watch.

When the door closed and the two of them were left alone as they had wanted, Cardin turned his head as if he had been waiting.

He slowly approached Annette, knelt on one knee, and met her gaze.

Their eyes met before Annette could even recall her determination to not show her red eyes as much as possible.

“I’m sorry. You showed me a little shame.”

Annette looked dazed at the soft, almost ticklish voice, which was completely different from the rude and annoying tone she had shown the emperor.

No, actually, it had been like that since Cardin called her the person he would spend the rest of his life with.

She tried hard to draw the line in her mind that she was just a political marriage partner, but why…

“I… am fine.”

Even though she was half-asleep, she thought she should accept Cardin’s apology, so she barely answered.

Then Cardin covered his mouth with one hand and muttered softly.

“Your voice is young too…”

Annette, who finally heard those words, slowly blinked her eyes. She was a little out of it.

Then Cardin suddenly burst into laughter.

Was it because he covered his mouth, or because the mask made her cry? Annette stiffened as she heard the soft laughter in her ear surprisingly pleasantly.

“I’m really sorry.”

Cardin, who barely managed to suppress his laughter, apologized again.

“It’s such a dreamlike situation.”

Annette agreed with his words.

She heard that the Emperor cherished the Grand Duke who was 12 years younger than him, but no matter what, she thought it would be the feeling that the lord favored and trusted his capable subject. However, what she saw a little while ago really felt like an intimate and close affection as a family. However, Annette was speechless because Cardin’s attitude toward her seemed more dreamlike than the relationship between Lucius and Cardin, who seemed close.

Then she stopped. A scary thought suddenly crossed her mind.

‘I only heard that his appearance became hideous because of the blood of the demon beast, but maybe he became mad…’

Yes, this could happen only if he wasn’t crazy.

Annette completely forgot her resolution to not show her red eyes as much as possible and stared straight at Cardin’s eyes, the only ones that were visible above his mask. And for a moment, she lost her mind.

Those deep blue eyes that made it hard to imagine that he was suffering from madness were looking at me with affectionate eyes that could not be hidden.

The man said with those eyes.

“Um, this is difficult.”

“Oh! Sorry…”

“It’s embarrassing when you stare at me like that.”

“…Yes?”

Annette, who had come to her senses, was about to urgently lower her eyes and apologize, when Cardin tilted his head slightly and whispered.

“You’re a bit shyer than I thought.”

“Oh, I see.”

Annette nodded, feeling completely absent-minded.

Meanwhile, Cardin let out a short “Hoo.” and bowed his head while kneeling on one knee.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Cardin Hargent.”

Clearly, they were here for the alliance between the countries.

Annette felt strange at the simple introduction, as if nothing mattered, but she also nodded and said.

“I am Annette Hayworth.”

Strangely, her heart felt much lighter because she didn’t mention the princess of Hayworth.

“I know, princess.”

“…”

The answer she got back was a little strange, though.

The meaning was the same, whether it was princess or duchy princess, but perhaps the Grand Duke’s voice was too affectionate. Annette felt a tickle in her ear for no reason.

She wiggled her hands without realizing it, and a smooth, long hand, unblemished and unbelievable for a knight holding a sword, reached out before her eyes.

Annette blinked and slowly held out her hand. As expected, it was a small, soft hand without a single callus… a child’s hand.

 

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Translator Note: