Chapter 34 (2/2)

Annette, who was lost in her thoughts, was lovingly embraced by Raphael. He then kissed her little head. With a flushed face, Annette said goodbye to Diana, who was enviously looking at them.

“Then Lady McClaire. My wife is tired, so we’ll take our leave. Please excuse us.”

Diana turned around in humiliation and looked at the backs of the man and the woman. Just like the loving couples in the pictures, they hugged each other’s shoulders and waist and headed for the carriage together. In particular, the appearance of Raphael with a sturdy built, bowing down towards the slender Annette was a scene that made even the viewers blush.

‘You’ll see, I’ll also get into a relationship this year!’

With a firm resolution in her mind, Diana turned around. At that moment, her eyes teared up as she thought that she could never be completely happy, even if the ironware business of her family went well. If the iron sells well, Raphael’s iron ore mine will also become profitable, and he would buy Annette a lot of diamonds with that money.

Diana was so envious that she shed tears in her heart. Even if Annette couldn’t become the Crown Princess, it didn’t really matter. She now had such a hot and loving husband! At that moment, she envied Annette ten times more than Celestine. For her, seeing Annette walk affectionately with her husband was more hurtful than seeing Celestine receiving wedding gifts from the royal family.

Meanwhile, Annette, riding in the carriage after leaving Diana, breathed a sigh of relief. She carefully opened her mouth, blushing with shame.

“That …. Thank you very much for that, Raphael…. For being on my side.”

When Annette expressed her heartfelt gratitude, Raphael felt awkward for no reason. He actually started to hate Diana, who was acting like a fox. Although seeing that her husband was standing next to her, she still indirectly asked Annette, ‘Isn’t it sad that you couldn’t marry another man?’ It felt as if someone was pricking his body with thousands of needles. So he wanted to prove that Annette’s marriage with him was not something to be disappointed about. That was all.

However, he couldn’t be honest about this childish feeling. In the first place, Raphael was a very stubborn man, so he always spoke very frankly. Because of this, he replied bluntly to Annette’s ‘thank you’.

“If you’re grateful, just make sure your hand gets well soon.”

He didn’t remember how Annette’s hand got injured, but he knew it was probably his  fault. Whenever Raphael saw her bandaged hand, he felt uncomfortable. He thought it would have been better, if it was his hand that had gotten injured.

“I’ll get better soon. Thank you for today.”

Annette replied with an idiotic smile. Though they encountered a little bump in the middle, her first outing with Raphael was much better than what she expected. She not only went to Robert’s cemetery, which she didn’t even know about in her previous life, but also dined with Raphael and drank alcohol. Although she hated Diana’s interruption, she was able to deal with her, thanks to Raphael’s help.

‘Come to think of it, Miss Diana… She didn’t seem to know anything about my false charges.’

Annette recalled Diana’s expression and tone as she looked at her. If she had known about Annette’s false charges, she would have taunted her with it right away. Considering how Diana was Celestine’s best friend, she was surprised by how perfect Bavaria’s ‘silencing of the matter’ was. Although Annette didn’t like her family very much, she felt comfortable because of it.

While Annette was lost in thought, the carriage quietly headed home. The town they stopped by was not much far away, so they soon arrived at the mansion. Before entering her room, Annette turned towards Raphael in the hallway.

“Good night, Raphael. I really enjoyed going out with you.”

Raphael nodded without much response. Annette was actually now much more familiar with Raphael’s blunt responses. As soon as she turned around, Raphael’s low voice came from behind.

“Annette.”

“Yeah?”

As she turned her head, she saw Raphael  standing stiffly in the dark corridor, looking up at her. Raphael’s white face, which did not get tanned even after all the rigorous training in the sun, was as immaculate as a marble sculpture. His red lips hesitated for a while. And soon Annette was asked a question that she had never expected.

“That.. What you said….Was it true?”

“What do you mean?”

“That, you don’t regret…….”

Raphael couldn’t directly ask her, “Was marrying me really the best option?” Annette, who had never thought he would ask such a question, opened her eyes wide.