25. You Did Well, Good Job
Cardin’s gaze grew more intense, as if urging for an answer.
In the end, Anette reluctantly opened her mouth.
“It’s because… I upset you, Your Highness…?”
“Ha.”
When her unsure answer trailed off like a question, a laugh of disbelief escaped him.
Anette’s eyes drooped.
Cardin closed his eyes briefly and took a breath before speaking.
“What upset me was that it seemed like you didn’t care about yourself at all, Princess.”
“……”
But Anette looked completely puzzled.
Feeling like there was still a long way to go, Cardin sighed but patiently continued, like teaching a child.
“You did well asking for a way to protect yourself. But then you didn’t hesitate to cut your own palm.”
“……”
“And with that hand, you grabbed a sword and ran into danger.”
“……”
“You didn’t even notice how much you were bleeding. That’s why I’m upset beyond words.”
Anette stared blankly for a moment.
Thanks to the detailed explanation, she now understood why he had been acting displeased.
But she didn’t know what to say—or what expression to make.
“If you truly feel sorry toward me, then please start treating yourself with care. For now… I won’t ask you to even say you’re hurting. Not yet.”
At the sound of Cardin’s earnest voice, she could only nod, almost unconsciously.
Having said everything he wanted, Cardin lowered his gaze again.
Then, with hands as gentle as if handling something precious, he carefully began unwrapping the blood-soaked bandage, and Anette flinched.
It wasn’t a deep wound, and she hadn’t even realized she was bleeding, but wherever Cardin’s hand touched, it felt searingly hot, like she had been burned.
When she reflexively tried to clench her hand again, Cardin asked,
“Does it hurt?”
“No… just a little.”
Anette, who had been about to deny it out of habit, recalled Cardin’s words from earlier and quietly confessed.
Cardin was momentarily overwhelmed, unable to breathe.
It felt like witnessing a baby take its very first steps.
“You did well. Good girl.”
Startled by the unexpected praise, Anette shrank her neck.
‘This is strange.’
Her injury was on her hand, yet now her ears felt hot. Not only that—her heart was racing out of control.
‘Why on earth is this happening…’
“Ahem, ahem!”
A sudden sound startled Anette back to her senses.
She quickly turned to see Lucius half-turned away, clearing his throat, while Charlotte stood beside him with an awkward smile, covering their son’s eyes.
Mikhail, flailing his hands in protest and crying out, “Mother! Father?” made Anette jump in surprise.
For a moment, she had completely forgotten the Emperor and Empress—and the Crown Prince—were there.
She couldn’t believe how she’d forgotten.
The realization that they had likely overheard everything between her and Cardin made her face burn with embarrassment.
Lucius, who had been staring off into the distance, stopped clearing his throat and asked,
“Are you finished talking?”
“For now.”
Without even looking at him, Cardin replied coolly as he gently rewrapped Anette’s bandage and added sweetly,
“I think she should be seen by a physician again.”
“…Yes.”
Lucius’s jaw dropped at the instant change in tone.
Despite how blatantly obvious Cardin’s shift in attitude was, the princess seemed too caught up in her embarrassment to notice.
Lucius rubbed his forehead, suddenly aware that his face felt warm—not from emotion, but actual heat.
In truth, it wasn’t like Cardin had whispered love confessions to Anette or anything.
But the honey-dripping gaze, the melted-chocolate-soft voice, the way he openly expressed affection, and the completely different atmosphere—it was all just…
Yeah. That strange atmosphere must’ve been the reason why the emperor and empress had hurriedly turned away or covered their son’s eyes when Cardin had cut Anette off earlier.
…Though, looking back now, they probably should’ve blocked his ears instead.
In any case, Lucius had thought watching Cardin and the princess together would be amusing, but it turned out to be more awkward and embarrassing.
Honestly, shouldn’t Cardin also be blushing like the princess? Why did it feel like he, the onlooker, was the one suffering secondhand embarrassment?
Lucius was struck anew by how shameless his brother really was.
