Today was Annette’s second wedding day.

For others, it may be her first, but it was actually a second wedding for Annette who had returned back to the past. She touched the bouquet of white Calla flowers and light purple Lisianthus flowers and smiled softly.

‘I never thought I’d marry the same man twice.’

And of all the people, the man is none other than Rafael. It all somehow seemed like a poor joke.

Annette, who had died from an illness, apparently returned back to five years ago. At first, she thought it was all just a dream, but it turned out to be a reality.

Annette, dressed in a white wedding dress, slowly walked into the ceremonial hall. The scattered light pink petals, the light jasmine scent surrounding the ceremonial hall, and the curious murmurs of the people were exactly the same as five years ago.

Annette’s return was on the morning of her wedding day. Because of this, she didn’t have an option to reject marrying Rafael again.

She had to hold Rafael’s hand, who stared at her coldly as she walked down the wedding aisle just as she did five years ago.

‘This life will be different. I’m not going to have a miserable marriage like before.’

A look of resolute determination came on Annette’s doll-like face. She lived a very passive life before. Coming from the most prestigious family in Deltium, she received a harsh education in manners and etiquette. The phrase ‘a flower in the greenhouse’ was probably the best to describe her previous life. Thanks to this, she couldn’t endure the hard life. She often became ill and finally died miserably.

She didn’t want to die like that again. So, Annette decided to change everything one by one right away.

Like her second marriage.

Fortunately thanks to the memories of her previous life, this wedding was much easier. In fact, it seemed that it couldn’t have worked out better than this.

Annette, in the past, was very upset on the day of her wedding. She got married as if she was being kicked out from her family under false pretenses, and her husband, Rafael was frighteningly cold towards her. The evil gossips and murmurs of the guests flew into a frightened Annette’s ears and left a great scar. Her previous immature self couldn’t contain her anxiety until the end, and she cried a lot during the wedding.

Of course, Rafael’s face became grim when he experienced this. He misunderstood that Annette cried because she didn’t want to marry him and ended up hating her more.

Since Rafael was originally an illegitimate child, he had a strong insecurity towards his origin.

Annette’s tears ended up having an adverse negative effect. It made people’s curiosity even bigger. The guests were thrilled to see how unhappy she looked at her wedding and how sadly she cried. A lot of bad rumours spread because of this incident and this made Rafael feel uncomfortable throughout his honeymoon. She sighed as she remembered the past.

‘Now let’s not make that mistake again.’

So Annette smiled as if she was happy this time. She blushed shyly, clasped Rafael’s arms, and kept her new bride-like, fluttering smile. She raised her head proudly and looked only forward, ignoring the evil chatters of others. Then their voices gradually faded and died down.

“…Didn’t you say it was a political marriage? For something like that, the bride looks very happy. She looks like she has a crush on the groom.”

“Somehow I felt like the Bavarian family was giving up their precious daughter. Maybe the young lady begged them to marry the Marquis of Carnes first? He’s actually very good-looking. Look at those robes. Oh my God!”

“Well, it’s because Bavaria is so great. But Marquis of Carnes is also a good marriage prospect. There are rumors that he will soon become the Master of Swords. I even heard that he got a huge reward for his great work in the last war. You know what he got? Iron ore and diamond mines! If I were her, even I would fall in love with him!”

“Shh! The Duke of Bavaria looked this way. Let’s be careful.”

The guests who were gossiping and giggling among themselves, became quiet at once when Annette’s father, Allamand Bavaria looked at them. Annette’s father,the Duke of Bavaria was a very powerful man. The family of Bavaria had a reputation for being the noblest family after the Royal family in the capital. The fame and wealth that they’ve built over hundreds of years was so big, that no one dared to compare with them.  Those who were jealous of them, sometimes sarcastically called them ‘Blue Blooded Bavarians’ due to their cold blooded nature.

Therefore, Annette’s father regarded the wedding as a great disgrace. If it hadn’t been for ‘the incident,’ he would have never let Annette get married to an illegitimate child like Rafael in the first place.

However Annette was inevitably married to Rafael in her previous life, and throughout her married life, she struggled to mediate between her father and her husband.

‘Of course, I couldn’t satisfy both. I was so stupid.’

Annette laughed, thinking of her previous naive and immature self.

But no matter what the inside story behind this marriage was, it was time for her to play a happy bride. Annette took a steady step, maintaining the shy smile on her face. When she walked proudly, only looking forward, the murmurs around her soon faded away. At last, she could see the podium where the pastor was waiting in the distance.

Annette seeing this, suddenly slowed down. It was a slight act of hesitation which contrasted with the previous her who was confidently smiling and walking down the aisle

“Ah”

The moment she saw the podium, Annette suddenly became aware of the reality. The podium brought back the memories of her previous miserable marriage.

