Chapter 59
They shouldn’t have done it.
They should’ve said something.
If they had spoken up earlier, they never would have pushed her into a political marriage like that…
Zeon bit down on his lip, unable to speak, his expression clouded with deep regret.
But the king already understood everything from the words he had heard.
This wasn’t about the royal knights suddenly becoming weak.
It was about the absence of just one person—an absence that had made all the difference.
The king let out a disbelieving chuckle.
He couldn’t bring himself to admit, or rather didn’t want to admit, that Anette’s value was truly that high.
Trying to compose himself, he asked,
“I had been delaying approval of the royal knights’ budget for too long. I’ll approve it now. We’ll replace their armor and weapons with the highest quality, and recruit more knights as well…”
But the more he spoke, the more suffocated he felt—his hair standing on end with dread.
No matter how much money he poured into the knights, something told him the results wouldn’t match his expectations.
Even so, clinging to hope, the king clenched his jaw and looked desperately at Zeon.
Zeon, remembering the new weapons and armor stacked in the training yard, pressed his lips together, heart aching.
Then, slowly, he replied.
“If Your Majesty truly does all that… we may be able to reach 30% of the original results.”
“What? What did you say?”
The king had hoped they could at least recover 80% of what they used to earn from the monster materials.
He had been trying to remain generous despite the crisis.
But 30%?
The king, still not fully grasping the reality of the situation, looked visibly deflated.
Then Zeon dropped another bombshell.
“Not only will the amount of monster byproducts decrease significantly, but the quality of monsters we’ll be able to subjugate will also drop.
To be frank, we likely won’t be able to handle high-level monsters at all.”
The king’s eyes widened in shock.
Everyone knew that the rarer and more powerful the monster, the more valuable its materials—like leather, fangs, or claws—and the higher the market price.
That meant the income of the royal knights would plummet.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
If they couldn’t hunt the monsters, and those monsters started attacking villages, the royal family would have to bear the blame.
Memories of a time when the threat of monsters plagued the kingdom came flooding back to the king.
It had only been ten years ago.
Back then, the royal knights had slowly grown stronger, and hunting monsters had become a major source of national income.
They had forgotten the damage once inflicted by those creatures.
And now, the king remembered—ten years ago, Anette had first joined the subjugation efforts.
He covered his face with one hand, overcome by despair.
“How… how could she have done all that alone…?”
Hearing the king’s voice, heavy with grief, Zeon felt a strange sense of disbelief.
How had they not realized Anette’s skill and worth until now?
It was true that the former Queen’s personal knight and previous commander, Gramis, had orchestrated much of this behind the scenes, but Zeon didn’t know that.
He could only assume it was because Anette never took credit for herself and had always attributed her accomplishments to the entire royal knight order.
‘What a fool…’
“Um…”
Just then, Bridget hesitantly opened her mouth.
From the grave atmosphere between the king and Zeon, she could tell something serious had happened.
She didn’t fully understand terms like monster subjugation or byproducts, but she felt she had something to say.
“When the royal knights used to go on subjugation missions, I heard that many talented knights—even winners of the continental swordsmanship tournament—joined in the hunts for my sake.”
At her words, the king, who had been dazed, suddenly raised his head.
Knights from other countries had participated in the hunts? He’d never heard that before.
It was all in Anette’s reports, but since he had never properly read them, this information felt brand new.
“Is that true, Bridget?”
“Of course, Father. I heard all the monsters they defeated were handed over to the royal knights.”
That made more sense.
The king, whose face had been clouded with despair, brightened with relief.
So that was why Zeon had been exaggerating Anette’s importance—to frighten him.
It hadn’t all been her work alone.
The king, who hadn’t even read the reports properly, was now blaming the royal knights for hogging all the credit.
“Who told you that?”
“Huh?”
“Who said those knights participated in hunts for your sake?”
Zeon’s voice was firm, but tinged with disbelief.
Bridget blinked, then confessed it was the royal guards who had told her.
And in that moment, Zeon realized what had happened.
The royal knights, feeling belittled by the elite royal guards, had bragged about hunting with renowned knights to regain face.
The guards, unwilling to mention that those knights had actually come for Anette, twisted the story while flattering Bridget.
The king, now nervous, asked,
“Why? It wasn’t true?”
“It is true that many skilled knights from other nations participated in the hunts.”
“Then…!”
“But they did not come for Princess Bridget.
They came for the commander—Princess Anette.”
The king, who had been sighing with relief, froze mid-breath.
“Th-That can’t be…”
Bridget’s face turned pale in an instant.
Watching their stunned expressions, Zeon felt slightly irritated.
Did they truly believe knights of that caliber would travel across borders just to please a pampered girl?
How blind could one be to reality?
Without realizing it, anger crept into his tone as he said,
“Now that Princess Anette has left Heiworth, those knights won’t be visiting again.
And they certainly won’t be helping the royal knights subjugate monsters anymore.”
While the Kingdom of Heiworth was scrambling to deal with the consequences of their irreversible mistake…
The Grand Duchy of Harzent was enjoying peaceful days.
Knock knock knock!
“Princess, I’m here!”
“…Come in, Your Highness.”
Well, not entirely peaceful.
Anette frowned slightly as she watched Cardin enter.
Once again, the glow around him outshone even the midday sun.
It had been two weeks since she last saw his bare face—surely she should be used to it by now.
‘Why does he seem to shine brighter every day…?’
Every time she saw him, her heart thumped.
When their eyes met, she found it hard to breathe.
At this point, Anette genuinely thought this must count as harassment.
Not the kind Bridget had been hoping for—something far worse.
“Wow, I had a feeling I should stop by—and I was right!”
Cardin beamed when he saw Anette’s damp hair.
Larisa handed him a towel like it was routine, and he naturally took it, stepped behind Anette, and gently gathered her red hair.
Carefully, he pressed the towel around the strands, slowly blotting away the moisture.
Whether it was out of worry that he might tug her hair and hurt her, or because he simply enjoyed this moment so much that he couldn’t stop smiling—he moved painstakingly slowly, as if drying each strand individually.
“…”
Anette pretended to be calm, but her entire body had gone stiff from tension.
When Larisa dried her hair, it always soothed her, often putting her to sleep.
But when Cardin touched her hair, she felt like a storm was raging inside her chest. Her mind went blank.
This had to be harassment. She was sure of it.
And what came next was pure torture.
“Princess, how should I do your hair today?”
“Just tie it in a single braid—”
“A low double braid would look great, wouldn’t it?”
Anette sighed quietly.
As Cardin began brushing her hair with a soft rustle, she asked,
“If you’re just going to do whatever you want, why bother asking?”
Despite her annoyed tone, Cardin only smiled sweetly, continuing to focus on brushing her hair.
Annoyed, she narrowed her eyes and glared up at him—then suddenly froze.
Had he always smiled at her like that?
Even when he wore his mask, she could tell from the curve of his eyes that he was smiling.
But now, with nothing covering his face, the warmth radiating from his expression made her heart lurch.
While she stared up at him, entranced—
Cardin’s long fingers suddenly brushed the crown of her head, then quickly pulled away.
A sharp shiver ran down her spine.
Anette sat up ramrod straight.
