Until The Real One Shows Up​

“The oracle is wrong. The current Empress is not the woman of the oracle.”

Yesterday, when Lyell, who came out of nowhere, said that, Wilhelm snorted.

“You’re joking, High Priest.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

There was no wavering in the words of the High Priest that followed.

Wilhelm’s expression hardened at the circumstances he calmly explained the evidence he presented.

“… This.”

After a while, Wilhelm asked Lyell with an absurd expression.

“Do you think it makes sense now?”

“Everything is the will of the Goddess.”

In front of Wilhelm, who quietly showed his anger, Lyell calmly responded.

“It is also not unheard of for oracles to change.”

“Therefore?”

Wilhelm asked with a smile.

“What do you want to say?”

“It is believed that the situation needs to be rectified according to the oracle.”

“Correct the situation?”

“Make Lady Hazel Empress.”

“The current Empress must be dethroned.”

Wilhelm looked at Lyell with a sharp gaze and added the omitted content before Lyell’s words.

“Are you trying to say that?”

“… I apologize to the Empress.”

“Excuse me?”

That word completely offended Wilhelm. He spoke in an angry voice.

“She was chosen by the Goddess, so you forced her to marry, but it wasn’t true, so you’re apologizing for telling her to divorce? Does the High Priest see this as a matter that can be easily resolved with words like that?”

“…”

“It’s very convenient to be able to control people’s lives and make all excuses with just one oracle. Is that really the will of the Goddess for her descendants?”

“Your Majesty, those words…”

“If you ask me to understand this ridiculous situation.”

Wilhelm cut off Lyell’s words and made his intentions clear.

“I’ll try. But implementation is another matter. I have no intention of deposing the Empress.”

“I understand you are upset.”

Lyell tried to dissuade Wilhelm with a calm voice.

“It’s not a matter for you to decide emotionally. Your Majesty knows better than anyone what the meaning of the Goddess Rosenia in Rosenberg is.”

It was a country that had been alive and well under the protection of the Goddess since the founding of the Goddess.

Considering the symbolism of the Goddess to the people, even if he was the Emperor, he could not ignore the will of the Goddess.

“I just hope that Your Majesty’s wisdom will shine again this time.”

“… We’ll talk again at the meeting tomorrow.”

Wilhelm ended the conversation in a low voice.

“The High Priest should attend with the other priests. Of course, with that ‘real’ woman.”

“I see, Your Majesty.”

Lyell was relieved at those words. He thought his advice had worked for the wise man.

But in reality it was quite the opposite.

‘I’m going to have to nail it down for sure at tomorrow’s meeting.’

So no one will ever be able to say in front of him that he must change the Empress ever again.

He had no intention of changing his Empress.

As a descendant of a Goddess, he always respected oracles, but this was difficult.

‘The Empress will soon find out about this.’

After him, Lyell will be going to tell Anastasia this nonsense. He let out a short sigh.

‘… You will be very surprised.’

It’s like being struck by lightning in the dry sky. For three years she had lived with a firm belief that she was the woman of the oracle, and she is now and not now.* Besides, she has to give up the position of Empress.

*TN: she currently is but also isn’t because of the new oracle

‘Should I go to comfort her?’

He would never divorce her, and she will be his Empress now, forever and until the day he dies.

As he got up from his seat worriedly, a nonsensical thought grabbed him and made him stop.

‘… Don’t tell me you’re embracing the situation.’

He had an ominous feeling that she might accept the situation calmly.

Be that as it may, she had been without greed when it came to the place as his wife.

She was an indifferent woman, even when he brought in the paramours. She replied without hesitation that she would, of course, without hesitation, that she would have turned down the Empress position if she had not had the oracle.

‘No. Even though… … No way.’

He thought it was something she could have said because her position was stable. She didn’t know it was going to be like this, so her attitude must’ve been like that.

But… 

“I am asking for a divorce.”

She came out so wildly and beyond his expectations.

“Depose me, and make the real oracle woman the new empress to restore the peace of the empire…”

He couldn’t hear any more. Raising his hand, he hurriedly stopped her.

“Stop.”

He couldn’t let more words come out of that mouth.

From the moment he entered the conference hall, he was very gloomy.

He vowed to keep her where she was now, no matter what.

