Chapter 33

It was. The name engraved on the tombstone was familiar to Annette as well.

—Robert Smith. 27 years old. Killed during a battle to suppress the Letan Resistance.

Robert. It was the name Rafel muttered every time he showed signs of sleepwalking. In his nightmares, he begged Robert to apologize over and over again. Perhaps the name engraved on this tombstone was also engraved on Lapel's chest his. Very sick handwriting.

Rafel did n't look back at her.The profile of Lapel,who held her hands together and looked at her tombstone her,was as beautiful as if it were not human.He,who looked like the god of death guarding the Cemetery, asked with his lips softly.

“You know? Every night I…….”

Rafel's face contorted as if he were retching. He couldn't finish what he was going to say, but Annette managed to understand what he was saying after he omitted it. Rafel, who was proud of himself, hated his own weakness and could not easily accept it.

Annette affectionately reached out and cupped the back of his handHer her.It was an unintentional action because Lafel looked so hard.Fortunately, Rafel kept her mouth shut and glanced down at her handHer her,but he didn't shake it off.

“What kind of person were you?”

Annette asked quietly to calm Lapel's nerves a little.Her eyes her were on Robert's grave.Lapel, who swallowed her saliva with difficulty, finally opened her mouth.

“My lieutenant. I was the only one who could have your back. But in the battle to suppress Letan's independence army…… She did not come back alive She tripped and fell into a moat and broke her leg. Enemies keep coming, but Robert, with a broken leg, can't climb up the moat. If we stayed, we would both die.”

Rafel was speechless and clenched his fists tightly. Perhaps Rafel struggled until the end, and he had no choice but to retreat, leaving Robert behind. And that guilt would still remain, and he would still apologize in the fantasy of Robert dying every night.

Annette felt sorry for Lapel like that.He himself would be haunted by guilt for the rest of his life if he had retreated under those circumstances and left his step-sister behind his his Claire..

Rafel didn't open his mouth any more. Instead, Lapel bluntly reached out and brushed the dirt from the bottom of Robert's tombstone, tearing off the moss that had grown between the engraved names. The touch wasn't cool, but it was so warm that it felt kind.

Looking at this from the side, Annette smiled a little.

'If I died in my previous life and it ended the same way, Lapel would have my grave like that… Did he fix it?'

Annette felt rejected just by imagining it. Dressed in her black suit and standing alone in front of her own tombstone, what kind of expression would her lapel her make her? Will she laugh at the relief that her troublesome and sick wife is gone? Is she really going to be alone and lonely?

It was unrecognizable as of now.Annette did n't want to be sick again because of the stress.To do so, she also had to leave Lapel.He hated himself and when he saw him,Annette also broke his heart her her her.

'But unlike before, this time he told me about Robert's existence.'

This was the first time Rafel had informed her of the existence of her her Robert her.He didn't know anything about him because he had been so close to him in his previous life her.The fact that Rafel was suffering from trauma after the war, and the fact that he had a painful thorn called Robert.

But this time, Annette didn't even ask, but Lafel voluntarily came forward and told me first. Annette felt the need to think a little about this. Could it be that Lafel hates me that much? .

“Come on, Lapel.”

Annette was not the troublesome type who acted on her own accord, taking over other people's feelings. If you have any questions, the best way is to ask the other person directly. Even if it hurts to hear 'I hate you' like the last time because of this, it was closer to the truth. After clearing her throat, Annette looked up at Lapel and asked.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Then her lapel her looked back at her with her dark eyes His red lips her her rested mercilessly on her white chin her her.

“Because you know my secret.”

“…Is that all?”

“Then, must there be any other reason?”

The small twinkle in Annette's eyes faded. I didn't expect an answer like 'I don't hate you like before.' But Lapel's tone of her, as he sternly ended her without giving her a break, sounded like she should n' t expect more of her.

This alone is sad enough, but Rafel did n't stop there and lowered his head Then, holding Annette's shoulders tightly, he whispered into her ear her her.

“Don't open your mouth to others and stay still.”

Rafel's blue eyes looking at her were even bloody. She was forced to share her secrets of her, but it was clear that she did not want to have any emotional exchanges with Annette. Seeing this, Annette sighed and quietly made up her mind. Thought it would be good to visit the Mill Departure Guild one more time soon.

