Chapter 15.10

Annette decided to protect Rafael’s pride by lying first. She lowered her gaze and explained quietly, in case Rafael might find out her lie.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I just found the wrong room. I woke up thirsty at night yesterday, but it was too dark to go back to my room after drinking water. So, I came into your room by accident. I was going to go back to my room when it was dawn, but I guess I just fell asleep while sitting on the sofa. Sorry.”

Fortunately, Annette’s face seemed very sincere, so Rafael was a little dubious. While he was contemplating, Annette slipped under his arm and prepared to escape.

“I won’t do that again. I’m sorry. Then I’ll leave you here….. Yaah!”

Rafael grasped Annette’s waist from behind and bit her auricle which was revealed through her hair. She seemed to be hiding something, but he couldn’t question her because he didn’t remember last night.

Rafael bit Annette’s ears several times with resentment, and then licked up the fleshy nape of her neck. She tasted indescribably sweet. What was started in half annoyance, got his sturdy lower body up early morning.

‘Should I just do it?’ Rafael thought while looking down at Annette, who was gently embraced in his arms. But the white bandage wrapped around her little head bothered him. Rafael preferred rough sex, but if he rolled Annette now like that, her wound might open and bleed again. Anyway, she was such a weak woman.

“Go. If you come into my room one more time, just know it won’t end here.”

Rafael threatened and pushed her away coldly. The way he turned his back against her, he seemed to be quite angry. Annette nodded and hurried out of the room. Although he didn’t seem to be fooled by her lie, it was fortunate that she could escape the situation.

Annette wiped her ear and nape, wet with Rafael’s saliva, with her sleeve. He especially liked to lick and bite Annette. This point had not changed from the past till now. After all, her husband was a beastly man.

* * *

A few days later, after finishing his afternoon training, Rafael came into the mansion wiping his sweat. His expression was horribly distorted. It was because a few days had passed since he couldn’t sleep properly. Certainly, the lack of sleep for a long time had a profound effect on Rafael’s sword skills.

‘I was in much better shape when I slept well.’

Rafael clicked his tongue, recalling how he slept on Annette’s thigh a few days ago. That day, his body felt so refreshed that he attained outstanding achievements. That day, he felt as if he could reach the state of Sword Master soon. Rafael fell asleep that night, believing he would become the Sword Master the next day .

But this all just remained as Rafael’s illusion. He suffered from sleep disorders again, and his performance with the sword also receded. ‘At this point, I would rather sleep with Annette.’ Rafael’s delicate eyes were filled with irritation.

‘She would certainly look at me like I’m a funny person!‘

After all, it was he who had told her not to come into his bedroom, and now it was also him who wanted to desperately sleep with her. It was obvious what Annette, a member of the prideful Bavarian family, would think of him. However, she was his wife anyway, and she had to fulfill her duty to sleep with him. And by now, the wound on her head had healed, so he didn’t have to worry about it opening again.

Rafael decided to think as he pleased. Of course, he couldn’t tell if it was a nasty coincidence or Annette’s warmth that helped him have a good sleep. But now, he really wanted to find out. Due to lack of sleep, his blue eyes were bloodshot.

Entering the mansion, he looked around with hungry eyes and questioned a maid who was passing by.

“Where’s Anette?”

The maid’s pupils quivered as it was the first time she was talking to Rafael. Even though she had been working several years as a maid in the Carnesis Mansion, it was the first time she had spoken to her young and fierce master. The maid answered quickly, bowing her head too politely.

“Her Majesty has gone out today. She has left a note for you, would you like me to bring it?”

Out? Rafael’s handsome forehead knitted in frown. He felt a strange feeling of betrayal because he thought Annette had gone to her parents’ home. Rafael still hadn’t forgotten the butler’s insult and the blatant disrespect her family showed by returning the wedding gifts.

‘In front of me, you pretended to be on my side.’

Rafael frowned. He didn’t want to admit it but he was starting to have a little faith in her. It seemed Annette was always on her family’s side, and by now she must be swearing and cursing him there. If she was indeed a crafty Bavarian woman, then that was all there was to it.

Rafael clenched his teeth and instructed the maid to bring the note to confirm the truth. Rafael snatched the note from the maid and glanced down on it.

– Dear Rafael.

I’m going to the palace today. My new sister-in-law, Claire Lucid Bavaria, from the Chapelle Empire, is staying at the Deltium Palace for the first time. So to say hello to Claire, I will visit the Imperial Embassy east of the palace. I’ll be back in time.

Rafael’s expression as he looked at the light pink scented note paper became strange.

