‘We came separately, but now we are going back together.’
There was a rather awkward silence in the carriage. Generally at times like this, it was Annette who filled the silence with her soft voice. Raphael looked sideways and found her sitting beside him with her eyelashes lowered, completely lost in thought. Eventually, Raphael couldn’t take it anymore and opened his mouth first by coughing.
“Your Royal Highness seemed to be fine. He looked so perfectly fine that I wondered whether he faked his illness.”
Raphael sneakily brought up Ludwig’s fake illness. Ludwig, who had been lying on the floor acting as if he was dying, jumped up as soon as Annette left. Raphael was dumbfounded when he saw it. Thanks to that, the ruckus around the prince’s seizure ended safely, but Ludwig was indeed shameless to the end. He was really a little fox, if not so, then how could a person change their words so quickly.
Raphael learned a lesson from today’s event. He finally understood that Harold’s words, ‘Pretend to be pitiful’ somewhat referred to Ludwig’s behavior. His shamelessness was really at an incomparable level. He didn’t even feel a little bit embarrassed before Annette. This gave Raphael a great enlightenment.
“Anyway don’t worry about the prince. As far as I’ve observed, he’ll eat and live well until his senility.”
In Raphael’s eyes, he was not a man but a little fox monster*. He said brusquely, trying not to tremble. Annette, who was pulled out of her thoughts, blinked hearing Raphael’s strong intonation. Ludwig had long disappeared from Annette’s head and now another man was plaguing her mind.
*[The words fox and monster are actually metaphors for a scary cunning person. Ludwig left quite an impact on Raphael, lol.]
“Oh, Raphael, I met your benefactor. He’s Count Harold Evans, right?”
“Did you meet that old man? When?”
Raphael furrowed his eyebrows. Harold’s words came to his mind, that he would expose his shameful history to his wife as a retaliation for forcing him to attend the party. Sure enough, Annette looked at him and smiled softly.
“As soon as I arrived at the party, I was lucky to meet him right away. He seems to know you very well.”
“Did he say anything stupid to you? Like what I was like when I was a kid?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
Annette smiled ambiguously and kept her words short. She couldn’t tell Raphael all the bad things that Harold had told her about him. The benefactor whom he valued him so much badmouthed him behind his back. So in Annette’s eyes, Raphael, who knew nothing about this, was really pitiful.
“Don’t believe anything what the old man said. He exaggerates everything.”
Raphael leaned back and spat out with an indifferent face. Listening to his words, Annette nodded her head silently. Because of this, silence fell in the carriage again. Raphael, who felt stuffy inside, eventually couldn’t overcome his temper. He grabbed Annette and placed her on his lap.
“What the hell are you thinking, Annette?”
Raphael growled, as he grabbed Annette’s head and turned her to face him. Alarmed by this sudden action, Annette looked down at him and responded softly.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
“Lies! Don’t tell me you’re concerned about the crown prince. He’s a swindler.”
Raphael’s blue eyes flared up when he remembered Ludwig’s tricks earlier. Seeing that he was not likely to calm down easily, Annette sighed and leaned against his chest. This made Raphael immediately stop venting his anger. Annette said quietly in the meantime.
“Ludwig just needs some time. Time to admit that I’m not his anymore. I’m sorry for what happened at the party. Because of me, you got involved with him.”
After saying these words, Annette wriggled her body a little and took a comfortable position. As she leaned her head against the gap between Raphael’s firm shoulders and neck, she felt a strange sense of stability. ‘He’s a man whom I’ll leave one day, then why do I always feel like this when I’m with him?’ Annette turned her dull eyes to the side so that Raphael wouldn’t see it.
“It’s okay. You’re my wife. It’s my duty to protect you from such strange people. So don’t say sorry for something like this.”
Raphael said flatly. He became anxious when he heard Annette’s overly polite tone. It seemed as if she was drawing a line between them. Raphael’s anxious arms hugged Annette’s body tightly from behind. His sturdy arms seemed as if he’ll never let her go away. This made Annette feel even more strange.
‘Why do you act like this when you don’t even like me?’
Annette did not want to be swayed by Raphael’s whimsical gentleness. What if she gets fooled by this warmth and gives her heart away, only to end up getting coldly rejected by him with words like ‘It’s none of my business’? Annette wanted to first make sure whether her predictions were correct or not. So she gently skimmed her fingers over Raphael’s tense forearm and asked quietly.
