That day, the evening at the Empress’ Palace, which was always quiet, was unexpectedly busy.
“His Highness likes pink”
“Don’t you think sky blue looks better on him than pink? How cute…”
“But I think he’ll look good in any color. Because he’s cute!”
Some maids were busy choosing Louis’ pajamas.
“Your Highness, do you like macarons?”
“What? Macarons at this hour! Will you take responsibility for the decay of the Crown Prince’s teeth? Come on, try this walnut pie.”
“What do you mean walnut pie? Would His Highness like a light snack that adults eat? I didn’t even look at walnuts when I was young!”
Some maids were busy preparing Louis’ snacks.
“Your Highness, may I make you a liquid monster? Not too long ago, I learned how to make it from Her Majesty.”
“Not the dough, but I’ll make you a paper bird.”
“What? A paper bird at night? What he likes most is the liquid monster!”
Some maids were busy offering Louis toys.
‘…it’s crazy.’
It was originally somewhat like that, but today especially was like that.
“The Empress’ Palace looks especially bright today, right?”
Mrs. Rochester snuck up to Anastasia and asked with a smile.
“I guess it’s all thanks to the Prince. I’ve never seen them so excited, except when the Empress was made Empress.”
“That’s true.”
Anastasia grinned as she looked at Louis surrounded by the ladies.
“I didn’t know everyone would like it this much.”
“Do you think the prince likes it too?”
“……No. I think he’s a little distracted right now.”
But he didn’t seem to dislike it. The likes and dislikes of the child were obvious.
“Did he see the palace doctor?”
“Yes, fortunately, the fever has completely gone down.”
“Still watch him carefully for the time being.”
“Of course, the maids were assigned separately. No matter how much they all wanted to apply. The competition was very fierce.”
“Did everyone really want to be the maid of the Imperial Palace, not the maid of the Empress? That is a bit sad.”
“Don’t be sad. The Prince is cute.”
That too. Anastasia couldn’t deny it and laughed at Mrs. Rochester’s comments.
Well, it seems like I want to be Louis’ maid too.
“Why is the Prince so cute? He’s so cute that I want to bite his cheek every time I see him.”
“He looks just like His Majesty the deceased Emperor.”
Anastasia, who laughed silently at those words, stopped for a moment.
“You resemble the Empress’ aunt who was handsome, Your Majesty.”
“… I don’t think you can fool your bloodline either.”
Anastasia’s aunt, the older sister of the Duke of Barantes, was the birth mother of Emperor Alexander.
“If it wasn’t for the oracle, I wouldn’t have become the Empress.”
From the point of view of the Barantes family, where the mother of Alexander the Great was from, Wilhelm, the son of the former Emperor, was an undeniable enemy.
However, the power structure was completely shaken by the unexpected fall of the trust, and the Barantes family was in a strange situation.
Choose your daughter or nephew.
At that juncture, the Duke of Barantes had not yet taken any particular political stance.
It was unintentionally reduced to neutrality.
“There’s still a good chance that Wilhelm won’t fully trust my father and the Barantes.”
In fact, it was natural for the Emperor, and it should have been.
Nevertheless, Anastasia firmly believed that her father would stand by her and Wilhelm.
This wasn’t a conclusion simply because her father loved her very much.
“I was given the legitimacy of the Goddess through the oracle.”
There was no justification for her to be on Louis’ side.
‘But most of all, we have to divide power between the Fontaine family.’
Maybe it won’t just end with bipartisanship.
The Fontaine family was also a prestigious family, so if Louis became the next Emperor, he would never give power to the House of Barantes.
So for the current Barantes, there was no need to create such a tiring political dispute.
Aside from other problems, isn’t it possible to destroy them for treason?
‘Anyway, he’s a loyalist.’
Before the return, there was no way to confirm his honest feelings with Louis’ help, but anyway, he was blind while fighting for Wilhelm until the end.
“Maybe the goddess was after it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The harmony between the two forces that can’t be mixed?”*
*TN: the end of the fight between the fighting families
“…what.”
Anastasia laughed bitterly.
“I don’t think so.”
After all, the oracle was wrong. Considering that, it was just a meaningless inference.
“I was more surprised than that. I didn’t expect the prince to follow the Empress.”
“Right.”
Anastasia replied, recalling the moment of day.
