“Don't say anything weird, old man. I'm just trying to get along with my wife. There is no need to ntion useless things like love or affection. I don't need it.”
“Well, if you say so.”
Harold laughed with a aningful face. Apparently, it seed that he was still in denial, but it was only his own loss. Because of this, he knew he would have to suffer later. It is always better to admit it early and find a way to win the other person's heart.
But Harold was going to ignore it this ti. Raphael needed this opportunity to co out a bit. Because he had been stuck in his shell for so long, his emotional growth had completely stopped. Perhaps the hatred towards his mother, and the inferiority complex towards his origin were holding him back.
Information about Raphael's biological mother was kept strictly confidential by King Selgratis. So no one knew who Raphael's “mother” was or how she died. Count Harold Evans was one of the few people who knew all the details.
'You poor soul.'
Harold had now retired due to his old age, but until a few years ago, he had been a loyal henchman of King Selgratis. Therefore, he had watched the king's illegitimate son, Raphael, since he was young. Had Harold not discovered Raphael's extraordinary swordsmanship talent and told the king about it, Raphael would have still wandered around the shady back alleys as a commoner. Or, he might have been already dead.
“Anyway, I… I don't want to tell Annette anything. Not only to her, but also to anyone. I'd rather bite my tongue and eat it than talk about my past.”
Raphael murmured as he lowered his head and then grabbed it with both hands anxiously. His life before he had beco the Marquis of Carnesis was like hell. Raphael was not confident to talk about his dirtiest and filthiest secrets with Annette. Annette Bavaria was the noblest and most perfect woman in the kingdom of Deltium. How can I tear my heart apart and reveal my rotten past to soone like her, who is so spotless and dazzling?
'Raphael is a good person. He should be respected.'
Raphael felt ashad when he rembered Annette's face, innocently defending him without knowing anything. When Harold saw Raphael's distressed expression, he said,
“One has to prepare his heart to reveal his toughest secret. If you're not ready, you don't have to force yourself to confess. If you wait calmly, ti will help you mature, just like a fernted bread. Well, who knows, maybe by then your stubborn mouth may open easily.”
“But before that, Annette will leave .”
Raphael had a strong feeling. He had a wild intuition inside him that lived and breathed just like an animal. Everyti he saw Annette staring off into the distance with a lonely expression, that intuition whispered to him ominously. 'She's thinking of running away.' When Harold listened to Raphael's words, he pondered for a while and then put forward a suggestion.
“Then be nicer to your wife. Think you're the master of secrets, and completely spoil your wife. Then, I don't know. Maybe she might stick with you patiently, even if you fall from her graces.”
“…… What kind of crap are you spewing out, old man?”
Raphael raised his head, furrowing his handso eyebrows. But Harold's eyes looking at him were not joking. Although the old gentleman's eyebrows had beco gray, the shining eyes underneath them still had a lively look.
“Won are wise. Your wife must have already noticed that you're hiding sothing from her. So be good to your wife. To the point even if she gets to know about it, she won't leave you and would dismiss it saying 'since you're this good, can't I turn a blind eye to a little secret?' Do you understand ?”
Only then did Raphael, who understood Harold's words, beco silent. It sounded like a very wise advice, but how should one be good to a woman? Raphael had never been “good” to any woman. To be honest, Annette was the first person with whom he wanted to try to have sothing similar to a relationship. Harold, who saw through Raphael's heart, laughed and teased him.
“Oh, can't you do that because of your pride? Or is it because you're flustered? Well, you've been very shy since you were a child. When you bought a pocket watch for my birthday present, you were so embarrassed that you couldn't even give it to yourself and ordered a servant to send it to the branch.….”
“Ugh so noisy!! Damn it, it was foolish of to co here.”
When the forgotten dark history was forcibly brought out, Raphael jumped up from his seat and tried to gallop out of the room. At that mont, Harold wiped the smile from his face and gave a last advise.
“You know I love you so much. Even your odd personality and arrogance look cute in my eyes. But a real man must know when to bend his ego. Just pretend to be pitiful and turn her heart around! Do not choose any stupid ans or thods. Otherwise, you will soon end up like .”
Harold poured all his youth and passion into his work. And in return, he got everything. Except for love.
The woman, whom Harold had loved with all his heart, left him and married another man. All this was because Harold firmly believed that she would not leave him as long as he was successful. But all she ever wanted from him was so caring words and a little attention. Harold was so stupid that he didn't notice this and so lost her forever.
