My Fiancé Keeps Trying to Raise Me (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
“You want me to wear this?”
Anet was flustered, never having imagined she’d ever throw a tantrum over clothes like this.
Before her lay a pale pink dress heavily adorned with lace and ruffles.
Truthfully, even the nightgown she’d worn earlier had felt fluttery and uncomfortable, but now seeing this dress, she realized that gown had actually been quite modest by comparison.
‘It seems far prettier than what Bridget used to wear as a child…’
The fabric shimmered softly, clearly high-quality, and when she touched it, its smoothness surpassed her expectations by far.
The Alkan imperial family was famously known for producing few imperial princesses, perhaps due to some hereditary power passed down through generations.
The current emperor and empress had only one child—the crown prince—so where on earth had this children’s outfit for a girl come from…?
“The empress said you’d look absolutely adorable in it… Ah! I’m sorry.”
At that moment, the maid who’d been answering Anet’s question hastily covered her mouth, realizing her slip, then quickly continued in a serious tone.
“She personally selected it, believing it would suit you wonderfully.”
“…I see.”
For someone accustomed to mockery and disdain, the remark held no offense at all.
Anet gave the flustered maid a puzzled glance, then nodded.
After all, since it was the empress herself who had prepared it, she couldn’t very well refuse.
‘Besides, it’d be ridiculous to ask for another outfit when I’m only borrowing these clothes.’
Moreover, the children’s dress looked so complicated that Anet had no confidence she could put it on by herself, so she reluctantly asked the maids for help.
Embarrassed by her sunken frame and visible ribs, she kept her eyes lowered while being dressed, and once finished, the maids immediately styled her long hair—which fell all the way to her hips—into a neat, pretty length.
Thus, for the first time in her life, Anet found herself being carefully adorned by maids’ gentle hands, staring blankly as a thought crept into her mind.
‘…Could this possibly be some new form of torment?’
[This is the timeline separator]“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Charlotte, Empress of the Alkan Empire.”
The place Anet was led to after changing clothes was neither an audience hall nor a reception room, but a banquet hall.
From easily digestible health dishes to lavish delicacies that made her mouth water just by looking—Anet stood transfixed before the spectacularly set table, until Charlotte’s voice startled her back to her senses.
The moment she looked up in surprise, the empress burst out laughing.
It was a refreshingly clear laugh—utterly unlike that of a woman who, like the emperor, was mother to an eight-year-old boy.
Seeing the empress keep smiling warmly at her made Anet feel oddly ticklish inside, and she blushed faintly as she apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Of course you’re hungry after traveling all the way from your kingdom. Please, go ahead and eat.”
“…Thank you.”
Relieved by Charlotte’s words, Anet nodded with a calmer heart.
Yet faced with such an opulent table, she had no idea where to begin.
Moreover, having always eaten alone in her tent even during monster-hunting expeditions, sharing a meal face-to-face with someone else now felt strangely awkward.
‘At least the emperor isn’t here…’
Just then, Charlotte began eating a steaming bowl of soup.
Anet quickly followed her lead, gently scooping up some soup with her spoon and bringing it to her lips.
Gulp. The rich flavor immediately filled her mouth.
As the warm, smooth soup slowly traveled down her throat, her already weary body relaxed even further.
Perhaps… her guard had lowered along with it.
Anet glanced sideways at the empress, who was now eating a fresh salad.
Their eyes met, and Charlotte gently crinkled her eyes, smiling again.
There was no trace of scorn or hostility in her gaze.
If anything, it seemed tinged with affection.
Having lived her whole life surrounded by negative stares, Anet was unusually sensitive to such warmth—and felt flustered by it.
She now felt ashamed for having briefly suspected the empress was mocking her.
Just as she lowered her eyes again, unsettled by the strange, unfamiliar feeling swelling in her chest, and carefully took another spoonful of soup—
“You can call me Charlotte whenever we’re alone. It’s fine.”
“Cough! Cough…!”
Startled by the sudden closeness in Charlotte’s tone, Anet choked, and as Charlotte handed her a handkerchief with tender concern, she pressed on.
“We’ll soon be family, after all. It’d be nice to grow close.”
At that, Anet’s eyes widened dramatically.
‘Family?’
She’d come to the empire for her marriage to Grand Duke Harzent, but she’d never once imagined she’d actually gain a family.
Seeing Anet’s stunned expression, Charlotte awkwardly smiled, wondering if she’d made a mistake.
“The emperor arrives.”
