MFTR 79

Chapter 79

 I Didn’t Know You’d Forget My Words So Soon

‘He still seems really angry.’

She suddenly wondered if maybe he had only come here because he had no choice, even though the very sight of her disgusted him, and she grew terribly dejected.

Even just earlier, when she had been about to go and apologize to him, she thought now that it might have been sheer arrogance.

‘As if just because I apologize, he’d automatically forgive me….’

“I didn’t know you’d forget my words so soon.”

At that moment, a sharp-edged remark flew out from Kardin.

Annette raised her head in puzzlement.

“What…?”

Seeing her confused expression, Kardin smirked crookedly, lifting only one corner of his mouth.

“I’m fairly certain I said I wanted you, and only you, as my bride.”

“……”

“Was I really so unconvincing?”

The tilt of his head carried an air completely unlike his usual self.

Annette blinked, a little dazed.

Just then, Samuel, who had been nervously watching the tense atmosphere, suddenly stepped out from behind the duke and cut in.

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but the voices carried outside.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Annette recall the conversation from a little while ago in the room.

She had speculated that perhaps they were planning to switch the bride to Brigitte from the Kingdom of Hayworth depending on the duke’s feelings….

Thinking that far, Annette turned to Kardin with wide, bewildered eyes.

‘So what he meant earlier… was that his heart won’t change?’

She had been sure he was angry about what had happened the day before yesterday.

But to realize that he was pouting like this because she hadn’t trusted him—suddenly her mood began to soar.

“You really won’t change brides?”

Half thrilled, half needing reassurance, she asked, and Kardin’s gaze sharpened.

“All right, I believe you.”

She said it quickly, and only then did his stiff lips soften, his mood easing.

Even in neutrality, the curve of Kardin’s mouth tilted just slightly upward, making him look as though he were smiling—beautifully so.

Perhaps because she had been watching him so closely….

‘Oh no, I feel like I’m about to smile too.’

Annette hurriedly busied herself with pretending to fuss at her lips.

And yet her eyes kept darting back to Kardin.

Strangely, he seemed even more handsome after just a single day apart.

He had come in such a rush that he hadn’t buttoned his shirt all the way as usual, leaving the collar slightly undone, and that gave him a different air.

Where he normally shone with angelic kindness, today there was something decadent, even dangerous, about him….

Gulp.

Annette swallowed unconsciously, then quickly turned her head.

Seeing this, Kardin’s expression turned a little sulky, but he soon said curtly,

“No matter how much you hope for it, Hayworth won’t dare break off an engagement that’s already sealed and replace the bride. They’d have to cough up a penalty worth a hundred times the dowry they’ve received, and they can’t afford that.”

Even in the haste of drafting the prenuptial contract, Kardin had meticulously inserted clauses to guard against just such a possibility.

Privately, he congratulated himself.

Of course, Annette—who had never even laid eyes on the contract, let alone the clauses—had no idea why he was so confident or what exactly it was she was supposed to have been hoping for. She only blinked in confusion.

Watching this strangely off-kilter pair, Samuel stamped his foot in frustration.

‘Why is His Grace acting like this?’

Only a short while ago, before the butler had delivered word of Hayworth’s visitors, Kardin had been slamming his forehead against the desk, moaning “The princess must hate me now,” as if his world had ended.

So why was he now pouting like some sulky child?

It had to be something he’d eaten. Except… Kardin hadn’t eaten at all since yesterday.

Annette had avoided dining with him, remaining shut in her room all day, and Kardin, wanting her to eat in peace, had deliberately skipped going to the dining hall—leaving himself fasting, disheveled, and dispirited.

If the situation hadn’t been urgent, he would never have appeared before his fiancée in such a state. His lord always wanted to show her the most impeccable version of himself—hence his fanatical defense of that strange fifth-floor chamber.

Samuel clicked his tongue silently. He had no idea Annette was discovering a new kind of charm in Kardin’s foul mood.

Instead, he cleared his throat.

“My apologies, Your Graces. Do you remember that the guests from Hayworth are waiting?”

Kardin instantly frowned, while Annette blinked in realization, having completely forgotten.

Feigning composure, she asked,

“Come to think of it, you haven’t met them yet, have you?”

