My Fiancé Keeps Trying to Raise Me (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
“Ah—ahem.”
Embarrassed, Anet gave an awkward cough and recalled how she looked before this transformation.
Even back then, Anet’s hand had not been as rough as Kardin’s.
‘I was born with monstrous regenerative abilities, as befits one called the Seed of the Beast, while the Grand Duke must owe his condition to divine blessing as a member of the Alkan imperial bloodline.’
Their origins differed, yet the outcome was strangely similar.
Then again, perhaps nothing was more astonishing than the fact that she and such a man had ended up in this relationship.
“Oh, it really is tiny….”
At that moment, unable to contain his emotion, Kardin murmured involuntarily.
Even after bowing respectfully—taking her hand and pressing his forehead to its back—he still wouldn’t let go, marveling at how small it was.
Anet slightly raised an eyebrow at his behavior.
Though neither emperor nor empress, he doted on her as if she were a mere child.
But his delight was so unrestrained and unhidden that it stung her pride just a little.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but Kardin’s attitude—treating her like a little girl—irritated her more than anything else.
A petulant tone slipped unintentionally from Anet’s lips.
“I wasn’t originally this small.”
“Pardon?”
“As you surely already know, I am twenty-four years old.”
As soon as she spoke, it sounded exactly like childish whining.
Yet Anet held her chin up firmly,
remembering clearly that the man before her was two years younger than she was.
“I know.”
Kardin simply nodded without further comment at Anet’s words.
She had suspected he might be teasing, but his gaze was utterly serious, devoid of any mischief.
His calm acknowledgment made Anet’s cheeks burn instead.
Knowing her true age yet being so tender—it gave her a strange, inexplicable feeling that this gentleness wasn’t solely because she’d become a child.
‘That’s impossible.’
Afraid her expression might betray her, Anet abruptly snatched her hand away from Kardin and said what had been weighing on her mind.
“Please rise now.”
Only after watching Kardin slowly straighten his kneeling legs and stand did Anet sit back down and take a quiet breath.
Ever since meeting the Grand Duke, she’d felt constantly swept off her feet.
Taking slow, steady breaths, she finally regained some composure.
She looked across at the man seated properly on the opposite sofa, his eyes fixed steadily on her.
His unwavering gaze brought back his earlier words.
‘The one I will spend my life with.’
Do you truly believe that?
Anet wanted to ask.
But she couldn’t find the courage.
‘Perhaps he only said it because the Emperor, who arranged this marriage, was present.’
No—more likely, that was exactly the case.
She feared that if she voiced it aloud, she’d reveal her foolish hopes and suffer humiliation.
This fear of confrontation was unlike her.
Fortunately, Anet had a way to gauge Kardin’s intentions without asking outright.
It might lay her bare and bring shame,
but then again—‘It’s what I intended to discuss anyway.’
Taking a small breath, Anet began to speak.
“Your Grace, though it embarrasses me to admit, I know little of politics and have no experience in high society. I don’t know how to manage a noble household—I’ve lived my life wielding only a sword.”
Indeed, even that had nearly been deemed useless and cast aside, until the Alkan Empire’s alliance proposal gave her a second chance.
“Whether it’s fortune or misfortune, I may wield a sword again—but I don’t know when my body will return to normal. So….”
Anet swallowed hard.
“At this moment, I cannot possibly fulfill any of the duties or expectations befitting a Grand Duchess. Ah! Of course, if Your Grace never intended to claim those rights from the start, I’d never presume to demand them.”
She clearly drew a line, wary he might misinterpret her as overreaching.
At that instant, Kardin’s demeanor shifted—the quiet listener was gone.
“Wait a moment, Your Highness. What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Huh?”
“You’re not… suggesting you want to cancel our engagement now, are you? Do you really think I’d accept that?”
Anet was startled by the tremor in Kardin’s voice—clearly shocked.
His tone was oddly conflicted: angry yet pleading, making her doubt her own ears.
Seeing Anet blinking slowly in confusion, Kardin grew even more desperate.
“Your Highness, you’ve already signed the betrothal contract.”
He glanced toward the document the Emperor had left on the parlor table.
Though not yet certified by the temple, he clearly believed it had already bound their fates together.
Anet, sensing his turmoil even through his mask, cried out in alarm.
“Your Grace, that’s not at all what I meant.”
“No?”
His eyes, filled with reproach—asking why she’d belittle herself so thoroughly and insist she couldn’t be his wife—left her flustered, and she rushed to explain.
