My Fiancé Keeps Trying to Raise Me (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
“Ugh!”
As Anet strained to hide her protruding belly, a strange sound reached her ears.
It was impossible for such an undignified noise to come from the Empress Dowager and the Empress—women who embodied the very image of noble decorum…
Yet the maidservants standing stiffly against the wall like statues, those of the Empress Dowager’s chambers and the Empress herself, showed no sign of having made a mistake.
Anet rolled her eyes, searching for the source of the sound, and suddenly spotted something she absolutely could not ignore.
It was the Empress Dowager, gripping the teacup handle so tightly that veins bulged on the back of her hand.
What could have suddenly soured her mood?
Just as Anet tried to guess the reason, she gasped in realization.
“Good heavens! Out on the hunt, we shared even a single dry biscuit—but here she’s eaten all of it by herself!”
Her brain must have melted into sugar along with the sweet dessert. Otherwise, how could she possibly gulp down everything the moment it was offered…!
Anet had never thought her appetite particularly strong, but seeing the situation now, she had no choice but to admit it.
Perhaps she simply hadn’t craved food before because she’d only been served flavorless meals.
Feeling belated guilt, Anet plucked the only intact cookie left from the devastated table.
“Your Majesty, Empress Dowager.”
The moment she called out, a sharp gaze pierced her.
Anet squeezed her eyes shut and extended her hand.
“This cookie… it’s truly delicious. Your Majesty, please try one.”
Though others might consider it trivial, for Anet, this was a considerable act of courage.
For some reason, she kept wanting to make a good impression on the Alkan imperial family.
Until now, she had never cared how others saw her or what they thought of her—in fact, she’d needed that indifference just to endure.
“Why is it…?”
Still uncertain whether her role as a princess was purely for alliance or driven by some other motive, Anet carefully opened her eyes.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, the Empress Dowager’s face turned crimson as she clutched her chest and collapsed sideways.
“Your Majesty?”
“Your Majesty!”
Seeing those rushing over in alarm, Anet leapt to her feet and tried to approach the Empress Dowager.
But Charlotte, seated beside her, held her back.
“Your Highness, please go rest now.”
She instructed one of the approaching personal maidservants to escort Anet out.
The way Charlotte restrained her almost seemed as if she were preventing Anet from nearing the Empress Dowager.
It reminded Anet of how people in the Heyworth Kingdom had once shunned her, calling her the seed of a cursed beast.
Unable to utter a word, Anet followed the maid’s guidance out of the Empress Dowager’s quarters.
[This is the timeline separator]“Your Highness?”
When Anet, who had been following quietly, suddenly stopped moving altogether, the maid walking ahead turned around.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
“Um… over there…”
“Yes? Please speak freely.”
“Does Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have any preexisting health issues?”
As she asked, Anet watched the maid’s expression closely.
She knew she was still a foreigner, and they might not openly share the imperial family’s private matters.
Seeing the flicker of confusion and reluctance in the maid’s eyes, Anet immediately understood.
The Empress Dowager had no chronic illness.
“It’s all right if it’s difficult to answer.”
Anet spared the flustered maid from having to explain, unable to bring herself to say it might have been her fault the Empress Dowager collapsed.
Seeing Anet’s expression—already resigned to the answer—the maid, Serina, panicked.
Strictly speaking, it was indeed Anet’s fault, but not for the reason she imagined.
However, given her position and duties, Serina couldn’t disclose her mistress’s private affairs without permission.
Especially since her true master was the Empress—not the Empress Dowager.
Watching Anet lower her gaze dejectedly, Serina inwardly fumed with pity and resolved to plead with the Empress to clear up this misunderstanding.
“Sigh…”
Anet’s heart grew heavy, convinced the Empress Dowager had collapsed because of her.
The Empress Dowager had probably disliked her from the very beginning.
To think she’d mistaken the Empress Dowager’s restrained, thoughtful courtesy—as a noble of distinguished bearing—for genuine fondness.
And then, after shamelessly devouring every treat offered, she’d belatedly held out the last cookie. How infuriating that must have seemed.
Anet felt utterly pathetic. The mere thought of returning to her room to be alone already made her chest tight.
“Um… Miss Maid?”
“My name is Serina, Your Highness. Please speak freely.”
“Hmm. Serina, is there somewhere nearby where I might take a short stroll?”
