Until The Real One Shows Up​

‘What…? Was he hallucinating?’

Olivia had said that Her Majesty wouldn’t be here again… He also loudly declared his opposition yesterday.

Louis rubbed his eyes a few times and looked again, but Anastasia was still there.

“Oh, my!”

Just as Louis rubbed his eyes harder in disbelief, someone grabbed his arm, stopping him. 

He stared blankly ahead, and Anastasia looked at him with concern. “You’ll hurt yourself if you rub your eyes like that.”

“Ah…”

“Are your eyes itchy?”

“Oh, no.”

“Then don’t rub it.”

Anastasia said firmly, and Louis nodded automatically.

Then he quickly asked, as if it was not the case.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

Anastasia replied with a big smile.

“I’m here to play with Louis.”

“…what?”

Louis looked stunned at Anastasia’s answer. Seeing his reaction, Anastasia smiled inwardly. 

‘You thought I’d never come back, didn’t you?’ she mused. 

It made sense—he had kicked her out yesterday, shouting that he didn’t want to be friends. 

To others, it was unimaginable for Empress Anastasia to humble herself first.

But that perspective only applies to matters of power. 

‘There are no such rules for family,’ she thought. 

Anastasia was extremely patient with the children. She could understand why Louis was wary of her at the moment. 

‘Perhaps, as Wilhelm said… he might think Wilhelm killed his parents.’

If there was such a misunderstanding, she would surely clear it up because it wasn’t true. 

Wilhelm had never killed either of them. 

‘As they say, you have to try three times.’ Anastasia smiled determinedly, while Louis looked uneasy and tried to avoid the situation. 

“Yesterday… I said I didn’t want to be friends with Your Majesty.”

“But you didn’t say you didn’t want to play with me,” Anastasia countered. 

“…I have a class today, too.” 

“I know. It starts at 10 o’clock.” 

“How did you know?” Louis asked in surprise, and Anastasia couldn’t help but smirk.

Seeing his eyes widen in surprise was so cute. 

Anastasia, pretending to hide a great secret, replied, “There’s a way to know everything.” 

“Tell me,” Louis demanded. 

“No, it’s a secret.” It was a simple matter of asking the maids of the Imperial Palace, but for some reason, she didn’t want to reveal that.

In order to pique interest as much as possible, she decided to withhold the information for now. “I’ll tell you later, not right now,” she said. 

Louis puffed his cheeks in dissatisfaction at her response, then spoke more bluntly than before. “Regardless, I can’t play with Your Majesty because I have a class.” 

“But it’s only nine o’clock,” Anastasia pointed out, retrieving a pocket watch to check the time. “We still have an hour before your class starts.”

“…”

“I’ve come to play with you for an hour. That should be alright, isn’t it?” 

There was no valid reason for him to refuse any longer. Olivia was out now as well.

There was no one to assist him. 

‘What should I do?’ Louis swiftly pondered his options to avoid spending time with Anastasia. Then, he quickly came up with a good excuse. “Ah, homework…” 

“Huh? What?” 

“I still have homework to complete.”

Why hadn’t he thought of that before? Louis quickly adopted a triumphant expression, masking his embarrassment. “I need to do it.” 

“Oh, my…” 

…it’s clearly a lie, wasn’t it? 

‘Louis… Who would proudly admit to not doing their homework?’ But a six-year-old wouldn’t have considered that aspect. 

On the other hand, Louis, who seemed to believe he had successfully deceived an adult, looked simply adorable.

She was willing to play along with that lie. Anastasia posed a question with a hesitant expression. 

“But didn’t you ask me to leave so you could do your homework last night? Didn’t you finish it then?” 

“That’s… it’s the homework I didn’t complete yesterday.” 

“But there’s only an hour left until your class,” Anastasia remarked, struggling to suppress a smile that was on the verge of appearing.

“You still have some homework left, don’t you?” 

“Yes, it’s… uh, it’s difficult.” 

“Well…” When Anastasia gave Louis a meaningful look, he nervously averted his gaze. 

Even that seemed endearing to her; she felt herself growing fond of Louis. 

