Literally, a bolt came out of the blue in the dry sky. It happened in a flash.
“The High Priest!”
All the priests rushed up to the altar in alarm. At that moment, a terrible downpour poured from the dark-filled sky.
People were stunned by this unforeseen situation but soon came to their senses by the heavy rain that hit them in the face.
“Goddess Rosenia is angry! The goddess is angry!”
The fear of those who just saw the high priest be struck by lightning intensified in a split second when someone cried out those claims. Everyone started to panic.
“W–we need to get out of here, right now!”
“S–save me! I don’t want to die yet!”
“Get out of my way! Get out of my way! If I stay here, I’ll be struck by that lightning!”
Straightaway, the surroundings turned into chaos.
Those who felt their lives were threatened, forgot about their dignity and face as aristocrats and escape indiscriminately.
Some pushed others to get out of the spot in a hurry, which led to a dangerous situation where a child fell.
It was a period of confusion, uproar, and turmoil amidst the destructive lightning and torrential downpour.
“Everyone, stop!”
A distinct loud voice reverberated around the chaotic environment which caused the frightened people to stop on their feet. With the abrupt silence reigning in the vicinity, everyone turned toward the sound. Staring at the numerous gazes focused on her, Anastasia stated in a clear and resolute tone.
“Everyone! Stay calm and listen to me!”
The effect of that statement was consequential. Their Empress – the one before them – was the woman in the oracle; the woman chosen by the Goddess Rosenia to be their Empress.
People intuitively realized that they could survive this ordeal if they listened to Anastasia. All ears were now focused on her next words.
“Move in pairs, starting with the Marquis! Follow Mrs. Rochester to the First Chapel!”
The First Chapel was the nearest building to the altar. On its roof was a pointed sculpture made after a holy relic. It would act as a lightning rod to keep the people safe.
Anastasia single-mindedly shouted.
“Trust me! If you do this, none of you will get hurt!”
Anastasia’s unyielding voice brought relief and expectations to everyone’s eyes. People quickly began to line up in pairs according to her instructions.
“Don’t rush. Everyone should move in an orderly fashion. That way we can all be safe!”
Anastasia, who repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining order, finally turned to Mrs. Rochester and asked for a favor.
“Please lead the people, Mrs. Rochester. Your role is crucial if we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“But Your Majesty, what about you?”
“I have something to do right now. Mrs. Rochester should go right away!”
“But Your Majesty…!”
“We’re running out of time. Move!”
Anastasia roared. Mrs. Rochester had no choice but to obey her orders.
“Everyone, follow me this way!”
Mrs. Rochester moved to the First Chapel, leading the people who moved in pairs.
Only then did Anastasia turn to the altar.
Every priest exerted their divine power to shield the altar and the unconscious Riel, who was knocked down by lightning.
He only has two minutes left at the most.
Once the heart stopped, four minutes at most was the golden time. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation had to be performed.
Anastasia grabbed the hem of her dress and quickly climbed toward the altar. Arriving at where Riel was, she pushed away the panicking priests.
“Everyone, get out of the way! We’re running out of time!”
“Your Majesty, the High Priest, we will treat him with divine power…!”
“Go ahead! But I also have a way to save the high priest.”
At Anastasia’s urgent voice, everyone stepped down. She immediately laid Riel on the floor and took off his robe to reveal his chest.
The surrounding priests were scandalized, screaming in horror at such an embarrassing and blasphemous act.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing……!”
However, not only could the priests not touch Anastasia’s body carelessly, but her actions were so fast that they could not stop her. Anastasia touched Riel’s chest with no regard for the reactions around her.
“The lower half of the sternum……the heel on it, the knuckles…”
Anastasia straightened her elbows, aligned her shoulders, elbows, and heels, and pressed down as hard as possible.
“One, two, three, four!”
As hard as she can, as fast as she can. She didn’t even have the time to remember the other guidelines. Anyway, with Anastasia’s fragile body, she needed to press as fast and strong as possible to barely reach the standard. There was no defibrillator here, so she had to keep doing it until his heart beat again.
“……28, 29, 30!”
After the 30th press, Anastasia pulled back Riel’s head to secure the airway.
Then, she covered Riel’s nose and breathed in through his mouth.
Once, twice. Then, chest compressions were applied again.