Well, it seemed Annette didn’t go to that damn Bavarian Duke, so his anger quickly cooled down. However, the reason why Rafael’s expression was so strange wasn’t just because his presumptions about Annette were wrong.

Graceful Annette Bavaria, who had been thoroughly brought up as a young lady of a powerful Ducal House, had……unexpectedly, a very bad handwriting. It seemed that she had tried to write it down while pressing the pen hard on the paper, but it smeared the ink and made the note look even more messy. It was amazing to see that even though she wrote with the finest pen and a high-quality paper, the result could be like this.

“The palace.”

Rafael, who held the letter paper, was lost in thought for a moment. He thought Annette was probably now sitting with her new sister-in-law, Claire, and drinking tea in a friendly way. He could imagine the appearance of the two women, wearing large puffy dresses decorated with ribbons and feathers while eating pink desserts. Perhaps they would curse and badmouth him to accompany their desserts.

Rafael frowned. He hated the arrogant Bavarians. Especially the Duke of Bavaria who didn’t leave a chance to insult him whenever he saw Rafael in the royal palace. And the greatest irony was that, now, he was his father-in-law.

The world sometimes seemed more comedic than a comedy.

‘But Annette Bavaria is, well, not that bad.’

Rafael, who inadvertently gave a generous evaluation of Annette, clicked his tongue. Maybe this after all was Annette’s intention. She may be fooling him with her gentle and courteous face and laughing at him for being stupid behind his back.

The thought of it made Rafael feel somehow dirty. He couldn’t let her denigrate him before her new sister-in-law who came from the Chapelle Empire. Rafael also felt the need to go to the royal palace. He had so many questions to ask his father, the current king of the Deltium, Selgratis. Especially about Annette Bavaria.

Rafael frowned at the thought of his father, who always smiled suspiciously at him. He hated going to the royal palace, but sometimes like a pitiful noble beggar, he had to endure what he hated. He had a hunch that today would be a very unpleasant day.

* * *

Annette’s tea time was neither pink nor sweet, unlike Rafael’s expectations. Her new sister-in-law’s wrist, tilting the teacup across from her, was quite sturdy. It was clear that the hand was more familiar with wielding a sharp sword than an elegant tea cup. What was seen under the table was not the hem of a rich dress, but a pair of pants of a knight.

Annette looked at her new sister-in-law, Claire. With her blue hair cut short below her chin, she was an androgynous beauty. She was also an outstanding knight who headed the 3rd Knights Division of the Chapelle Empire. Feeling Annette’s gaze, she put down her teacup and started apologizing out of the blue.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your wedding, Annette. I was on a really important mission at that time.”

Claire’s accent, mixed with the Chapelle people’s accents, sounded more harsh. But under her cold-looking appearance, she was actually a very sweet-tempered person. She still seemed to be remorseful for not being able to attend Annette’s wedding due to unavoidable circumstances.

“No, I understand. The Empire was a mess at that time, right? There was an assassination attempt on the military commander. My God, I’m glad the work went well.”

Annette smiled and accepted Claire’s apology. When her commander is on the verge of being assassinated, how can Claire, a knight, come to her wedding? It wasn’t something she couldn’t understand. Not just Claire, but her brother Arjen must have also been very busy.

Blinking at the friendly response of Annette, Claire jumped up from her seat and hugged her. Claire, who looked much more dignified than most nobles, poured a shower of kisses on Annette.

“You’re so pretty! How can one be so nice? If I were a man, I would have married you by all means, Annette Bavaria.”

“It’s Annette Bavaria Carnesis now. Don’t forget I am married.”

Annette, swinging in Claire’s arm, said with a smile. Then Claire stopped moving and let her go. All of a sudden, Claire’s expression became very serious.

“So are you alright, Annette? You said that your husband is ….. Rafael Carnesis. “

The smile on Annette’s face completely disappeared. She thought that just like other nobles, Claire would also question Rafael’s parentage. It wasn’t so pleasant for Annette to hear about her husband’s illegitimate birth. But what popped out of Claire’s mouth was completely different and something that she never expected.

Only

“Rafael, the Demon of the Battlefield, right? I heard he’s into men. Rumor has it that he and his aide-de-camp were in a relationship. Is he really gay?”

[T/N: In the raws it says 남색가야 (namsaekkaya) Well gay in korean is 게이 (namseongae). Namsaekkaya would literally translate to indigo man, which means sodomite in korean. I’ve just used gay here but the term namsaekkaya appears a lot in next chapter, so I’ll be using sodomite for then.]

Annette’s smile stiffened at the unexpected words.

‘What the hell are you talking about? My husband is gay and is also into sodomy?!’