Chapter 93
The Talent for Driving People Crazy
Ruined.
I’m really ruined.
Cardin banged his forehead with his fist.
“Why the hell did I have to bring that handkerchief with me!”
If only he hadn’t been greedy back then, he wouldn’t have gone up to the fifth-floor room of his own accord!
All the times he had scoffed when Samuel was called a compulsive collector came back to him as bitter regret.
And besides—
‘Even as a cat, the princess was insanely cute!’
How could he have failed to recognize such an impossibly cute cat as the princess? He felt disappointed in himself.
If he had realized it at first glance, instead of shoving her into his pocket, he would have held her carefully in his arms.
He wouldn’t have picked fights about giving her a bath, or teased her about being grimy…
“Haah, I must’ve been out of my mind!”
Only then did Cardin recall all the times he had called Annette ill-tempered, spoken rudely, or acted disrespectfully to her when she was a cat. He grabbed his head in despair.
“It’s all over now…”
He had tried so hard all along to act gently and kindly.
But now, thinking that Annette—thanks to her loyal maid—already knew all the stories about his nickname and his flashy temperament, he realized he had shown his true nature right before her. The thought crushed him.
Unlike Samuel, who was used to seeing Cardin’s self-destructive episodes, Martin had only ever seen the intimidating Grand Duke. So he went pale as a sheet, utterly shocked.
“Am… am I going to die…?”
Unknowingly, Martin clutched Samuel’s sleeve as he asked.
Sensing a strange sense of kinship in Martin’s terrified expression, Samuel shook his head and whispered:
“Don’t worry. His Lordship will be here soon.”
The one person who could flip this murderous mood on its head and change their master’s feelings in an instant… Knock knock.
Perfect timing.
Samuel brightened.
“Her Highness the Princess must be here.”
At that, Cardin—who had been groaning as if on his deathbed—snapped his head up and jumped to his feet.
Though the color drained from his face in real time from fear, paradoxically, his eyes lit with anticipation.
He couldn’t help it.
This was both the moment of judgment he wanted to avoid more than anything, and the very first time he would face the woman who had shaken his soul—now that everything had returned to normal.
With her hands folded behind her back, Annette stepped cautiously into the drawing room, feeling the heavy, fragile tension in the air like walking on thin ice.
Seeing Martin present, she realized he must already know everything—that she had stubbornly refused medicine, turned into a cat, and caused a whole incident.
Her face clouded. She knew she couldn’t hide it anyway—after all, he had woken up with her in her cat form right beside him.
Still, for the secret she had fought so hard yesterday to keep hidden to be revealed so easily now—it felt both hollow and embarrassing.
Images flashed through her mind: purring helplessly at Cardin’s touch, dunking her face in a dish of milk… All those moments when she had been forced to abandon her human dignity. Heat rushed to her cheeks.
“I heard Your Highness had returned to your body, but… it truly feels like I’m meeting you for the very first time, Princess!”
Samuel’s voice cut through the heavy silence, completely unfazed, filling the room.
He sounded both genuinely amazed and ridiculously overjoyed at her visit.
Annette frowned at him, remembering how infuriatingly smug he had been yesterday—so much so she had wanted to smack him.
‘Maybe I do hold grudges too long?’ she thought briefly, but the memory of Samuel being unbearably irritating kept her glare sharp.
With that thought—one that would make Samuel protest bitterly if he knew—Annette slowly turned her gaze elsewhere.
The moment her eyes met Cardin’s, he immediately dropped his head.
Startled, she parted her lips to speak, but then she noticed Martin’s eager stare and Samuel’s expectant grin. With a sigh, she spoke instead:
“Well… I’ll explain later how I returned to my body. But for now, I think I need to speak with the Grand Duke first. Would you two mind stepping outside?”
“Of course! Please, speak at ease!”
Martin eagerly nodded.
Samuel, however, muttered, “Ah, I think it would be better if I stayed—” before Martin dragged him out by force.
The door closed. Finally, she and Cardin were alone.
A heavy silence enveloped the room.
Awkward at the unexpected atmosphere, Annette fidgeted with her hands behind her back.
