Wilhelm continued, admiring Anastasia’s face, which was red to the lobe of her ear.
“Tell me. Because you didn’t answer me earlier.”
“What…”
“Young and pretty men.”
He exhaled calmly, but behind the scenes, he felt a sense of nervousness that could not be hidden.
He asked hurriedly.
“Were there many?”
“Well…”
Unaware of that, Anastasia was naively thinking seriously.
‘… were there a lot?’
Actually, she didn’t know. As Wilhelm was not there, there were of course many young people who greeted her, but if there was anyone who impressed her… … there wasn’t anyone like that at all.
She was already in love to the death with a handsome man before another man would catch her eye in the first place.
“I don’t know. Well, everyone had to be young. It must have been their coming-of-age ceremony last month.”
In the end, she said, with the tone of uncertainty.
“And their faces… … Everyone seemed to be in good shape. Well, they must have prepared hard for today.”
The vague answer gave Wilhelm some serious thought, and while it was absurd, the situation was just funny.
But apart from that, it was strangely frustrating. In the end, Wilhelm complained, narrowing his eyebrows.
“Because I’m a person that is anxious.”
“You are… ?”
“Only you don’t know.”
“Your Majesty!”
At that time, a sharp voice came from somewhere looking for Wilhelm. It was Colton’s, by all accounts.
Wilhelm sighed with a troubled look.
“I got caught in the end. I have to go now.”
“Why are you here when you’re so busy?”
“I told you. I came because I missed you.”
Then Wilhelm kissed Anastasia’s forehead. Anastasia looked at Wilhelm in amazement.
He added with a grin.
“I wanted to keep doing this.”
“…”
“See you again, Anastasia.”
As if he was disappointed, he loosened his arm holding Anastasia and left with a goodbye.
“Get some rest.”
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!”
Wilhelm, who shouted once as if he was bored, eventually left the reception room, and Anastasia, who was left alone, with a blank face, gently touched the two places where his lips had touched.
‘…are you really liking this?’
Of course, as they agreed to the progress of the “couple” relationship, she was prepared that a certain amount of physical affection would be inevitable.
But she didn’t know he’d be so active!
‘Right now, the situation was too…’
Too much, there were many similarities with the situation before regression. To the point where her startled heart beated with hurried alarm.
Anastasia continued to lick her lips with a puzzled expression on her face, and then shook her head.
‘Get a hold of yourself. Now, Avelin is here.’
It wasn’t time to indulge in useless sentiment.
Anastasia, who immediately returned to her room, began to calmly write down what she had to do to clean up before the deposition.
~~~~
And it was not long after.
“Your Majesty, the High Priest has arrived.”
– Clap!
Anastasia, who was having her tea time, heard this and she was so startled that she dropped the teacup from her hand.
The white teacup shattered on the marble floor, and the red tea water stained her white dress like blood.
“Your Majesty, are you okay?”
Mrs. Rochester, who had brought her news, was startled and hurried to her, and Anastasia struggled to pretend to be calm and nodded her head.
“… it’s okay. Rather, the High Priest has come?”
“Yes. However, the expression on his face shows that something serious is going on…”
“Guide me, right now.”
It never occurred to her that she had to change her tea-stained dress.
Anastasia walked as fast as she could and headed towards the reception room.
Her heart was beating so fast that her heartbeat was buzzing in her ears.
Her stomach churned as if she was going to vomit everything she ate earlier.
She tried to keep her composure as much as she could, but she never really wanted to go through this moment again… … She could never be okay with it.
She looked like she was going to fall.
“… High Priest.”
Finally, Anastasia entered the parlor with a slender voice.
Lyell quickly rose from his seat and bowed to Anastasia.
“…”
Anastasia looked at the teacup in front of Lyell with a pale face.
The red tea water, which had not diminished in the slightest, seemed to fill her stomach.
“I see your Majesty the Empress, the moon of the Empire.”
“… Welcome, High Priest. It’s been a long time.”
Anastasia sat down in front of Lyell as calmly as possible.
Anastasia, who had lost her patience, began to ask.
