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Chapter Fifty-Five -
Degrell, unable to distinguish between heaven and earth, stayed home while not knowing where he was supposed to be.
He had political acumen, but he lacked the ability to deal with crises.
The problems he had encountered so far were, at most, merely conflicts within the aristocracy or with the clergy, so he had not been able to develop the ability to deal with crises resulting from the anger of the common people.
He was a cardinal respected by everyone, so he became very embarrassed when they threw stones at him.
At this critical time, Annette, wearing a head covering, came to visit him.
“Forgive me for
My insolence
Because
I came
To meet you
Without prior appointment, Your Eminence Cardinal.”
Degrelle was relieved when Annette treated him formally.
He was convinced she had come to help him.
So Degrelle decided to gain her sympathy by flattering her.
“No, I didn't feel it.”
Offended
At all.
Are you here because of what happened in the cathedral?
Because of a trivial misunderstanding, people started outside
By threatening me
And also...”
But he could not complete his words.
“I don't have time for such trivial talk, stop making excuses.”
"Sorry?"
Annette cut his words as sharp as a knife.
Degrelle looked like someone had his head cut off and fell to the ground while he didn't even notice when it happened.
“I wish you had the high level of morals you speak with now, that's how I wouldn't have to deal with
Your mistakes
“
Annette sat proudly in the main chair in the living room.
Degrelle was surprised by Annette's changed attitude.
He stood transfixed as he pondered for a long time whether this proud woman before him now was the same person who had humbly promised him a donation at the church.
Then, realizing that his political vanity would do him no good in front of her, Degrelle knelt at Annette's feet and began to beg her with all his might.
“Her Highness the Grand Duchess!
Please help me.”
He knelt down pathetically, but failed to arouse Annette's pity.
“I'm not here
To help you
.
Instead, I...
I came
To tell you
That you are the person who will bear full responsibility
Later
About everything that happened.
Whatever happens, don't try
Implicate me
My husband and I are in
Your actions
This.”
When Annette was unmoved by Degrell's plea, he tried to begin blackmailing her.
“Aren’t you the ones who asked me to complete the construction as quickly as possible?
My only mistake is that I was trying to faithfully carry out the Grand Duke’s orders.”
“Did we ever ask you for this?”
“
Aren't you?
You're the one who asked me to
I give you
The honor of decorating the altar.
If these are not direct orders, what will they be?”
“Don't try to
You implicate me
In
Your mistakes
In a way
Clumsy
“
“I have
You asked
It's because you needed it!
You were in a hurry!
It is
Your fault
“Your Highness, the Duchess, they are dead.”
“Why is it my fault?”
“It's all because of you.”
Degrell's expression became more and more fierce.
He spoke absurdly as if he didn't even know what he was talking about.
So Annette noticed something strange about his attitude.
What happened was not just a chance accident.
It was clear that there were a lot of hidden intentions behind it.
'
I have
I knew
This.
Those didn't die
Homeless people
Poor people by chance.
'
Degrell continued construction despite knowing there were still homeless people within the site.
Trying to convince them to evacuate was exhausting, and paying them the comfort payment was annoying, so Degrelle thought it would be better to kill them.
“
You are
Just a piece of trash.”
Annette frowned as if he was in front of something dirty, so Degrell slowly lost his temper.
“Will
You think?
I am
I will die
Quietly?
If not
You can
Who
Save me
This will be it
Your end
Also!
Do you know who the person in?
My fist
?
Annette read the madness in Degrell's eyes.
“Guardian of the hunting grounds that the Grand Duke could not
Find it
.
I own it
I have it
“
"What?"
“I heard everything in the gambling house.
The hunting ground keeper told me everything.
You guys
You are not
Even a real couple.
Didn't you kill your father for that?
Good night
Marquise in the first place?”
The hunting grounds ranger, whom Annette thought was dead, was alive and in Degrell's clutches.
He even knew that the evil Annette had visited Theodore's hunting cabin and that there was nothing between the two of them that day.
Degrelle did not know the details, but he noticed that there was some kind of contractual relationship between Annette and Theodore.
The hunting ground guard also took care of Theodore's weapons.
Therefore, it is possible that he could connect the events that took place at Scheringen Palace if he saw the gun that Annette had at the moment of the crime.
“If not
Help me
I will tell everyone everything.
I will
Tell them
That your marriage documents are with the Grand Duke
Forged
And that
Both of you
It was
Involved
In death
Burhart
Scheringen.”
Annette looked at him disdainfully.
It was disgusting to see him pretending to be religious while he was killing people to speed up construction, and now he's trying to solve the problem by threatening others.
“It's no longer worth hearing anything from your filthy mouth.”
Annette rose arrogantly and brushed herself off as if she were shaking the dirt off her dress.
She sat on Degrelle's couch, so she felt as dirty as he did.
Then Annette immediately headed towards the carriage.
Degrell's actions were outrageous and he made no secret of his hideous inner intentions, but the problem seemed bigger than he expected.
Degrell was the one who confirmed Annette and Theodore's marriage, and Degrell knew how important it was to them, so he was acting arrogantly like that.
But above all, the hunting ground guard was the biggest problem.
Annette believed Theodore had already killed him.
The guard was just a low-level servant, but he knew Theodore closely and knew that Theodore was a man who had never had any romantic relationships before, especially with the evil Annette.
He was also a bold man who stole his owner's things, so she didn't know what he might do in the future.
To be more precise Annette, the hunting ground guard himself wasn't much of a problem, but there would definitely be people who would notice the value of the information he knew about Theodore's personal life and try to buy him out and exploit him to their advantage.
But he is now in the hands of the vile Degrell.
Annette felt trapped in a corner, and she did not know how she would get out of this predicament.
