🌷 Chapter Twenty-Six –
What Annette wanted was to reaffirm her marriage vows.
The marriage vows between the two were supposed to take place in a small church outside Lieder, and all the necessary documents were carefully prepared, but people's trust was missing.
Therefore, it was necessary to complete the matter more firmly by using the name of the central priest of the main church in the Odentine Empire.
Annette was determined to regain the cardinal's lost honor by completing construction of the abandoned church and using that honor to secure her marriage.
Degrelle smiled maliciously and said that he would review the marriage vows himself, and with his agreement, another person rose to prove the marriage of Annette and Theodore.
Theodore felt a little uneasy about the questionable ease of the matter, then slowed down a little and opened his mouth.
The two had already left the church and walked to the carriage when he spoke.
“It turned out to be easier than I thought.
I knew he would accept our proposal without a doubt.
Although he is a religious person, he is overly honest with money.”
"Because he is a religious person, he cannot refuse.
Even if it is just a facade, he is still a priest.
Every time he passed by the cathedral that had become deserted, he must have felt ashamed internally.
Moreover, since the construction cost was over, he no longer has any money, so he cannot even go to the gambling house."
“So this is the real reason.”
Annette nodded.
“Are we coming to church next week?”
“Shouldn't we come and see how people reacted to our appearance today?
If I had known the cathedral was such an interesting place, I would have come here more often.”
Annette agreed with him.
It seemed like the people who saw it wanted to go to the newspaper and report everything that happened today.
Everyone was well aware of Theodore's mood, so they did not dare to approach him, but Annette was more terrified of what would happen if she stayed alone with them.
“You're very helpful that way.”
“It is an honor to have the Holy Spirit finally acknowledge my usefulness.
It seems good that we came to the cathedral today.”
Theodore raised Annette's hand and kissed it.
Shouts and gasps came from the people gathered around the cathedral when they saw this unexpected scene.
Only Annette's expression froze.
She was well aware that him kissing the back of her hand was a red flag.
“Your aunt is coming here.”
Theodore smiled and conveyed the meaning of the kiss in small, whisper-like words.
Casselia and Bjorn, who had approached Annette from a distance as if they were about to come to them, stopped walking.
After staring at Annette for a moment, perhaps because Cassilia felt embarrassed by Theodore's behaviour, she turned towards the sacrificial place and walked away from them.
“Looks like I'll be meeting them soon.”
“I don't know about your aunt, but you will be able to get along well with your uncle.”
“Why?”
“Even if he tries to stomp on you, you will be able to overcome him because he is an easy person to read.
But Lady Casselia is much stronger than Master Bjorn.”
Sooner or later there would be a struggle over the heir to the title of Marquis Scheringen.
Bjorn would claim the title for himself as a man, but his incompetence was a well-known fact among his kin and to them he was no threat.
However, Casselia was different from her younger brother.
She was well known within the Shiringen family and knew how to manage things, how to disguise herself cleverly, and how to act cunningly.
Casselia married at a young age, but her husband died.
Although she was widowed, she was a woman who was able to take custody of her son against her husband's family, the Count.
Her courage and audacity to the point of stealing the eldest son of an aristocratic family meant that she was by no means an ordinary woman.
In many ways, she was the most difficult opponent for Annette to deal with.
Annette nodded quietly at Theodore's advice.
“We have accomplished our goal, so let us retreat for now.”
Now that the Duke and his wife were known among the people, it was time to board the carriage.
But before Annette even set foot in the cart, about ten steps away...
There was a woman with pale pink hair running around gracefully while smiling brightly.
'That girl...'
Annette immediately knew who it was.
'Yvonne Keibler.'
There were moments when Annette suddenly realized that this world wasn't real, and now was one of those few.
It was the first time she had seen her, but Annette knew her name immediately.
The woman had a soft appearance, but there was strength in her sparkling golden eyes, and although she had a lot of fear, she seemed stubborn and persistent.
Also, because of her short stature and soft hair, she was said to resemble a fairy.
She was the opposite of Annette in every way.
However, the biggest difference between the two women was in their inner selves, so their outer appearance had a completely opposite aura.
That girl was like a strong tree that did not shake even when strong winds swept through the forest, and the unreal color of her hair seemed to confirm that she was someone special.
She seemed to be the only colorful character taking a step forward in a static black-and-white world.
Everyone will know that she is special without having to think too much about it.
Because Yvonne was such a person.
Unlike Annette and Theodore, who would deceive others by pretending to be noble, Yvonne was a truly noble person.
“She looks so cute.”
Just as Annette muttered to herself, Yvonne, who was running, saw her and stopped in shock.
Then she quickly looked away and went on her way, ignoring Annette, but her inner excitement was evident on her face.
She was defensive towards Annette.
Annette was puzzled by Yvonne's reaction, as she ran away with deer-like eyes.
“What did I do to her to look at me like that?”
“Are you asking because you really don't know?”
