Chapter 55
My Shadow Exists Only to Illuminate the Princess
“What? Why are you laughing?”
Cardin’s eyebrows immediately furrowed, but Samuel, undeterred and positively thrilled, replied cheerfully.
“Well, I’m just happy that I won’t have to see Your Highness in that terrifying mask anymore!”
“How delightfully simple you are.”
“Your Highness may not realize it, but do you have any idea how unsettling it was for others to face you in that mask? I bet I lost a few years of my life thanks to it!”
“If your life is that fragile, perhaps you should just die.”
“Your words are always so deadly! And I’m not the only one who’s happy about it, you know. Ah, well—excluding the knights who say they actually preferred when you wore the black mask and gave out orders like a demon, rather than smiling like an angel while working us to death.”
“Oh? So those bastards have been saying that behind my back?”
“Well, uh… cough. Anyway! What I meant to say is that Your Highness’s face is the greatest asset of House Harzent! Of course, that spot is temporarily being held by our darling lady now, but—ah, not again!”
Samuel flinched as Cardin’s eyes flashed dangerously at the mention of Annette. Sweat began to trickle down his back, but he was a brave man—one who could speak his mind in any situation.
“Every time Your Highness sees the Princess, you chatter away nonstop, and I can’t even get a word in?”
“Are you seriously comparing yourself to me?”
Only one person in the world had the right to dote on and adore the Princess as much as they pleased.
Cardin’s proud expression declared that fact, and Samuel grumbled under his breath with a sour look.
“So, did the Princess get angry, as you feared?”
“No. She said she wasn’t particularly upset. In fact, she told me there must’ve been some reason for it. Sigh… Even her understanding is boundless. Our Princess is just… too perfect.”
“Right, it’s always the handsome ones…”
Samuel muttered his true thoughts before catching himself under Cardin’s icy gaze and quickly changed the subject.
“Well, in any case, it’s good news. Then… did you tell the Princess everything? That you wore that mask and spread rumors for years—all just to marry her?”
“No. Are you insane?”
Cardin looked at Samuel as if he had completely lost his mind.
As someone who had received countless exasperated looks from his lord, this was the first time Samuel had seen such a shocked expression.
Flustered, Samuel blinked as Cardin spoke firmly.
“Of course I told her it was all for the sake of the imperial authority.”
“The imperial authority…?”
Samuel was baffled, unsure of why that was being brought up now. Cardin clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Yes. There are always fools dreaming of rebellion. And with someone like me—a royal by blood, unmatched in ability, and a war hero—there were bound to be many flies trying to get close. By putting on that mask, I denied them any opportunity and showed my brother that I had no intention of threatening the throne. It was a strategic decision.”
Samuel’s mouth fell open as he listened, then he asked hesitantly.
“Did… the Princess believe that?”
“Of course. She’s not from the Alcan Empire, remember?”
Annette didn’t know how much support Lucius had as Crown Prince. She also didn’t know that no noble in the empire would dare approach Cardin with treasonous thoughts.
“Besides, it wasn’t entirely a lie.”
“Pardon?”
As Samuel blinked, Cardin shrugged nonchalantly.
“Don’t you remember? After the war, every noble with a daughter was eyeing me like a piece of meat.”
“Well, yes, but…”
Just as Cardin said, nobles naturally wanted to marry their daughters to a powerful man like him—a war hero of royal blood and the Emperor’s favorite. That had nothing to do with treason.
“That’s an entirely different matter though…”
Samuel muttered a weak protest, but Cardin continued on.
“Of course, I did admit—just a little—that I was sick of the endless parade of men and women trying to seduce me before marriage. That’s when the Princess finally seemed to believe me.”
A lie mixed with just enough truth always lands better.
Samuel stared in disbelief at the man who nodded with satisfaction—his lord, the world-class liar.
But Cardin didn’t care what Samuel thought. His mind was already occupied by the memory of Annette’s reaction.
When he claimed the mask and rumors were to protect imperial authority, Annette had simply nodded, murmuring “I see…” with a strange look on her face.
But the moment he added that he’d wanted to avoid the interest of people he didn’t care for—her expression faltered, and her cheeks flushed red.
It was too adorable, how her face revealed her every thought.
Samuel, watching his lord quietly chuckle to himself, couldn’t help but ask,
“Why lie at all?”
Cardin’s smile disappeared in an instant.
His voice turned cold.
“What was I supposed to say instead? That I threw away my honor and wore the mask for the Princess? That she has to love me because of everything I’ve done for her?”
“……”
“Samuel. I don’t consider any of what I did to be a sacrifice. If anything, it was a selfish, unilateral decision that didn’t take the Princess—or even my family—into account.”
“But still…”
“Yes, she might be surprised at first. Maybe even touched. Her world has been nothing but barren and miserable, so the idea that someone cared about her like that might lift her spirits. But will she still be grateful, even after time passes?”
Cardin gave a bitter smile.
“If the Princess ever falls for me, she’ll feel guilty because of this. And if she doesn’t, then this will only weigh on her.”
His eyes darkened with quiet pain, and his voice dropped.
“I want her to love me—not pity me.”
The last thing he wanted was for Annette to think she could only be with him by sacrificing his dignity. That her existence had made someone else fall.
“My shadow exists only to make her shine.”
With those words, silence descended on the office.
A long moment passed.
Then, Samuel swallowed hard and cautiously said,
“I… I understand. Your Highness is really… strangely noble in very strange ways.”
He had been right beside Cardin this whole time—watching him scheme, sacrifice, and give up everything for Annette without hesitation. Samuel had even been part of those plans.
He’d believed Cardin would eventually tell Annette everything—how long he had waited for her, how desperately he wanted her—so she could never leave.
But to hear him say he didn’t want her to feel guilty?
Samuel nearly laughed in disbelief.
Of course, he knew Cardin was fiercely devoted to Annette—so much that he’d give her his heart, his soul, and everything in between.
This really is love.
“Anyway… you’re still bothered by the people who say the Princess is adorable, aren’t you?”
Cardin’s voice cut in. Despite the grumbling tone, a hint of pride leaked through.
Samuel nodded with a resigned sigh.
“Well, people try not to show it since Your Highness is always watching. But… yes. It’s inevitable. The Princess is practically a stranger to everyone here at the Grand Duchy.”
In truth, it wasn’t just that.
Her charming appearance and graceful demeanor had already won over knights from the capital and even servants who had only seen her in passing.
But Samuel, for the sake of peace, decided not to share that part—recalling how jealous his lord could be, even toward loyal maids who stayed close to the Princess.
“Tch. At least they have good taste.”
Cardin scowled in dissatisfaction.
That she had managed to captivate not only his family but everyone in the ducal estate in such a short time…
Of course, she looked lovely and acted sweet—who wouldn’t be enchanted?
Still, Cardin couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“I was more at ease in Heyworth, where most people were blind.”
“Oh, right!”
Samuel suddenly exclaimed as if remembering something important.
“There’s some new information from our informants in Heyworth. This morning, an imperial messenger arrived at the royal palace with gifts and a letter from His Majesty.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And around the same time, the Royal Knights entered a temple near the capital. They’ve likely received news about the Princess by now.”
Cardin, who hadn’t seemed particularly interested when he heard the king accepted the gifts, suddenly grew serious.