I was determined because I thought she would want it, too. Then she…

‘You really…’

Maybe she never thought of him as her husband.

Last night, he couldn’t sleep because of a lot of worries.

The oracle must be the reason that most of the nobles would want her to be dethroned. How should he protect her?

He resented her for wasting all that time of anguish with just one word.

To the point where she cut off her relationship with him so quickly… Was he such a worthless person? Was he a person who doesn’t have that much weight in her life?

Were the feelings he had for her for the past year only belonging to him?

The sadness that came like a tide slowly rose from his toes and engulfed him all the way to the top of his head.

Lost in his love and hatred, unable to breathe properly, he firmly stated his intentions and left immediately.

He didn’t want to be there anymore. His whole body trembled with anger. It was anger from a sense of betrayal.

‘At least you… … Shouldn’t you support my decision like this?’

He heard Anastasia running behind him to reach him, but he ignored it. He wanted to stop right away and see her face, but he had to put up with it.

The joy of meeting her face would be short-lived, and that woman would surely say only words that will completely upset him.

And then, he doesn’t know what energy he took back to the Central Palace.

“Your Majesty, are you okay? You have a bad complexion.”

“… No one.”

He barely gave orders to Colton, who asked worriedly.

“Don’t let anyone into my room.”

And he immediately sat down at his desk and started to work.

He had to do something now. Otherwise, he felt like he would be completely consumed by the feeling and go crazy.

It was a time when he was consciously ignoring the work in the conference room, focusing all his attention solely on the paperwork.

– slowly.

There was the sound of a long dress being dragged. Wilhelm’s wrist, who had been faithfully moving the quill in the unfamiliar pretense of work, stopped.

“…”

But he clenched his teeth and oncentrated on his work again.

“Your Majesty.”

At one point, a calm voice was heard. It was definitely her. Wilhelm ignored it again this time.

“Your Majesty.”

He continued to ignore her. Like she always did to him.

It was, frankly, avoidance. He knew what she was going to say to him, and he never wanted it to happen.

However… 

“Now you’re looking at me.”

Like this, when she came close and grabbed his wrist, there was no way he could escape.

He glared at Anastasia with red eyes. Seeing the seemingly calm eyes, he became even more tense.

“I have something to tell you.”

“I have nothing to say to you. Go back.”

His voice trembled a bit when he said that.

Did she notice? Wilhelm looked into Anastasia’s eyes with a slightly nervous expression.

She had a sad expression on her face. Despite his refusal, it meant that she had to say what she had to say.

“Go back.”

He now spoke almost pleadingly. It might be better not to see her until this case is resolved.

However… …

“Please accept it.”

As he looked at the divorce papers presented to him, he laughed.

“… divorce?”

“You only need to put your seal on it.”

Ironically, next to her name as it appeared on the paperwork was stamped every single one of them. Documents that did not show even a single hesitation aroused his anger.

“Dispose me and appoint a new Empress…”

But before Anastasia could finish speaking, Wilhelm picked up the thick divorce papers and tore them.

– Rip.

The sound of tearing paper interrupted Anastasia’s words. Anastasia stared intently at Wilhelm’s actions with a puzzled expression.

But this alone was not enough for him. He started tearing apart the divorce papers that had been cut in half, this time without mercy.

He wanted to make it into a wreckage so that he couldn’t even guess what it was about. This kind of thing, like it didn’t even exist in the world from the beginning.

“What, what are you doing!”

Later, Anastasia’s voice, which sounded like a scream, was heard.

Wilhelm smirked and shook off the meaningless bits of paper left in his hand.

“I can’t do it.”

“You’re going against the oracle?”

“That’s none of my business.”

What?

While Anastasia was frozen with a blank face in response to the absurd answer, Wilhelm came quickly closer to her.

It wasn’t originally a long distance, but now it was too close.

She felt as if their lips would touch if she had made the slightest mistake.

Feeling his exhilarating breath, Anastasia naturally looked at Wilhelm nervously.

He opened his mouth in a low voice, revealing his teeth with a dangerous face as if he would eat her at any moment.

“You promised to stay with me until you die.”

He swallowed his resentment and spat out his obsession.

“Your promise comes first. I’ll never let you go.”