Until The Real One Shows Up​

“Welcome!”

A middle-aged woman greeted the two who came to her stall.

“Take your time to choose. We’re offering you a good deal.”

While Anastasia answered with a smile, Wilhelm picked up the necklace that first caught his eye.

It was a necklace made of red stone, with an unusual letter clearly engraved in small letters in the center.

Suddenly, Anastasia’s gaze turned to the necklace he picked up, and the owner of the street vendor next to him trembled with a high voice.

“Oh my, my oh my! Well done! It’s perfect for your wife!”

“I, me…?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it match perfectly with these bright red eyes? A handsome man with a good eye!”

Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a bewildered expression, and Wilhelm, who was still staring at the necklace in his hand, slowly turned towards her.

Wilhelm smiled as he lifted the necklace in front of Anastasia and set it over her neck.

“It suits you.”

“Ah…”

“How much is this?”

“Give me ten silver coins.”

The owner answered coldly.

“It may seem expensive, but ten silver coins are very cheap. After all, this is a necklace that contains the breath of the goddess Rosenia.”

“… A necklace with the breath of a goddess?”

“Yes. It is a sacred necklace that protects the wearer from evil and unclean things.”

 “Eh, how can you do that?”

Anastasia looked at the owner with a puzzled expression.

No matter how much Rosenberg venerated goddess Rosenia, overflowing with all kinds of marketing merchandise related to her… 

‘The breath of the goddess is too far.’

Besides, ten silver coins for one of these street vendor necklaces. It was too expensive.

It was when Anastasia was about to tell Wilhelm to leave because she was fine.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you, guest!”

Wilhelm, without hesitation, took out his wallet and handed the owner ten silver coins, and Anastasia belatedly stopped him.

“Majest, Will… … I’m fine.”

“It looks good on you.”

Wilhelm smiled faintly and placed her necklace on Anastasia’s neck. Then, his smile mixed with joy.

“I also like that it’s a necklace with the breath of the Goddess.”

That’s just a trick.….

‘Why are you so naive to fall for something like this?’

Anastasia was displeased with him on the inside, but she didn’t show it on the outside, she just smiled.

‘Yeah, who cares?’

It didn’t matter what she did with him today.

Even if that necklace was worth 100 silver coins instead of 10 silver coins, she decided to let it pass on as generously as he was today.

“But let me ask you one thing.”

Then Wilhelm asked the street vendor.

“Where did you get this?”

“Yes?”

“Did you make this necklace yourself?”

Overwhelmed by the persistently asked questions, the owner of the street vendor shook his head without realizing it and told the truth.

“Oh, no. It’s not… … Actually, I bought it for one silver coin at the antique market while traveling… … Oh my, what am I saying now!”

“…”

“Uh, anyway, it’s from a foreign country, so it’s bound to cost more. Most of all, it really suits your wife, right?”

While the vendor’s owner was speaking gibberish, Wilhelm clasped Anastasia’s shoulders, clutching the necklace, and walked away from the vendor.

Behind him, he hears the urgent cry of the stall owner, ‘Good-bye!’, and Anastasia quietly complained to him.

“Isn’t that too much of a gimmick? A necklace with the breath of the Goddess. After all, Rosenberg abuses the name of the Goddess too recklessly.”

“Gimmick, is it?”

Wilhelm smiled as he thought for a moment.

“It could be.”

“Is that necklace the one you wanted to check?”

“Yes.”

Wilhelm nodded his head.

“I wanted to. But it’s the same and maybe it’s not…”

“What does that mean?”

“A necklace that contains the breath of a goddess.”

Wilhelm replied with a smile.

“It really exists.”

“Yes?”

“Well, I didn’t buy it with certainty. I’ll have to ask the temple to check if it’s really true. First of all, I do not know the new language, so I do not know exactly what is written here.”

“Wow… But maybe we were lucky enough to find the relic?”

“It is very likely not. Would it be easy to find something like this?”

“For a person who says that, you bought it without hesitation.”

