MFTR 94

~Chapter 94~

 I Love You Too

Annette bristled at Cardin’s words and tried to retort, asking if I really had such a strange talent.

But Cardin was quicker, whispering into her ear.

“Good.”

“…….”

“I’m just so glad the princess has returned to her original form.”

“……Really?”

Annette, momentarily taken aback, asked slowly, as if she still couldn’t quite believe it.

Cardin, still holding her in his arms, let out a faint smile.

He then released her and met her eyes, which she had been avoiding, and said:

“Really. I’m so happy I feel like I could go mad.”

Seeing Cardin’s bright smile, Annette suddenly swallowed.

The blue eyes filled with affection told her everything—he was genuinely glad.

Realizing this filled her chest with a sharp, almost painful satisfaction, but she still asked once more, somewhat teasingly.

“Are you not lying just to make me feel better?”

“A lie?”

Cardin laughed, as if the question were ridiculous.

Seeing his amused expression, Annette felt embarrassed, as if her pointless sulking had been caught.

Then she noticed that Cardin, who had seemed so down just a moment ago, had suddenly brightened in mood.

Blinking in confusion, she saw Cardin curl the corners of his lips into a smile.

The truth was, when she had asked why he wasn’t happy instead of avoiding her or questioning the fifth-floor room, he realized she wasn’t mad at him at all.

This meant she knew his thoughts and feelings yet didn’t reject him in the slightest.

Cardin couldn’t believe how kind and innocent she was to allow this, but he decided to fully enjoy the luck that had come to him.

“If you knew what I imagined every day, what I thought about… you wouldn’t call it a lie.”

“…….”

“You’d probably faint and run away, Princess.”

“……What did you imagine?”

Annette had only recently realized that her princess was unexpectedly competitive and curious.

As expected, the moment he baited her, her curiosity couldn’t resist, and she quietly asked.

Cardin barely restrained his laughter and whispered slyly:

“Something even wilder than what I did to you this morning.”

“…….”

“And thinking I should quickly have a daughter who looks like you and raise her.”

Annette’s face turned bright red before she could stop it.

She tried to convince herself that Cardin was just playing his usual teasing games.

But just yesterday, she had heard his genuine voice confess how much he wished she would obsess over him and cling to him.

And the memory of feeling his eyes, nose, and lips on her neck and shoulders was still vivid.

‘So maybe this isn’t just a simple joke….’

Feeling her heart race, Annette recalled the words she had wanted to say to Cardin as soon as her body returned.

But in this atmosphere, she was far too embarrassed to speak them.

After a long hesitation, she naturally changed the subject.

“By the way, now that my body’s back, I’d like to meet Sir Milad and Luke this afternoon.”

Annette had confirmed yesterday that Cardin had no interest in welcoming these two visitors from Hayward.

Not only that—he seemed frustrated enough to get a headache.

She didn’t want Cardin to be bothered or uncomfortable because of people connected to her.

She wasn’t sure if they would accept her request yet, but judging from yesterday’s conversation, it seemed they hadn’t officially received one, so she thought it best to handle it quickly herself.

‘Besides, I also need to receive the sword sent by His Majesty and Her Majesty.’

However, Cardin’s reaction was unusual.

“You want to… meet Zeon Milad?”

“Your Highness?”

“R-Really?”

He had been in a good mood just a moment ago—why the sudden change?

Annette looked puzzled at his sharp question.

Cardin twisted his mouth.

Even knowing he had no right to feel this way, jealousy and betrayal bubbled inside him.

But who could he blame? Everything was his own fault.

He wished he could sew shut the lips that had spoken thoughtlessly last night.

〈Do you know how that guy looks at your lady?〉

〈With a burning desire, dying to have her.〉

〈Arrogant fool. Not even her knight, yet he stands guard outside her tent when she sleeps, and ensures no one approaches the lake when she bathes. Ridiculous.〉

He must have been crazy. Why would he convey Zeon Milad’s feelings to the princess, especially when Milad didn’t have the courage to confess himself?