He had always assumed that, in front of the woman he liked, his brother would at least get a bit shy—but that, clearly, had been a delusion.
If he were to ask Cardin, “Aren’t you embarrassed acting like that in front of others?”—his brother would probably answer with something frustrating like, “What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
Lucius shook his head inwardly, letting out a hollow laugh—just as—
“Now then, Mikhail. Shall we continue our earlier conversation?”
Charlotte, having removed her hands from their son’s eyes, asked Mikhail, who now stared blankly at Cardin and Anette.
Realizing the situation again, Mikhail’s face hardened.
“Uh, Mother… I… I was wrong…”
“No. I mean the thing you said earlier. Can you repeat it for me?”
“Pardon?”
“You told the young lady that you’d give up your family, the crown prince title, and become her family’s son-in-law. Didn’t you?”
“……”
Unable to answer, Mikhail lowered his head.
His silence was as good as a confession. The Emperor, who hadn’t been aware of this part, gaped in shock.
Cardin, who had been looking for a chance to slip away with Anette, also froze with unease.
Though it sounded like Charlotte was scolding her son, her eyes were fixed squarely on Cardin.
“For someone you love, you said you’d give up everything… Mikhail, who taught you something like that?”
Cardin gulped and parted his lips.
“Surely it wasn’t Duke Harzent who said that. He’s one of the Empire’s most loyal subjects. There’s no way he’d say something so disloyal to the Crown Prince. Right?”
“……”
Understanding the situation, Lucius pressed his forehead again and let out a pained, “Cardin…”
To be fair, both Lucius and Charlotte knew Cardin well enough to trust his loyalty without question. They could guess his true intentions.
But the fact remained that his careless words had influenced the future emperor in a potentially harmful direction.
“If anyone should be blamed, let it be me. I misspoke to the Crown Prince. This is all my fault.”
Before the situation worsened, Cardin stepped in.
Charlotte’s gaze narrowed sharply.
“Uncle…”
At the same time, Mikhail realized how irresponsible his actions had been, and how serious the situation was, and his eyes began to well up.
Seeing his nephew about to cry, Cardin sighed softly and spoke in a gentle voice.
“My dear nephew.”
No sooner had he said those words than Mikhail’s face twisted. Before the boy could burst into tears, Cardin quickly continued.
“Do you remember what I said before that?”
“Before…?”
Mikhail tilted his head, clearly unsure.
Cardin patted the child’s head and said,
“I told you that in order to protect someone you love and make them happy, you need strength.”
That included not only physical strength, but wealth and power as well.
“But… the part after that is important too…”
“That’s true. People often get so caught up in gaining strength, they forget why they started.”
That’s why he had said that, in the end, you should always be prepared to give everything up for the person you love.
“But if you throw everything away like that, can you still protect the young lady? Will that make her happy?”
Mikhail remembered Audrey’s troubled expression and shook his head sadly.
“Then you were just doing what you wanted. Right?”
“…Yes.”
“You even hurt your family in the process.”
Everything Cardin said was true.
Mikhail dropped his head in shame.
Watching him, Lucius let out a quiet sigh.
No matter what anyone said, it was Lucius—not Cardin—who had raised and taught Mikhail.
Loving his son deeply, Lucius couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“Mikhail, I’ve always told you that the people of the Alcan Empire are those you must love and protect your whole life.”
“……”
“And yet, you were willing to abandon them without a second thought. That tells me you lack even the slightest sense of responsibility. I’m truly disappointed. Was the title of Crown Prince really so meaningless to you?”
“N-No, it’s not like that…”
He had never taken the title lightly.
But in the end, Lucius wasn’t wrong. No matter how much he agonized over it, he had tried to throw it all away.
“I was wrong. But…”
Lips trembling with emotion, Mikhail suddenly shouted, eyes tightly shut.
“If being Crown Prince means I have to marry someone I don’t even like, then I don’t want it! I like studying, reading, debating, and training my body! I’ll even fight to the death for the people of the Empire! But that—that one thing—I just can’t do!”