"… I know."
“However, it's not nice to avoid someone openly like that.”
"Sorry?"
“The next time she ignores you like that, I will spill blood on that dress, not the wine you spilled on it at the last party.”
“Is this what I did to Miss Yvonne at the party?
That’s enough for her to ignore me like that.”
If Annette had been the one to encounter such a thing instead of Yvonne, she would have avoided meeting herself as well, but even if she met Yvonne with her new personality now, there was nothing she would say in her defense.
The present Annette knew nothing about the past, but she must have spoken harsh words and done deeds whenever she met Yvonne.
The more Annette faithfully plays the role of the pain-inflicting villain, the more Yvonne becomes hurt and the plot of the novel develops.
Of course, Annette's only job wasn't to cause distress to Yvonne.
Annette has always been someone who makes Yvonne's kind and honest personality stand out from others.
The heroine's main misfortune was, first of all, in her family affairs.
To sum up Yvonne Keibler's life in one word, she was like Cinderella.
She was playing a poor but beautiful and kind girl with a detailed story.
Yvonne was born as the daughter of a poor aristocrat in the countryside.
She went to Lieder City to earn money after facing all kinds of hardships.
Then she met Crown Prince Hugo by chance and fell in love.
Then Annette, who was in love with the Crown Prince, became a bully and annoyed her.
In order to fulfill her duties as a villain, Annette had to bear responsibility and torment Yvonne until the day Hugo became Emperor.
But now, Annette need not love Hugo or hate Yvonne.
"However, it's wrong for me to be friendly with her.
I don't even like her."
“Save your complaints until we get into the car.”
That was when Theodore opened the carriage door and took Annette's hand to help her get inside.
“It has been a while since we last met, Miss Annette.”
Yvonne, whom Annette had thought had disappeared, returned and casually greeted her.
Annette was very surprised by this.
She was already embarrassed that Yvonne had avoided meeting her earlier as if she had seen something unpleasant, but now that she understood why she was avoiding her, she was even more embarrassed and sank into her shame.
Should you greet her back?
“...long time no see...Miss Yvonne.”
Annette didn't have the courage not to answer.
Yvonne was a beautiful girl wearing a cute dress with a blue satin ribbon.
It was mentioned in the novel that she was very kind and affectionate, so becoming a nun seemed more suitable for her personality than becoming an empress.
Her personality, which was as beautiful as her appearance, made Annette dizzy.
Why did Yvonne come to talk first to the woman who had previously been harassing her?
Annette really wanted to avoid Yvonne, but when she came right in front of her and grabbed her hand, she had no chance to avoid her at all.
She's not finished thinking about what kind of relationship she'll have with Yvonne yet.
She wondered if she should be nice to her and try to become her friend, or if she should just coldly dismiss her like the original Annette had done so far.
“This is the first time we have met outside the ballroom.”
"Is this correct?"
“Are you pretending you don't remember?”
“No...I really don't remember.”
“What happened between us before must be so insignificant to Miss Annette that you have forgotten everything, but not to me.”
Annette bit her lip as she thanked the veil covering her face.
Yvonne's thin, elegant face stimulated her protective instincts and she immediately wanted to hug her and pat her on the back.
Her innocent face made it clear to Annette why Hugo worked so hard to protect Yvonne from everything around her.
On the other hand, what about Annette?
Annette's beauty had an annoying angle, which was that she never looked weak because of this beauty.
Her face was covered by a veil, but she was still very beautiful.
Even if she covered her slim body as much as possible with long, hideous black clothes, she would still look very gorgeous and narcissistic.
So far, it's been Yvonne who approached Annette first, but everyone will assume that Annette was the one who approached Yvonne in order to tease her.
But today, Yvonne unwittingly frightens Annette with an innocent face and stern eyes that remind her of her mistakes.
But in reality, she didn't even know what the original Annette had done to her, so she didn't know how to respond to her words.
Why in God's name had Yvonne come to talk to her?
Meanwhile, Theodore was watching the situation while covering the corner of his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter.
Seeing Annette's ability to cope was very ironic.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but I’ve been away from Lider for a long time, so maybe I forgot...”
“No, don’t forget.
Please don’t forget because you have to apologize to me.”
“I apologize to you?”
“You spilled wine on my dress and insulted me with your words.
I was in a hurry that day, so I couldn’t ask you this at the time, but now I formally ask you for a befitting apology.”
Yvonne persistently asked Annette to apologize for what she had done.
Annette didn't know whether Yvonne was deliberately clever or if she had mistakenly chosen this opportunity to insult Annette, but the cathedral had become a good stage for such a scene.
Right now, once Annette is gone, rumors will spread about her attitude toward the prince's lover whom she loved before her marriage.
So Annette tried to escape the situation immediately by apologizing appropriately to avoid problems.
“I...”
“Hello, Miss Yvonne.
Could you give me a chance to say hello to you as well?”
But then Theodore objected to her apology.