“My lady, you look so beautiful!”

“Thank you, Sofia… but why are you crying?”

“M-my lady is… is… is leaving me! Wahh!”

Eva flicked her maid’s forehead, making her let out a yelp. She patted Sofia on her head and said, “I’m not going anywhere, and even if I do, I will still take you with me.” She winked. “And that is an order.”

“My lady…” Sofia teared up once more and lunged forward, hugging her and crying. “My ladyyy!”

“You are going to wrinkle the dress, Sofia!” Eva chided, but couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She never thought she would be marrying the same man twice, but she couldn’t be happier to go through with it. Ever since the underground arena incident, Eva and Minos had been planning their wedding while keeping every detail in mind, though they had to spend much time testifying to her sister’s crimes to clear all obstacles standing in their way. Till the end, Lena showed no remorse, and she faced her death without ever uttering a word of apology to the victims.

Sofia still didn’t stop crying, so another maid came over and pried her away from Eva. “Come on, Sofia,” she said, pulling her away. “You can’t be doing this on such an auspicious day.”

“Wahhh… My ladyyy…”

Eva sighed and looked in the mirror. It had been months now since she came back to the past, and she was still getting used to her younger appearance. Seeing herself in a wedding dress on top of this youthfulness made her feel like she was in a different person’s body. She wondered if Minos felt the same.

“My lady,” said the third maid, smiling. “It is time.”

Eva nodded, and the maids bowed, two of them holding the doors open, revealing a long carpeted way leading to an altar where Minos was standing. He was in the same black-and-gold formal suit that he wore in his previous life. Eva felt tears welling up in her eyes. She never thought she would be able to experience the happiest moment of her life twice.

She strode down the path, the crowd cheering and clapping. People from all over the empire came; from the guildmasters of Vallou to the knights of other marquisates. There was even a prince here.

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Eva reached the altar and stood facing Minos, both of them smiling from ear to ear.

“Blessings upon all,” said the cleric behind the altar. “We are here today to witness the birth of a marriage between Lord Minos Ganakos and Lady Eva Vallou…”

Minos grabbed her hands, holding them up to the waist and looking into her eyes. All noises seemed to die down, and only they existed, at least at this moment. It was not until the cleric coughed after he had finished giving the opening words that they snapped out of their trances.

“Do you, Lord Minos Ganakos, take unto thyself as the husband of Lady Eva Vallou and pledge unto her to be her protector, to honor and sustain her, in sickness and in health, in fair and in foul, so long as ye shall both live?”

“I do,” Minos said.

“Do you, Lady Eva Vallou, take unto thyself as the wife of Lord Minos Ganakos and pledge unto him, to be his protector, to honor and cherish him, in sickness and in health, in fair and in foul, so long as ye shall both live?”

“I do,” Eva said.

“Let these rings be symbols of thy union and represent thy loyalty. May thee receive these rings and testify to the world an unshakable covenant.” The cleric brought two rings on a cushion and presented them to the couple. Eva and Minos had tried to find the same jeweler in their past life, but there was no trace of him in the whole empire. It was as if he had vanished, so they settled on a renowned jeweler in the marquisate instead, and they were both delighted when they saw the final products.

Minos and Eva picked up their partner’s rings respectively.

“Receive this ring as a symbol of my trust, my loyalty, and my love for you,” Minos said, inserting the ring on her finger.

“Receive this ring as a symbol of my trust, my loyalty, and my love for you,” Eva said, doing the same with his finger.

“Then you both can—“

“Please wait,” Minos and Eva said at the same time. “We would like to pledge another vow.”

The cleric furrowed his brows but nodded anyways.

Minos and Eva looked into each other’s eyes. They shared a deep, long stare with each other, and Minos said first, “Lady Eva, with you, I vow to live and to die as one, to share each and everything, to be of one mind, to our eternity.”

“Lord Minos, with you, I vow to live and to die as one, to share each and everything, to be of one mind, to our eternity.”

They looked at the cleric and nodded.

“Then you both can now kiss.”

Eva and Minos leaned against one another and shared a deep kiss. People started cheering, the warriors hooting, the merchants clapping.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Eva didn’t want to part her lips from his, but she told herself that later that night she would be able to monopolize his lips all she wanted. She put her body against his, feeling tears running down her face, and he hugged her back.

“To our eternity,” he said.

“To our eternity,” she finished.