“…His Majesty the Emperor?”
Anastasia asked in bewilderment.
“Why is he here? It hasn’t been long since I woke up…….”
“He was passing by the palace and saw Lady Andrey.”
“……Ah.”
“Shall I bring His Majesty inside?”
Anastasia hesitated. She didn’t dare to face him as soon as she woke up. But eventually, she acquiesced.
“……Yes.”
Anyway, we have to meet at least once. But whenever we met, there was never a time when I didn’t tremble in front of that person. It’s best if I see him now rather than later. And it just so happened that……he wanted to see me too.
A moment after Selene went out, there was a heavy sound of footsteps.
“…….”
Anastasia felt her heart tighten, unconsciously clasping her blanket.
It didn’t take long before he appeared. Garbed in a devastatingly majestic uniform, he appeared as if he was about to attend a political meeting.
Anastasia tried to stand up to express courtesy, but he quickly deterred her from doing it.
“Just sit down.”
“But…”
“Sit down, Empress.”
Anastasia eventually sat still and awkwardly looked away from him.
“I heard from Mrs. Rochester. Your Majesty brought me to the Imperial Palace.….”
“…….”
“Thank you. I’m sure you were very surprised…….”
Abruptly, Anastasia ceased from her talking, her view turning to Wilhelm’s direction.
Wilhelm gently grabbed Anastasia’s chin, making her look at him.
“You should look into people’s eyes when thanking them.”
“…….”
“I’m glad you didn’t have any bruises.”
Wilhelm muttered as he carefully examined her face.
Meanwhile, Anastasia was still frozen stiff, and speechless.
“They said you’d wake up within two days at the latest.”
Wilhelm’s brows slightly furrowed.
“You’ve been asleep for three days. If you didn’t wake up today, I was going to kick everyone out.”
“…….”
“I’m just kidding. You should relax.”
He pulled away from Anastasia with a smirk.
The heat from the spot where he touched remained. After some time, she still could not make a sound. She tried speaking again once the rapid beating of her heart eased.
“What happened to the high priest?”
“… Well, he’s not dead.”
Anastasia looked puzzled at his answer.
“The last time I heard, he was breathing again.”
“That’s all. He’s still unconscious though.”
Wilhelm replied, shaking his head.
“The doctors said they can’t guarantee when he will wake up. The priests are still treating him with divine power…….”
“Oh….”
“Don’t worry too much. It will take a long time but he will surely wake up.”
“……I hope he wakes up safely.”
“He’ll wake up safe and sound since he’s breathing. You even gave him the ‘Kiss of Life’.”
“The ‘Kiss of Life’?”
“Yes, everyone in the capital knows this story these days. That you saved the high priest with your ‘Kiss of Life’.”
“Oh….”
Was he talking about CPR?
Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong, but…….
The name seemed so grand that Anastasia was slightly ashamed.
“I know you don’t have divine power.”
Wilhelm then asked in a curious voice.
“So how did you save the high priest?”
That’s because I had received CPR training periodically for many years since I was in school…….
But she couldn’t tell him that, so Anastasia roughly said that she just remembered what she had seen in an old book.
Luckily, Wilhelm did not pry anymore.
“And I heard you safely evacuated those frantic people.”
“Oh….”
Anastasia hurriedly asked him now that she remembered.
“Did anyone get hurt that day?”
“No one. Everyone got home safely.”
“That’s reassuring.”
It was only then that Anastasia sighed with relief. Wilhelm looked at her and spoke.
“Thank you.”
Hearing something completely unexpected, Anastasia stared at him in astonishment. Despite looking serious, she thought she heard him wrong. She continued staring at him in bewilderment.
“For doing what you did.”
“… But that’s what I should do as the Empress.”
Anastasia, who answered modestly, added.
“I’m surprised you said that. I thought you wouldn’t like what I did, just like last time.”
“What happened then…!”
Wilhelm seemed to want to refute her, but he soon clamped down. In the end, he ceased their conversation altogether.
“‘What happened then’… What?”
“No, it’s okay. Anyway, I’ve confirmed you’re alright now, so I’ll go. Get some rest.”.
“…….”
“Take care of yourself.”
He turned around, leaving a short remark.
Regardless of not seeing his expression since his back was to her, Anastasia steadily stared at him.
Even after she could no longer see his back, she kept staring at the spot as if she were looking for a trace.
“……Thank you for coming.”
She could only quietly profess her true feelings that would never reach him
***
“Are you leaving already?”
Mrs. Rochester questioned when she saw His Majesty coming out of Anastasia’s bedroom and was about to return to the Central Palace. Wilhelm glanced at her and retorted.
“There’s no reason to stay long.”
“But until yesterday…….”
“Mrs. Rochester.”
Anticipating her next words, Wilhelm quickly cut her off.
“Keep it a secret from the Empress that I’ve been here for the last three days.”
“How come?”
“… It’s not something worth mentioning.”
Wilhelm slightly nodded as he frowned.
“I only stopped by on my way back to the Central Palace after the political meeting to check her condition. But….”
What do you mean? You’ve been here for an hour.
Before Mrs. Rochester could express her confusion, Wilhelm continued.
“So, it wasn’t hard. I didn’t wait that long. But if the Empress hears about it, she might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand…….”
“I….”
Wilhelm hesitated for a moment instead of answering immediately.
But soon, he concluded without a hitch.
“You might have misunderstood that I was worried about the Empress.”
“Oh, I did.”
When Mrs. Rochester heard Wilhelm’s statement, she asked in a quizzical voice.
“It wasn’t?”
“……No.”
“I see. Of course, I thought you came here ‘every day’ because you were worried about Her Majesty.”
“It was just a status check.”
“If you say so…….”
Despite conceding to His Majesty’s reason, she did not seem to believe his words.
……… He’s obviously worried. It’s frustrating. They have a long way to go.
And that was the case. However, she nodded because she couldn’t go against the Emperor.
“I’ll keep it a secret. Let’s keep it a secret for now.”
“For now?”
“I’ll keep it a secret.”
Mrs. Rochester quickly corrected herself. Wilhelm left the palace in disbelief.
And when he was away from the palace, he asked Colton.
“Did Mrs. Rochester say any absurdity to the Empress?”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that if she did.”
“Ha, it’s not your job to be carefree.”
“What are you so worried about? Even if Mrs. Rochester breaks her promise and tells Her Majesty, there will be nothing to worry about.”
“…… What?”
“That’s right. Your relationship is anything but good. I also heard that you were angry with Her Majesty when she returned from the Santoro’s.”
“… That–”
“So even if Her Majesty finds out the truth, she will never concern herself about it. Do you think she would think His Majesty cared about her? That’s just a pointless concern…”
“Lord Colton.”
Wilhelm calmly interrupted him. Colton wanted to say he still had more. Unfortunately, His Majesty shut him down.
“It seemed you still have a lot of stamina in you, with how spirited you are in your speech. You can stay with me for a long time today.”
“What? No way! Your Majesty, you’re working overtime again…….”
“I’ll post a report on the drought in the North East by tomorrow.”
“Your Majesty, you said it was due next week! It’s cheating if you do this all of a sudden!”
Confused, Colton hurriedly protested; but Wilhelm continued walking, seemingly having no intention of listening to his grievances.
Colton – completely baffled by what’s happening – froze on the spot. But belatedly ran after him.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
“Oh, you’re being unruly.”
Wilhelm furthered his strides as he covered his ears, while Colton’s pleading cries echoed in all directions for a long time.
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