‘He’s so lovely.’ Who wouldn’t be captivated by such an adorable child?

Anastasia asked with a smile.

“Do you have a lot left?”

“No, just a few more…”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

“What?”

“I’ll wait here until you finish your homework.”

“Oh, you’ll have to wait a long time.”

Frustrated by the unexpected answer, Louis hurriedly added.

“You’ll have to wait for about 30 minutes!” 

“That’s fine. I’m patient. Half an hour is manageable,” Anastasia assured. 

“But…” 

“Come on, do your homework, Prince Louis,” Anastasia gently urged, pushing him towards his desk. Eventually, Louis relented and sat down to resume his homework.

Naturally, there was nothing left to do, so Anastasia stood behind Louis, watching him intently. 

Under her persistent gaze, Louis, who was pretending to scribble in his already-filled book, eventually gave in.

“All done,” he said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Already?” Anastasia replied, looking surprised as she continued to stare at Louis. “It’s only been 10 minutes.”

“I told you, there were only a few left…”

“But you finished quickly. Well done, Louis. That’s great.”

Anastasia approached Louis and naturally patted his head, praising him. Louis stiffened at the unexpected touch, but Anastasia continued to pat his head.

“Now we have 50 minutes to play.”

“Isn’t 50 minutes too short to do anything?”

“No, it’s fine. That’s plenty of time.”

“What are we going to do?”

“What does Louis usually do?”

Oh, right, he said he didn’t have time to play.

“I should rephrase the question. What do you want to do?”

“…”

“Oh, no. Nothing in particular.”

Anastasia seemed to have expected this response.

“Don’t worry about it. Remember what I told you yesterday? I spent all night thinking about fun activities for us.”

Louis nodded cautiously.

Anastasia grinned, noticing the faint curiosity in his eyes.

“I’ll show you what I came up with. Now, sit down.”

“Are we playing with toys?”

“Yes, a very fun toy.”

“What kind of toy is it?”

“Ah, it’s…”

Liquid monster. Maybe he has heard of it.

~~~~

It wasn’t a lie when she said she spent all night thinking about how to play with Louis. Entertaining a child wasn’t as easy as it seemed. If it wasn’t fun, they would lose interest quickly and get bored. 

Plus, with Louis being extremely wary of her, it was even harder to capture his interest. 

‘I need to make a strong impression with the first game. That way, he’ll want to keep playing with me.’

Even after finishing the game, she needed to find an activity so engaging that he would keep thinking about it and miss it when they weren’t playing. 

That’s when she thought of the liquid monster. Also known as slime, it’s a toy with a mucus-like consistency, or perhaps a sticky jelly. 

She had bought it out of curiosity due to its popularity with children. Its soft yet firm texture provided a strange pleasure when she mindlessly played with it.

Furthermore, the liquid monster was a toy that appealed to all the senses except taste. They often came in vibrant colors that were visually appealing, and adding sparkly parts enhanced their attractiveness. The scent emitted by the toy was pleasant, and the unique sound it made when touched had a strangely addictive quality.

Describing the liquid monster as pleasant to touch would be an understatement. Anastasia lost track of time as she experimented with various ones, each offering its own unique experience. 

Regardless, she was confident that the liquid monster would capture Louis’ attention. However, obtaining a liquid monster here was out of the question. 

After much thought, Anastasia resolved to create her own version of the liquid monster.

She had previously watched a video demonstrating how to craft a liquid monster using natural ingredients; because the process was simple, she still remembered it. 

‘The process of crafting a liquid monster will surely provide an enjoyable experience for Louis,’ she thought. 

Instead of creating the perfect liquid monster right away, Anastasia opted to gradually improve it. 

This approach would sustain Louis’ interest for an extended period without him growing bored too quickly.

~~~~

After a while.

“… Is this all?”

“Yes.”

“This is nothing.”

Louis’s disappointment seemed apparent, likely due to heightened expectations after Anastasia had devoted the entire night to planning their playtime. 

He puffed out his cheeks once more, indicating his dissatisfaction with the underwhelming outcome before him.