She felt the soft, plushy touch of a doll she was holding, which calmed her somewhat. Taking a small step forward, she addressed the stiffly frozen Cardin:
“Your Grace.”
He visibly flinched, shoulders jerking, and even stepped back a pace.
“……”
Annette bit her lip.
She had so many things she wanted to say to him once she returned to her adult form…
But with him retreating like this, it felt like all her words were being swallowed back down.
The distance between them twisted her stomach uncomfortably.
‘I don’t like this.’
She stared at him, eyes full of displeasure.
Perhaps realizing he was in the wrong, Cardin’s pupils trembled as he forced himself to look up at her—only to immediately avert his gaze again.
The way he avoided her eyes reminded her of that insecure mercenary who had once only dared to watch her from afar. For a moment, her heart softened.
But stubbornness took over, and she tightened her lips, glaring even harder.
Cardin, already wilted with shame, lowered his eyes further.
He couldn’t meet her gaze, letting his eyes drift near her shoulder—when suddenly he froze.
There, faint but visible if one looked closely, was a reddish mark on the side of her neck.
Realization hit him, and his face flushed scarlet.
Exposing his odd preferences and hidden desires was bad enough—but what he had done that morning was just as unforgivable.
“I… I’m sorry about this morning. I honestly thought it was just a dream…”
He trailed off, recalling how he had felt when he’d seen the empty room after changing clothes in the dressing room.
For a moment, he had dared hope it had all been a dream.
But the unfamiliar mess of the bed and the missing blanket had been undeniable proof she had been there.
As he dwelled on that confusion, he noticed Annette’s strange expression. He realized he had just blundered.
“No, what I meant was—I don’t usually have dreams like that! It’s just that I think about you so much every day that naturally… Wait, that’s not what I meant either.”
He tried to fix it, but his words only dug him deeper. His face collapsed in despair.
The more he spoke, the more mistakes he seemed to make.
He had thought a cold shower and time to think had restored his reason, but maybe his brain was still scrambled.
Scrubbing his face furiously, he let out a heavy sigh.
Words usually flowed so smoothly for him, but now his tongue refused to work. His mind went blank, and he felt like an idiot.
If he were alone, he’d be smashing his head against a wall right now. As it was, he clenched his icy, trembling hands into fists.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“…Pardon?”
“Just now—Samuel and the others were surprised, but none of them looked disappointed. Yet you keep apologizing, instead of being happy.”
Annette pouted like she was sulking, then shot him a quick glare.
“Why aren’t you glad to see me back?”
Honestly, she had expected Cardin to get over his initial shock quickly and then smile warmly at her return.
But all he did was mope and apologize.
Sure, the morning’s events had been embarrassing, and his clumsy excuses now weren’t much better. But… she didn’t actually feel bad about it.
In fact, she thought it was perfectly normal—even admirable—for a healthy young man to react that way to the woman he liked.
“Kh-hm.”
Her face flared red, and Annette cleared her throat, shaking her head.
While she was trying to cool her burning cheeks, Cardin just stared at her, bewildered by her accusation.
‘Why wouldn’t I be happy?’
He was overflowing with joy—so much so he had to suppress it. He had made so many mistakes that he couldn’t show it, but deep down he was beyond thrilled.
He had said it before—that he didn’t mind her childlike form, that it might even be for the best.
But now, with his real princess—his betrothed—in her true form, living here in his castle, it finally felt real.
The retainers of the Grand Duchy must feel the same.
No matter how adorable they had found her as a child, they had long yearned for a true mistress of the house. Far from being disappointed, they must be overjoyed right now.
If only he could say so. But instead, Annette was accusing him of…
“Why? Do you find it burdensome now that I’m an adult again?”
Annette’s next words left him reeling.
She had been unsettled by his lukewarm reaction and let her insecurity slip out.
Her anxious eyes lifted to his.
“Don’t tell me you actually preferred me as a child…”
“Impossible.”
Unable to hold back, Cardin stepped forward and swept her into his arms.
For the first time, he could feel her whole in his embrace, as he had always dreamed. A thrilling shiver ran down his spine.
He gave a small, incredulous laugh and murmured under his breath:
“My princess really does have a talent for driving people crazy.”
