“What the hell is this? Did Lady Hazel try to steal the Empress’ necklace and faint?”
“Oh my gosh, damn it. How ashamed she must have been to even faint?”
“It’s disgraceful. A Lady, a noblewoman, was a pickpocket. To dare to steal something from Her Majesty the Empress!”
Watching the fainted Avelin being carried out on a stretcher, the people present all clicked their tongues and mocked Avelin.
But Anastasia was more focused on something else.
‘How did you know I was wearing a necklace underneath my dress?’
It was always hidden in a dress, so it wouldn’t be easy to even find it.
But there was a fact that made Anastasia even more puzzled than that.
‘It wasn’t the expression of surprise that she was simply caught stealing. That must be…’
It was as if she had seen a ghost. Anastasia thought it was the first time she had seen Avelin’s face like that before and after her return.
‘Come to think of it, today is the first time the two of them have met.’
Up to that point, they had never met each other at any time. There were many maids who followed her, so it was not unusual.
‘What? What kind of connection do you have with Selene?’
“Your Majesty, are you okay?”
As she was immersed in her thoughts, Selene’s voice was heard. As Anastasia turned her head, Selene with a worried expression caught her eye.
“Are you surprised? No, it’s her fault, what’s with fainting on the spot when she saw me?”
“… Selene.”
Anastasia, who was watching the bewildered Selene, quietly opened her mouth.
“I think Lady Hazel is familiar with you.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“You saw it earlier, right? That expression, it was a very astonished face. It’s not just the face of a criminal.”
Anastasia asked cautiously.
“I know you’ve lost your memory, but… Do you remember anything? I think you might know Lady Hazel.”
“What? But… It doesn’t make sense. What would I have to do with her?”
“I don’t know. Because you still don’t remember exactly who you are.”
“That’s true…”
Selene, who listened to Anastasia and looked serious, nodded.
“Yes, I’ll think about it.”
In fact, when she first saw Avelin, she thought it was strange that her heart rate increased and her head started hurting.
At that time, she just dismissed it lightly, but now she understood that Avelin may be related to her past.
“Yes, but don’t overdo it. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Anastasia smiled kindly and gently stroked Selene’s red hair. Selene, who was smiling, soon asked.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You must have been very surprised, but is it okay not to call a palace doctor?”
“What do you mean by this? I’m just a little surprised.”
“But why on earth did she want to steal Your Majesty’s necklace? Of course, it’s a precious necklace given by the Emperor, but it’s not very valuable compared to what she had.”
“Well, I’m sure there’s something going on…”
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
It was that moment. Mrs. Rochester approached Anastasia with a serious look on her face and said,
“There are soldiers outside right now.”
“The soldiers? What for?”
“He came to take Lady Hazel away.”
“Lady Hazel?”
“I see Your Majesty, the moon of the Empire.”
At that moment, a soldier who appeared to be the leader came in and explained the situation.
“His Majesty’s command to arrest Lady Hazel for manipulating the oracle.”
“Ah…”
Wilhelm seemed to have received a confession from Count Hazel.
The problem is that Avelin was unconscious right now. Anastasia explained the situation now.
“So we’d better keep Lady Hazel in the hospital room at least until she wakes up. She doesn’t have a chronic disease, so she’ll wake up soon.”
“Alright, Your Majesty.”
Immediately, Anastasia went to see Wilhelm. Around that time, Wilhelm also heard the disturbance at the Empress’ Palace.
“ASHA!”
As soon as he saw Anastasia, Wilhelm rushed over and hugged her tightly.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?””
If anyone saw it, they would think she had just experienced something big. Anastasia replied in a good and embarrassed mood, in his arms.
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It’s no big deal? What if Lady Hazel hid something in her sleeve and attacked you?”
“Then she would have been discovered before entering the palace. Will, I’m fine.”
Anastasia smiled faintly and kissed Wilhelm’s cheek.
As he felt a soft and warm feeling, Wilhelm’s expression softened.
Seeing Wilhelm’s like that, Anastasia’s lips curled into a slightly darker smile.
“And the necklace that Will gave me.”
“Ah, the necklace…”
Wilhelm muttered, narrowing his brow.
“Why the hell did she do that? I don’t understand.”
“Me neither. It’s not an expensive jewel, so it’s probably not because of money…”
She couldn’t figure it out. Then Anastasia, who naturally recalled what happened earlier, changed the subject.
“Oh, I saw the soldiers sent to accompany Lady Hazel. However, since Lady Hazel has fainted now, I have only ordered her to be detained.”
