MFTR 81

Chapter 81 Worse Than Being Treated Like a Mercenary

At that moment.

Annette was fuming at Cardin.

At first, the way he blurted out only what he wanted to say and then ran away had just left her dumbfounded.

But the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt.

‘I mean, at least give a person some time to reply, shouldn’t you?’

No matter how unpleasant the subject, to bolt the instant “that room” was mentioned…

“Ughhh!”

“My lady, please don’t worry too much. Since His Highness stepped forward, things will pass without any big trouble.”

Larisa, thinking Annette was anxious because of the people from the Kingdom of Hayworth, spoke soothingly as she watched her mistress angrily mauling the rabbit doll’s ears.

“Huh? Oh… right.”

Annette gave an awkward smile, her expression turning subtly complicated.

In truth, when she first set out for the Grand Duchy, she’d often thought back to the Royal Knights.

But ever since arriving at the ducal castle, she hadn’t given them—or even Hayworth itself—so much as a thought.

That was why today’s visit had startled and unsettled her all the more.

Even now, though she’d heard Cardin was meeting Jeon and Luke, she found herself concerned only with Cardin.

She was surprised at herself for being so completely absorbed in him.

〈My guess is that the Kingdom of Hayworth has come to ask House Harzent to lend them knights for subjugating demonic beasts.〉

But as soon as she let her thoughts stray toward Hayworth, a headache pressed in.

‘How could that even happen?’

Yes, she had led the charge against the dangerous beasts, but for the entire balance of power to collapse just because one person was gone?

She found it hard to believe, given the years she had fought alongside the knights and seen them perform their duties admirably.

‘Maybe it was my fault…’

Perhaps she had robbed the other knights of their chances to grow.

Forgetting entirely how many times she had saved their lives, Annette instead blamed herself, thinking she had failed to train the Royal Knights properly.

‘If only I had learned the sword formally from a young age, I could have raised the whole order’s level in a more systematic way.’

Yet apart from this guilt, she was furious that Hayworth had even dared to make such a request of House Harzent.

She didn’t know exactly how much the beast subjugations strained Hayworth’s finances, but she did know it was a matter tied directly to the kingdom’s survival.

If the beasts weren’t properly contained, the suffering would fall squarely on the citizens. And more often than not, that meant not just property damage but loss of life.

To think they hadn’t even tried to resolve such a crisis on their own before immediately asking another country for aid…

…To think it was something they could so easily beg for.

For Annette, who had spent ten years risking her body in beast hunts, it was almost disheartening.

At the very least, they could have recruited more knights, or reassigned elites from the Royal Guard to the subjugation force.

‘And if even that were impossible, they could have hired mercenaries…’

Annette froze.

She realized only then that Hayworth was treating House Harzent’s knights as though they were mercenaries.

‘No, worse than mercenaries.’

Because mercenaries are at least paid fairly.

But Hayworth had no intention of offering any compensation, only of asking for help.

They could be this shameless only because she was destined to become the Grand Duchess.

‘How could they… all the way to the end…’

A hollow laugh slipped out.

They didn’t care one bit how she was faring here, yet they could still make such demands.

‘So to them… I really am not even the slightest bit of a daughter.’

It wasn’t new knowledge, but the bitterness still struck fresh.

Perhaps that was thanks to the people she had met here, who had taught her emotions she’d never known before.

Annette bit her lip in dismay.

If House Harzent had disliked her presence, it might have been easier.

‘Then I wouldn’t even be agonizing like this.’

House Harzent could reject Hayworth’s request, and she could simply smolder in silence.

But—

〈If the princess were to ask me to send aid, I would gladly dispatch my knights to Hayworth with no conditions at all.〉

Cardin’s words stabbed painfully at her heart.

Truthfully, thinking of her former subordinates, the Royal Knights, and of the citizens who would directly suffer, she wanted to ask him to help right away.

Yet at the same time, she wanted to spurn the king’s request.

Partly out of spite for putting her in this position—but more than that…

‘What a waste…’

She couldn’t bear the thought of the people of the ducal castle—her safe haven—having to go out and suffer on her account.

Even if the ducal knights considered beast hunts routine work, she still hated the idea.

‘It would be better if I went myself.’

Of course, she knew it was absurd for the Grand Duchess-to-be to personally join Hayworth’s beast subjugations.

But it still felt preferable to exhausting her people.

‘My wrist has healed anyway…’

She caught herself thinking it and gave a rueful shake of her head.

She wasn’t even in a state to meet with the Royal Knights right now.

Clearly, she needed to talk with Cardin again.

‘First I’ll confirm if Hayworth really did request aid from the duchy, and then…’

But the memory of him spitting out his words and fleeing flashed back.

‘Can we even have a proper conversation?’

She thought she’d be lucky just to see his face.

And again, she felt anger flare at the image of him so blatantly walking away.

Annette pressed down on the rabbit doll’s belly with all her pent-up fury.

— P-p-princess, happy birthday.

“…Pft.”

She nearly burst into laughter at hearing Cardin’s voice come from the doll. Barely suppressing it, she pressed the belly again.

— Princess, happy birthday.

This time she didn’t bother holding back; a faint smile softened her lips.

Why was it that, though she was so angry at him, the sound of his voice could melt it all away?

Feeling calmer, Annette realized she’d been far too hasty.

She had never thought of herself as impatient, nor as someone with wild mood swings.

Yet when it came to Cardin, she kept discovering sides of herself she’d never known.

And what’s more, she kept wanting to impulsively pour those feelings out to him.

‘To tell him that because of him, I feel emotions I’ve never felt before, and it leaves me so confused…’

…But not unhappy.

Though the thought of confessing scared her, she felt she couldn’t bear not to say it.

That must have been why, strangely, a hopeful thought crept in.

That if she revealed her feelings, perhaps he too would finally reveal the truth he’d been hiding…

Annette let out a deep sigh and pressed the doll’s belly once more.

As Cardin’s voice played again and again, Larisa began looking weary.

Still, her mistress, engrossed with the toy, was undeniably adorable.

Even yesterday, after quarreling with the master, she had clung to the doll with a sulky face. And today, except for a short trip to the library, she hadn’t let go of it either.

Seeing her openly unable to hide her affection stirred in Larisa an improper, forbidden thought.

She smirked mischievously.

“My lady, if you keep playing His Lordship’s voice like that, you’ll need to replace the magic stone soon.”

“…Huh?”

Annette, compulsively pressing the doll’s belly like an addict, raised her head.

“What do you mean?”

“His Lordship said it himself, didn’t he? That the doll is a magic tool. Magic tools run on magic stones, and once they’re spent, you have to replace them.”

“R-really?”

Annette leapt to her feet, startled.

“Then how do I replace it? Is it expensive?”

“Well…”

To common folk, of course it was costly. But for Annette, who hugged a doll with a first-class black diamond gleaming in its eyes, it was hardly an expense to worry about.

“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself over, my lady.”

Larisa answered wisely, adding:

“If you ever need it, just tell the court magician.”

Relieved, Annette exhaled and began to sit down again—when suddenly:

“…The magician? Right, Martin!”

“My lady?”

“Larisa, let’s go to Martin right now.”

“What? All of a sudden? But I don’t think the magic stone needs replacing yet…”

“Hurry!”

Annette dashed for the door, then stopped abruptly.

Larisa, who was scrambling after her, halted as Annette carefully set the rabbit doll on the bed, even tucking the blanket around it.

“My lady?”