Until The Real One Shows Up​

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

Listening to his determined voice, Anastasia naturally recalled what happened before her return.

“Don’t worry, Asha. I’ll never let you go.”

Anastasia closed her eyes unconsciously with the similar words and voice.

She had an ominous feeling that the original work might change once again.

“…I.”

Slowly opening her eyes, Anastasia spoke out with difficulty.

“I’ve never made such a promise.”

“What?”

“The promise to stay with Your Majesty until I die…”

“The oath of the Goddess. Don’t you remember?”

Wilhelm asked sharply. It remained close to Anastasia.

“You said you believed in my innocence. At the risk of your life.”

“…”

“So you have to stay with me until you die. Are you going to betray the Goddess’s oath to fulfill the oracle?”

“It’s been a long time since it was revealed, so even if I leave your side, I won’t betray my oath.”

“And so.”

He asked with a smile.

“You really want to leave me?”

“…that’s right.”

Anastasia pleaded in a trembling voice.

“Don’t go against the oracle, Your Majesty. It’s the will of the goddess Rosenia.”

“Do you mean that you can understand everything just because it’s a oracle?”

Wilhelm was enraged in a quiet voice.

“To suddenly take your place as Empress, doesn’t it matter?”

“…”

“How come you aren’t clinging to me? Shouldn’t you be begging, begging, and pleading for your position to be preserved? No, shouldn’t you at least cooperate with my will to protect you?”

“I don’t think protecting me is preserving this position.”

Anastasia appealed to him in a trembling voice.

“I’m afraid of the divine punishment. If the fake occupy your side, misfortune will befall Your Majesty and your empire. I can’t see that.”

“…You mean.”

At the words, Wilhelm suddenly looked enlightened.

“Is it for me again?”

“Your Majesty, I mean…”

“Yes, I understand your meaning.”

Wilhelm smiled for the first time.

Anastasia felt something go wrong with the smile. She hurriedly resumed her words.

“Your Majesty, there is some misunderstanding…”

However, her lips, which should have clarified, soon disappeared by the warmth and softness of him.

When he unexpectedly kissed her, Anastasia, who was surprised, froze on the spot.

After a short kiss, Wilhelm, who took off his lips with a smile, whispered to Anastasia, still within breath.

“I’m warning you, say no more.”

“Your Majes…”

But Anastasia didn’t listen to him and opened her mouth again, and eventually his lips swallowed Anastasia’s lips again.

This time, he dug deeper into the hidden place, as if it were a price for ignoring the previous warning.

“Ah…”

As a result of touching the secret place, a small moan came from the inside of Anastasia’s throat.

Wilhelm kissed Anastasia for a long time as if he had been stimulated by the sound.

Looking back at Anastasia’s face, her initial coldness had vanished without a trace, and a reddish color took its place.

He was quite pleased with her complexion, so Wilhelm kissed Anastasia lightly once more and whispered.

“Keep talking.”

With a completely different attitude from before, she narrowed her forehead slightly and glanced at him.

Even though there was still a frown on his red face, he liked even that.

“Do you have more to say?”

“… Your Majesty.”

“Anastasia.”

Wilhelm whispered to her with a faint smile.

“Go back today.”

An embarrassing light came over Anastasia’s face.

She hesitated and eventually bowed her head once and staggered away from Wilhelm.

Not taking his eyes off the figure, Wilhelm sat down in front of the desk again after confirming that Anastasia had completely left the Central Palace.

But what he did right away was not to look at the documents he was reading earlier.

Wilhelm, who scrawled something down on an empty piece of paper, soon called Colton.

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

Wilhelm folded the paper he had just written in half and told Colton.

“Take this to King Vislante and get a reply. As soon as possible.”

“Alright, Your Majesty.”

Colton, who answered without hesitation, immediately stepped back, and Wilhelm, who was left alone, unconsciously rubbed the lower lip that touched Anastasia’s lips and muttered.

