chapter 5
“Why pretend to be so innocent?”
Johann chuckled softly.
“Marriage is about getting what you can, my dear. You must know that what you’re wearing didn’t come for free.”
Johann’s words enveloped Anel’s entire being like a frost.
He wasn’t wrong. Anel was well aware that everything she enjoyed wasn’t free.
There was a price she had to pay.
And that price was a single marriage.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to accept everything without a second thought.
These weren’t things she obtained willingly; they were imposed upon her at a high cost.
“Why… me?”
Even with his clear demand, there was still something Anel couldn’t comprehend.
“Are you naive, or just foolish?”
Johann glanced at his wristwatch.
Naturally, Anel’s gaze followed to his wrist.
Between the pristine white gloves and the white shirt, the watch found its place.
It was obstinate to the point of being almost austere.
In refusing to allow any gap, the watch exuded an unmistakable air of aristocracy.
Even though, in reality, it was far from aristocratic.
“Lady seems curious about which side I belong to.”
Anel recalled his private life.
What does it matter if he dresses in an aristocratic manner?
Is a watch worth as much as an entire estate?
Especially for such a repulsive person.
“I am neither innocent nor foolish.”
Anel gritted her teeth and spoke.
Continuing a conversation with such a person was in itself disgraceful.
“At least a viscount can refuse. Unfortunately, I have no choice, but a viscount has the freedom to choose. Not me, but another noble can be chosen.”
“Her words were true.’’
A man destined to become an emperor.
Such a man couldn’t just marry ‘anyone’ – at least there was the right to refuse.
The worst kind of woman had the right to reject.
Anel had even been deprived of that right, but would he, that man, be the same? No.
“Sure, Lady Morata. I have a bit more luck, so I have the choice.”
“So if you reject-”
“So what?”
As Johan spoke like that, his face showed no expression for the first time.
Anel hesitated for a moment.
“Oh. Would you sacrifice another maiden instead of yourself?”
But it seemed like a misunderstanding, as Johan’s face quickly changed to a different expression.
His lips drew a soft curve.
“Turns out you’re more selfish than I thought, Lady. The idea that it only matters if it’s not me.”
“I-”
“It’s a compliment.”
The corners of Johan’s eyes formed a curve.
Suddenly, Anel remembered the farewell letter of a deceased maiden she had read in a knight’s memoir.
The words that she wanted to see even once in those eyes.
“If you’re going to be an empress, you must have that kind of personality.”
“It wasn’t my intention.”
Anel spoke with bitterness.
“I don’t want that position, but aren’t there many who want it? Also, I don’t want a marquis, but there are many ladies who want a marquis.”
As Anel finished speaking, she almost bit her tongue.
Against her will, it felt like she had blurted out his private life.
Although it was undoubtedly him who had rudely approached first, years of restraint made her uncomfortable.
Anel cautiously glanced at his reaction.
“So what?”
“Yes?”
“Whether half of the empire desires me or the entire empire desires me.”
Johann stared at Anel with dry eyes.
“I said I should make you the empress.”
“So why-”
“Because it’s bothersome to educate someone again.”
Education?
The word that Anel hadn’t even thought about took her breath away.
The reason he chose her as empress now… Is it simply because it’s troublesome to educate someone else as empress?
Is that what this man is saying is the reason for all of this?
Anel was so perplexed that she couldn’t say anything.
“Even if it’s a glass doll made for others, it would be useful if it’s made for its purpose, wouldn’t it?”
“Are you treating me like an object, Your Grace?”
Amidst the parade of arrogant words, Anel glared at the man.
She had heard that he was an arrogant person, but this was too much.
“Neither of us is treating each other like humans, aren’t we? In your eyes, I must only appear as a means to become empress.”
However, Johann remained indifferent to Anel’s accusing gaze.
“I already told you I don’t want to become empress.”
“And I said I don’t care.”
Johann looked at his wristwatch, checking the time.
And as if he had finished everything he needed to do, he stood up.
“I’ve said everything I need to. Excuse me. Lady Morata, we’ll meet again soon.”
“No-”
“I hope you’ll be more composed next time. It’s time to stop clinging to the past and wasting yourself on someone who has already moved on.”
With those words, Johann left the room.
It was a resolute and swift action, as if he wouldn’t allow any room for rebuttal.
He disappeared so quickly that the brief moment felt like a dream.
Anel, still dazed, stared only at the spot where he had left.
Nothing had changed just because Johannes Denege visited.
Anel was supposed to stay locked in the room, as if it were natural.
During that time, Samuel visited the Duke’s mansion and presented a bouquet of flowers.
Anel tried to convey through tapping on the glass that she was trapped, but each time she was blocked by the servants of the Duke’s mansion.
“Miss.’’
Giselle, a maid in Annele’s chamber, approached with something in her hands.
“His Highness, the Crown Prince, asked me to deliver this to you.”
Annele extended her worn-out arm to receive it.
It was a bouquet of flowers.
It was the only thing Annele, who had never coveted clothes or jewelry, truly liked.
“…A bouquet.”
“Yes. It seems like he took care in choosing them for you.”
Since then, even though Samuel didn’t visit in person, he sent a bouquet of flowers as a grand gesture every day.
Tulips, Chateaugay, Marigolds. Different flowers each time, but the same affection was always conveyed within.
To my betrothed.
I heard that due to the epidemic, I cannot meet you. There’s a possibility that an unknown disease could be transmitted, so I can’t send you letters either. I can endure not seeing your face, but it’s difficult to bear the thought of you being unwell.
Please recover soon. My heart aches without you.
With love and affection, Samuel.
The card tucked into the bouquet expressed wishes for a speedy recovery and conveyed affection. It was aevident that Anel was indisposed and unable to come outside.
This fact devastated Anel.
No, everything devastated her.
Among them all, Johannes de Negeur was the most despair-inducing.
Whenever she glanced at the newspaper wedged into the door crack in the morning and evening, her heart filled with gloom.
She couldn’t share any news with the outside world.
However, the Chancellor consistently provided her with newspapers, emphasizing, “The Empress must know what is happening in the world.”
The headlines gradually transformed into a disaster.
Johannes Magna, the Duke of South, demands recognition as a member of the imperial family.
Johannes Magna, actually Johannes de Negeur? Controversy over the imperial bloodline.
Initially, it began with Johannes Magna revealing that his real surname was ‘de Negeur.’
Then he requested the Emperor to acknowledge him as a legitimate son. As if it were a matter of course.
A new direct descendant of the imperial family?
What wind will blow – the birth of a new imperial heir?
Initially, everyone was shocked, but soon they all accepted it.
It was only natural – regardless of his surname, Johannes was a source of pride for the Stein.
Some even went so far as to say that people should have suspected him as a member of the imperial family long ago.
Some questioned whether Johannes, born as the son of the Duke Magna and the Emperor’s concubine, was more legitimate than Princess Samu, a foreign princess.
Who will become the Emperor?
True heir or a true illegitimate child?
How will the Crown Prince react to his new half-sibling?
Every page of every newspaper was filled with the story of Johannes.
As for Samu, the only concern was how the Crown Prince would accept the new ‘half-sibling.’
