Chapter 22
“I’m Sorry, It’s Me Again”:
“Your Highness?”
Mikhail sighed deeply as he watched Audrey tilt her head in confusion at his call.
Even after a long time apart, Audrey was still as cute and charming as a little fairy—but that only made Mikhail’s feelings more conflicted.
“Ugh.”
“Your Highness, what’s troubling you that you keep sighing like that?”
Audrey asked calmly, having patiently waited for the past thirty minutes as Mikhail seemed to carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders, sighing deeply and continuously.
“Do you have a particularly difficult assignment?”
“No…”
“Then is there something in your lessons you don’t understand?”
“That’s not it either…”
In the past, Mikhail had sometimes lied, asking Audrey to help with homework or claiming he didn’t understand his lessons just to spend a little more time with her. Now, hearing her genuinely assess him, he felt a twinge of irritation, as if she thought he was a complete fool.
But he quickly shook his head and sulked quietly to himself.
‘I am a fool, after all.’
Recently, there was one subject he just couldn’t keep up with. He had been staying up at night to focus on it, to the point of skipping all his other lessons.
Audrey, sensing his unease, asked curiously,
“Your Highness, you’ve been keeping up with your lessons lately, right?”
“What? Of course I have.”
Though he was technically skipping class at that moment, Mikhail stammered, unwilling to show Audrey his embarrassed side.
Still, he felt confident in his heart—except for that one difficult subject, the rest of the lessons were so easy he barely needed to attend.
Audrey narrowed her eyes and looked at him.
“Then, could you tell me what’s troubling you? Actually, after receiving the letter you sent, I begged my father and barely managed to come to the palace. I was planning to wait in the library reading books… By the way, did you read all the books I recommended last time?”
“Huh? You recommended them, so of course I did! ‘101 Ways to Appear Dignified as a Monarch’—it really helped.”
“That’s a relief.”
Mikhail’s heart throbbed as he watched Audrey smile softly, her eyes curving delicately.
He had struggled to get the formal tone from the book to sound natural, and seeing her smile now made him think he should practice even more.
But then he remembered what he really wanted to say, realizing he no longer needed to practice.
He swallowed, took a deep breath, and asked,
“Audrey… would you still like me even if I weren’t the Crown Prince?”
“Eh? What… what do you mean all of a sudden?”
“Just be honest with me.”
“Well… of course I would, Your Highness, whether you are the Crown Prince or not.”
Hearing this, the tension in Mikhail’s shoulders melted, and he beamed.
“Good. Then I won’t be Crown Prince!”
“Hic—!”
Audrey hiccuped in shock.
And those hiding behind the bushes, eavesdropping, were equally stunned.
Anette could clearly see Charlotte’s frozen, shocked expression.
But Mikhail wasn’t finished with his shocking statements.
“Audrey, I want to come live at your house.”
“Th-That’s…”
“I’ll ask Sir Melin to let me be a live-in son-in-law…”
“Your Highness, h-hic, wait a moment! That… that can’t happen, hic.”
Audrey hiccuped desperately while trying to stop him.
“Is the position of Crown Prince something you can just give up, hic? And if you leave the palace to come to my house, hic, there’s no way His Majesty and Her Majesty would just let it happen! Our family could be in danger… hic!”
“What? Are you saying you don’t want me?”
“It’s not that I don’t want you…”
Audrey quickly caught her breath, trying to calm her hiccups, and said firmly,
“You’re talking nonsense, Your Highness.”
Mikhail’s eyes widened in disbelief at her firm words, and he shouted,
“Why is it nonsense? Audrey, you have to be willing to give up anything for the person you love!”
“Who told you that ridiculous thing?”
“Our uncle!”
Finally, the source of Mikhail’s radical idea was revealed.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
For a moment, the Secret Garden fell silent.
Audrey, as well as Charlotte, the Empress, and Anette, who had been wearing serious expressions, were all speechless.
Mikhail had only one uncle: Duke Kardin of Harzent.
The Empress, having inherited the motherly embarrassment of seeing a son act foolishly, glanced nervously at Anette.
Though incredibly irresponsible considering his status and authority, she was curious to see how Audrey would react to a fiancé willing to give up everything for love.
Anette, however, simply blinked, unsure how to respond, and gave an awkward smile at the Empress—her fiancé may have instilled strange ideas in Mikhail, but she was ready to share the responsibility, in a way.
“I’m giving up my family and even the Crown Prince title… just for you!”
“When did I ever ask for that? Why are you saying such things?”
“You don’t know anything, Audrey!”
And so, Mikhail and Audrey’s raised voices clashed in a mix of betrayal and exasperation.
The Empress shook her head slightly, signaling Charlotte and Anette toward the exit. It was time to leave.
If the Marquess’s daughter had also been swept up in Mikhail’s antics, they would have had to intervene immediately, but her firm stance reassured them.
Of course, Mikhail would be summoned later that evening with Kardin and properly scolded by the Empress…
Charlotte, though shocked at the audacity of her son’s rebellion, realized it wasn’t wise to meet the children while emotions were running high.
She wanted to ask what could possibly make him want to abandon both family and the palace, while also feeling her anger rising.
As she turned, planning to discuss it with her husband later, a sudden crack!
A sound at her feet made her heart stop completely.
Charlotte froze, staring first at the broken branch beneath her, then at the Empress and Anette.
Her face fell.
Please, don’t let him hear this.
If discovered, it would be unbearably embarrassing.
“Is someone there…?”
Unfortunately, Mikhail, whose nerves were already on edge from yesterday, seemed to have heard the intruder.
“Who… are you?”
He might have recognized Anette from yesterday—or it could have been his mother.
Fear tinged his voice.
Charlotte, equally tense, worried that Mikhail might approach them at any moment.
Then, a voice called out:
“I’m sorry, it’s me again, Your Highness.”
Anette stepped forward, moving past Charlotte and emerging from the bushes.
A silent shock followed behind her.
She had acted on impulse, but did not regret it. Only she could handle the situation here.
And she felt glad to have something to do for the Empress and Charlotte in this delicate moment.
With a heart pounding from relief, Anette approached Mikhail and apologized.
“I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation. I’m very sorry.”
Mikhail, pale and stunned, shouted, “Y-you!” but then remembered the Empress’s advice to behave politely and quickly shut his mouth.
Anette looked at the girl standing behind Mikhail: pale-skinned, long black hair neatly draped, holding a thick book.
‘Ah, so this is Audrey!’
Based on the conversation she had overheard, she had imagined a highly mature child. Meeting her in person, she saw that while intelligent, she still had a very young face.
Not realizing that she herself now appeared the same age as Audrey, Anette froze, widening her eyes and giving a small, apologetic smile.
Then, plop.
“…?!”
“O-Audrey!”
Tears suddenly fell from Audrey’s eyes without warning.
Mikhail, alarmed, ran toward her, but Audrey firmly dodged.
“Now I understand. That’s why Your Highness said it would be better not to meet for a while, and why you insisted on calling me today after so long.”
“Insisted…?”
“You could have just said you liked another young lady.”
“What? What are you talking about?!”
“I thought I was the only one you invited to this garden. Since I knew only royalty could enter, I trusted your intentions even more… sob.”
Anette froze at the sudden tears of the young girl, realizing that the surprisingly mature conversation of an eight-year-old was veering in an unexpected direction.
“Uh, um… young lady? You’re misunderstanding. His Highness doesn’t like me.”
Mikhail, flustered and unsure what to do as Audrey cried, immediately chimed in to support Anette.
“That’s right! I didn’t invite this young lady! Her lady mother did…”
He stopped, looking utterly embarrassed.