“I spoke because I feared you might wish to annul the engagement. Right now, I cannot perform the duties of Grand Duchess, and I’m painfully inadequate in countless ways—but I beg you, please continue with this arrangement.”
Then, determined to make this marriage happen no matter what, Anet swallowed her pride and added, trying to persuade him.
“If you’ll only promise me that, I’ll do anything you ask of me to the best of my ability. If you command me to live as though dead, I shall. Even if you take a mistress, I won’t object….”
“Wait—hold on.”
Kardin, who had been momentarily stunned silent by her words, finally interrupted.
Every word had shaken him, but the last one jolted him to his senses.
Through gritted teeth, struggling to contain his anger, he asked,
“Are you seriously suggesting I take a mistress?”
“Huh? I didn’t exactly… recommend it.”
“But that’s precisely what you meant—you said you wouldn’t mind if I took one.”
His voice was sharp, yet wounded, and though surprised, Anet answered calmly.
“Yes. I truly wouldn’t mind. If you wish, even your illegitimate children could be raised as my own….”
“Enough.”
Kardin raised his hand urgently—he couldn’t bear to hear another word, no matter how earnest Anet was.
With a feeling as though the world had collapsed, he buried his face in his hands.
In that moment, he couldn’t tell whether it was fortunate that Anet couldn’t see his distorted expression beneath the mask—or frustrating that he couldn’t convey his true feelings.
“Your Highness… how can you possibly say such things…?”
After all this time waiting for you.
Of course, Anet knew nothing of his feelings or his past.
He well understood he had neither the right nor reason to resent her.
Yet it was unbearably sad and shocking that she held absolutely no expectations of her future husband.
“There are just too many things I want to argue with you about….”
Kardin lifted his head after wiping his face and asked, his expression conflicted as he looked at Anet’s puzzled face.
“First, may I ask why you thought I’d break off this engagement?”
“Huh?”
Anet found Kardin’s question genuinely baffling.
She wondered for a second if he was teasing her—but his blue eyes held no trace of playfulness, which only confused her more.
Admittedly, the Alkan Empire had proposed this alliance first, but in Anet’s eyes, it benefited only the Heyworth Kingdom, offering the Empire little gain—and perhaps even loss.
Queen Esther and Bridget seemed to believe the Empire had willingly borne all that loss merely to secure a marriage for the Grand Duke, whose appearance was deemed hideous—but she wasn’t so sure.
Setting looks aside, he possessed status second only to the Emperor, along with power, wealth, and honor. Finding a bride for such a man should be easy.
Not only high-ranking noblewomen within the Empire, but also princesses from other kingdoms would surely be eager candidates—many would likely jump at the chance.
Had Anet not existed, no matter how much Bridget wept and pleaded, King Heyworth would eventually have sent his beloved daughter anyway, tears in his eyes.
Thus, Grand Duke Harzent had every right to choose the bride he truly wanted.
With just one word from him, Anet would be sent back to Heyworth.
She hated that thought so much that—knowing it was cowardly—she’d deliberately lowered herself first, pretending it didn’t matter. So why…?
“Your Grace… do you really not know why I asked?”
“Yes. I truly don’t understand why you’d think I’d break off this engagement.”
At Kardin’s words, Anet’s face twisted in frustration.
“I’ve told you repeatedly! I’ve become a child, and also—!”
“And also?”
“And….”
You wouldn’t want me as your bride.
No—no one would ever want a beastly thing like the Seed of the Beast as their bride.
“…”
It was an obvious truth, yet she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.
Biting her lip, Anet thought Kardin rather cruel.
There was no point in clinging to hope anymore.
Half-resigned, she spoke.
“I believe it would be perfectly reasonable for Your Grace to ask to replace me with Bridget as your fiancée. You must have wanted her from the start….”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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Chapter Comments (2)
Inline Comments (4)
"I mean that from the very beginning, I wanted only Anet Heyworth—you—as my brid
We have saved ourselves from ~30 chapters worth of misunderstanding people, we shall rejoice!!
—but she also didn’t want Anet to discover the truth and be horrified.
So… our ML is a hair collector… that’s something you don’t see –read– often
"I may not be as strong as Your Highness, but I’m quite strong myself."
The novel is very good and cute and I think I’d read it
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Wow this novel has it all, huh? No misunderstanding over the ML’s feelings towards FL, kind and loving imperial family wow
Always a favorite of mine when hurt, abandoned, abused MCs gets a chance of having a true family 🥹