Until The Real One Shows Up​

The incident of Anastasia slapping Melina quickly spread.

Unlike last time, it was inevitable now since there were too many eyes.

“Well done, Your Majesty. Sigh, I feel so refreshed! It’s a pity I didn’t see it in person.”

“If I had known that would happen, I would have followed Her Majesty the Empress. What a sight to see for Lady Selene!”

“It’s unfortunate, Your Majesty. Is it possible for you to hit her again when she’s here next time?”

The ladies of the Imperial Palace were all ecstatic to hear the news.

Mrs. Rochester also told Anastasia that she had done well, and she asked her not to think of showing mercy to her traitor.

‘As expected, there’s no mercy for a woman who covets her friend’s husband.’

That was why Anastasia deliberately didn’t stop the rumors about Melina, even on the first day of her arrival.

Melina’s reputation has already plummeted from the moment she chose to enter the palace as Wilhelm’s lady-in-waiting.

It was in contrast to the four maidens who had nothing to do with her.

“Melina couldn’t have betrayed me without realizing this…”

If so, it could only be explained that she was confident in seducing Wilhelm.

‘But that’s too reckless of a choice to make.‘

Even if it was servile and disgraceful, it was much safer and more harmless to kneel to her and maintain the prestige of being the Empress’s childhood friend.

Rather than risking your life to be a lady-in-waiting for the Emperor when it was uncertain whether you would succeed.

‘It’s a bit awkward with the other four. Nevertheless, even if they don’t become Wilhelm’s mistress, they won’t lose anything other than a cordial relationship with our family. But Melina…’

Why did she make a gamble on it? Like a woman possessed by something.

But eventually, Anastasia stopped concerning herself about it.

‘Never mind. It’s over now. I don’t have to dwell on it anymore.’

No matter what the catastrophe was, it had nothing to do with her now.

Anastasia quickly wiped out any thoughts regarding Melina and got back to work.

The preparations for Anastasia’s upcoming birthday party were in its final stage. She couldn’t afford to spend more of her attention on Melina.

~~~~

“The flowers are withering.”

At that, Colton turned to Wilhelm.

He saw him staring at a vase full of roses.

Wilhelm murmured in a displeased tone.

“The petals are gradually rotting.”

“Naturally.”

Colton replied as if it was nothing strange.

“It is a flower with a stem that has already been cut. It will probably crumble and look ugly in a few days.”

“Is there no way to revive it?”

“No, I don’t think so. If you were the Goddess of Rosenia, you might be able to do it.”

“Should I clean it up now?” Shrugging, Colton asked.

“No, it’s a waste.”

“But the roses…… You hate them.”

Colton asked in bewilderment.

“Are you okay with it now?”

“I still don’t like it.”

Wilhelm gave a solemn response.

Colton then had a look on his face that said: Why do you care so much?

“But it’s a waste.”

The answer left Colton speechless. As expected, it was strange.

First, he accepted those roses – which he hated – from Anastasia and kept them. And now, he was displaying a peculiar attachment to those flowers.

Of course, he may deny it, but in Colton’s perspective, he was captivated.

“You care a lot about those roses, or you would have already told me to throw them away.”

Perhaps the words hit the nail on the head, Wilhelm showed a hint of embarrassment for a moment and soon made an excuse.

“I’m not going to throw it away.”

“Really? Did you change your mind?”

“It’s a symbol of the Goddess.”

Wilhelm continued after coughing.

Could the descendants of the Goddess treat her symbol recklessly? That’s blasphemy…was it not?

“Oh, come to think of it.”

After listening to Wilhelm, Colton abruptly recalled something.

“I should have seen to it, but I almost forgot.”

“Is something wrong?”

“The roses in the garden of the Goddess.”

The Goddess’s Garden was a revered place where Goddess Rosenia planted and cared for the red roses herself when she stayed in Rosenberg.

Therefore, its symbolism was momentous, and the Imperial Palace also cooperated with the temple to manage it with exceptional care. To the point of having red roses bloom all year round.

By the way…

“All of it had withered.”

At that claim, Wilhelm, who was cautiously tapping the rose petals in the vase, paused.

“No, I must correct myself. It’s all about to wither.”

“… What do you mean by this?” asked Wilhelm in a low voice.

“There’s never been a problem before.”

“That’s why the report from the gardeners took quite some time. Unexpectedly, the amount of bugs increased. However, at first, they didn’t think it was worth mentioning. But everything they did didn’t reduce the number of bugs…”

“So? Do you want to wait until the bugs eat all the roses?”

“No. I was just going to call the temple for help.”

“…Colton.”

When Wilhelm called out to him in that low voice, Colton flinched and shivered.

“You don’t know how serious this is, do you?”

“……No way. I’ll do my best.”

“Not your best effort, but the best results.”

At Wilhelm’s frightening gaze, Colton unconsciously swallowed.

Needless to say, the Garden of the Goddess was no different than a living holy place.

There was a belief that the Empire could be strong only if the garden was flourishing, and that’s why the Imperial Palace had been taking special care of it.

“If it was known that there’s a problem with the Goddess’s garden…”

It could soon be interpreted as the wrath of Goddess Rosenia.

Some people wanted to spread such conspiracies after Riel was struck by lightning at the last ceremony for the Goddess Rosenia.

‘At that time, the Empress saved the high priest with the kiss of life, and it didn’t turn into a more dreadful situation, but…’

If this incident overlapped, people’s doubts would inevitably grow.

It could be speculated that the Goddess was angered by the current Emperor.

“We’re cracking down on the spread of rumors, but…”

“You can’t stop people from talking forever.”

Wilhelm then gave a firm instruction to Colton.

“We must restore it to its original state. No matter what.”