‘Will this marriage be terrible again this time? Am I going to be sick and die miserably again?’

Annette stopped walking. She felt as if she was rushing into a cliff, knowing it was right before her. Annette hesitated for a moment due to her past trauma.

Suddenly, she felt a strong force tugging her hands and dragging her forward. It was none other than Rafael, who was escorting her.

“Rafael?…..Why all of a sudden

A surprised Annette turned her head unconsciously and stared at Rafael. Beyond a thin veil, she saw a handsome man with black hair. Rafael, who was much taller than Annette, was stubbornly looking ahead. His red plump lips, under his cold, sleek nose were mesmerizing. A low voice came out of them, which could only be heard by her.

“Keep smiling, and don’t stop again. There is nowhere to escape.”

Annette laughed bitterly at the oppressive tone of the man. Rafael was right. Thanks to his warning, Annette was able to walk comfortably down the wedding aisle without much effort.

Maybe it’s because he thought she was dizzy, he grabbed her arms more tightly.

His grip was rather reassuring. Annette looked ahead with a more sincere heart. Then she saw her father in the distance. The Duke of Bavaria was as perfect as ever.

Annette’s mother was already dead, and her brother was unable to attend her wedding as he was in an another country. That’s why her father was the only one from her  family that was present here. Allamand Bavaria, with a sleek face and striking platinum blond hair, looked incredibly young. It was hard to believe that this man had fathered two grown up children.

The expression of the Duke of Bavaria was so calm, that no one was able to know what was going in his mind. Because of this, the guests gossiped as they liked.

“Well, look at the Duke’s face. I think he’s sad since his daughter is getting married. I guess she’s lucky. She’s such a pretty daughter, who wouldn’t feel sad to part from her.”

“Look at Annette on the other hand. She is smiling like a blooming flower. She looks so cute. Maybe the young bride has a crush on the groom. Looking at them like this, they look much better together than I thought.”

The gossips of the ignorant guests worked towards her favour this time. Although Annette became an immature young lady who had fallen for Rafael, this was indeed not bad. Because of this, Rafael’s expression as he walked next to her became much softer. Just because she didn’t upset him in anyway, the wedding was a success.

As she listened to the pastor’s speech, she sneaked a glance over at the place where the guests were sitting. Fortunately, the prince and his new fiancee were not there. Just like her previous life, he didn’t attend Annette’s wedding this time too. It was rather a good thing.

Annette was relieved to know that the prince and his fiancee didn’t attend her wedding. They sure would have made the whole ceremony awkward. The guests didn’t know anything about this as the Duke had made sure to silence this matter.

If it continues like this, the wedding would end well. If only the last procedure of the ceremony could also go well.

“Now, the groom may kiss the bride and then take your vows.”

The words coming from the pastor’s mouth sounded like a death sentence. At least it did for Annette.

Annette, who was very nervous, grabbed the bouquet tightly without realizing it. She was unsure whether Rafael would kiss her this time.

Rafael, in her previous life….was very angry. And it was somewhat her fault.

When the pastor said the words, Annette cried during the wedding ceremony. It was a marriage that neither of them wanted, but Annette couldn’t control her facial expression. Because of this, Rafael became very angry and responded coldly to the pastor’s request to kiss her.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just finish the vows.”

So their first wedding ended up becoming a joke. Annette became the first bride to be never kissed by the groom and this made her father, Allamand very angry. Of course it wasn’t because he loved Annette.

Allamand considered this as an insult as the status of Bavaria was ignored in public and that too by an illegitimate child like Rafael. Naturally, an angry Allamand had a big fight with Rafael at the reception. Annette, who became the cause of the fight, was so ashamed that she just wanted to die.

‘Please….I hope my marriage doesn’t end up like that, this time,

Annette bit her lips tightly, and nervously waited for Rafael’s next move. Soon, the transparent veil on her head was lifted and Rafael’s face came in front of her eyes.

With a white, handsome face and dark black hair hanging down, he was a very attractive man. However, his dark blue eyes looking at her were very cold. Even though he had hardened his face not to reveal his emotions, Annette could still clearly see a look of reluctance on his face. He was unwilling to kiss her. The moment she saw the cold expression, Annette had a bad hunch.

‘Oh, Rafael won’t kiss me this time.’

Annette lowered her eyes to hide her disappointment. She was worried about how to stop her father, who would blame Rafael and fight with him at the reception.

At that moment, a crazy idea flashed through Annette’s mind.

‘Wait a minute, is it necessary to wait for the groom to kiss first? If I do it first, will it not serve the purpose?