After leaving the cemetery, Annette remained silent. She was staring blankly out through the small window of her carriage. Her golden eyelashes her, slightly down, were limp, and her pink lips her, nestled under the bridge of her small nose her, were Seeing this, Rafel strangely felt her heart suffocate.

'Are you offended?'

Lafel was used to Annette's attitude of her always smiling at me, talking to me, or caring about this and that. She even seemed to become attached to her, whether she liked it or not, after taking care of her in the hospital. She made a big deal of it and brought Annette to Robert's grave.

But the perverted temper of this man allayed her doubts about Annette.Even so, Lapel had a lot of enemies.But if Annette were to tell anyone about my weakness her….Just imagining it was terrifying.

It would have been nice if she had taken the time to tell Annette her secret her. But when she was n't ready for her rappel her, she got to share her secret her in a 'caught' fashion. Was the worst. Because of this, she shut Annette's mouth a little harder than she intended.

'I should have spoken softer though.'

Rafel frowned at her involuntarily, regretting her own actions her. Being an illegitimate child with a strong sense of pride, there was only one way to survive in aristocratic society. To raise his head more aggressively when someone points a finger at him, and to bite his extractors more ferociously like beasts.

A person surrounded by enemies on all sides had no choice but to be sensitive. It was the same with Lapel. His aggressive speech his, created to protect himself, did not change easily. Since life was meant to be lived alone anyway, he never regretted it. But this time…… Regretted it

“Annette.”

“Yes.”

At Lapel's low call her, Annette turned her head When his eyes she met her, an elegant smile appeared on Annette's lips her her as a habit her But her pink eyes she weren't smiling at all.

Seeing this, Rafel felt her heart sink involuntarily. She strangely felt that Annette, who was sitting right next to her, was very far away. It seemed that she would open the carriage door and get out at any moment, leaving her somewhere. In fact, her lapel intuition her was correct. Annette was wondering when she should revisit the Smuggling Guild 'Secret'.

Rafel was a man close to a noble beast. Naturally, his instincts picked up the anxiety with great astuteness, and he insisted on doing something. Raffel, who was caught up in nervousness, handed over an impulsive offer without even realizing it.

“Annette, if you don't mind, let's have dinner around here. What do you think?”

“…Here?”

Annette's eyes her, feeling curious, had a little vitality. They were now running around the village, quite far from the mansion. Of course, Annette, a flower in the greenhouse, was the first place I had visited. Having lived only in Bavaria , she had never been to a restaurant on a street like this.

“Like.”

She needed to get used to the common people's life in order to move to Osland anyway and start a new life. When Annette agreed, Lapel poked her head out of her window and instructed her coachman to do something. Then, about 10 minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of a fairly busy street.

Lapel, who got off the carriage first, opened the door with a caring attitude and held Annette's hand her her.It was an attitude that was not like that.However, Annette looked around her, unable to hide her wonder at the scenery of the downtown area.

“Oh my goodness! This is my first time at a place like this.”

This was a village in a district somewhat away from the high-end shopping district. Lapel was actually a bit worried because it was not a suitable place for Annette, who had high eyes. At least it was a place that received gentry less than nobles and wealthy merchants as its main customers, so it looked good on the outside. Fortunately, Annette seemed very interested, so Lapel cleared her throat and pointed her finger in the direction.

“As far as I know, everything from this street to that street is a restaurant. You look around and choose the one you like.”

“I… May I choose?”

“Of course.”

What's wrong with that Rafel replied indifferently. At that moment, Annette smiled widely as if she were happy. She could not hide her excitement her, and her smile her was indescribably pure and beautiful. Seeing this, Rafel couldn't breathe properly because of the shock as if her heart she had been hit hard.

'Why do people laugh like that?'

It was like a flower blooming right in front of your eyes.Unbeknownst to Lapel, Annette had rarely taken the initiative in her own life.Her father, Allamand, was an extremely aristocratic and conservative figure.His jurisdiction.And Annette was also one of his management items.

Because of this, Annette in her previous life was extremely passive. But I didn't want to live this life like that. In the meantime, the option Lafel readily presented made Annette very happy. She gazed at the many restaurants spread out before her with her brisk walk, and she struggled to decide where to go.

“Let's go this way.”

Annette, with a wide smile on her face, forgot her sadness from earlier and took a step forward Not knowing what her eyes she were like on her lapel her.