In fact, she was already on the verge of collapsing from the time she did artificial respiration, but Anastasia was obsessed with the idea of saving the person in front of her. She continued to move her hands, drawing out all her strength.
How much time has passed in this heavy rain?
“The breathing is back! The high priest is breathing again!”
When someone shouted, Anastasia finally took her hand off Riel’s chest in relief.
“That’s good….”
At the same time, her consciousness was fading. Anastasia fell to her side with a deep sense of dizziness.
Thud!
Before her body touched the cold floor, someone immediately caught her in their arms.
The priests stared at Wilhelm in astonishment.
“What are you looking at?”
Wilhelm parted his lips and shouted with a slightly trembling voice.
“Go and call the Royal Physician. Now!”
***
How long has it been since then?
“Oh, Your Majesty, what am I going to do…….”
“That’s strange. I’m sure the Royal Physician said she’ll wake up today.”
“Isn’t this a straight quack?”
“Shh! Watch your language, Lady Andrey.”
Anastasia naturally opened her eyes when she heard a familiar voice. Then, the three pairs of eyes staring at Anastasia were surprised and shouted at the same time.
“Your Majesty!”
“She’s up!”
“You’ve opened your eyes!”
Oh, it’s ringing.
Anastasia awkwardly smiled and greeted the three ladies.
“Hello, everyone.”
“Your Majesty… Can you recognize me?”
“Well, Julia. The wound on your cheek seems to have healed. It’s clear now.”
“Of course! It’s already been…… It’s been three days.”
Julia finally burst into tears, and the other maids also joined her.
“What’s all this fuss about in Her Majesty’s bedroom!”
When Mrs. Rochester heard the disturbance, she came inside and was startled to find Anastasia had already opened her eyes.
“Your Majesty!”
“Long time no see, Mrs. Rochester.”
“Your Majesty…”
She entered with decorum. But now, Mrs. Rochester – like a broken doll – was unable to move on her spot when she saw that Anastasia was awake. Close to tears, she approached Anastasia and asked.
“Are you okay? Do you have any discomfort anywhere?”
“Um…… Yes, I’m fine.”
She seemed to have been well taken care of. Even if she woke up after three days, there was no discomfort at all.
“I don’t remember…”
Anastasia slightly frowned and asked.
“Did I black out at the goddess’s ceremonial service?”
“Yes, the Emperor himself brought you back to the palace.”
The answer was so out of the blue that Anastasia was confused for a moment and couldn’t say anything. After a while, she stammered and asked.
“W–who brought me here?”
“His Majesty the Emperor. When Her Majesty the Empress fell, he arrived at the altar….. The timing was amazing.”
“…….”
“I’m glad you have safely woken up, Your Majesty. I’ll call a royal physician right now, so please take a rest.”
When Anastasia heard the unexpected news, Mrs. Rochester took the maids outside, leaving her all alone. Only then did Anastasia’s surroundings become perfectly quiet.
All alone, Anastasia deeply sighed.
She was fine when she woke up, but she was now suddenly experiencing a light headache.
…… There’s nothing special to think about. He’s originally a nice guy.
No matter how much he disliked her, Wilhelm was not the kind of person to turn a cold shoulder to the person who collapsed before his eyes.
They were on the same side right now, so there was no need to concern herself about it.
More than that, I don’t know if the high priest is safe. I immediately took my hands off when I heard that his breathing was back……. No aristocrats were hurt that day, right?
It was when Anastasia was recalling the last things that happened before she collapsed.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
Someone was approaching her. Anastasia, who saw a familiar face, smiled.
“Oh, Selene.”
“I’m glad you’re awake and safe. I’m so… I’m so happy.”
She was trying to hold back her tears as she expressed her relief. Anastasia hurriedly soothed her.
“I’m fine, Selene. I have worried you, haven’t I?”
“Yes. They said you’d wake up soon, but you’ve been asleep for three days…… I was worried that something went wrong.”
Eventually, Selene started sobbing. Meanwhile, Anastasia tightly held her hand and said.
“Thank you. Thanks to everyone’s concern, I guess I woke up safely.”
“Of course. I religiously prayed in the prayer room every night…… Oh, by the way, look at me. I came here to tell you something.”
The words that followed were enough to freeze Anastasia on the spot.
“The Emperor is outside now.”
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