“…No. I thought it best to exchange some opinions with you first.”

“Opinions?”

Kardin nodded, signaling with his eyes.

Samuel, quick to catch on, ushered Lady Hilda and Larisa out of the room.

Annette, puzzled, looked back at Kardin, who explained,

“My guess is that the Kingdom of Hayworth is here to ask the Harzent ducal house to provide knights for their monster subjugation.”

“What? But why would they…?”

Annette’s face was incredulous.

“Hayworth has its own Royal Knight Order. Why ask the ducal house for support?”

Her eyes, wide with indignant disbelief, looked so terribly endearing that Kardin’s lips twitched against his will.

Despite being still reeling from the shock of her avoiding him, the fear of being despised by her, and the jealousy stirred up by the reappearance of the royal knights she still seemed attached to—she still looked this lovely.

Even he had to admit it: his case was severe.

Shaking his head to refocus, Kardin thought of Hayworth’s predicament—only now, belatedly, realizing Annette’s true worth—and said, his tone almost amused,

“Why else? Because Hayworth’s house is on fire.”

“On fire? Please explain more clearly.”

Her tilted head was so adorably distracting that he barely managed to hold on to his senses. He answered,

“The Royal Knight Order without you is drastically weakened. They may not be able to handle monsters properly anymore. And, of course, the bigger worry may be that they can’t profit as before from selling monster remains, leaving the treasury empty.”

“But that’s…”

“Don’t tell me you really don’t know how great a role you played in the Order.”

Her eyes darted nervously.

After a pause, her lips parted faintly.

“I did lead the monster hunts… but I never thought the difference would be that great. At first, yes, they might struggle with my absence, but with more experience, they’ll—”

“Really? You honestly think so? That the problem is only inexperience, not lack of skill?”

Annette fell silent at his biting, interrogative tone.

So this was the famed tongue that had supposedly reduced nobles to tears and driven them out of banquets?

She clucked her tongue in disbelief as Kardin continued flatly,

“Regardless, everything I’ve said is true. And I doubt their reason for coming here will stray far from my guess. If I refuse their request, they’ll surely ask you to persuade me.”

Annette’s brows furrowed.

“In this state, I can’t meet them.”

She shook her head vehemently. Kardin narrowed his eyes.

“Why not?”

“What?”

“Why can’t you meet them?”

“Well, because my body…”

“Your condition has nothing to do with the Bayendor Empire’s ambush. It’s not related to keeping the spies a secret, either. And those knights spent years by your side—they’d understand. So is it simply because your body changed? Or… is there another reason?”

Annette gave a short, incredulous laugh.

For someone who claimed to know her so well, what a foolish question.

“You really don’t know? If Hayworth learns about the way my body has changed, what do you think they’ll say? Of course they’ll claim the Monster’s Seed cursed me with sorcery. I never cared much about rumors before—but now I have to think of the ducal house’s honor too.”

She glared at him as she spoke with fiery passion.

Kardin froze, then hastily clapped his hand over his mouth.

His ears flushed red, his shoulders trembled, and then, unable to contain it, he grinned broadly.

“So it’s for my sake?”

“…For the ducal house’s sake. I don’t want to cause trouble for the Dowager Empress, His Majesty, or the Empress either.”

“But why only—”

“Anyway, I’ve been wondering—who from the Royal Knight Order came?”

At that, Kardin’s gaze sharpened, his eyes narrowing.

“Why? Does it matter to you?”

“Of course it does—”

“Then tell me. Who do you think came?”

“What?”

“You’re curious who traveled all this way to see you. So—who do you think it was?”

Annette blinked at his sudden, pointed tone.

“Hurry.”

…Who were you hoping came to see you?

As he waited, Kardin slowly ran his tongue over his lips, tense.

He had a rough idea of what name she might speak.

And if she really said it, he wasn’t sure he could bear it.

“Wait. No, don’t say it. I don’t want to hear.”

“What?”

Annette looked at him in disbelief.

“Then you’re not going to tell me who it is?”

In his heart, Kardin thought a thousand times over that he never wanted her to know. But in reality, he had no choice.

“…The new captain of the Hayworth Royal Knight Order. And a commoner named Luke, who supposedly left the Order not long ago. Those two.”