“Don’t worry. Because I’ll never let you go.”

~~~~

On the way out of Central Palace and to the Empress Palace as if possessed. Anastasia was quite disturbed.

It was because she was kissed rather than achieving the desired purpose.

‘… of course I didn’t hate it.’

No, she was going crazy. Anastasia shook her head in a hurry.

Isn’t her impression important now?

‘…it’s a big deal. I never thought His Majesty would act out like this.’

Why was that? She should have asked, but from the moment she kissed him, her head turned blank and she was just stiff like a fool.

‘But even if I came to my senses and asked, it wouldn’t have meant much.’

Whatever the reason, his intentions seemed firm. Anastasia became nervous.

‘I can’t. If the original goes wrong again like this…’

In her anxiety, Anastasia rolled up the hem of her dress. In fact, there was no way at all.

‘Let’s run away.’

Until then, the oracle that said she was a fake had not come down, so she couldn’t act hastily, but now it didn’t matter. No, it was even a red flag.

Anastasia nodded determinedly.

‘Let’s go into hiding for now. Then His Majesty can’t help it.’

It was a perfect plan. In this way, there was no need to get Wilhelm’s seal on the divorce paper.

Anastasia made quick steps to the Empress’ Palace. As soon as she went, she was going to pack a minimum of luggage and run away tonight.

~~~~

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

When she arrived at the Empress’ Palace, Mrs. Rochester greeted Anastasia with a somber expression on her face.

It was when Anastasia was calmly about to tell her her own plans to Mrs. Rochester.

“While you were going to the Central Palace, Duke Barantes came here,” she said.

“… Ah.”

It was then that Anastasia remembered her father’s existence and let out a groan of embarrassment to her.

‘My father must have been very shocked…’

It was a natural procedure for him to come to see her immediately after the meeting was over.

“He heard that you had gone to the Central Palace and said he would come back later.”

“Mrs Rochester, will you send someone to the Department of Defense now? I want to see my father right now.”

She had to tell her father about her plans too.

He may be shocked and faint when he hears that she had escaped at night.

But there was one more very important issue that she had forgotten for a while.

“Not now, but he hopes to see you next time.”

“Mrs Rochester, I have no time…”

“Now the Prince is here.”

At those words, Anastasia could not continue to speak and paused.

“… Louis.”

Right. When she left, the child… … What about that child?

The original plan was to adopt Louis as the daughter of the Barantes after the divorce from Wilhelm.

There were no problems with the plan. If only the variable of Wilhelm was not holding her back.

‘I can’t go on a night escape with Louis.’

Louis was of royalty. It was not at all strange that if she did that secretly, but she would be honestly sentenced to death for trying to kidnap the royal family.

‘Above all, I can’t let innocent Louis run away because of me. That is nonsense.’

While Anastasia, who was in the unexpected predicament, was perplexed, Mrs. Rochester had another drink.

“Actually, he has been waiting for Your Majesty the Empress for a long time. I said I’d tell him when you came back from the Central Palace, but he said he wouldn’t move even a single step until he saw Your Majesty the Empress…”

“…”

“What shall I do, Your Majesty?”

“… for now.”

Anastasia struggled to come to a conclusion.

“I’m going to see the Prince.”

Anastasia hurried to the room where Louis was waiting for her.

‘He used to wait calmly in the reception room…’

That Louis was holding out in her room was too obvious what the child was thinking now.

‘He knows. That I could leave without saying a word.’

She felt so sorry for the child when she thought about it.

Anastasia arrived in her room with a frustrated heart.

As she walked inside, she saw Louis walking around the room with an anxious look on his face.

Anastasia stood unconsciously and watched the scene.

“Your Majesty?”

At that time, Louis, who felt a sign of activity, hurriedly turned his head.

Anastasia tried to smile with a trembling look.

“…Louis.”

“Your Majesty!”

Louis rushed to Anastasia, and Anastasia bent to her knees and opened her arms to the child.

Soon, the child burst into tears as soon as he ran into her arms.

“Your Majesty! Oh…”

“What’s wrong, Louis?”

Anastasia hugged Louis tightly, feeling her throat choked.

“Don’t cry. I’m here.”

“Your Majesty…”

Louis cried for a long time in Anastasia’s arms, then chucked out the words.

“Don’t go.”

At the words, Anastasia’s expression turned embarrassed.

She licked her lips with her helpless expression, then bit down on her lips.