“Your uncle… will you tell me about him?”
At that moment, Raphael’s body stiffened. It was a familiar pattern. Annette thought he would soon pull himself off her and coldly push her aside. But Raphael unexpectedly let out a painful groan and pressed his forehead against her shoulder. His arms, holding Annette tightly, became more tense. Just as if he was embarrassed.
“I can’t tell you that.”
This was an unexpected reaction. Annette’s eyes moved a little. She knew nothing about Ivan, the coachman who ruined her future. It was because he was an employee who entered the duchy with a forged identity. All the employees of the Duke of Bavaria were thoroughly investigated, so she was puzzled about how Ivan passed it.
‘No, I should call him Ben, not Ivan anymore.’
Raphael sighed and rubbed his forehead against the nape of her neck. The hot breath that leaked through his lips tickled the nape of her neck, making goosebumps erupt on her skin. As if enjoying this, Raphael pressed his lips on her neck and soon opened his mouth.
“To be honest, I don’t know him very well either. All I saw as a child is all I know about him. He loved gambling, and almost lived in gambling houses. And he used to steal from my child support and wasted it all on gambling. At that time, it was Harold who looked after me and was responsible for delivering my child support.… It was him who realized that I was good at swordsmanship. So he reported it to his Majesty and helped me to reach out to my father.”
Listening to him speak about his dark past, Annette turned her head and looked at him. Raphael, feeling ashamed, reached out and covered her eyes. When Annette blinked, her long eyelashes tickled his palms. Raphael lightly bit her pale white cheeks and murmured.
“Don’t look at me with those eyes. I keep forgetting what I was going to say.”
At that, Annette slowly closed her eyes. She still wanted to hear more of Raphael’s past. Raphael looked at Annette’s slender chin and petal-like lips under his palm. Seeing Annette sitting so defenselessly before him, it seemed as if she was urging the sleeping beast inside him to wake up. Raphael managed to suppress this feeling and continued to speak.
“That’s how I was brought to the palace. Perhaps much sooner than what was expected. But since no one knew how developed my talent was, it took a long time for me to be recognized as his son. Thanks to the rise of the old rebels in Letan, I was able to show my talent and was awarded with a title much earlier than I thought. And then I also got to marry you.”
After speaking, Raphael bowed his head and kissed Annette’s lips lightly. The sweet fragrance coming from her and the soft touch of her lips were incredible. It was understandable that Ludwig, who had let Annette slip through his hand, had now his eyes bloodshot* and was desperately pretending to shake** to get her back.
[*It’s a phrase which means to get angry or enraged to such an extent that one’s eyes get bloodshot.]
[**This is referring to Ludwig’s fake seizures]
Ludwig had failed to welcome such a nice woman as his wife, making her fall into an abyss of despair by pushing her to marry him. Raphael’s heart became heavy when he recalled Annette’s poor situation. On one hand, the selfish beast deep in his heart opened its red mouth and laughed, saying that it was rather good that it happened. If it wasn’t for the cruel trick of fate, he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to be with her.
Raphael struggled to hide his terrible selfishness. He smoothened his voice and explained to Annette.
“And Ben….To be honest, I don’t know what happened to him. When I entered the palace, my relationship with him was already broken. We didn’t have a very close relationship, so I thought Ben was hiding from loan sharks because of his gambling debts, or was already dead. But I never thought he would become your coachman and do something so vile. I really never imagined it.”
Raphael, who finally finished speaking, took a deep breath. He didn’t disclose everything, but he had honestly spoken about Ben. Annette, whose life had been destroyed by him, at least had the right to know about him. Apparently even after hearing the whole story, she wasn’t upset, but rather, she answered back with a smile.
“Thank you. Although I know you didn’t tell me everything, you really did your best.. I actually thought… you wouldn’t tell me the whole story.”
Annette’s innocuous gratitude pierced Raphael’s conscience more than ever. Raphael, with his lips clamped together, turned his head to hide his slightly reddening temples. He fiddled with Annette’s long blond hair for a while and said nothing. At this moment, there was a fierce conflict raging inside Raphael.
‘Should I apologize to Annette now?’
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