Chapter 32
“I Think I Actually Like It”
“What… what is this…!”
“Do you like sweet things?”
Kardin asked as if nothing had happened.
Anette opened her mouth in disbelief.
The question that had been rising in her throat—what on earth did he just do?—almost escaped.
But it was too embarrassing to speak, so she clenched her fists tightly and sealed her lips.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned her head sharply and walked toward her quarters.
Kardin, forgetting he was wearing a mask, subtly turned his head and sighed to hide his expression.
No sooner had he calmed himself than he noticed Anette looking up at him without blinking, and on impulse, he pinched her protruding cheek.
The soft skin against his fingers jolted him fully awake.
He worried she might get angry, but fortunately, she seemed to let it slide with her usual nonchalant demeanor.
Seeing her small, tightly clenched fists, he felt a renewed urge to tease her but restrained himself and asked again:
“You don’t like sweets?”
Following him in small steps, waiting patiently, Anette’s pouted lips finally opened.
“I don’t particularly like or dislike them.”
Somehow, Kardin thought he heard a soft “Hmph!” from behind and snickered.
Her answer, while chewing candy and letting the snack pouch dangle from her wrist, lacked credibility.
Besides, he already knew something about her.
Is she saying she doesn’t like sweets because she doesn’t want to seem childish?
Thinking it was cute, Kardin suppressed a laugh.
Meanwhile, Anette, still looking slightly away, shot a dissatisfied glance at Kardin walking beside her.
〈The reason I’m upset is that the Princess doesn’t seem to care about herself at all.〉
〈If you really feel sorry, please value yourself from now on.〉
Last night, his words had kept her awake, and now they seemed almost foolish in hindsight.
In truth, Anette still didn’t fully understand why Kardin had been upset.
From her perspective, leading monster hunts and swinging a sword at the frontlines, the scratch on her hand yesterday was truly minor.
She had been hurt far more severely before and had endured the pain without shedding tears.
She was accustomed to enduring pain, but truly valuing her own body… well, she wasn’t sure.
In fact, she didn’t even know what it truly meant to value something, so it was natural that she didn’t understand.
Reflecting on her limitations, her heart sank.
Yet, independently of that, her heart began to race.
Anette, who had spent the night flustered over her unsteady heartbeat, finally realized:
What she really wanted to know wasn’t how to value herself—it was the sincerity behind Kardin’s words.
Unlike the daytime, when she had nodded mindlessly, at night, everything Kardin said felt suspect.
What if it was all a trick? What if he only saw her as a mildly entertaining toy?
On the other hand, what if even a little, he genuinely cared about her… what should she do then?
At first, she naturally wanted to know his feelings clearly. But gradually, she also wanted not to know. Her mind waged a fierce internal battle.
She had spent the night uneasy with that strange feeling.
Yet seeing Kardin, acting nonchalant and treating her like a child, made the anxious hours feel wasted.
Unconsciously, she pouted and sulked.
“Ah, I see. When you visited the Dowager Empress’s palace, I heard you enjoyed the refreshments quite a bit, so I ordered desserts from the same shop. I suppose it was unnecessary.”
Anette’s eyes went wide.
She recalled the first time she had tea with the Dowager Empress and discovered her own appetite.
The sheer joy of delightful textures and sweetness that melted her mind—pure bliss.
In truth, yesterday’s highly anticipated tea time had been ruined by the garden incident.
Yet now, she could taste it again!
Her heart raced at the unexpected gift.
Unconsciously, she placed both hands over her chest, eyes sparkling, staring at Kardin.
Wait… what did she just say? She didn’t particularly like or dislike it…
“W-well… I think I actually like it.”
Changing her answer in under a minute made her face burn crimson with embarrassment. But she couldn’t miss the chance to taste the dessert again.
Kardin, who had surely expected her to giggle and tease him again, instead merely nodded with gentle eyes.
Seeing Anette’s sparkling, excited gaze, he restrained himself from teasing her—she looked so beautiful he felt he could pluck the moon or stars for her.
“That’s fortunate. Since the Empress dislikes sweets, I also sent some to His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince, and the Dowager Empress. No need to share them. Enjoy at your leisure, and let me know which ones you particularly like—I’ll remember.”
Kardin’s words, as courteous as a kind shop clerk, made Anette so happy that she nodded dreamily, as if she could offer him her heart.
Seeing her, Kardin’s eyes twinkled.
Anette was about to smile along with him but paused.
She realized she hadn’t considered the Grand Duke himself, who had prepared these desserts.
However, she couldn’t tell Kardin to share them after dinner.
She had heard the Grand Duke wouldn’t attend the evening meal with the Emperor, Empress, and Dowager Empress.
When Anette asked why, Serena had awkwardly said:
〈His Highness the Grand Duke will dine alone in his room. If he dines outside, he’d need to… wear his mask.〉
Serena didn’t elaborate further—no further explanation was needed.
Anette glared at Kardin’s mask, which concealed all but his eyes, and then sulked.
Kardin, noticing the shift in her mood, tilted his head.
“Princess?”
Fiddling with the pouch on her wrist, Anette replied evasively:
“I still can’t share this one.”
Kardin paused, puzzled, then laughed.
Did she guard the pouch thinking he wanted the treats Mikhail had given her?
The thought was funny, absurd, and endearing, so he mockingly pouted.
“How unfair! I nearly emptied the dessert shop, and I can’t have even one?”
“No, you can’t.”
Anette ignored Kardin’s whining but thought he probably didn’t dislike sweets.
If that was the case, even if they couldn’t eat together, she resolved to send him his share in his room.
Wait… so even after marriage, they’d eat separately?
Realizing this, Anette blinked in surprise.
It wasn’t the immediate problem of not being able to share dinner or dessert.
Eating alone… must be dull.
She recalled eating alone at the villa and the barracks.
Even if the food quality was good, meals alone felt slow and tasteless.
Since arriving in the Empire, dining with the Emperor, Empress, or Serena had shown her how enjoyable a shared meal could be, even if etiquette made her nervous.
After experiencing this joy, returning to solitary meals might feel emptier than before.
Though worried about Kardin’s lonely dinners in his room, she continued to watch him.
Others might scoff, wondering who was feeling sorry for whom, but Anette couldn’t help it…
Having lived a normal life with family all her life, she couldn’t imagine how lonely it would feel for Kardin to dine alone.
Finally, noticing Anette pressing her lips together and drooping her shoulders, Kardin tilted his head.
“Why?”
He had no idea she was looking at him with sympathy.
Thinking of possible reasons for her sour mood, he hesitantly said:
“I’m sorry. You don’t need to give me candy—it was a joke.”
“…A joke?”
“Yes. I don’t particularly enjoy sweets either, like the Empress.”
At Kardin’s shy admission, Anette’s pupils trembled slightly.
It was absurd that he had been teasing her again, yet she wasn’t angry.
His sparkling eyes behind the mask softened, as if asking for forgiveness.
Anette exhaled unconsciously.
She had witnessed countless gruesome and horrifying scenes—flesh torn, bones broken, blood spilling—during monster hunts.
Some victims even succumbed to the monster’s blood. She knew she wouldn’t frown, no matter his expression.
The thought made her lips part involuntarily.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke… I want to ask you something.”
