You Must Be Love-Struck!
Annette looked around, momentarily flustered, but Audrey, the Empress, and the Grand Duke all calmly waited for her reply.
In the end, she couldn’t resist Mikhail’s eager and pleading eyes and slowly nodded her head.
“Of course. I think His Highness the Crown Prince’s power is a great and precious ability.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You’re just inexperienced now, but if you continue to work hard, you’ll definitely be able to protect what’s precious to you.”
Annette thought that strong power was like the sword she had wielded her whole life—double-edged.
Depending on who wielded it, that power could either harm others or save them from danger.
And she felt certain that this young Crown Prince belonged to the latter.
As Mikhail exclaimed, “Audrey, I’ll get stronger and protect you no matter what!” with joy, Annette looked at him with affectionate eyes.
“But Princess, how can I become strong like you?”
Excited again, Mikhail asked the question he had been dying to ask Annette all day.
Faced with another important question, Annette wore a troubled expression.
What mattered for Mikhail now, who had already awakened his powers, was not how to become strong, but rather how to control his power.
Above all, Annette herself had only learned the details of divine powers less than a day ago and wanted to ask why he was even directing that question at her.
She looked to Kardien, the one who truly possessed divine power, for help—but he said nothing. Rather, he looked as if he was also waiting for her answer.
Meanwhile, Mikhail’s sparkling eyes kept attacking her resolve, and in the end, she caved again.
Knowing her answer wasn’t particularly helpful for power control, she still responded sincerely.
“Every day, without missing a single one, I gave it my all.”
She recalled those long-ago days, trapped in a detached palace with nothing to do but stare out the window and swing a dry branch.
“That was the only thing allowed to me, so I trained and trained… and before I knew it, I had grown strong.”
After letting out such sentimental words, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.
‘That’s probably not the answer he was expecting.’
As she glanced apologetically at Mikhail…
“So, so cool!”
“…Your Highness?”
“You’re amazing, Auntie!”
Mikhail’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever as he looked up at her.
Annette was surprised by his reaction, but even more surprised by the way he addressed her.
“Um, I think it’s a little early to call me ‘aunt’…”
“What’s the big deal? You’ll be that soon enough anyway.”
The one who interrupted was, of course, Kardien, who had been silently watching like a spectator across the river.
Even the Empress nodded in agreement, smiling softly, leaving Annette unable to argue further. She let out an awkward cough and changed the subject.
“Ahem. Anyway, Lady Audrey, I actually have something I wanted to ask you.”
“Yes? Yes! Ask me anything!”
Just like Mikhail, Audrey clasped her hands tightly and looked at Annette with eyes full of admiration, nodding fervently.
“How did you know who I was yesterday in the garden?”
And as soon as she was asked, her face turned red.
She recalled how she had briefly mistaken Annette for Mikhail’s fiancée in the garden.
“I was so flustered at the time. A girl my age suddenly showed up in the garden, and I got upset and behaved foolishly… I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright. You already apologized, and I accepted it. I’m just genuinely curious.”
“Well…”
Audrey glanced around nervously, then finally opened her mouth.
“To be honest, it was your hair… and your eyes…”
“Ah…”
“They were too beautiful, so I got jealous and didn’t recognize you at first.”
“…Excuse me?”
Annette blinked in disbelief, as though she’d just heard something impossible.
Thinking she might have misunderstood, she looked over at Audrey—but the girl’s starlit eyes were fixed on her.
“I’d heard many stories about the princess through rumors, but I had no idea you were this beautiful! But later, when I saw you wield a sword, I knew instantly. There’s no one else in the world who’s so good with a sword and has such rose-colored hair and eyes like you, the First Princess of Hayworth!”
Audrey’s eyes sparkled like someone who had just met a knight from her favorite fairy tale, and Annette found herself speechless.
When she heard it was because of her hair and eyes, she secretly thought, So that’s what it is.
All her life, she had been mocked with words like “filthy red hair” and “cursed red eyes.” She could almost hear those taunts again in her ears.
But… beautiful? Really?
“A… rose?”
“Yes! Seeing you up close, you really do look like a rose!”
Audrey exclaimed with growing excitement.
