10. Being That Cute Should Be a Crime
Anette had thought taking a walk would ease the frustration, but after having her thoughts laid bare just moments ago, she felt even more downhearted.
Even setting aside the matter of not having met the Grand Duke yet, she knew that to maintain the engagement, she needed to stay in the imperial family’s good graces—but thinking she had angered the Empress Dowager made her even more depressed.
“She’s not seriously ill, is she?”
The image of the Empress Dowager clutching her chest as if in pain kept replaying in her mind.
Would she be thrown in jail for harming the Empress Dowager before the Grand Duke even arrived?
That might sound like an overreaction, but considering that after Anette returned from her first monster subjugation and went to report it, she had been abruptly dismissed and put under house arrest because Bridget suddenly claimed to have a headache—she couldn’t help but worry.
Even though she knew this place was different from her homeland, the image of the king shouting with Bridget on his lap came to mind, and she let out a sigh.
“Sigh.”
“…?”
Did she just sigh out loud?
Startled, Anette looked around nervously.
And then she spotted a small figure lying on a bench beneath a large tree not far away.
She’d sensed someone’s presence upon entering the garden, but Serena had said this was a royal-only area and there was no one around, so she’d assumed it was just a small animal…
“Ah?”
It was then that the child, who had been sighing repeatedly, suddenly straightened up as if sensing Anette’s gaze.
Golden hair, unique to the royal family, and violet eyes like dawn skies—identical to the Empress’s. A delicate face that seemed to combine the best features of the Emperor and Empress.
‘He must be the Crown Prince.’
She had heard he was supposed to be in class—had he skipped?
While Anette was figuring out the boy’s identity, the little Crown Prince, Mikhail, scrutinized her with wary eyes, then walked toward her with a solemn expression and short, brisk steps.
Placing his tiny hands on his waist and raising his eyebrows, he asked authoritatively:
“Who are you! How dare you set foot in this garden reserved for the royal family?”
“……”
“Can’t reveal your identity, can you! If you don’t speak up immediately, I’ll see to it that you are punished!”
Though Anette found the little prince’s way of speaking rather odd, she still flinched a bit at his scolding.
After all, she really was worried she might be punished for harming the Empress Dowager’s health.
She let out a faint, wry smile and thought:
Now I’ve met everyone from the in-laws’ side—except for the groom himself.
Meanwhile, while Anette was being interrogated by Mikhail…
“Guilty, guilty!”
The Empress Dowager, still bedridden, shouted with a serious expression.
“When I heard she was a knight who could make monsters drop like flies with a single swing, I imagined a girl so commanding that even grown boys wouldn’t dare approach her. But instead!”
When the drawing room door opened and a girl as pretty as a doll came toddling in, lifting her skirts and curtsying sweetly, the Empress Dowager felt like her heart stopped. The shock was so intense she couldn’t even speak.
The way she kept glancing up with those round eyes reminded her of a wary kitten. And when the refreshments arrived, her eyes sparkled like someone discovering treasure.
“How can anyone be so cute?! Being that cute should be a crime! Why didn’t you tell me, Empress!”
The Empress Dowager shouted again, her face twisted into a fierce scowl.
Charlotte, knowing well that this terrifying expression meant the Empress Dowager was truly smitten, inwardly shook her head as she replied.
“I didn’t expect Sir Hayworth to be that cute either.”
Though she had long admired Anette, Charlotte had only heard tales of her achievements and didn’t know much about her actual personality.
She had expected Anette to be emotionally closed off—likely due to her long isolation and the cold treatment she received in the Kingdom of Hayworth, as well as a life devoted solely to slaying monsters.
‘So I was prepared to be rejected. I vowed not to withdraw even if she turned me down cold…’
But instead of rejecting her, Anette had shyly accepted her kindness and gradually opened her heart. Charlotte was deeply moved—and a bit choked up.
She realized that Anette hadn’t kept people at a distance because she wanted to, but because no one had ever tried to approach her.
“At last, I’ve found a girl who will wear the dresses I made!”
Still overwhelmed by emotion, the Empress Dowager clenched her fists in joy.
Despite her sharp, cold appearance, she adored all things cute and lovely—and sewing adorable children’s clothes had always been her lifelong hobby.
