My Fiancé Keeps Trying to Raise Me (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
Flustered that her shallowness had been mistaken for kindness, she rolled her eyes unnecessarily—then suddenly opened her mouth.
“My, so the one who gave birth to Your Highness was…?”
Anet, about to ask how such a thing had happened, fell silent upon seeing his slightly widened blue pupils. After a brief pause, she quietly apologized.
“I was impolite. I’m sorry.”
“No, no, not at all.”
Kardin hastily waved his hand.
“I was just a little surprised—I never thought you’d take an interest in my birth mother.”
After all, even he himself hadn’t given it much thought since first learning the truth.
“Um… I was told she was promised ample wealth and a new status in exchange for bearing me. She spent her pregnancy comfortably within the imperial palace. But they say she died immediately after giving birth to me.”
Anet froze mid-sentence as she listened to Kardin’s calm explanation. Though their circumstances were vastly different, she somehow felt an unexpected kinship, as if they shared a similar sorrow.
“Well… perhaps the late Emperor acted first out of fear that complications might arise.”
But Kardin, lowering his eyelids as if lost in thought, spoke coolly.
“She was foolish—to become pregnant, to reveal it, and to believe that merely giving birth would grant her freedom.”
Anet’s expression twisted slightly.
“Must you be so absolute? Perhaps she had no choice… perhaps she truly believed it was the best she could do…”
Only then did she realize she had overstepped.
After all, she had never before shared such intimate confessions with anyone.
She hadn’t even opened her heart fully to Franz, her own blood brother—so of course she couldn’t suddenly maintain that boundary with Kardin.
Moreover, it wasn’t as if she genuinely sympathized with his birth mother or believed she had valid reasons.
It was simply that she’d faintly sensed an unguarded resentment in Kardin as he spoke of her—and her lips had moved of their own accord.
“I’m sorry again. I’ve spoken out of turn once more.”
Yet even so, Anet hoped Kardin didn’t harbor hatred toward the woman who had given him life. It was an awkward, clumsy attempt at comfort.
Kardin understood her sincerity.
“Your Highness is truly too kind.”
He gave a faint smile, invisible behind his mask.
“If I may speak out of turn as well…”
“…”
“I’m certain your mother loved you dearly. She must have ached deeply at not being able to watch you grow. Had she been with you, she would have felt every day as if she owned the world, and she’d have been prouder of you than anyone else.”
Anet shivered involuntarily.
Kardin’s words pierced straight through her heart.
Perhaps the Grand Duke truly did know her well—just as he’d implied.
Otherwise, how could he speak as if he knew she’d always feared the Former Queen despised her?
Seeing Anet frozen as if struck by lightning, Kardin chuckled bitterly behind his mask and deliberately changed the subject.
“Does this help you understand, even just a little, that you’re far nobler than I am—and thus far too good for someone like me, a bastard?”
Snapped back to her senses by his playful tone, Anet regarded Kardin with a curious look.
She couldn’t fathom this Grand Duke who so casually laid bare his vulnerabilities.
‘He doesn’t even seem to treat his bastard status as something fatally shameful.’
Of course, it was certainly a secret that must never be revealed to others—but somehow, it felt as if he’d mentioned it on purpose to ease her mind.
‘Why go so far as to belittle himself… Ah.’
In that moment, Anet’s eyes narrowed slightly.
‘No matter how I think about it, this man…’
“You’re not… disappointed that I’m a bastard, are you?”
Kardin asked playfully, yet with a hint of unease, when Anet didn’t answer right away.
His words confirmed what she’d just realized.
This man genuinely wanted to close the distance between them, to grow closer—and astonishingly, he seemed to do so with goodwill.
‘But why?’
The obvious question followed—but there was no time to dwell on it now.
She had to answer his question first.
“Disappointed? Not at all.”
Did she even have the right to feel that way?
From the moment of her birth, Anet had been the very reason her father suspected his wife’s infidelity.
Though the king later corrected the rumors about the Former Queen, his actions had always made it clear he didn’t truly regard Anet as his child.
Born with such a fatal blemish on her bloodline, terms like “noble blood” or “bastard” held no meaning for her.
But she chose not to explain all that.
If Kardin truly knew her as well as he claimed, he’d surely already be aware of her circumstances and the rumors surrounding her.
And Anet had no intention of ever admitting aloud—no matter how widely known it might be—how she’d been treated by the world, including Kardin.
“Well then, I’m relieved. Let’s end here for today.”
Unlike the Grand Duke, who’d just revealed his own vulnerability so openly—
“I’ll share the next secret once we’re in the Grand Duchy. So please remember this: I may be a liar, but I’m no fraud.”
Seeing Anet staring at him as if puzzled by the distinction, Kardin smiled gently and added,
“Oh, and don’t worry about your body not returning to normal. Though our state marriage may be delayed a bit…”
Ah, come to think of it, that was rather regrettable.