'If
I used
that way,
It will be done
The matter was solved simply, but...'
Annette couldn't bear to do that because the way she had come up with dealing with Degrell was so ugly.
* * *
Three days passed without the slightest conversation between Annette and Theodore.
It would have been a short period if the two of them were normal people, but considering their situation and the relationship they had, those days had been a very long time, and it was no longer possible to continue avoiding each other any longer.
“Her Highness the Great Grand Duchess
“
"What is there?"
Uncharacteristically, Ernest called Annette with exaggerated respect.
His expression showed that he had many hidden intentions, and he couldn't even hide that he had something he wanted to gain by cajoling her like that.
Ernest had already shown his unique intelligence and quickly adapted to the Flores Palace.
Despite his constant complaining, he did everything Annette asked him to do and cooperated well with everyone in the palace.
Ernest was basically a friendly man to everyone, so he was friendly to Annette too.
But of course, behind his smiling face, Ernest never forgot to be rude to Annette.
There were many people who were worried about him when they saw him talking inappropriately to Annette, but Annette did not stop him at all because she herself barely spoke to him respectfully.
“Who
Please
Accompany me
“For a while.”
“Tell me what you want from me Don
Roll
Or rotation.
I will
I forgive you
If you tell me
in advance
With your intentions
Hidden
“
“It will be done
My scolding
Even if I said what I want to do now, so I'd better do what I want first and then
I scold
Later
“
“So you're planning to do something really bad that deserves to be done
scolding you
It is, isn't it?
Ernest pulled Annette by the hand with a bright smile.
Intelligence was his weapon.
Annette walked out of the palace while looking at him from the corner of her eye.
Ernest went in a direction she had never known before.
After passing through an abandoned garden that had not been taken care of for a long time, she saw an empty plot of land in the distance.
“Was there a place like this in
Duchy
?
“Will
You are visiting
This place for the first time?
“Yes, that’s because Flores Palace is very spacious.”
Although this place belonged to the same palace, it looked completely different.
Finally, an area appeared that did not fit into the dense trees of the place.
When he arrived at his destination, Ernest stopped walking, and Annette then understood why Ernest spoke to her so respectfully and called her by her nickname for the first time.
“
Ernest
Feiglin
“
Annette pronounced every letter of Ernest's name with force, cruelty, and intense anger.
Theodore first came to this place and was waiting for her.
Hans was standing awkwardly next to Theodor, as if he had been tricked into coming to this place.
“Explain what is happening now.”
“Oh
For coincidence
!
I have
I wanted
Just that
I bring you
Here because I am
I thought
This place is so beautiful and….
Ahhh
Oh man.
I can't hide it
About you
More than this.
I have
I brought you both
To here
Intentionally
Because you both
You two
Monday
You were both
You two get up
By making the atmosphere at home
Difficult
Extremely.
I have
I worried you both
All servants are in
Duchy
And it was from
Frustrating
Very nice to see these good people
They suffer
From time
It's hard
So.
No
Keep going
In making people out of
Around you
They notice
That too and solve the problems between you
By yourselves
.
Nobody comes here not even by chance, so
You can both
That
Do it
All that
You want?
He did it.
They clashed
Or they fought or
Kill
each other even.”
Ernst looked at Hans with a meaningful look.
Ernst may not have known it, but Hans was not accustomed to such tricks.
Hans did not understand what Ernst was trying to say with his looks, and Theodor Wannett kept looking at him while gesturing awkwardly, so Ernst felt himself in a very uncomfortable position.
“Why don't you come with me?
We said goodbye
We leave this couple
They solve it
The dispute between them?
Ernest sighed and said what he meant with his look.
“I need your help with something because I'm having trouble at work.”
Hans nodded at these words.
He had been trying to persuade Theodore to meet Annette and had even offered to arrange a dinner with some wine to mend the atmosphere between them, but his master had flatly refused.
This masquerade ball was not just an ordinary party, but it was the first party that the Grand Duke and his wife attended together.
So they had to prove that they were living as a happy couple here in the Flores Palace.
However, after the costume party, the two did not agree to work in the same office together as before or even talk to each other.
Therefore, it took some tricks to bring these two back to their original relationship.
“Who
Please
You two
Both of you, solve the problems between you today.”
If Ernest hadn't gotten involved in this, neither of them would have started the conversation in the first place.
Ernst and Hans left the place in a hurry, leaving Annette and Theodor behind alone.
When the two were left alone, a terrifying awkwardness appeared between them.
Lider City had mild weather even in the middle of winter, but today was unseasonably cold.
When Annette met Theodore, she forgot everything she wanted to ask him, and for some reason, she felt a shiver and rubbed her arms with her hand before opening her mouth after a period of silence.
“…Is this a tennis court?”
I regretted saying that after I actually said it.
No matter how much of a strange atmosphere they were in, it was stupid to ask if this was a tennis court when it was clearly a tennis court.
Annette felt like biting her tongue.
“Yes, though it's done
Neglect it
“For a while.”
As Theodore said, the line above the field was almost erased and grass grew everywhere.
However, there was no problem playing here because the rackets were all new.
To Annette it looked like the tennis she knew, except the rackets were wooden.
Annette picked up one of the rackets that Hans and Ernst had left behind.
With unusual kindness from Ernest, he placed towels, water and even some snacks next to the rackets.
Ernest really meant what he was saying.
“Do you know how to do that?”
Theodore asked, pointing to the bat with the tip of his chin.
“It depends on whether this is the same game as in my world or not.”
Annette calmly remembered the rules of the game and immediately picked up her racket.
Since it was just practice, there was no need to apply detailed rules or play like a pro.
Then the two started playing awkwardly.