“I was surprised, too.”
Was it just her? Olivia’s surprised expression was also a sight.
But what were the words?
“There’s something I want to check.”
She heard Louis speak in a very quiet voice before Olivia was dragged out.
‘What does he want to check?’
She thought it over, but she couldn’t figure it out.
‘If I asked, would he answer? He won’t do it, right?’
Anastasia was curious.
“You did a good job with the Crown Prince, but I’m a little concerned.”
At that, Anastasia looked back at Mrs. Rochester.
“Fontaine has been in contact with many nobles since she came from the islands. There’s quite a lot of social interference.”
“She’s playing the duke. …to make Prince Louis the next Emperor.”
“Yes, I know that the commentary on the rumors is circulating again in society. That’s part of it.”
Mrs. Rochester, who was answering Anastasia’s words, sighed.
“I’m worried that Lady Fontaine will use this as an excuse to make up today’s affairs with Your Majesty’s interference.”
“There’s a countermeasure. It’s a matter of meeting the Emperor and deciding, but…”
Anastasia replied with an elegant smile.
“You don’t have to worry too much anyway.”
Mrs. Rochester, who heard her, stared at Anastasia quietly instead of answering.
In the sudden silence, Anastasia looked at Mrs. Rochester with a questioning face.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s unfamiliar.”
Anastasia could not help but burst into laughter at the coming words.
“You look like an Empress.”
“You know, that’s a very rude thing to say, right?”
“I know, but I didn’t expect this day to come.”
Mrs. Rochester continued with a slightly heated smile.
“You’ve become a decent Empress. I couldn’t have imagined this last year.”
“…is that so?”
“Yes, you’ll only be able to become a better Empress from now on.”
She felt her mouth dry again at the words. Because she was the one who was going to leave soon.
“…I’m going to put Louis to sleep.”
Eventually, feeling inexplicably strange, Anastasia quickly broke up the conversation and approached Louis.
Still, Louis was surrounded by the maids.
Anastasia, who felt a little better when she saw the happy view, laughed and interrupted them.
“All right, now let’s all step back. The prince is still a patient. He should get some rest.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“His Highness is so cute that… We’ve been rude.”
The maids hurriedly left, and the room became quiet only then.
Anastasia smiled and sat down by the bedside of Louis and asked.
“Was it too noisy? Sorry. Everyone thinks the Prince is quite lovely.”
“Am I lovely?”
“Oh, my Louis. You’re very lovely.”
After Anastasia had said that, she unconsciously tried to kiss Louis on the forehead, and stiffened her body with a start.
Oops, she almost made a mistake again.
“… What were you trying to do?”
She wished she could just avoid it, but Louis pointed it out and asked.
Anastasia replied with an awkward smile.
“Sorry. I’m also one of those people who thinks Louis is lovely… … I almost kissed you on the forehead.”
“…”
“I’m, I’m sorry. I stopped before I did it though… … Can you forgive me?”
“You can do it.”
Huh? Anastasia opened her eyes and looked at Louis. What did she hear now?
“Kiss, you can do it.”
“Oh…”
Anastasia blinked in surprise.
What is this… … was it true? As she was perplexed, she heard Louis’ voice.
“… Not now, next time.”
Then, as if embarrassed, he pulled the blanket up over his eyes.
‘Wow, that’s cute…’
Anastasia resisted the urge to shout, ‘Can’t we do it now, not next time?’ as she managed to suppress the urge to kiss Louis.
… Because it was a loveliness that was really harmful to the heart.
“I see. Next time, for sure.”
Anastasia smiled softly and nodded her head.
“How is your body?”
“Okay, now.”
“That’s a relief.”
Anastasia patted Louis on the head with a sincere smile.
“Don’t think about studying like you’re at the Imperial Palace and take a good rest. That’s the Empress’ Palace’s policy. Got it?”
Louis nodded silently, and Anastasia smiled admirably at the sight.
Anastasia did not ask the child why he chose her.
Maybe there was no reason.
There are surprisingly many things that people do for no reason in the world, and adults do that, too, even more so, children do it.
Even if there was a reason, it wasn’t clear if Louis would tell her, and it wasn’t really that important to Anastasia.
“Good night, Louis.”
What was important was that Louis chose her.
That’s the only thing.