“My hair is just dull black, and my eyes are this faded gray, but yours are so pretty!”
Flustered by Audrey’s sincere tone, Annette stiffened, unsure of what to say.
“Dull?! Audrey, your hair color is so pretty!”
Even if she admired her future aunt-to-be, Audrey was still the most beautiful girl in Mikhail’s world.
“Your hair is like the night sky cut into strands! And your eyes—they pull me in. Audrey, you sparkle from head to toe!”
“T-That’s just because you’re love-struck, Your Highness!”
Audrey blushed and tried to refute him, but when Mikhail declared, “If this is love-struck, then I’ll happily live as a bean forever!” she couldn’t hide her delight and flushed red.
Charlotte, hearing her son’s sappy declaration, made a face as if she had a sour taste in her mouth.
“…Pfft—!”
At that moment, Annette burst into laughter.
She had stiffened at being called beautiful for the first time in her life, but now the situation was so ridiculous and joyful she couldn’t help but laugh.
With tears welling at the corners of her eyes from laughter, she was unaware of how Kardien, who had been watching her lovingly, as well as Charlotte, Mikhail, and Audrey, all stared at her blankly.
“I knew this would happen. Even those little brats couldn’t help falling for you…”
“What are you talking about now?”
“I’m saying, Princess, you’re just way too popular.”
Annette gave Kardien a look of disbelief in response to his cheeky reply.
She had laughed so much while watching those precocious 8-year-olds acting like they were in a romance novel.
After Audrey had left and Charlotte took Mikhail away, Annette naturally ended up alone with Kardien.
She had merely accepted his offer to escort her back to her palace quarters—never expecting to hear such nonsense again.
Should I have refused and gone alone?
She regretted it, but it was too late now.
And truthfully, she realized she hadn’t actually wanted to refuse him at all, even if she couldn’t admit it.
She quietly rolled the candy in her mouth.
That soft sound made Kardien’s blue eyes twinkle mischievously.
“Is it tasty, Princess?”
He suddenly leaned in, and Annette leaned back slightly as she answered.
“…Yes.”
She couldn’t lie and say the candy Mikhail gave her didn’t taste good.
Nodding reluctantly, Annette subtly moved her hand to hide the snack pouch hanging from her wrist.
It was a little pouch containing three candies and two chocolates—Mikhail’s daily allowance.
He had carefully saved them all to bring to her.
Though he still had access to cakes and cookies after meals, this was his favorite kind of treat, and it was clear he had brought the things he liked most.
Annette had refused repeatedly, saying she was fine, but Mikhail had insisted on giving it to her.
Deeply touched by his sweet gesture, she couldn’t say no in the end.
But now…
Surely… he wouldn’t… right?
Somehow, Annette had the feeling that Kardien was eyeing the pouch.
Of course, the thing Kardien truly had his eyes on wasn’t the pouch of sweets.
Why is she this cute?
Annette’s guarded expression, rolling her eyes like a squirrel protecting its acorns, made him feel like he might scoop her up in his arms again—just like yesterday.
He quickly shut his eyes and forced himself to straighten up.
“…?”
Annette stopped in her tracks and looked at Kardien with a puzzled gaze as he stiffened and trembled slightly.
His eyes, the only visible part of his face beyond the mask, were now covered with his hand—leaving her completely in the dark about what was going on.
As she quietly observed him, she suddenly felt a strong curiosity about what lay behind his mask.
It wasn’t about the face that once charmed men and women alike, nor the features allegedly ruined by demonic blood…
She simply wanted to see his expression—his eyes, his lips, his face in this very moment.
Without realizing she had been thinking about Kardien constantly since yesterday, Annette kept staring at him.
Their eyes met the moment he lowered his hand.
She flinched in surprise and tried to collect herself, but just then—a soft touch landed on her cheek.
Her cheek was gently pulled, stretched, and then released.
“…?!”
Despite her usually sharp reflexes, honed through years of survival, Annette didn’t react in time.
By the time she realized what had happened, her face turned beet red.
She was overwhelmed by a sudden flood of emotion—whether it was embarrassment or anger, even she couldn’t tell.