Lucius strode into the banquet hall and sat beside Charlotte, apologizing as he did.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to confirm your status as a princess and urgently inform Grand Duke Harzent…”
He spoke naturally, then paused with a soft “Hmm?”
He’d sensed the odd tension hanging silently between Charlotte and Anet across the table.
“What happened?”
“Nothing at all, Your Majesty.”
Fortunately, Charlotte broke the awkward silence first and asked,
“But what did the duke say? When he heard Lord Heyworth had arrived, he surely said he’d depart immediately, didn’t he?”
“Well, about that…”
Anet felt her mind go cold as she watched Lucius hesitate.
Her heartbeat, which had been racing like a child’s just moments ago, gradually slowed.
The warm bath, the thoughtful meal, the kindness of others—
For a fleeting moment, she’d made a grave mistake.
‘As if I were someone truly welcome here…’
She wasn’t Bridget—the beloved princess of Heyworth, the kingdom’s treasure.
Yet Anet straightened her back firmly.
Though she might not be Bridget, she was still the princess representing the Heyworth Kingdom, and she wished to carry herself with dignity.
As a result—
“Grand Duke Harzent is currently away on a monster-hunting mission. He surely never expected Heyworth to send the engagement contract directly into the princess’s hands. We’ve relayed the message to his household, but since we don’t know when the hunt will conclude… it may take some time before he arrives in the capital.”
“I see.”
Hearing that her fiancé wouldn’t come to see her right away, Anet still managed to nod calmly.
Her indifferent reaction—showing neither disappointment nor expectation—made Lucius look almost embarrassed.
Fortunately, Charlotte, who’d spent a bit more time with Anet, guessed her feelings and spoke first.
“My lord, the duke will surely come to the capital the moment he hears the news.”
“I’m fine, Your Majesty.”
Anet gave Charlotte a small, reassuring smile.
“Monster appearances are always sudden. My subordinates—no, the Royal Knights of Heyworth—also recently departed on an urgent hunt, as I heard.”
In truth, Anet suspected Grand Duke Harzent had lied because he didn’t want to see her.
But she said this because she didn’t want to disappoint someone showing her rare kindness.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely untrue—after her retirement, the Heyworth Royal Knights had undergone internal reorganization and set out on a hunt just days before the empire’s alliance request arrived.
“Thank you for your understanding, Princess.”
“I’ve hunted monsters myself before.”
Anet murmured shyly, lowering her gaze.
“Besides, looking like this, I hardly have the face to meet him anyway.”
“…Hm?”
Lucius let out a baffled sound at Anet’s words.
Charlotte’s expression also grew puzzled.
Lucius chuckled, thinking Kardin might feel utterly wronged if he heard this.
Assuming his reaction was just to hide his embarrassment, Anet asked,
“Since it’s come up, may I ask—was it truly my appearance when I was found?”
The previously gentle atmosphere instantly stiffened.
Lucius wiped the smile from his face and nodded.
“We received a report from the gate guards that a young child had collapsed after delivering a sealed envelope bearing the imperial crest. Had it not been for the engagement contract inside and your red hair, we’d never have guessed your identity.”
Having expected this answer, Anet sighed softly and looked at Charlotte.
“You asked whether I could explain what happened to me.”
“Yes. Can you explain it?”
“No… Honestly, I don’t fully understand the situation myself. I did fight monsters on my way here, but why my body changed like this…”
“Could it be because of the monster’s blood?”
“…Perhaps.”
Aside from a wrist injury during previous hunts, she’d never been this severely affected before.
Now that she thought about it, on her way to the palace, she’d felt her heart burning hot and her blood strangely surging—perhaps this phenomenon was related.
‘Unless… I truly am a monster’s seed…’
If that were the case, she didn’t even know how she’d explain it to the Alkan imperial family.
Just then, Charlotte murmured worriedly,
“I’d heard you stepped down from knighthood due to injuries, but it must have been quite severe if you even lost your sword.”
“My sword?”
“Yes. When they carried you straight to the palace from the gate, they said no sword was found with you.”
“Well… I didn’t bring my sword.”
“What? You didn’t bring Rubellino?”
“No, I returned it to the royal family when I resigned as captain… Rubellino?”
She knew that people called her blade “Rubellino”—meaning “red poison”—claiming its red hue was like undrying monster blood. But she never expected to hear that name from the empress’s own lips.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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Did the Empress Dowager get indesgestion because Anet is too cute or what?
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 🥹