Having been confined to the palace annex for so long, Anet disliked enclosed spaces.
She actually felt more at ease sleeping under open skies in a camp with curtains drawn.
Listening to the chatter of her subordinates outside as a lullaby made her feel like an ordinary person among the crowd.
“You don’t have to agree if it’s too much trouble.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
She’d just remembered that the Empress had ordered palace staff barred from the corridors near the Empress Dowager’s quarters.
Wandering around like this might attract unwanted attention and cause trouble.
Predictably, Serina hesitated before answering.
“It’s really fine. Let’s just go back to my room.”
“Ah, Your Highness!”
“…?”
“There’s a garden not far from here—it should be all right. Only members of the imperial family are permitted to enter.”
“Really? But if that’s the case, wouldn’t I be forbidden…?”
“No! Her Majesty the Empress commanded that you be treated as one of the imperial family. So it will certainly be acceptable.”
Ordinarily, permission should have come first, but Serina spoke confidently.
She knew well just how favorably the Empress, whom she’d served for years, regarded the princess before her.
Besides, she felt pained seeing the petite, delicate-looking princess hurriedly retract her words with a crestfallen expression.
“Then… I’d appreciate it.”
In the end, Anet followed Serina’s guidance toward the garden.
As she walked, the Empress’s decree kept echoing in her mind, stirring strange feelings.
Just as the Emperor had called her part of the imperial family, did the Empress truly see her as one of their own?
“Why does neither of them seem to worry at all that I might never return to my original body?”
Both seemed utterly convinced—without a shred of doubt—that she would marry Grand Duke Harzent, regardless of her current state. Their unwavering certainty made Anet uneasy.
“Ah…”
At that moment, Anet realized why she felt so anxious—and why she so desperately wanted to make a good impression on the Alkan imperial family.
She’d thought it was merely fear of losing her body and breaking the alliance.
But it wasn’t.
She’d understood it within just one day of waking in this empire.
This place was different from the Heyworth Kingdom.
Here, no one frowned at her or averted their eyes.
Even her red hair—so loathed by the King of Heyworth along with her red eyes—was praised by the maids as a rare and special color in the empire.
Hope kept sprouting in her chest: perhaps here, she could live and speak like an ordinary person—no longer branded as the seed of a cursed beast.
“Maybe here, I won’t be scorned anymore.”
Of course, she didn’t harbor the delusion that everyone would love her.
Simply not sensing that familiar hostility was enough.
Until now, the kindest emotion she’d ever received was pity.
Even if they saw her only as Grand Duke Harzent’s future wife and not as herself, it didn’t matter.
“I’ve been through that many times already.”
When Sara took on the hardship of raising her as a newborn, it wasn’t because the baby was lovely—it was out of loyalty to the Former Queen.
Even the previous captain of the Royal Knights had said:
〈Do you take the beast hunt as a jest? The Former Queen, once in perfect health, died giving birth to you. You have no right to happiness—but neither do you have the right to recklessly throw away your life. Go back.〉
He’d hated her because he’d once guarded the Former Queen.
〈I was wrong. The Former Queen surely wished for your happiness…〉
And because of that, he’d passed on his position to her.
Not once had Anet been recognized as an individual in her own right. So it didn’t matter.
All she wanted was to become Grand Duke Harzent’s partner as soon as possible, so she could stay in the Alkan Empire.
“Even if he despises me…”
“This is it, Your Highness. No one will be inside—please look around at your leisure.”
Having guided her to the garden entrance, Serina explained that the Emperor was attending to state affairs and the Crown Prince was in lessons, so no one would come by. She’d go inform the Empress, who was still in the Empress Dowager’s quarters, of the visit and return shortly.
Left alone, Anet quietly stepped into the garden.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (2)
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 🥹
Inline Comments (7)
"Samuel, do you think this looks acceptable to the Princess?"
So cute 😍 Both FL and ML are equally nervous about their first meeting
Yes, surely only madness could explain this.
LOLOLOL ANET ITS NOT LIKE THAT, YOU’RE MISTAKEN 😭
“You’re adorably… inhuman.”
AKSKSKKQKALS THAT’S YOUR FIRST WORDS TO HER? KARDIN!
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Nomnomiee_
Did the Empress Dowager get indesgestion because Anet is too cute or what?