Raphael, who knew Harold's past, looked at him with a grim look. For Raphael, Harold was no less than a benefactor. But Harold felt much closer to him as a father figure than his own biological father, King Selgratis. So he could not take his advice lightly. Just then, Raphael's gaze suddenly moved from Harold's hand to the shiny ring on his finger.
“Oh, old man. What the hell is that ring? Is this ring popular in Deltium these days?”
The ring in Harold's hand was similar to the one in his mory. The large athyst ring was uniquely engraved with an alphabet. Just like the one he found in Annette's drawer when he was nursing her before.
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“Oh, this? You don't know. This is a ring of a guild called 'Secret'. All of their most distinguished custors have one such ring.”
“Secret? What kind of guild is that?”
“What… Well, first of all, should I call it an errand guild? It started with small information transactions and now does almost any illegal thing a custor wants. It's a place that has been erging rapidly in the last 5 years, but the guild master is quite sothing big. Rumor has it that he is one of the few 'real' wizards left.”
Even after retirent, Harold was still Harold. It wasn't unusual for Harold, who had once worked as a secret agent, to know all the information guilds of the underworld. But it was certainly strange for Annette to know such a place. She was an extrely elegant and ordinary noblewoman who loved to read and do embroidery.
“Give more details, old man. What specific things do you do in that guild?”
As his face distorted with anxiety, Raphael turned and sat down in front of Harold.
* * *
The weather was nice. The blue sky was clear, the sun was hot, but the wind blowing was cool. So Annette sat in the garden and read a book peacefully. Although the content was information on the temple that Celestine mainly attends, it was undeniable that this ti was peaceful.
'Except for one.'
Annette, who took her eyes off the book for a mont, sighed a little when she saw Raphael from a distance. Apparently he had recently changed his tendency to show his back these days and was now sticking to show his front side. And on top of that he kept a very disturbing distance from her. They could see each other well just with a turn of their eyes, but it was such an ambiguous distance which forced one to get up and approach the other person to talk.
Annette was uncomfortable with Raphael's sharp eyes, staring at her like a hawk. So she closed the book and got up without saying anything. She was going back to her room to avoid him. But as soon as Annette turned around, Raphael ca right next to her and grabbed her wrist.
“Let's talk.”
“…Talk? About what?”
Annette looked up at Raphael without any anticipation. Whenever she tried to talk, he got annoyed and avoided it, so now, what does he want to talk about? When Annette stared at him without accepting or refusing his request, a little nervousness appeared on Raphael's face.
“Just for a minute.”
If it had been earlier, he would have taken Annette by the arm and dragged her along as he pleased. But he couldn't do that to Annette anymore. Raphael shut his mouth tight. The woman, who was standing in front of him, looking at him indifferently, was driving him crazy. Naturally, Harold's advice, whom he had t a few days ago, ca to his mind.
'Be good to your wife. Get rid of things like pride.'
But, what the hell should I do to be good? Raphael was just about to curse. If you were going to give such advice, you should have told about it in detail. Unnecessarily scaring people. Raphael grumbled inwardly and looked around desperately.
Fortunately, he noticed so dahlias blooming in groups. As soon as he saw it, he rembered hearing that won liked flowers. Without thinking any further, he reached out and plucked the biggest dahlia. And then carefully placed it in Annette's other hand.
“It would really only take a minute, Annette. Let's talk.”
“Is this for ?”
Instead of answering, Annette looked at dahlia given by Raphael with shock. It was the first ti she had received anything from him. She never thought she would one day get a flower from him. Though it was not bought or wrapped beautifully in a bouquet, it still felt quite novel.
“Wait a minute.”
Seeing that Annette was interested in the flower, Raphael let go of her wrist and began to sweep the dahlias away. Under his ruthless grasp, the dahlias broke in an instant. If the gardener had seen this domineering way of handling flowers, he sure would have scread and shed tears. However, the gardener's shock was of no concern to Raphael. In a blink of an eye, Raphael made a bouquet large enough to cover Annette's torso and then gave the whole bunch to her.
“If you think it's not enough, I can pluck so more. So talk to , Annette.”
'…. You're going to pluck more?' As Annette received the bunch of flowers, her pupils trembled. It was good to receive a flower as a gift from the husband, but this was a little too much. Annette decided to follow him quietly before he plucked out all the flowers in the garden.
To tell the truth, she was still reluctant to talk to Raphael. She had no expectation that he would tell her the truth. However, since Raphael had showed this much sincerity, she had to give him a chance. Now even his tone sounded like a pleading. Annette's heart softened on seeing this. She looked back at Raphael.
“Then let's go that way. Shall we?”
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