She’d made clothes not only for her two sons but also her grandson Mikhail, yet the girl’s dresses kept piling up in the dress room, waiting for an owner.
As the Empress Dowager, she couldn’t just hand them over to unrelated noble girls, so she had long awaited the birth of a granddaughter—seemingly in vain. Until now, when a miracle had arrived!
It wasn’t exactly normal for an adult to suddenly become a child—but having lived her life surrounded by men with strange powers (her father-in-law, husband, eldest son, and younger son), the Empress Dowager wasn’t particularly shocked by Anette’s transformation.
Besides, her eldest son had a relevant ability, and even if he didn’t intervene, her younger son certainly wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
Thinking of her younger son—the Grand Duke of Harzent—the Empress Dowager’s lips curled into a smile.
“Besides, it looks like Kardine walked right into his own trap. He must’ve gone on the subjugation early so he could stay holed up in the castle with his new bride later…”
Despite the sympathetic tone, her expression was as satisfied as if she’d just eliminated a political enemy.
She was already planning how to tell Kardine—when he finally returned—every adorable thing Anette had done: from the moment she walked in and curtsied to the way she shyly offered cookies.
Especially that cookie scene—it was enough to blow up the entire palace with its cuteness!
“But… isn’t she a bit too skinny?”
The Empress Dowager frowned, remembering how thin Anette looked despite how much she ate.
Even if she was 24 in spirit, a child should be plump!
“Empress, let’s have another tea time tomorrow after lunch. I’ll make her plump and shiny like a glazed bun!”
Like a witch plotting to fatten up a child, the Empress Dowager muttered darkly, then leapt from her bed, saying she had to adjust the dress she’d made to fit Anette by tomorrow.
At that moment.
The Grand Duke of Harzent’s knights were deep in the border forest, known as the “Monster’s Swamp,” engaged in a subjugation.
Though it was midday, the forest was so dark it felt like night—and with rain falling, the atmosphere grew more eerie.
KABOOM!
A bolt of lightning split the sky.
A monster hiding in the shadows bared its red eyes and growled, just as a man wearing a black mask burst forward, his feet pounding the rain-soaked ground.
Moments later—
THUD!
The monster collapsed to the ground, its head and body separated.
A vivid black aura flared from the man’s sword—unwavering and deadly.
The knights watched in reverence, and the deputy commander, Morton Pharon, said:
“Your Highness, this should keep them quiet for at least a month or two.”
They had come out earlier and deeper than usual, clearing out the danger.
But the Grand Duke, who had accomplished this feat, scowled through the narrow slit in his mask.
“Only a month or two…”
“Your Highnesshhhhhh!”
Suddenly, an overly loud voice rang through the forest.
“Who the hell is that lunatic—?”
One knight muttered in disbelief.
Some monsters were highly sensitive to sound—screaming in this place was practically a death sentence.
The lunatic quickly revealed himself.
It was none other than the Grand Duke’s aide, Samuel.
“Yooouuur Highnesshhh!”
Samuel, a textbook civilian who was terrible at horseback riding, came charging in at breakneck speed, barely staying on his horse.
NEIGH!
His horse reared, nearly tossing him off before it managed to land.
“Whew! Almost died!”
Clinging to the saddle, Samuel caught his breath, then dismounted quickly upon spotting the Grand Duke.
“Your Highness!”
“You must’ve decided to help me by drawing all the monsters here, my loyal Samuel.”
The Grand Duke’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Samuel, who gave a sheepish laugh.
The Grand Duke tilted his head.
“So, what’s so urgent you had to risk your life?”
His icy tone suggested that if the news wasn’t war-level serious, Samuel’s life might be forfeit.
The Grand Duke’s eyes still glinted with murderous intensity after slaying a monster.
“P-please don’t look at me like I’m your next target! I’m not a monster, I swear!”
You’re not the kind of man to cut down humans like monsters—right?
Samuel, who himself had spread those rumors under the Duke’s orders, sounded uncertain.
“Get to the point.”
Snapped out of it by the cold command, Samuel quickly pulled out a letter.
“A message from the imperial palace. Marked urgent…”
Before he could finish, the Grand Duke had already snatched the letter from his hands.
And then—the Duke’s icy blue eyes began to tremble violently.