Kardin, who had longed to welcome Anet as his wife as soon as possible and give her a real family, suddenly realized his plans had been derailed—and hesitated.
But since this unexpected turn had also brought him unexpected joy, he decided to endure the fleeting disappointment. After all, being engaged to her was enough for now.
“In any case, it won’t break off our marriage arrangement. There is a way to restore your body—it may just take a little time.”
Kardin spoke as seriously as he could, stripping away all playful tone.
He couldn’t explain the details just yet.
Though he knew she wouldn’t easily believe him, he’d intended to ask her to trust him—to promise he’d resolve it as quickly as possible.
“I see. I’m glad there’s a way.”
Anet nodded so cleanly and readily that Kardin was taken aback.
“You… believe me?”
“…Are you lying to me?”
He’d just called himself a liar, after all…
Seeing Anet’s eyes narrow slightly, Kardin jumped in alarm, quickly denying it.
At his reaction, Anet couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Truthfully, she didn’t even know herself.
Was it simply to feel at ease—or because no one had ever asked her to trust them before?
All she knew was that she wanted to believe him.
Watching her smile, the man—whose eyes widened in surprise before crinkling in response—
Though he called himself a liar, he was so genuinely expressive that it was hard to believe he wore a mask at all.
“By the way…”
Just then—
Kardin, who had been beaming brightly at Anet’s smile, abruptly sobered.
Then, frowning so deeply that anyone who knew him would have clicked their tongue in disgust, he said glumly,
“I never imagined in my wildest dreams that Your Highness harbored such… impure thoughts.”
“Impure… thoughts?”
Anet, doubting her ears, squeaked out the question—prompting Kardin to nod with an aggrieved gesture.
“Marriage is marriage, however political it may be. What’s this about taking a concubine?”
“Oh…”
“While I deeply respect your willingness to accept even my bastard child as your own, frankly, I’m not pleased. I absolutely refuse to let my wife suffer the sorrow my mother endured.”
“…!”
In truth, Kardin had brought this up because Anet seemed far too indifferent toward marriage, and he hoped she’d begin taking it seriously. He also wanted to assure her he wasn’t the sort of man who treated women lightly—like the late Emperor.
But Anet turned pale.
She’d only meant to express her resolve to endure anything for their marriage—but now feared she’d unintentionally wounded him by touching on the very sore spot of his birth.
“I-I’m so sorry.”
So flustered was Anet that she even felt guilty for having thought just moments ago that Kardin didn’t seem to view his bastard status as terribly grave.
“I truly didn’t mean it that way… I wasn’t speaking lightly. But I’ve gravely offended both Your Grace and Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager. I was wrong.”
Kardin was startled by Anet’s flustered apology.
He’d admittedly been a bit hurt by her words at first—but not truly angry.
Seeing her like this, even the faint irritation he’d felt melted away. At the same time—
“Hmm… if the Empress Dowager heard those words, she’d scold you—even though she adores you.”
Unable to resist teasing her, he added that last remark—and watched Anet’s eyes droop visibly at the corners.
Swallowing his laughter, Kardin quickly said,
“But since you didn’t know better, it’s fine. Just promise me you’ll never again entertain such absurd notions about taking concubines—and remain faithful to our married life.”
“Yes!”
By now, Anet had been completely swept along into giving him exactly the answer he wanted—but she was so grateful for his generous forgiveness that she didn’t even notice.
The way she earnestly nodded and clenched her tiny fist was so endearing that Kardin’s lips curled upward uncontrollably.
Clearing his throat hastily to compose his expression, Kardin said,
“One last thing. You said it just a moment ago.”
Anet unconsciously parted her lips slightly.
He’d claimed she had plenty to answer for—was he really about to dissect every word she’d spoken?
‘At least it’s the last one, so that’s something.’
“W-what are you referring to?”
“You said you’d do your utmost to fulfill any wish of mine—as long as our marriage arrangement wasn’t broken.”
“Yes… I did say that…”
Did he have another wish beyond a faithful marriage?
Anet straightened her posture, suspecting this might be his true intention all along.
“Do you have a request of me?”
“Yes. Though it’s rather embarrassing… I do.”
Kardin nodded, his ears reddening.
Anet, who’d unconsciously assumed the Grand Duke wouldn’t ask anything unreasonable of her, gulped nervously at his unusually grave demeanor—and waited tensely for what came next.
What she heard was the last thing she’d ever expected.
“I want you to do exactly as you please—without needing permission from me or anyone else.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
MANGA DISCUSSION
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—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
She worried he might get even slightly injured.
This novel is very good and cute I really liked it
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Nomnomiee_
Always a favorite of mine when hurt, abandoned, abused MCs gets a chance of having a true family 🥹