“I heard. Did she faint at the sight of your maid who lost her memory?”
“Yes. It’s like the two of them know each other. My lady-in-waiting is also trying to remember now.”
“But seeing that surprise, it seems that Lady Hazel did something terrible to the maid?”
Wilhelm suspected with a serious expression.
“The maid, who lost her memory and was sold as a slave to Santorov. Could such a strange case be the work of Lady Hazel?”
“Actually, I was thinking the same. If you were a good friend, you wouldn’t be so surprised.”
“But I couldn’t tell Selene my guess. It was because I was afraid that she would be terrified of hearing it.
“Did you get a confession from Count Hazel?”
“Yes.”
Wilhelm told Anastasia the whole story of Count Hazel.
When Wilhelm finished speaking, Anastasia’s expression was tinged with surprise.
“There are so many things I don’t understand. How did she find out about Count Hazel’s corruption and sneak into the accountant’s office? What about the sign of the goddess and divine power?”
“I have my concerns about that too. But Count Hazel didn’t seem to know that.”
“Will… perhaps.”
At that moment, an idea flashed through Anastasia’s mind.
“No way…”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Perhaps… Could it be that Lady Hazel has tampered with black magic?”
“Black magic?”
“Even after the death of the High Priest, Lady Hazel still has the sign and can use her divine powers. I have definitely seen her show off with the withered flowers in the vase at the tea party today.”
Anastasia spoke her words while narrowing her brow.
“If the High Priest was alive and with his help, all of that was possible, but not now. And stealing the necklace…”
“If it really is a holy relic that protects its wearer, and if you noticed it with the help of black magic, we can understand what happened earlier.”
Wilhelm took a deep breath and concluded his speech.
“How dare she try to put a curse on you.”
“Oh, maybe she’s already tried it.”
Wilhelm reacted sensitively to the words, opening his eyes sharply. Anastasia continued to speak softly.
“Do you remember the last time I had spat out blood for no reason? But I thought it was weird because my body was fine…”
“Maybe she tried once and failed, then she tried to find the cause and remove it.”
How dare she… Wilhelm clenched his fist with a stunned expression.
“It’s all a valid guess. In the end, the prohibition of black magic is also managed by the High Priest.”
“If that’s the case, it’s a big deal.”
After the Goddess Rosenia fought and won the battle against the demons of hell that invaded the earth, she and the humans who helped her founded the country that was now Rosenberg.
Since then, Goddess Rosenia had installed a huge sacred barrier on Rosenberg’s land to prevent demons from showing up, and black magic had become taboo.
“If the seal is broken and the devil emerges…”
“To do that, the devil must completely occupy the human body with thoughts.”
Wilhelm opened his mouth after a moment’s thought.
“Even if it had saved my life, I wouldn’t have made a pact with the devil like that. Above all, it is not that difficult to purify a demon before manifestation.”
“But still…”
“Even if it happens.”
Wilhelm held Anastasia tightly in his arms and whispered lowly.
“I will definitely keep it. You and this empire.”
“… Will.”
“So don’t worry.”
He was reliable, comforting her in his wide arms, but Anastasia couldn’t shake her anxiety.
‘If Avelin gives her life to the worst…’
It had to be purified before that. Anastasia vowed to hurry things up.
~~~~
“… Uhm.”
Avelin let out a small moan and opened her eyes.
But before she could come to her senses, she was met with a bewildering sight and was astonished.
“Oh? Whoa…!”
Her mouth was gagged, and her whole body was tied up.
Avelin screamed as hard as she could, completely stunned.
“Ah! Huh! Oh!”
“Oh, you’re awake.”
At that moment, Avelin’s body stiffened at the sound of her voice.
As she struggled to turn her head, she saw Selene approaching her with her expressionless face.
“Ah! Argh!”
Avelin widened her eyes as she struggled, and Selene stared at her and murmured.
“Okay, you seem to know me.”
“Ah! Ah!”
“Actually, I lost my memory. But seeing you look so shocked, you must have done something bad to me in the past. Maybe it’s because of you that I lost my memory.”
“Oh!”
“Ah, the Lady is now in custody for trying to manipulate the oracle. The punishment will be given tomorrow, and I will be with the Lady for the time being. In a situation like this, I think I need to quickly find my memory.”
“Ah! Ah!”
“Can I please release the gag for a moment, so I can tell you what happened?”
Selene, who looked at her Avelin’s desperate expression and said as if interpreting, then smiled softly.
“I will say no. Her Majesty told me not to associate with a bad person like you.”