~~~~

But even after that, the number of bugs that appeared in the Goddess’s garden had barely decreased.

Rather, the number increased exponentially due to its fast breeding, and the humans were facing limitations just by catching them.

In addition, as the number of people who witnessed the insect-infested garden naturally increased, this eventually became known to the community.

Whenever people gathered, they would anxiously talk about this problem.

“It is said that the garden of the goddess is infested with insects and all the roses are dying. Isn’t this the first time this has happened?”

“It’s not auspicious. I was worried about the lightning that fell from the dark sky at the last Goddess’ rite…”

“Perhaps the present Emperor has met the wrath of Goddess Rosenia… Why, there were rumors like that even at the beginning of his accession.”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

Someone skeptically raised another opinion, attracting everyone’s attention.

“Lady Lutent?”

“What do you know? Well, aren’t you staying in the Central Palace these days?….”

“I don’t think it’s the Emperor, I think the Empress angered the Goddess.”

Everyone was perturbed at the unforeseen statement.

“But why? Her Majesty was chosen by the Goddess to become the Empress.”

“And she regretted her previous mistakes. These days she appeared enlightened…”

“That’s not the point. Trust is not eternal.”

Melina expressed resolutely.

“At present, the Empress can’t give birth to an heir. So the Goddess might have changed her mind.”

However, in reality, there was no clear indication of Anastasia’s infertility.

But it couldn’t be helped that they would think this way since news of a future heir has not been heard even after two years of marriage.

It was only a speculation but Melina said it in an unusual way that it made Anastasia’s infertility appear as if it were a fact.

Moreover, she was an old friend of Anastasia, which raised the credibility of her remarks.

With Melina involving herself in various social gatherings and spreading such rumors, these allegations of Anastasia being infertile and angering the Goddess, causing all these misfortunes, began to escalate.

And with Anastasia’s failure to respond immediately, the speed at which the rumors spread accelerated.

Everything was going as Melina had intended from the beginning.

‘This will make it easier for her to abdicate.’

In the first place, trust was the biggest reason for not being able to depose Anastasia.

If public opinion spread that the Empress had been abandoned by the Goddess, it was no longer impossible to depose the Empress.

The four maidens who entered the palace with Melina also shared the same sentiment as her.

With this brief alliance, they could expel their common enemy, Empress Anastasia.

As her encounters with the other nobles continued to grow, Melina was more thrilled to show her face at the social gatherings.

For the aristocrats, the situation was worrisome, but it felt interesting and stimulating at the same time, and they did not mind Melina.

Gaining confidence from her rising popularity, Melina now boldly thought about holding a tea party at the arrangement of the Central Palace.

‘It’s one of the privileges of the court lady, so there’s nothing wrong with it.’

With her presiding the tea party, Melina invited the young ladies who supported her, including the other four central court ladies.

“Thank you for inviting me, Lady Lutent. This is the first time we are having a tea gathering at the Emperor’s Central Palace.”

“I’d also like to express my gratitude. It is unlike Her Majesty the Empress who doesn’t hold tea gatherings here.”

“Is the Goddess’ Garden still intact?”

“From what I heard, yes. But the gardeners said that those bugs wouldn’t go away. It’s only a matter of time before the garden deteriorates and is devastated.”

“It’s such a big deal. She must act quickly…”

“But if the wrath of the Goddess made the garden that way, don’t you think there’s only one way to settle this?”

“Is there a problem with the Empress?”

“That’s all I can think of. The wrapper may look pretty, but even if you find it pleasing at first, once you unwrap it and find it horrendous, you’ll be furious.*”

*TN: talking about the goddess picking Anastasia and liking her but being angry at what she received in return.

Melina sighed, pretending to be worried, and then asked the people around her.

“You think so too, don’t you?”

However, until a while ago, the expressions of the people who were laughing with her suddenly unknowingly changed.

All of them were stiff and did not speak instantly.

“What is wrong with everyone?”

Melina wondered and turned to gaze at where her guests’ attention was. 

“Ah…!”

She was startled to meet such an unexpected guest.

“The–The Empress…!”

Surprised, Melina stuttered and instinctively reverted to what she was in the olden days.

“I greet the Moon of the Empire—”

But Melina didn’t get to finish her words.

Slap!

Anastasia just raised her hand and hit Melina’s cheek.