MFTR 41

Chapter 41

 You Have to Brush Your Teeth!

 What followed honestly made her heart flutter.

<If you think you won’t be able to sleep tonight, please let me know. I’ll carry you on my back and put you to sleep…>

Anette couldn’t remember much from her childhood, but she was certain she had never fallen asleep on Sarah’s back.

Maybe in the Arkan Empire, they carried children like that to help them sleep, but at least in Heyworth, that wasn’t the custom.

Children were usually laid in a cradle or held in someone’s arms and rocked.

Even beloved little Bridget and Raon, who were adored to bits by the king and queen, were sometimes seen riding on the attendants’ shoulders or playing horsey on someone’s back—but never being carried like that to fall asleep.

And yet, there was one reason Anette felt her heart flutter.

It was because of a memory—when they stopped by a small village on their way back to the palace after a subjugation campaign. A boy had carried his younger sister, who couldn’t fall asleep, on his back and showed her the night sky.

It was such a warm, affectionate scene between siblings that Anette had felt a strange tug in her heart.

She had even wondered, just for a moment, if things would’ve been different—if she had been born into a normal life, if Franz had been healthy. Could she have lived like that?

Of course, she had quickly shaken the thought off. But still, the scene had stuck with her.

So when Kardien said he’d carry her to sleep, Anette realized she had been envious of that loving pair of siblings all this time.

Maybe Kardien only said it so easily because she looked like a child right now.

Still, there was no denying she had been tempted by his words.

She even wondered if she kept insisting, maybe he really would carry her, pretending to be reluctant.

But despite all of that… there was only one reason she had hit Kardien.

She was way too embarrassed.

‘Seriously, why would he say something like that in front of everyone?!’

That’s the kind of thing you whisper privately! Not shout it out!

Anette had been fanning herself like crazy, but once she calmed down a bit in the carriage, her heart settled.

Naturally, she recalled Kardien’s words again—and let out a small chuckle.

“Carry me to sleep,” huh? Where did he even get that idea?

There’s no way he knew about that memory she herself hadn’t realized was so precious until now.

‘Wait a second… Was I really alone back then?’

Just as that thought crossed her mind, someone banged on the carriage door.

Not a polite knock knock—more like a full bang bang, startling Anette enough to turn her head instinctively.

Outside, Kardien called out in a desperate voice.

“Princess, it’s a misunderstanding! I’m not a pervert, I swear!”

…Pervert?

“I wouldn’t care if you turned into an old woman instead of a child!”

Anette’s eyes wavered wildly.

She didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, but one thing was clear—

“Please just be quiet!”

If she left him alone, he’d definitely say something even worse.

“Come on, just let me in the carriage! I want to talk to you face-to-face—!”

“I said no! Just stop shouting and leave already!”

The spectacle unfolding outside the carriage left the Grand Duke’s knights with their jaws dropped.

They watched their usually dignified lord completely at a loss in front of the princess’s firm rejection.

“Princess, my arm really hurts! I think the bone’s broken…”

“Oh please! Suddenly now?”

“Because you’re so strong…”

“I held back this time! Liar!”

…Was this really the same cold, calculating man who had once inspired their blind loyalty and respect?

“Princess, you haven’t even finished your meal.”

“I’m full.”

“Then you have to brush your teeth!”

“W-what?”

“Brush your teeth! I saw you eating chocolate earlier! If you go to sleep like that, your teeth will rot!”

…Okay, but was a little tooth decay really worth this kind of panic?

Was this really the same man who had once swung a sword without blinking an eye in front of enemies and monsters?

The knights of the Grand Duchy were starting to seriously doubt their own senses.

They had already been shocked the first time he called the princess in a voice they’d never heard before—sweet as honey, eyes practically sparkling.

But now, they were genuinely concerned that love had broken their lord’s brain.

“My god… I had no idea our lord was such a fool in love…”

One of the knights muttered in a daze.

“Hey now, don’t call our lord a fool,”

Their ever-loyal vice-captain, Morten, said firmly.

The others flinched and bowed their heads in guilt, but Morten declared solemnly:

“Call him a romantic instead.”