‘I’d rather she never knew he had feelings for her.’

Cardin watched Annette anxiously.

The moment she said she wanted to meet Zeon, it bothered him deeply.

And Luke, the other fellow, was equally concerning.

Annette, noticing Cardin’s tense, hurt gaze, suddenly twitched her mouth in a small smile.

She had just realized why he reacted that way.

From Annette’s perspective, she simply wanted to ease Cardin, and since there was no reason to avoid it, she thought it best to meet them and get it over with.

Above all, Cardin’s firm belief that Zeon liked her made her briefly doubt, but she concluded he was mistaken.

The reason he stood guard while she slept or bathed… must have been out of courtesy or chivalry.

Zeon, who was always polite and proper, could certainly do that.

And Cardin…

‘He likes me so much, he could easily misunderstand.’

Trying to suppress her embarrassment and think objectively, Annette couldn’t help but lift the corners of her mouth in a small, amused smile.

After all, Cardin’s jealousy and concern were just too cute.

Annette looked at him affectionately, still wearing a sulky yet anxious expression, and unconsciously stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his cheek.

Smack.

The quiet sitting room rang with the unmistakable sound, snapping them both to attention.

Annette, flustered, stepped back slightly and looked up at Cardin.

He stared as if frozen, unaware of what had just happened.

Time seemed to stop as he stood there, dazed. Then he blinked slowly and murmured.

“Could this be a… dream…?”

“It’s not a dream.”

Annette stepped forward urgently and took a short breath.

I thought I could never say it, but here I am.

Looking Cardin in the eyes, she spoke firmly:

“When I was a cat… I made a promise that I would say this once I became human again.”

Cardin looked at her with trembling eyes.

Annette continued, her gaze unwavering:

“Just as you see the insignificant me as remarkable and adorable…”

“…….”

“I too will see you as wonderful and lovable, no matter what kind of person you are.”

Even caught off guard by the surprise kiss, Cardin instinctively understood the meaning of her words.

〈I will love every side of the princess, but she won’t love me back. This is the answer to the complaint I expressed to the cat yesterday.〉

He unconsciously clenched his fists.

His mouth felt dry.

Annette’s words and actions all carried a single meaning, but he could hardly believe it.

Mixed with happiness and anxiety, hope and fear, Cardin swallowed hard and spoke.

“You saw how I kept all the things you touched or used…”

“Oh, that room.”

Hearing Cardin, Annette seemed to recall the fifth-floor room and nodded.

Cardin swallowed the shame and bitterness before speaking:

“Yes. It must have felt creepy and grotesque…”

“Well…”

Annette cut him off and tilted her head.

“If it had been someone else, maybe. But because it was you… Your Highness, I didn’t mind at all. Of course, I didn’t fully understand why you kept all this, but I could accept it as a hobby.”

She shrugged nonchalantly and narrowed her eyes slightly as a gentle warning:

“But don’t take things secretly. I spent a long time looking for a handkerchief I thought I lost. If you had just asked, I would’ve given it to you…”

And for the things that looked too worn and trashy, perhaps it’s better to throw them away?

As she cautiously voiced her opinion, she paused.

Considering how sensitive he had been about the fifth-floor room, she expected a strong reaction, but Cardin was quietly watching her without saying a word.

Annette noticed and inhaled sharply, surprised.

“Your Highness, are you… crying…?”

“Why?”

Cardin’s eyes were red as he asked.

“Why is it different with me than with others?”

“Huh? That’s…”

“Why is it that when I say I’ll just give it to you, I get this feeling…?”

“….”

“So you like me too…?”

Cardin squeezed his eyes shut.

He couldn’t bring himself to say that Annette seemed to love him.

Flustered, Annette blinked and remembered something she had hidden behind her back.

It was the rabbit doll she had asked Larisa to deliver.

Quickly, she brought the doll forward and pressed its belly.

Instead of “Happy Birthday,” a sweet declaration came out:

Princess, I love you.

Cardin flinched at the voice and lifted his eyelids.

Annette, smiling shyly, said:

“I love you too.”