“Yeah…”

Wilhelm said, looking into Anastasia’s red eyes.

“Because it looks good on you, wife.”

“…”

“So whether it’s a holy thing or not, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”

With those words, Wilhelm took a step closer to Anastasia.

Naturally, before attending the recent Goddess’ rites, she looked away from him with her nervous look, as Anastasia recalled what had happened with him.

Then he gently collected Anastasia’s fine hair, swept it to one side, and carefully hung the necklace around Anastasia’s neck.

As his long, slender fingers gently brushed against her skin, she felt a cool sensation on her warm neck, and at the same time felt his hot breath.

As he leaned closely to Anastasia to put the necklace on, Anastasia felt her heart beating fast as if she was running, even though she was clearly standing still.

Anastasia bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to control her composure, but it was not as easy as she thought, and her breathing kept trembling.

Her breathing was tense enough to worry that he might notice it.

Anastasia was finally relieved after hearing the sound of the button locking on her necklace.

But when she was vigilant, the crisis came.

“Ah…”

The moment he tried to detach himself from her, Wilhelm and Anastasia’s faces intersected strangely.

Anastasia looked at Wilhelm in front of her nose with her eyes widening in surprise. If she made even the slightest mistake, their lips would touch.

Besides, Wilhelm looked at Anastasia with an indecipherable gaze, not moving from that position.

That long stalemate made Anastasia choke with tension.

“Why are you so nervous?”

At one point, Wilhelm grinned and tapped Anastasia’s cheek. At the same time, Anastasia’s tension dispersed like a deflated balloon.

But still he did not intend to move from that state, Anastasia was unable to completely free the strength from her body.

“Someone would think I’m eating you. That’s the expression on your face.”

“…”

“It’s like a rabbit trembling in front of a wild beast.”

And then he smiled sweetly, Anastasia narrowed her brow and took a step away from Wilhelm.

But Wilhelm still smiled calmly and couldn’t take his eyes off Anastasia.

“The owner is right. It matches well.”

“I’ll take the gift gratefully.”

Anastasia said, trying hard and calmly.

“It won’t be mine if it’s clear that it’s really a holy thing.”

“No, you just keep it.”

“What? But…….”

“Come to think of it.”

Wilhelm cut Anastasia’s words softly and said.

“I don’t think there is any need to ask the temple for a test. When it becomes clear that this is a sacred thing, it is obvious that they will ask you to release it.”

It will be. Most of the relics in Rosenberg were kept in the temple for research purposes.

“It’s strangely distasteful. It seems that the necklace suits you more than the temple.”

Wilhelm nodded his head as if he was right no matter what she thought.

“I’d rather you just have it.”

“Still…”

“Since it’s my gift, wouldn’t it be right to obey my will?”

At his gentle persuasion, Anastasia hesitated and finally nodded her head. At that moment, Wilhelm’s expression brightened.

“Good. Listen carefully.”

With those words, Wilhelm stroked Anastasia’s head, and Anastasia looked at him with a strange expression.

Wilhelm asked her with a faint smile.

“Are not you hungry? Shall we go over there?”

~~~~

The place Wilhelm took Anastasia to was a street lined with street food stalls.

A delicious stench was everywhere, and Wilhelm asked Anastasia.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Yes. There is.”

When the first clear answer came, Wilhelm looked quite startled. Then, Anastasia’s fingertips pointed somewhere.

“That?”

“Yes.”

“… okay. That would be nice too.”

“Then I’ll buy two.”

Anastasia rushed to the store and then came with two paper boxes.

Inside… … There was none other than a sausage made from giblets.

‘Oh, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten it.’

Because by-products such as giblets were not well handled by the Imperial Palace, Anastasia would occasionally go out into the streets to eat giblets with Wilhelm.

‘Wilhelm loved it, too.’

Anastasia, who took a delicious bite, turned her head in anticipation of Wilhelm’s reaction.

But… … His expression was strangely distorted.