Chapter 162

How to Tame My Beastly Husband — Chapter 162. Regrets

Chapter 162. Regrets

“Did it go well?” Raphael asked when Annette appeared in the entrance of the drawing room, his tone casual. He looked the same as always, but his eyes looked on her as sweetly as if they had been dipped in honey.

Annette smiled slightly.

“Yes. It might take a while for her to confess, but it’s best to wait.”

“And you’re feeling all right? I saw the test results.”

“I’m fine. I only had a small amount of poison, and I took the antidote.”

Raphael sagged with relief. He had been shocked to discover that Eucaly had been hired by the King to poison Annette. His wife had already faced such terrible dangers with her frail body, and his hands shook at the realization that he could have lost her without ever knowing why.

If she had died, he would never have suspected. He would have thought she had died of a long illness. He had been so sure that the King favored her.

He had never noticed any of this, and he hated himself for it.

He really was a terrible husband. Even when he wasn’t actually trying to hurt her, just being with him put her in danger. It only made him feel guiltier that through all this, she had stayed by his side and showed him her love.

The thought pierced his heart like a dagger, heaven and hell at the same time. He was so grateful to her, and so sorry.

“Don’t make that face.” Annette took his hand, smiling up at him as she saw the pain in his manly eyes. “You’ll protect me from now on, won’t you?”

Her kind words saved him.

“Of course. I will always protect you.”

It was a simple answer, but Raphael was an unsociable man, who had never been able to sway anyone’s heart with his words. He had never had a relationship with any woman before Annette. He didn’t know how to say loving things.

But even if he couldn’t put it into words, his heart was sincere. He had to protect her. Which meant there was only one thing he could do.

“Were you going to go train?” Annette asked, noting his training clothes. “The wind is so cold today. Try not to get chilled.”

“Worry about yourself. Your hair gets in a mess on windy days.”

The words came out coldly, but he kissed the top of her head, and then bent to tease her soft lips with his tongue. It made her smile, just a little, and the little shiver that went through her when he kissed her made Raphael want to swallow her whole.

His eyes deepened. He could have kidnapped her and run off with her right that second, whether she had a guest coming or not. But before he could act on this impulse, she shoved him away, smiling.

“Go, before it’s too late.”

Rain or snow, he had never missed a day of training, but today he was not looking forward to it. Especially when he thought of the person Annette was going to be meeting. But he couldn’t appear lazy in front of the woman he loved.

Sighing, he went out to the practice yard. When would he ever reach the next level? Based on the comments of previous sword masters, it was a realm that could not be reached by strength or skill or the blade itself, but with the heart.

Maddening. As if Raphael had any idea what that meant.

Tearing her eyes from Raphael’s back, Annette turned back to the drawing room, where her visitor was waiting.

“Thank you for coming, Celestine,” she said, her voice soft with the greeting. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Annette! How have you been?” Celestine rose from the couch and embraced Annette affectionately. It felt entirely natural, after they had realized they were in the same boat and opened their hearts to each other.

Celestine believed in her own worth. She was too proud to just be a pretty doll, standing beside the Crown Prince. And she would never forgive King Selgratis for playing with her life that way, ordering her kidnapping as a ruse to damage his political enemies, heedless of the harm it had caused her.

Even if her family was not as powerful, it did not mean she could be freely victimized.

She had learned the truth thanks to Annette. And even if she couldn’t break off her marriage yet, she wasn’t going to play along with the King.