The Grand Duke, newly rebranded as a hopeless romantic, finally succeeded in entering the carriage by bringing some meat.

Afterward, the knights watched as he and the princess peacefully finished their meal and then went off together to brush their teeth by the lakeside.

By then, they had come to accept that this man, fawning all over the princess in an unusually sweet voice, was indeed their lord.

They also accepted the unbelievable reality that this was the kind of scene they’d be witnessing over and over again in the Grand Duchy from now on.

Still, something felt off. Maybe it was because autumn was approaching?

Somehow… their sides felt cold and empty.

That night, as they lay awake counting stars, unable to fall asleep—

Far to the east, in the mountain ranges, there were other knights who couldn’t sleep either.

“Vice-Captain.”

Brahman, dressed in a worn blue uniform with the Heyworth royal crest stitched in, approached a man silently gazing up at the stars.

The man, also in a faded uniform, was Zeon Millard.

With dark blue hair that mirrored the night sky swept back from his forehead, Zeon had a face that was nothing short of perfect.

Sharp yet even eyes, a straight nose, and firmly closed lips—his features blended together in flawless harmony. His amber-colored eyes gleamed with intelligence and resolve, amplifying his knightly aura.

Prince Franz of the royal palace was certainly a handsome man too—like a white lily in bloom—but perhaps because Brahman himself was a knight, he thought Zeon, with his strong and defined features, was the most handsome man in all of Heyworth.

“Have all the treatments been completed?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Brahman replied in surprise.

“Yes, sir. Thankfully there were no major injuries, so only light treatment was needed. We’ll stop by the temple for purification before returning to the palace.”

“Good.”

Zeon’s answer was brief. He turned his head back toward the sky.

He looked tired—likely exhausted from the recent campaign—but his eyes still held a sharp gleam, and his cold expression hadn’t changed.

Brahman hesitated, then couldn’t resist speaking again.

“This campaign was really rough, wasn’t it? Took twice as long as usual.”

“…It did.”

“I knew we’d feel the absence of the Captain, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

Brahman’s expression darkened as he thought of Anette, who had stepped down as captain after being injured in place of a rookie knight.

Other imperial knights often mocked the Royal Guard for accepting commoners purely based on skill, but the Heyworth Royal Guard was actually famous enough to rival the Hargenzt Grand Duchy’s elite corps in the Arkan Empire.

And the person who had built up the Royal Guard into what it was today… was none other than Anette.

Yet they’d pushed her out without even a retirement ceremony.

Brahman still couldn’t believe it.

“She meant so much to our unit…”

No matter how skilled Vice-Captain Zeon Millard was—talented enough to win at the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament—and even if there were other standouts in the squad, none of them could replace Anette.

“When we return, the higher-ups will realize how stupid their decision was.”

Brahman raised his voice with conviction, but Zeon frowned.

His expression said it all.

Brahman had just insulted those very “higher-ups”—which included not only the queen’s supporting nobles but the king himself. He needed to watch what he said.

It was certainly an unloyal statement for a royal guard knight.

Brahman looked sheepish, but in truth, everyone in the Royal Guard—except for strict Zeon—resented the king.

That petty king had hated their captain and repeatedly cut their budget and mistreated the Guard.

To be honest, Heyworth was a tiny, irrelevant kingdom stuck between the powerful Arkan and Bayendor Empires. It even bordered the Monster Marshes, constantly threatened by monsters.

No rich mines, no famous exports. It had been ignored even in conquest wars.

The only reason it was even slightly better off recently was—exaggeration or not—entirely thanks to Anette, in the Royal Guard’s view.

Because of her, monster damage had lessened. And more importantly, the royal family had started processing and exporting monster parts, raking in considerable profit.

Plus, remember all those famous knights who came to challenge the Guard?

Every one of them ran off after seeing the Captain’s real strength.

Some of them even believed that not even the great war hero, Grand Duke Hargenzt, could stand against her.

That’s how much Anette Heyworth was the pride and soul of the Royal Guard.

There wasn’t a single knight who didn’t owe her their life.

‘The entire Guard is basically made up of Captain’s fanatics. Well… except for the Vice-Captain, I guess.’