“What are you doing here? You must have been very busy shortly after you regained consciousness.”
“… that is.”
Lyell couldn’t speak easily with a perplexed look on his face. Anastasia saw that and was convinced.
He was… … different. The ‘thing’ she expected was just about to happen.
“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you, so I have come to visit you.”
“Why are you so dreary?”
Anastasia said, trying to hide her trembling voice.
“Tell me.”
“…”
But even after the permission had been granted, he only licked his lips for a long time.
That means it’s a huge issue.
“I’m sorry, Empress.”
And finally, he spoke. Anastasia’s heart began to beat as fast as a drum.
“The oracle is wrong.”
-thud!
“Your Majesty is not the woman of the oracle.”
At last, Anastasia’s world collapsed.
~~~~
The oracle is wrong. Your Majesty is not the woman of the oracle”
In the end, the same situation happened before the return without missing a single thing.
After these words, there was only a rat-dead silence between the two of them for a long time.
Although Anastasia had already made up her mind, she had a blank expression on her face, and Lyell’s expression was gloomy.
“… I have no idea what this is all about.”
It was Anastasia who broke the silence first. As planned, she calmly began acting.
“Is the oracle wrong? Am I not the oracle woman? What does that mean?”
“Actually, a new oracle came down a few days ago.”
Lyell quietly opened his mouth.
“The Goddess said that she had made a mistake in her choice three years ago, and therefore she said that the present Empress she said was not the daughter of her choosing.”
In other words, she was abandoned. Lyell had been saying those words for a very long time.
Anyway, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling to be abandoned by someone.
Just because she already knew it didn’t really alleviate her feelings.
“If you say that, there must have been someone chosen by the Goddess instead of me.”
“That’s right.”
“Who is that?”
“It is Avelin, the Hazel family’s Lady.”
“… If it’s Avelin Hazel.”
“She may have met Her Majesty, too, because she was the debutante of the year.”
“… Yes. Looking back, I think she greeted me.”
Anastasia let out a short sigh and then moved on.
“Is she the one Coddess Rosenia chose instead of me?”
“That’s right. Of course, I am not saying that without proof.”
“… evidence.”
“Yes. It’s been confirmed.”
Lyell nodded his head.
“The rose, the goddess’s mark. It was also found on the young Hazel.”
So far it was as expected.
However, a strange thing happened.
“It has also been confirmed that Lady Hazel can use divine power.”
“… Divine power?”
Anastasia was genuinely surprised for the first time. Confused, she asked for confirmation.
“Is that really true? Lady Hazel can use divine power?”
“All the priests of the Great Temple have confirmed it. She saved the life of a dying bird right in front of us.”
“…”
In an unexpected situation, Anastasia lost her words.
‘The divine power.’
The divine power was a very rare and precious power as a direct proof of the grace of the Goddess Rosenia.
Because of this, those who were born with divine power became priests and received precious treatment regardless of gender, age or rank.
Even the direct descendants of the Rosenberg imperial family, descendants of the goddess, lost their innate divine power as time passed after the founding of the country.
Neither Wilhelm nor the deceased Emperor Alexander could use divine powers.
Since it was such a rare power, no one pointed out that Anastasia was not able to exert her divine power even though she was appointed by the oracle.
Therefore…
‘If she can even use the divine power… … Isn’t the game already over?’
If it was the combination of the sign of the Goddess and the divine power, the symbol of grace, no one could doubt that the ‘real’ one was Avelin.
Things were going smoothly like water. Anastasia said she almost said, ‘Okay,’ but she hurriedly bit her mouth.
‘It seems that the Goddess never intended to watch her oracle be turned upside down this time.’
While her sign of the Goddess has disappeared, the setting that Avelin can use divine power had been added, so who can stop fate now?
… she thought so
“I have no intention of dethroning the Empress.”
“But, Your Majesty, for the sake of a peaceful future for the Empire, you must change the Empress.”
“Even if Anastasia is not the woman of the oracle, she is my wife. I can’t throw her away.”
That difficult thing, someone was trying to put it off.
No other than the descendant of the Goddess and the man she loves.
